Lucky Break #6

by Cindy Jefferies

  Martin laughed. “Do some more people,” he said, but Marmalade had to stop because Mr. Penardos was ready for the next routine.

  As the class went on, there was more and more giggling from Marmalade’s end of the room. He was entertaining his friends by imitating them and he had copied them all perfectly. There was Chloe, with her energetic and enthusiastic movements, which sometimes went very wrong. There was Ed Henderson, a guitarist putting up with dance because he had to, but obviously not enjoying it one bit, and serious and professional Pop and Lolly.

  “Thank you, Marmalade,” said Mr. Penardos. “That’s very clever, but you are disrupting my class.

  “Okay, everyone.” Mr. Penardos stopped the music and spoke to the whole class. “Now don’ forget to warm down those muscles. This is as important as the warm-up at the beginning of class. We don’ want any injuries, do we? Marmalade, can you stay behind for a moment, please?”

  “Now you’re in for it!” warned Martin.

  But Mr. Penardos didn’t want to reprimand Marmalade. “I realize you’re bored in this class,” he told Marmalade when the others had gone. “But you should treat it as an opportunity to keep your fitness up. Don’ make the mistake of thinking you’re too good to do simple exercises. They keep you supple and help you to avoid injury.”

  Marmalade nodded, but Mr. Penardos hadn’t finished. “A new dancer is joining us tomorrow,” he added. “We wouldn’t usually start someone so near the end of the school year, but his parents have recently moved to this country from Hong Kong, and they were anxious to get him into school right away. We auditioned him over the midterm break, and were very impressed. He has a strong classical background to his dancing, which you migh’ find interesting.”

  Marmalade kept his expression neutral. He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of a new student arriving who might be better than him.

  “Don’ worry!” Mr. Penardos said with a laugh, as if he’d read Marmalade’s mind. “He won’t steal your glory. You can teach him plenty abou’ freestyle dancing. He needs to learn all abou’ modern styles, but he’ll make an excellent addition to our class, so I hope you’ll make an effort to get along with him.”

  “Okay,” said Marmalade, sounding more enthusiastic. Rockley Park taught some classical ballet, but the emphasis was very much on modern dance. It sounded to Marmalade as if he would still be top dog, and he might be able to pick up some tips from the new boy as well.

  “He’s not confident like you,” Mr. Penardos went on. “He’s quite shy, and is sure to need some help settling in, so I wondered if you’d like to look out for him for a while?”

  Marmalade’s eyes lit up. That sounded like fun! He would enjoy being in charge and showing the new boy around. “Of course I will,” he agreed, his mind running ahead. He would soon put a new student at ease and share all his knowledge about the most laid-back teachers—and those he would have to watch out for. And a new student would be a new audience for all his jokes and antics! “What’s his name?” Marmalade asked Mr. Penardos.

  “Jack Cheung,” said his teacher. “He is a very talented dancer with real promise. But it’s not going to be easy for him, joining us almos’ at the end of the school year, and having jus’ come from abroad. Everything will be new for him. Will you take him under your wing . . . without leading him astray?” he added.

  Marmalade grinned. “Yeah!” he agreed. “It’ll be great to have another real dancer. We’re such a small group.”

  “Good.” Mr. Penardos smiled. “Maybe having a bit of responsibility for someone else will help you settle down. I know some of the other teachers think you can be too exuberant.”

  After showering, Marmalade went to his room. Danny was there already and so were his other two roommates, guitarists Ben and Ed.

  “Did Mr. Penardos yell at you for fooling around?” asked Danny.

  Marmalade grinned. “No, I got away with it,” he told him. “And he gave me some interesting news.”

  “What’s that?” asked Ben.

  “A new student is coming,” Marmalade announced. “Another dancer. Mr. Penardos has asked me to look out for him until he gets settled in.”

  “He’s missed almost the whole year!” Ed exclaimed. “It seems like a weird time to change schools.”

  “He’s just come from Hong Kong,” Marmalade told his friends. “His parents want him to get settled as soon as possible.”

  “If it were me,” said Ed, “I’d have tried to wrangle a few weeks’ extra vacation and start school next year!”

  “Maybe he did try, but his parents wouldn’t let him,” said Marmalade, wanting to stick up for his new charge.

  “I wonder which bedroom Mr. South will put him in?” said Ben. “Ravi has a spare bed in his room, and so does Charlie, now that Robbie’s left.”

  “Ravi’s room, I hope,” Danny said. “Charlie might not be nice to a new kid.”

  “Don’t worry,” Marmalade said. “Wherever he is, he’ll be fine with me looking out for him!”

  3. New Boy

  The next morning, Mr. South called Ravi and Marmalade into his office after breakfast.

  “This is Jack Cheung,” the resident adviser said, introducing a slightly built boy who looked very nervous. “I’m putting Jack in your room, Ravi. So, could you show him around the house and help him settle in?” Then he turned to Marmalade. “Mr. Penardos has told me that you’ll take care of Jack during the school day,” he added.

  “Yeah,” said Marmalade. “No problem.”

  “Good,” said Mr. South. “It’s tough joining a school halfway through a semester, but I know you’ll all make Jack feel welcome and help him out.”

  The boys had to hurry to assembly, and then afterward there was no time for Jack to meet Marmalade’s friends as they headed to their first class.

  “I’ll introduce you to everyone later,” Marmalade told Jack, feeling very important. “Come on, we’d better get going. We don’t want to be late for dance.”

  It didn’t take long to get changed into the loose pants and T-shirts needed for the class. Mr. Penardos was waiting for them in the studio. The class was small. Only five students in Marmalade’s year were taking dance as their major subject, but every one of them was utterly dedicated.

  “Welcome to our group, Jack,” Mr. Penardos said. “Meet Martin, Ellie, Megan, and Alice. I think Marmalade and Martin will be glad to have another boy!”

  Jack smiled shyly. Marmalade showed him where to leave his towel before taking him over to the full-length mirror at the far end of the room.

  “I suppose you’re used to warming up before classes, aren’t you?” Marmalade asked as everyone began their stretching exercises.

  Jack watched as Marmalade carefully lifted one arm above his head and used his other hand to push the arm back over his shoulder. “Yes,” he agreed. “I know similar exercises, but these aren’t exactly the same as the ones I use. Do you mind if I copy you? I think I’ll get them right soon.”

  Marmalade grinned. “That’s fine,” he said. “And if you’re not sure about anything, just ask.”

  “I have a question,” said Jack right away.

  “Go ahead,” said Marmalade, ready to explain the finer points of the stretch he was doing.

  “I hope you don’t mind,” Jack said, then hesitated. “Why are you called Marmalade?”

  Marmalade burst out laughing. “It’s because of my hair,” he explained, tossing back his long, curly red hair. My real name is Marmaduke, but it’s such a terrible name that even the teachers call me Marmalade.”

  “I see,” said Jack, smiling. “It’s a cool name.”

  “Thanks!” said Marmalade, liking Jack more every minute.

  Jack kept watching Marmalade, and had soon learned Mr. Penardos’s favorite warm-up routine. Once they had stretched their muscles, they were ready to move on to the lesson. Although they were all concentrating hard on Mr. Penardos’s instructions, Jack kept looking at Marmalade to reassure himself tha
t he was following properly. He seemed very grateful to have Marmalade nearby, and even though Jack was a talented ballet dancer, his lack of knowledge as far as modern dance was concerned made Marmalade feel superior.

  “This half of the term, I want you all to create your own individual dances,” Mr. Penardos announced at the end of the class. “You’ve learned a lot over the past year. Let’s see if you can put it into practice.” Mr. Penardos looked at Marmalade. “Perhaps you can help Jack a little,” he suggested. “I know you have only just joined us,” he added to Jack, “but give it a try anyway. Don’ look so worried! It’s not an exam!”

  While Jack was getting his towel, Mr. Penardos had a quiet word with Marmalade. “I expect he’ll need you less as he gets used to the way we do things here,” he told him.

  “Oh, I don’t mind,” said Marmalade enthusiastically. “It’s like having a little brother, instead of all the sisters I’m stuck with at home!”

  “That’s all right, then!” Mr. Penardos laughed.

  At lunchtime, Marmalade took Jack over to the dining hall. “The salads are good,” he advised the new boy, “but don’t bother with the pasta.”

  Jack glanced at the hot dish of the day, but took Marmalade’s advice and chose a salad instead. At Marmalade’s friends’ table, everyone moved over so Jack could join them. The morning had been so busy that he hadn’t had an opportunity to meet them all yet.

  “Chloe, Tara, Pop and Lolly,” said Marmalade, waving his arm toward the girls. “And these are my roommates, Ed, Ben, and Danny.”

  “Did you enjoy your first dance class?” asked Lolly. “Pop and I love dancing, but our major subject is singing.”

  “It was great!” Jack said shyly. “Mr. Penardos is a good teacher, but I have so much to learn quickly. I am lucky to have Marmalade to help me. He is an excellent teacher, too.”

  “Wow!” said Pop, grinning at him. “Don’t swell Marmalade’s head any more, okay? He’s bad enough already!”

  Jack blushed. But Marmalade was pleased at Jack’s praise and grinned. “Well,” he told Pop carelessly, “I just happen to explain things perfectly!”

  “Hmm!” grunted Tara. “Like you explained map references to me when I’d missed part of geography class because of my bass lesson overrunning?”

  Marmalade had forgotten that. “I just got a little confused!” he protested.

  “You definitely did!” Chloe laughed. “You explained the references the wrong way around, so poor Tara couldn’t find anything she was supposed to on the map!”

  “All right!” Marmalade agreed hurriedly, not wanting Jack to hear anything bad about him. “I suppose you never mess up anything, like giving your hairdresser the wrong instructions?”

  There was silence for a moment. Everyone had been avoiding the subject of Chloe’s hair. She had had it cut during midterm break, and it was obvious that she really hated the ultrashort cut. She’d been wearing a black beanie over it, which didn’t suit her very well either.

  Chloe’s mouth opened and then closed again. Tears welled up in her eyes.

  Marmalade wanted to say sorry, but he wanted to impress Jack even more. “Don’t worry, it’ll grow out!” he told her breezily, and picked up his tray. “Come on,” he added to Jack. “I’ll introduce you to some more people.”

  Jack half smiled at the others and followed Marmalade to another table.

  “Charlie!” Marmalade said. “Can we join you? This is Jack.”

  “I’m just going,” Charlie Owen told them. “Hi-Jack!” he added, laughing uproariously at his own feeble joke.

  “Pay no attention to him,” Marmalade said as the other boy left. “Charlie likes to think he’s tough, but he shouldn’t give you any trouble. If he does, make sure you tell me right away and I’ll straighten him out.”

  “Thanks, Marmalade,” said Jack gratefully. He glanced back at Marmalade’s friends. “Are they all mad at you about what you said to Chloe?” he added.

  Marmalade followed his gaze uncomfortably. He wished he hadn’t teased Chloe. She obviously felt terrible about her new haircut, but Marmalade had long ago come to terms with his own outrageous hair, and things like that didn’t bother him anymore. Surely Chloe should be able to cope with a little teasing?

  “They’ll come around,” he said hopefully. “Chloe’s usually good at taking a joke. Maybe she just had a bad day . . .”

  “There weren’t any girls at my last school,” Jack told him. “And I don’t have any sisters. I guess being at a coed school has helped you understand girls.”

  “Er . . . I suppose so,” said Marmalade, not so sure he’d handled the situation very well at all. But, if Jack thought he’d done well, maybe he had? Yes, maybe Chloe was just being silly. Apologizing wouldn’t have helped. Far better to make a joke of it.

  Marmalade looked over at the table again and caught Pop’s eye. He winked and tossed his bright red curls toward her. He made cutting motions with his hand, as if he was chopping his own hair off. Pop nudged Tara and they both watched as Marmalade mimed horror at his supposedly newly bald head. But the girls didn’t laugh. Instead, they looked angry and turned away. Marmalade sighed. It might be better to give the girls a wide berth for a while. But it didn’t matter because he had Jack to take care of. That was much more important right now.

  4. Friends

  Jack was keeping Marmalade very busy with all the questions he had about Rockley Park.

  “Who’s your favorite teacher? Do you get into big trouble if homework isn’t in on time? Do you ever get to perform outside school?”

  Marmalade was more than happy to tell him about the Rising Stars Concert at the end of the school year. “It’s only a half-hour program,” he explained. “So just the very best students in the school can perform. That usually means the older students, of course, but everyone has a chance. The teachers award points throughout the year, and at school concerts students can vote for who they like, too. The final decision on who can perform is made near the end of this semester, which is why I’m so excited to have so many points for my dancing. It would be so amazing to dance on TV!”

  Every day Jack listened intently to everything Marmalade told him and worked hard to fit in. He was still quite shy, though. “It’s great having you for a friend,” he told Marmalade. “I didn’t really have any friends at my last school.”

  “Why not?” asked Marmalade.

  “It was just an ordinary school,” Jack confessed. “And once some kids discovered I went to ballet classes after school, they teased me so much that they made my life a misery. No one would be friends with me after that.”

  “That’s terrible,” Marmalade said. “But why did you come to Rockley Park if ballet is your favorite subject? You should have gone to a special ballet school. We don’t do much ballet here, except for the basics.”

  “I think it will be useful to be trained in modern dance,” said Jack. “So few people make it to the top in classical ballet, but there are lots more opportunities in the sort of dancing you do. My parents wanted me to keep up my ballet, but I think this will be better. That’s why I auditioned to come here.”

  “Well, you don’t need to worry about anyone teasing you about your dancing at this school,” Marmalade told him.

  Jack didn’t seem quite so sure. “You won’t tell everyone I used to study ballet, will you?” he begged Marmalade. “I shouldn’t have told you really, I guess.”

  “Well, all right,” agreed Marmalade. “I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to.”

  Jack continued to stick to Marmalade like glue and Marmalade loved having someone looking up to him.

  The rest of Marmalade’s gang would have been happy to hang out with Jack, too, but Marmalade and Jack were spending so much time together that there wasn’t really any chance for Jack to make other friends. And Marmalade found himself spending less time with his old friends as well. When they met Danny, Ed, and Ben one afternoon after classes, Marmalade realized that he’d ha
rdly spoken to them in the past few days.

  “Hi!” he said as they approached. “What are you all up to?”

  “We’re going to jam over at the Rock Department,” Danny told him. “Come with us. You can be our vocalist, if you want.”

  “Sounds like fun,” agreed Marmalade. “Are you going to come, Jack?”

  Jack hesitated. “I don’t think so,” he said. “Thanks, but I don’t sing or play anything. I think I’ll go and practice those dance steps Mr. Penardos said I should concentrate on.”

  Marmalade clapped his hands to his head. “Oh, yes!” he agreed. “I’d forgotten. I promised to run through the routine with you. Sorry.”

  “It’s all right,” said Jack. “You can show me later.”

  Marmalade shook his head. “No way,” he said. “I know Mr. Penardos wanted you to learn them quickly so you can move on to the next group of steps. It’s better if I run through them first—otherwise your practice time could be wasted. I’ll come with you now.”

  “What about your jam session?” asked Jack.

  “It’s all right,” said Danny. “Ed can sing. He’s not that bad!”

  Ed laughed. “Thanks!” he said. “I’ll have you know that some people really like my voice!”

  “Sorry, dude,” Marmalade told Danny. “Next time, maybe.”

  “Sorry about that,” said Jack, once Danny and the others had gone.

  “Don’t worry,” Marmalade told him, moonwalking down the hallway. “Danny and the others are always jamming. I can join in with them anytime. And I’d rather be dancing than singing any day!”

  When they got to the practice room, Marmalade showed Jack the routine and Jack copied him. It wasn’t long before Jack knew every step, and Marmalade watched as he went through the routine once more on his own.

  “That’s great!” said Marmalade. He was very impressed by Jack’s fluid and graceful movements. His classical training shone through with every step he took. Marmalade realized that he could learn some really useful things from his new friend.