Lucky Break #6 (6 page)

He woke much later to find Sister putting a cup of tea and a couple of cookies by his bed. “You've got a visitor!” she told him cheerfully.

It was Danny. He'd brought spare clothes, Marmalade's shower caddy, his backpack, and the book he was reading. Marmalade struggled to sit up. His knee throbbed, and the thick bandage prevented him from moving it easily. “What time is it?” he asked Danny groggily.

“Dinnertime!” Danny told him. “I came to see you after lunch, but Sister said you'd only been back from the hospital a little while and had gone to sleep.”

Marmalade ate a cookie and suddenly felt ravenously hungry, realizing that he'd missed lunch. He gobbled the other cookie down quickly as Sister came back in with a large tray. “Do you want this salad?” she asked. “I kept it in the fridge for you.”

“Thanks!” he said.

“We made you this,” Danny announced, putting a huge card on Marmalade's bed. “Well, Pop made it and then we all signed it.”

“Thanks, Danny! Please thank them all very much.” Marmalade looked at the beautifully cut-out paper flowers that were stuck onto the front of the card. Inside, everyone had written little messages and signed them. Most of them were variations of
Get well soon,
but Jack had written
I'm so sorry
next to his name.

Marmalade put the card to one side. Somehow, it was ruined by having Jack's name on it. He didn't want to think about Jack, but he couldn't help it. If Jack hadn't come to Rockley Park, Marmalade wouldn't have asked about the jump and none of this would have happened. Everything was Jack's fault.

Somewhere at the back of Marmalade's mind, he knew he wasn't being fair, but in all his pain and misery, he couldn't bear to accept any of the blame for hurting himself. What's more, thinking about Jack was reminding him that Jack could still dance, and he couldn't. How would he cope if he could never dance again?

It wasn't long before Marmalade had mastered his crutches and was back in classes again. Everyone was very kind to him, and Danny was a great help, making sure no one got too close and knocked his knee. Marmalade tried to stay cheerful, but he couldn't help thinking that there wasn't much to be cheerful about. It seemed that the class comedian had gone forever.

After he had moped at the side of the dance studio for a couple of classes, Mr. Penardos had a word with him. “You might as well skip my classes until your leg is better,” he said. “I had thought you might be interested in watching, but that's obviously too frustrating for you.”

“Sorry,” Marmalade apologized.

“Tha's all right,” Mr. Penardos said. “I un'erstand how you feel. But use your time wisely. Make sure you catch up on all that academic work instead.”

Marmalade tried hard to concentrate on his schoolwork, but every time he went somewhere quiet to study, his mind wandered to that awful moment when his foot had slid from under him and he'd realized he was in trouble. It had been landing in a slippery puddle of a spilled drink that had made him fall, not a badly executed jump, but knowing that didn't help. Time after time, he replayed the jump and the painful consequences in his head. He knew he shouldn't have been dancing in the dining hall, but because he was distraught that he couldn't dance, and because he couldn't bear to think it was his own fault, Marmalade continued to blame Jack.

His friends did their best to help, but nothing could make Marmalade happy. Talking to his family on the phone made him feel even more sorry for himself. He missed them badly now that he wasn't enjoying himself dancing. Their cards and presents made him feel even more homesick, so after a few days he got permission to go home for a weekend.

Marmalade's dad arrived to pick him up, and Danny carried his bag out to the car while Marmalade followed on his crutches.

Jack was hovering by the front door. He looked as if he wanted to say something.

“Have a good time,” said Danny. Marmalade frowned and glanced in Jack's direction. How could he have a good time when he was injured? Jack blushed and disappeared indoors, looking upset.

At home, everyone wanted to take care of Marmalade. His mom made him lie on the sofa, and even his sisters tried to make him feel better. They took turns bringing him drinks and ran to open doors for him. They even let him watch his choice of TV shows! His knee gradually began to feel a little better and by the end of the weekend it wasn't quite as painful.

By the time he got back to school, Marmalade was able to get up the stairs to his own bedroom. From then on things were as back to normal as they could be for a dancer who couldn't dance. Sister was very pleased with the way he was looking after his injury.

“Continue being patient and I'm sure it will heal really well,” she encouraged him. “It just needs time.”

But Marmalade was getting more and more gloomy. He had lots of time to devote to all the work he liked least, while the lessons he loved most of all were denied him. He was sinking into a deep depression, and nothing his friends did could bring him out of it. Lots of students were practicing hard in the hopes of being picked for the Rising Stars Concert, and this made Marmalade feel even worse. He had been so sure he was going to be chosen as a Rising Star this semester, but now all his dreams had turned to disaster. Everyone around him was focused and busy, while Marmalade was totally miserable. But he hadn't expected to argue with his best friend.

Danny had been trying hard to keep Marmalade cheerful, but it almost seemed that Marmalade didn't
want
to be happy anymore. Things came to a head when Danny came into their room to get changed after the general dance class. Marmalade was lying on his bed, reading a book. He didn't even look up when Danny greeted him.

Danny came over to Marmalade's bed and took the book out of his hand.

“Hey!” Marmalade protested. “That's not fair! I can't fight you for it because of my knee.”

“You spend too much time thinking about your knee,” Danny told him, putting the book well out of Marmalade's reach.

“Don't be so mean,” said Marmalade sulkily. “I thought you were my friend.”

“I
am
your friend,” Danny told him. “And I'm worried about you. You spend all your time thinking about yourself, and it's not doing you any good.”

“
You'd
be totally miserable if you couldn't play the drums for months,” argued Marmalade.

“I know,” agreed Danny. “Of course I would. But you have to get on with life, even when things go wrong.”

“I can't get on with life,” Marmalade told him. “My life is over.”

“That's just not true!” Danny told him angrily. “And you're not the only one who's suffering. What about poor Jack?”

Marmalade stared at Danny. “What do you mean?” he demanded. “Jack didn't hurt himself. It was his fault I got injured. If he hadn't come to Rockley Park, I would never have tried that jump.”

Danny shook his head. “You can't blame Jack for your mistake,” he said. “You've always fooled around, doing dance steps and jumps all over the place.”

Marmalade didn't answer. He couldn't allow himself to admit that Danny was right.

But Danny hadn't finished. “Since you've been ignoring him, Jack has started to make friends of his own,” he told Marmalade. “But he's so miserable about your injury. I told him it wasn't his fault you got hurt, but he blames himself for explaining it in the dining hall. He feels really guilty, and he doesn't know what to do. You made it clear that you didn't want him hanging around you anymore, so he can't even say he's sorry. Why don't you make up with him, Marmalade? I'm sure you'd feel better yourself if you did.”

Marmalade lay back on his pillow and eased his sore knee into a more comfortable position. “But if I see him, it'll just remind me of all the dancing I can't do,” he told Danny.

Danny picked up Marmalade's book and tossed it back on the bed. “You'd feel a lot better if you stopped thinking about yourself all the time,” he told Marmalade again. “Make up with Jack instead of moping around here. Go on. It's not fair to him otherwise.”

Marmalade picked his book up and turned it over in his hands. “I don't know,” he said slowly.

“Just talk to him,” Danny said impatiently. “If nothing else, you can help
him
feel a little better, can't you?” He waited a moment, but Marmalade didn't reply. “I'll see you later,” Danny added angrily. He turned on his heel and left Marmalade alone.

For a while, Marmalade lay on his bed, deep in thought. He didn't want to make Jack feel better. He still felt like blaming him for his own misfortune. But Danny had forced him to face up to things. And he owed Danny an apology, too. He'd treated his best friend really badly this semester, ignoring him while he was spending all his time with Jack, and then being really grouchy since he'd hurt his knee. Meanwhile Danny had remained a loyal friend, in spite of Marmalade's behavior.

So Marmalade decided to try to be more positive. He swung his legs gingerly off the bed and made a grab for his crutches. He should go and find Jack and talk to him. It would be a start.

He made for the door and balanced on his good leg as he pulled the door open with one of his crutches. Slowly, he made his way down the hallway toward Jack's room. If he was lucky, Jack might be there, and he wouldn't have to struggle downstairs. When he reached Jack's door, Marmalade balanced again on his good leg while he reached for the handle. As he tried to grasp it, the door swung inward. Someone was opening it from inside. Marmalade wobbled on his good leg, trying to regain his balance.

“Sorry!” said Jack as he saw Marmalade. He reached out to steady the injured dancer, but Marmalade grabbed the doorframe to save himself.

“You nearly made me fall again!” he snapped, shrugging off Jack's help.

“I'm sorry,” Jack apologized again. “I didn't know you were there.”

“Oh.” Now Marmalade was annoyed with himself. He'd set out meaning to make up with Jack, but he'd gotten off to a bad start. It wasn't Jack's fault that Marmalade had gone to his door just then. He let go of the doorframe and headed carefully toward Jack's bed. He needed to sit down after the shock of almost falling again.

“Can I sit here?” he asked. Jack nodded, and Marmalade settled himself down. He lifted his leg carefully onto the bed and allowed Jack to prop the crutches against the night table. Then Marmalade leaned back against the headboard and sighed.

For a few seconds there was silence, and then they both started speaking at the same time.

“I'm sorry . . .” started Marmalade.

“What did . . .” began Jack.

Marmalade smiled wryly. “Look,” he said to Jack. “I'm sorry. I came to apologize for shutting you out since my fall, but now I've just been horrible again! I can't get anything right at the moment. I think people are getting really fed up because we're both so miserable,” he added. “And it's my fault.”

Jack looked awkward. “Well, I wanted to come and tell you how sorry I was, but you weren't speaking to me ...” He glanced at Marmalade's leg and then looked away again.

“I know.” Marmalade moved himself carefully into a more comfortable position. “All this,” he said reluctantly, waving his hand at his knee. “It wasn't really your fault. I was being stupid. I know that now.”

“But I shouldn't have gone along with it,” said Jack. “If I'd refused to explain until we were in the dance studio, it wouldn't have happened.”

“Not just then, maybe,” Marmalade admitted. “But sooner or later I'd probably have messed up. I didn't stop to think about the floor being wet. How stupid was that? People are always spilling drinks in the dining hall! And you didn't
make
me do that jump, did you?”

Jack shook his head. “Suppose not,” he agreed.

“Danny said you've made a couple of friends,” Marmalade continued after a moment.

Jack looked enthusiastic. “I've always gotten along really well with Ravi,” he said. “And George too.”

“Well, that's good,” said Marmalade, still feeling awkward.

Jack nodded. “So do you need anything?” he asked.

Marmalade thought for a moment. “There is
one
thing you could do for me,” he said tentatively.

“What?” asked Jack.

“Could you tell me how the dance classes are going?” Marmalade asked him. “I thought it would be better if I didn't show up for classes, but I think it's even worse not knowing what's going on.”

“Really?” asked Jack.

“Really,” agreed Marmalade, grinning for the first time in ages. “Tell me what's been happening,” he asked eagerly. “I want to know everything.”

“Well,” began Jack, his face lighting up, “yesterday in the general class, Mr. Penardos got me to demonstrate how ballet dancers walk across stage. It was really funny. To start with, no one could get it right except Pop and Lolly. You know how worried I was about other people knowing I was into ballet?” he added.

Marmalade nodded.

“Well, everyone was really interested. No one teased me at all! I had a great talk with Pop and Lolly afterward. It turns out they took ballet classes for years when they were little.”

For the next half hour, Jack kept Marmalade amused by relating all that had happened in the classes Marmalade had missed. Eventually, they got around to his freestyle dance.

“How's your own dance routine?” asked Marmalade. “Have you finished it yet?”