Ava's Sparkling Spell

by Vivian French

  Anyway, we were chatting about cake and the kinds we liked best as we walked, and that might be why we lost our way. One minute I was absolutely certain the Travelling Tower was just around the corner, the next minute we were facing a spiral stairway that none of us had ever seen before.

  “Oops,” Lily said. “Does anyone know where we are?”

  None of us did.

  “Maybe we should find our way back, and start again,” Emma suggested.

  But when we tried, we couldn’t do that either. We went down the left-hand corridor and we went down the right-hand corridor, but every single time we found ourselves back in front of the same spiral staircase.

  “I think we should go up it,” Madison said. “It’s obviously one of the towers. If we go to the top, we might be able to see where we are.”

  Olivia and Sophie looked doubtful, but Jackson and Melody leapt for the steps and started upwards. Emma and Madison began to follow them, but Lily hesitated. “Do you think it’s OK?” she asked.

  “It must be,” I said. “Fairy Mary wouldn’t have anything nasty here in the Academy, would she?”

  “What if there’s a really BAD Fairy Godmother?” Sophie asked. “Didn’t Sleeping Beauty find a bad fairy at the top of a spiral staircase?”

  “That was in a palace,” I said, as firmly as I could. “Anyway, we should all stick together. Come on! We’ll be fine. We can’t keep walking round in circles for ever.”

  Have you ever been up a spiral staircase? You can’t see further than a very short way ahead and it feels like you’re climbing for ever and ever. My legs were beginning to feel really wobbly when I heard a shout from up above. It was Melody, and she was yelling, “Hurry up! It’s FABULOUS!”

  We rushed to see where she was, all aches and pains forgotten.

  Melody had found a door, and she and Jackson had wrestled it open. It led to an outdoor balcony that went right round the top of the tower, and as we tumbled out we could feel the wind blowing in our faces.

  “Ohh,” Olivia moaned, and she went pale. (She SO doesn’t like heights!) She stood on the balcony trembling, with her eyes tightly shut. “It’s too high,” she whispered. “I don’t want to look!”

  Melody shook her head. “You’re such a wimp, Olivia.”

  “She can’t help it,” I said, and I took Olivia’s arm and helped her back to the top of the steps. “Don’t worry,” I told her. “And don’t take any notice of Melody. We’ll see if we can find out where we are, and then we’ll go back.”

  I went to the edge of the balcony and looked over the rail, and I caught my breath. We were SO high up! I could only just make out the houses far, far below.

  “WOW!” I breathed. “WOW!”

  Lily was beside me. “We’ve never been this high before, have we? It’s scary – but kind of fun, too.”

  “Yes,” I agreed, “but I don’t know how we’re going to get to Café Blush…”

  “LOOK!” It was Jackson. “There’s the TT! It’s right below us … and it’s coming up!”

  She was right. The Travelling Tower was making its way up the side of the building in a series of leaps and bounds.

  “Do you think it’s coming to collect us?” Madison asked. She sounded hopeful, and it was as if the TT heard her. It made a sudden rush and a moment later it was hovering alongside the balcony before linking on with a solid-sounding CLUNK ! A small section of the balcony slid to one side, and there in front of us was a neat little railed ramp leading to the door of the Travelling Tower.

  “Excellent!” Melody clapped her hands. “Everybody in!” She ran across the ramp … and screamed.

  Chapter Eight

  Did I tell you that the TT has glass walls? There are glass walls all the way round, except for a section where there’s a small control panel with buttons and levers. (That’s how we make it go up and down.) The odd thing is that when you’re inside, you can see out perfectly, but when you’re outside, the glass often looks misty. I could tell there were two people inside, but I couldn’t see who the second person was at first. When I did, I understood why Melody had been so surprised.

  The Fairy Godmother from the picture in the sitting-room was standing in the lift with her picture frame hooked over her arm. She was telling Melody off for screaming. “REALLY, child! What a fuss! I knew you’d go the wrong way – all that chit-chat and no concentration – so I called Fairy Fifibelle Lee, and she was kind enough to pop me into the Travelling Tower. I’ve brought it up to meet you.”

  “B–b–but…” I’d never heard Melody stammer before. “But you’re a PICTURE!”

  The Fairy Godmother gave her a cool stare that reminded me of Miss Scritch. “And isn’t it true that a good portrait captures the essence of a personality?”

  “Erm…” Melody blinked. “I mean, yes.”

  The Fairy Godmother moved the frame to her other arm. “Well, there you are. You’re observing the essence of Theodosia Placket. Of course, I can’t do as much as I’d like to these days. A frame is SUCH a restriction!” She peered out at me. “As I understand it, you are leading today’s expedition. Kindly inform me of your destination, and I’ll set the course.”

  I couldn’t help it; I had to rub my eyes. I could tell Theodosia Placket wasn’t quite real; there was a weird blurriness about her, as if I was looking through the wrong kind of spectacles. “We’re going to Café Blush in Morning Street,” I said.

  The Fairy Godmother nodded. “Good. Now, hurry up. I can’t bear dilly-dallying!”

  Jackson, Madison, Lily and Emma walked across the ramp and into the Travelling Tower with no problem.

  But Sophie hesitated. “What about Olivia? She’ll never manage!”

  I’d been thinking exactly the same thing. Olivia was still crouched in the doorway at the top of the stairs, her eyes tightly shut.

  “Just leave her,” Jackson called. “She can go down the stairs and back to the sitting room.”

  “No.” I folded my arms. “Olivia’s part of Team Starlight and we look after each other.”

  Melody turned to Theodosia. “Can’t you magic her over here?”

  The Fairy Godmother looked horrified. “Certainly not! Fairy Mary McBee would be MOST upset. You girls must solve your problems yourselves.”

  Melody shrugged. “Ava! You’re going to have to do something with Olivia!”

  I looked at my friend. She was trembling, and I felt really sorry for her … then I remembered, and felt so silly for not having thought of it before. The Sparkling Spell!

  “Sophie,” I said, “could you walk slowly into the TT? I’m going to see if I can use the Sparkling Spell on Olivia so she has to copy you.”

  Sophie nodded. “Good luck,” she said, and she walked slowly and steadily along the ramp and into the Travelling Tower. I took a deep breath, and pointed my star finger at Olivia. “PLEASE let it work,” I whispered … and a cloud of tiny sparkles came floating down and clung to Olivia’s shoulders.

  At once, she stood up. “Good luck,” she said – and she sounded EXACTLY like Sophie! Then she walked slowly and steadily into the Travelling Tower without a moment’s hesitation. Madison and Emma grabbed Olivia and hugged her as she stared round in astonishment, and rubbed her eyes as if she’d just woken up.

  “I’m here!” Olivia said. “How did I do it? I was terrified!”

  “Your friend helped you with a very effective Copying Spell.” Theodosia Placket sounded approving. “But we should get going, don’t you think?”

  I nodded. “Yes, please.” The Travelling Tower’s doors closed and we began to float gently down. Melody and Jackson were whispering to each other in a corner, but the rest of us stared out through the glass walls as we passed birds, then roof tops, and finally sank between two tall trees and came to rest above a dusty patch of grass.

  “I know where we are!” I said. “We’re on Tallulah’s parking space. Come on, Stargirls! Let’s save Café Blush!”

  Emma, Lily and Madison tapped their p
endants, and as they vanished Olivia and Sophie did the same. Melody and Jackson tapped theirs … but nothing happened.

  Jackson frowned. Melody looked puzzled. “Why isn’t it working?”

  Theodosia Placket made a sharp tut-tutting noise. “I’d have thought that was quite obvious. Did you help your friend Olivia? No. Did you encourage her? No. In fact, if I remember correctly, you suggested she was left behind.”

  Jackson blushed, but Melody went pale.

  “How can we get the magic back?” she asked.

  “That is for you to find out.” Theodosia heaved her picture frame up around her shoulders. “You young people are exhausting; I need a rest. When you return to the Stargirl Academy, please hang me back on the wall.” And the stars that swirled round the Travelling Tower were so bright we had to cover our eyes.

  Chapter Nine

  When we opened our eyes Theodosia was gone, but in the corner of the Travelling Tower, leaning against the glass wall, was her portrait. It looked exactly as it did when it was hanging on the walls of the Academy sitting-room, except for one thing. Theodosia’s eyes were shut.

  “Wow,” Emma said. “What do we do now?”

  “We go and save Café Blush,” I said.

  “What about us?” Melody asked. It was strange. She and Jackson are usually so sure they know best that they don’t ask our opinion about anything.

  “I think we should go to the other café first,” I said slowly. “You and Melody can have a drink while we watch and listen. You could ask the owners why they’ve opened there. And if they’ve got any special plans…”

  Jackson brightened. “No probs,” she said. “And we’ll find out what they think about your Café Blush.”

  “Good idea,” I agreed, and we all walked out of the Travelling Tower and set off down the road. As we passed Café Blush, I saw there was nobody inside. Little Val was standing in the window. She looked up hopefully as Melody and Jackson walked towards the door, then drooped as they went past. I SO wanted to rush in and give her a massive hug and tell her we were trying to help her, but I stopped myself. Instead I followed Melody and Jackson. I knew Team Starlight was beside me – Madison and Lily were chatting, and Emma was giggling with Sophie and Olivia.

  We could hear the noise from the new café long before we got there. It was heaving! There were tables and chairs on the pavement outside, and there wasn’t a single empty seat. A man and a woman were whizzing about, handing out teas and coffees and plates of cake and buns. For a moment, I thought they must be having a private party, but then the man saw Melody and Jackson. “Hi there! I’m Kyle! Welcome to the Crazy Cancan Café! Haven’t seen you here before – come in! We’ll fit you on the bench inside, and you must have a free fizzy drink!”

  The man led Melody and Jackson inside the café and showed them to a tiny bench behind a rickety table. There were a whole load of mums and babies sitting on the other side, and there was hardly room for me and Emma to squeeze in and stand behind them. Lily, Madison and Sophie stayed by the doorway; I could just make out that they were there. I couldn’t see Olivia.

  One of the mums leant across to Melody. “Have you been here before? It’s an AMAZING deal! Every time you come, you get your loyalty card stamped and twenty stamps means the café will let your kids have their birthday party here for free!”

  Another mum nodded. “So we all come every day … even though the cake isn’t as nice as the cake in Café Blush.”

  Kyle had just come back with two bright orange fizzy drinks, and he heard her. “You don’t like our cake, Julie? Ho ho ho! What a joke!” But he didn’t sound the least little bit amused, and his eyes were chilly.

  Julie laughed. “Well, it IS a bit stodgy, Kyle. Couldn’t you make a chocolate cake like Little Val’s? It’s SO delicious!”

  Kyle gave another false laugh. “Ho ho! Sal and I will have to see what we can do! We can’t have unhappy customers at the Crazy Cancan Café, can we?” He slammed the fizzy drinks in front of Melody and Jackson, and marched off. A moment later, I saw him whispering to Sal. I began to edge my way over so I could hear what they were saying … and I knocked against the next table where two teenage boys were sitting, and their drinks went flying.

  “Oops! Sorry,” I said – and only realised what I’d done when they stared round, looking to see where my voice had come from.

  “WHAT…?”

  Jackson jumped to her feet. “That was me! My foot slipped – I’m so sorry! Here, – have our drinks! We haven’t touched them! Honestly!” And she grabbed her and Melody’s glasses of orange fizz and plonked them down.

  Luckily, the boys didn’t work out that Jackson would have needed legs three-metres long to reach them. They took the drinks, and Melody mopped up the mess with a couple of paper napkins. I breathed a sigh of relief and made my way to the back of the café. Kyle and Sal were talking in urgent undertones, but as I arrived Sal picked up a tray of coffees. I only just managed to get out of her way; if I’d been any fatter, there’d have been a complete disaster.

  Kyle was muttering to himself as he put some cash in the till. “Three weeks – that should do it. Just another flippin’ three weeks of this and we’ll be home and dry!” He slammed the till drawer shut and headed off to take more orders, and I had to do another mad leap.

  “Hey! Ava!” It was Emma whispering in my ear. “Come outside! I’ve just heard something dreadful!”

  I wasn’t sorry to follow Emma out of the café. It was cramped and hot, and there was a weird smell of cooking oil. The tablecloths were dirty, too – it couldn’t have been more different from my lovely Café Blush.

  Madison and the others were waiting for us outside. “Shall I get Melody and Jackson?” Lily asked.

  I peered in through the café window. The Stargirls were deep in conversation with the teenage boys, and from the look on Jackson’s face they were hearing something they didn’t like. Without thinking I tapped on the glass, and all four of them looked up. The two boys blinked, frowned and turned to Melody. It was SO obvious they were asking her if she knew what had made the tapping noise; I saw her shake her head and do her best to look puzzled. Then she and Jackson got to their feet.

  “AVA!” Madison was laughing so much she could hardly speak. “You can’t do things like that!”

  “I don’t think I’m very good at being invisible,” I apologised. “I keep forgetting. It’s lucky for me that Jackson was so quick-thinking – did you see what she did?”

  “Yes,” Olivia said. “And, look! Here they come!”

  Olivia was right. Jackson and Melody were strolling out of the café, but the boys were following them. As they walked towards us, the older boy caught at Jackson’s arm.

  “Oi!” he said. “Don’t walk off!”

  Jackson gave him a cold stare. “We’ve got to meet our friends.”

  “Our dad’s caff not good enough for you, then?” the boy sneered. “Spill our drinks, mess up the floor, then ask us loads of questions? What are you after?”

  “Expect they’re spies.” The younger boy rolled his eyes. “Posh girls like them. From that ickle pretty Slushy Blushy Café down the road. Well, guess what? It won’t—”

  “Shut up, Mick!” The older boy stuck his elbow into his brother’s side. “SHUT UP!”

  “Shut up, yourself,” Mick said. The next minute, the two brothers were rolling on the pavement, kicking and punching.

  “Come on,” I said, and grabbed Jackson’s hand. It was HOT! I looked down, and her star finger was glowing bright red. “OH!” I said. “Quick! Tap your pendant!”

  Jackson gave a squeak of excitement – and a moment later she was invisible. Melody tapped her own pendant as the boys pulled themselves back to their feet, and she vanished too. We held our breath as the boys looked first one way, then the other.

  “Where did they go?”

  “Dunno. Stupid girls.” Mick made a face. “But they were up to something. All those questions…”

  His old
er brother shrugged. “Won’t make any difference. Dad’s got it sorted. He says we’ll be at Café Blush by the end of the month!”

  Mick snorted. “Café Blush? It’s going to be The Old Hippy Chippy! Won’t be any fancy cakes there then.”

  Chapter Ten

  As the boys walked back to the Crazy Cancan Café, we slipped around the corner and gave our pendants a double tap so we could see each other. It’s difficult to have a serious conversation when you can’t see who you’re talking to.

  “What did they mean?” I asked.

  Emma sighed. “That’s what I was going to tell you. The horrible man and the horrible woman were talking by the till. They’re promising all these parties and treats so customers keep coming, but as soon as Little Val and Tallulah Sweet give up Café Blush, they’re going to close the Crazy Cancan Café and move there, because it’s bigger. And they WON’T give any of the free parties they’ve promised, because they’re going to make Café Blush a chip shop.”

  “Emma’s right.” Melody was behind me. “Those boys were boasting about it. The landlord’s already promised their dad the lease if Little Val and Tallulah can’t pay their rent.”

  “I bet he doesn’t know how horrible Kyle and Sal are,” Lily said with feeling.

  “The kitchen’s horrible too.” It was Olivia, and we turned to look at her. She’s so quiet, but so surprising!