Finally, the noise grew so loud and came so close that Poppy realised what it was. It was hundreds of school kids, all chanting one word.

‘Astrid! Astrid! ASTRID!’

Astrid’s face lit up. ‘The wish is working!’ she exclaimed.

‘Is it?’ said Poppy, surprised. She hadn’t thought for a moment that the wish would really work. How could it, after all, if her wish routine wasn’t right?

There must be some other explanation, she told herself. But what that was, exactly, she wasn’t sure.

A moment later, Astrid was completely surrounded by hundreds of excited kids calling her name, with expressions of crazed devotion on their faces. They pushed and jostled each other, trying to get closer to Astrid.

‘Astrid!’ they called. ‘Can I have your autograph? Can I sit next to you at lunchtime? Can I have my photo taken with you?’

Astrid didn’t seem at all alarmed by the crowd. Far from it! She jumped up onto a bench and waved, grinning broadly. She even blew kisses. In fact, she acted like she’d been famous her entire life. The crowd grew by the second and Poppy found herself being pushed further and further away from Astrid and from the bag in which her bottle was stashed.

‘Who is the most fabulous, fantastic and FAMOUS person in the entire world?’ Astrid shouted over the noise.

‘YOU ARE!’ the crowd thundered back.

Astrid looked triumphant.

If only I were up the front right now, while she’s showing off in front of the crowd, thought Poppy longingly. But there was no way she could push through the throng to get anywhere near Astrid now.

A moment later, the crowd picked Astrid up and she was carried away. Cameras flashed as she went and cheers filled the air every time Astrid so much as opened her mouth.

Poppy followed behind, feeling very puzzled. What was going on? Was it possible that Astrid actually had become famous?

It was then that Poppy noticed something very unusual. The kids who were still arriving at school for the day didn’t seem at all excited to see Astrid. In fact, they looked totally confused by all the fuss. But the moment they stepped onto the school grounds, a look of devotion swept over their faces and they rushed to join the mob of Astrid-lovers.

Astrid IS super-famous, but only at school, realised Poppy, chuckling. My wish routine is only half-worked out, so it only half-granted Astrid’s wish. She felt a little surge of pride at having granted her first wish, even if it wasn’t totally perfect.

Just then, one of Astrid’s fans pushed past, knocking Poppy’s backpack off her shoulder. The genie jotter fell out and opened to the page on which the Golden Laws were written. The writing seemed to have grown even bigger!

All the pride Poppy had felt in granting Astrid’s wish quickly vanished.

I’ve been a tweenie genie for less than one day and I’ve already broken both of those laws, she thought, biting her lip. She knew Lexie wouldn’t be impressed if she found out.

‘Isn’t this just crazy?’ said a familiar voice behind her. It was Claudette. Behind her stood the Clothes Club girls.

‘Look at the way all these people are acting,’ sniffed Claudette. ‘It’s embarrassing.’

Poppy found herself smiling. It was such a relief to find someone, anyone, who wasn’t besotted by Astrid.

‘It is insane, isn’t it?’ she agreed.

‘A style-icon like Astrid should be treated with more respect,’ said Claudette disapprovingly.

Poppy stared at Claudette in dismay. ‘Excuse me?’ she said, hoping she’d heard incorrectly. But then she noticed Claudette’s T-shirt. On the front was a picture of Astrid. On the back was written ‘I ♥ Astrid!’

‘Astrid is the kind of person we need on the front cover of School Style magazine,’ Claudette declared, pulling out her camera. ‘The entire next edition of School Style will be devoted to her. And the one after that, too.’

‘Well, that will make a pleasant change,’ muttered Poppy to herself. Every other edition of School Style had featured only one person – Claudette!

‘Can you believe that Astrid is your sister?’ added Claudette, sighing enviously. ‘You are so, so lucky.’

Poppy walked off. She couldn’t stand much more of this! She even wanted the bell to ring, so that class could start and things could get back to normal. But at nine o’clock, when the bell was supposed to ring, a message came on over the school loudspeaker from Principal Smith.

‘In honour of our incredibly famous student, we are declaring today Astrid Day! Normal classes are cancelled. Instead, please come to the multi-purpose hall for an all-day tribute assembly in Astrid’s honour.’

Poppy groaned and shook her head in dismay. The wish might only work at school. But it was working way too well! Everyone in the whole place had gone completely crazy. Everywhere Poppy looked she saw students wearing ‘I ♥ Astrid’ T-shirts and ‘Astrid is Awesome’ wrist bands. The school choir had gathered in the quadrangle and was singing songs about Astrid. The basketball team had started calling itself the Astrid Avengers and the arty kids were painting an enormous portrait of Astrid on the outside of the hall. It was at least three metres tall!

Is there one sane person left around here? wondered Poppy. Then she turned a corner and bumped into her teacher, Ms Kelly.

‘Poppy, I’m glad to see you,’ Ms Kelly exclaimed. She had something rolled up under her arm.

‘Hi, Ms Kelly,’ said Poppy, relieved. If anyone would be unaffected by the wish, it would be Ms Kelly. She was a very sensible person and not at all the sort to go ga-ga over someone famous – especially not Astrid!

‘I have a job for you,’ said Ms Kelly. ‘Can you help me put this sign up, please?’

Ms Kelly undid the scroll and Poppy’s heart fell to her toes when she saw what it said.

‘We’ve renamed the school in honour of your sister!’ Ms Kelly explained excitedly. ‘This sign is going across the old school sign out the front. What do you think?’

‘I’ll tell you what I think,’ said Poppy crossly. ‘I think it’s the most stup–’

But Poppy was interrupted by the sound of cheering. Ms Kelly let out a high-pitched squeal.

‘Astrid must be coming!’ she said, jumping up and down. ‘I just have to get her autograph! See you at the tribute assembly, Poppy.’ Then she ran off.

There was absolutely no way that Poppy was going to an all-day Astrid tribute assembly. Even a five-minute tribute would have been too long. But she knew that this might be her big chance to get her bottle back. So while everyone else was hurrying in to the hall, Poppy hid behind a tree. Once everyone was inside, she sneaked up and watched through a window.

Astrid was up on the stage, sitting on the special chair that was usually reserved for the principal. Beside her was an enormous screen. Everyone else was sitting in front of her, totally spell-bound. Astrid-mania was showing no signs of lessening. In fact, the crowd seemed even more captivated than before. Every time Astrid did anything – anything at all – the crowd went wild. When she waved, they cheered. If she smiled, they screamed. When she tried to speak, they roared with excitement at the tops of their voices. At one point, Astrid sneezed and several students (plus two teachers) fainted!

Right, decided Poppy. Time to put a stop to this!

It was then that she spotted Astrid’s school bag, sitting next to her on the stage.

I just need to get my genie bottle out of there, thought Poppy, looking at the bag. There must be a way!

Principal Smith took to the stage, beaming joyfully. ‘I have such a treat for you all!’ she announced. ‘We have put together a film about Astrid’s time at our humble school. Sadly, it’s only four hours long. But once it’s finished, we can watch it over again.’ Then she dimmed the lights and shut the curtains.

Outside the hall, Poppy’s heart leapt with excitement.

This is my chance! she realised. The room was dark now, and everyone would be so caught up with the Astrid film that they wouldn’t notice Poppy sneaking in and grabbing something out of Astrid’s bag.

Stealthily, Poppy sneaked around to the door at the back of the hall. The door creaked slightly as she opened it. Poppy froze, but noone turned. They were all far too engrossed in the film. Poppy could dimly make out Astrid, sitting up next to the screen, craning her head so she could watch the film, too.

Poppy padded quietly up to the front of the hall, hiding herself in the shadows. When she got to the front, just below the stage, she paused. This was the tricky bit. To grab Astrid’s bag, she would have to leave the safety of the shadows, and sneak across to where Astrid was sitting. It would only work if no-one happened to look away from the screen. Poppy scanned the audience. Everyone was transfixed by the Astrid film.

OK, thought Poppy bravely. Here goes!

With a pounding heart, Poppy crept across the room until she was right next to Astrid’s bag. Then she reached out and felt her fingers close around the smooth glass of the bottle.

I’ve got it! she thought excitedly. But just as she was about to slide the bag towards her, it was yanked out of her grasp. Then, before she knew what was happening, someone had grabbed her arm and pulled her outside.