Free Rascal the Star by Holly Webb Page A

We’ve said loads of times we don’t mind!” Ellie told her. “It’ll be fun. You were brilliant dancing in the Christmas play, I’d love to watch a class.”
    Lucy smiled. “I would have missed it, but I’ve only just started stage dancing.”
    “Is it different to ballet?” Christy asked.
    “Really different!” Lucy nodded. “It’s a bit of acting, and a bit of dance, and some singing. Last week Miss Louisa, our teacher, said there was going to be something exciting at the next class, but it’s going to be a surprise. Maybe someone’s coming to dance for us. Miss Louisa knows lots of dancers from musicals.”
    “What are we going to do tomorrow morning?” Ellie asked.
    Lucy smiled. “Well, I’ve got a plan.” She looked hopefully at Ellie and Christy, as though she wanted them to ask her what it was.
    Ellie stared at her. “What sort of plan?”
    Lucy started to undo her school bag, and Christy pounced, seeing the shiny covers of some magazines poking out. “ Animal Time magazine! And the new issue of Pet Planet ! Are you going to get a pet?” she asked excitedly. “What are you getting? A dog?”

    Lucy shook her head.
    “No. We did think about it when we came to the Christmas Fair – we even wondered if we could get one from Paws for Thought. But then we decided it wouldn’t be fair. I’ve got dance classes at the weekend, and we wouldn’t be able to go for really long walks like you two do with Bouncer and Rascal. And I’m still a bit nervous around some dogs, especially big ones. But I would like some sort of pet. I need you two to help me work out what. And then we have to convince my mum! She sort of liked the idea of a dog, but I suggested a pet mouse to her the other day, and she wasn’t happy!”
    Ellie nodded thoughtfully. It was a pity that Lucy couldn’t adopt a dog from ananimal shelter like Paws for Thought. The girls had all recently helped out at a Christmas Fair to raise money for the shelter. But it was very exciting that Lucy was getting a pet. Ellie frowned a little, remembering Rascal. She really hoped he was going to be all right without her.

Chapter Two
A Surprise for Lucy
    “I wonder what the special exciting thing’s going to be?” Christy whispered. Ellie shrugged. She and Christy were sitting with Lucy’s mum at the edge of the dance studio, where there were a few chairs for parents. Lucy and the rest of her dance class were working on a complicated routine to a song from The Wizard of Oz , and it was fun to watch. But no one had mentioned the surprise yet. 
    “Maybe someone from the show is coming to dance for them? It’s on in London at the moment, isn’t it?”
    Christy nodded. “Could be that.”
    “Is it OK if I get a drink of water?” Ellie asked Lucy’s mum. There was a water cooler by the door to the studio. Lucy’s mum nodded, and Ellie crept along the side of the room, trying not to disturb the dancers.

    As she went back to her seat, Ellienoticed a man and a woman sitting close to the water cooler. They were watching the girls dancing, and the man was making notes on a clipboard.
    “Yes, the one with the curly dark hair,” the woman was saying, as Ellie walked past. “She’s a definite. Such a lovely smile, and she’s got real stage presence.”
     
    Dark hair – Ellie glanced across at the girls dancing. Lucy was the only one with really curly dark hair. Quickly she looked back at the clipboard, which had a logo on the back. Eclipse Productions. Was it a TV company? And it sounded like they were interested in Lucy! She hurried back to her seat, and whispered her news to Christy and Lucy’s mum.
    “That must be what Miss Louisa meant,” Lucy’s mum murmured. “I wonder what they’re here for.”
    “Maybe they need dancers for a show. Or perhaps they’re going to be in a film!” Ellie whispered, her eyes wide. “Lucy told us that Miss Louisa sometimes finds performers for TV and films.”
    Lucy’s mum smiled at her. “That