Free Dance-off! by Harriet Castor

I had a silver belt round my waist, and tiny silver butterfly clips in my hair. Kenny looked great in the pink shorts, even though she didn’t like them, and somehow she’d persuaded Molly to lend her a white T-shirt with ‘Kylie’ written in silver across the front. Kenny thought it was the most ridiculous thing ever – “But I love the way Fliss really thinks it’s cool!” she whispered to me.
    Frankie, to everyone’s amazement, had dug out a silver jumpsuit at the last minute, and she’d been striding around like a space action hero. (She’s got some seriously mad things lurking in the back of her wardrobe!) Fliss was in her salopets, of course, and Lyndz looked ace in a lilac crop top and deep purple mini skirt. We were all wearing trainers and I’d bought some silver laces for mine, specially.
    But the finishing touch was the best. Fliss had brought in some silver body glitter – it’slike moisturiser with sparkly bits in – and we’d all rubbed that on our cheeks and arms, so they shimmered when we moved. In short, we looked mega, MEGA fantastic.
    When Mrs Weaver led Lorna and Sean into the hall, everyone went quiet.
    “Hi again,” said Sean, with a friendly grin. “It’s good to be back!”
    “We’re really looking forward to seeing your dances,” added Lorna.
    At which my tummy groaned, and I had to clutch it to make it shut up.
    Lorna and Sean sat down, while Mrs Weaver went over to the tape player. She had everyone’s tapes lined up, and was going to call us in turn.
    First up were the group in the shades. Then it was Alana and the M&Ms.
    They got into position, and Emily Berryman nodded to Mrs Weaver to start the tape. Soon Emma Hughes was tottering around on the tips of her toes.
    A second later, Lorna sprang out of herchair, shouting “Stop!” Mrs Weaver leapt at the tape machine and the music clunked off. Emily and Alana stumbled to a halt. Emma Hughes looked really cross at having been interrupted.
    “Where did you get those shoes, Emma?” asked Lorna, sounding quite agitated. “They’re not yours, are they?”
    “They are!” said Emma. Now she was beginning to look nervous. “I found them in a jumble sale.”
    “ A jumble sale ?”
    “What’s wrong with jumble sales?” Kenny whispered to me.
    Lorna said, “Pointe shoes must be carefully fitted. You can’t just wear any old pair. And you need years of training before you can dance on your toes.”
    Emma’s chin had started to tremble. “I-I’m sorry…” she stammered. “I thought—”
    “Oh, Emma!” interrupted Mrs Weaver crossly. “You told me you went to ballet lessons!”
    “I do!” said Emma.
    “But you don’t wear pointe shoes for your lessons, do you?” said Lorna.
    Miserably, Emma shook her head.
    “I’m sorry to seem harsh,” said Lorna, coming forward and putting a hand on Emma’s shoulder, “but this is very important. I can see you’re nowhere near strong enough to start pointe work. And if you dance on your toes without the right training it can do terrible damage to your feet. So don’t do it, OK?”
    “OK,” mumbled Emma.
    “Now, do you want to take the shoes off and start again without them?” Lorna suggested.
    I could see that that was the very last thing Emma wanted to do, but she didn’t have much choice.
    “So much for secret weapons!” I whispered to Lyndz, who nodded and grinned.
    “Serves her right for being so smug,” she whispered back. “Though I feel a bit sorry for her too. It’s dead embarrassing!”
    Without the novelty of Emma dancing onthe tips of her toes, the M&Ms’ dance was really boring. Well before the end, everyone was shuffling and fidgeting, obviously wishing it was over.
    “Thanks very much, girls,” said Lorna when at last the music came to an end. “That was lovely.” But I could tell she was only being polite.
    What a disaster for the M&Ms! They sat down with majorly crabby looks on their faces. Like Lyndz, I was almost beginning to feel sorry