Free On Pointe by Sheryl Berk Page B

fight off all those mean mice, I can be just as brave. Right?”
    â€œRight,” Anya told her, wiggling her tail at Gracie. “Just try not to hit me too hard when you throw your ballet slipper at my head, will ya?”
    Gracie giggled. “I’ll try. But my dad says I have a mean pitching arm.”
    When the curtain rose, the dancers all filed out onstage, pretending to participate in a wonderful Christmas Eve celebration. They danced in lines, with Gracie and Olivier leading them. There was a magician—Clara’s uncle Drosselmeyer who was played by Presley in a handlebar mustache and an eye patch—who produced a giant box tied with a bow in the center of the stage. Gracie danced around it, trying to pull off the ribbon and find out what was inside. Finally,the box opened, and Scarlett and Bria
pirouetted
out—as the two wind-up dolls.
    â€œOh!” Gracie gasped, genuinely surprised to see them in these roles. She giggled as they twirled around her in a doll-like trance, and were finally swept back into the box by Drosselmeyer.
    Next up was the battle scene. Miss Toni stood backstage, dressed in a black-and-red military costume with red circles painted on her cheeks.
    â€œYou make a very pretty toy soldier,” Marcus whispered to her.
    Toni half smiled. “Better not let Justine hear you say that.”
    They marched onstage with Hayden and Rochelle, twirling their rifles expertly as if they were cheerleading batons. Bria and Scarlett only had minutes to change into their mouse suits before Anya pushed them out onstage. They tangled with the soldiers and finally declared surrender. Gracie stood on a bench and cheered as Olivier took the Mouse King’s crown and waved it in the air in victory.
    A gold coach pulled by carousel horses took Clara and her prince to the amazing Land of Sweets. It was just as magical as Marcus had promised. Gracie couldn’t stop staring at the cotton candy clouds floating overhead and the giant Ferris wheel made out of licorice, gumdrops, and lollipops. As she and Olivier sat in the coach watching the action unfold, Addison as the Sugar Plum Fairy flitted around the stage, welcoming them to her domain.
    Since the Sugar Plum Fairy’s cavalier was stuck in the city because of the blizzard, Hayden had volunteered to play the part.
    â€œI can’t watch,” Rochelle replied. “This is worse than the time he had to dance with Liberty!”
    Addison leaped and twirled around the stage, stepping on Hayden’s toes and shoving him out of her way.
    â€œI think she thinks it’s a solo not a duet,” Anya said. “Rock, you gotta see this! Poor Hayden!”
    He struggled to lift Addison in the air as shesquirmed. “Let me go!” she hissed. “You’re wrinkling my costume. You’re ruining everything!”
    So Hayden did just that. He dropped Addison and she landed on the stage with a loud
thud
.
    She sat there on her butt, staring out at the audience, as the snowflakes glided down.
    â€œNice job, Sugar Dumb Fairy,” Liberty whispered as she swirled past her. Addison was too humiliated to answer anything back. She ran off the stage crying and rubbing her rear end.
    â€œShe asked for it,” Hayden explained to Marcus. “She said to let her down.”
    â€œWonderful!” Marcus complained. “Now what? I have no Sugar Plum!”
    Rochelle thought fast. “Anya could do it,” she said, pulling her friend over. “She knows the part inside, outside, and upside down.”
    â€œFine, fine,” Marcus replied. “Go get into the spare costume. You can do the finale.”
    The audience oohed and aahed over the “Waltz of the Snowflakes.” Liberty gracefully glided
en pointe
around the stage, following Bria andScarlett’s lead. Each of the treats performed a dazzling dance: there were the twisty candy canes, the spicy Red Hots, and the stretchy caramel