Twirling Tails #7 by Angela Andrew;Swan Sue;Farley Bentley Page B

what we can do. I want as many as possible of you to take part. So I’m going to move those of you who are ready onto the A team.
    â€œ. . . Annie and Rosa. And Jacqui you’ll all be moving up. And last but not least . . . Kirsten, you’ll be joining the A team.”
    â€œMe? Yay! That’s fantastic!” Kirsten cried, delightedly bouncing up and down on the springy gym mats.
    Tracy sat there with her arms folded, saying nothing.
    Kirsten’s high spirits took a dive as she realized that her friend’s name hadn’t been called.
    Molly clapped her hands. “Okay, everyone. Let’s have another run-through.”
    As the others dispersed, Kirsten stood up and pulled Tracy to her feet.
    â€œMolly, I think you’ve forgotten someone—Tracy!” she whispered urgently.
    Molly shook her head. “I didn’t forget. I’m just not sure that Tracy wants to give one hundred percent to the LMs right now. But I’d be happy to be proven wrong,” she said more gently, giving Tracy a meaningful look before she walked away.
    Tracy watched her go without speaking.
    Kirsten looked at her friend. “Did you hear that? Molly more or less said that if you work really hard at practice now, you’ll get onto the A team, too!” she said eagerly.
    Tracy shrugged. “Who cares? Maybe Helena’s right. Dressing up like a chocolate soldier is pretty stupid—” She stopped suddenly. “I’d better start work before Molly has a fit.” Tracy went to join some girls who were doing warm-ups.
    Kirsten frowned. Did Tracy mean Helena Simpson, the new girl in class? Helena was popular with everyone and gave noisy opinions about everything. Kirsten didn’t think Tracy even knew her that well.
    A suspicion came over her. What if Tracy had just been at Helena’s house? But that couldn’t be right because Tracy said her classmate had been sick and Helena had been fine at school earlier. Unless Tracy was lying . . .
    Kirsten didn’t want to believe it. She wandered miserably into the bathroom. There was no one else in there as she splashed her face at a sink. But as she looked back up into the mirrors, a dazzling flash of bright gold light lit up the whole room behind her.
    â€œOh!” Kirsten took a step backward, rubbing at her eyes. When her sight cleared, she turned to see a tiny puppy standing about a foot away on the tiled floor. It had light brown shaggy fur, a little square muzzle, and enormous midnight blue eyes.
    â€œI need to hide. Can you help me?” it woofed.

Chapter TWO
    Kirsten’s jaw dropped and she stared at the puppy in total amazement. She must be more upset by the idea of Tracy and Helena meeting behind her back than she thought. She’d actually just imagined that the puppy had spoken to her!
    â€œHello. Aren’t you a little cutie? Where did you just come from?” she crooned, bending down to talk to it. She’d never seen a puppy with such bright blue eyes before.
    The puppy pricked up its ears. It sat down and put its head to one side. “I have come from far away. I am Storm of the Moon-claw pack. What is your name?”
    â€œYou really can talk!” Kirsten gasped, almost losing her balance and toppling backward onto her behind. She just managed to grab hold of a nearby sink and steady herself before rising to her feet.

    Kirsten felt like pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Talking puppies didn’t just appear out of thin air in gym bathrooms. They only existed in fairy tales.
    But Storm still sat there, looking up at her trustingly. The tiny puppy seemed to be waiting for her reply.
    â€œI’m Kirsten. Kirsten Blake,” she found herself saying. “I’m . . . er . . . one of the Limelight Majorettes. We practice here twice a week.”
    Storm dipped his head in a formal little bow. “I am honored to meet you, Kirsten.”
    â€œUm . . . me,