Free Dance Till you Drop by Samantha-Ellen Bound

Chapter One
    â€˜You can’t what ?’ Ellie crossed her arms and narrowed her big green eyes at me.
    Uh-oh. I knew I was in trouble.
    I looked at Ellie’s fluoro-pink jazz boots. Then at Ashley’s bag with the ripped handle. Then at the picture of a young Miss Caroline dancing on a cruise ship above the bluest water I’d ever seen.
    But I couldn’t look at Ellie.
    â€˜I can’t come to your birthday party,’ I whispered. ‘I’m sorry.’
    â€˜Why not?’ said Ellie.
    I picked at my leotard. Then I gave a little cough. Wow. Sometimes Ellie can be scary when she’s excited or passionate about something and can’t stop talking. But when she’s silent? That’s terrifying.
    â€˜Well, come on, Paige,’ said Ellie. ‘You’re supposed to be my best friend, and now you can’t come to my eleventh birthday party? There better be a good reason.’
    â€˜Mum told me yesterday I have a ballroom competition,’ I said. ‘I’m really sorry, Ellie. You know how much I wanted to come.’
    Eleanor is my best friend, so it wasn’t a lie. We’ve been friends since we first began as tinies at our dance school, Silver Shoes.
    Ellie is loud and energetic and never afraid. And that’s why I love her – because she makes me feel less quiet and shy.
    But you don’t want to get in her bad books. And I think I just did.
    â€˜You already missed my singing showcase because you were doing some ballet workshop, and now you’re going to miss my party because you’ve got a competition?’
    â€˜I can’t help it,’ I said.
    â€˜Paige,’ huffed Ellie, shoving her foot into her jazz boot. ‘I love dancing too, everyone knows that, but I don’t let it get in the way of doing stuff with my friends.’
    â€˜I want to come!’ I said. ‘And I wanted to be at your singing showcase as well! But I’ll get into trouble if I miss these ballroom things.’
    â€˜You can’t miss this one ballroom competition?’ asked Ellie. ‘Even though you do, like, a thousand?’
    â€˜No,’ I said.
    â€˜Why not?’
    â€˜It’s really good practice. And exposure,’ I explained, before realising I was just repeating what Mum always said.
    I thought about my ballroom partner, Benji, and my cheeks grew warm.
    â€˜Also I can’t let Benji down.’
    â€˜What about letting me down?’ pouted Ellie, pulling on her other jazz boot.
    I couldn’t think of anything to say.
    â€˜Whatever,’ she said, making a big deal of tying her final lace. She gave me a mean look as she breezed by me on her way out the door. ‘You don’t even like ballroom.’
    That wasn’t true! Was it?
    I sure didn’t like it when it caused fights with my best friend.
    But Benji and I had been working so hard on our waltz for the ballroom competition. My mum was state waltz champion before I was born. I know it meant a lot to her thatBenji and I take out our age group at the competition. She made us practise in every spare moment – sometimes I felt I was even waltzing in my sleep!
    I sighed and put Ellie’s street clothes in a neat pile next to mine. Then I headed to the studio, ready for our weekly technique class. My arms were really sore from holding a ballroom stance for three hours. I hoped we didn’t spend too much time on cartwheels and walkovers today.
    â€˜Paige!’
    I looked into the open doorway and saw Mum waving at me from a sea of dresses. She’s in charge of costumes at Silver Shoes.
    â€˜Your hair is a mess!’ Mum scolded. ‘Come here.’
    â€˜I’m late for class,’ I began to say, but she’d already taken my hair – which is long, blonde and silky and ALWAYS falls out even if it’stied up – and twisted it into a bun so tight I felt like I had sunburn.
    â€˜Work on your walkovers today, honey,’