Star League 4 by H.J. Harper Page A

Ben Beaumont first approached me and asked me to be a part of a secret crime-fighting team I thought it would be a piece of cake. After all, I’ve been in ninja-training since I was waddling around in black nappies.
    I didn’t realise that the hard part wouldn’t be dealing with criminals. For me the hard part is never having any privacy. I thought training to be a ninja was tough, but movie stars definitely have it tougher!
    As I step out of the film studio and into the parking lot, the sound of screaming fills my ears. At first I think somebody’s in trouble. Then I realise the noise is coming from a bunch of fans at the studio fence.
    â€˜Who is that? Is she somebody famous?’ shrieks a lady.
    â€˜She just came out of Beaumont Studios, so she must be!’ shouts another guy. ‘Can we get your autograph?’
    I put my head down and pretend not to notice their wild screaming until I turn a corner and duck safely back into the shadows. I’m not used to this much attention and it makes me nervous.
    I finally reach my trailer and shut myself inside. Silence. I take a deep breath and start to relax. And then …
    BANG! BANG! BANG!
    I jump as somebody knocks at the door. I slip one of the sharp throwing stars called shuriken out of my belt, ready to use it if there’s an enemy outside. Then I hear a voice that makes me relax.
    â€˜Asuka, are you in there?’ It’s Jay. I put the shuriken away.
    â€˜Yeah. Come in.’
    The door bursts open and Jay enters, followed by Roger, Connor, Leigh and Sam. It takes all my effort not to groan out loud. It’s not that I’m not happy to see them, but I never get any time to myself any more.
    â€˜What’s up, guys?’ I ask, trying to smile.
    â€˜Way to ditch filming!’ says Roger. ‘You left me all alone out there!’
    â€˜Yeah, sorry about that,’ I say guiltily. ‘It just got a bit much for me.’
    â€˜Don’t worry, nobody could blame you for getting fed up with Roger,’ says Connor.
    â€˜Fed up with me?’ asks Roger. ‘It’s probably you she’s fed up with, Dogbreath! I know I am!’
    â€˜Guys, guys!’ says Jay, trying to calm them down. Connor and Roger are always fighting over something. Jay can normally calm them down, but this time they’re really riled up. They argue back and forth until Sam speaks up.
    â€˜Maybe I can be of assistance,’ he says in hisrobotic voice. ‘My programming contains an anti-argument alarm, guaranteed to put an end to all verbal disputes.’ Sam presses a button on his wrist. Sam’s alarm stays silent, but Chu, Leigh’s pet monkey, starts screeching loudly.
    â€˜It’s the alarm!’ cries Leigh. ‘We can’t hear it, but Chu can. Turn it off, it’s hurting his ears!’
    â€˜Oh, I must have the frequency wrong.’ Sam fiddles with the control panel on his wrist. ‘If I just adjust the pitch …’
    An extremely loud, extremely annoying beeping fills my trailer.
    â€˜Turn it off!’ I shout. ‘It’s too loud!’
    â€˜What?’ asks Sam. ‘I can’t hear you, it’s too loud!’
    â€˜I said … ARRGHH!’ I strike at Sam’s wrist, not hard enough to hurt him, but with enough power to shut down any programming in it for a while. The beeping fizzles out and we all breathe a sigh of relief.
    â€˜Now that’s what I call a slap on the wrist!’ says Jay.
    â€˜Well, at least it served its primary function,’ says Sam, ‘which was to break up the argument.’
    â€˜And it almost broke up our eardrums, too,’ growls Connor.
    â€˜Maybe that would have been a good thing,’ says Roger. ‘Then I wouldn’t have to listen to you talk all the time.’
    Connor glares at Roger. ‘I’m going to …’
    â€˜BE QUIET!’ I yell. ‘I just want some peace and quiet! Is that too much