Free Fight by Helen Chapman Page B

steps. When she stopped she waited for Mr Jay to say how good she was.
    â€˜That’s not what I want to see, Claire,’ said Mr Jay. ‘I want something new and exciting. Remember, you’re meant to be on another planet. Try and move like an alien.’
    Claire didn’t like new and exciting, she was good at ballet, not modern dance. This time she danced like an alien who liked ballet!
    Mr Jay still didn’t like what she had done. ‘Claire, watch Aaron’s dance steps,’ he said.
    Claire watched Aaron do his silly martial arts jumps and hand chops.
    â€˜I want you to dance more like Aaron,’ said Mr Jay. ‘If you can’t, I may have to give the part of Juliet to another dancer. Aaron, I want you to work out some more new moves and show Claire how to do them.’
    Claire couldn’t believe what Mr Jay had said. She was a much better dancer than Aaron, but now she had to copy the silly moves that he was doing. It was so unfair.
    Mr Jay left the room and Claire went over to Aaron.
    â€˜Did you hear that?’ she asked.
    â€˜I know you’re cross at Mr Jay,’ said Aaron. ‘But don’t take it out on me.’
    But Claire did take it out on Aaron. When Aaron tried to show her how to do his martial arts moves, Claire wouldn’t learn them. She didn’t want to fight with Aaron but she couldn’t help it. Martial arts moves had nothing to do with ballet.
    â€˜You’re so selfish,’ he said. ‘Did you stop and think about me?’
    â€˜Why should I?’ said Claire. ‘Mr Jay thinks you’re great.’
    â€˜I don’t feel great,’ said Aaron. ‘I’m finding this really hard too. It was fun mixing dance with martial arts but now Mr Jay wants some more new moves and I’ve run out of ideas. I’m the lead male dancer, so I need lots of steps. I’ll lose my part too, if I can’t come up with some more ideas.’
    â€˜It seems like we’re both stuck, then,’ said Claire.
    Claire knew she had to make up her mind. Would she do what Mr Jay wanted, and try something new, or should she just quit?
    Claire really wanted to dance on stage. That was why she did ballet. Did it really matter if it wasn’t normal ballet? Besides, Aaron needed her help with finding new steps. There were other types of modern dance steps she could try. The Gang-Stars didn’t let each other down. Ever. Claire didn’t want to fight with Aaron any more. She knew what she had to do. She looked at Aaron.
    â€˜I think I’ve got an idea,’ she said. ‘What are you doing tonight?’

The Circus Acrobats show was in town and Claire had a pair of tickets to the show. She asked Aaron to go along to the show with her.
    â€˜The acrobats are doing free circus skills workshops this weekend,’ she said. ‘We can try to get some ideas from the show, and then learn how to do them at the workshops.’
    Aaron couldn’t wait to see the Circus Acrobats flying through the air on a trapeze. Claire was excited about seeing the show too. This time they were going to be watching the performers in a different way. This circus visit was a chance to get ideas for some new dance steps they could do together.
    The show was wonderful. Claire liked the balancing acts. Some performers climbed up on each other’s shoulders and stood up, and the acrobats were amazing to watch.
    During the show a boy with spiky red hair turned around in his seat and said, ‘Mr Jay is in the audience. Look.’ He pointed across to the other side of the circus tent. Then the boy faced the front again.
    â€˜Who was that?’ asked Claire.
    â€˜I don’t know,’ said Aaron. He looked over to where the boy had pointed. ‘But he’s right. There’s Mr Jay and he’s clapping loudly.’
    After the show they went over to see Mr Jay.
    â€˜Hey, you two,’ said Mr Jay. ‘I didn’t know