Jessie the Lyrics Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  Rachel’s eyes widened as he patted his throat and she noticed a gleam of orange beneath his fingers. Immediately, she nudged her friends.

  “Look!” she whispered. “Did you see what he has around his neck?”

  Jessie peered excitedly down at the rapper. “It’s my clef!” she exclaimed. “Jack Frost must have split the clefs up and given them to his goblins to hide!”

  “Goblins are too vain not to use the clefs themselves!” Kirsty giggled. “But there are so many people around. How are we going to get near him without anyone seeing us?”

  The three friends tried to think of a solution. “If we can somehow get him to take it off . . .” Jessie murmured, scratching her head.

  Rachel smiled. “I have an idea,” she said. “We’ll suggest that he needs a style change. Like this . . .” She whispered her plan to the other two.

  “Let’s fly into an empty booth, and I’ll work some magic on you two,” Jessie said after Rachel had finished. “Quick,” she added as the goblin gave a last wave to his fans and began heading toward the exit. “Before we lose sight of him.”

  The three fairies swooped down into a booth. When nobody was looking, Jessie waved her wand, releasing a sparkling stream of fairy magic. A second later, both Kirsty and Rachel were back to their usual size — but now they each wore a disguise! Kirsty was wearing a pantsuit with a badge that read STAR SPOTTER. Rachel had an official festival hat on her head, and held a clipboard in her hands.

  “So you’re a music agent, and I’m a festival organizer,” Rachel said, giggling. “Come on, let’s try it. I’ll meet you backstage. Good luck!”

  She hurried off, and Jessie flew up to one of the speakers high in the ceiling of the tent. Once she was in place, she gave Kirsty a thumbs-up. Kirsty smiled back, took a deep breath, and walked toward the goblin. She hoped this plan would work!

  “Hi, I’m Crystal Gold, agent to the stars,” Kirsty told the goblin. “I’m always on the lookout for amazing new talent — and I think you’re it.”

  The goblin looked delighted and struck a pose. “Well, I am pretty good, it’s true,” he replied boastfully.

  “The Angels keep forgetting their song lyrics, and the festival people are worried they won’t be able to perform their best,” Kirsty went on. “So I’d like to suggest you as their replacement. What do you think — are you up to appearing on the main stage as our opening act?”

  “Oh, yeah!” the goblin said, nodding. “Finally, my chance to shine in the spotlight!”

  Kirsty scratched her ear — the secret signal she and Jessie had agreed on — and saw a tiny stream of sparkles flash above the speaker. Then a voice boomed out. “Attention, please. Could our opening act proceed to the main stage now. Thank you.”

  Jessie had used fairy magic to disguise her voice. She sounded just like an announcer over a loudspeaker — and by the look of excitement on the goblin’s face, she had been very convincing.

  “What are we waiting for?” he whooped. “Let’s go!”

  He raced eagerly toward the main stage. Kirsty held her jacket pocket open so that Jessie could dive inside and hide there. Then Kirsty ran after the goblin. She took him to the wings of the main stage and used her backstage pass to get them both inside. As they’d planned, Rachel was there to meet them.

  “Hmm,” Rachel said, critically looking the goblin up and down. “I’m not sure. . . .”

  The goblin’s face drooped. “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “I don’t know if you’ve got the star quality we’re looking for,” Rachel told him. “You don’t look quite right.”

  “He can change,” Kirsty said, elbowing the goblin. “Can’t you? You could wear something different.”

  “Yes, of course!” the goblin replied, clearly desperate to get on the main stage at any cost. “I’ll do anything!”

  “OK, well, for starters, the shiny jacket and the hat need to go,” Rachel ordered.

  The goblin obediently took them off.

  “And that orange necklace — it’s not saying ‘rap star’ to me,” Rachel added.

  The goblin put a hand on the necklace . . . then seemed to change his mind.

  “No,” he said stubbornly. “The necklace stays.”

  Rachel hesitated. Oh, no! That wasn’t part of the plan. She was just wondering what to say next when Kirsty had a stroke of genius.

  “Don’t worry,” Kirsty said, patting the goblin’s arm. “As your new agent, I’ll sort this out for you. Wait here.” She dashed behind a rack of costumes and whispered to Jessie, “Can you use your magic to make something that the goblin will want to wear around his neck?”

  Jessie grinned and leaned out of Kirsty’s pocket to wave her wand.

  There was a swirl of orange sparkles, and then a chunky gold chain appeared in Kirsty’s hand. A large medallion that read SUPERSTAR dangled from it.

  “Perfect!” Kirsty said with a giggle, and she went to find the goblin. “Here,” she said. “This will look much cooler than that flimsy little necklace.”

  The goblin’s eyes lit up. “Superstar — yes, that’s me!” he agreed. He grabbed the gold chain, then ripped off Jessie’s clef necklace and tossed it aside.

  Kirsty reached out and caught the necklace, then passed it to Jessie. The fairy immediately shrank the necklace down to fairy-size. As she fastened it around her neck, the clef began to shine. The three friends beamed. They’d done it!

  The goblin, meanwhile, was practicing his act and hadn’t noticed any of this! Unfortunately, now that he wasn’t wearing Jessie’s clef necklace, his rapping wasn’t quite as smooth as it had been before.

  Kirsty and Rachel were just wondering how they were going to break the news to the goblin that he wasn’t going to open the festival after all, when they heard a booming voice. “Who’s that rapping my words?”

  A tall man was striding in their direction, wearing a shiny blue suit, an enormous pair of sunglasses, and an ice-white hat.

  “Jax Tempo!” The goblin rapper gulped, looking terrified. He turned and fled without another word.

  “Wait — I thought he was your hero!” Kirsty called in surprise. “Don’t you want to meet him?”

  Jax Tempo walked past them, toward the rehearsal area. “Nobody’s a better rapper than I am,” they heard him brag. “Soon I’ll be the biggest superstar in the world!”

  There seemed to be something familiar about him, Rachel thought. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was! But before she could think about it anymore, she heard an announcement over the backstage speaker.

  “Could The Angels make their way to the main stage, please. The show will begin in two minutes.”

  Kirsty turned anxiously to Jessie. “I’m glad The Angels will be able to remember their lyrics now that you have your necklace back, but what about all the other superstar magic? Will they be able to remember their dance steps without Vanessa’s magic, and sing well without Adele’s powers?”

  “Don’t worry,” Jessie smiled. “My clef has enough superstar magic to ensure that the whole performance will go smoothly, as long as I stay close to the stage and focus all my strength on the band. Thanks so much for helping me get my necklace back!”

  With a wave of her wand, Jessie changed the girls back into their normal clothes.

  “Good-bye, Jessie,” Rachel said, smiling at the little fairy. “That was fun!”

  “Good-bye,” Kirsty said as Jessie darted toward the stage, like a spark of fire. Then the girls hurried around to the front of the stage and waited excitedly. A large crowd had gathered, and everyone cheered as the first chords of “Key to My Heart” sounded. The three Angels ran onstage.

  The Angels looked nervous at first, but as they launched into the song and got the words and harmonies absolutely perfect, they started to relax and smile.
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  Rachel and Kirsty were dancing and singing along in the front row. “Look, there’s Jessie,” Rachel whispered, pointing to where they could see a tiny dot of twinkling light high above the stage. From the way the dot was wiggling around, Rachel was sure Jessie was dancing, too.

  When the song ended, the audience clapped and cheered. Then everyone gasped as a puff of rainbow-colored glitter swirled across the stage. “Just like magic,” Rachel heard a girl nearby say, and she exchanged a smile with Kirsty. Both friends were pretty certain that the glitter had been magic — a burst of fabulous fairy magic from Jessie!

  “That was awesome!” Kirsty sighed happily. “I’m so glad we helped Jessie find her clef in time.”

  “Me, too,” Rachel said. “Now we just need to track down the six other magic clefs to make sure the rest of the festival is as good.”

  “One thing’s for sure,” Kirsty said. “It’s going to be another exciting vacation — with fairies, music, and adventures. I can’t think of anything better!”

  Jessie has her magic clef back. Now it’s time for Kirsty and Rachel to help

  Adele

  the Voice Fairy!

  Join their next adventure in this special sneak peek. . . .

  “What a fantastic place for a picnic!” Rachel Walker exclaimed, her face breaking into a huge smile.

  She and her best friend, Kirsty Tate, were standing on a grassy hill above the site where the Rainspell Island Music Festival was taking place. The girls were camping there for five fun-filled days. Below them, the two friends could see an enormous stage surrounded by lighting and sound equipment. Close by was Star Village, where festival-goers were able to try being superstars themselves. The village had a karaoke tent as well as a small stage for dance classes. There were other areas where people could try out hairstyles and makeup, and even design their own stage costumes. There were lots of stalls and food tents, too, and a campsite for the festival-goers where Rachel, Kirsty, and Rachel’s parents were staying.

  “OK, girls,” called a voice behind them. “The picnic’s ready.”

  Rachel and Kirsty spun around eagerly. Their friends Serena, Lexy, and Emilia, otherwise known as the famous singing group The Angels, were sitting on a fluffy pink picnic blanket, smiling up at them. Rachel’s and Kirsty’s eyes grew wide as they saw the plates and bowls of delicious food surrounding the three girls. Yum!

  “Oh, this looks so glamorous!” Kirsty sighed as she and Rachel joined The Angels on the picnic blanket. There were fancy triangular sandwiches and a crystal bowl filled with ripe red strawberries next to another bowl of whipped cream. A jug of freshly made lemonade with floating ice cubes and slices of lemon stood in the cool shade of a nearby tree. . . .

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  e-ISBN 978-0-545-52055-3

  Copyright © 2012 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Previously published as Pop Star Fairies #1: Jessie the Lyrics Fairy by Orchard U.K. in 2012.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Rainbow Magic Limited.

  SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. RAINBOW MAGIC is a trademark of Rainbow Magic Limited. Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and other countries. HIT and the HIT logo are trademarks of HIT Entertainment Limited.

  First Scholastic printing, March 2013

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