by Sheryl Berk
Rochelle unzipped the flap and pulled Liberty inside.
“Oh my gosh! That was so close!” Liberty said, hugging Rochelle tightly. The tent was dark and she could barely see a thing.
“Take it easy,” Rochelle replied, squirming. “You’re okay.”
“Ick! Did I just hug you?” Liberty said. “Let go!” She backed away, and felt something long and slithery fall across her shoulder. “Eek! A snake! It’s a snake! It’s choking me! Help!”
Liberty grabbed Rochelle.
Rochelle grabbed Anya.
Gracie tripped over Bria and landed on top of Scarlett.
Rochelle tried to open the front panel of the tent, but the zipper was jammed. She panicked and pushed with all her might until the tent’s poles came apart and the entire thing collapsed on top of them. As they scrambled to escape, Bria found the flashlight app on her phone. She shined it right in Liberty’s face. “Is everyone okay?” she asked breathlessly.
“I was attacked by a king cobra!” Liberty cried. “How do you think I am? I’m lucky to be alive!”
Bria held the flashlight up to Liberty’s neck. “Is this your snake?” she asked, holding up the shoulder strap of Rochelle’s bag.
“Well, it felt like snake skin,” she said, flicking the bag away.
“It’s pleather,” Rochelle said, laughing. “Liberty, you are such a wimp!”
Liberty stood up, dusted herself off, and stared Rochelle straight in the eye. “I am not a wimp,” she fumed.
“And you’re also not hurt anymore.” Anya pointed to Liberty’s bruised knee. “You can stand up!”
Scarlett giggled. “It’s a miracle, Liberty.”
Liberty shook her knee out. It did feel much better. Even she had to smile with relief. “Wow. I guess I forgot all about it when the werewolf and snake attacked me. I’m a lot braver than I thought.”
“I don’t think it was a werewolf,” Gracie said, pointing to a high tree branch just above the tent.
A small gray owl was perched on it, gazing dreamily into the light of the full moon. “A-woooo!” it hooted.
“He’s so cute!” Gracie cooed. “Can we take him home as a friend for Mr. Mustard?”
“I guess we overreacted a little.” Bria sighed.
“Ya think?” Rochelle said, laughing. “And what’s with the ‘we’ business? You were the one who made a beeline for the tent to escape Taylor Lautner’s bite.”
“If it was Taylor Lautner, I would not have run away.” Bria giggled. “He’s one werewolf I would be okay meeting!”
“Mommy says there’s no such thing as werewolves,” Gracie insisted. “She says they are just thinkments of our imagination.”
“You mean figments,” Bria corrected her. “But I get what you’re saying, Gracie. I let my imagination run wild.”
Liberty shrugged. “Me, too. But when you’re in the wild I guess that’s the place to do it.”
“The point is you’re all okay and you all worked together,” said a voice in the darkness. It was no werewolf.
“Miss Toni!” Gracie ran to her teacher and threw her arms around her waist. “Boy, are we glad to see you!”
“I don’t know. You girls looked like you were doing pretty well without my help. Except for the falling-tent episode.”
“But we did need your help when Liberty got hurt,” Scarlett said. “I blew the whistle and you didn’t come.”
“We were watching everything. We were never more than a few feet behind you,” Ranger Sam explained. “I’m an expert at camouflage.”
“And I knew Liberty would survive a skinned knee,” Toni said and winked. “But it was fun to see you all take turns carrying her down the trail. And I truly enjoyed the choreography down the path and across the stream. Though the wicked-witch dance-teacher tale I could have lived without …”
Liberty gulped. “You know I was just kidding, right?”
Gracie tugged on her teacher’s sleeve. “I built the tent, but it kinda fell down when the werewolf and poison snake showed up,” she told her.
Ranger Sam looked confused. “Werewolves and poisonous snakes? At Black Boulder? I don’t think so, girls.”
“Do you need a hand putting it back together?” Toni offered. She bent down to pick up the broken pieces of the tent.
“Nuh-uh,” Gracie insisted. “We can do it.”
Toni looked at her team. They were dirty, battered, and bruised, but they had stuck together. She was proud of them. “I do believe you can. But at least take this.” She tossed Scarlett a bag of marshmallows. “It’s not a campfire without a marshmallow roast,” she said. “See you girls in the morning, bright and early.”
“We’re going back home?” Bria asked. She’d never missed her mom, dad, and sister so much. She didn’t even mind if there were textbooks and homework waiting for her on her desk. All she could picture was her warm, comfy bed and a nice, hot bubble bath.
“I miss Mr. Mustard,” Gracie said. “I can’t wait to see his furry little face.”
“I miss my closet,” Liberty added. “I can’t wait to get into something that’s not wrinkled or stained.”
“We are going home—but we have a short stop to make before we do. We’re going to a little dance competition in Millville called Curtains Up, and this time, my bathing beauties are going to take home first place.”
She didn’t have to say it—every Diva could read her mind:
“Or else!”
Chapter 16
Bouncing Back
Curtains Up wasn’t one of the big, splashy dance competitions that Toni usually chose for her elite team. It was small with only a handful of local studios competing. But it was the perfect place to put to work everything the Divas had learned on their wilderness adventure.
This time, when they took to the stage for the Junior Small Group category, the Divas had a whole new attitude. No one complained about itchy costumes or balloon-like bloomers. They were there to prove to Miss Toni—and to themselves—that they could perform as a team.
Scarlett reviewed the order of who would toss the ball and who would catch it. “Rock, you’ve got it first, and you hand it off during your passé to Bria. Then from Bria it goes down the back row to Anya and she tosses it to Gracie, who is front and center.”
Gracie loved her part. She felt like a seal in the circus. She had to balance the ball on her toes during a chin stand, and Scarlett had to scoop it up for a final pass to Liberty.
“How’s your knee feeling, Liberty?” Scarlett asked her teammate.
Liberty seemed shocked that anyone cared. “Um, okay I guess.” Ranger Sam had done a proper dressing, and it felt just a little tender, but not too stiff anymore.
“Do you think you can do the fouettés? If not, we can cover for you,” Rochelle offered.
“No! I can do it,” she snapped back. Then her face softened. “I mean, I’m okay—thanks for offering.”
Scarlett wasn’t sure how long all this goodwill and politeness would last, but she hoped it would hang in long enough for them to dance.
When the announcer called them to the stage, they strutted out confidently. The music began to play and Rock twirled around the stage with the beach ball in her hands. Her grand jeté was breathtaking—even better than it had been when she leaped across the stream on the camping trip. The ball floated effortlessly through the air—as if it was dancing, too. The last pose called for all the girls to roll into the “waves” and Liberty to hold the ball over her head as she executed a flawless développé. The audience was on their feet cheering, but the only person Scarlett saw was Miss Toni. She was smiling, not just one of her usual tight-lipped semismiles, but a full-on grin from ear to ear.
It was no surprise that when the announcer read the first prize for Junior Small Group Dance, it went to the Dance Divas. Gracie ran up to accept it and blew kisses to the crowd. Miss Toni was already waiting for them in the dressing room when they marched in with the trophy.
“I knew you
could do it,” she said simply. “I saw a few bobbles here and there, but overall, it was an outstanding performance. And I hope you’ve all learned something from this experience.”
Anya went over to Bria. “I’m sorry I was so negative about the costumes—and I ruined all the hard work you put into mine.”
“It’s okay,” Bria replied. “I guess I went a little overboard.”
Anya dug a blue bow hair clip out of her dance bag. It was studded with stars. “I made you this,” she said. “It’s all the stars that were left on my costume.”
“I love it!” Bria cried, hugging her. “You made this? I didn’t know you could sew!”
“You didn’t ask,” Anya pointed out.
“Sorry. Next time, we make the costumes together—promise!”
Since everyone was apologizing and putting their differences behind them, Scarlett went over to her little sister, who was posing for pictures with the huge gold trophy cup. “Gracie, I’ve been thinking,” she began. “It’s okay if we name the kitten Mr. Mustard. If it means that much to you, I can live with it.”
“Really?” Gracie asked. “That would be awesome, Scoot. He really loves his name.”
“Gracie, do you have something you’d like to say to Scarlett?” Toni asked.
Gracie nodded nervously. “I’m sorry I took your tights. And your leotard. And your hair bows … Oh, and your new issue of Dance magazine. I cut out some of the ballerina pictures for my mirror.”
Scarlett took a deep breath. “I didn’t read the new issue yet, but thank you for telling the truth,” she said. “And can we agree that you’ll ask me anytime you want to borrow my stuff from now on?”
“I think that’s a fair request,” Toni said. “Teammates respect each other’s feelings and each other’s belongings.”
Gracie handed Scarlett back her pink lip gloss. “I took this without asking you, but you can have it back. I’m sorry,” she said.
“Nah, keep it,” Scarlett replied. “It’s yours now.” Her sister’s face lit up, and Toni gave them both a thumbs-up.
Gracie might be annoying sometimes, Scarlett thought, but we will always be teammates and sisters. And that was pretty much the same thing in her book.
Glossary of Dance Terms
Arabesque: a move where the dancer stands on one leg with the other leg extended behind her at 90 degrees.
Cambre back: a bend from the waist to the back.
Chaîné: a series of quick turns.
Développé: a move where the dancer unfolds her leg in the air.
Fouetté: a turning step where the leg whips out to the side.
Grand jeté: a large forward leap in the air that looks like a flying split.
Pas de bourrée: a move involving three quick steps.
Passé: a move in which the working foot passes close to the knee of the standing leg.
Pirouette: a turn on one leg with the other leg behind.
Relevé: to rise up on pointe or on demi-pointe.
A Note on the Author
Sheryl Berk is a proud ballet mom and a New York Times bestselling author. She has collaborated with numerous celebrities on their memoirs, including Britney Spears, Glee’s Jenna Ushkowitz, and Shake It Up’s Zendaya. Her book with Bethany Hamilton, Soul Surfer, hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and became a major motion picture. She is also the author of The Cupcake Club book series with her daughter, Carrie.
Also by Sheryl Berk
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Step It Up
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(coming soon)
Copyright © 2014 by Sheryl Berk
All rights reserved.
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
First published in the United States of America in September 2014
by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Electronic edition published in September 2014
www.bloomsbury.com
Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 1385 Broadway, New York, New York 10018
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Berk, Sheryl.
Step it up / by Sheryl Berk.
pages cm —(Dance Divas; 4)
Summary: Trouble is brewing between the Divas just before their big upcoming
Dance Fusion competition. Miss Toni is mad, mad, mad—but she has an idea
to fix the problem: a camping retreat, where these girls will have to learn
the true meaning of teamwork or be left out in the dark.
[1. Dance teams—Fiction. 2. Dance—Fiction. 3. Interpersonal relations—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.B45236St 2014 [Fic]—dc23 2014009650
ISBN: 978-1-61963-584-5 (e-book)
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