Budding Star Read Free Page A

explained to the tearful little girls. “They changed back to not being bubbles.”
    Maudie’s face immediately lit up. “I know! They’ve been bubbles and now they just want to play something else!”
    I’m always telling Lola the things these babies say and she’s like, “I can’t believe four year olds can be so wise!”
    OK, so Miss Dove’s job wasn’t what you’d call glamorous. She wasn’t taking scary risks on the cosmic front line, like actual agents. But how I looked at it, she was actually teaching the celestial agents of the future - which to my mind was equally, if not MORE, important.
    I suddenly realised that I was genuinely considering Miss Dove’s suggestion.
    Why not? I asked myself defensively. It’s not like I’d be letting anyone down. I’d still be working for the Light Agencies. I’d be doing it from home, that’s all.
    After school had finished, I walked back to my dorm. I’d just stopped in the hall to check my post, when Fern burst through the door.
    “There you are,” she said with relief. “I’ve been looking for you all afternoon. Melanie, I’m having SUCH a stressful day, and I was hoping you’d help me out?”
    Fern did look unusually harassed. Her perfect French pleat had actually sprung several untidy little wisps.
    “I’ve spent the last month trying to organise a soul-retrieval weekend,” she explained. “Now two trainees have dropped out right at the last minute. Do you think you’d be interested at all?”
    “Probably not,” I said cautiously. I had NO idea what soul-retrieval was, but I wasn’t letting Fern know that.
    “Are you sure?” she asked in a pleading voice. “It’s going to be a fascinating course. Rose Hall is so beautiful. And Michael has actually persuaded Jessica Lightpath to run the sessions, and as you know, Jessica hardly ever teaches trainees these days.” Fern beamed at me hopefully.
    I’d never heard of Jessica Lightpath, but I just knew she wore woolly sweaters with rainbows on, plus she probably meditated with crystals big time.
    “I’d really love to help you out,” I said, crossing my fingers behind my back, “but my friend’s been away and he’s coming back tonight.”
    Fern consulted her clipboard. “Would that be Reuben Bird?”
    I gawped at her. “That’s amazing! How did you know?”
    “Because one of my colleagues has just left to drive him to Rose Hall.”
    “Reuben’s going on this course!”
    “Oh, yes,” said Fern. “Didn’t he tell you?”
    I mentally replayed Reuben’s angelgram. Hang on in there, Beeby! I’ll see you tonight and I almost laughed. That angel boy is something else! How could he know I was going to be on a soul-retrieval course, when I hadn’t even heard of soul-retrieval until two minutes ago!!
    “So will you come?” Fern persisted.
    Ever get those days when you can literally feel the Universe ganging up on you from every side? Take my advice. Just give in, you’ll save yourself no end of hassle!
    I gave a resigned sigh. “OK. Count me in.” Soul-retrieval, whatever it was, had to be more fun than hanging around the dorm by myself.
    Fern allowed herself a cool little smile. “I’m sure you won’t regret it.” She sneaked a peek at her watch. “Mel, I hate to pressure you, but you might want to run and pack. The bus is leaving in an hour.”
    Our teachers are constantly telling us we have to go with the flow. But I reckon even an archangel would be left dizzy by a day that included a cosmic panic attack, an unscheduled angelgram AND a complete change of career direction, then wound up in a crowded minibus, swooping around bends so sharp, that if you saw them drawn on a map they’d look exactly like someone’s intestines.
    The atmosphere in the bus was not particularly friendly, I have to say. My fellow students on the course turned out to be from some celestial college I’d never heard of. Everyone at my school dresses in casuals. But these kids were like, pure boho. One