Read Online One Perfect Pirouette by Sherryl Clark - Free Book Online

to my chair, knelt down and hugged me gently.
    â€˜It’s not the end of the world, you know. But you have to promise you won’t do it again. It’s trespassing and the school won’t like it.’
    I shook my head. I couldn’t speak.
    The hall was nothing; it was Tam.
    â€˜Here, stop that crying,’ she said softly and, when I couldn’t, she made me a cup of hot Milo and sat next to me. ‘Drink some of this.’
    I managed a couple of swallows, which helped a bit and the sobs wound down into hiccuppy breaths. Finally, I whispered, ‘Tam hates me. Everyone hates me for making you all move down here.’
    â€˜That’s not true,’ Mum said, but she didn’t sound convincing.
    â€˜It is. I wish we’d never come. I’ll find a class in Bendigo and you and Dad can go back to Nan’s place and Orrin can –’
    â€˜I don’t think Orrin wants to go home, do you?’ Mum smoothed my hair back off my face. ‘Brynnie, I’ve seen you dance. You have an incredible talent. If Mrs Calzotti hadn’t said so, I still would’ve seen it in you. Dad and I truly believe we have to give you every possible chance to be a dancer. But there’s one stumbling block.’
    â€˜Tam?’
    â€˜No, Tam will make his own way now. I wish I’d seen it sooner, what he needed, but we can deal with it. The stumbling block is you.
    â€˜Me?’
    â€˜A dancer’s life is impossibly hard. Whatever you’re feeling right now is nothing compared to the way it’ll be later on. Getting into the Ballet School is only the first of many hurdles.’
    â€˜I know that.’ I knew she was trying to help, but this was all stuff I’d heard from her before.
    â€˜You have to totally believe in yourself, in what you want, what your dream is. You have to pursue that dream, no matter what.’ She bit her lip. ‘I thought coming down here would strengthen your resolve.’
    â€˜Why do you think I sneaked into the school hall? I really wanted to practise properly. That audition’s only a few weeks away.’
    â€˜I know. And we’re doing all we can to get you there, but – you seem to want to be in this special class so everyone’ll think you’re worth it. But you’re the one who needs to feel that worth. That’s the bit we can’t do for you. Nobody can.’
    â€˜You think I don’t believe in myself?’ Why she was saying all this? Again! Something did stir inside me, though.
    â€˜So far, yes.’ She sighed. ‘But things will get harder, you know – not easier. There’ll always be people who are jealous, or who’ll try and make you do what they want. You might even find one or two who’ll do anything to stop you.’
    â€˜How can they stop me getting into the Ballet School? You just said it was up to me, to believe in myself, no matter what.’
    â€˜Yes, but –’ Her face was drawn, her eyes dark, and she massaged her leg absent-mindedly.
    â€˜Is there something you’re not telling me?’
    She pressed her lips together, shook her head slightly. ‘Have you met any nice girls at school yet?’
    I stretched my leg out, curved my foot into an arch and avoided her gaze. ‘I guess. One girl in my class goes to Ms Ellergren’s.’ Now was the time to tell her about Jade and the netball problem, but somehow I couldn’t. It was as if Tam had created enough drama for one day and I could tell Mum was still feeling hurt and upset about him. So I lied. ‘Some of the other girls are friendly, too.’
    A smile spread across Mum’s face. ‘Good. That cheers me up a lot. Let’s get dinner started, shall we?’
    She levered herself up and went to the fridge; I sat and stared through the doorway at the shapes moving on the TV screen, my mind a million kilometres away.
    Mum had been going to tell me something, I was sure