Read Online Two to Tango by Sheryl Berk - Free Book Online Page B

laps! Then there’s this . . .”
    She held up a porcelain water jug Miss Toni had brought along on the bus. “She wants me to balance it on my head. Seriously! It weighs a ton!”
    Rochelle laughed. “Okay, that’s pretty funny. Toni does have a talent for throwing things into the routines at the very last minute.”
    Anya placed the jug on her head and tried tosteady it. Every time she took her hands away, it wobbled, threatening to crash to the floor. “This is hopeless!” she cried.
    â€œIf you want my advice . . .,” Rochelle began.
    â€œYes! Please!” Anya pleaded. “I don’t want to make a complete fool out of myself in front of City Feet—not to mention the entire audience!”
    Rochelle knew Toni hated when anyone changed her choreography, but she had appointed her assistant dance coach, hadn’t she? “Lose the veil over your face and drape it down your back instead, so it flies out behind you as you do your
tour jetés
. And carry the jug on your shoulder . . . but just for your entrance. When you’re done with your dance, you can pick it up again and bow to the audience—like you’re a servant, bowing before the Indian Royal Court. It’ll be very dramatic.”
    â€œThank you!” Anya said, hugging her. “That’s so much better.”
    Gracie also had an issue with her solo. Miss Toni had rigged the pancakes on the stove to flip up in the air just as she did her backflip.
    â€œIt’s stuck,” Gracie said. “I keep hitting the button, but they just keep sitting there.”
    â€œI’ll take care of it,” Rochelle assured her. “It’s probably a short circuit in the trigger.”
    Last but not least, Hayden had a problem with his umbrella. “Toni wants it to fly out of my hand on an invisible wire,” he said, demonstrating. The umbrella was supposed to float above his head while he did his routine. Instead, it levitated a few inches off the ground and stayed there.
    â€œI think it just needs a little boost. The umbrella’s probably too heavy. I’ll look into it,” Rochelle promised.
    By the five-minutes-to-curtain call, she thought she had fixed all the Divas’ dilemmas. She was sure Miss Toni would be proud of her handling everything so calmly and efficiently.
Who knows
, Rochelle pondered,
maybe she’ll even make me her permanent assistant.
    The announcer welcomed the crowd and announced the first competitor in the Petite Solo category. “Please give a round of applause forMandy doing an acro routine to ‘Red, Red Robin’!”
    Mandy burst onto the gym floor in a series of tumbles, twists, and flips. She flapped her arms and wiggled the red feathers sewn to the backside of her costume. She chirped, whistled, and made cute, pouty faces at the judges.
    â€œUgh, this dance is for the birds!” Liberty groaned, watching from the sidelines. “Gracie, your routine is so much better than this! Gracie?”
    Everyone suddenly realized Gracie was nowhere to be found. “Maybe she went to the bathroom?” Scarlett suggested. “I’ll go check!”
    â€œI’ll check the locker room,” Bria said.
    â€œLiberty and I will check the vending machines,” said Anya. “Maybe she got hungry and went for a snack.”
    Rochelle looked at the lineup listed in the program. “She’s the third dancer up in Petite Solo—we don’t have a lot of time! Find her! Fast!”
    â€œI have a hunch where she may be,” Hayden said. “Give me a sec.”
    â€œWhere?” Rochelle asked. She was frantic. If Gracie missed her cue, Toni would punish them all, starting with her assistant.
    Hayden walked outside the gym and found what he was looking for: the broom closet. He slowly opened the door and peered inside. There, seated on the floor among the mops and buckets, was Gracie.
    â€œHey, you,” Hayden