Free 3: Chocolate Box Girls: Summer's Dream by Cathy Cassidy

but that bloke from Hollyoaks is,’ Tia points out. ‘And he’s quite hot, in a non-sparkly kind of way. Millie’s right, we have to do it. They’re not auditioning or anything. We just turn up on Saturday for costume fittings. Awesome!’
    ‘Awesome indeed,’ Skye says. ‘I’ll be helping with thecostumes, so I can make sure you get a cool hat or a parasol. Finch says it should be a lot of fun.’
    ‘Oh, well, if Finch says so,’ I tease, but it comes out a little snippier than I mean it to. I don’t think Skye notices, though. Nothing seems to burst her bubble these last few days.
    I have to admit that being an extra might be cool. It’s not every summer a movie gets shot right in your backyard, but right now, I don’t have time to think about teen-boy actors or dressing up for some retro-themed movie. I am focused on pliés and jetés, and today I have promised myself a whole day in the studio to work on my expressive dance for the audition. I sling my ballet bag over my shoulder and stand up.
    ‘Where are you going?’ Skye asks. ‘You don’t have ballet lessons today!’
    ‘No, but I want to use the studio to practise,’ I say. ‘I have to go through possible music clips, come up with something for my expressive dance. Something good.’
    ‘But … we’re going to the beach!’ Tia argues. ‘It’s the first Monday of the holidays … we were going to celebrate, hang out and swim and sunbathe! I told Aaron,and everything! He’s got a footy match, but he said he’d definitely come down afterwards. You have to stay, Summer! Relax a little!’
    I bite back my annoyance. This is the FUN Tia asked me to schedule in this holiday, but I don’t have time for it. My priorities for the next few weeks are all about dance; chilling out in the sun and dressing up in straw hats to help fill out the crowd scenes in a film just do not figure. And what’s with inviting Aaron? Seriously, that’s all I need.
    ‘Summer?’ Millie says, cajoling. ‘C’mon. You know you want to.’
    ‘I’m busy,’ I snap. ‘Too busy for swimming and sunbathing. Sorry.’ I swing out of the kitchen, letting the door slam shut behind me.
    It’s only once I’m at the dance school that the churny feeling in my stomach begins to subside. It’s stress, I tell myself. Stress about the audition, stress about my expressive dance, stress about Mum and Paddy being on the other side of the planet.
    And hunger maybe because today I am running on Coke Zero and indignation. Food, like fun, has been sidelined.
    I can’t expect Tia and Millie to understand, of course,and I can see that Skye has other things on her mind right now. I’ll apologize to them, tell them I’m under a lot of pressure, maybe go along with them on Saturday to the film thing.
    Fun … I guess I can try to make room for it on my rota.
    Just not today.
    Miss Elise is surprised to see me, but when I explain that I want to work on my expressive dance, she hands me a box of ballet and classical CDs to look through.
    ‘You should find something there,’ she tells me. ‘If you choose the right piece of music, the rest should fall into place. This is the one piece I can’t really help you with, but it’s probably the most important part of your audition because it will tell Sylvie something about you. Good luck, Summer!’
    I go upstairs to change, then pull on a loose T-shirt and pad through to the studio. I run through my barre exercises and my pointe work, then sit down beside the little CD player, flicking through Miss Elise’s CDs in search of inspiration. It doesn’t come. After a while, the music begins to blend into one, endlessly light and bright and airy. I bite my lip. I need something different – something dramatic, powerful, strong.
    I remember the poster on my bedroom wall, of Sylvie Rochelle as the Firebird, and scan through the CDs until I find Stravinsky’s soundtrack to the ballet. This is better – vivid, energetic, exciting. I skip