by Ann Bryant
Mrs. Appleton put her arm round his shoulder, told him gently that his wrist definitely wasn’t broken, then snapped at me, “What do you say to Archie?”
I caught a glimpse of Stevie by the netting, watching all that was going on.
“Sorry,” I whispered for the second time, with a face like a tomato.
“I should think so too. There’s far too much of this lashing out at the least provocation these days, and we’re not having it in this school. Now off you go, Poppy.”
I didn’t look at anyone. Just ran to Mia and Alice as fast as my shaky legs would take me.
None of the teachers gave me any bad looks during lunch, so I made myself stop thinking about Archie Cook and his horrid friends and concentrated on ballet instead. It was in the afternoon break that my big jitters started. I decided to go to the cloakroom and have quick practice of the step sequence from the last lesson. I couldn’t wait to show Miss Coralie that I could already do it perfectly before she even started to polish up what we’d learned last week.
The first thing I did when I got into the cloakroom was hold on to one of the basins and do a plié. I like pretending the basin’s a barre because it’s exactly the right height. I sung the plié music very softly and did one facing the other way to make it even.
I was just straightening my legs when I thought I heard a little noise coming from one of the toilets. I looked at the locks on all the five doors. One of them was on red. That meant someone was in there. I felt a bit silly because they must have heard me singing, so I decided to go to the loo myself, then by the time I came out the person would have gone. It was a pity I couldn’t go into the classroom to dance, but we’re not allowed inside during break unless it’s raining.
When I heard one of the loos flushing, I thought Good, they’re going at last! I counted to twenty, then flushed my own toilet and went back into the cloakroom. No one was there. Thank goodness.
I went through the step sequence four times, then I did the dance. I kept counting all the time, sometimes in my head, sometimes out loud. It helped me get it right. The noise of the end-of-break bell gave me a jump because I’d been so wrapped up in my own little ballet world – my favourite place to be.
Just before I left the cloakroom, I said my little prayer for the sixty-sixth-millionth time… Only this time I said it out loud to make it work better.
“Please let Miss Coralie change her mind about me doing the exam.”
8 Goose Bumps
After school, Mum came to collect me and Stevie. She was standing at the gate, as usual, chatting to Mark Mason’s mum, so I hung around with Mia, waiting impatiently for her to finish. I didn’t want to be even ten seconds late setting off for ballet. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to run through the sequence with Jasmine before the class started.
But I got a shock because when I looked again, Mum wasn’t talking to Mark’s mum any more. She was talking with Mrs. Appleton. And looking very serious. My heart did a massive yo-yo and my body went all tense with worry. They had to be talking about me and Archie. Mum was going to be really cross. I could just imagine her telling me off all the way home. That was the trouble with adults. They were the only ones who were allowed to talk when they were telling you off. And if you dared to interrupt they said you were being cheeky. I’d just have to make sure I said the word bullying right at the very beginning, because that would make her listen. Once I’d got her to listen, I’d explain about how they were ganging up on me.
“I’ve got to go. Bye, Mia.”
“Come on, Stevie. We’re going,” Mum called when she saw me walking across to her.
“Byeee, Poppy! See you tomorrow!”
Mia was so lucky. She didn’t have to worry about getting told off or having her whole life ruined because of not being chosen for a ballet exam.
The moment we got in the car, Stevie started telling Mum about football.
“You should have seen me, Mum, I was absolutely wicked! Mr. Palmer said I did really good footwork. When we got back to the classroom, he gave me this sticker! Look! It says I’m a star! See!”
Stevie was leaning forward, tapping Mum on the shoulder.
“Sit down, Stevie, and put your seat belt on. I’ll look when we get home.”
Uh-oh! Mum didn’t sound very happy, and I could easily guess why.
Stevie didn’t seem to notice. He was too full of his goal. “Mr. Palmer’s written ‘football’ on the sticker, Mum. Now it says I’m a football star! Clever, isn’t it!”
Mum’s voice reminded me of a pair of nail clippers. “Yes, well done, Stevie. Is your seat belt done up properly?”
“He said I was a dead cert for the first team next year. What is a dead cert?”
No answer. I could see the side of Mum’s face from where I was sitting. It looked as though the bones were moving in her jaw. She was definitely thinking very cross thoughts.
I was dreading getting home. Half of me wanted to get the telling-off over with right here and now, but the other half thought that if I kept quiet Mum might just forget about it.
The moment we got home, Stevie kicked off his shoes and rushed off to watch cartoons, and I went whizzing off to do my hair and get my ballet things ready. I was halfway up the stairs when Mum’s voice stopped me.
“I want a word with you, young lady.” Goose bumps came up under my school sweatshirt. “Come into the kitchen.”
I shot back down as fast as possible, because I was so anxious about ballet. I couldn’t be late on this most important day in the world, and the traffic was always really bad if we were even the teensiest bit late.
“I know what you’re going to say, Mum, and it wasn’t my fault. Honestly. I double promise. It was Archie big bully Cook and his friends saying nasty stuff about ballet…”
“Hold it right there, Poppy!”
Another coating of goose bumps sprang up all over me.
Mum put her hands on her waist. “Mrs. Appleton has told me the full story, Poppy. You pushed Archie over. Hard. And he hurt himself! I cannot believe that a daughter of mine did that. I don’t know what Dad’ll say…”
“But…”
“Don’t interrupt! It’s all too easy to blame the boys, these days. But on this occasion, Poppy, you were the bully!”
“I wasn’t! It’s not fair!”
“Which bit isn’t fair? Did you push Archie Cook over or not?”
“Y…yes…but it was because he was making fun of me.” I knew my voice was getting louder but I couldn’t help it. “And they made a circle round me and I couldn’t get out…”
Mum pressed her hands together and put them in front of her lips, frowning.
“Made a circle?”
I thought that I was making her understand, at last. But then I suddenly caught sight of the clock and my whole body stiffened. “Oh, no! I’m going to be late for ballet. We’ve got to go right now or I’ll get killed! I’ll tell you in the car, okay?”
There was no time for another word. I just belted out and pulled the door behind me. Unfortunately, it slammed.
“Come back here!” Mum sounded really angry now.
“Please can I tell you about it in the car?” I said, poking my head round the kitchen door and trying to sound sensible and grown-up, even though I felt like screaming the place down.
“No, you can’t, because you’re not going to ballet.”
The blood seemed to drain right out of my face and down my neck and my body until I was completely wobbly and weak. “What…?”
“Come in properly and close the door,” Mum went on in her icy voice. “I haven’t finished talking about what happened today, and you do not go racing off when I’m right in the middle of talking to you.”
I stood with my head hanging down. This was the worst moment of my life.
“Can I have a sandwich, Mum?”
Stevie had come sliding into the kitchen, which he always does when he’s only got socks on his feet. Mum doesn’t usually mind, b
ut today she was in too much of a bad mood to put up with it.
“I’ll bring you one in a minute. I’m just talking to Poppy.”
Stevie stopped sliding and stood with his legs wide apart. He could tell something was wrong. “What are you talking about?”
I was about to tell him to mind his own business when he suddenly answered his own question. “I bet it’s Archie Cook.”
I looked up then. Mum was frowning. “What do you know about that?”
“I heard Mrs. Appleton telling you that Archie hurt his wrist…” Stevie was slowly going down into a sort of sideways splits as his feet were sliding further apart. So the next bit of what he said came out as grunts. “Only…he…never did…hurt…it…”
Mum marched over to Stevie and plonked him into a normal standing position. Then she tilted his chin to make him look at her. “Stand still and talk properly.”
Stevie did as he was told. “I just saw Archie laughing behind Mrs. Appleton’s back, that’s all.”
“Laughing?”
“Yeah, when Poppy was getting told off.”
My eyes widened. I wanted Stevie to keep going, but I could tell he was getting hungry because his eyes kept darting over to the loaf of bread.
“And how do you know that Archie hadn’t hurt his wrist?” asked Mum.
“Because he was waving it about, showing off and pulling faces right behind Mrs. Appleton’s back when she was being cross with Poppy. Then, the moment she turned round he pretended it was hurting again.”
Now Mum’s eyes were widening. They looked like big buttons. She didn’t seem to be able to speak for a few seconds, but then it was as though someone had bashed her on the back and made the words come shooting out. “Go on then, Poppy, get your stuff, quick. We’ll talk in the car.”
I could have hugged Stevie, but there was no time. I couldn’t waste a single second. I had to get to ballet on time.
9 Last Chance
“Calm down, love!”
“I can’t calm down. I’m all worried.”
All my wishing had come to nothing because here we were, stuck in a great long line of traffic, moving very slowly.
I yanked my leotard and tights out of my bag. “I’m going to get changed right now, Mum.”
“People might see your pants,” said Stevie, grinning.
“Don’t be silly, Stevie. Just calm down, Poppy. I’ll come in and explain to Miss Coralie…”
“No. Parents don’t come in. Not ever, Mum. You can’t.”
I wriggled out of my school skirt and managed to get my tights on without undoing the seat belt for more than ten seconds.
“Be good if we had a police siren, wouldn’t it?” said Stevie. Then he made the noise of a siren right until I’d got my leotard on.
“Oh, do be quiet, Stevie. I can’t drive with all that racket going on.”
I felt a bit better because I’d only got my hair to do, but my heart was still beating faster than usual because we were going so slowly.
Mum was making tutting noises and craning her neck out of the car window. “This doesn’t look too good.”
“What? What?” I felt like crying. I’d just spotted the clock in the front and it said twenty-five past four. The class started at half past.
“Look, Poppy, there’s nothing we can do about it, so stop getting yourself in a state.”
But I couldn’t stop. I was in a state. And I was frantically rummaging through my bag, looking for my hairband. It wasn’t there.
“Oh, no! I haven’t got my hairband! What am I going to do?” And then I did burst into tears.
The clock said twenty-eight minutes past four and our car wasn’t moving at all.
“Why doesn’t the light change to green?” I asked Mum through my tears.
“I’m afraid it’s changed already, love,” said Mum, doing a big sigh. “There’s just so much traffic. It’s because we set off that bit later.” She turned round and gave me a sorrowful smile. “Put your hair in a bun, love. You’ve got plenty of grips, haven’t you?”
I nodded miserably and started doing what she said.
“Look, we’re moving!” said Stevie.
I sat up straight to look, but we only moved about two metres. And when I saw the clock I started going mad, shouting and crying at the same time.
“It’s half past. I’m going to be late for definite now. And everyone’ll stare and I haven’t even got a hairband and that’ll make them stare harder… It’s no good. I can’t go. Let’s go home.”
“No, we really are moving, now,” said Stevie. “Look, it’s on green! Go on, Mum, get through it quick!”
And a few seconds later we were in the High Street, but we were still only crawling along.
“Bet Poppy could run faster than this car’s going!” said Stevie.
I unclicked my seat belt. “Yes! Can I, Mum?”
“No, it’s too far on your own. We’ll be there in a minute.”
“Oh, pleeeeeease, Mum. You can watch me all the way. I’ll leave my bag in the car and just take my ballet shoes. Pleeeeeease!”
We’d stopped again and I think that’s what made Mum agree. “Go on, then. I’ll see you at the end of the lesson. Bye, darling.”
I shot out of the car and ran harder than I’ve ever run before, feeling silly because of wearing my ballet uniform with my school shoes in the middle of such a busy road.
When I got to the heavy door, I crashed my body against it and it opened so easily that I fell over just inside. It hurt a bit but I just got up and carried on running up the steps. By the time I was at the top, I was completely puffed out. It was the plié music, so I’d only missed one thing.
I quickly put on my ballet shoes and noticed that there was a big black mark on my tights. That must have happened when I fell over downstairs. I gulped and rubbed it but it only went smudgy so I left it and chucked my shoes in the changing room, then stood glued to the floor outside Room One…
A little voice inside my head said: You can’t go in looking like that, Poppy. But another fierce little voice said: Just go, Poppy! Before I could change my mind, I pressed my thumbs together, then took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
I didn’t look at anyone. Just said, “Sorry I’m late,” in a bit of a squeaky voice and went over to Jasmine. Her eyes were full of questions as she bunched up closer to Immy Pearson to make room for me. I knew everyone was staring at me, so I couldn’t say anything, and anyway, Miss Coralie wanted to get on.
“Battements tendus… Preparation…and…”
I caught sight of myself in one of the mirrors and wished I could disappear into thin air. I looked such a mess. My face was bright red. It was obvious I’d been crying and my bun was nearly falling out. Then there was that awful black mark on my tights.
Miss Coralie was using her no-nonsense counting voice, moving along the line with her straightest back and sternest face. When she got to me, she lifted my arm up. “No hairband, Poppy?”
“We were in a big hurry,” I whispered, trying to keep my turnout and my pointe.
“Hmm.”
She moved on to Jasmine and then to Lottie, all the time counting in a louder voice than usual. My heart was still thudding from running so hard, but now it was thudding from nervousness too.
It wasn’t till we were over halfway through the barre work that I felt normal again. I had a quick glance around and saw that no one was looking at me any more, thank goodness. Right, from now on I was going to concentrate like mad and not let anything put me off. Especially Rose Bedford.
I suddenly realized that I’d completely forgotten about Rose until now. She was on the barre on the opposite wall with her hair looking bobbly and bumpy again, her hairband pressing her eyebrows down and her big leotard in wrinkles all over her tummy. There was something different about her though, only I couldn’t work out what.
“And one and close and second and close, derrière and close and second and close…” said Miss Coralie, walking
slowly around, watching everyone with her eagle eye. “And one and two and use your heads, don’t roll your feet and straighten knees.” The music came to an end, but Miss Coralie wanted to do the whole exercise again. “A lot of you are gripping the barre far too tightly,” she said. “Come a step away, and we’ll try it without holding on at all.”
I glanced at Rose. She had already taken a step away from the barre and had prepared her arms and everything. It was really strange. She seemed to be trying so hard, considering she hated ballet. And that reminded me of how she’d put her hair in a neat bun at school, even though she must have known the boys would tease her about it. I didn’t understand Rose. She was a mystery girl.
“Concentrate, Poppy,” came Miss Coralie’s voice, and I realized I’d slipped into a daydream. Immediately, I told myself off.
You stupid thing, Poppy! Then I made a promise inside my head that from now on I would do my double best every single second of the rest of the lesson.
When it was the ronds de jambe, Miss Coralie actually tipped her head on one side and said, “Lovely, Poppy.”
I wanted to skip around the room shouting, “Yessssssss!” But I made myself stay completely still as though I hadn’t even heard her.
Then it was time for the centre work.
“Right, let’s have the same rows as last week, but all move forward one row, and the front row from last week go to the back.”
“Excuse me, Miss Coralie?” It was Rose who had spoken. Everyone stared at her because it’s so unusual to hear anyone’s voice except Miss Coralie’s in ballet lessons. “Can I change rows, please?”
Miss Coralie looked a bit puzzled. “Change rows? Why?”
“Er…because I was wondering if I could go on the back row today.”
“Why?”
“So that I can copy better, because there’ll be more people in front of me, you see.”
Everyone waited to see what Miss Coralie would say.
“It’ll mess up the numbers if I put you in the back row, Rose…”
“I could swap with someone…”
A sort of mask of crossness came over Miss Coralie’s face because of Rose arguing. “Just stay where you were last week, next to Poppy. Thank you, Rose.”