7. Picking Up Tips
After dinner, Marmalade watched Jack rehearsing. Chloe had been right. He was dancing well, and very differently from everyone else. Marmalade wasn’t really jealous. It wasn’t in his nature to feel envious of other people’s lives. He would rather make the most of his own. But he was worried. Marmalade could see that while Jack had been soaking up information like a sponge, he himself had been too complacent. To keep ahead, he needed to pick up some tips of his own.
Now that he was taking notice of Jack’s skills, Marmalade could see that Jack had been politely listening to all his advice, but only using the parts of it that were useful to him. Marmalade would have blushed, if he were the sort of person who blushed easily!
Instead of feeling embarrassed, Marmalade thought carefully. Perhaps he could learn from Jack without seeming to... Big jumps were Marmalade’s favorite part of dancing, and he wanted to put a couple of really spectacular ones into his routine. Jack wasn’t really into big jumps, but he knew all the theory, so all Marmalade had to do was pick his brain. Mr. Penardos was sure to be impressed if Marmalade could come up with some totally accurate classic leaps in his jazz routine. The music he’d chosen would be perfect. Marmalade could just see himself flying from his piano dance into his portrayal of the double bass and again into the saxophone solo.
But the evening was moving on and it would soon be homework time. Marmalade would have to wait until the next day to put his plan into action.
“Hey, Jack! Can we talk?” he asked right after breakfast the next morning as everyone was gathering their belongings for the first lesson of the day. It wasn’t the best time to ask about dancing, because they had a math class to get to, but Marmalade couldn’t wait any longer to start working on his idea.
“Sure!” agreed Jack.
“You know that jump I did some time ago, and you told me its official name?”
“Yes?” replied Jack, looking puzzled.
“I can’t remember what you’re supposed to do with your legs,” Marmalade told him.
“It doesn’t matter,” Jack replied. “Your jump was great.”
“Yes, I know that,” agreed Marmalade casually. “But I can’t remember what you said, and it’s been annoying me.”
Jack picked up his bag and shrugged it over his shoulder. He looked pleased to be asked about his specialist knowledge. “I’m not that good at jumps,” he said, “but I know how it’s supposed to go. I’ll show you at lunchtime, if you want. We could try it in the small dance studio before afternoon classes.”
“You don’t need to show me,” said Marmalade. “Just tell me and I’ll do it now. You can say if I’ve got it right or not. I’ve been thinking about that jump all night and I want to get it figured out.”
Jack sighed. “You’re supposed to have one foot pulled up to the other knee for a classic saut de basque,” he told him. “But you’re not going to do it in here, are you?”
“Of course,” said Marmalade, pushing a table to one side to make room.
"But ...”
It was too late. Marmalade had already taken off. Several people turned to watch. Marmalade was always fun to see when he was fooling around. Someone whistled as he landed perfectly. Marmalade turned to Jack in triumph. “How was that?”
Jack nodded. “Not bad,” he admitted.
“But not perfect?” Marmalade insisted.
“Well, your foot could have been a little closer to your knee,” Jack admitted. “But don’t do another one here, Marmalade.” He moved to get in Marmalade’s way to prevent him from jumping, but Marmalade pushed him away.
“Okay!” Marmalade took a deep breath and leaped again. This time, the jump was perfect and beautifully executed. He threw Jack an excited, triumphant glance, but as his leading foot hit the floor it slid disastrously away from him. He could do nothing to recover his balance, and he landed heavily, among bags and people’s feet, ending up half underneath a table.
For a moment, there was a shocked silence, and then everyone began to laugh.
“Typical Marmalade!” said Pop with a giggle.
“What a joker,” agreed Ed.
“What a show-off!” Tara added, folding her arms and looking down her nose at the fallen dancer.
“Are you all right?” asked Chloe between giggles. “Do you need a hand?”
“I’ll pull you up,” Danny offered, reaching out a hand to help his friend.
“No!” cried Marmalade, his voice high with fear. “Don’t touch me!”
“What’s the matter?” asked Chloe.
Marmalade stared wildly at Danny. His frightened face was deathly white and full of pain, and his leg was twisted awkwardly underneath him.
“He’s hurt!” said Jack. “Don’t move him. If you do, it could make things worse.”
"Get Sister O’Flannery!” Danny yelled. “Tell her Marmalade has injured his leg! Go on, Chloe. Hurry!”
Chloe raced off and Lolly went with her. Danny made everyone else move back to give Marmalade some space. Very carefully, he and Ben pulled the table away from the fallen dancer. Marmalade felt so small and helpless, lying there on the dining-room floor while everyone else stood around, staring at him with worried expressions on their faces. He didn’t dare to move, afraid he might injure his leg even more, and it was so painful he was sure he wouldn’t be able to stand on it. Why hadn’t Jack saved his explanations until they were somewhere else? It was all his fault that Marmalade was injured!
Danny crouched beside Marmalade to keep him company. “I’m sure Sister won’t be long,” he told him. “Don’t worry. Just stay still.”
But Marmalade’s face was twisted in agony. “I’m scared,” he whispered to Danny. “I’m afraid I might have hurt myself badly. What if it’s really serious?”
8. Bad News for Marmalade
Sister O’Flannery was in charge of the infirmary. It wasn’t long before she arrived in the dining room and was kneeling at Marmalade’s side. She asked him exactly what had happened.
“I expect it’s just a bad sprain,” she told him after he had explained how he fell. “But you should have an X-ray to make sure. You didn’t hurt yourself anywhere else, did you?”
Marmalade shook his head.
“Good,” said Sister. “Don’t worry. I’m going to call an ambulance. We don’t want to risk making matters worse by taking you to the hospital ourselves. Just keep that leg as still as you can until they come.”
“Will I be able to dance again soon?” Marmalade asked anxiously.
“Goodness, I hope so!” she told him with a smile. “Let’s have some space here,” she added, raising her voice to address the other students. “Come on, there’s nothing to see. Go to your classes. Do you want someone to stay with you?” she added quietly to Marmalade.
He nodded.
“What’s your name?” she asked Jack, who was standing anxiously behind Marmalade. “Can you stay with your friend?”
“Of course,” Jack replied.
Marmalade shook his head violently. “No!” he cried. “I don’t want Jack to stay. It was his fault I got hurt! Where’s Danny?”
Jack’s face went almost as pale as Marmalade’s. He hesitated for a moment, and then turned and left the room.
It wasn’t too long before the ambulance arrived. The paramedics lifted Marmalade carefully onto a stretcher.
“You’d better go to your class now,” Sister told Danny, once Marmalade was safely in the ambulance. “I’ll go with him. And don’t you worry—he’s in good hands. We’ll get him fixed up soon.”
In the emergency room, it seemed forever before Marmalade could be seen, but eventually a friendly doctor took a look at his injured leg. Marmalade tried not to cry out when she moved it gently, but it really hurt, and his knee was becoming very swollen and bruised.
“We’ll take an X-ray, but I think you’ve torn a ligament in your knee,” the doctor told him. “Did you say you were a dancer?” she added.
“Y
es,” said Marmalade anxiously. “Will I be able to dance again soon? There’s a really important concert in a few weeks’ time and I need to practice for it.”
The doctor shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said. “You’ll have to forget about performing for the time being. Ligaments can take a long time to heal,” she told Marmalade. “If you want to stand the best chance of it healing properly, you’ll need to keep the weight off your leg for quite a while. Then you’ll need physical therapy to get your muscles working well again. If you want to be a professional dancer, you’ll need to give this injury every chance to heal completely. You don’t want to risk it happening again and threatening your career.”
“Could it happen again?” asked Marmalade, holding back his tears. How could he dance in the Rising Stars Concert if he couldn’t practice?
“There will always be a weakness where there has been an injury,” the doctor told him. “But you’re young, and with any luck you won’t have problems in the future. It might be best to put your leg in a cast for a while, but we’ll have a look at the X-ray before we make a decision.”
Marmalade was appalled. He had been worrying about the Rising Stars Concert, but it might be that he’d always have a weakness in his knee because of one crazy jump. How could he have been so stupid as to jeopardize his career in this way?
Marmalade was taken to the X-ray department in a wheelchair, and afterward he had to wait until the doctor made a final decision.
“Well, the good news is that there are no broken bones,” the doctor told him cheerfully. “I’m confident that it’s the ligament at the side of your knee that’s causing the trouble.” She looked at Marmalade sternly. “I’m going to give you some crutches, and put a really strong elastic bandage on your knee. You must promise me not to put any weight on your leg for at least the next two weeks.”
Marmalade nodded. He’d do absolutely anything to help his knee heal properly.
“All right, then,” she said. “We’ll do that. You’ll need to keep the leg up as much as possible, and no doubt Sister O’Flannery will keep a close eye on you.”
She turned to the school nurse. “Make an appointment to get his knee reassessed in a couple weeks’ time,” she told her. “If you’re worried in the meantime, take him to his doctor. The main thing is to try to prevent a weakness by letting the ligament heal as well as possible. You can put a cold compress on his knee to help the swelling go down. Frozen peas are good for that—wrapped in a towel, not put directly onto his skin. But I’m sure you know that already.”
Sister nodded. “I keep a couple of ice packs handy in case of sprains,” she said. “But I thought this looked more serious.”
“You did the right thing,” agreed the doctor. “It’s a nasty injury, but hopefully it’ll heal well.” Then she looked at Marmalade. “Whatever you do, don’t twist your knee while it’s healing,” she warned him. “That will just make things worse. Don’t worry too much, though,” she added. “I expect you’ll be dancing again next semester if you take it easy.”
Marmalade tried to smile and thank her, but his mouth twisted the wrong way, and he almost burst into tears. How could he bear it if he couldn’t dance for the next three months? This had to be the worst moment of his entire life.
Back at school, Sister helped Marmalade into the infirmary. “You’ll be better sleeping here for at least the first few days,” she told him. “Getting upstairs to your own room will be difficult with crutches, and here all your friends will be able to visit you while you keep that leg up.” She looked at him with concern. “I was going to suggest that you go to classes this afternoon,” she said, “but you look worn out. Why don’t you make a list of things that you’d like brought down from your room? I’ll get you a glass of water so you can take those painkillers the hospital gave us and then you can rest. Meanwhile, I’ll let your family know what’s happened.”
She gave him a piece of paper and a pencil, and Marmalade tried to think of everything he’d need. By the time he’d finished his list, the painkillers were beginning to work. With the pain easing to a dull ache, he eventually drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
He woke much later to find Sister putting a cup of tea and a couple of cookies by his bed. “You’ve got a visitor!” she told him cheerfully.
It was Danny. He’d brought spare clothes, Marmalade’s shower caddy, his backpack, and the book he was reading. Marmalade struggled to sit up. His knee throbbed, and the thick bandage prevented him from moving it easily. “What time is it?” he asked Danny groggily.
“Dinnertime!” Danny told him. “I came to see you after lunch, but Sister said you’d only been back from the hospital a little while and had gone to sleep.”
Marmalade ate a cookie and suddenly felt ravenously hungry, realizing that he’d missed lunch. He gobbled the other cookie down quickly as Sister came back in with a large tray. “Do you want this salad?” she asked. “I kept it in the fridge for you.”
“Thanks!” he said.
“We made you this,” Danny announced, putting a huge card on Marmalade’s bed. “Well, Pop made it and then we all signed it.”
“Thanks, Danny! Please thank them all very much.” Marmalade looked at the beautifully cut-out paper flowers that were stuck onto the front of the card. Inside, everyone had written little messages and signed them. Most of them were variations of Get well soon, but Jack had written I’m so sorry next to his name.
Marmalade put the card to one side. Somehow, it was ruined by having Jack’s name on it. He didn’t want to think about Jack, but he couldn’t help it. If Jack hadn’t come to Rockley Park, Marmalade wouldn’t have asked about the jump and none of this would have happened. Everything was Jack’s fault.
Somewhere at the back of Marmalade’s mind, he knew he wasn’t being fair, but in all his pain and misery, he couldn’t bear to accept any of the blame for hurting himself. What’s more, thinking about Jack was reminding him that Jack could still dance, and he couldn’t. How would he cope if he could never dance again?
9. A Friend in Need
It wasn’t long before Marmalade had mastered his crutches and was back in classes again. Everyone was very kind to him, and Danny was a great help, making sure no one got too close and knocked his knee. Marmalade tried to stay cheerful, but he couldn’t help thinking that there wasn’t much to be cheerful about. It seemed that the class comedian had gone forever.
After he had moped at the side of the dance studio for a couple of classes, Mr. Penardos had a word with him. “You might as well skip my classes until your leg is better,” he said. “I had thought you might be interested in watching, but that’s obviously too frustrating for you.”
“Sorry,” Marmalade apologized.
“Tha’s all right,” Mr. Penardos said. “I un’erstand how you feel. But use your time wisely. Make sure you catch up on all that academic work instead.”
Marmalade tried hard to concentrate on his schoolwork, but every time he went somewhere quiet to study, his mind wandered to that awful moment when his foot had slid from under him and he’d realized he was in trouble. It had been landing in a slippery puddle of a spilled drink that had made him fall, not a badly executed jump, but knowing that didn’t help. Time after time, he replayed the jump and the painful consequences in his head. He knew he shouldn’t have been dancing in the dining hall, but because he was distraught that he couldn’t dance, and because he couldn’t bear to think it was his own fault, Marmalade continued to blame Jack.
His friends did their best to help, but nothing could make Marmalade happy. Talking to his family on the phone made him feel even more sorry for himself. He missed them badly now that he wasn’t enjoying himself dancing. Their cards and presents made him feel even more homesick, so after a few days he got permission to go home for a weekend.
Marmalade’s dad arrived to pick him up, and Danny carried his bag out to the car while Marmalade followed on his crutches.
Jack was hovering by the front
door. He looked as if he wanted to say something.
“Have a good time,” said Danny. Marmalade frowned and glanced in Jack’s direction. How could he have a good time when he was injured? Jack blushed and disappeared indoors, looking upset.
At home, everyone wanted to take care of Marmalade. His mom made him lie on the sofa, and even his sisters tried to make him feel better. They took turns bringing him drinks and ran to open doors for him. They even let him watch his choice of TV shows! His knee gradually began to feel a little better and by the end of the weekend it wasn’t quite as painful.
By the time he got back to school, Marmalade was able to get up the stairs to his own bedroom. From then on things were as back to normal as they could be for a dancer who couldn’t dance. Sister was very pleased with the way he was looking after his injury.
“Continue being patient and I’m sure it will heal really well,” she encouraged him. “It just needs time.”
But Marmalade was getting more and more gloomy. He had lots of time to devote to all the work he liked least, while the lessons he loved most of all were denied him. He was sinking into a deep depression, and nothing his friends did could bring him out of it. Lots of students were practicing hard in the hopes of being picked for the Rising Stars Concert, and this made Marmalade feel even worse. He had been so sure he was going to be chosen as a Rising Star this semester, but now all his dreams had turned to disaster. Everyone around him was focused and busy, while Marmalade was totally miserable. But he hadn’t expected to argue with his best friend.
Danny had been trying hard to keep Marmalade cheerful, but it almost seemed that Marmalade didn’t want to be happy anymore. Things came to a head when Danny came into their room to get changed after the general dance class. Marmalade was lying on his bed, reading a book. He didn’t even look up when Danny greeted him.
Danny came over to Marmalade’s bed and took the book out of his hand.
“Hey!” Marmalade protested. “That’s not fair! I can’t fight you for it because of my knee.”
Lucky Break #6 Page 4