Free The Cinderella Ballet Mystery by Carolyn Keene Page A

She had managed to get a picture of Bess’s grossed-out expression andthe fake cookie hanging out of her mouth.

    Nancy shook her head at Gregory. He always seemed to be playing practical jokes. Once he’d put fake worms in George’s water bottle. Another time he’d put ice cubes in Madison’s ballet slippers.
    Bess handed the “cookie” back to Gregory. “You can have this back,” she said huffily. She turned to Deirdre. “And you can delete that picture!”
    â€œNo way,” Deirdre said with a grin. “I mighteven post it on my website!” Deirdre had her own website, called Dishing with Deirdre. Her father had helped her set it up.
    â€œDon’t you dare!” Bess cried out.
    Mr. McGuire clapped his hands. “Girls and boys! I want everyone on the floor. Now.”
    Nancy and her friends hurried over to the middle of the floor and sat down with their legs crossed. Deirdre, Madison, and Gregory sat down nearby.
    The other students in the class included Nadine Nardo and Andrea Wu from River Heights Elementary School. There were also about a dozen kids who went to other schools. In “Cinderella,” Gregory played the part of the prince. Deirdre and Madison were the wicked stepsisters. George was the wicked stepmother. Bess was the fairy godmother. Nancy, Nadine, and Andrea were mice who magically turned into Cinderella’s coach drivers. They were also dancers and attendants at the prince’s ball, along with some other kids.
    The lead role of Cinderella was played by a girl named Autumn Gooden. Nancy glanced around. Autumn wasn’t here yet. It wasn’t like her to be late for class.
    Scruffy, Mr. McGuire’s golden retriever, came up to Gregory and gave him a kiss. For some reason, Scruffy loved to give Gregory wet, sloppy dog kisses. Nancy wondered if it was because Gregory often fed the dog cookies— real cookies—when Mr. McGuire wasn’t looking!
    Mr. McGuire sat down on his special blue director’s chair in the front of the studio. “Hello, class,” he began.
    â€œHi, Mr. McGuire,” the class replied in unison.
    Mr. McGuire had light brown hair and a slender, serious face. He used to be a professional ballet dancer. Nancy, George, and Bess had seen him in a production of The Nutcracker last year in Chicago. Nancy had loved the special holiday ballet, especially the second act, which was set entirely in the Land of Sweets. The stage had been filled with giant-size candies, cakes, andother goodies. Too bad those sweets were fake!
    â€œI have some good news and some bad news,” Mr. McGuire began.
    Nancy, George, and Bess exchanged glances. I wonder what the bad news is? Nancy wondered.
    â€œThe good news is that all the costumes are now ready, thanks to Ms. Zelda’s hard work,” Mr. McGuire said. He smiled at Ms. Zelda, who was standing in the corner. Ms. Zelda was the costume manager. She nodded and waved.
    â€œWhat’s the bad news?” Deirdre asked.
    Mr. McGuire’s smile faded. “I just got a call from Autumn’s mom,” he said. “Autumn tripped on the stairs this morning and sprained her ankle. Fortunately, nothing’s broken, so she’s going to be fine in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, she won’t be able to dance the part of Cinderella.”
    Nancy gasped. Poor Autumn! She had been practicing so hard for her wonderful starring role. Now she wouldn’t be able to be in the ballet at all.
    â€œSo who’s going to be the new Cinderella?” a girl named Melanie asked him.
    Mr. McGuire turned to Andrea, who was sitting in the back row. “Well, it only makes sense that Andrea should be the new Cinderella, since she’s the understudy,” he replied. Nancy remembered that an understudy was someone who learned a starring role in case he or she might have to be a substitute at the last minute.

    â€œYay!” Andrea squealed happily.