A Whirlwind Vacation (9 page)

Read A Whirlwind Vacation Online

Authors: Nancy Krulik

BOOK: A Whirlwind Vacation
3.08Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
Katie raised her arms up in the air and clapped her hands while she stomped her feet. The other dancers stared and moved out of the way. They had no idea what she was doing.
But Katie kept going. She danced faster and faster, trying to make her way toward the backstage area. She was trying to get out of the spotlight as quickly as possible. If she could just get off the stage. Katie moved her legs faster, and faster, and ...
BOOM!
Katie got off the stage, all right. She fell off—and landed right in the lap of a man sitting in the front row.
Katie's face turned bright red. She looked like such a fool! She was so embarrassed. This was the worst night ever!
Quickly, Katie leaped up and raced off toward the bathroom. It was the only place she could think of where she could get away from everyone.
Katie stood there, alone in the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. Black eye makeup was running down her cheeks. She sure didn't look like the beautiful, graceful dancer Katie had seen before.
She hadn't acted like a graceful dancer, either. In fact, she'd made a real mess of things. Everyone in the
tablao
had seen that. Even her parents and Annabelle.
For once, Katie was glad she was somebody else. If Annabelle had known that it was Katie up there, she never would have let her live that down.
Just then, Katie felt a cool breeze blowing on the back of her neck. The lace skirt began to rustle slightly.
Katie knew that this was no ordinary wind. This was the magic wind. The
magic
wind grew stronger and stronger. The fierce tornado circled Katie, blowing her skirt high in the air.
And then it stopped. Just like that.
The magic wind was gone. Katie Carew was back.
“There you are!” Mrs. Carew called as Katie walked out of the bathroom and started to walk across the club. “I was getting worried about you. Where did you go?”
“I was in the bathroom,” Katie told her.
“All this time?” Mrs. Carew asked.
Katie nodded. “It took a while to get the paella out of my hair. It was a mess.”
“So was the show,” Annabelle told her. She started giggling. “One of the dancers fell off the stage! You should have seen it. It was so funny!”
Katie frowned. “You shouldn't laugh,” she told Annabelle. “It probably hurt a lot. And she was probably really embarrassed.”
“She should be,” Annabelle said.
“It's not so easy to dance in a flamenco show,” Katie told her.
“Oh, come on,” Annabelle argued. “How hard could it be?” She raised her arms in the air and began to stomp on the floor.
“Let's not start that again,” Mr. Carew said as he steered the girls toward the exit. “I think we should get going.”
As she left, Katie caught a glimpse of the dancer in the black dress. Her dress was torn, her fan had broken in two, and she seemed very confused. She had no idea how any of this had happened.
But Katie sure did. And she felt terrible about it.
Chapter 16
The next morning, Vicki took the tour group to the Plaza Mayor. The big square certainly looked different during the day than it had the night before. There were tour buses around. Katie could hear tour guides speaking to groups in all sorts of foreign languages.
Katie was happy that many of the little clubs hadn't opened yet. She certainly didn't want to run into anyone from the
tablao.
As the tour group got off the bus, a short, round man came running over to Vicki. Katie recognized him right away. He was the manager of the flamenco club.
“Vicki,
un momento,”
he said.
The tour guide turned around and smiled at him. Unfortunately, the club manager did not smile back. Instead, he began speaking very quickly in Spanish. He seemed very angry—especially when he glared at Katie and Annabelle.
Katie knew what that meant. She felt just awful. “Is something wrong?” she asked Vicki.
Vicki looked at her. “Carlos says there was a problem at his club last night. His lead dancer tripped over some food and ruined the dance. She's blaming you girls. And she's refusing to go onstage if children are allowed in the club.”
“That's not fair!” Annabelle piped up. “It wasn't our fault that the dancer messed up.”
Katie frowned. It really was her fault. And she knew it.
“People like to take their children to
tablaos,”
Vicki told the girls. “So a lot of families canceled their reservations. And once word got out about the terrible show, other people canceled, too,” Vicki explained. “The club will be empty tonight.”
“That's not fair!” Katie exclaimed. “Flamenco dancing is very hard to do. It would be easy for someone to make a mistake.”
“Oh, come on, Katie,” Annabelle began.
“No. It's not as easy as it looks,” Katie insisted. “Those dancers take flamenco lessons for years and ...” She stopped suddenly and smiled brightly. “That's it!” she exclaimed.
“What's it?” Vicki asked.
“I know how Carlos can bring lots of customers to his club,” Katie said. “He can have his dancers give flamenco lessons before the show.”
Vicki thought for a moment. “I don't know of any club like that in Madrid,” she said.
“That's what will make it so great. It will be a one-of-a-kind
tablao!”
Katie said excitedly. “And kids love to take dancing lessons. Maybe Carlos can convince his lead dancer to change her mind. I think she will. She seemed pretty nice to me.”
“Qué? Qué?”
Carlos asked.
“He's asking me what you're saying,” Vicki told Katie. Then she began to talk to Carlos in Spanish.
Carlos was quiet for a moment, listening and thinking. Finally, he said something in Spanish and shrugged.
Vicki nodded and shook his hand.
“What did he say?” Katie asked Vicki nervously.
“He said it was worth a try,” Vicki said. “I think so, too. In fact, tonight, we will all take a flamenco lesson. If it works out, I'll recommend the
tablao
to other tour guides.”
“Oh, it will work out,” Katie assured her. “It just has to.”
Chapter 17
“Olé!” Katie's father shouted out as he stomped his feet.
Katie giggled. Her dad was not a very good dancer. But he sure was having a good time with his flamenco lesson. Everyone in the tour group was.
Annabelle was perched on her father's shoulders. She bounced up and down as he tapped his feet against the stage.
The Fishmans were dancing close. Mrs. Fishman waved a fan in front of her face. Mr. Fishman clapped his hands in the air.
The Penderbottoms were learning to use castanets. But they weren't very good at using them. The little instruments were clicking at all the wrong times.
Mrs. McIntyre danced by herself, while her husband took pictures of her with his video camera. The Garcias were busy taking pictures of each other with all of the professional dancers.
Miss Cornblau and Miss Framingham were giggling as a real flamenco dancer helped them to spin around and stomp their feet at the same time.
Vicki had asked some of her other tour-guide friends to bring their groups to the tablao for a flamenco lesson, so there were plenty of other tourists there, too. Some were speaking Japanese to one another. Some were speaking German. A few tourists were speaking Hebrew.
But Katie didn't have to speak their languages to know they were all having a good time. Their smiles and laughter told her that.
When the music stopped, Vicki leaped up onto the stage. “Okay, everyone, please take your seats,” she said. “It's been a super night so far, hasn't it?”
Everyone cheered. It had been a fun time—yummy food and great dancing lessons.
“But the best is yet to come. It's time for the show,” Vicki said.
As the lights went down, Annabelle turned to Mrs. Carew. “Where's Katie?” she asked.
“I don't know,” Mrs. Carew said. “I thought she was with you.”
“Maybe she went to the bathroom again,” Annabelle suggested.
At that moment, the spotlight flashed toward the stage. The dancers took to the stage. All the performers from the night before were there—even the dancer in the black dress. But it was a new dancer who took center stage. She was dressed in a pink lacy dress that looked just beautiful with her bright red hair.

Other books

A Little Lost by Burnett, R.S
The Queen and I by Sue Townsend
Famine by John Creasey
Yarrow by Charles DeLint
It's In His Kiss by Mallory Kane
The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain