Free Lucky Break #6 by Cindy Jefferies Page A

because of injury, these students have opted to do something very different. Here they are, Jack Cheung and Marmalade Stamp!”
    The curtain rose, and Marmalade looked out over the audience. It was wonderful to be onstage, even under these circumstances. Then he glanced down at Jack. He was flopped convincingly on the floor. It didn’t look as if he had any bones at all. Slowly, Marmalade lifted the crosspiece he was holding, and Jack started to come to life.
    To begin with, the music was slow and careful, as Marmalade took the role of an old, lame puppeteer, teaching his puppet to move. Jack had to learn how to stand, how to move without falling over, and how to sit down properly. The audience laughed at Jack’s antics. But gradually, the mood changed and the music quickened. The puppet learned fast and soon got better and better. In no time, he was getting impatient with the strings that held him. The puppeteer tried to restrain him, but he was old and infirm, while the puppet was young and getting more exuberant by the moment.
    Jack was playing his part brilliantly. And instead of everyone laughing at Jack’s antics, now the audience was anxious for Marmalade’s character. The pupil was stronger than his teacher now, and soon a real struggle was going on for ownership of the strings.
    â€œSteady!” whispered Marmalade to Jack at one point. “You’ll pull me over in a minute.”
    Jack grinned back at him, and eased up a bit.
    Eventually, the old man was forced to release his puppet. Now that Jack was free, he taunted the puppeteer. He danced out of reach, and performed jumps and spins that the old man would never be able to do.
    The dance ended with Jack leaping out of reach, and dancing triumphantly offstage, while the puppeteer stood, leaning heavily on his crutches—a beaten, lonely old man. Once Jack had disappeared, Marmalade returned to his seat and sank down onto it. His misery was there for all to see as the music, and the dance, came to a poignant end.
    For a few moments after the curtain fell, there was silence in the auditorium. Then everyone burst into applause. The dance had captivated everyone. Jack had been a perfect, playful, strong-willed puppet, and Marmalade had portrayed the sadness of the old man to perfection.
    The boys came out to take their bows and everyone cheered them. Jack and Marmalade grinned at each other. It hadn’t been the dance Marmalade had been hoping for at the beginning of the semester. The Rising Stars Concert was going to take place without him. But he was performing again, and it had gone wonderfully.
    With any luck, over the summer, Marmalade’s knee would finish healing, and he would be able to come back to school fit and well. This brief performance had done a lot to boost his confidence, and Marmalade could feel his old, buoyant self returning. But he would never risk injury again by behaving stupidly, and from now on, he would keep his fooling to jokes, rather than jumps.
    â€œNo more falls,” he said to Jack above the cheers of the audience.
    â€œRight!” Jack agreed.
    â€œAnd next year we’ll be Rising Stars,” he promised.
    â€œDo you think so?” asked Jack. They bowed again and the curtain came down in front of them, separating them from the audience.
    Marmalade turned to Jack, determination shining in his eyes. “I know it,” he said. “With our skills combined, we’re unbeatable. We ought to have a pact for next year. Rising Stars!” He raised his hand and Jack did the same. They clapped their hands together and grinned.
    â€œRising Stars!” they promised each other. “Rising Stars!”

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