It was a late night at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. The janitor was cleaning up the Egyptology Department. A mysterious figure knocked the figure out with a wrench. By the time the guard woke up, the new mummy was gone.
XxoxX
In the morning, students from Lititz Heights High were arriving at the museum for their weekend trip. "This is going to be exciting," Estrella replied. "Being in a steel town during my birthday weekend - this is going to be the best birthday ever."
"Day before you're 16 and finally going to one of the greatest cities in Pennsylvania," Rylie said.
"This was also the setting for the 1980s movie 'Flashdance'," Tania replied.
"I remember that movie," Peter said. "At first we thought Alex Owens was the boss-man. How are we suppose to know that Alex was an Alexandra?"
"Maybe because if you four weren't so stupid," Tania replied, "you would know who's who."
"We're just doing this to boost our grade in history class," Peter snarled.
"Dude," Santiago replied, "sit back down before Teach kills us."
"Sorry," Peter replied as he sat back down.
While reading through a Pittsburgh travel guide, Estrella saw something starry. "Oh, my stars," said Estrella. "The Star Darlings are performing in Pittsburgh?"
"They are," Helen answered. "In fact, Pittsburgh is one of their stops on their East Coast Tour."
As they stopped at the front of the museum, everyone went off. Issac escorted Leah to the front. "After you, my dear," Issac said to her.
"Too kind," Leah replied to her boyfriend as she took him by the hand.
"That Issac sure is a Prince Charming," Estrella said as she looked up. "Not as charming as them."
By the entrance, Estrella saw five girls wearing star-themed apparel. Estrella knew straight away who they were. "Sage, Libby, Vega, Scarlett, and Leona. You're the Star Darlings. I am a huge fan of your work."
"No prob," Leona said. "Here's a free keychain."
"I got a keychain," Estrella smiled with glee.
"The nerve of Pareja," said Billie, "being fond of these Star Darlings. That is so lame."
"You're right," Zara replied. "I'd rather listen to Faith's Hope and make fun of *them*." Leah rolled her eyes because Zara insulted a famous girl group.
XxoxX
Inside the museum, they saw that the Egyptian Wing was closed off and wondered why. From the curtain, Kirby could see that the mummy was missing and two kids were examining the missing mummy. Kirby barged in and dragged the twin children out of the wing. The boy twin wore blue, and the female twin wore pink and had a yellow bow on the back of her head.
"Can we help you kids?" Estrella asked.
"I'm Louie," greeted the boy twin.
"And I'm Lorelai," greeted the girl twin.
"Shouldn't you two be in school?" asked Kaylin as she helped up Lorelai. "Because that's against school policy everywhere."
"We don't go to school," Louie explained as Leah helped him up. "We're helping our friends with a few things."
As they left, Leah, Kaylin, Estrella, and Paige were confused.
Tania and Rylie both came back from the security guard. He told them that the main suspects were the archaeological team for the Pharaoh.
Suspects
Dr. Cory Teel(Head Archeologist)- Was out sick during the mummy robbery.
Cataleya Cassano(Expedition member)- Security found a compass with her initials on it.
Louie and Lorelai(Strange tourists)- Claim they don't go to school and have been spending most of their time in the museum.
Khalid Spurling(Expedition member)- Kept telling everyone that the mummy might have jaspers.
XxoxX
Kirby wandered off from Leah. As he was looking around the entire place for clues, he found some recalled dog treats in the trash bin and started eating them. "Kirby," Leah said, "those are dog treats."
"Back off!" shouted a middle-aged archaeologist as he grabbed them from Kirby. "Those are my dog treats!"
"If you're giving them to someone's pet dog," Paige cautioned, "you shouldn't, like, leave them in a museum."
"I'll have you know I'm highly allergic to dogs," corrected the man. "I've been craving for these ever since last night. Dr. Cory Teel, at your service."
"You were out sick during the unveiling of the mummy?" Paige asked. "We've seen kids do this before in middle. Sometimes they pretend to be skip school to avoid taking tests."
Dr. Teel got nervous and left.
"Let's split up," Leah suggested. "Estrella and Rylie should handle Cataleya, Kaylin and Tania should handle Khalid, and Paige and I are going to suspect Dr. Teel."
"What about Louie and Lorelai?" asked Kaylin.
"We'll come back for them later," Leah answered.
As they were going out, they bumped into the Star Darlings. "My bad" Leah said to Sage.
"No worries," Sage said. "We came to the museum after seeing a report on a mummy robbery. Figure they could use a little Star Power. The NSA is paying us 20,000 dollars each."
"You know what?" Leah said. "We really could use your help."
Estrella was delighted because she got to solve another mystery with one of her favorite bands. She exclaimed, "I call dibs on Libby!"
"Easy," said Rylie. "I know you're excited about these girls, but I think you oughta go easy on the coffee."
"I can't," Estrella replied. "I'm just so hyper."
Both Libby and Estrella bounced with joy with Swinger joining in. "Can you believe them?" Rylie asked.
"Looks like they forgot how to be quiet in a museum," Scarlet replied.
Both Scarlet and Rylie looked at each other. "Care to team up with me?" asked Rylie.
Tania and Vega noticed the old African artifacts and were amazed by their love for museums. Kaylin also admired Vega's trench coat and hugged her.
"Forgive Kaylin," Tania said to her. "She's a hugger."
Paige spotted Leona's golden hair. "Like funky afro," Paige commented. "Those were big in the 1970s."
"No prob, girl," Leona replied.
Sage came up to Leah and took her hand as a friend. "Now that we're all partnered up," Leah said, "let's get going."
Little did they know was that Issac and Helen heard the whole thing. "Do you think we should help our sweethearts?" Helen asked.
"We should," Issac answered. "I have a feeling those two weird kids Louie and Lorelai might be up to something."
XxoxX
Estrella, Libby, Rylie, Swinger, and Scarlet were at the snack bar. They saw a woman reading some popstar magazines. The woman had a brown pixie cut, was slightly pudgy, and wore an explorer's outfit.
"Are you Cataleya Cassano?" asked Estrella.
"Yes," the Italian woman replied. "Can I help you?"
"We're here to talk about the mummy theft," Scarlet said. "The guards said that they found a compass with the initials C.C. on them."
Cataleya was petrified. She stated, "I must've left my compass there while we were taking in the mummy, Princess Najima."
"Is that the name of the stolen mummy?" Libby asked. "Princess Najima?"
"That's right," replied Cataleya. "She was a fine young girl in Egypt. When she went into the afterlife at age 22, she laid a curse: 'Whoever steals my corpse or my jaspers will be punished by the hounds'."
"Punished by the hounds?" Libby asked. "That's just silly."
"What if the curse is real?" Estrella asked.
"Plus I found this strange box left in my office," Cataleya said as she got it out of her shoulder bag.
In the box, there were numerous miniature jasper artifacts and a catalog on the different kinds of jaspers...which made the girls feel suspicious.
XxoxX
Meanwhile, Kaylin, Tania, Rick, and Vega were going around the medieval wing when they spotted a handsome African-American boy in explorer apparel examining the shields. Kaylin rushed up to him but accidentally slipped on the slippery wet floor. As she was about to go into the swords, the handsome African-American boy took her and pulled her out.
"For a second," Kaylin said, "I would've had an early hair appointment."
"Why bother?" Tania replied as she carefully came up to her friend. "You only get your hair done three times a year."
"Are you girls the Kirby Klue Queens?" asked the man.
"That's right," Rick replied as he came out of Tania's backpack. "And we're looking for a Khalid Spurling."
"You're looking at him," said the man. "What can I help you with?"
"The guards at the museum told us that you've been telling the archaeology team that the mummy might have jaspers," answered Tania.
"I have," Khalid replied. "I've been studying the tomb of Princess Najima for 6 years, and I've noticed that at her time, she had the largest collection of jaspers more than anyone. If we gave some to the museum here and some to charity, we'll be making a difference for Pittsburgh."
"What did your boss Dr. Teel say?" asked Tania.
"He said no," Dr. Khalid, "and then he laid me off for a month."
The team was surprised. Laying off someone, all because of donating to charity? Tania stated, "That is very suspicious."
XxoxX
In the archaeological's office, Leah, Paige, Sage Tokkori, Leona, and Kirby were looking for Dr. Teel. Kirby started to smell out the doggy treats and followed them. From the keyhole, Sage could see Teel using a thermometer over a lightbulb, making it look like he'd got a fever.
"This is just like 'E.T.'," Sage recalled, "where Elliott pretended to be sick so he could take care of the alien."
"Talk about lying down on the job," insulted Tokkori.
They began to wonder why a head archaeologist would pretend to be sick during a mummy's theft. "We better get going," Leah said. "Our class might be waiting for us, and we got to give Estrella her birthday presents."
The next day, Estrella woke up from her sleeping bag to see her birthday presents next to her. "Feliz cumpleanos, Estrella," said her friends and the Star Darlings.
"For me?" smiled Estrella. "You shouldn't have."
"Last week," Leah explained, "we realized that the week of the field trip is the same week as Estrella's 16th birthday, so we decided to celebrate it while we're here."
"How sweet," Sage said. "We've seen her karaoke videos of her and her girlfriend doing our songs. So we decided to give her a little something."
Leah and Tania gave her a Friendly Scout badge with a star on it because she was considered an honorary Friendly Scout; Rylie and Kaylin gave her a handmade doll with honey patters, because she would always be a kid at heart; and Paige gave her legwarmers as Alex wore in "Flashdance." Finally, Libby and Scarlet gave Estrella with a sparkly pink bow. From the box, was a pair of pink Mary Janes.
"Cute Mary Janes," Estrella commented.
"I had the same ones when I was in high school," Libby explained. "I figure you could use them."
Estrella placed on the shoes and admired them. She said, "This kind of reminds me of the ones I had as a kid. Carolina even filmed me trying them on for the first time." By the door, she saw Issac and Helen with a present of their own.
"You look like Prince Charming," Leah said to Issac.
"And Princess Charming," Helen replied as she gave Estrella her present.
In the box was a Star Darlings Stellar Style Guide. "I knew you wanted to learn a new hairstyle," Helen replied, "so I got that for you."
Estrella's heart was touched by Helen's gift.
XxoxX
After they had breakfast, the girls started doing each other's hair from the guide while Issac had something important to tell Leah. "Helen and I have been suspecting those strange twins Louie and Lorelai," he explained. "They told us that they saw a strange man eating dog treats from the convenient store next door."
"You mean The Beany Bundle Convenient Store?" asked Sage. "That's where we got our snacks."
"But how are we going to catch that man without getting grossed out?" asked Tania.
"Perhaps we can be of assistance," said Louie as they came in.
"Guys," Leona replied, "we're so glad you came."
"Kirby needs all the floating he can get," replied Lorelei.
Both Louie and Lorelai's faces were robotic, and out of the robotic faces came a floating blue alien and a floating pink alien with a yellow bow.
"We're Fololo-" started the blue alien.
"-and Falala," finished the pink alien.
"Your Kirby's friends," recalled Tania. "We remember you when all those Cappies went missing from the forest."
"We were supervising the Star Darlings for their East Coast Tour," explained Fololo.
"The robotic human suits were just a disguise so no one knows we're aliens," replied Falala.
XxoxX
At The Beany Bundle, they spotted Dr. Teel buying dog treats and eating them, which disgusted everyone. After he left, they came up to the store owner and comforted him. "This is the fourth time this week he has bought dog treats and has ate them at my restaurant," the owner complained. "I can't take it anymore. He's going to disgust my customers if he keeps this up."
"'Whoever steals my corpse or my jaspers will be punished by the hounds'," recalled Estrella, "Of course, anyone who steals her tomb will end up acting like a dog."
Dr. Teel started scratching the back of his ear like a dog had. "Perhaps you should see a doctor," said Tania, "because we know you stole the mummy."
"What are you talking about?" Dr. Teel said as he licked his paws.
"Isn't it obvious?" Vega said. "Dr. Teel was after the jaspers."
"Clever girls," replied Dr. Teel. "How did you know it was me?"
"Our first clue was the dog treat you had," Rylie explained. "You told us that you were allergic to dogs. Thanks to one of your crew persons, we know now what 'punished by the hounds' meant. Also, there was a souvenir box filled with Egyptian artifacts and pictures of different kinds of jaspers. Then we saw you using a thermometer near a lightbulb to heat it - a sign that they were just pretending to be sick and were planning to steal the mummy."
"I'm glad I saw 'E.T.' 24 times," replied Estrella. "That way we can catch who's playing sick and who's not."
"Come on," Dr. Teel said. "It's only a matter of time till I become rich."
"Not for long," Leah growled. "Kirby, suck it up!"
With one gulp of cough drops, Kirby turned into Dr. Kirby. He summoned a very large needle.
"Don't worry," Vega said. "This won't hurt a bit."
"Did I forget to mention I'm scared of needles?" asked Dr. Teel as he ran off.
Suddenly, Fololo and Falala both carried Dr. Teel and dragged him to the museum, where he saw Khalid and Cataleya, who were waiting outside for him.
"Doctor," Khalid said, "you told us that you would reward us with rare jaspers from Egypt."
"Last night I broke these guys after I tripped over my pet cat and realized that they were fake," Cataleya explained.
"No kidding," Khalid replied. "I was examining them before I left work to see if they were real jaspers, but they're not."
"I meant to say fools' jaspers," nervously said Dr. Teel.
Both Cataleya and Khalid were furious. "You lied to us," Khalid growled.
"Come on," replied Dr. Teel. "Can't you be more appreciative?"
"We *are* grateful," growled Cataleya, "but you are so cheap."
As Dr. Teel was about to pound them, he got shot in the butt by Dr. Kirby. The Klue Queens and the Star Darlings rushed up to him and hugged him. "Now that we captured Dr. Teel," said Sage, "we need to know where the mummy is."
"The mummy is in the construction area of the museum," Dr. Teel replied as he fell asleep.
"Truth/sleeping serum," Vega smiled. "You don't see that every day."
In the construction area, which was going to be a garden, they found the mummy covered in bags of soil. "Looks like we wrapped up this caper," joked Libby.
XxoxX
Back at Roadhouse Fantasia, the Star Darlings were performing their hits in front of patrons. The Klue Queens were all decked out in Star Darling apparel for this occasion. Estrella even wore the legwarmers and the mary janes for the occasion.
At a table, Mr. Hayato was enjoying some tea when his son came up to him. "Hey, Dad," Peter sad to his father. "Care to try our Petey Pork Pot Pie, made with bacon, ham, red sprinkles, ramen noodles, root beer, and dog treats?"
"No, Peter," Mr. Hayato replied. "That stuff will make people sick. Remember the food festival?"
"Oh, yeah," Peter recalled. "Perhaps Kirby would like it."
"Potpie!" Koharu shouted as she tried to grab the pie as her mother backed her up.
"Sorry, Koharu," Mrs. Hayato said to her infant child, "but you could get sick."
At another table, the girls were repulsed by Peter's dreadful cooking. "This is why we never let Peter cook," explained Paige. "Mom and Dad are afraid that they would get poisoned."
After he ate large bowls of spaghetti, Kirby saw that Peter made his Petey Pork Pot Pie. Kirby flew up to him and stared at the pie. On the top, he saw that it was covered with radish shreds.
"Remember when the Chans helped us with that Jade Dragon caper?" Peter asked. "They taught me a simple remedy with a little radish power."
Kirby was amazed. With one gulp, he burped out pie tin. "Right on, Kirby," Peter said as he gave Kirby a high fived.
At the stage, the Star Darlings were annoyed. "Remind me to ban Peter Hayato from future Star Darling concerts," Vega said.
The End.
