Lucky Break #6 (3 page)

“I see,” said Jack, smiling. “It's a cool name.”

“Thanks!” said Marmalade, liking Jack more every minute.

Jack kept watching Marmalade, and had soon learned Mr. Penardos's favorite warm-up routine. Once they had stretched their muscles, they were ready to move on to the lesson. Although they were all concentrating hard on Mr. Penardos's instructions, Jack kept looking at Marmalade to reassure himself that he was following properly. He seemed very grateful to have Marmalade nearby, and even though Jack was a talented ballet dancer, his lack of knowledge as far as modern dance was concerned made Marmalade feel superior.

“This half of the term, I want you all to create your own individual dances,” Mr. Penardos announced at the end of the class. “You've learned a lot over the past year. Let's see if you can put it into practice.” Mr. Penardos looked at Marmalade. “Perhaps you can help Jack a little,” he suggested. “I know you have only just joined us,” he added to Jack, “but give it a try anyway. Don' look so worried! It's not an exam!”

While Jack was getting his towel, Mr. Penardos had a quiet word with Marmalade. “I expect he'll need you less as he gets used to the way we do things here,” he told him.

“Oh, I don't mind,” said Marmalade enthusiastically. “It's like having a little brother, instead of all the sisters I'm stuck with at home!”

“That's all right, then!” Mr. Penardos laughed.

At lunchtime, Marmalade took Jack over to the dining hall. “The salads are good,” he advised the new boy, “but don't bother with the pasta.”

Jack glanced at the hot dish of the day, but took Marmalade's advice and chose a salad instead. At Marmalade's friends' table, everyone moved over so Jack could join them. The morning had been so busy that he hadn't had an opportunity to meet them all yet.

“Chloe, Tara, Pop and Lolly,” said Marmalade, waving his arm toward the girls. “And these are my roommates, Ed, Ben, and Danny.”

“Did you enjoy your first dance class?” asked Lolly. “Pop and I love dancing, but our major subject is singing.”

“It was great!” Jack said shyly. “Mr. Penardos is a good teacher, but I have so much to learn quickly. I am lucky to have Marmalade to help me. He is an excellent teacher, too.”

“Wow!” said Pop, grinning at him. “Don't swell Marmalade's head any more, okay? He's bad enough already!”

Jack blushed. But Marmalade was pleased at Jack's praise and grinned. “Well,” he told Pop carelessly, “I just happen to explain things perfectly!”

“Hmm!” grunted Tara. “Like you explained map references to me when I'd missed part of geography class because of my bass lesson overrunning?”

Marmalade had forgotten that. “I just got a little confused!” he protested.

“You definitely did!” Chloe laughed. “You explained the references the wrong way around, so poor Tara couldn't find anything she was supposed to on the map!”

“All right!” Marmalade agreed hurriedly, not wanting Jack to hear anything bad about him. “I suppose you never mess up anything, like giving your hairdresser the wrong instructions?”

There was silence for a moment. Everyone had been avoiding the subject of Chloe's hair. She had had it cut during midterm break, and it was obvious that she really hated the ultrashort cut. She'd been wearing a black beanie over it, which didn't suit her very well either.

Chloe's mouth opened and then closed again. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Marmalade wanted to say sorry, but he wanted to impress Jack even more. “Don't worry, it'll grow out!” he told her breezily, and picked up his tray. “Come on,” he added to Jack. “I'll introduce you to some more people.”

Jack half smiled at the others and followed Marmalade to another table.

“Charlie!” Marmalade said. “Can we join you? This is Jack.”

“I'm just going,” Charlie Owen told them. “Hi-Jack!” he added, laughing uproariously at his own feeble joke.

“Pay no attention to him,” Marmalade said as the other boy left. “Charlie likes to think he's tough, but he shouldn't give you any trouble. If he does, make sure you tell me right away and I'll straighten him out.”

“Thanks, Marmalade,” said Jack gratefully. He glanced back at Marmalade's friends. “Are they all mad at you about what you said to Chloe?” he added.

Marmalade followed his gaze uncomfortably. He wished he hadn't teased Chloe. She obviously felt terrible about her new haircut, but Marmalade had long ago come to terms with his own outrageous hair, and things like that didn't bother him anymore. Surely Chloe should be able to cope with a little teasing?

“They'll come around,” he said hopefully. “Chloe's usually good at taking a joke. Maybe she just had a bad day . . .”

“There weren't any girls at my last school,” Jack told him. “And I don't have any sisters. I guess being at a coed school has helped you understand girls.”

“Er . . . I suppose so,” said Marmalade, not so sure he'd handled the situation very well at all. But, if Jack thought he'd done well, maybe he had? Yes, maybe Chloe was just being silly. Apologizing wouldn't have helped. Far better to make a joke of it.

Marmalade looked over at the table again and caught Pop's eye. He winked and tossed his bright red curls toward her. He made cutting motions with his hand, as if he was chopping his own hair off. Pop nudged Tara and they both watched as Marmalade mimed horror at his supposedly newly bald head. But the girls didn't laugh. Instead, they looked angry and turned away. Marmalade sighed. It might be better to give the girls a wide berth for a while. But it didn't matter because he had Jack to take care of. That was much more important right now.

Jack was keeping Marmalade very busy with all the questions he had about Rockley Park.

“Who's your favorite teacher? Do you get into big trouble if homework isn't in on time? Do you ever get to perform outside school?”

Marmalade was more than happy to tell him about the Rising Stars Concert at the end of the school year. “It's only a half-hour program,” he explained. “So just the very best students in the school can perform. That usually means the older students, of course, but everyone has a chance. The teachers award points throughout the year, and at school concerts students can vote for who they like, too. The final decision on who can perform is made near the end of this semester, which is why I'm so excited to have so many points for my dancing. It would be so amazing to dance on TV!”

Every day Jack listened intently to everything Marmalade told him and worked hard to fit in. He was still quite shy, though. “It's great having you for a friend,” he told Marmalade. “I didn't really have any friends at my last school.”

“Why not?” asked Marmalade.

“It was just an ordinary school,” Jack confessed. “And once some kids discovered I went to ballet classes after school, they teased me so much that they made my life a misery. No one would be friends with me after that.”

“That's terrible,” Marmalade said. “But why did you come to Rockley Park if ballet is your favorite subject? You should have gone to a special ballet school. We don't do much ballet here, except for the basics.”

“I think it will be useful to be trained in modern dance,” said Jack. “So few people make it to the top in classical ballet, but there are lots more opportunities in the sort of dancing you do. My parents wanted me to keep up my ballet, but I think this will be better. That's why I auditioned to come here.”

“Well, you don't need to worry about anyone teasing you about your dancing at
this
school,” Marmalade told him.

Jack didn't seem quite so sure. “You won't tell everyone I used to study ballet, will you?” he begged Marmalade. “I shouldn't have told you really, I guess.”

“Well, all right,” agreed Marmalade. “I won't say anything if you don't want me to.”

Jack continued to stick to Marmalade like glue and Marmalade loved having someone looking up to him.

The rest of Marmalade's gang would have been happy to hang out with Jack, too, but Marmalade and Jack were spending so much time together that there wasn't really any chance for Jack to make other friends. And Marmalade found himself spending less time with his old friends as well. When they met Danny, Ed, and Ben one afternoon after classes, Marmalade realized that he'd hardly spoken to them in the past few days.

“Hi!” he said as they approached. “What are you all up to?”

“We're going to jam over at the Rock Department,” Danny told him. “Come with us. You can be our vocalist, if you want.”

“Sounds like fun,” agreed Marmalade. “Are you going to come, Jack?”

Jack hesitated. “I don't think so,” he said. “Thanks, but I don't sing or play anything. I think I'll go and practice those dance steps Mr. Penardos said I should concentrate on.”

Marmalade clapped his hands to his head. “Oh, yes!” he agreed. “I'd forgotten. I promised to run through the routine with you. Sorry.”

“It's all right,” said Jack. “You can show me later.”

Marmalade shook his head. “No way,” he said. “I know Mr. Penardos wanted you to learn them quickly so you can move on to the next group of steps. It's better if I run through them first—otherwise your practice time could be wasted. I'll come with you now.”

“What about your jam session?” asked Jack.

“It's all right,” said Danny. “Ed can sing. He's not
that
bad!”

Ed laughed. “Thanks!” he said. “I'll have you know that some people really like my voice!”

“Sorry, dude,” Marmalade told Danny. “Next time, maybe.”

“Sorry about that,” said Jack, once Danny and the others had gone.

“Don't worry,” Marmalade told him, moonwalking down the hallway. “Danny and the others are always jamming. I can join in with them anytime. And I'd rather be dancing than singing any day!”

When they got to the practice room, Marmalade showed Jack the routine and Jack copied him. It wasn't long before Jack knew every step, and Marmalade watched as he went through the routine once more on his own.

“That's great!” said Marmalade. He was very impressed by Jack's fluid and graceful movements. His classical training shone through with every step he took. Marmalade realized that he could learn some really useful things from his new friend.

“Can you can tell me what this is called in ballet terms?” asked Marmalade. He took a huge breath and leaped high, turning in the air and landing with a thump of his sneakers on the wooden floor.

Jack frowned. “Well,” he mused, “if you'd had one foot pulled up to the knee of your other leg while you'd been doing it, I think it would be called a
saut de basque,
but I've never done one. Ballet dancers usually land more gently, too.”

Marmalade grinned. “I like dancing noisily,” he said. “That's why I'm glad we only need the basics of ballet here. Have you seen the group of professional dancers who dance in their galoshes? And there's another group who bang sticks, trash-can lids, and all sorts of stuff to keep rhythm. They make plenty of noise!”

Much later, when everyone was getting ready for bed and Jack was in the bedroom he shared with Ravi and two others, Marmalade listened to his friends talking about the jam session that he hadn't joined in with. He felt a twinge of disappointment that he'd missed out because of Jack. Jam sessions with his old friends were always fun, and he didn't seem to have done anything but dancing since Jack joined the school.

“Sorry I couldn't join you,” he said.

“That's all right,” Danny told him. “Don't worry, it wasn't important.”

“You have really taken over Jack, haven't you?” Ben said, climbing into bed and grabbing a book.

“Well, he is new,” said Marmalade. “And Mr. Penardos did ask me to take care of him.”

“He's been here for a while now, though,” Ed pointed out. “Shouldn't he be standing on his own two feet more?”

Marmalade shrugged. “He told me he's not good at making friends. He's very shy.”

“Well, don't forget the rest of us while you're monopolizing Jack,” Ed warned him.

Marmalade flushed. “I'm not monopolizing him!” he said heatedly. “He can talk to anyone he wants!”

“Chloe's still a little upset about what you said to her,” Danny told him quietly. “I know you didn't mean to be rude, but she's really down about her hair. She told me yesterday that it seems to be taking forever to grow out.”

“The girls do seem to be mad at me right now,” Marmalade admitted.

“They're just rallying around Chloe,” Danny explained. “Why don't you talk to her? I'm sure you could make her feel better if you tried.”

“Okay,” agreed Marmalade. “I shouldn't have teased her. But I didn't realize she'd get so upset. I'll speak to her tomorrow.”

In the morning, Marmalade decided not to wait for Jack before he went to breakfast. He wanted to make up with Chloe, but he didn't really want Jack to witness his apology.

Luckily for Marmalade, most of the girls were early risers, and Chloe was already having her breakfast with Tara, Pop, and Lolly when he reached the dining room.

“Hi there!” said Marmalade, sliding into the empty seat opposite Chloe. Her beanie was pulled down well over her ears, and Marmalade felt sorry that he'd been so insensitive about her hair.

Chloe gave Marmalade a slight smile before turning away, but Pop was more vocal. “Hi, Danny!” she said cheerfully as he joined them. She ignored Marmalade completely. She wasn't going to make it easy for him.