Free Let the Dance Begin by Lynda Waterhouse

was beginning to annoy her the way that Shell expected everyone to do things for her. She looked at Lexie. ‘You should show Shell how to do it herself.’
    ‘I really don’t mind,’ Lexie said.
    Shell grabbed the shoes back. ‘You’re right, Cassie,’ said Shell. ‘I really should be able to look after myself.’ Then she rolled over and did a comedy fall off the
bed, which made them all laugh.
    ‘Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we were able to become dune dancers and dance around the dunes of the world,’ Cassie sighed.
    ‘Don’t get ahead of yourself. We have to pass all our dance tests first,’ Lexie warned.
    ‘The worst thing about the tests is that no one tells you in advance when they are going to happen. You just turn up for a class as usual and they test you. If you’re not good enough
then you get sent packing,’ Shell complained.
    ‘Don’t depress us on the first day,’ Cassie said, and she and Lexie threw their dance slippers at Shell.

 
    Chapter Ten
    ‘Bearing a grudge is like walking on quicksand
– you are sucked under by the force of your feelings.’ The Sands of Time
    Time flew by as the sand dancers settled into an exhausting routine of dancing and studying. Cassie walked back into her room after supper a couple of
weeks later ready to soak her tired feet, as she did every evening, when she sensed that someone was on the balcony. She picked up the washing jug and crept towards the peephole.
    A gust of wind made the curtain billow as she reached out of the hole and prepared to strike.
    Rubus jumped and screamed as Cassie groaned. ‘Are you trying to ruin my reputation for ever?’
    ‘I didn’t mean to frighten you.’
    She mimicked his startled reaction. ‘ I didn’t mean to frighten you .’
    Rubus puffed out his chest. ‘Surf boys do not know the meaning of fear.’ He climbed through the peephole, backing into Cassie’s practice outfit which was hanging on a hook, and
jumped again. ‘AARGH!’
    Cassie clamped her hand over his mouth. ‘How did you find my room?’
    Rubus tapped his nose. ‘Ways and means.’
    ‘Thassalinus the gatekeeper told you,’ Cassie guessed.
    ‘How did you know?’ Rubus looked guilty.
    Cassie tapped her nose and said. ‘I have my ways and means!’ She wasn’t going to tell him it was just a lucky guess.
    ‘I had to bribe him with three bottles of sea shandy to let me in. He does tell the most fantastic stories about his days as a sand farer though. It’s a really hard and dangerous
life.’
    ‘I should talk to Thassalinus. I bet he knew my father.’ Cassie sighed.
    ‘So how are things? It’s been ages since I saw you. How are your friends?’ Rubus asked as they climbed out on to the balcony, where he had left his rucksack. ‘Made any
others?’
    ‘Not really – just Lexie and Shell. There’s a young sand dancer called Ella who sometimes hangs around with us. Apart from Calluna, the senior sand dancer, everyone seems really
nice.’ She told him about the incident in the dance class on the first day.
    He laughed. ‘Sounds like she has no sense of humour.’ He reached into his rucksack and pulled out two boards.
    ‘My sand board!’ Cassie was delighted.
    ‘I was passing Mite Cove and thought you might like it.’ Rubus smiled shyly.
    Cassie grabbed her sand board and they climbed down the rope ladder on to the beach. It was a clear evening with a pale half-moon. After making sure that no one was about, they raced down to the
sea’s edge on their sand boards.
    ‘I’m glad you’re having some fun,’ Rubus said. ‘Now have I got more chance at beating you at pebble-skimming or boarding?’
    As they chatted away together, Cassie realised how much she’d missed Rubus and how easy it was to talk to him. ‘I don’t know how good I am at having friends,’ she
confided. ‘It really bothers me that Shell lets Lexie run around after her. Lexie is forever fetching and carrying for Shell – or mending her dancing