Magic Ballerina 13-18

“No thanks,” said Holly, folding her arms and turning away.

Just then, Madame Za-Za looked round. “Ah, Holly, you haven’t got a partner. Why don’t you …”

“I’ll dance on my own,” Holly interrupted. No one ever interrupted Madame Za-Za, who was quite strict, but Holly couldn’t bear the thought of being made to join a pair and watch the other two girls exchange looks. She knew she sounded haughty, but she didn’t care.

Madame Za-Za raised an eyebrow. “Very well,” she said, her eyes sweeping back to the other girls. “Now everyone, I’d like you to listen to this piece of music and imagine you are two leaves on the branch of a tree in autumn, fluttering in the breeze, about to fall …”

Holly danced on her own. I don’t care. I don’t care. She kept repeating the words in her head as she let the music flow over her, taking her away and making her feel like she was falling on the breeze, turning around, using her movements to express the feelings of wistfulness and sadness inside her.

I don’t want to be friends with any of them anyway. I don’t need them, she thought and then she lost herself in the music and thought no more.

“Very good expressive work, Holly,” Madame Za-Za praised at the end.

Holly gave her a small, tight smile. Now that the dancing was over she wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. As soon as Madame Za-Za dismissed them, Holly hurried away.

I’ll put Sleeping Beauty on again, she told herself as she changed out of her ballet shoes. Her muscles were aching from hard work, but she knew the one thing that would make her feel better was dancing.

Cramming her stuff into her bag, she left the changing rooms.

“Holly, wait!” she heard a voice call as she half-ran down the corridor.

She turned round and saw Chloe, coming out of the changing rooms. “I’m sorry you had to dance on your own today,” she said. She hesitated. “Um, you could always come round to mine sometime. I don’t know many people here, either.”

Holly was sure she saw pity in Chloe’s blue eyes. Unhappiness swept through her. How dare Chloe pity her! She’d travelled all over the world and met more ballet dancers than Chloe could even dream of.

“Why don’t you ask your mum if you can come round for tea next week?” Chloe suggested.

Holly’s temper exploded. “I’m hardly likely to ask my mum when she’s in America, am I? Anyway, I don’t want to be friends with you or with anyone here. Just leave me alone!”

And, swinging round, Holly stormed out of the front door.

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Holly ran down the drive of the ballet school, her feet slipping slightly on the fallen leaves. It was October now and the sun was low in the sky.

Her Uncle Ted was waiting in the car outside. “How was class?”

“Fine,” Holly muttered, shutting the door hard.

But as they drove home, Holly’s temper faded and Chloe’s hurt face refused to leave her mind. She started to feel guilty. Chloe hadn’t known about her mum being away. She had only been trying to be nice.

When they reached the house she went straight up to her bedroom. It had been a horrible afternoon. All she wanted to do was dance and block everything out.

As she put her ballet bag down on her desk, the back of her hand touched the red ballet shoes. She felt the familiar spark tingle her fingers and picked them up. She would wear them. Shrugging off her hooded top, she quickly pulled them on and put on the same music as before.

Holly moved forward with slow graceful steps and as she danced, everything else faded away. But then, moving into an arabesque, she became aware that her feet were tingling.

She looked down and gasped in astonishment. The red ballet shoes were glowing and sparkling!

“Oh!” she exclaimed. Bright colours surrounded her and the next second she felt herself being lifted into the air and whisked away!

Holly came to rest on a bed of fallen leaves. The bright colours faded and she looked around, her heart thudding. She was standing in the middle of a wood! Red, gold and brown leaves were lying thickly on the ground. A squirrel scampered up a nearby tree, pausing to give her a curious look.

Holly’s mind was spinning. What had happened?

It didn’t feel anything like a dream. She could hear birds chirruping, smell the damp woods. She bent down and touched the leaves on the ground. They were cool beneath her fingers …

“Oh, my shimmering whiskers! It’s you! The girl with the red shoes!”

Holly looked up and promptly fell over in shock as a huge white cat came dancing towards her. He was on two legs and slightly taller than her and he was wearing white ballet shoes, a black hat with a feather in and a gold waistcoat. He leaped through the air, one leg stretched behind and one in front, in a perfect grand jeté. Landing beside her, he pirouetted around, before grabbing both of her hands.

“This is so brilliant!” he cried, looking completely delighted as he pulled her to her feet. Up close, she saw his eyes were a beautiful deep emerald green and his silvery whiskers sprang out at the side of his face. “We knew the shoes had a new owner and we have all been wondering when we would get to meet you. And now I have! Oh, how lucky I am! What’s your name?”

“Holly,” she answered automatically.

The cat bowed. “And I am the White Cat.”

He jumped into the air, spinning round in excitement. “It’s amazing to meet you, Holly.”

“Where … where am I?” Holly stammered.

“In Enchantia, the land where all the characters from the ballets live,” the cat replied. His fluffy tail flicked over his shoulder and he pointed at her feet. “The ballet shoes you’re wearing were created with some of the strongest magic in Enchantia. Whenever we are in trouble, they bring their owner – a human girl – here to help fix things. Someone from Enchantia gets to meet them first and be their friend, and this time it looks like it’s me!”

Holly stared at him. Was she really in a strange magic land full of people like talking cats who came from the different ballets? Had she been sent there to help them solve their problems? Although she had to admit it sounded very exciting, an image of Chloe came into her head followed by a picture of her mum waving goodbye.

“Look, I’m sorry, I’ve enough problems of my own right now,” she said quickly. “I just can’t fix other people’s problems too. Maybe another time.” She turned away, wondering how she got the shoes to take her home. She tried wishing.

I wish I could go back, she thought. But nothing happened.

Remembering The Wizard of Oz, she clicked her heels together three times. Still nothing happened.

The White Cat walked curiously round her. “What are you doing?”

Holly turned away. She didn’t want to see him; she wanted to get back to her bedroom. Think carefully, she told herself. She’d been dancing when the shoes had worked before, so maybe that was what she had to do?

She ran forward and turned a pirouette. Home, home, home, she thought as hard as she could, shutting her eyes. But when she blinked them open again she was still standing in the wood.

The White Cat leapt joyously in front of her. “Oh, is this a game, Holly? I like games! Look how many pirouettes I can do!” He turned round on the spot so many times that Holly’s mouth dropped open.

“It’s not a game. I just want to go home!” she exclaimed. “I have to. For a start, my aunt and uncle are going to be really worried about me …”

“No, they won’t be,” interrupted the cat. “No time will pass in the human world while you are here. You’ll go back and it will be as if you haven’t been away.”

“But I can’t stay,” Holly protested. “Look, will you please just tell me how I get these shoes to work and take me home?”

“You can’t make the shoes do what you want.” The White Cat’s brilliant eyes met hers. “They’ll take you back when the problem is solved, but you won’t be able to make them take you back before. The magic doesn’t work like that.”

“Oh.” Holly sat down on a fallen tree trunk. “So I’m really stuck here?” she said faintly.