Star of the Show

by Sue Bentley

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter ONE

  Chapter TWO

  Chapter THREE

  Chapter FOUR

  Chapter FIVE

  Chapter SIX

  Chapter SEVEN

  Chapter EIGHT

  About the Author

  GROSSET & DUNLAP

  Published by the Penguin Group

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  To Butch—a boisterous playmate

  with a mind of his own.

  Prologue

  Storm, the young silver-gray wolf froze as a terrifying howl rose into the air.

  “Shadow!” Storm gasped. The big, fierce lone wolf, who had attacked Storm’s wolf pack and left his mother wounded, was very close.

  Storm had to act fast. He decided to use his magic. Suddenly a dazzling flash of bright golden light and a shower of sparks filled the air. Where the young wolf had stood there now crouched a tiny rusty-colored spaniel puppy with wavy fur, long floppy ears, and midnight-blue eyes.

  Storm’s puppy heart beat fast as he bounded forward across the snow. He looked from left to right, trying to find a hiding place, but the flat plain stretched in all directions like a white desert.

  He saw a tiny speck in the distance, which was growing bigger as it came closer. It was an adult wolf.

  Storm whimpered with terror.

  His wobbly legs collapsed beneath him and Storm felt himself sinking. Chunks of snow rained onto the little puppy as he sank down into an ice cave. He lay there trembling, hoping that his hiding place would protect him.

  Moments later, Storm heard paws scraping above him as a large animal stood in the entrance to the cave. This was it.

  A wolf’s head appeared, framed by the night sky. “Are you hurt, my son?” growled a soft velvety voice.

  “Mother!” Storm woofed in relief, wagging his little tail. “I am fine now!”

  Canista slid right in and crouched beside her disguised cub. She licked his muzzle in greeting. “I am glad to see you again, but it is not yet safe for you to return. Shadow is very close. He wants to lead the Moon-claw pack, but they will not follow him while you live.”

  Storm’s midnight-blue eyes sparked with fear and anger. “Perhaps we should face him and fight him!”

  Canista showed her sharp white teeth in a proud smile. “Bravely said, Storm. But Shadow is too strong for you to face alone. And I am still too weak from his poisonous bite to help you. Use this puppy disguise to hide from Shadow. Go to the other world and return when you are stronger.” She winced and her eyes clouded with pain.

  Storm huffed out a warm glittering puppy breath. It shimmered around Canista’s wounded leg in a golden mist and then sank into her gray fur. “Thank you. The pain is fading,” she rumbled softly.

  Suddenly, another fierce howl seemed to tear at the icy air.

  “Shadow is coming! Save yourself. Go . . .” Canista urged.

  Bright gold sparks ignited in the tiny puppy’s wavy reddish-brown fur. Storm whined as he felt the power building within him. The golden light around him grew brighter. And brighter . . .

  Chapter ONE

  Tessa Churchill’s tummy lurched with excitement as she saw all the huge trucks and trailers in front of Harpford Manor. There were lights and equipment everywhere and lots of people pushing carts and racks of costumes.

  “I still can’t believe that I’m going to be in Timepiecewith Donny Jenton. I’m so nervous,” Tessa said to her mom.

  “That’s not surprising. This is your first part in a movie,” Mrs. Churchill said, giving her a hug. “Come on, let’s go and find Judith Raunds, the woman who will be taking care of you.”

  Tessa nodded as she and her mom began walking toward the main house.

  She was also looking forward to meeting the other two girls who had parts in the movie—Tessa had been excited to hear that they were about the same age as her. It would be great to hang out with new friends while she was here.

  A woman came out of a side door and greeted them both. “Hello, Mrs. Churchill, I’m Judith. And this must be Tessa. I’m delighted to meet you.” She had a light-brown ponytail and a nice round face and was wearing a blue T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.

  Mrs. Churchill shook Judith’s hand. “Hello, Judith. It’s nice to put a face to the voice. And thanks for being so understanding when I called to say we’d be arriving late,” she said.

  Judith smiled. “No problem. Delays at airports are a fact of life these days.” She turned to Tessa. “Let’s go inside. Kelly and Fay arrived earlier. They’re having dinner. I’ll introduce you.”

  “Okay.” Tessa smiled at Judith who seemed really nice. She felt herself starting to relax. She turned to her mom. “I’m fine. You don’t have to stay with me.”

  “Sure? All right then, sweetie. I’ll get going.” Mrs. Churchill kissed her daughter on the cheek. “See you next week. And don’t forget to call.”

  “You bet! Give my love to Dad when you get back to the yacht. Bye!” Tessa said. She waited until her mom drove off and then followed Judith into the house.

  They went through a maze of hallways until they reached a very large room. It had paneling on the walls and a high domed ceiling, which was painted with clouds and angels. Expensive-looking paintings of very serious people were hung all around.

  A self-service counter with hot and cold food had been set up along one wall and there were neat rows of tables and chairs. The room buzzed with voices and laughter.

  “This is where you’ll have all your meals. Catering is 24/7, so you can get a hot drink or food whenever you want it,” Judith explained. She led Tessa over to two girls who were sitting at a table by themselves. “These are your young costars, Kelly Lucas and Fay Hinson. Kelly, Fay, this is Tessa Churchill.”

  “Hi,” Tessa said, smiling.

  Fay and Kelly smiled back.

  “I’ll leave you all to get to know one another. I’ve got a few things to do, so I’ll come back in a bit and see if you need anything,” Judith said to Tessa.

  “Okay, thanks,” Tessa said, smiling at t
he two girls as Judith moved away.

  Kelly’s friendly expression suddenly changed. “So you’re the kid with rich parents. I bet you loved keeping everyone waiting, so you could get all the attention when you finally arrived!” She looked about twelve years old, two years older than Tessa, and had a thin face and short dark hair.

  Tessa felt her face turning red. At her first acting school, she was bullied because she had rich parents, so now she kept quiet about it. Kelly must have listened to Judith on the phone to her mom and heard about the trip on the family yacht, which Tessa was cutting short to work on this film.

  Tessa took a deep breath to calm her nerves before answering.“Let’s get something straight, Kelly. Acting is all that matters to me and I just want to do my best, just like you. So leave my mom and dad out of it. Okay?” she said.

  Kelly looked surprised and even a little impressed. She looked like she was going to say something else and then she shrugged. “Whatever,” she said, getting up and wandering over to the service counter.

  Tessa looked at Fay, hoping that the other girl might be easier to get along with. “Which acting school do you come from?” she asked her.

  “Ashton School of Drama,” Fay murmured without looking up. She was stirring her plate of pasta around with a fork and seemed to be in a world of her own.

  Tessa tried again. “Have you seen Donny Jenton yet?”

  “No. Someone said they’d seen his little pug dog, Lady. So he’s here. But there’s tons of security around him. We’ll probably only get to meet Donny when we’re acting in a scene with him,” Fay said gloomily. She pushed her plate away and slouched forward to rest her chin on her elbows.

  Tessa felt her spirits sinking. Fay definitely didn’t seem any more bothered than Kelly was about making friends with her.

  A wave of loneliness rose in Tessa as she wished that she’d asked her mom to stay a little longer. But she pushed back her shoulders and resolved to make the best of it.

  Tessa decided to go straight up to her room and start unpacking. She didn’t feel like eating and there didn’t seem to be any point in sitting here with Fay and Kelly.

  Tessa rose to her feet. “How do I get to our room?” she asked Fay.

  Fay looked up at last. She had freckled skin and hazel eyes and would have been pretty if her face hadn’t been screwed into a frown. “Um . . . through that door, up two sets of stairs, and turn left. It’s the third room you come to.”

  “Thanks.” As Tessa went out, she passed Kelly who was on her way back to the table with a glass of Coke. “Too good to sit and eat with us, are you, Princess?” the older girl mocked.

  Tessa ignored her, but she felt a lump rising in her throat as she remembered what it was like to be bullied. Well, she wasn’t a scared little kid anymore. She was ten years old and had been in tons of TV commercials and theater plays and she was determined not to cry.

  Bolting up the stairs two at a time, Tessa found their room easily. She saw that her suitcase had been brought up and left on the rug. She looked around. The two beds on either side of the window had been taken. The only one left was in a gloomy alcove. There was barely room for the bed, a small bedside cabinet, and a battered-looking dresser.

  “This just gets better!” Tessa grumbled, picking up her suitcase and dumping it on her bed. She opened her suitcase, grabbed a bunch of clothes at random, and opened the dresser. The door swung wide open with a loud, rusty squeak and Tessa was blinded by a dazzling bright gold flash.

  “Oh!” Tessa gasped, staggering back. When she could see again, Tessa saw a tiny puppy with wavy reddish-brown fur, floppy ears, and bright midnight-blue eyes looking up at her from the bottom of the wardrobe.

  “Can you help me, please?” it woofed.

  Chapter TWO

  Tessa stared down at the tiny puppy in complete surprise, wondering where it had come from. The dresser door squeaking open had made it sound like the puppy had spoken! Tessa shook her head at the silly idea.

  “What are you doing in there?” she said, bending over to look more closely at the puppy. “You are so cute! You look like a little spaniel.”

  “I have arrived here from far away. I am Storm of the Moon-claw pack. Who are you?” the puppy woofed.

  Tessa’s eyes widened in shock and the pile of clothes slipped from her numb fingers and crumpled to the floor. “You really c-can talk,” she gasped in amazement.

  The puppy nodded, looking up at her with large, intelligent blue eyes, as if waiting for her to reply to its question. Although it was tiny, it didn’t seem to be very afraid of her.

  “I’m . . . um . . . Tessa Churchill. I’m an actress. I’m here to make a movie.”

  The puppy dipped its tiny head in a formal bow. “I am honored to meet you, Tessa. I must hide. Can you help me?” he said in a gruff little bark.

  “Is someone chasing you?” Tessa asked. She still couldn’t quite believe that this was happening, but her curiosity was beginning to get the better of her shock.

  Storm’s big dewy eyes sparked with anger and fear. “Shadow, the evil lone wolf is looking for me. He has killed my father and three litter brothers and wounded my mother. He wants to lead the Moon-claw pack but the other wolves are waiting until I am strong enough to lead them.”

  Tessa frowned. “But how can you lead a wolf pack? You’re just a pu—”

  “I will show you! Please stand back,” Storm interrupted in a soft bark.

  He leaped out of the dresser and stood on the carpet. There was another dazzling flash of bright gold light and sparks sprayed out, floating down around Tessa and crackling where they landed.

  “Oh!” she gasped as the tiny puppy vanished and in its place there stood a muscular young silver-gray wolf. Tessa nervously eyed the wolf ’s large sharp teeth and powerful paws that seemed much too big for his body. “Storm?”

  “Yes, Tessa, it is me. Do not be afraid. I will not harm you,” Storm growled gently.

  Before Tessa had time to get used to the majestic sight of Storm as a young wolf, there was a final bright burst of light and he reappeared in the room as a tiny puppy with wavy rusty-colored fur and a swishy tail.

  “That’s an amazing disguise. No one would know that you’re a wolf,” Tessa said, deeply impressed.

  “Shadow will know if he finds me. I need to hide now,” Storm whined.

  Tessa saw that he was starting to tremble all over. With his startling midnight-blue eyes, wet reddish-brown nose, and little pointed face, Storm was the most adorable thing she had ever seen.

  Her heart went out to the helpless little puppy who needed a friend as much as she did.

  “I’ll look after you. You can sleep here with me—” she began and then stopped as she realized that pets probably wouldn’t be allowed. “I could try and hide you, but I’m sharing this room with two other girls. Fay’s all wrapped up in herself, so she might not notice. But I bet Kelly would love to tell on me, just to get me into trouble!” she guessed.

  Storm showed his little pointed teeth in a doggy grin. “I would love to stay here with you, Tessa. I will use my magic so that only you will be able to see and hear me.”

  “You can make yourself invisible? Cool! Then there’s no problem. You can stay in here and Kelly and Fay won’t know a thing.” Tessa bent down to pick Storm up and pet his soft little head.

  “Thank you, Tessa!” Storm snuggled up to her, wagging his little red-brown tail.

  She was glad that her bed was in the dim alcove now. It would be much easier to cuddle up with Storm and talk to him without attracting attention from her roommates.

  As Tessa put Storm down and then picked up her clothes to hang them up, the tiny puppy jumped onto her blanket. He gave a contented sigh and curled up for a nap.

  Tessa smiled to herself in delight. This was better than any film and Kelly’s and Fay’s unfriendliness didn’t matter anymore. She wouldn’t be lonely now that she had this amazing magic puppy for company.

  Tessa woke up e
arly the following morning. She could feel a warm weight tucked into the crook of her arm. Feeling her stir, Storm sat up and stretched.

  “Hello, Storm. Did you sleep okay?” Tessa whispered so that the other girls couldn’t hear her.

  “Very well. This is a good place,” Storm woofed.

  The bedroom door opened and Judith popped her head in. “Rise and shine, everyone!” she said brightly. “Come down for breakfast as soon as you can, please. School lessons start in an hour.”

  “Okay. I’ll be right there!” Tessa said.

  Judith flashed a smile at her before going out and closing the door.

  “It’s a shame that our schools have to send us work. I can’t wait until I’m older and then I can act all day,” Tessa whispered to Storm.

  Kelly jumped up, got straight out of bed, and went to the bathroom, but Fay sat up blinking and rubbing her eyes sleepily.

  Tessa wasn’t surprised. Fay had been writing something in a big green book for a long time before she went to sleep. It was there on top of her night table.

  “Is that your scrapbook?” Tessa asked Fay. She knew that most kids who went to acting schools kept a book of clippings and photos from their performances.

  “It’s my diary and it’s private,” Fay said, slipping the book into a drawer and slamming it shut.

  “Okay. I just asked,” Tessa murmured as she threw back her blanket and quickly got dressed.

  Storm trotted invisibly at Tessa’s heel as she came downstairs to the dining room. The delicious smells of eggs and bacon and toast floated toward them. Tessa asked for a big breakfast and then slipped bits of bacon and egg under the table for Storm when no one was looking.

  Lessons with Judith started immediately. Storm curled up for a nap on Tessa’s lap. When a tiny rumbling snore rose from him, it was all Tessa could do to stifle her giggles.