Cate Shearwater - Making the Grade

Four

In no time the train was drawing into Paddington Station and Ellie gathered up her belongings and made her way on to the platform. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. The concourse was jammed with people and she wasn’t sure who she was looking for.

‘Ellie! Ellie!’ A voice sailed high above the crowd and Ellie turned to see a girl holding up a poster with ‘Academy Ellie’ painted on it. It was just like she’d seen in the movies, only this poster was massive, glittery and covered in hearts and pictures of gymnasts. Ellie couldn’t help smiling. There was no way she could miss that!

No longer feeling so nervous, Ellie made her way over. The girl had hair the colour of toffee cake, a face like a pixie and an upturned nose covered in freckles. As soon as she caught sight of Ellie, she squealed out, ‘It’s you! I recognised you right away because you look just like a fairy. All gymnasts are tiny – except me. I’m shooting up like a weed, Tam says. I’m Nancy by the way. Welcome to London!’

‘Thanks for coming to meet me,’ said Ellie as soon as she managed to get a word in. ‘I love the sign.’

‘We’ve been dead excited about you coming,’ Nancy went on happily. ‘Especially me cos we’re going to be sharing a room. You might not be so excited after you see what a mess I make, but I’m going to try not to be total nightmare, I promise . . .’

Ellie laughed. Nancy’s giddy excitement reminded her of Lucy and made her feel at home right away.

‘Nancy, let the poor girl get her breath,’ laughed a willowy blonde woman who had just reached Nancy’s side. She had to be Nancy’s mum, because she looked just like her, only her eyes had a kind light that was softer than Nancy’s mischievous twinkle.

‘Yeah, like that’s gonna happen!’ said a boy who had appeared apparently from nowhere. He had dark unruly hair and chocolate-brown eyes that sparkled as he grinned at Ellie. Despite the difference in colouring (and the fact that he was a boy) he bore such a startling resemblance to Nancy it was kind of weird looking at the two of them side by side. ‘The only time my sis ever stops is when she’s asleep – and sometimes not even then. You’ll be lucky if you get a wink of sleep sharing a room with Nance! She can talk for England.’

‘Oi! Shut up, Tam!’ said Nancy, punching the boy on the arm.

‘Trust me, I know what I’m talking about,’ Tam went on, ignoring her. ‘I had to share Mum’s tummy with her for a whole nine months. It’s a miracle I ever made it out alive.’

Ellie smiled. So they were twins. And, despite the glare that Nancy shot at her brother, Ellie could tell that there was a bond between them like the one she felt with Lucy.

‘If you two have finished bickering, shall we do some proper introductions?’ said the twins’ mum. ‘I’m Mandy and these are my troublesome twins, Tam and Nancy.’

‘At your service,’ said Tam, bending low in a way that made Nancy giggle.

‘Tam?’ said Ellie. ‘I’ve never heard that name before.’

‘Short for Tamar. Apparently I’m named after some river near where Mum and Dad went for honeymoon or something.’

‘Oh yes! It’s in Cornwall,’ said Ellie. ‘At least, it runs between Cornwall and Devon. Haven’t you ever been there?’

‘Nope,’ declared Tam. ‘We were born in the city and haven’t ventured out much our whole lives.’

‘Well, I’ve never been to London before,’ said Ellie. ‘So I suppose that makes us sort of – I don’t know – opposites?’

‘Ooh! Then we’ll have to show you all the sights,’ said Nancy. ‘Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Eye – the lot!’

‘Let’s just get Ellie back to Head-Over-Heels House for now,’ laughed Mandy. ‘She must be exhausted and hungry after her long journey. She probably isn’t ready for your magical mystery tour just yet!’

‘Head-Over-Heels House?’ said Ellie, confused.

‘Oh,’ Tam said, ‘that’s the nickname for the shared house where all the out-of-town Academy students live – the girls anyway.’

‘Some of the students came up with the nickname years ago and it kind of stuck,’ said Mandy. ‘It actually suits the place because it’s a bit topsy-turvy. You’ll see what I mean when we get there.’

‘I can’t wait!’ Ellie bent down to pick up her suitcase, but Tam reached for it at exactly the same time and their heads clashed.

‘Ow!’ said Ellie, rubbing her forehead.

‘Oops! Sorry!’ said Tam. ‘Just wondered if you needed a hand.’

Nancy giggled. ‘She’s a gymnast! She’s probably got stronger arm muscles than you.’

‘Yeah, right!’ said Tam. ‘All you girl gymnasts do is silly flicky-flacky prancing around stuff. It’s us boys who do the real strength disciplines.’

‘Is that right?’ said Nancy. ‘I’d like to see you manage a flick layout on the beam!’

‘And you wouldn’t last two minutes on the pommel horse,’ said Tam with a shrug.

Mandy shook her head and smiled at Ellie. ‘They’ve been having this argument since they started gym when they were four years old.’

‘Is this all the stuff you have?’ Tam asked, looking round. ‘I thought you’d have loads of bags.’

Before Ellie had a chance to think of a reply, Nancy had punched her brother’s shoulder again and linked arms with Ellie. ‘Don’t be stupid. All she needs is a few leotards, her hand guards and a tracksuit,’ she said. ‘After all, she’s going to spend most of her life in the Academy, just like the rest of us. Now, if you could just stop talking for a single moment . . .’

‘ Me stop talking!’

Nancy ignored him. ‘Head-Over-Heels House, here we come!’

Five

They caught a tube and a bus and Ellie was amazed by how many people there were. On the creek, you could go all day without seeing anyone. But in London every square centimetre of space seemed to be filled with life. People crammed on to the platform, streaming down the escalators, squeezed like sardines into the tube carriages and on the buses. To Ellie, it felt totally insane but brilliantly exciting at the same time.

‘London must seem pretty full on,’ said Tam, noticing her wide eyes. ‘You live by the seaside, right?’

‘Sort of,’ said Ellie. ‘On a little tidal estuary, just inland from the sea.’

‘Cool,’ said Nancy. ‘Do you go surfing every day, and sailing and water-skiing? I’ve always wanted to try water-skiing. And rowing. I’d love to be able to row.’

‘I go rowing most days,’ said Ellie. ‘I have my own boat that my dad made for me.’

‘Awesome!’ said Nancy. ‘I reckon if I get too tall for gymnastics I’m going to be a rower. They’re always pretty tall, aren’t they? And I’ve got strong arms. Scarlett reckons I’m more like a weightlifter than a gymnast – but that’s the sort of thing she would say.’

‘Um – who’s Scarlett?’ asked Ellie.

‘Oh, she’s in Development squad like us,’ explained Nancy. ‘And she lives in Head-Over-Heels House because her mum and dad are always off travelling overseas. They’re like multi-millionaires or something – as she’s always reminding everybody.’ Nancy rolled her eyes but didn’t stop talking. Ellie was starting to wonder how she managed to breathe sometimes. ‘Anyway, she reckons she’s ten times better than the rest of us in Development squad. She’s not going to like you – at all!’