The octopus swizzle is a more complicated move, which comes down to having perfect coordination and timing. I think if Benji and I could pull off those harder steps, we’d really have a chance at winning the ballroom competition.
‘Anything you say, princess,’ Benji joked. He reached out to bring me into our jive hold, which started with one of my arms behind my back in a half nelson.
I felt my cheeks grow warm, so I launched straight into the steps to cover it up.
‘Steady on,’ said Benji, pulling me gently to a stop. He caught my eye and grinned his silly crooked smile. ‘And, a one-two-three-four …’
We began to slowly go over our jive steps, concentrating very hard on being precise and staying in sync with one another.
‘So Ash said you and Ellie get to make up a routine for the end-of-year concert,’ Benji said as he adjusted my lower back so I wouldn’t get an injury if he tipped me back.
Ash and Benji are good friends because they’ve done some hip hop stuff together. They’re kind of like brother and sister. Benji and I have a good friendship too, but I don’t know, he’s kind of cute and I might like –
Well, never mind.
‘Yeah,’ I said quietly, shifting my spine against his palm. ‘It’ll be fun. I guess.’
‘You don’t sound too excited,’ Benji snorted as we went through our pushspin with a half windmill, which is a move where we both step back and in and then Benji spins me one way, then the other, and then he turns me behind his back while we switch arms.
‘No, I am excited,’ I insisted. ‘It’s really nice of Miss Caroline to give us the opportunity, but, it’s just …’
‘Ellie’s taking over?’ Benji said.
I gave a little giggle as I turned out and away from him. ‘How did you know?’
‘That’s Ellie,’ Benji said. ‘Lean out to the side a bit more, yep, that’s right.’ He twirled me back in. ‘You know she probably doesn’t mean to, it’s just, that kinda thing is right up her alley and she gets all excited and carried away.’
‘I know,’ I said. ‘But I don’t think what she has in mind is what Miss Caroline had in mind when she offered us the dance. And I have some ideas too.’
Benji stopped me mid kick. ‘So, speak up.’
I looked down at my toes. ‘I don’t want to argue with Ellie or hurt her feelings,’ I said.
‘Yeah,’ agreed Benji. ‘’Course not. But it’s not just her dance. And you have some great ideas. You’re really creative. So don’t let Ellie boss you around.’
‘She doesn’t mean to!’ I defended my best friend.
‘I know that,’ Benji said. ‘But stand up for yourself. Like what you did with your mum when she put all that pressure on you for that last competition. Or you won’t be happy and it’ll be a waste of the opportunity Miss Caroline gave you.’
I took a big breath and smiled up at him. ‘I know,’ I said. ‘I will. Thanks, Benji.’
‘Ah, any time, miss,’ he said, in a bad New York accent. ‘That’ll be two dollars, fifty cents.’
‘I hope your jive is better than your accent,’ I teased.
He grabbed my hand and twirled me into a drop on the floor. ‘Jive is what I do, baby,’ he said, in the same bad accent. And then he started laughing and I started laughing and we fell into a graceful heap on the floor.
But I felt better. And I decided that, next lesson, I would make sure Ellie understood that it wasn’t just her running the show.
Chapter Five
My grand plan didn’t exactly get off to an amazing start.
The Juniors had their class on Friday, which was when Benji and I had another ballroom lesson.
Benji and I couldn’t quite get the continuous pretzel, which is a move where you turn in and out and under each other’s arms for what feels like forever. We kept getting mucked up with which direction we were supposed to be facing and when, so Mum and Fleur made us stay back until we got it right.
‘But, Mum, I have to go, I’m meant to be teaching the Juniors,’ I protested.
‘I’m sure Ellie can handle it for five minutes on her own,’ Mum said, smiling at me through her perfectly painted lips.
‘That isn’t the point,’ I said, exchanging a glance with Benji. ‘Miss Caroline trusted me to take this class, and that means being there on time.’
In truth I was just worried that making Ellie wait would annoy her, and I wanted her to be in a good mood when I brought up my ideas for the dance.
‘Just a few more times, honey,’ Mum said. ‘Come on, be a good sport.’
I sighed, but I guess it kind of worked in my favour, because I wanted to get out of there so badly that I focused all my attention and pulled the move off like a pro.
‘Bravo!’ cheered Fleur. ‘Lovely, lovely!’
‘Yeah, no sweat,’ Benji said sarcastically from where he was panting with his hands on his knees.
‘Just once more, sweetie, so we know it wasn’t a fluke,’ Mum said, clacking her long, fake fingernails together.
But I shook my head. ‘Sorry, Mum,’ I said. ‘I’ve really got to go. I promised. Thanks, Fleur! See ya, Benji!’
I gathered up my dance duffel and raced out of there before anyone could stop me. I felt a teeny bit rude, but I knew I was doing it for the greater good.
Ick, I was so sweaty and flustered, though. It wasn’t exactly how I wanted to make a first impression on the students who I was supposed to teach.
I raced from the drama studio to studio one and, as luck would have it, I passed Miss Caroline in the hall. She’d obviously just come from the studio where I was meant to be.
‘I’m here, Miss Caroline!’ I panted. ‘Sorry I’m late. I had ballroom. I didn’t mean to keep anyone waiting.’
But instead of being mad at me, Miss Caroline smiled and placed a steady hand on my shoulder so I’d slow down. ‘That’s totally fine, Paige,’ she said. ‘I know you had ballroom. It’s not a problem.’ She chuckled. ‘Just breathe and relax, okay? Your face is all red.’
I put both hands on my hot cheeks, and willed my heartbeat to slow down.
‘Good girl,’ Miss Caroline said. ‘Now, in you go. I know you’ll do a fantastic job.’
I nodded, grabbing the door handle as she walked off.
Right. Time to face the music. I was fully expecting all the Juniors to be sitting in a bored clump on the floor with Ellie pacing around them angrily, waiting for me.
I opened the door.
‘Sorry I’m la–’ I began to say.
But I needn’t have bothered.
Because Ellie was up, in front of the mirror with the class standing behind her.
They were already in a dance formation.
Ellie was teaching them the dance.
Without me.
I tiptoed round the side of the studio, which was the worst tiptoeing I’d ever done because I was still wearing my ballroom shoes. I felt like I was the one who was intruding – in my own class!
‘Um, hi,’ I said. I pulled my leotard away from my sweaty body.
‘Hi Paige!’ Ellie chirped, obviously in her element.
Even in my confusion, I admired her. She had no fear about anything. ‘What’s, um, going on?’ I asked.
‘I’m just teaching these guys the start of our dance,’ Ellie said. ‘It’s already looking so good. This class is full of superstars!’
She flashed a huge smile at them, but in my head I was thinking, our dance? There was nothing me about any of it.
‘Oh,’ I said. And then I stood there, feeling like a big nuffnuff.
‘Come on, I’ll show you the start.’ Ellie rushed over to the sound system. ‘You’re going to love it, Paige.’
I gave her a small smile and sat down to take off my ballroom shoes. The music started and Ellie hustled the Juniors into place, but I barely even took note of what they’d done.
I was too busy trying to process my own feelings. And even at this early stage, I knew they weren’t good.
<
br /> It looked like we were heading for a studio showdown.
Chapter Six
‘Ellie, can I talk to you for a minute?’ I asked.
The class was having a drink and Ellie was by the sound system going over something, no doubt the next bit of choreography in what was supposed to be our dance.
‘Sure, Paige,’ she said, not stopping. ‘What’s up?’
‘Um, like, maybe outside?’ I suggested, crossing my arms over my chest like I could ward off the argument I knew was coming.
Ellie narrowed her eyes at me for a second but then she shrugged. ‘Sure,’ she said, grabbing her drink bottle. ‘Come on.’
I followed her flouncy pink skirt out of the classroom.
‘Hit me with it, kiddo,’ she said, as soon as we were out in the corridor. She uncapped her drink bottle and took a big gulp, waiting for me to speak.
My silly tongue was all tied up in knots.
‘Earth to Paige?’ Ellie teased, wiping her mouth.
‘Okay, well,’ I began. I scratched at my bun nervously. It suddenly felt way too tight. ‘It’s just about the dance.’
‘Isn’t it, like, the coolest thing we’ve ever done?’ Ellie enthused. ‘I just love this song.’
‘The song is cool, I suppose,’ I said. ‘I just think, well … isn’t it meant to be both of us choreographing the dance?’
I said the last bit so softly that Ellie leaned in towards me. ‘Pardon?’ she said.
‘It’s meant to be both of us choreographing the routine,’ I said, louder. ‘Not just you.’
‘Oh.’ Ellie took a step back and shook her water bottle, sizing me up.
I did my best to hold my ground and not turn and run away, which is what I felt like doing. I loved Ellie, but you don’t ever want to get on her bad side.
‘You don’t like what I’ve done?’ she asked.
‘It’s not that I don’t like it,’ I said. ‘It’s just that you’ve kind of taken it over, and I haven’t had a chance to even give you my ideas, much less help make up the routine.’
Ellie coughed and looked around. Then she took another step back. ‘Well, Paige, if you felt like that, you should have made an effort to team up with me before the lesson and we could have gone over some choreography together.’
‘You didn’t ask me,’ I said, gaining a bit of confidence. ‘You just decided what we would be doing and thought I would go along with it.’
‘Well,’ said Ellie, her voice rising and the freckles on her nose starting to stand out like they always do when she gets upset, ‘I didn’t know you would hate what I did and be mean about it.’
‘I’m not being mean!’ I cried. I could feel tears trying to burst out of my throat from down in my chest, and I swallowed them back. ‘I don’t hate what you did, either! But we’re meant to be a team and you just barged in and did everything! I have ideas, too!’
‘And what are they?’ said Ellie.
‘Well,’ I mumbled, ‘like, Benji and I are doing jive in our ballroom practice, and I thought we could do some cute swing dancing with the guys and girls. Like, they could all be young Hollywood starlets in the 1940s or something, out having romances and a good time and living the party life …’ I trailed off, feeling stupid. Out loud my ideas sounded dumb, even though I’d been so confident about them in my head.
Ellie shifted her weight from foot to foot. ‘So, you really just want to make it all about you,’ she said, ‘and copy from some stupid ballroom thing you’re doing?’
‘No!’ I protested, as the tears worked their way up my throat even further and left a salty taste in my mouth. ‘It’s just an idea that I wanted to share with you and see what we could develop. It doesn’t have to be exactly that. I thought you’d care about working together rather than taking over.’
‘Well, I didn’t count on you being selfish and crabby just because you didn’t get what you wanted,’ Ellie said stubbornly. She flicked her blonde ponytail back. ‘And you should have said so at the start, not now, when I’ve already worked really hard and made up a quarter of the dance.’
I shook my head miserably. I knew I’d upset Ellie and she was beyond even listening to me.
‘I just wish you included me at the start,’ I finally said, looking down at the dusty floor, and blinking to keep my tears back. ‘I wanted us to create something together.’
There was silence for a moment.
Then Ellie shook her water bottle again and pushed past me. ‘Well, it’s too late to change now,’ she said. ‘Sorry, Paige.’ She opened the door to the studio but then paused, as if she was going to say something more. But she sighed and kept going.
One tiny tear dribbled out of my eye and fell onto the floor.
Chapter Seven
Lyrical class on Saturday morning seemed like the last thing in the world I wanted to do.
But I pulled on my leotard and foot paws and did my hair up in a bun, like usual, and I listened but didn’t really hear Mum going on about my costume for the upcoming jive competition.
She kissed me on the forehead. ‘Have a great day, sweetie. I’ll see you after class. We’ll go get that material for your dress.’
‘Huh?’ I blinked. Oh. We were at Silver Shoes already. I clutched my duffel bag towards me and opened the car door. ‘Thanks. Bye, Mum.’
I wished I was driving away with her.
Especially when I saw who was sitting on the front steps of Silver Shoes, enjoying the sun before class.
Riley, Ashley. And Ellie.
Ellie, who I hadn’t spoken to since our little fight about the routine.
And if anyone could hold a grudge, it was her.
‘Good morning, Little Miss Jitterbug,’ called out Ashley as I made my way past the rosebushes and up the path to the steps.
‘Hey, Ash,’ I said. ‘Hi, Riley.’
Riley waved a hand. ‘Hey, girl.’
‘Morning, Ellie,’ I added.
‘Mmm,’ said Ellie faintly, from where she was lying on the top step, shading her eyes against the sun.
Oh well. It was a start.
‘Want a snake?’ Ashley held out a packet of jelly snakes, which is our favourite snack when we’re at Silver Shoes.
‘No, thanks,’ I said. ‘I just ate breakfast.’
‘This is my breakfast,’ Ashley said happily, gobbling down a purple one.
‘That’s disgusting,’ Riley said, shaking her head. ‘Nana would kill you if she knew you were having a jelly snake for breakfast. She doesn’t let me leave the house unless I’ve eaten half my body weight in food.’
‘I’m happy to trade places,’ Ashley said. ‘Your mum’s cooking is the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Feel free to sneak your leftovers into a paper bag and give them to me. I’m not choosy.’
‘Well, Nana said you should come over for tea tonight if you’re allowed,’ Riley said. ‘Which reminds me, Paige, I don’t have athletics training anymore on the day of your ballroom comp, so I can come and watch you after all!’
‘Woohoo,’ cheered Ashley, throwing a half-eaten snake into the air. Unfortunately it landed on Ellie’s foot.
‘Ugh!’ Ellie kicked out and sat up. When she saw it was only the end of a snake she smiled and went to lay back down. Then she locked eyes with me and her smile disappeared.
I had a feeling that if it was me who had thrown the snake at her instead of Ashley, I’d be in the rosebushes by now.
‘So we’ll all go together, yeah?’ said Ashley. ‘To see our little Paigeblossom and Benjiboy in action?’
Riley agreed but there was silence from Ellie.
‘Eleanor Charlotte Irvin?’ said Ashley.
‘Sorry, what?’ asked Ellie, looking through her laced fingers at us.
‘We’ll all go together to see Paige and Benji do the jive at the ballroom comp? The one in a few weeks?’
‘Oh,’ said Ellie. She stretched out luxuriously in the sun. ‘Yeah. I don’t know about that. I might be doing an acting class with Cade
nce that day.’
I shuffled my feet as my heart sank. ‘Oh. You said that you could come when I asked you last week.’
‘Plans change, Paige,’ Ellie snapped. ‘Do I have to ask your permission every time I want to do something else?’ She gave me a little sideways look and I knew she was trying to make a point about our fight about the routine.
Ashley stopped chewing on her snake and looked at Riley. Then she frowned at both of us. ‘Everything okay, girls?’ she said, in her best Miss Caroline voice.
I knew she was trying to make light of the situation but I could hear the worry in her voice.
‘Oh, everything’s just lovely,’ Ellie said. She yawned and sat up, gathering up her things. ‘I mean, I’d love to go to Paige’s ballroom competition, because I support her in every style she dances and not everything is about me.’ She stood up.
‘Not everything is about you?’ teased Ash. ‘That’s a first.’
‘Haha,’ said Ellie. She grabbed a pink snake from the packet. ‘I’ll see you guys in class.’
Riley turned around to watch her retreating back. ‘What was that all about?’ she asked.
I sighed and slumped down onto the step. ‘Ellie thinks I hate what she made up for our routine,’ I said. ‘I don’t. I just want a chance to show her my ideas, too.’
‘Oh, right.’ Ash sat down next to me and put her arms around me. ‘Don’t worry about that. You know what a little drama queen our Ellie can be. Maybe just put some awesome steps together of what you had in mind and spring them on her and blow her away? I’m sure she’ll come around.’
‘Yeah.’ I tugged a snake out of the packet and took a pathetic bite at it. ‘I hope so.’
Chapter Eight
When you have a best friend, and you go to the same school as them, and are in pretty much all the same dance classes together, it makes it pretty hard to stay in a fight.
By Monday afternoon Ellie and I had reached an uneasy truce, because we had art at school and somehow we both ended up in our paint smocks (they had matching dance prints on them), sitting next to each other at the table.
Studio Showdown Page 2