Budding Star Read Free

just had to find some way of getting through the day.
    If I stayed up in my room brooding, I’d just get morbid, so I splashed some water on my face, whacked on some lip gloss, grabbed my jacket and headed down to the local nursery school.
    When I arrived they were all excitedly raiding the dressing-up box for bear suits and fairy costumes and whatever.
    My normal day for helping is Wednesday, but Miss Dove seemed genuinely delighted to see me. “I could do with an extra hand,” she beamed. “They’re a little overexcited today, as you can see!”
    At lunch time, the preschoolers took their trays over to small brightly painted tables, and sat munching happily with their friends.
    Miss Dove and I had our lunch at an adult-sized table, with a tablecloth and real glasses instead of beakers. We could hear the little angels giggling naughtily over the unfunny jokes preschoolers find so hilarious. We chatted about this and that, and then she almost made me choke on my salad.
    “I’ve told you this before, Melanie, but I make no apology for telling you again. You’re a natural with this age group. You’d make the most wonderful nursery teacher. I know you’ve set your heart on being an agent, but if you ever change your mind—” Miss Dove’s voice changed tone abruptly. “Bluebell, Lulu, I’d like you to come back now. You’re not supposed to dematerialise without permission.”
    Can you believe Miss Dove wasn’t even looking? Her excellent teacher’s radar had instantly alerted her that her lively little pupils were misbehaving. “I’m going to count to five and I want to see you both sitting nicely at the table,” she said firmly. “One, two—”
    Two embarrassed little girls reappeared, very red in the face. I was secretly grateful to Bluebell and Lulu for providing a distraction. I’d had the most disturbing thought. Suppose the Universe didn’t want me to be a trouble-shooter, constantly putting myself in danger? Suppose it would actually prefer me to be a nursery teacher?
    I’d been really upset when Fern suggested I might not be cut out to work in the field. Now suddenly, I felt a rush of pure longing. Life would be blissfully simple if I took Miss Dove’s advice; simple, but still really fulfilling. I’d spend my days surrounded by innocent paintings of smiley suns and lollipop trees, teaching the mysteries of the Universe through sand and water play. I’d never even have to leave Heaven, if I didn’t want to.
    After lunch, we took the class outside into the garden. I handed out tubs of bubble mixture while Miss Dove explained in terms her pupils could understand, that everything in the Universe was pure energy.
    “Energy loves to play just like you,” she told them in her careful nursery teacher voice. “It likes to dress up and play at being stars and trees and birds.”
    “And bears,” said Maudie solemnly. “It likes to dress up as bears, doesn’t it?” She was still wearing her fluffy bear suit from this morning.
    “That’s right, Maudie! Clever girl!” said Miss Dove. “Now I want you all to take the lids off your bubbles very carefully. See if you can do it with no spilling. That’s wonderful! Well done everyone. Let’s see if you can blow some really beautiful bubbles.”
    In seconds, the air was crowded with gorgeous rainbow bubbles. All the preschoolers were squealing, jumping up and down, trying to capture them. Then Lulu let out a little anguished cry.
    “Now what just happened to your beautiful bubble, Lulu?” Miss Dove asked as if she didn’t know.
    “It poptid,” she explained sadly. “It poptid right in my eye.”
    Maudie’s beautiful bubble was next to pop. “Where did it go?” she wept. “That’s what I don’t know.”
    “Don’t cry, Maudie.” Obi tenderly patted his little classmate’s back.
    I adore Obi. He has no hair and almost no eyebrows and he looks exactly like a three-year-old buddha!
    “They didn’t go away, they only changed,” he