On Pointe (10 page)

It took Scarlett and Gracie mere seconds to grab their dance bags and pile into the car with the rest of the Divas.

“Be careful, girls,” their mom called after them. “Buckle up.”

“Another van is coming for you and the other moms around five thirty,” Toni told her. “We wouldn't want anyone to miss opening night.”

Just then, Gracie heard the
clank-clank
of chains and spotted the snowplow making its way down her block. “Hooray! The plows are coming! The plows are coming!” She applauded.

As the van pulled out, she whispered in Scarlett's ear, “I bet Liberty is gonna be really shocked to see us!”

The van pulled into the parking lot of the Paramus Playhouse just a few minutes after 4:00 p.m. Mr. Minnelli was trying his best to rechoreograph the scenes with fewer dancers.

“Oh thank goodness you're all here!” he said, running and hugging Marcus as he walked in the door. “I couldn't cancel the show, not with the critic from the
Times
coming to review it. Just my luck that he lives in Paramus!” He motioned to the empty stage. “I'm at my wit's end. We're down two mice, a couple of gingerbreads, and a handful of soldiers and snowflakes. No one can make it in all this snow!”

Addison walked through the door. “I made it. I wouldn't miss this for the world,” she said with a smirk. Her hair was already done up in a bun and topped with a delicate pearl and rhinestone crown.

“I have my principals, but the corps is a mess,” Mr. Minnelli said.

“We can pitch in, Mr. Minnelli,” Anya offered. “We can teach each other the choreography and fill in for the missing dancers. We're really fast learners.”

Bria nodded. “Miss Toni loves to switch our competition routines at the last minute. I once had to learn a tarantella in ten minutes.”

Toni shrugged. “I knew it would come in handy one day.”

“All right, if you think you can do it,” Marcus said.

“We need more soldiers or the mice are gonna kick our butts,” Hayden pointed out.

“I can fill in for a soldier,” Marcus offered. “Toni? You game to join me?”

Toni looked stunned. “Me? A soldier in
The
Nutcracker
? I played Snow Queen at ABC, or did you forget?”

“I didn't forget,” Marcus replied. “You were spectacular. And I was your Snow King.”

Gracie tapped Toni on the arm. “You said there are no small parts, only small dancers,” she reminded her.

“You're right,” she said. “I wouldn't want any of my team to think I go back on my word.”

Liberty stuck her head out of the dressing room to see what all the commotion was about. She was dressed in a white lace-trimmed nightgown and her hair was styled in long, flowing ringlets tied back with a white bow.

“Hey! You look like Clara!” Gracie said, spying her. “Where did you get that costume?”

Liberty was utterly stunned to see Gracie—and the rest of the Divas—filing into the theater. “What are you doing here?” she gasped.

“Um, we're here to put on a ballet,” Rochelle replied. “Disappointed?”

Miss Toni gave Liberty a stern look. “You can
change out of that costume this instant,” she said. “There's no need for a Clara understudy. Gracie is here.”

“There's a big, bad gingerbread costume with your name on it,” Rochelle taunted her. “Better go get ready, Lib!”

Liberty fumed. “It's not fair! Why does Gracie get to play Clara?”

Mr. Minnelli held up his hand. “There will be no tantrums, no hard feelings, no diva behavior.” He turned to Toni. “Apologies of course to Dance Divas—but you know what I mean.”

Toni nodded. “More than ever, we need everyone to pitch in tonight. You'll have to double up on roles and help each other out.”

Gracie tapped Mr. Minnelli and whispered something in his ear. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Well, all right.”

He faced Liberty. “Gracie suggested that you play a snowflake in addition to a gingerbread.”

Liberty's face lit up. “Really? I get to wear one of those beautiful silvery white tutus and a
rhinestone tiara? That is so much better than a giant cookie! Thank you, thank you!”

“Thank Gracie,” Toni reminded her. “It was her idea.”

“Thanks,” Liberty said softly. “I'm sorry. I guess I wasn't being a great friend to you.”

“You were—in the beginning,” Gracie pointed out. “I liked being your friend.”

Liberty smiled. “I liked being your friend, too. It's not easy to find someone who loves pink sequins as much as I do. Sorry again for trying to steal Clara away from you.”

Marcus glanced at the clock on the back wall of the theater. “I don't want to alarm anyone, but our curtain goes up in less than two hours and no one is in hair, makeup, or costume yet.” Everyone stood frozen, not knowing where to run first.

Toni clapped her hands together. “Get moving!” she commanded. Like magic, all the dancers disappeared into their dressing rooms.

“And that,” she told Marcus and Mr. Minnelli, “is how it's done.”

The Paramus Playhouse was only about a quarter full—there had been so many cancellations because of the snow. But Gracie was excited to see her mom and the other Diva parents all seated in the front row. Justine was there as well, studying the program and the list of understudies Mr. Minnelli had printed out for the evening.

“I wish we had a full house for opening night,” Anya said, peeking through the curtain. “It's like a ghost town out there.”

“It doesn't matter,” Scarlett assured her. “We're performing for anyone who's watching us—and
we have to do the best performance we can.” She looked at Gracie and Olivier, who were gearing up to go onstage.

“We're right behind you,” she assured them.

“I know,” Gracie said. “I'm not scared. I figure if Clara could fight off all those mean mice, I can be just as brave. Right?”

“Right,” Anya told her, wiggling her tail at Gracie. “Just try not to hit me too hard when you throw your ballet slipper at my head, will ya?”

Gracie giggled. “I'll try. But my dad says I have a mean pitching arm.”

When the curtain rose, the dancers all filed out onstage, pretending to participate in a wonderful Christmas Eve celebration. They danced in lines, with Gracie and Olivier leading them. There was a magician—Clara's uncle Drosselmeyer who was played by Presley in a handlebar mustache and an eye patch—who produced a giant box tied with a bow in the center of the stage. Gracie danced around it, trying to pull off the ribbon and find out what was inside. Finally,
the box opened, and Scarlett and Bria
pirouetted
out—as the two wind-up dolls.

“Oh!” Gracie gasped, genuinely surprised to see them in these roles. She giggled as they twirled around her in a doll-like trance, and were finally swept back into the box by Drosselmeyer.

Next up was the battle scene. Miss Toni stood backstage, dressed in a black-and-red military costume with red circles painted on her cheeks.

“You make a very pretty toy soldier,” Marcus whispered to her.

Toni half smiled. “Better not let Justine hear you say that.”

They marched onstage with Hayden and Rochelle, twirling their rifles expertly as if they were cheerleading batons. Bria and Scarlett only had minutes to change into their mouse suits before Anya pushed them out onstage. They tangled with the soldiers and finally declared surrender. Gracie stood on a bench and cheered as Olivier took the Mouse King's crown and waved it in the air in victory.

A gold coach pulled by carousel horses took Clara and her prince to the amazing Land of Sweets. It was just as magical as Marcus had promised. Gracie couldn't stop staring at the cotton candy clouds floating overhead and the giant Ferris wheel made out of licorice, gumdrops, and lollipops. As she and Olivier sat in the coach watching the action unfold, Addison as the Sugar Plum Fairy flitted around the stage, welcoming them to her domain.

Since the Sugar Plum Fairy's cavalier was stuck in the city because of the blizzard, Hayden had volunteered to play the part.

“I can't watch,” Rochelle replied. “This is worse than the time he had to dance with Liberty!”

Addison leaped and twirled around the stage, stepping on Hayden's toes and shoving him out of her way.

“I think she thinks it's a solo not a duet,” Anya said. “Rock, you gotta see this! Poor Hayden!”

He struggled to lift Addison in the air as she
squirmed. “Let me go!” she hissed. “You're wrinkling my costume. You're ruining everything!”

So Hayden did just that. He dropped Addison and she landed on the stage with a loud
thud
.

She sat there on her butt, staring out at the audience, as the snowflakes glided down.

“Nice job, Sugar Dumb Fairy,” Liberty whispered as she swirled past her. Addison was too humiliated to answer anything back. She ran off the stage crying and rubbing her rear end.

“She asked for it,” Hayden explained to Marcus. “She said to let her down.”

“Wonderful!” Marcus complained. “Now what? I have no Sugar Plum!”

Rochelle thought fast. “Anya could do it,” she said, pulling her friend over. “She knows the part inside, outside, and upside down.”

“Fine, fine,” Marcus replied. “Go get into the spare costume. You can do the finale.”

The audience oohed and aahed over the “Waltz of the Snowflakes.” Liberty gracefully glided
en pointe
around the stage, following Bria and
Scarlett's lead. Each of the treats performed a dazzling dance: there were the twisty candy canes, the spicy Red Hots, and the stretchy caramel chews.

When it was time for the gingerbreads to perform, Liberty was first out onstage, leaping through the air and exploding into a breathtaking cartwheel. The rest of the gingerbread dancers waddled in behind her. Their comical routine made the audience roar with laughter—especially when Liberty threw real ginger candies into the audience and pelted Justine in the face with one of them. She ran offstage, panting.

“That was pretty awesome,” Scarlett congratulated her. “You stole the show.”

Liberty beamed. “I guess this cookie role wasn't so crummy after all.”

Next up was the “Arabian Coffee” duet, a mysterious
pas de deux
performed by a couple dressed in matching red-and-gold Middle Eastern costumes. Gracie's eyes widened as she saw Miss Toni and Marcus make their way across the stage as the romantic duo.

“Check it out!” Rochelle pulled Scarlett over to watch from the wings. “Toni and Marcus are killin' it!”

Scarlett was mesmerized. She had never really seen her dance coach perform onstage before. She marveled at her poise and presence; the way she extended her arms and legs into graceful long lines; and how her face captured every emotion the music was trying to convey. “Wow,” she said breathlessly. “Just wow.”

All the candies came out onstage to perform a grand group number led by the Sugar Plum Fairy. Anya floated onto the stage in a shimmering pink tutu. With a wave of her wand, the Ferris wheel lit up and began to turn. Hayden held her hand as she did a graceful
arabesque
and then bestowed a kiss on Clara's and the prince's foreheads.

In the last scene, Gracie danced around the Christmas tree once again, cradling her nutcracker doll in her arms. Olivier was transformed back into a real boy, and the Land of Sweets faded away with her dreams. She waved good-bye to the Sugar Plum Fairy and the curtain fell.

“I did it! I did it!” she said, as her teammates huddled around her backstage.

“You were an amazing Clara,” Liberty said. “I couldn't have done it better myself.”

The curtain rose again for bows, and Marcus came out and handed Anya, Olivier, and Gracie bouquets of roses. He had one more bouquet left, which he presented to Miss Toni.