Sammy by Bruno Bouchet Page A

tap.’
    â€˜But I’ll be a laughing stock. More of a one.’
    Miss Raine is unmoved. ‘A laughing stock with stronger ankles. There’s always a silver lining.’
    Thanks for that,
Tap Dogs.
    Turns out Tara has the opposite problem. She’s not allowed to do
pointe
at all.
    So the first-year female students plus me are sent to the school shoemaker. Even with my glasses on, it’s a blur of ribbon straps, pink satin and squealing girls.
    â€˜Do they come in black?’ I ask hopefully. The shoemaker gives me a look and moves on.
    â€˜See?’ Kat snaps her
pointe
shoes at me like a crocodile and makes me jump.
‘Pointe
shoes are barbaric!’
    I’m not sure if she’s trying to cheer me up because I have to wear them or cheer Tara up because she can’t.
    The humiliation doesn’t stop there. In the boys’ changing room, the steam from the showers immediately fogs up my glasses. Everything’s a blur as I make my way to the lockers and try to put my gear into one of them. Unfortunately, Sean is already using that locker. Sean is one of those boys who has no problem hanging out with mates. He slams the locker shut.
    â€˜That’s mine, Twinkletoes,’ he says. ‘You can put your
pointe
shoes over there.’
    Everyone laughs and I know now is not the time to look like a bad sport.
    â€˜Twinkletoes. Good call, Sean.’ I try to laugh.
    Then Kat bursts in with one of the third-year girls. She points me out. Isabelle, the third year, looks me up and down and says, ‘I told you it’s got to be a girl.’
    â€˜Just think of him as Samantha,’ Kat replies.
    â€˜No. Don’t. Really,’ I say. I’ve no idea what this is about but right now it’s the last thing I need. Later I find out there’s some first-year girls’ initiation ceremony thing and Kat thought it would be great to do it with me.
    Kat shrugs her shoulders as Isabelle walks away. ‘Well, we tried,’ Kat says to me as if she’s doing me a favour.
    My plan to be one of the boys is in tatters. Isn’t it meant to be the easiest thing in the world, to be friends with guys: hang out, share some jokes, have a laugh? Not for Sammy Lieberman, not even in a school full of boys that like dance. Fate has tattooed ‘must hang with girls’ in invisible ink on my forehead.
    Two days later I’m standing at the sink in my room again. Mum’s posted me a fresh supply of contacts and I’m keen to ditch the glasses. Kat comes in from the showers in a towel. I stay calm, determined not to have a replay of last time.
    â€˜Don’t even think about dropping the towel.’ My contact slides in and I turn around so Kat will know I’ll see everything if she does. ‘I’m a guy. You cannot get undressed in front of me or talk about your feelings. And I am never going to buy you tampons.’
    Kat just grins. ‘Good to know.’
    â€˜As soon as this room thing is cleared up, we won’t be spending time together and you’ll need to get some other friends – proper GIRL friends – because I’m a boy and …’
    â€˜Okay. Getting the gender difference!’
    She looks upset as she moves away from the door to her side of the room. I feel bad.
    Right on cue Sean walks past the open door. ‘Hey Twinkletoes, you going to do the girl part or the boy part today?’ His mates start guffawing.
    Kat’s behind the door. She can’t see but she can hear. She looks right at me and shakes her head. ‘You want to be friends with these people?’ she mouths.
    Kat’s right. Idiots are idiots whether they can do a good
failli
or not. And that’s when Kat shows me what real friends do.
    She swings round the door in her towel. ‘Hey Sean.’
    At the sight of her, his jaw drops.
    â€˜Thing is,’ she says, ‘even if Sammy here does do the girl part, he’s more man than