Silver Shoes 2 by Samantha-Ellen Bound

Chapter One
    Four o’clock.
    There was nothing else for it. I couldn’t put it off any longer.
    I’d dawdled all the way to Silver Shoes, but now I was here, ready to try my first hip hop class.
    My stomach felt funny, sort of inside out. I’d been excited all week but suddenly my shoes weren’t new enough, my hair wasn’t coolenough, and I was sure my hip hop moves would totally blow.
    My name’s Ashley Jenkyns, by the way. I’ve only been going to Silver Shoes for a couple of months. Before that I went to Dance Art Academy. I don’t really miss it, though – especially some of the girls there!
    I love Silver Shoes. The teachers are fun and friendly, and the dark halls and cramped corners feel cosy and welcoming. There’s always something happening here.
    Like when I stood in front of those big double doors leading into Silver Shoes. Half of my body was tingling with excitement and the other half was so nervous and whispering things at me like, ‘Go home, Ashley, you’re gonna be no good.’
    But I wouldn’t know if I didn’t try.
    I crept to the change room to get into my dance gear. Yuck. My Chucks were looking a bit tatty. I hope no one noticed.
    I’ve wanted to try hip hop for sooooo long! Dance Art never ran hip hop classes. I guess it was too ‘improper’ for them. They have their noses stuck up in the clouds over there.
    It’s pretty scary when you try a new style or class for the first time. I don’t mind making a clown of myself, as long as it’s on purpose. So I didn’t want to turn up and look silly or not fit in. Or worse, have all the attention on me. That’s what happened when I first came to Silver Shoes. There was this jazz audition and one of the dancers, my friend Ellie, fell over and glared at me like it was my fault.
    But we’re okay, now. Most of the time. She’s one of my best friends at Silver Shoes, along with Riley and Paige.
    I wished they were here with me now, eating lolly snakes and making jokes. But we all have our favourite styles: Ellie loves jazz, ballet is Riley’s thing, and lately Paige has been gettinginto ballroom. Hip hop is my style – at least, I hoped it would be.
    I’ll tell you why I love it.
    My sister, Bridget, has this boyfriend and he calls himself Brimax. They’re both eighteen. When I was little (well, it was about two years ago, so little-ish) I asked him why he had such a stupid name. After Bridget yelled at me for being rude (I don’t know why, Brimax found it funny), he told me it was his stage name.
    â€˜Stage name? Why do you have a stage name?’ I asked.
    â€˜Because I’m a dancer,’ he said. ‘I’m a dancer and I don’t have a stage name,’ I said.
    â€˜It’s my breakdancing name,’ he told me. ‘My real name’s Brian. But after a while, when they get to know your style, your crew will always pick out a name for you.’
    â€˜What would my stage name be?’ I asked.
    â€˜Annoyanator,’ said Bridget.
    â€˜AshFunK,’ he said.
    â€˜Cool. What are some of your moves?’ I asked him.
    He showed me, right there beside the kitchen table. Wow. At Dance Art we’d been in the middle of lots of boring training for our classical exams, which kind of sucked, so when he showed me all these acrobatic, hard-hitting moves, I thought it was amazing.
    â€˜That was so cool,’ I said.
    â€˜You want to come watch a battle?’ he asked me.
    â€˜No, she doesn’t,’ said Bridget, straightaway.
    â€˜Yes,’ I said, just to annoy Bridget.
    So that weekend we went to this gig where Brimax and his crew were performing. Really I think Bridget liked having me there, because she kept holding my hand and telling me not to leave her alone.
    I wasn’t going anywhere! The dancing was the best thing I’d seen in ages. It was like what you’d see on hip hop and