Did You Get What You Deserve?

When the bell rang to signal the end of class, I hurried back to my locker, where I found James waiting for me.

“Hey.”

I brushed my hair out of my eyes.

“Oh, hi. God, you’re fast. How did you get all the way here from the Art Corridor via your locker in the time it took me to run from the Music Hall?”

He grinned.

“I guess you’re just slow.”

“Thanks, that gave a real boost to my self-esteem.”

I selected the books I needed to take home and put them in my bag before slamming my locker and slinging my bag over my shoulder. Then James and I walked out to the school gates to wait for Linda and Danielle. Before long they appeared, having an animated discussion about Linda’s teacher, who was Dani’s teacher last year.

As we reached James and Dani’s house and said goodbye, I smiled at James.

“So I’ll see you at dinner tonight?”

He shook his head.

“We’re coming to see Katie. Well, Mum, Dad and Dani are going, and I’m not allowed to stay home alone, am I?”

I grinned. He always had an “unavoidable” reason to do things that it would otherwise be beneath his dignity to do.

“Okay, well, see you then.”

He grinned and grabbed his sister by the collar of her shirt, dragging her into the house. She laughed, choked and waved.

Linda and I hurried home. As we burst through the door, Dad looked up from where he was sitting at the kitchen table reading a book.

“Hello. How was school?”

I shrugged and opened the fridge, while Linda sat down beside Dad and started giving him a blow-by-blow account of her day. I grabbed an apple and a can of coke and wandered off down the hallway to see Mum.

As I entered her bedroom, I was just in time to catch my littlest sister, who had chosen that moment to fall off the edge of the bed. I set her back down beside my sleeping mother and picked up my unopened can of coke, which I had dropped on the floor in order to catch Julia.

“You know what? If you don’t stop trying to kill yourself like that, you’re going to end up killing me.”

She giggled and jumped off the bed again. I stuck out my leg and she grabbed it, softening the landing. I gave up all attempts to open my coke and held out my hand, which she grabbed and held on tightly to.

“Ah, god Julia. Don’t squeeze so hard.”

She giggled and lifted her feet off the ground. I sighed and put the apple between my teeth so I could lift her completely up in the air. I carried her to the kitchen like that, and dropped her in Dad’s lap before taking the apple out of my mouth.

“Here. Take care of your kid while I do my homework.”

He grabbed my arm as I turned to leave.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

I sighed.

“Not that I remember.”

He grinned and pointed to the chair opposite him.

“Sit.”

He turned to Linda.

“Go wake your mother.”

Linda jumped up and ran out of the room. I raised an eyebrow quizzically. He went out into the hall and moments later returned with an armful of presents. I slapped myself on the forehead.

“Oh right... I completely forgot.”

I snapped open my coke, which fortunately had had time to de-fizz and did not explode in my face. As I took a mouthful, Dad set the pile of presents down in front of me. Linda walked in, leading Mum, who was rubbing her eyes sleepily.

“Happy Birthday, sweetie.”

I smiled at her and took the top present.

“From Linda and Julia.”

I opened it. Inside was a black hoodie with pink and gold sequins on the front. When viewed from a distance, the sequins read ‘Rock Chick.’

I hugged my sisters.

“Thanks guys. I love it.”

Julia giggled and kissed my cheek. I laughed and set the hoodie down beside me before picking up the next present.

“From Mum and Dad.”

Inside the small box was a pair of ornate gold earrings and a gold necklace with a gold dragon pendant.

Dad caught my eye and grinned at the look on my face.

“Do I even need to ask?”

I beamed at him.

“Thanks Dad. Thanks Mum.”

Ten minutes later I arched my back and sighed happily.

“Wow. So much stuff. Okay, I’m gonna go put this away.”

“Okay.”

I took everything to the room Linda and I shared and started to put it away. Video games, the book I had wanted for months, a sparkly t-shirt and a couple of CDs. Not bad. I went back down the hall to the kitchen and sat down beside Dad.

“So, what are we doing now?”

He checked his watch.

“Well, it’s 4:30. If we need to be there at 5:30, that means we need to leave in half an hour, which means you all need to go get changed now.”

I followed Linda down the hall and into our room. My outfit was already laid out on the bed. A light blue below-the-knee dress with tiny blue flowers all over it, and a blue cardigan. I quickly changed and put on my low-heeled blue sandals. Then I went into the bathroom to put on some simple make-up before going back into the kitchen. After five minutes everyone was ready and we left.

As we all got out of the car in the city, I couldn’t help but smile. I wondered if I would see Lydia. Lydia was the school dancer. She didn’t walk down the corridors. She skipped and danced. Sure enough, as we approached the front doors, there she was. As we reached her I tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around.

“Oh, hi.”

“Hey Lydia.”

“Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks.”

She frowned slightly.

“Why are you here?”

I grinned. I just couldn’t resist showing off.

“Oh, we’re Katie’s friends.”

“Katie...?”

“Katherine Marshall.”

Her eyes widened in shock.

“You’re kidding.”

I shook my head and grinned as Dad grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the entry. I was handed a program, and I scanned the cover.

The American Ballet Company presents:

Swan Lake

Featuring:

Oliver Bellwood as Siegfried
Henry Matthews as Rothbart
And
Katherine Marshall as Odette

**Author's Note: Ha ha, there you go. Katie did make it in the world of Ballet. Yes, I know, Swan Lake is a little cliche, but oh well. Anyways, sorry it took so long, I've been working on my book. Yes, I am writing a book. I shall tell you more when there's more to tell. But if you like my fanfics, read the book! Bye bye.

XD

**