The Travelling Tower was already drifting away from the council office block by the time we’d finished explaining everything.
“Miss Scritch, Miss Scritch!” It was Ava. “Please – couldn’t you wave your wand and tidy up Jackson’s mum’s office for her? Just so it all ends REALLY happily?”
Miss Scritch looked doubtful, but Fairy Fifibelle Lee clapped her hands. “Oh, dear Miss Scritch! How wonderful that would be…”
Miss Scritch took her wand out of her sleeve and gave it a quick rub. “It’s not been behaving as it should,” she said, “as you well know, Fairy Fifibelle. But I’ll try.” And she gave it a quick shake and a wave while we crowded back to the window to see what would happen.
It took a little while. All the office staff were gathered around Jackson’s mum congratulating her, so they didn’t notice at first when the papers began to flutter slowly up from the floor. Then, as the drift of white floated towards the ceiling, they stopped talking to stare … and they went on staring as the paper cloud began to circle round and round. Faster and faster and faster it went, until the inhabitants of the office were clutching each other and gasping … and then the papers suddenly stopped, gathered themselves into neat, tidy piles, and flopped down on the desks just as if they’d never ever been moved at all.
“H’m.” Miss Scritch looked as if she didn’t know whether to be pleased or annoyed. “NOT the way I meant it to happen.”
“But things often work in strange ways, dear Miss Scritch.” Fairy Mary McBee had come into the Travelling Tower with Olivia, Scrabster plodding behind them. “And sometimes the result is the better for it!” She beamed at us. “Well done, my dears. Well done indeed. Now, we’ve just got time to pop back to the workroom for another sandwich and a drink, and then it’ll be time for you all to go home.” She patted Pete’s head. “Thank you so much for coming, dear little Pete. You were a wonder! Just like your sister.”
I felt myself blushing again, but Pete just grinned. “Do I get to keep the aeroplane?”
“Of course, dear,” Fairy Mary told him. “Sophie can tell your mother that it was given to you by a friend.”
“Thank you!” Pete gave a little skip. “And can I come back?”
“We’ll see,” Fairy Mary said. “But I think you’ll have Greenberry Park to play in again very soon…”
“YES!” Pete grabbed my hand, and pulled me towards the corridor. “Come on, Sophie! Let’s go!”
I couldn’t get to sleep that night, even though I was really tired. I kept thinking of all the things that had happened at Stargirl Academy. Fairy Mary was right; as soon as Pete and I walked out of the Academy front door and back into our own house, he forgot everything … and he kept asking, “Where did we get my aeroplane, Sophie? Who gave it to me?”
I turned over and sighed, and squirrelled my way under the duvet so I could see my star finger glowing. And then I noticed something else. My pendant used to have two shining stars on it, but now it had three. THREE STARS! When it had six, I’d be a proper Stargirl … so I was already halfway there!
The thought gave me a warm glow, and I was beginning to feel really sleepy when my door opened and Pete came tiptoeing in.
“Sophie,” he whispered. “Sophie! I had the most amazing dream ever! You’ll NEVER believe what I dreamed!”
But I did. I believed every single word…
