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Magic Ballerina 13-18. Darcey Bussell
Читать онлайн.Название Magic Ballerina 13-18
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9780007513567
Автор произведения Darcey Bussell
Жанр Детская проза
Издательство HarperCollins
At the end of the dance, the girls all ran offstage in their line. Holly stopped in the wings and took a deep, happy breath. She felt wonderful!
She vaguely noticed a few of the other dancers giving her cross looks as they headed off to the changing rooms, but she didn’t really take them in until Chloe came over to her. “Holly! How could you?” she said.
“What?” said Holly in surprise.
“Dance like that. You were showing off like crazy!”
“No, I wasn’t,” Holly protested.
“But you were!” Chloe went on. “You know we’re supposed to be dancing together, all doing the same thing. But you were dancing differently. Madame Za-Za’s going to be really mad.”
Holly felt a flash of anger as the buzzing happiness she had been feeling after the dance was abruptly extinguished. “I was only dancing as well as I could,” she said, aware that a certain amount of haughtiness had crept into her voice. “What’s wrong with that?”
“It’s not what you do when you’re dancing in the corps,” Chloe said. “You know it’s not.” Her voice softened. “We’re meant to act like a team.”
Holly felt angry and she marched away, grabbing her old red ballet shoes from where she had left them at the side of the stage. How could Chloe tell her off like that? They were supposed to be friends. How dare she say she was showing off!
But you were, weren’t you? a little voice in her head pointed out.
I was just dancing the best I could, Holly thought defensively. We’re supposed to do that.
No, she realised, her temper finally calming. In the corps we are supposed to dance together.
As the anger drained out of her, she started to feel bad. What was Madame Za-Za going to say? And it wasn’t just that. She’d snapped at Chloe. And the other girls, how must they be feeling?
Holly swallowed hard and stopped. She had reached the large scenery hall and the backstage entrance to the theatre. The stage-door keeper sat in a little cubicle letting the dancers and stage crew in and out.
“Are you OK, sweetheart?” he asked. “You look rather flushed.”
“I’m just hot,” lied Holly.
“You should be glad of the warmth. It’s snowing outside,” he commented.
“Snowing!” gasped Holly, her own problems momentarily forgotten. “Can I go and see?”
The stage-door keeper frowned. “You’re not really allowed outside the theatre when you’re here with the school.”
“But it’s the interval in a minute. I’m not needed on stage. I’ll only be a few seconds. Oh, I could really do with some fresh air. Please? I won’t do anything stupid,” Holly begged.
“Oh, all right,” he gave in. “But don’t go too far and if you’re not back inside in one minute, I’m coming to get you. Deal?”
“Deal!” said Holly, quickly hurrying outside.
The stage door opened into a quiet back street. The sky was dark and the only light came from a nearby golden street lamp. Snow was falling in big silent flakes, settling on the ground like a white carpet.
“Oh, wow!” Holly breathed, putting her hand out and feeling the flakes land icily on her fingers.
She watched them swirl down and suddenly was filled with the urge to dance in the snow. She couldn’t in her performance shoes – she would be in even more trouble if she got those wet and dirty. Pulling off her white shoes, she put on her old red ones, tied up the ribbons and jumped to her feet. She could hear the music faintly from inside the theatre as the first act finished and she began to twirl and dance.
Suddenly she became aware that it wasn’t just her hands and arms that were tingling where the snowflakes were landing, it was her feet too.
She glanced down and saw the shoes were shining as if they were covered with bright jewels.
“Enchantia!” she gasped. “I’m going to Enchantia again!”
A bright twinkling cloud of blue, silver, lilac, pink and gold sparkles swept around Holly and she was spun up into the air. A few seconds later, she was put gently back down. Even before the sparkles had cleared she could feel the difference. The air was warm and there was grass beneath her feet.
The cloud around her vanished. She was standing in the garden of the Royal Palace. She’d been here before. Suddenly the White Cat came hurrying out. He was standing on his hind legs and was wearing a golden waistcoat and black boots.
“White Cat!” Holly cried in delight.
He turned round. “Holly! Oh, my ears and whiskers!” He jumped high in the air, crossing his feet over five times before landing and running over. On the way, he leaped into a grand jeté and landed in front of her. Grabbing her by the hands, he swung her round.
She laughed. It was wonderful to be back in Enchantia.
“I’m so glad to see you!” the cat cried. “Oh, my shimmering whiskers, Holly! This is the best surprise ever. You’re bound to be able to help!”
“Why? What’s going on?” asked Holly.
“It’s the Wicked Fairy again,” the White Cat said, his usually cheerful face looking suddenly worried.
Holly shuddered as she pictured the Wicked Fairy with her hooked warty nose, black wand and long cloak. She’d met her in her first adventure in Enchantia, when she’d tried to spoil Princess Aurelia’s wedding anniversary. She was one of the few really horrible characters in Enchantia.
“What’s she been doing?” Holly asked.
“I’ll show you!” The White Cat waved his long fluffy tail once and then used the end to draw a circle on the ground. Sparks shot up into the air and a mist formed inside the circle he’d drawn.
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