Melody & Jackson's Christmas Spell

by Vivian French

Just before they swamped the table, Miss Scritch gave a sharp “Tut!” and snapped her fingers. At once, the scattered bits of china and the sausage rolls vanished. I was sorry to see the sausage rolls go; Jackson and I hadn’t had any lunch, and I was hungry.

  Fairy Fifibelle frowned, but Fairy Mary put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Thank you, Fairy Fifibelle,” she said. “I think the magic from your Shrinking Spell is still lingering around you. Why don’t you let Miss Scritch arrange things, just for now.”

  Miss Scritch gave a barely disguised snort, and twitched her wand. This time a pile of normal-sized plates landed neatly on the table, together with a tray of mince pies sprinkled with sugar frosting, and a huge jug of cream. Then came an enormous Christmas cake decorated with snowmen and robins, and that was followed by a large bowl of hot sausage rolls.

  “Sausage rolls?” Miss Scritch raised her eyebrows. “I don’t remember ordering those!”

  “It was me,” Fairy Mary told her. “Melody looked so disappointed when the other ones vanished. I don’t think an extra treat will do any harm.”

  Judging by the speed with which the sausage rolls vanished for a second time (and NO magic involved) I wasn’t the only Stargirl who was hungry. The mince pies were popular too, and once we’d tasted the rich fruity Christmas cake, none of us could resist a second slice. Mugs of frothy hot chocolate flavoured with cinnamon and heaped with whipped cream and marshmallows appeared just when we thought we couldn’t manage another mouthful … and suddenly it seemed that we could, after all.

  “Jeepers creepers.” Lily sighed with pleasure as she put down her empty mug. “I’m so full it hurts. That cake was absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS!”

  Miss Scritch almost smiled. “I’m glad you enjoyed it, Lily.”

  “Oh, I did!” Lily leant back in her seat. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to move again.”

  “I do hope that’s not true, dear,” Fairy Mary said. “We’re about to have the Spin, and after that you’ll be going to see who you can help.” She gave a tiny sigh. “It won’t be difficult. You’ll find a great many people need extra help at Christmas.”

  I thought of the two children waiting in the queue at Santa’s grotto, and how their mother had hauled them away without a present. I imagined them crouched in front of an empty fireplace with no Christmas dinner, while their horrible mother shouted at them, and I decided that if the Golden Wand pointed at me I’d do my very best to help them. Team Starlight always helped people they knew, but that was too easy. I was certain it would be MUCH better to help strangers. Wasn’t that what Fairy Godmothers did in the olden days? And weren’t we meant to be modern-day Fairy Godmothers?

  I was about to ask Jackson if she’d do the same if the wand pointed at her, but I didn’t get the chance. Fairy Mary had already put the wand on the table, and everyone was silent.

  It’s strange how that happens when it’s time for the Spin. It’s not the silence you get when nobody speaks, but a kind of expectant hush, as if even the walls of the room are waiting for something. The light dims as well, and only the wand glows as Fairy Mary sets it spinning.

  Fairy Mary looked round at us. “Dear Stargirls … as you well know, whoever the wand chooses will decide what will happen next, and who they’d like to help. Now, let us begin.”

  She leant forward, and blew very gently … and at once the wand began to twirl round and round making a soft humming sound. Twinkling stars floated up and hovered over our head teacher’s head as she murmured, “Spin, spin, spin. Who will choose? Who will it be? Whose destiny will change today? Spin, wand, spin.”

  The wand spun, and the room filled with a golden light. Everyone was gazing at the wand as it spun faster and faster and faster, and the humming grew louder and louder. None of us moved; it was as if we were kept completely motionless by the wand’s magic … and then it stopped. It didn’t slow down. It stopped dead – and it was pointing exactly halfway between me and Jackson.

  “Melody and Jackson,” Fairy Mary said, “there’s no doubt about it. The wand has chosen you both.”

  Chapter Seven

  I think I was holding my breath all the time the wand was spinning. I was trying so hard to make it point at me or Melody my head was hurting. I kept thinking, “Please let it be one of us! We SO need to show that we can be the best! Please please please!” And when it did stop I was so relieved I let out a cheer, and everyone looked at me in astonishment because that is NOT the sort of thing I usually do. I pretended I had something wrong with my shoe and bent down so nobody could see my face until I stopped blushing.

  “Well done, Melody,” Madison said. “Well done, Jackson. Do you know who you’re going to help? Are we going out in the Travelling Tower?”

  “Maybe,” Melody said. “We did have an idea, as it happens.” I knew she was just as excited as I was, but she wasn’t going to show it. She turned to Fairy Mary. “Can we find someone if we don’t know where they live? Jackson and I saw two children with their mum in our local shopping centre today, and they looked SO miserable. The mum wouldn’t even let them get a present from Santa Claus, and I think that’s terrible.”

  Fairy Mary looked thoughtful. “You’ve only seen them once. Are you sure they need your help?”

  I nodded. “Their mum was shouting at them and dragging them away – she was horrible!”

  “Perhaps she was worried,” Miss Scritch suggested.

  “No,” Melody said firmly. “My mum would never behave like that, however worried she was.”

  I wasn’t quite so certain. I once ran across a road in front of a car, and my mum yelled at me until she just about lost her voice … but then again, she’d never drag me around in front of other people.

  Fairy Fifibelle waved her arms. “Surely we should trust our precious petals?”

  “You’re right, Fairy Fifibelle,” Fairy Mary said. “Melody, Jackson – tell us what you know about these children and their mother.”

  “The mum was on her way to work,” Melody told her. “She was worried about being late.”

  I remembered something. “Yes. She said… What was it? Oh! That it was a big day at The Nag’s Head. That must be where she works.”

  Fairy Fifibelle Lee came swooping round the table. “Darling girl! SUCH a memory! There’s the answer, my sweets – we’ll take the Travelling Tower, and we’ll find The Nag’s Head in no time.”

  “What’s The Nag’s Head?” Ava wanted to know.

  Miss Scritch looked disapproving. “I imagine it’s a public house. Fairy Mary, ought we to allow the girls to go to such an establishment? It might not be at all suitable!”

  “I shall take the greatest care of them,” Fairy Fifibelle declared, and my heart sank. That meant she was coming with us, and I’d been hoping she wouldn’t. I wanted me and Melody to be hugely successful, and when Fairy Fifibelle’s around she makes such a fuss that I can’t think straight. Melody and I had got things wrong once before, and a nasty secret little voice deep inside me was whispering that it could happen again…

  “I think,” Fairy Mary said slowly, “I shall go myself. Perhaps you and Miss Scritch would like to prepare the certificates ready for our return?”

  That REALLY made butterflies flutter in my stomach. Supposing Melody and I didn’t win our final stars after all? If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be fully qualified Stargirls … and it would be very unlikely that we’d be given another chance. And, as if she’d read my thoughts, Miss Scritch asked, “Are we to prepare six certificates, Fairy Mary, or eight?”

  Fairy Mary smiled one of her sunniest smiles. “Oh, I think eight. I’m sure that Melody and Jackson will win their stars this time. Isn’t that right, girls?” And she looked at us as if she was absolutely certain that we would. It made me feel a whole lot better – but then Fairy Fifibelle went and ruined it. She made a cooing noise, and flung her arms around me.

  “My darling honey pies always do their best,” she twittered. “But sometimes they get just a teeny bit carried
away, don’t you, my poppets?”

  “No,” I said. I knew it sounded rude, but I couldn’t help it. What I really wanted to do was tell her, DON’T HUG ME! Just leave me alone! I’ve got something really difficult to do, and I want to get on with it! If it all goes hideously wrong I’ll crawl away home, and hug my mum.

  Fairy Fifibelle Lee kept treating me and Melody as if we were babies – and I’d suddenly had enough.

  I took a deep breath, but Miss Scritch interrupted before I’d even opened my mouth.

  “Come along, Fairy Fifibelle,” she said briskly. “We can work next door. The sooner we begin, the sooner we’ll be finished.” She took Fairy Fifibelle’s arm, and marched her towards the sitting room.

  “Hm.” Fairy Mary’s eyes were very bright. “Jackson dear, I think Miss Scritch has just saved you from saying something you would have regretted. At least, I HOPE you would have regretted it.”

  I didn’t know how to answer her. If Miss Scritch hadn’t stopped me telling Fairy Fifibelle what I thought of her, would I really have been sorry later? I pushed my hair behind my ears while I tried to work it out. Something in Fairy Mary’s blue-eyed gaze made me want to be completely truthful. “I hope so too,” I said at last. “But I’m not absolutely sure I would.”

  I heard Olivia give a little gasp, and I waited for Fairy Mary to give me a row for being so nasty – but she didn’t. Instead, she chuckled.

  “Jackson Williams, sometimes you are surprisingly honest. That is a good thing. But you do, however, need to be far more forgiving of other people, however irritating they might be.” And she actually winked!

  “Yes, Fairy Mary,” I said. “I’ll try.” And I meant it. When someone’s as nice as Fairy Mary, it makes you really want to do your best – and not just because you want to win a star. You don’t want to let them down. And I didn’t want to let myself down, either. Or Melody.

  “Good. That’s settled.” Fairy Mary gave a little nod as if she’d sorted something, and was pleased about it. “Now, shall we see if we can find The Nag’s Head, and those two children?”

  Chapter Eight

  We have to go through the sitting-room to get to the Travelling Tower. It’s a lovely room; there’s always a cosy fire burning, and the sofas and chairs are squashy and comfortable. Fairy Fifibelle Lee and Miss Scritch were settled in a corner with pens and ink and a pile of paper.

  “Look!” Sophie whispered. “They’re writing out our certificates! Our Stargirl certificates!”

  “SO exciting,” Madison agreed, “but I’ve just thought of something scary. What if we get things wrong today? Could we have a star taken away from us?”

  “Jeepers creepers!” Lily stopped so suddenly that Sophie and Ava and Olivia very nearly crashed into her. “Do you think that could happen?”

  Miss Scritch looked up from her corner. “Indeed it could.”

  “Oh!” Lily looked so shocked that I nearly laughed.

  But Fairy Mary had overheard and she was smiling. “You’d have to do something very dreadful, dear. I don’t think you should worry about it. Now, hurry along.”

  We set off again, but I could see that Team Starlight was thinking about what Miss Scritch had said. They weren’t as pleased with themselves as they had been.

  Good, I thought. Now they knew how Jackson and I felt. And quite soon they were going to find out that WE could help people we didn’t even know … and we found them by being observant, and on the lookout.

  Emma came to walk beside me as we turned into the long corridor that leads to the Travelling Tower. “What were the children doing when you saw them? Were they very unhappy? How are we going to help them?”

  “You’ll see,” I said. I took Jackson’s arm and pulled her ahead of the others. “Listen, Jackson. What do you think of trying to do this on our own? We could tell the others to wait in the TT until we need them, then leave them there until we’ve sorted everything, and it’s time to go home again.”

  I thought Jackson would agree with me, but she hesitated. “I don’t think Fairy Mary would like that much,” she said slowly. “She likes us to work together…”

  I didn’t have time to argue because we’d arrived at the Travelling Tower, and I could see the sunshine beaming in. You think you’re just going into another tower when you walk through the door, but the walls are made of glass, and it’s really special. The Academy itself sits on a cloud and the cloud can float us where we need to go, but the Travelling Tower zooms up and down like a lift, taking us to ground level and back again. And sometimes it goes sideways as well … and once it even went back into the past. The first time we went travelling I was scared, although I never let anyone know. Not even Jackson.

  I led the way in; Fairy Mary closed the door behind us, and I saw she was carrying the Golden Wand. The others had noticed too, and Emma asked her why she’d brought it. “Isn’t it terribly precious?”

  “It is,” Fairy Mary said, “but it’s also extremely useful. Much too useful to leave hanging on a wall. Where were you when you first saw the children, Melody?”

  “At the Washington Shopping Mall,” I told her. “And then they were going to The Nag’s Head.”

  Fairy Mary balanced the wand on the palm of one hand, and waved the other over it. The wand quivered, and pointed to the left.

  “Excellent.” Fairy Mary smiled at us. “As I said, extremely useful. Now we know which way to go.”

  At once the TT gave a lurch, and Olivia squealed. She nearly always makes a fuss when the Travelling Tower takes off, even though you’d think she’d be used to it by now. We sailed out into the sunshine, and Jackson and I stood close to the glass looking down … and we’d only been travelling for about ten minutes when we saw it. The Nag’s Head. And I was amazed!

  It wasn’t in a part of town where Jackson and I ever go. It’s much too posh and boring, with wide streets and no shops for miles – but there was a pub tucked in between two of the largest houses. It was a very old building; it had those black criss-crossed beams that you see in pictures of Elizabethan times, and the chimneys were twisted and crooked. Behind it was a garden where old-fashioned wooden tables and chairs were arranged on the grass … and as we hovered above the chimneys, we saw two children run out of the back door.

  “It’s them!” I said. “Look, Jackson! There they are! It’s the children we saw in the shopping mall!”

  Jackson nodded, and opened one of the TT’s windows so we could hear what they were saying.

  The children were playing tag, and the boy was laughing as he ran away from his little sister. “Can’t catch me!” he called. “Can’t catch me!”

  “They don’t exactly look unhappy,” Ava said as we stared down. “Are you sure those are the right children?”

  I didn’t answer. I was watching as the boy dodged in and out of the tables, and his sister chased after him. “Come on, Jenny!” he shouted. “Run faster!”

  And then their mother came out of the back door carrying some empty cardboard boxes. “Here we go,” I thought, and I waited for her to screech at them for being so noisy. But she didn’t. She put the boxes down by the bins, and I saw she was actually smiling.

  “Go on, Jenny!” she said. “Catch our Joe and give him a nice big hug!”

  “Can’t,” Jenny said. “Joe-joe’s too quick. You catch him!”

  The mother ran across the grass and swept the boy up into her arms. “Gotcha!” she said and she kissed the tip of his nose. “And I’m ever so sorry I was mean to you earlier. I oughtn’t to have shouted like that. I was worried ’cos I didn’t know where you’d gone – I never thought you’d go and see that Santa when I’d told you not to.”

  Joe gave his mum a huge smile. “’S all right, Mum. I know the real Santa’ll come on Christmas Eve…” For a moment he looked doubtful. “He will, won’t he?”

  His mum kissed him again. “Of course he will. You don’t think he’d miss the two best kiddies in the whole wide world, do you?”

 
; Joe wriggled out of his mum’s arms, but he was still smiling. “I’ll tell Jenny. She really wanted to see the Santa in the mall … she remembered you taking us last year.”

  “I might have guessed.” Joe’s mum shook her head, and sighed. “She’s still too small to know how much things cost. They’re ever such rubbish, those five-quid parcels. Don’t you remember the lorry you got last year? It fell to pieces before you’d even got it home.”

  Joe nodded, and then looked around. “Where’s Auntie Anna? Isn’t she collecting us?”

  His mum laughed. “Guess what! You know I said that I had a really busy day today? Well, the boss says you and Jenny can stay and join in!”

  Joe didn’t look very thrilled. “Is it old people playing bingo?”

  “No, it’s a surprise.” His mum ruffled his hair. “You’ll like it, I promise! But you’ll have to keep an eye on Jenny. I’ll be much too busy. Now, come inside and I’ll show you where you’ll be sitting…”

  Chapter Nine

  I couldn’t think of anything to say as I watched the children scampering after their mother. There was a chilly feeling in the pit of my stomach. Melody and I had been totally wrong about them. It was obvious that their mum loved them just as much as my mum loved me. Maybe it wasn’t so easy helping people when you knew nothing about them?

  And then I thought of something else. We’d failed before we’d even started. We hadn’t found someone to help. We wouldn’t get our final star, and we wouldn’t ever be qualified Stargirls…

  The chilly feeling in my stomach changed into a horrible leaden weight, and for a moment I thought I was going to cry. We’d meant to be a brilliant success and prove we could be different from the others. If I’m really, truly honest, we’d wanted to show them that we were the best. MUCH the best. And Fairy Mary had said she believed in us … but it had all gone wrong. We’d made a terrible mistake.