by Ahmet Zappa
Toothlight: A high-tech gadget that Starlings use to clean their teeth.
Vanisholine: A Starland natural substance used for cleaning.
Wish Blossom: The bloom that appears from a Wish Orb after its wish is granted.
Wish energy: The positive energy that is released when a wish is granted. Wish energy powers everything on Starland.
Wisher: The Wishling who has made the wish that is being granted.
Wish-Granters: Starlings whose job is to travel down to Wishworld to help make wishes come true and collect wish energy.
Wish-House: The place where Wish Orbs are planted and cared for until they sparkle. Once the orb’s wish is granted, it becomes a Wish Blossom.
Wishlings: The inhabitants of Wishworld.
Wish Mission: The task a Starling undertakes when she travels to Wishworld to help grant a wish.
Wish Orb: The form a wish takes on Wishworld before traveling to Starland. There it will grow and sparkle when it’s time to grant the wish.
Wish Pendant: A gadget that absorbs and transports wish energy, helps Starlings locate their Wishers, and changes a Starling’s appearance. Each Wish Pendant holds a different special power for its Star Darling.
Wishworld: The planet Starland relies on for wish energy. The beings on Wishworld know it by another name—Earth.
Wishworld Outfit Selector: A program on each Star-Zap that accesses Wishworld fashions for Starlings to wear to blend in on their Wish Missions.
Wishworld Surveillance Deck: A platform located high above the campus, where Starling Academy students go to observe Wishlings through high-powered telescopes.
Zing: A traditional Starling breakfast drink. It can be enjoyed hot or iced.
It is impossible to list all of our gratitude, but we will try.
Our most precious gift and greatest teacher, Halo; we love you more than there are stars in the sky…punashaku. To the rest of our crazy, awesome, unique tribe—thank you for teaching us to go for our dreams. Integrity. Strength. Love. Foundation. Family. Grateful. Mimi Muldoon—from your star doodling to naming our Star Darlings, your artistry, unconditional love, and inspiration is infinite. Didi Muldoon—your belief and support in us is only matched by your fierce protection and massive-hearted guidance. Gail. Queen G. Your business sense and witchy wisdom are legendary. Frank—you are missed and we know you are watching over us all. Along with Tutu, Nana, and Deda, who are always present, gently guiding us in spirit. To our colorful, totally genius, and bananas siblings—Patrick, Moon, Diva, and Dweezil—there is more creativity and humor in those four names than most people experience in a lifetime. Blessed. To our magical nieces—Mathilda, Zola, Ceylon, and Mia—the Star Darlings adore you and so do we. Our witchy cuzzie fairy godmothers—Ane and Gina. Our fairy fashion godfather, Paris. Our sweet Panay. Teeta and Freddy—we love you all so much. And our four-legged fur babies—Sandwich, Luna, Figgy, and Pinky Star.
The incredible Barry Waldo, our SD partner. Sent to us from above in perfect timing. Your expertise and friendship are beyond words. We love you and Gary to the moon and back. Long live the manifestation room!
Catherine Daly—the stars shined brightly upon us the day we aligned with you. Your talent and inspiration are otherworldly; our appreciation cannot be expressed in words. Many heartfelt hugs for you and the adorable Oonagh.
To our beloved Disney family. Thank you for believing in us. Wendy Lefkon, our master guide and friend through this entire journey. Stephanie Lurie, for being the first to believe in Star Darlings. Suzanne Murphy, who helped every step of the way. Jeanne Mosure, we fell in love with you the first time we met, and Star Darlings wouldn’t be what it is without you. Andrew Sugerman, thank you so much for all your support.
Our team…Devon (pony pants) and our Monsterfoot crew—so grateful. Richard Scheltinga—our angel and protector. Chris Abramson—thank you! Special appreciation to Richard Thompson, John LaViolette, Swanna, Mario, and Sam.
To our friends old and new—we are so grateful to be on this rad journey that is life with you all. Fay. Jorja. Chandra. Sananda. Sandy. Kathryn. Louise. What wisdom and strength you share. Ruth, Mike, and the rest of our magical Wagon Wheel bunch—how lucky we are. How inspiring you are. We love you.
Last—we have immeasurable gratitude for every person we’ve met along our journey, for all the good and the bad; it is all a gift. From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for touching our lives.
Keep reading for a sneak peek at Star Darlings: Tessa’s Lost & Found!
The next morning should have worked out perfectly for Tessa. All the Star Darlings were coming to her and Adora’s room for an important meeting. And she was totally prepared.
Even though she’d stayed up late working on her holo-paper—and excuse note—Tessa had set the alarm on her Star-Zap for an extra-early wake-up time. Before morning, the alarm buzzed her favorite childhood tune, “Old MacStarlight Had a Farm.”
She took her sparkle shower in record time, not losing track of starmins the way she usually did. She finished so quickly, in fact, Adora was still sleeping soundly when she went back to the room.
So Tessa tidied her ultra-plush bedcovers and smoothed her soft-as-a-cloud rug. Both came from Bed, Bath, and Beyond the Stars’ exclusive line of luxury items, perfect for Tessa, who liked to surround herself with sumptuous comfort.
Then she pulled on the outfit she’d laid out the night before: an emerald-green and ocean-blue striped sweaterdress that swirled around her knees. It matched Tessa’s long wavy hair perfectly.
Quickly, Tessa checked her Star-Zap to make sure she was still on schedule. Yes, she was doing great. She picked up her starbrush to brush her sweeping bangs to the side. There was just one more thing to accomplish before the Star Darlings came over. She just had to—
Tessa caught sight of the headboard over her bed…and everything fell apart.
The headboard was really one big holo-screen, and Tessa was drawn to it like metal to a magnet.
Initially, Tessa had used the screen to care for virtual pets. She loved creatures of all sizes, shapes, and glows. But then she’d programmed the screen to show her family farm in real time—real creatures in real action.
Tessa and her younger sister, Gemma—also a Star Darling—were from Solar Springs, a tiny town of gently rolling hills. A small number of families lived on simple farms nestled in valleys. It was a lovely spot. But the town had just one general store that sold only basic items, like toothlights and starbrushes.
When Tessa wanted that starmazing luster-lotion for her skin, or the glitz gloves that felt soft as shimmer-butter, she had to put in a special order. Except for that, Tessa loved her farm life: the fresh fruits and vegetables she used for cooking, the farm creatures…
And that was why she couldn’t turn away from the screen. Her favorite creature of all, a playful baby galliope named Jewel, was there in all her cuteness, nudging a round druderwomp bush across the ground like a ball.
The deep purple galliope was all spindly legs and long neck, with a glowing feathery mane and tail. Tessa had seen holo-pictures of Wishworld ponies. She agreed they resembled galliopes. But she doubted they could hold a glowstick to Jewel in charm alone.
Tessa dropped her starbrush and edged closer to the holo-screen. “Jewel,” she cooed softly. “Star salutations, little girl.”
If Jewel was in the right mood, she could step out of the screen—or at least her image could—and be virtually close to Tessa. Hoping that would happen then, Tessa tapped the bottom of the screen, and a virtual star-apple floated into her hand. She held the sparkling round fruit out to Jewel. Back on the farm, it wouldn’t be just an image; the star-apple would be real and crunchy and sweet.
Jewel whinnied, stepped out of the screen, and nuzzled Tessa’s neck. “I could do this all starday,” Tessa said with a giggle.
“Maybe you could, but you really shouldn’t,” said Adora. Tessa looked across the room. Adora had gotten up and dressed without h
er even noticing.
“Everyone will be here in a starsec. So pick up your starbrush and finish getting ready.”
Tessa ignored her, putting her arm around Jewel. “I don’t like being told what to do,” she whispered, as if the galliope could understand. “You’d think after rooming together for so long, Adora would know that.”
Sighing, Adora picked up Tessa’s starbrush and placed it on the nightstand. “Come on, Tessa, I put away all my test tubes and experiments—even that new lipsparkle I’m working on. The one that actually shoots out sparks.”
Adora spoke as calmly as ever; Tessa had rarely seen her ruffled or emotional. And they generally got along. But Tessa had cleaned up! What was one little starbrush in the grand scheme of things? Still, the Star Darlings were coming over….
Tessa waved good-bye to Jewel, and the galliope stepped back into the screen. “See you soon, little girl. Next time we’ll play and we’ll—”
“Starland to Tessa!” Adora snapped her fingers in front of Tessa’s face. “The Star Darlings meeting is—”
“Knock-knock,” sang Leona from the other side of the door.
“Now!” Adora finished, nodding toward the door so it slid open quickly. The other ten Star Darlings walked into the room and settled on beds, chairs, and rugs.
“Oh, Tessa,” Gemma said, disappointment in her voice. She eyed Tessa’s cleared-off table. “I thought for sure you’d have a whole breakfast spread for us.”
Tessa groaned. That was what she’d been planning to do! Before she was distracted by Jewel, she had been about to bake breakfast treats in the micro-zap!
Scarlet shook her head emphatically, her dark hood falling to her shoulders before she quickly pulled it back up. “Breakfast is not important,” she said brusquely. “We’ll have plenty of time to go to the Celestial Café after the meeting.”
“Still, we could have met a little later,” Piper said wistfully, covering up a yawn. Tessa knew Piper liked her rest more than the average Starling.
“No, meeting now makes the most sense,” said Vega. “This way we take care of business and keep the rest of the starday free for studying.”
“I would have voted for a bit later so I’d have had time to warm up my vocal cords.” Leona’s voice started out deep, then rose higher with every word: “Now I have to do my exercises in regular conversation.”
“Please, spare us,” Scarlet said.
Tessa sighed. Those roommates were a much bigger mismatch than she and Adora! She doubted they would ever get along.
Cassie held up a hand, and everyone quieted down. She was the smallest Starling of the group, but her words carried great weight. “The fact is, spies could be anywhere on campus. I don’t know whom we can even trust! We had to meet this early so no one would see us.”
Libby stood up. “Okay, everybody, let’s stop talking about meeting and actually meet!”
Tessa agreed. This was taking way too long, and without her usual pre-breakfast snack, she was hungry.
“Right.” Cassie nodded. She took off her star-shaped glasses, polished them so they shone, and nodded again. “There is one basic question we need to answer: who is behind all these crazy problems—”
“Like our holo-text compliments coming out as insults,” interrupted Piper indignantly.
“And every student invited to try out for my band,” Leona added, “when it should have just been Star Darlings! That could have broken up our group!”
“And those are just communication issues,” Cassie continued. “What about everything else? The poisonous flowers? The strange nail polish that wouldn’t come off? Who is responsible?”
“It’s so obvious,” Scarlet huffed, “any wee Starling could figure it out.”
Everyone turned to her, curious.
“It’s Lady Stella.”
Tessa gasped, along with some of the other Star Darlings. How could Scarlet think that, even for a starsec? she wondered.
Lady Stella was the head of the school. She was revered in academic circles for her principles and forward thinking in education. She was held in highest regard all across Starland. Business Starlings, Starling scientists, and heads of state constantly consulted her, and wee Starlings wanted to grow up to be just like her.
Tessa had actually dressed as Lady Stella once for Light Giving Day (it had been that or a moonberry), when young Starlings dressed in costume to hand out flowers and welcome the growing season. She guessed many others in the room had, too.
Tessa thought back to one of her first days at the academy, well before the Star Darlings had been formed. She had been curled up in a chair in the Lightning Lounge, holo-texting Gemma back home and feeling homesick.
Lady Stella had come over and sat down next to her. She seemed to know all about Tessa without Tessa’s saying a word, and she led her on a tour of the Celestial Café kitchen, where Bot-Bot cooks and waitstaff worked.
“You can come here any time you like,” she had said, “and cook, bake, or just relax. The Bot-Bots will be informed.”
Then they’d sat in a corner and munched on moonberries together. It turned out to be Lady Stella’s favorite snack, too.
Lady Stella couldn’t be capable of any wrongdoing whatsoever!
“Scarlet, you’re going galactic!” said Libby, apparently agreeing. “The evil Starling doesn’t even have to be part of Starling Academy! He or she could be from outside the school.”
“I doubt that,” Cassie said nervously. “Whoever is doing this would need to be here full-time. And Lady Stella is here 36/8.”
“You’re both going galactic!” Sage said to Scarlet and Cassie. “Lady Stella has been starmendous to each and every one of us!”
“Well, count me out of that lucky star group,” Scarlet shot back. “Here’s a fact for you, Lady Flip My Hair Dramatically Because I’m So Startacular I Was Chosen for the First Wish Mission: my grades were switched with dimwit Ophelia’s, so I was kicked out of the Star Darlings. Who else would be able to do that?”
The girls fell silent. It was hard to disagree with Scarlet; she could so easily go supernova. Tessa looked at Leona, who stood up to her regularly. But Leona had been uncharacteristically quiet. Then Tessa glanced at Gemma. What was her sister thinking? She, too, had been quiet.
“Well, lots of Starlings could have access to records,” Tessa finally said. “What about the groundskeeper who checks that the disappearing garbage pails are working properly? He goes into every room on campus.”
Gemma finally spoke up. “That’s right! Once, when I was walking past the teachers’ lounge, I was hurrying really fast down the hall. I can’t even remember why I was there. Maybe because I had to go to the Radiant Rec Center and I was a little nervous because I had never—”
“Get to the point of the story,” said Scarlet.
“Well, the groundskeeper was outside the lounge door, stooping over. He could have been trying to listen in!”
“Or fix the hand scanner,” said Scarlet.
“Besides, he has no idea what’s what,” Astra added. “Once, he asked where the star ball field was, and he was standing right in front of the goal!”
“Lady Cordial keeps close watch of all the comings and goings in that hall,” Cassie noted, “because the admissions office is there. She’d notice anything strange. So forget about the groundskeeper!” She sighed. “Lady Stella must have set up the whole Scarlet-Ophelia switch. She told me Ophelia was an orphan. She lied. Ophelia was never even in an orphanage!”
Scarlet leaned closer to Sage with an almost compassionate expression. “I was fooled, too, for a long time.” A shadow passed over her face. “But she pulled the glimmersilk over my eyes.”
Finally, Leona spoke up, as if she’d been weighing the information and had made up her mind. “The biggest piece of evidence is Ophelia herself. She came right out and said Lady Stella had sent the holo-mails asking her to come to Starling Academy and pretend to be a Star Darling. Poor girl, she wanted to be a student h
ere so much she was willing to try—and who could blame her? Especially once she was rooming with me.”
“But why would Lady Stella want to sabotage our missions?” Vega asked. “It doesn’t make sense. The missions were her idea to begin with!”
The girls all spoke at once.
“Maybe she changed her mind and wants to end the Star Darlings. But she doesn’t want to hurt our feelings.”
“Maybe she wants Starling Academy to fail so she can start a new school.”
“Maybe she wants to move to Wishworld!”
“Maybe she’s in love with the groundskeeper and they’re running off together!”
“Maybe she’s just a hologram, and the real Lady Stella is being held captive in one of the underground caves.”
Tessa shivered. Piper’s last comment was especially creepy.
“I don’t know why she’s doing it,” said Scarlet. “But we have to confront her, and soon.”
“I just don’t believe it,” said Tessa stubbornly. “I need real proof.”
“I don’t believe it, either,” Sage said.
“Well, isn’t your family—at least your mother—really close with her?” Scarlet asked Sage.
Sage’s mother was a renowned energy scientist, and Lady Stella had consulted with her many times.
“What!” Sage opened her lavender eyes wide in surprise. “You’re not seriously accusing my mother of sabotage?”
The room fell silent. The girls eyed each other nervously. No one knew what to say. But then Tessa’s stomach rumbled loudly. Gemma laughed, breaking the tension.
“I say we’ve talked enough for now. It’s time to eat,” said Tessa.
Cassie nodded and stood up. “Before we confront anyone,” she said to Scarlet, “we should do more sleuthing.” Then she turned to Tessa. “And you’re right, of course. We should all go to breakfast.”
Cassie is smart, Tessa thought as everyone left the room, even if she does suspect Lady Stella. And she’s read all those detective books her uncle wrote; she must know about sleuthing. She’d stick close to Cassie, find out what was really going on, and put in her two stars to defend Lady Stella whenever she could.
