Shai & Emmie Star in Dancy Pants! Read online

  “Good morning, Shai! Good morning, Emmie! Did you girls have a nice weekend?” he called out.

  “Hobbledehoy!” Shai replied. She thought that might cheer Emmie up.

  But Emmie just frowned.

  Shai frowned too. She really wanted to win the bet against Gabby. Still, she didn’t know how to make their dance routine perfect without upsetting Emmie—and Rio, too.

  On top of that, Shai felt squirmy-uncomfortable about continuing to keep the bet a secret from her friends, especially her bestie-best friend.

  She took a deep courage breath. Time to fix this.

  “Okay, Em. I need to tell you something.”

  Emmie raised one eyebrow. “What about?”

  “Shane! Emmie!”

  Shai turned and saw Gabby coming toward them. She wasn’t walking, though; she was doing a move called a running flap, which went brush-step, brush-step, brush-step, brush-step, brush-step. It was a pretty good running flap, considering that Gabby was wearing sneakers and not tap shoes. Isabella and Jay trailed after Gabby, carrying her backpack and lunch bag, which had gold movie-star stars on them.

  Gabby slowed down to a halt and twirled smoothly. “Soooo. How’s your ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ routine?” she asked.

  Shai gulped.

  Before either she or Emmie could answer, Gabby plunged on. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. I think I’ve got this bet in the bag. Of course, I’ll share the prize with you both,” she told Isabella and Jay. “I’ll take, like, twenty cupcakes, and you can split the rest. That’s fair, right?”

  Emmie’s confused glance bounced between Gabby and Shai. “What bet? What prize? What cupcakes?”

  “Ohmigosh, Shane. You didn’t tell her?” Gabby exclaimed. “Why not? Did you want to keep all the cupcakes for yourself? That’s kind of greedy, isn’t it? Doesn’t matter, though, because you guys are totally not going to win! Buh-bye!”

  Gabby waved and started doing another running flap in the direction of the homeroom hall. Isabella and Jay hurried after her.

  “What was Gabby talking about, Shai?” Emmie asked. She seemed really mad now.

  “I was just about to tell you.”

  “Tell me what?”

  Shai took another deep courage breath and explained about the cupcake bet.

  When she was done, Emmie just shook her head.

  “I can’t believe you made this bet with Gabby without asking Rio and me first!”

  “I know. I’m really, really sorry. Double-triple-quadruple sorry. But now that you know, you can help me make our routine perfect so we can win the bet! Rio can help too, after we tell him!”

  Emmie shook her head again.

  “Em?”

  “I need to go see Mr. Yee before homeroom. About orchestra. I’ll see you later.”

  With that, Emmie turned on her heel and walked away.

  Shai’s lower lip quivered. Her brain was full of confusion. Why was Emmie still mad? Shai had confessed and apologized.

  But maybe Emmie would change her mind after she’d had a chance to think about it.

  Or maybe she wouldn’t.

  Then what?

  SCENE 8

  Worst Dancer Ever

  Shai was curled up on the living room couch with the remote control in one hand and her favorite blue Polar Blast drink in the other. Sugar lay at her feet, blinking at the TV screen.

  Tonight was supposed to be the Dancy Pants Trio’s third rehearsal. But Emmie and Rio had both said they needed to finish their short mystery stories for Ms. Cremaldi, which were due on Friday.

  Shai needed to finish her short story too. But she wasn’t in the mood to do homework right now. She was in the mood to figure out how to win the cupcake bet . . . and how to win back Emmie and Rio.

  Rio was siding with Emmie about the bet. At their last rehearsal he had told Shai, nicely, to chill out and not be so obsessed with winning. He’d reminded her that Ms. Englert wanted Dancing With Kids to be a fun experience plus a learning experience for future competitions.

  But why couldn’t DWK be a fun experience plus a learning experience plus a beating-Gabby experience?

  Surely Rio and Emmie would come around . . . .

  I’m singin’ in the rain

  Just singin’ in the rain

  On the television, three members of the Atlanta Dance Ensemble danced to the song. “Ensemble” was a fancy Europe word for “group.” The three dancers were all grown-ups. They wore raincoats and rain hats and rain boots with metal taps on them, and they carried folded-up umbrellas. They did running flaps across the stage. They did single wings and double wings and buffalos.

  Jamal had found this video for Shai, and she had watched it over and over again. Grandma Rosa’s magazine was right. It did help to watch videos of other people’s perfect examples. Shai was learning so much from the way the three dancers moved together. They made everything look so fun and energetic and joyous.

  The video had also inspired Shai to change the choreography in the no-words part of the song. Not just change, but make them way harder, like in the video. The new steps were sure to impress the Dancing With Kids judges and earn the Dancy Pants Trio a ribbon!

  Okay, so maybe these weren’t the steps Ms. Englert had taught them. But wouldn’t she be impressed that Shai had “displayed leadership” and challenged her team to do better, think bigger? Shai hit the pause button, then rewind, then play. Standing up, she watched the no-words part carefully and tried to repeat the grown-up dancers’ complicated steps. Her flip-flops slapped noisily against the floor, and her ankles wobbled. She knew she wasn’t supposed to tap-dance without proper shoes; she could hurt herself. But it was just for a few minutes, and besides, Gabby had done running flaps in her sneakers in the school lobby, right?

  Shai hit pause and rewind and play again.

  Running flap across the stage . . . single wing to the right . . . single wing to the left . . . double wing.

  Shai nodded to herself. Then she launched into a running flap across the living room floor.

  Sugar leaped up from her cozy TV-watching spot and ran alongside Shai, barking.

  “I know, girl. These steps are super-difficult!” Shai said breathlessly.

  Shai stopped in the middle of the living room and kicked up her heels to the right for the single wing. Yes! It was a perfect single wing.

  Then she kicked up her heels to the left for the other single wing . . .

  . . . except that her right foot twisted as she landed. Not good-twisted but bad-twisted.

  Pain seared through her right ankle.

  “Owwwww!” Shai yelled.

  She sank down to the floor and massaged her ankle, willing the pain to go away. Her eyes were swimming with tears. What had she done?

  Sugar ran in circles around Shai, barking and barking. Patches and Noodle trotted into the living room and began circling and barking too.

  Momma rushed in from the kitchen. “Why are the dogs making such a . . . Shai, sweetie, are you okay? What happened?”

  “I, um . . .”

  Momma knelt down and inspected Shai’s ankle, which was starting to swell up.

  “Oh, honey bunny. It looks like a sprain. Let’s get some ice on that right away.”

  “Are you sure it’s a sprain?”

  “I’m a doctor, remember? An animal doctor, but still. I’m going to go and grab an ice pack, and an elastic bandage, too.”

  “O-okay.”

  On the TV the “Singin’ in the Rain” song slowly faded. The three dancers opened their umbrellas, twirled, and bowed with happy smiles. The audience clapped and clapped.

  Tears spilled down Shai’s cheeks. Forget winning the cupcake bet . . . . Now she probably wouldn’t be able to perform in the Dancing With Kids competition at all. Not with an injury like this.

  And her ankle hurt like crazy.

  Why had she done those crazy-hard dance steps in her flip-flops?

  She deserved a ribbon. A ribbon for Worst Dancer
Ever.

  SCENE 9

  Winning and Losing

  Shai didn’t go to school the next day. She lay in her bed with her right foot bandaged up like a mini-mummy and smelling like medicine cream. The foot was propped up on a pile of fluffy pillows with an ice pack wedged against it.

  Momma and Daddy were at work. Jamal and Samantha were in school. Grandma Rosa had come over to watch her and Jacobe for the day. Shai could hear them downstairs, stomping and dancing to the “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” song.

  Blah.

  Shai was feeling sorry for herself. Very, very sorry. She was stuck at home with her sprained ankle. Momma had taken her to the pediatrician this morning. Dr. Holby had confirmed that Shai’s ankle was definitely sprained and that she needed to stay off it for a while. And that if Shai took extra-good care of it, there was a slight chance she could still dance in the Dancing With Kids competition.

  Shai knew what “slight” meant. Small. Tiny. Itty-bitty. Practically zero.

  She might as well give up on the competition right now.

  Not to mention . . . she had also managed to make her best friend and her other friend kind of upset with her. And she had to break the news to them about not being able to dance.

  Could things get any worse?

  Sighing, Shai picked up her notebook and opened it to her short mystery story. It was due in English class the day after tomorrow, and she still hadn’t finished it. Or rather, she’d written lots of beginnings, but she’d never managed to write any middles or endings. She should work on it now, since she didn’t have anything better to do; besides, it might take her mind off her troubles.

  Shai tapped her marker against the paper . . . thinking, thinking.

  Then she began to write:

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MYSTERIOUS SECRET By Shai Williams

  Once upon a time, there was a girl named Shane. One night she went downstairs for dinner and heard her grandma and aunt having a mysterious conversation!

  “We can’t tell Shane’s momma or daddy!” Grandma said.

  “It’ll be our secret!” Auntie said.

  Shane saw Grandma hide something yellow in her apron pocket!

  Later, Shane’s brother said that he heard Grandma and Auntie talking about Grandma’s house and about Jacksonville, Florida!

  Dun dun dun!

  Shai paused to look up “Jacksonville” in the atlas to make sure she had spelled it right. She had.

  What was their mysterious secret? Why couldn’t they tell Shane’s momma and daddy . . . or anyone else?

  There was a knock on the door. Shai slapped her notebook shut. “Come in!”

  Grandma Rosa entered, carrying a tray. She placed it on the bed next to Shai.

  “The little man went down for his nap. I brought you some lunch.”

  “Thanks, Grandma Rosa.” Shai slid her notebook under the blanket.

  “It’s carrot-ginger soup. There’s extra honey-butter for the corn muffins. How’s that ankle feeling, Shaianne?”

  “Blah.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Shai picked up a corn muffin and slathered it with honey-butter. Grandma Rosa wiped her hands on her apron and perched on the edge of the bed.

  “So . . . a little bird told me that you made a bet with your classmate about a dance competition. And that you were pushing yourself and your trio quite hard to make sure you win a ribbon at the competition,” Grandma Rosa said.

  Shai almost spit out her corn muffin. “What? Who told you that?”

  “Emmie. Don’t be angry with her. She came by this morning so the two of you could walk to school together. You were at the doctor’s office with your momma. That’s when she told me everything.”

  Shai fumed inside. She wasn’t angry with Emmie. She was angry with herself. Why had she gotten so caught up in Gabby’s stupid bet?

  “I gave Emmie the bad news about your ankle,” Grandma Rosa went on. “She was real worried about you. She asked if she could come by after school and bring you some beef jerky and gummy worms from B & L’s Market.”

  “She did?”

  “She most certainly did.”

  Grandma Rosa plumped the pillows under Shai’s foot. She rearranged the ice pack.

  “Shaianne, it’s okay to want to win,” she said gently. “It’s a fine quality in you, and it will help you succeed in life. You know, when I was growing up, girls weren’t supposed to be competitive—only boys. Competitiveness was thought to be unladylike and bad manners. Which of course is a bunch of bananas. So it’s wonderful to see young women like you who not only are competitive but work very hard to be the best they can be.”

  Shai brightened. “Really?”

  “Yes! But it’s important to remember that not winning is fine too. A person can’t win all the time. Losing is okay; it’s how we learn and grow. It’s also an opportunity to be gracious to the winners.”

  Shai tried to imagine being gracious to Gabby. Ugh.

  “But I want you to ask yourself: Why do you want to win that ribbon and that bet so much?” Grandma Rosa asked. “Is it because you want to be the best you can be? Or is it because you can’t stand the thought of losing to your classmate . . . Gabby, is it?”

  It was like Grandma Rosa could read her mind.

  Grandma Rosa patted Shai’s knee. “Shaianne, you are the smartest eight-year-old I know. You’ll figure this out. In the meantime, eat that soup before it gets cold. I’m going to go catch up on my emails.”

  She rose to her feet. As she did, something fell out of her apron pocket and landed on the bed.

  Something yellow. And small. And flat.

  Shai sat up eagerly. It was the yellow clue!

  Grandma Rosa quickly reached down, but Shai scooped it up first.

  Shai turned it over in her hand. It was a yellow index card. A bunch of words and numbers were written on it in hasty, scribbly cursive. Shai could make out beach and vista and a 9 and a 3 and . . .

  Grandma Rosa plucked the card from Shai. “I’ll take that.”

  “What is it?”

  “An important phone number.”

  “But—”

  Grandma Rosa slipped the card back into her apron pocket and turned toward the door. “I think I hear the little man. Must’ve been the shortest nap in history! Let me know if you need anything, honey.”

  With that, she was gone.

  Shai twisted her face into a thinking expression. Her brain went into detective mode.

  She hadn’t heard Jacobe make a peep.

  And Grandma Rosa had acted double-triple-quadruple secretive just now.

  Whose phone number was on the card?

  Shai picked up her notebook and opened it to “The Mystery of the Mysterious Secret.”

  The story wasn’t over yet.

  SCENE 10

  Together Again

  Shai stopped working on her short story around four o’clock. She finally had a middle. Now all she needed was an ending.

  The doorbell rang downstairs. The dogs began crazy-barking, and Grandma Rosa said something to someone in a cheery voice.

  A moment later, two familiar faces peered into Shai’s room. Emmie and Rio!

  “Hobbledehoy! I come bearing gummy worms,” Emmie said, holding up a paper bag.

  “And I’ve got beef jerky,” Rio said, holding up another bag. “We went to B & L’s Market.”

  “Aww! You guys!” Shai grinned from ear to ear. It was so nice to see her friends.

  Emmie gave Shai a big hug. “I’m sorry about your ankle. And I’m sorry we had a fight.”

  “Me too!” Shai said, hugging her back.

  Rio pointed to Shai’s ankle. “Does it hurt a lot?”

  “Yup. Dr. Holby said I have to RICE it for a bunch of days.”

  “Rice, like the food?” Rio asked, confused.

  “R-I-C-E. It’s doctor language for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Compression means the squeezy bandage, and elevation means the pillows,” Shai e
xplained.

  “Then will you be all better? Will you be able to . . .” Emmie hesitated. “Will you be able to dance with us at DWK?”

  Shai looked away. “Um, I’m not sure. Probably not. But maybe.”

  “Maybe is good,” Rio said with a smile.

  Emmie nodded. “ ‘Maybe is great! Hey, I have an idea. Rio and I can come over every day and rehearse here. You can watch us and take notes and give us advice and stuff. And when your ankle’s healed, you can dance with us.”

  “Really?” Shai’s heart swelled with hope. “You guys don’t want to be the Dancy Pants Duo instead?”

  “Nope,” said Rio.

  “Never ever,” Emmie added.

  “Even though I made that bet with Gabby? And I was super-duper strict?”

  “You weren’t that strict!” Emmie said, offering Shai a gummy worm.

  “Yeah. Just kind of strict,” Rio joked.

  They all laughed.

  * * *

  Shai handed in her short mystery story later that week. She wasn’t 100 percent happy with the ending, though. She hadn’t been able to figure out Grandma Rosa and Aunt Mac-N-Cheese’s secret in real life, so she’d had to improvise an ending—an ending having to do with a stolen treasure buried under a magical cauliflower tree.

  In any case, the Spy Squad’s mystery solving faded into the background as Shai focused on healing her ankle and preparing for the competition.

  For the next few weeks she walked on crutches . . . then walked without the crutches . . . then started to dance a little . . . then started to dance a lot. Emmie and Rio came over every day to rehearse. At first Shai just watched. Eventually she was able to join in.

  Two days before DWK, Dr. Holby gave Shai the official all-clear to compete.

  “Don’t push yourself, though. Just relax and have fun! And if your ankle starts hurting at all, make sure you stop,” she advised.