Madison's Starry Spell

by Vivian French

  One day, I hope that I’ll have all six stars shining, and when THAT happens, guess what? Yes! I’ll be a genuine, first-class, fully qualified Stargirl!

  It turned out that we were all wearing our necklaces (I keep mine on almost all the time, I love it so much) and so we followed Fairy Mary McBee as she led us out of the workroom and through the sitting room.

  We don’t use that room much; I think it’s more for our teachers – there are big squashy sofas, and there’s always a lovely glowing fire. When it’s cold, the flames roar up the chimney and it’s wonderfully cosy. There are rows of portraits on the walls, and I LOVE looking at them because they’re paintings of real Fairy Godmothers: the Fairy Godmothers who studied at Cloudy Towers years and years ago. Sometimes they smile or wave, but this time most of them were looking like ordinary pictures.

  There was just one Fairy Godmother watching us today, and she gave me a tiny wink as I walked past. I winked back, and she leant forward. “Be careful, child,” she said in a croaky voice. “Things aren’t always what they seem, you know. Never jump to conclusions until you know all the facts.” And then, before I could answer, she sat back in her chair and looked the same as all the others.

  “What did she say?” Sophie asked me.

  “She told me to be careful,” I said. “And she said something about things not always being what they seem.”

  “What do you think she meant?” Sophie looked back at the painting.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll have to find out!”

  The Travelling Tower was at the end of a maze of long, twisting corridors, and I soon lost count of all the different turnings we took.

  “I’d hate to be lost here,” Olivia whispered in my ear as we filed along a long narrow passage.

  I didn’t agree; I’d love the chance to go exploring one day. But I didn’t have time to answer Olivia because at that moment I stepped down into a small circular room … and I couldn’t help gasping. All the walls were glass, so you could see in every direction.

  “So here we are in the Travelling Tower! I’ll leave you to have a good look round,” Fairy Mary McBee told us. “And while you’re here, you can make your plans for helping Madison’s friend. Oh! One more thing. You don’t need to worry about anyone seeing you. We’re very well hidden in the clouds, and even at ground-level the tower is almost invisible … but if you want to pop out for any reason, do please remember to tap on your pendants.”

  Chapter Eleven

  POP OUT? How could we possibly pop out? But it was too late to ask. Fairy Mary had whisked away through the door, and closed it behind her.

  There was a stunned silence. Then Sophie said, “Come on. Let’s have a look…”

  I walked over to one of the windows, and if it had been open I would have fallen out in surprise. Truly! I don’t know what I thought I’d see, but I was NOT expecting to be hovering in the air above a row of houses.

  “Wow!” Olivia was beside me, and her eyes were very wide. “I don’t like heights. This is scary!”

  I don’t mind heights, but this was different. I found myself grabbing at the safety rail in front of me as I peered down. It was extraordinary; you could actually see into the chimney pots. A couple of startled seagulls looked up, saw us and flew hurriedly away.

  “Where are we? I don’t recognize anything.” Olivia was holding on to the rail so tightly her knuckles were white.

  “We could be anywhere,” I said, and then I realized. We weren’t just anywhere. We were hovering right above my house. Those were MY chimney pots I’d been looking down!

  “What a crummy house,” Melody said scornfully. “Look at all the rubbish in the garden! Is this where your sister’s friend lives, Madison?”

  I glared at her. “No. It’s where I live, actually.”

  “Ooops!” For once, Melody looked uncomfortable. “So why are we here?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I’m sure there’s a reason, though…”

  “Hey, girls!” Ava was inspecting a row of buttons and levers on the back of the door. “Look! There are all kinds of instructions here. There’s Rising up and Sinking down, and Elevation under difficult circumstances … ”

  “But we oughtn’t to touch anything,” Olivia said anxiously. “It could be dangerous!”

  Lily went to see what Ava was looking at. “Do you know what I think?” She sounded thrilled to bits. “I think these are the controls for the Travelling Tower!”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Ava said. She was looking thoughtful. “It must be some kind of lift … perhaps the Tower can detach itself from the main building. Shall we try?”

  “NO! Ava! Don’t touch—” Olivia shrieked, but it was too late. Ava had already pressed the button.

  The Travelling Tower lurched, then lurched again. We fell over in a tumble of arms and legs, and Olivia and Sophie screamed. We were zooming downwards and sideways, and for a moment everything outside seemed to be a whirling mass of confusion—

  And then we stopped.

  We were hovering ten centimetres above the ground in my next-door neighbour’s front garden … and the glass doors of the Travelling Tower had opened wide.

  Chapter Twelve

  For a moment nobody said anything. Then Ava said, “Ooops! Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “I don’t know.” It was Jackson. “Makes things more interesting, I’d say.”

  Melody was looking around. “So it IS a kind of lift,” she said. “That’s actually quite clever.”

  “What if we can’t get back?” Olivia sounded terrified.

  Lily took her hand. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Fairy Mary knows what’s going on. She’d never have left us alone in the tower if she hadn’t thought we’d be safe.”

  “And she did say the tower was invisible, so nobody can see us as long as we stay inside,” Emma pointed out.

  I was thinking at a million miles per hour. Suppose the tower WASN’T invisible? What on earth would Mr and Mrs Grant say when they looked out of their front windows and saw a glass tower parked in their front garden? They’d probably have a heart attack on the spot and it would all be my fault. But when I glanced nervously across, I saw the house was in darkness. “Phew!” I thought.

  I turned, and looked up at my own house. A light was on in Izzy’s bedroom, but there was a thick hedge between the Grants’ house and ours and I couldn’t see if Mum was in the front room – but I was absolutely certain that if she’d heard anything she’d be outside in seconds.

  I waited, hardly daring to breathe.

  Nothing happened. Nobody appeared.

  “OK, Madison.” Jackson leant against the glass wall and folded her arms. “You wanted to help your sister’s friend, and here we are. At the wrong house. What are your plans? Or don’t you have any?”

  I didn’t answer her. I was still thinking. What had Fairy Mary said? Remember to tap on your pendant if you pop out. Was she expecting us to leave the tower? She must have been. But that still didn’t solve the problem. Why were we outside MY house?

  And then I thought, How stupid I am! Of course the tower has brought us here. Di’s going to come and collect her homework from Izzy, and all we have to do is follow her home. It was so simple and I’d missed it completely!

  “It’s totally OK,” I said. “We’re here because we’re meant to be. Listen, and I’ll explain.” And as quickly as I could, I told them everything that had happened on the bus that morning, and my plan for following Di.

  “We’ll be invisible, of course,” I said. “And when we get there we can help with the cooking or cleaning or something to make things better for her.” In my head, I was already imagining dust and dirt changed into shining floors and gleaming surfaces, while a pale invalid lying in a freshly made bed smiled happily at a triumphant Di.

  “Sounds reasonable,” Jackson said grudgingly. “But I think at least two of us should stay here with the tower.”

  “Oh, yes!” Olivia was still
looking anxious. “What if it went away without us?”

  Melody linked arms with Jackson. “Don’t you worry, Olivia. We’re Team Twinstar. We’ll make sure the tower stays here while you and Team Starlight go and polish floors.”

  “So now all we have to do is wait for Di to arrive.” I looked round at my friends. “Are there any questions?”

  Emma was looking puzzled. “I do understand that Di’s mum needs help, but what I don’t understand is why Di needs your sister to do her homework.”

  I stared at her. “Because Di doesn’t have time – she has to look after her mum! You weren’t there when she was telling me. She had real tears in her eyes. And look how she said her mum has to rest all the time—”

  I stopped. I could hear quick footsteps coming along the road towards us, and as they came closer I saw Izzy look out of her bedroom window.

  “Quick!” I whispered. “I’m sure that’s Di coming! Tap your pendants – we mustn’t be seen!”

  A moment later, I heard my front door open, and Izzy’s voice said, “Oh. Hello, Di.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  We tiptoed out of the Grants’ garden and peered round into my garden. It was beginning to get dark, but we could see Izzy standing on the doorstep. I wasn’t totally surprised to see that she was frowning. I had no idea what was going on with my big sister, but she didn’t seem to like anyone any more. She certainly didn’t look at all pleased to see her friend. I couldn’t see Di’s face, but I was sure she was smiling her huge wide smile.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me in?” Di asked.

  Izzy shook her head. “Here’s your history homework,” she said, and handed Di a couple of pieces of paper.

  Di gave it a quick look. “You haven’t written much.”

  “That’s all I had time to do,” Izzy told her.

  “OK.” Di nodded. “And weren’t we meant to write a poem for English as well?”

  “I don’t think so,” Izzy said. “I’ll check.” She disappeared back into the house, closing the door behind her. Di leant against the wall outside, humming cheerfully.

  When Izzy came back, she was holding her school bag. She pulled out her homework notebook, but before she could open it Di stretched across and took it.

  “I’ll keep hold of this,” she said, and then she turned and walked quickly away. “Bye, Izzy!” she called as she went through the gate, right in front of us. “See you tomorrow!”

  My sister stayed on the doorstep for a moment, looking after her. I couldn’t see her face properly in the gloom, but she looked weird. Sort of droopy. I almost ran forward to ask her if she was all right, but she suddenly stood up straight, turned round and went back inside, slamming the door behind her. I hesitated, but Ava took my hand.

  “Come on! We need to get going! Di’s walking very fast!”

  Sophie, Olivia and Lily were already heading up the road. Ava, Emma and I hurried after them.

  I didn’t say anything, but I was feeling extremely odd. I kept telling myself that it was all fine, and Di had taken the notebook because she needed to borrow it for some reason, but it didn’t make sense. And then Emma said, “Please don’t mind my saying this, Madison, but I think something nasty was going on there – and you can tell me I’m wrong because you know that girl much better than I do – but I have to tell you what I think.”

  We were almost running, Di was going so fast, and it felt as if my mind was running too. Was Emma right? I think I knew even then that she was, but I didn’t say anything.

  On and on we went. We turned the corner at the end of the road, and Di was still walking. All the way down Bellsfield Street she marched, right to the very far end. A couple of times she looked over her shoulder as if she’d heard something, and I caught my breath – were we making too much noise? But she didn’t stop until she was outside a tall house at the end of a terrace. It had marble steps leading down to the pavement, and a massive front door with frosted glass panels. It looked very grand.

  Di fished in her pocket for a key, opened the front door, and went inside. The door shut behind her, and we heard the lock click loudly.

  We stood and stared at each other.

  What did we do now?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sometimes I’m SO stupid. I’d never ever thought about how we’d get inside Di’s house. When I’d decided to help her mum, I’d imagined the front door left wide open, or a friendly kind of back door that was never locked. But this house was like a fortress. It had spiky railings all round, and although there was a back gate it was locked with a huge padlock. A notice was pinned on the gate. It said, “PLEECE BEEWAR OF THE DOG!” And there was a picture of something that looked like a snowball.

  “Oh, no!” Sophie said. “A dog! That’s all we need.”

  Emma peered at the notice. “A little kid wrote this,” she said, “so maybe it’s only a toy dog.”

  Sophie didn’t look convinced. “Maybe we should go back to the Travelling Tower. If we went up into the air, we might be able to see over the walls.”

  “But it’s getting dark,” Ava told her. “We wouldn’t be able to see a thing.”

  “What about peering through the letter box?” Lily suggested.

  “Or,” I said slowly, “we could knock on the door. Then when Di comes to answer it, I could slip inside…”

  “I’ll come with you,” Ava said at once. “You can’t go on your own.”

  “Me too,” said Lily, and Emma nodded.

  Olivia and Sophie hesitated.

  “But what if we all get locked inside?” Olivia asked.

  “It might be best if you stay out here,” I said. “You and Sophie. If we don’t come back, you can run and fetch Melody and Jackson.”

  “We’d be fetching Fairy Mary,” Sophie said firmly, and then she paused. “Um. Er. Madison…”

  “I know,” I said. “You didn’t think Di was as wonderful as I made her out to be.”

  Sophie nodded. “Sorry.”

  I swallowed. “No. I … I think you might be right. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be!” Sophie shook her head at me. “It’s only because you always think the best about everyone. That’s why we like you! Go on. Go and knock, and maybe you’ll prove us all wrong.”

  “OK,” I said, and I jumped up the steps, Ava, Lily and Emma close beside me. There was a massive iron knocker, and I gave it a good loud BANG!

  Then we stepped back, and waited.

  At first I thought nobody was going to answer, but at last we heard footsteps. A moment later the door swung open, and a woman stood in the doorway. She was small and pretty with bright pink cheeks, and as she looked around a couple of little boys came running out to join her.

  “Who is it, Mum? Who’s here?”

  “I don’t know,” their mum said. “I can’t see anyone.”

  “Maybe it’s a fairy!” one little boy said.

  “Or an ogre!” said the other, and they collapsed in giggles.

  Their mother smiled at them. “Whoever it was, they’re not here now.”

  And then Di appeared. “Who was that, Mum?” she asked. “Nobody ever knocks on our door. We should never have come to this stupid place.”

  I’m amazed Di and her mother and her brothers didn’t hear us gasp.

  MUM? That was Di’s mum?

  “I hate it here,” Di went on. “I have to go to a stupid school, and I don’t know anyone. Why can’t we go back to Bleffield?”

  Her mum sighed. “We’ve been through this a thousand times, Di. You know we can’t. Dad’s job is here now, and the boys are happy at their school. You’ll just have to try a bit harder—”

  “WOOF! Woof woof woof WOOF!”

  The dog was big, and bouncy, and very, very hairy. It came running through the hallway, and it saw us. I know it did.

  “WOOF!” it said, and it leapt towards us, tail wagging madly.

  And we ran … but not before I’d seen Izzy’s homework notebook lying on a table in t
he hallway.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Have you ever been chased by a dog? A big friendly dog who wants to play when you don’t want to?

  We couldn’t shout at him, because we’d have been heard. I tried whispering, “Sit!” But he didn’t take the slightest notice. The trouble was, he was so big. If he’d jumped up at us, we’d have been knocked right over.

  We ran and we ran, and he bounced round us, barking as if it was the best game he’d ever played. And then we realized Di and her brothers were running after him … and that meant they were running after us, even though they didn’t know it.

  We could hear them shouting, “Wallis! WALLIS! Come back! Come back this minute!”

  Anyone watching would have thought it was hilarious. But we didn’t. We thought it was dreadful! We puffed and panted and Olivia got a terrible stitch and we had to half carry, half drag her – until finally we staggered up to the Travelling Tower and flung ourselves inside … and Wallis bounded in too.

  “WOOF!” he barked as he began to lick Olivia’s knees. “Woof woof WOOF!”

  “I don’t like this,” Olivia wailed. “Take us back to the Academy!”

  “Push that dog OUT,” Melody hissed. She was madly pressing buttons and pulling at levers. “I can’t get the Tower to lift up with him inside!”

  I slipped out of the Tower and into the Grants’ garden, so I could look back along the road. Luckily Di had been slowed down by her brothers because they couldn’t run as fast as she could, but they were getting closer at an alarming rate. They couldn’t see Wallis yet, but I was sure they could hear him because he wouldn’t stop barking.