Kat: Breaking Pointe by Sebastian Scott Page A

other true love. Ballet. She looks up at the building. ‘Second year. Wow.’
    â€˜Did anyone ever think we’d make it this far?’ Sammy asks.
    I scrunch up my face at him.
    â€˜Oh, wow, Kat.’ Sammy flinches. ‘Sorry.’
    I let him off the hook. ‘It’s okay. My new holding cell’s just around the corner. It’ll be like old times.’ I smile, as if that’s what I really think. But it hurts to watch them walk through the Academy doors. The thing is, this time last year, this is what I thought I wanted, to find out who I was away from ballet. Freedom is a lot lonelier than I thought it would be.
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    When I get home I take a long, hot shower and finally wash Myles Kelly out of my hair, using most of a bottle of Natasha’s expensive conditioner. I find my new school uniform laid out on the bed for me. ‘Try it on for size,’ says a note from Tash. ‘We can exchange it or get it altered before term starts.’
    I try it on. Maroon and grey. I look in the mirror and watch myself disappearing, becoming just another anonymous schoolgirl, the kind you see on trains and buses everywhere, in cities all over the world. I have been dancing in costumes since I was a toddler. When you put on the costume, you put on the character. Standing in front of the mirror, I feel like I’ve just been cast for a role I’m not even sure I want. But the character I’m playing is me. Kat Karamakov, played by herself.

CHAPTER 2
    I leave the uniform lying on the floor, hoping it will at least acquire a wrinkle or two and go downstairs. I expect to open the fridge and find a single tub of fat-free yoghurt and a lettuce leaf. But my mother has actually been shopping. In a supermarket. Someone’s been messing with her core programming.
    Motherbot finds me raiding the kitchen.
    â€˜Tash, what’s going on? Some of this stuff is actually edible.’
    â€˜I thought we’d have a family dinner.’
    â€˜No can do. I’ve organised a beach catch-up. But don’t worry, these little guys won’t go to waste.’ I grab a tray of steaks.
    â€˜You can’t just waltz in and out when you feel like it. This isn’t a hotel.’
    â€˜Where did you read that?’ I scoff. ‘Mummies for dummies?’
    â€˜I gave you a lot of freedom this summer. And I didn’t say anything when you threw away your place at the Academy.’
    And there she is. The mother I know and love. ‘Don’t worry,’ I assure her. ‘The disappointment rang out loud and clear. We both know the only part of me you’ve ever been interested in is dancing.’
    â€˜That’s unfair.’
    â€˜Is it? Then why are you putting me straight into yet another boarding school? You can’t wait to be rid of me.’ I push past her.
    It was true, she had given me space over the summer. But I figured that was just because it fitted with her plans. Face it. Things are easier for Tash when I’m not around.
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    I kind of went all out for our reunion party. Strings of paper lanterns on bamboo poles. Maybe I was trying just a little too hard, but I wanted to create the right atmosphere. Stage dressing . I push thatthought away. Dancing, the theatre, that’s not who I am anymore.
    â€˜You should see my new uniform,’ I say to Christian, who’s barbecuing the steaks. ‘I’m seriously thinking about shaving my head in protest.’
    â€˜Don’t,’ Christian replies. ‘It suits you long.’
    I decide right there to leave it long, because I am pathetic. I turn to watch Abigail playing with a small child on the beach so Christian doesn’t notice the effect his words have on me. I wait for her to knock down the kid’s sandcastle but she maintains bizarre enthusiasm. Maybe she’s been drinking the same water as Natasha.
    â€˜Is it me,’ says Christian, ‘or does anyone else feel like