Chapter 5

Chapter 4

"Dear Savanna" , the letter read . "I know all about you so don't think you can hide anything. You don't have to know who I am or where I am. Just know that we will be watching your every move. Got this? Well in that case there's something I would like you to do. A little job you might say ; plenty of perks in it for you. All you have to do is get the code to the managers safe. Hardly difficult , is it. Don't show this letter to anyone. Goodbye."
Sharvona was stunned was somebody trying to blackmail her mum. Who could it be it wasn't as if her mother had hundreds of enemies.
The door downstairs opened, Sharvona hastily crammed the letter into the envelope and slipped unnoticed into her room. She listened to the sound of the news being turned on and heard the fridge door opening. Then there were footsteps up the stairs along the corridor and outside her room. The door knocked.
"Come in"
Her mum walked in and sat on the edge of Sharvona's bed. Sharvona noticed that she wore a worried frown and seemed concerned. She moved closer.
"Is anything wrong mum?"
"No sweetie , I'm just a little tired.  Shall I put on that lasange for you now , your dad will be in soon".

Sharvona nodded, her mother left the room and Sharvona re-read the letter. 

She knew that something was very wrong, her mother had hidden the letter and was obviously in trouble. What could she do to help her? 

Chapter 3

Sharvona flicked through the glossy magazines in the dentist. She hated going , she had not been taking good care of her teeth and she was afraid to have her mouth drilled.
"Sharvona?"
Sharvona got up and slung her backpack over her shoulders. She followed the dental nurse into the practice room. The dentist , dressed in a white coat was sitting on a chair next to the examination equipment. She smiled as Sharvona walked in.
"Hello again been taking care of your teeth?"
"Not really " admitted Sharvona "I'm going to this summer school at the Shelham Dance Academey so I've been really busy".

"hmm that's what they all say, now let's have a look . Open up"

Sharvona opened her mouth and waited for the telling off she was certain was coming.

"We'll just do a quick clean and then you'll be done". Ten minutes later Sharvona studied her reflection in the mirror. They had certainly done a good job , all traces of plague were gone. She walked out of the dentist and crossed the road to the bus-stop. The hands on her watch showed that it was almost 4 pm she would be just in time to watch the live ballet performance they were filming in Russia, then there was her routine to work out. Sharvona tapped in on the bus and sat down, the bus had been diverted and it was nearly 4.30 by the time she was pulling her keys out of her bag. Sharvona pushed the door open.

"Mum? Are you in?" she called as she ran up the stairs. She poked her head around the door of the bedroom, there was no one there. Her mums' bag wasn't in its usual place so Sharvona decided she must have been doing some overtime at work.She went downstairs to check the telephone messages.

"Hi Sharvona , I hope you remembered to go to the dentist . I know how much you hate going. I won't be in till late tonight so don't bother waiting up for me, there's a lasange in the fridge which you can put in the oven. Don't forget to load the dishwasher and tidy your room. See you later."
Sharvona put down the phone in confusion, her mum had always said how much she hated using voice-mail. Why would she suddenly start using it now? Sharvona looked at the clock, 4.45 there was still time to watch the show and then decided on what to do. Even though the show was a really good one , Sharvona could not concentrate. It was strange being in an empty house ; even the cat had gone out and everyone knew that Snowflake had her own timetable. Sharvona turned off the TV and switched on her mobile, the battery was quite low so she decided to find her charger. The charger was in her parents bedroom, crossing the carpet to her mums' chest of drawers she noticed a small white envelope that had been hastily stuffed under the pillow. Consumed by curiosity she picked it up , it was quite good quality and not the type of envelope her parents would normally buy. There was no stamp and no address, she took out the paper that had been folded inside it and opened it.

Chapter 2

Megan sat on the tree swing in her back garden. Sharvona was going to be coming over in an hours time so she had plenty of time to wait. The ballet class had been fun but it was probably only going to be that relaxed for the first session. Megan knew that she was not as good as Sharvona. She had grasped the showmanship side of ballet and could give a brilliant performance. Megan wondered if she should even bother to come along any more, it wasn't her thing and she had a football tournament coming up.

Meanwhile Sharvona had turned the corner at the top of the road. She was feeling much better after a short rest and was wondering what Megan had planned. She reached the house and dismounted , pushing the bike into the front garden. The side gate was opened and Sharvona could hear the gentle creaking of the tree swing. Grinning she tied the bike securely to the rail and slipped through the open door. Megan was facing the opposite way and had not yet noticed that Sharvona was in the garden. Carefully Sharvona opened her bag and drew out a bottle of water. She stood behind Megan and tipped a small amount onto her head.

She gave a yell and almost fell head first off the swing. She leapt up to see Sharvona grinning behind her.
"Just wait till I get my hands on you !" she threatened teasingly as she chased Sharvona around the garden. Sharvona sped away laughing , it was a good thing Megan had a good sense of humour she could not think of many people who would have laughed it off. Just then Megan caught up with her and began to play-wrestle her .

"Okay! You win now will you get off my arm!" cried Sharvona. Megan laughed and gave her arm a squeeze.
"Well you know what they say... tit for tat" she laughed.

The two girls went inside to see what was in the refrigerator.  Megan pulled open the door and peered inside.
"Great my mums' left us two pizzas and there's lemonade and icecream in the freezer. Oh and she's left a salad for us too" , said Megan as she took out one pizza and handed it to Sharvona.

They helped themselves to pizza and salad and settled down at the kitchen table. A small flat screen tv  was on the wall opposite. Megan reached for the remote control and turned on the television.

"Anything interesting on?", asked Sharvona who was busy pouring her second cup of lemonade. Megan scrolled through the channels list.

"Oh , Sharvona take a look at this! This definetly sounds like your thing", said Megan excitedly. Sharvona looked up.
"What is it Megan?"
"There's a competition similar to the one you did before. Because you were a finalists you can enter another competition and guess what the prize is?!"
Sharvona shrugged.
"You get a private lesson with the Great Ronsova , you've told me all about her and from what it says here she is an absolute legend".
Sharvona nearly choked on her lemonade. She swallowed the rest of it hastily and set the cup down.
"Madame Ronsova is giving free lessons!"
Megan grinned , "yep and I think you should definetly give it a try".
"When is it?"
"Four weeks time on a Saturday. Same place as the last one and same time".
"Is there anything specific the routine must include?"
"They say there's a website with the details" she reached for a pen "I'll write it down and then we'll check it out".
Megan scribbled down the address and they went upstairs to Megans room. If Sharvona was ballet-mad then Megan was definitely sports crazy. Sports clothes hung inside the open wardrobe. A karate kit with a black belt hung behind the door. Various balls and weights were stashed away under the bed.
"I made a point of clearing the floor before you came today", said Megan as she logged on. She typed the website in and then scrolled down to the terms and conditions part at the bottom.

"Okay so it says here that you must include Grade 4 to 5 level dance moves".
"Anything else?"
"Nope , one sec ... oh and it also says you will be marked on the suitiability of your music choice".
"Oh so its' like the first one then?"
"Yeah seems to be , don't worry you'll be fine".
Sharvona glanced at her wrist-watch , she got up quickly.
"Sorry I just remembered I've got a dental appointment , I'll have to go now!"
Megan turned off the laptop, "that's fine I'll walk up with you , you're going past the swimming centre right?"
"Uh-huh"
"Come on then lets go".

Chapter 1

Sharvona fiddled anxiously with the strap of her ballet bag, this was her first day of the six week summer school at the prestigious Shelham Ballet Academy. Megan who had also been invited gave her arm an encouraging squeeze. She felt scared herself, who knew what the girls in the class would be like?

The two friends walked into the large hallway, everywhere they looked there were girls milling around. Everyone seemed to know where they were going. Sharvona groaned inwardly, wasn’t anyone going to show them where to go? At that moment a young woman with wavy blond hair hurried up to them. Her pearl drop earrings jangled noisily and bracelets tinkled on her wrists. She carried a clip-board and seemed to be in a hurry.

“Ah you must be Sharvona and Megan my name is Madame Lilian.  I am going to be your teacher for the six weeks summer school. We are all very pleased to have you here with us, would you please step this way?”

So saying she turned on her heel and set off at a brisk pace along the corridor. Megan and Sharvona had to almost run to keep up with her. On the way to the practise room Sharvona was able to quickly glance at the other classes. They all seemed so confident and graceful as they posed in leotards or adjusted their hair pieces in the full length mirrors. Megan saw her looking and gave a smile.

“Don’t worry about them Sharvona, you have just as much right to be here as they do. You worked really hard to win the gala you know”.

Just then Madame Lilian stopped outside one of the doors. She pushed it open and beckoned for the two girls to follow her. Megan and Sharvona stepped into the room. A dozen or so girls were dressing in pale peach leotards; the ones who were already dressed were practising at the barre or chatting in small groups. Sharvona hurried over to a spare peg, hung up her kit and began to get ready.  When they were both ready Megan and Sharvona did each other’s hair. First they tied it into a pony tail, and then they fanned the hair out and put a hair bun ring over it. Sharvona pinned back a stray curl so that it would not hang down in front of her face.

Once everyone was ready Madam Lilian clapped her hands for silence.

“Girls today we are going to be having two visitors in our class” she motioned for Sharvona and Megan to stand up. “As you all know Sharvona won the gala competition and the first prize was a six week summer school with a friend of your choice.  I hope that everyone here will do their utmost to make them both feel welcome. Anyway enough with the introductions everyone line up at the barre and let us see how much you have been practising at home”.

The pianist warmed up by playing a few octaves on the piano while the girls rushed around to find spaces at the barre. While the girls bent and stretched, Madam Lilian walked around giving orders. She came to where Megan and Sharvona were standing and smiled.

“That’s good Megan but try to produce a more graceful curve with your arm. Remember that ballet dancers don’t have elbows.”

“Sharvona lovely piles try to keep your back a bit straighter, yes that’s it I believe you have got the hang of it now”.

“All right girls that’s enough barre exercises for one morning. Come into the centre of the room and we will work on our centre exercises”.

Once all the girls were assembled in the middle of the room and had spread out in rows, Madame Lilian gave instructions for the exercise.

“We are going to look at the first position, which is the foundation learning point for all ballet dancers. You must have this mastered before anything else is attempted. That’s very good girls , remember your feet must be turned out 90 degrees and your backs should be straight. Keep your chin up and you will find that your back stays straight without you noticing it. Now I want you to perform the eight ballet positions for me and then we will work on our jumps and pirouettes”.

At the end of the 10 minutes Madame Lilian again clapped her hands for silence.

“Well done girls, that was marvellous. Let’s see if your pirouettes and jumps are just as good shall we?”

Sharvona took a deep breath and tried to relax her muscles . She knew that tensing up was not good for ballet dancers. It made you tense and awkward in your dancing. She raised her right foot and twirled in the same direction as the other dancers. When the lesson finally ended Megan and Sharvona hurried over to sit down and have a drink.

“You’re really good Sharvona”, said a voice from behind her.

Sharvona looked around and saw a medium height girl with curly brown hair and hundreds of freckles. She seemed to be very friendly and Sharvona smiled up at her.

“Thanks, I just practise that’s all I’m not sure if I’m really talented”

“Well you must be, winning first prize in the gala performance is no easy matter and everyone knows how hard it is to get accepted into the Shelham dance academy”.

“That’s right Katherine”, called her friend who had just come over.

“Hi, I’m Stella you must be Megan and Sharvona”.

“Yeah Sharvona’s the prima donna round here! I’m just the tagger-on”, laughed Megan.

Sharvona gave her a playful punch on the arm.

“Idiot, Megan’s here because she’s my best friend and the prize was for two people so she was the obvious candidate.

New Book Title- Summer Showcase

The next book in the series is on the way. Get ready for the second book of the Sharvona series , "Summer Showcase" where Sharvona embarks on a six week summer school program at the prestigious Shelham Academy. I hope that this next book will be a success, happy reading and watch this space for more news.

Just a quick update on the blurb: Sharvona is thrilled to be selected for classes at the Shelham Academy but when her mother is blackmailed by a mysterious assailant Sharvona has more on her plate than she bargained for.

Message to readers

Dear Readers

I hope that you have enjoyed the first book in the Sharvona series. Watch this space for news of the next book!