Wish Upon a Friend Read online

  SCHOLASTIC INC.

  For Elsie Beard, with all my love

  Special thanks to Valerie Wilding

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Poem

  Map of Astral-on-Sea

  Introduction

  1

  The Silver Tent

  2

  Stella Starkeeper

  3

  Alex and Comet

  4

  Helping Bert

  5

  Going Up!

  6

  Cotton Candy and Clouds

  7

  All Together

  Make Your Own!

  Lucky Stars #2: Wish Upon a Pet

  Read more Lucky Stars books!

  Also Available

  Copyright

  Lucky Star that shines so bright,

  Who will need your help tonight?

  Light up the sky, and thanks to you

  Wishes really do come true. . . .

  Hello, friend!

  I’m Stella Starkeeper, and I want to tell you a secret. Have you ever gazed up at the stars and thought that they could be full of magic? Well, you’re right. Stars really are magical!

  Their precious starlight allows me to fly down from the sky. I’m always on the lookout for boys and girls who are especially kind and helpful. I train them to become Lucky Stars — people who can make wishes come true!

  So next time you’re under the twinkling night sky, look out for me. I’ll be floating among the stars somewhere.

  Give me a wave!

  Love,

  “Whee!” cried Cassie.

  “Whoa!” shouted her mom.

  The spinning teacup ride whirled so fast, the blue of the sea and sky blurred into the bright fairground colors.

  When the ride stopped, Mom took a deep, shaky breath.

  Cassie giggled. “We’ll try something slower next,” she said. She felt a little bit dizzy, too!

  Mom tottered out of the teacup. “It’s your birthday,” she said. “You can choose whatever ride you want.”

  Cassie couldn’t help thinking about how lucky she was to live in Astral-on-Sea. Her home, Starwatcher Towers, was on top of a cliff that overlooked the whole town and the beach, too. Even though she had no brothers or sisters to play with, there was always so much to do — exploring rock pools, collecting pretty shells, building sandcastles . . . and now the Fun Fair had arrived in town! Cassie thought the rides were even more fun than the birthday party she’d had yesterday.

  “What should we try next?” asked Mom. “The scrambler? Or the bumper cars?”

  Cassie couldn’t decide. Then she spotted a small tent, glistening silver in the sunshine. A sequined curtain covered the entrance, with a sign above it that read:

  Lucky Dip!

  “What’s a lucky dip?” asked Cassie.

  “It’s a box of surprises,” explained her mom with a smile. “You close your eyes, put your hand inside, and pull out a gift.”

  “I like the sound of that!” said Cassie.

  As they reached the tent, she noticed a small bell next to the entrance with a rope of silvery stars dangling from it. She peered around the curtain. Inside, a woman in a long cloak was sitting next to a wooden box.

  Cassie had the strangest feeling that she needed to enter the silver tent. She turned to her mom. “Can I go in, please?”

  Mom took a coin from her purse and nodded. “Give this to the lady. I’ll wait here.”

  Cassie slipped the coin into her pocket. Gently, she pulled the rope of stars outside the tent and jangled the bell.

  “Come in,” called the woman in a warm, clear voice.

  Cassie’s stomach fluttered as she pushed the sequined curtain aside. The tent was lit by clusters of glass ornaments that dangled on sparkling threads. She could see her blonde hair and brown eyes dancing on the shiny surfaces.

  “They’re so pretty!” Cassie breathed. “My bedroom has a glass ceiling, and your ornaments remind me of the stars I see at night. I live in an observatory, since my dad studies the night sky,” she continued. “I’m even named after the stars.”

  The woman smiled. “Cassiopeia is my favorite constellation,” she said.

  Cassie blinked. “That’s my name!” she said. Her parents had named her after the group of stars known as Cassiopeia. “How did you know?”

  “A lucky guess,” replied the woman.

  Her cloak was the color of the moonlit sky, and a matching scarf was draped over her head and face. A lock of silver-blonde hair rippled across her shoulder. Cassie sat in the chair across from her, where she could see her eyes. They were a deep, velvety blue and sparkled like stars.

  “Happy birthday,” the woman said in her soft voice. “Seven is a very special age, you know.”

  Cassie’s mouth fell open in surprise. “How do you know it’s my birthday? And how do you know I’m seven?” she asked. “You must be very good at guessing.”

  “Perhaps,” the woman said. Her eyes twinkled. “Look.”

  She lifted the lid of the wooden box. It was full of tiny silver stars, shining like Christmas lights.

  Cassie gasped. They looked magical!

  “Many things are hidden among these stars,” the woman said. “One of them is yours. Can you find it?”

  Cassie dipped her hand into the box. The stars rustled as she searched among them. Her fingers closed over something solid, and she felt a shiver run up her arm. This must be it, she thought, pulling out a delicate silver chain.

  “Wonderful! I knew you’d find your bracelet,” said the woman.

  “My bracelet? What do you mean?” Cassie asked. “I’ve never seen it before.”

  The woman fastened the bracelet onto Cassie’s wrist and winked. “You’ll find out before your birthday is over,” she said. “And now you must go.”

  Cassie admired the delicate silver bracelet. “I love it,” she said. “Thank you so much. Good-bye!”

  “Good-bye,” said the woman, “for now . . .”

  Outside in the sunshine, Cassie couldn’t wait to show her mom the bracelet.

  “That’s awfully nice,” Mom said, studying it. “Are you sure she meant for you to keep it, though?”

  “Yes,” answered Cassie. “She said it was mine.”

  Suddenly, there was a squeal from the beach. A donkey was nibbling at a woman’s beach chair! The woman was flapping her towel at the donkey, trying to shoo it away.

  “Look!” Cassie cried. “Bert needs help.”

  Bert worked on the boardwalk, and Cassie loved to visit him. He had a cotton candy stall, plus six donkeys that kids could ride on the beach. But now one of the donkeys, Coco, had wandered away!

  Cassie ran across the sand and gave Coco a hug. He was new and a little nervous, but he was getting braver every day.

  “You’ll be best friends with the other donkeys soon, Coco,” Cassie whispered as she led him back to the others.

  Bert’s wrinkled brown face broke into a grin. “Thanks, Cassie,” he said, looking relieved. “And happy birthday!”

  “Thank you!” Cassie waved good-bye and ran back to where her mom was waiting.

  “Nice job, birthday girl! It’s time for some cake now.” Mom grinned. “Then I need to get the B&B ready for our new guests.”

  Part of Starwatcher Towers was Mom’s bed-and-breakfast. Visitors to Astral-on-Sea came to stay in the guest rooms, and Cassie�
�s mom made a big breakfast for them every morning. Dad worked in the other part — the observatory. His job was to study the stars and planets. Today, though, he was in the kitchen, frosting Cassie’s birthday cake. Every year he decorated it differently.

  Cassie started to skip home, thinking about biting into a delicious piece of birthday cake, but something fell from her pocket and plopped onto the sand. It was the coin Mom had given her for the woman in the silver tent. “Oh, no! I forgot to pay!” Cassie looked anxiously at her mom.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll take it to her on our way home,” Mom said.

  But no matter how hard they looked, they couldn’t find the little silver tent anywhere. It’s completely vanished, thought Cassie. Like magic.

  That night before bed, Cassie had one last sliver of cake. This year, Dad had iced it with a shower of shooting stars in all different colors.

  “It’s not what stars really look like,” he’d said, “but it’s pretty.”

  “It’s beautiful!” Cassie and Mom had both said together.

  At bedtime, Cassie took her presents upstairs. Her old cat, Twinkle, was already snoozing on the pillow.

  Cassie loved her room. Since it was in one of the towers, it was almost completely round. On clear nights, she would lie in bed and gaze up through the glass ceiling at the stars. With her moon-shaped lamp casting a soft glow on her starry wallpaper, and the real stars overhead, Cassie liked to imagine she was drifting through the sky. (And when it rained, it was like being under a waterfall without getting wet!)

  Cassie changed into her purple star pajamas and started to take her bracelet off. No, she decided. I’ll keep it on. It will remind me of my wonderful day!

  Cassie jumped into bed, then leaned over and thumped twice on the floor. That was her special signal to let Mom and Dad know that she was ready to go to sleep. When they came in, Mom told her that the new guests at the B&B had a son her age. “You’ll see him tomorrow,” she promised.

  Cassie kissed Dad good night. “Thank you for a great birthday — and the yummy cake.”

  Just as Mom leaned down to kiss Cassie good night, Dad gave a yell, making them all jump.

  “Look!” he cried, pointing up through the glass ceiling. “A meteor shower! I wasn’t expecting this!”

  Cassie scrambled to sit up. “Wow!” she said. The sky was filled with streaks of light. She knew they were really meteors — glowing trails left by bits of space dust or rocks — but she preferred to call them shooting stars. After all, that’s what they looked like! As she watched them flash against the dark sky, she felt a tingle of excitement.

  “How strange,” said Mom. “There was a meteor shower just like this the night you were born, Cassie.”

  Dad rubbed his hands together. “Forget about bed! Let’s go to the observatory and watch the meteor shower through my telescopes,” he said.

  Cassie usually jumped at the chance to look at the sky through Dad’s telescopes, but tonight, for some reason, she wanted to watch the shooting stars by herself. “I think Twinkle and I will watch from here,” she said. “Dad, can you open one of the panels, please?”

  He turned a lever and a section of the glass ceiling swung open, letting in the cool night air. Then he gave Cassie a kiss and hurried to the observatory with Mom.

  Cassie snuggled under the blankets and glanced down at her bracelet. What she saw made her gasp. It was fizzing with tiny silver sparkles!

  “Wow! Why’s it doing that, Twinkle?” she asked her cuddly old cat.

  But Twinkle was staring up at the sky. His fur stood on end and his tail flicked. Suddenly, he yowled, leaped onto the floor, and dived under the bed.

  Cassie looked up to see what had scared him. One shooting star, bigger than the rest, was swirling downward. It came closer and closer.

  And it seemed to be heading right for Cassie!

  With a whizz and a fizz and a zip-zip-zip, the star shot through the open glass panel, showering the room with silver sparkles.

  Cassie was so astonished that she couldn’t even move. What was happening?

  The star slowed and hovered just above the rug. Cassie stared as it grew into a column of dazzling light, which slowly changed into a pretty, young woman. She was dressed all in silver and wore a shiny cropped jacket with star-shaped buttons on the cuffs. Her short dress rippled over glittery leggings and shiny boots. In her hand was a wand, tipped with a twinkling star. The woman’s crown was woven from delicate strands of silver, and her blonde hair shone in the starlight. As she smiled, her velvety blue eyes sparkled.

  Cassie had seen those eyes before. “You gave me the bracelet!” she cried.

  “I did,” said the woman in her soft voice. “My name is Stella Starkeeper. And who’s this?”

  Twinkle had creeped out from under the bed. As Stella tickled his chin, Cassie noticed that Stella wore a bracelet just like hers, but with charms hanging from it.

  The old cat purred and tapped the wand with his paw. A shower of silver glitter floated down to the rug.

  “Does all this have something to do with my bracelet?” Cassie asked. “Is it magical?”

  Stella took her hand. “It is,” she said, smiling. “Now, would you like to see some more magic?”

  Cassie nodded and, with a whoosh, found herself flying up through the open window with Stella. “Oh!” she cried, clutching Stella’s hand. She felt as light as a balloon as they circled the treetops, floating high in the night sky.

  Up and up they soared. Cassie looked down and saw a light in Dad’s observatory. Could he see her through his telescope? What would he think? The thought made laughter bubble up inside of her.

  They left the lights of Astral-on-Sea far below as Stella took Cassie higher and higher. Soon, they were flying among the stars.

  “They’re all different colors,” said Cassie, looking around in awe. “Violet and gold, orange and scarlet. And they’re playing together!”

  The stars danced and bobbed all around them. Cassie watched a tiny pink star chase a little blue one in circles. They reminded her of kittens scampering around a tree! Suddenly, the pink star skidded and tumbled toward her.

  “The poor thing can’t stop,” Cassie cried. She reached out and gently patted the pink star back toward its little blue friend. As it bobbed around happily again, Stella waved her wand.

  Cassie felt her wrist tingle. She looked down to see a tiny bird charm dangling from her bracelet.

  Sparkles swirled all around her, and she realized that something amazing had happened. Stella wasn’t holding her hand anymore.

  “I’m flying!” she gasped. “All by myself!”

  For a moment Cassie was afraid, but when Stella smiled, she smiled back. With a shiver of excitement, Cassie tumbled through the air in a forward somersault, feeling as free as a bird.

  “Am I like you, Stella?” she wondered out loud. “I can fly now, and I have a bracelet like yours.”

  Stella flew alongside Cassie as they moved between the bright, bobbing stars. “Would you like that?” she asked. “Would you like to become a real Lucky Star?”

  “Oh, yes!” said Cassie. Then she paused to think. “But what does that mean?”

  “Lucky Stars use their magic to make other people’s wishes come true,” Stella explained, her blonde hair swirling behind her.

  Cassie grinned. “Then I definitely want to become a Lucky Star! But how?”

  “Just by being yourself,” said Stella. “I chose you because you can’t resist helping people — just like you helped that tiny pink star.” She touched Cassie’s bracelet. “This bird charm is the first step in your Lucky Star training. It gives you the power to fly.”

  They swooped away as a bunch of lime green stars danced around their heads. Then Cassie turned back to Stella, listening carefully. She couldn’t b
elieve her ears!

  “To become a Lucky Star, you must always watch and listen for someone to make a wish — someone who really deserves your help,” Stella continued. “If you make their wish come true, you’ll get another charm, which will give you a new magical power. Once you’ve collected seven charms, you’ll be a Lucky Star.” She smiled at Cassie. “And Lucky Stars don’t have to wait for somebody to make a wish. They can grant wishes whenever they like!”

  That sounded amazing — no, magical! — to Cassie.

  As Stella slowly floated downward, Cassie followed. She looked out at the sea, sparkling in the moonlight. “Almost home,” she said. Stella waved her wand, and Cassie suddenly felt sleepy. Her eyes closed for a moment. “Almost . . . home . . .”

  When Cassie opened her eyes again, she was back in her bed. Stella was gone. She snuggled under her quilt, and Twinkle settled down next to her.

  “I’ll be a Lucky Star one day, Twinkle,” she whispered. “I’m going to do my best to make wishes come true.”

  The old cat purred, and Cassie closed her eyes.

  “I wonder who I’ll be helping first,” she murmured. “I can’t wait until tomorrow!”

  Sizzle, hiss, sizzle!

  “Mmm,” Cassie murmured. She stretched and sniffed. Bacon! Mom was cooking breakfast.

  Cassie quickly brushed her teeth and got dressed, wondering what the new guests were like. She hoped their son was nice!

  As she went downstairs, her bracelet jangled against the banister. She peered at the bird charm and suddenly remembered her adventure the night before. “I flew!” she said out loud. “Or was that just a dream?”

  No one was around, so Cassie decided to do a test.

  She stood on the bottom step, squeezed her eyes shut, and thought about her bird charm. Instantly, she felt herself floating upward. As she opened her eyes, she saw that she was drifting gently down the hallway toward the kitchen. Sparkles shimmered around her bracelet.