Scarlet Discovers True Strength Read online

  ALSO BY SHANA MULDOON ZAPPA AND AHMET ZAPPA

  Sage and the Journey to Wishworld

  Libby and the Class Election

  Leona’s Unlucky Mission

  Vega and the Fashion Disaster

  Cassie Comes Through

  ALSO BY AHMET ZAPPA

  Because I’m Your Dad

  The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless

  DON’T MISS

  A Wisher’s Guide to Starland

  COMING SOON

  Piper’s Perfect Dream

  Copyright © 2016 by Shana Muldoon Zappa and Ahmet Zappa

  Artwork © 2016 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

  Cover design © 2016 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

  Excerpt from Star Darlings: Cassie Comes Through copyright © 2016 by Shana Muldoon Zappa and Ahmet Zappa.

  All rights reserved. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information address Disney Press, 1101 Flower Street, Glendale, California 91201.

  ISBN 978-1-4847-1432-4

  For more Disney Press fun, visit www.disneybooks.com

  Contents

  Title Page

  Also by Shana Muldoon Zappa and Ahmet Zappa

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Starling Academy: Student Reports

  Introduction

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Glossary

  Acknowledgments

  Preview of Star Darlings: Cassie Comes Through

  About the Authors

  To our beautiful, sweet treasure, Halo Violetta Zappa. You are pure light and joy and our greatest inspiration. We love you soooo much.

  May every step upon your path be blessed with positivity and the understanding that you have the power within you to manifest the most fulfilling life you can possibly imagine and more. May you always remember that being different and true to your highest self makes your inner star shine brighter.

  Remember that you have the power of choice….Choose thoughts that feel good. Choose love and friendship that feed your spirit. Choose actions for peace and nourishment. Choose boundaries for the same. Choose what speaks to your creativity and unique inner voice…what truly makes you happy. And always know that no matter what you choose, you are unconditionally loved.

  Look up to the stars and know you are never alone. When in doubt, go within…the answers are all there. Smiles light the world and laughter is the best medicine.

  And NEVER EVER stop making wishes….

  Glow for it….

  Mommy and Daddy

  And to everyone else here on “Wishworld”:

  May you realize that no matter where you are in life, no matter what you look like or where you were born, you, too, have the power within you to create the life of your dreams. Through celebrating your own uniqueness, thinking positively, and taking action, you can make your wishes come true.

  Smile. The Star Darlings have your back. We know how startastic you truly are.

  Glow for it….

  Your friends,

  Shana and Ahmet

  Starling Academy:

  Student Reports

  NAME: Clover

  BRIGHT DAY: January 5

  FAVORITE COLOR: Purple

  INTERESTS: Music, painting, studying

  WISH: To be the best songwriter and DJ on Starland

  WHY CHOSEN: Clover has great self-discipline, patience, and willpower. She is creative, responsible, dependable, and extremely loyal.

  WATCH OUT FOR: Clover can be hard to read and she is reserved with those she doesn’t know. She’s afraid to take risks and can be a wisecracker at times.

  SCHOOL YEAR: Second

  POWER CRYSTAL: Panthera

  WISH PENDANT: Barrette

  NAME: Adora

  BRIGHT DAY: February 14

  FAVORITE COLOR: Sky blue

  INTERESTS: Science, thinking about the future and how she can make it better

  WISH: To be the top fashion designer on Starland

  WHY CHOSEN: Adora is clever and popular and cares about the world around her. She’s a deep thinker.

  WATCH OUT FOR: Adora can have her head in the clouds and be thinking about other things.

  SCHOOL YEAR: Third

  POWER CRYSTAL: Azurica

  WISH PENDANT: Watch

  NAME: Piper

  BRIGHT DAY: March 4

  FAVORITE COLOR: Seafoam green

  INTERESTS: Composing poetry and writing in her dream journal

  WISH: To become the best version of herself she can possibly be and to share that by writing books

  WHY CHOSEN: Piper is giving, kind, and sensitive. She is very intuitive and aware.

  WATCH OUT FOR: Piper can be dreamy, absentminded, and wishy-washy. She can also be moody and easily swayed by the opinions of others.

  SCHOOL YEAR: Second

  POWER CRYSTAL: Dreamalite

  WISHPENDANT: Bracelets

  NAME: Astra

  BRIGHT DAY: April 9

  FAVORITE COLOR: Red

  INTERESTS: Individual sports

  WISH: To be the best athlete on Starland—to win!

  WHY CHOSEN: Astra is energetic, brave, clever, and confident. She has boundless energy and is always direct and to the point.

  WATCH OUT FOR: Astra is sometimes cocky, self-centered, condescending, and brash.

  SCHOOL YEAR: Second

  POWER CRYSTAL: Quarrelite

  WISH PENDANT: Wristbands

  NAME: Tessa

  BRIGHT DAY: May 18

  FAVORITE COLOR: Emerald green

  INTERESTS: Food, flowers, love

  WISH: To be successful enough that she can enjoy a life of luxury

  WHY CHOSEN: Tessa is warm, charming, affectionate, trustworthy, and dependable. She has incredible drive and commitment.

  WATCH OUT FOR: Tessa does not like to be rushed. She can be quite stubborn and often says no. She does not deal well with change and is prone to exaggeration. She can be easily sidetracked.

  SCHOOL YEAR: Third

  POWER CRYSTAL: Gossamer

  WISH PENDANT: Brooch

  NAME: Gemma

  BRIGHT DAY: June 2

  FAVORITE COLOR: Orange

  INTERESTS: Sharing her thoughts about almost anything

  WISH: To be valued for her opinions on everything

  WHY CHOSEN: Gemma is friendly, easygoing, funny, extroverted, and social. She knows a little bit about everything.

  WATCH OUT FOR: Gemma talks—a lot—and can be a little too honest sometimes and offend others. She can have a short attention span and can be superficial.

  SCHOOL YEAR: First

  POWER CRYSTAL: Scatterite

  WISH PENDANT: Earrings

  NAME: Cassie

  BRIGHT DAY: July 6

  FAVORITE COLOR: White

  INTERESTS: Reading, crafting

  WISH: To be more independent and confident and less fearful

  WHY CHOSEN: Cassie is extremely imaginative and artistic. She is a voracious reader and is loyal, caring, and a good friend. She is very intuitive.

  WATCH OUT FOR: Cassie can be distrustful, jealous, mo
ody, and brooding.

  SCHOOL YEAR: First

  POWER CRYSTAL: Lunalite

  WISH PENDANT: Glasses

  NAME: Leona

  BRIGHT DAY: August 16

  FAVORITE COLOR: Gold

  INTERESTS: Acting, performing, dressing up

  WISH: To be the most famous pop star on Starland

  WHY CHOSEN: Leona is confident, hardworking, generous, open-minded, optimistic, caring, and a strong leader.

  WATCH OUT FOR: Leona can be vain, opinionated, selfish, bossy, dramatic, and stubborn and is prone to losing her temper.

  SCHOOL YEAR: Third

  POWER CRYSTAL: Glisten paw

  WISH PENDANT: Cuff

  NAME: Vega

  BRIGHT DAY: September 1

  FAVORITE COLOR: Blue

  INTERESTS: Exercising, analyzing, cleaning, solving puzzles

  WISH: To be the top student at Starling Academy

  WHY CHOSEN: Vega is reliable, observant, organized, and very focused.

  WATCH OUT FOR: Vega can be opinionated about everything, and she can be fussy, uptight, critical, arrogant, and easily embarrassed.

  SCHOOL YEAR: Second

  POWER CRYSTAL: Queezle

  WISH PENDANT: Belt

  NAME: Libby

  BRIGHT DAY: October 12

  FAVORITE COLOR: Pink

  INTERESTS: Helping others, interior design, art, dancing

  WISH: To give everyone what they need—both on Starland and through wish granting on Wishworld

  WHY CHOSEN: Libby is generous, articulate, gracious, diplomatic, and kind.

  WATCH OUT FOR: Libby can be indecisive and may try too hard to please everyone.

  SCHOOL YEAR: First

  POWER CRYSTAL: Charmelite

  WISH PENDANT: Necklace

  NAME: Scarlet

  BRIGHT DAY: November 3

  FAVORITE COLOR: Black

  INTERESTS: Crystal climbing (and other extreme sports), magic, thrill seeking

  WISH: To live on Wishworld

  WHY CHOSEN: Scarlet is confident, intense, passionate, magnetic, curious, and very brave.

  WATCH OUT FOR: Scarlet is a loner and can alienate others by being secretive, arrogant, stubborn, and jealous.

  SCHOOL YEAR: Third

  POWER CRYSTAL: Ravenstone

  WISH PENDANT: Boots

  NAME: Sage

  BRIGHT DAY: December 1

  FAVORITE COLOR: Lavender

  INTERESTS: Travel, adventure, telling stories, nature, and philosophy

  WISH: To become the best Wish-Granter Starland has ever seen

  WHY CHOSEN: Sage is honest, adventurous, curious, optimistic, friendly, and relaxed.

  WATCH OUT FOR: Sage has a quick temper! She can also be restless, irresponsible, and too trusting of others’ opinions. She may jump to conclusions.

  SCHOOL YEAR: First

  POWER CRYSTAL: Lavenderite

  WISH PENDANT: Necklace

  You take a deep breath, about to blow out the candles on your birthday cake. Clutching a coin in your fist, you get ready to toss it into the dancing waters of a fountain. You stare at your little brother as you each hold an end of a dried wishbone, about to pull. But what do you do first?

  You make a wish, of course!

  Ever wonder what happens right after you make that wish? Not much, you may be thinking.

  Well, you’d be wrong.

  Because something quite unexpected happens next. Each and every wish that is made becomes a glowing Wish Orb, invisible to the human eye. This undetectable orb zips through the air and into the heavens, on a one-way trip to the brightest star in the sky—a magnificent place called Starland. Starland is inhabited by Starlings, who look a lot like you and me, except they have a sparkly glow to their skin, and glittery hair in unique colors. And they have one more thing: magical powers. The Starlings use these powers to make good wishes come true, for when good wishes are granted, it results in positive energy. And the Starlings of Starland need this energy to keep their world running.

  In case you are wondering, there are three kinds of Wish Orbs:

  1) GOOD WISH ORBS. These wishes are positive and helpful and come from the heart. They are pretty and sparkly and are nurtured in climate-controlled Wish-Houses. They bloom into fantastical glowing orbs. When the time is right, they are presented to the appropriate Starling for wish fulfillment.

  2) BAD WISH ORBS. These are for selfish, mean-spirited, or negative things. They don’t sparkle at all. They are immediately transported to a special containment center, as they are very dangerous and must not be granted.

  3) IMPOSSIBLE WISH ORBS. These wishes are for things, like world peace and disease cures, that simply can’t be granted by Starlings. These sparkle with an almost impossibly bright light and are taken to a special area of the Wish-House with tinted windows to contain the glare they produce. The hope is that one day they can be turned into good wishes the Starlings can help grant.

  Starlings take their wish granting very seriously. There is a special school, called Starling Academy, that accepts only the best and brightest young Starling girls. They study hard for four years, and when they graduate, they are ready to start traveling to Wishworld to help grant wishes. For as long as anyone can remember, only graduates of wish-granting schools have ever been allowed to travel to Wishworld. But things have changed in a very big way.

  Read on for the rest of the story….

  “So you’re saying Vega heard from her?”

  “Cross my stars. A holo-text. She got it last night.”

  “Well, what did it say? Where has she been this whole time? Is she in Starland City? Did she run away?”

  Scarlet recognized the Star Darlings’ voices outside her window immediately. She didn’t have to peer down, but she did. She could also tell right away that they were talking about her. How dare they? was all she could think.

  Scarlet was perched up in the loft of her dorm room—her new dorm room—a place that, these stardays, she seldom left. It had all happened so fast it still felt like yesterday: Lady Stella’s informing her that her being assigned to the Star Darlings was all a “starmendous and most unfortunate” mistake, and that, as a result, she would need to be reassigned to a new dorm room so her replacement—some meek-looking orange-haired first-year student—could move into hers. At first, Scarlet had looked at that, at least, as the silver lining, since she and her roommate, Leona, had been bickering. But it didn’t take long for her to realize that there would never, in a moonium staryears, be any silver linings to the cloud she had found herself in.

  “It didn’t say where Scarlet’s been, unfortunately.” That tinkly voice belonged to Cassie. Scarlet gazed down at the top of the first-year student’s silver-white pigtailed head. She and her roommate, Sage, were walking along the path between their Little Dipper Dorm building and the Big Dipper Dorm, where third and fourth years, like Scarlet, lived. Scarlet couldn’t help smiling as she thought how clueless they were; she was right there, just two floors above them, and they had no idea. “All the holo-text said,” Cassie went on, “was for Vega to meet her in the hedge maze…which makes me wonder if Scarlet’s still here at school….”

  Sage tossed her long lavender hair dramatically from one shoulder to the other, a habit that had always made Scarlet roll her eyes. “I don’t know,” Sage said. “If Scarlet was at school, don’t you think she’d go to classes? I mean, she’s already been kicked out of the Star Darlings. Does she want to get kicked out of school, too?”

  Kicked out! She nearly leaned out to yell, “I was not kicked out!”

  “She wasn’t kicked out…” said Cassie.

  Thank you! thought Scarlet. Cassie always had seemed a little smarter than the rest.

  “…exactly. I mean, she didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Mistakes happen, I guess,” Sage said. She shrugged and re-tossed her hair.

  Mistakes…thought Scarlet. Mistakes? Accidently using your roommate’s toothlight was
a mistake. Being told that you, in fact, weren’t Star Darlings material? That wasn’t a mistake. It was just plain wrong!

  “I don’t know….” Below, Cassie slowed to a stop, pulling Sage with her. Their arms were linked, as Starling arms usually were when they walked together.

  “What?” said Sage.

  “It’s just…so many strange things are going on. There’s poor Leona…ruining her Wish Pendant and not getting a Power Crystal when her mission was otherwise such a success.”

  “Well, wasn’t that her fault? She never used her special powers.”

  “I know…but to ruin your Wish Pendant?” Cassie shook her head.

  Above, Scarlet nodded sympathetically. Leona’s ruined Wish Pendant didn’t come close, of course, to Scarlet’s losing her place as a Star Darling, but it had to hurt.

  “And then, of course, there are those flowers,” Cassie went on. “Have you noticed, by the way, that we aren’t fighting anymore?”

  “Oh, Cassie!” A laugh bubbled out of Sage as she started to pull Cassie forward. “You and your conspiracy theories. You are too cute! Really, you are.”

  “Hellooooo?”

  Scarlet turned from the window at the sound of a reedy, shrill voice calling from below. She slid from the window seat and peered down the stairs. “Who’s there?” she said cautiously, not sure she wanted to know.

  As she started down the curving ladder, a Starling came into view. It was a woman—an old woman, Scarlet could tell immediately—grinning and bent over a crystal-tipped cane.

  “Hello?” Scarlet said. Her eyes swept the room uneasily for a glimpse of her roommate, Mira. “Er, excuse me,” she said, not finding her, “but how did you get in?” Usually, Scarlet was the one sneaking up on people, not the other way around. Plus, as far as she knew, the only way to open the door was by using the palm scanner outside. Then it had to approve you. So how did the woman get in? “Er…can I help you?”