Read Online Ivy and Bean Doomed to Dance by Annie Barrows - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Annie Barrows
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worse when Madame Joy was peppy. “All right, girls! Time to leap like little kitties!” Madame Joy said, springing into the air with her ballet slippers fluttering.
“She doesn’t leap like a kitty. She leaps like a frog,” Bean whispered to Ivy.
“Bean!” called Madame Joy. “You may lead the kitties.” She twirled briskly around and hauled Bean to the front of the line. “Now,” she said, smiling, “you are a kitty! Leap!” Madame Joy bounded across the wide, empty floor.
Bean closed her eyes and imagined she was a cat. She was a skinny black cat that wanted to catch a bird. And then eat it. Bean crouched. She twitched her tail. She narrowed her eyes. “RRRRRrrrowll!” she screeched and then lunged forward, landing on her hands and knees in the middle of the floor. “Got him!” she yelled.
Madame Joy stared at Bean for a second, and then she said, “Dulcie, will you show us how to leap like a kitty?”
“Yes, Madame Joy,” said Dulcie, only she said, “Madame Jwah.” For some reason, Madame Joy liked that. Dulcie came to the front of the line and stood with her arms out and her toes pointed.
Bean rose to her feet. “So I already did it, right?” she asked. “I get to be done, right?”
“No,” said Madame Joy. “You need more practice. Go to the end of the line.”
Bean clomped to the end of the line and stood behind Ivy.
Dulcie lifted her arms higher and smiled proudly. Then she hopped across the empty floor, ker-plop, ker-plop. When she reached the other side of the ballet studio, Dulcie stood before Madame Joy and held out her tiny pink dance skirt. Then she swirled one leg behind the other and curtseyed.
“Show-off,” whispered Bean.
“I can’t believe that we asked for this,” said Ivy, her eyes on Dulcie.
“We didn’t just ask. We begged,” Bean said glumly.
It was true. They had begged.
After everyone had leaped, Madame Joy clapped her hands and told them they had to be butterflies.
Bean raised her hand. “Can I be a Wili instead?”
Madame Joy stared at her. “Not today,” she said in a way that really meant never. Then she turned on some music, and all the other girls ran around the room flapping their arms and pointing their toes.
That’s when Ivy and Bean turned to look at each other, and their eyes said We have made a terrible mistake .
BAD NEWS BENEATH THE SEA
Every week Bean and Ivy put on tights and leotards and went to Madame Joy’s School of the Ballet, where they fell down and hurt themselves (Ivy) and were bored out of their minds (Bean). Every week they were told to watch Dulcie plié and kitty-jump across the floor even though she was only five. Every week they waited and waited for Madame Joy to clap her hands and say it was time to be butterflies. They hated being butterflies, but at least that meant ballet class was almost over.
It seemed like it couldn’t get worse. And then one day, instead of telling them to be butterflies, Madame Joy told them to sit in a circle on the floor.
“We’re going to be mushrooms,” whispered Ivy to Bean.
Bean didn’t think so. When grown-ups asked you to sit in a circle, they were usually about to tell you something you didn’t want to hear. Ms. Aruba-Tate, Ivy and Bean’s second-grade teacher, was forever gathering them in a circle for bad news. Like, the class fish died over the weekend. Or, everyone has to start using real punctuation. Or, the pencil sharpener is off-limits. Circles meant trouble.
Bean watched Madame Joy walk pointy-toed to a chair and sit. No floor for her. “Girls,” she began, “I have something very special to tell you.”
“Oh, tell us, Madame Jwah!” cried Dulcie. She even clapped her hands.
Madame Joy smiled. “As many of you know, we end each session with a lovely recital. A recital, girls, is a chance for you to dance before your friends and family so that they can see what you’ve learned.”
Ivy coughed.
Madame Joy leaned forward eagerly. “Most of our
“She doesn’t leap like a kitty. She leaps like a frog,” Bean whispered to Ivy.
“Bean!” called Madame Joy. “You may lead the kitties.” She twirled briskly around and hauled Bean to the front of the line. “Now,” she said, smiling, “you are a kitty! Leap!” Madame Joy bounded across the wide, empty floor.
Bean closed her eyes and imagined she was a cat. She was a skinny black cat that wanted to catch a bird. And then eat it. Bean crouched. She twitched her tail. She narrowed her eyes. “RRRRRrrrowll!” she screeched and then lunged forward, landing on her hands and knees in the middle of the floor. “Got him!” she yelled.
Madame Joy stared at Bean for a second, and then she said, “Dulcie, will you show us how to leap like a kitty?”
“Yes, Madame Joy,” said Dulcie, only she said, “Madame Jwah.” For some reason, Madame Joy liked that. Dulcie came to the front of the line and stood with her arms out and her toes pointed.
Bean rose to her feet. “So I already did it, right?” she asked. “I get to be done, right?”
“No,” said Madame Joy. “You need more practice. Go to the end of the line.”
Bean clomped to the end of the line and stood behind Ivy.
Dulcie lifted her arms higher and smiled proudly. Then she hopped across the empty floor, ker-plop, ker-plop. When she reached the other side of the ballet studio, Dulcie stood before Madame Joy and held out her tiny pink dance skirt. Then she swirled one leg behind the other and curtseyed.
“Show-off,” whispered Bean.
“I can’t believe that we asked for this,” said Ivy, her eyes on Dulcie.
“We didn’t just ask. We begged,” Bean said glumly.
It was true. They had begged.
After everyone had leaped, Madame Joy clapped her hands and told them they had to be butterflies.
Bean raised her hand. “Can I be a Wili instead?”
Madame Joy stared at her. “Not today,” she said in a way that really meant never. Then she turned on some music, and all the other girls ran around the room flapping their arms and pointing their toes.
That’s when Ivy and Bean turned to look at each other, and their eyes said We have made a terrible mistake .
BAD NEWS BENEATH THE SEA
Every week Bean and Ivy put on tights and leotards and went to Madame Joy’s School of the Ballet, where they fell down and hurt themselves (Ivy) and were bored out of their minds (Bean). Every week they were told to watch Dulcie plié and kitty-jump across the floor even though she was only five. Every week they waited and waited for Madame Joy to clap her hands and say it was time to be butterflies. They hated being butterflies, but at least that meant ballet class was almost over.
It seemed like it couldn’t get worse. And then one day, instead of telling them to be butterflies, Madame Joy told them to sit in a circle on the floor.
“We’re going to be mushrooms,” whispered Ivy to Bean.
Bean didn’t think so. When grown-ups asked you to sit in a circle, they were usually about to tell you something you didn’t want to hear. Ms. Aruba-Tate, Ivy and Bean’s second-grade teacher, was forever gathering them in a circle for bad news. Like, the class fish died over the weekend. Or, everyone has to start using real punctuation. Or, the pencil sharpener is off-limits. Circles meant trouble.
Bean watched Madame Joy walk pointy-toed to a chair and sit. No floor for her. “Girls,” she began, “I have something very special to tell you.”
“Oh, tell us, Madame Jwah!” cried Dulcie. She even clapped her hands.
Madame Joy smiled. “As many of you know, we end each session with a lovely recital. A recital, girls, is a chance for you to dance before your friends and family so that they can see what you’ve learned.”
Ivy coughed.
Madame Joy leaned forward eagerly. “Most of our
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