Nutcracked by Susan Adrian
Author:Susan Adrian [Adrian, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2017-09-26T00:00:00+00:00
I can barely keep my face straight as I lug the heavy bag carefully to the truck, then up the stairs at the stadium. I still donât know if I did the right thing, but itâs done. I have him.
I ignore Joey, and she mostly ignores me. At least she brought dinner this time. Noah isnât here yet, so I sit and wait, the dance bag held tightly between my feet.
When he comes, I practically leap off the bench, waving.
âWhat are you doing?â Joey asks sourly. âAre you crazy?â
âStay here,â I say. âIâm going to talk to Noah.â
âIâm not going anywhere. I donât have a boyfriend to meet,â Joey snaps. âThough I might tell Mom.â
I ignore her and heft the bag over my shoulder. I move to a bench across the aisle so she canât possibly hear.
Noah looks amused when he comes up the stairs, a half grin on his face. He pushes one hand up through his hair. âJoey again, huh? I should bring P.J. next time so they can hang out together. Did you think of something?â
âBetter.â I bounce on the bench until he sits next to me, blocking Joeyâs view. Then I stealthily unzip the bag and point to the box nestled on top. âI had the perfect chance. I took him.â
His face wipes blank. âWow.â He swallows and stares at the box, the writing. He leans over to see it better. âI canât believe you really took it. Wow!â He looks up and smiles a little, his eyebrows high. âSoâ¦what are you going to do now?â
I zip up the bag again, my fingers shaking. âI have to figure out what to do when I go there. But youâll help me, right?â
âRight.â He clears his throat. âDo you have any ideas? How to get him out of the glass?â
Iâm quiet. The quarterback throws a long pass, and Noahâs brother, number 62, goes out for it. He catches it, holds it for the shortest of seconds, then fumbles. The ball rolls away, and Dad swears. I hear a groan from the stands tooâNoahâs dad.
âI was thinking,â I say, âthat I need to break out the soldiers first. In the show, the soldiers come out before you ever see the Nutcracker. Like the front lines? They could help, or distract the mice or somethingâ¦.â
He drums his fingers on the bench, in rhythm. Tappity-tappity-tap. It reminds me of Justin. âThatâs good. Yeah. But how do you get them out?â
âTheyâre in a big glass case,â I say. âNo latch. I think there must be some magical way of opening it. But he said âone battle endedâ when he was asking me for help. So thatâs what I need to do, right? Let the soldiers out and end the battle with the mice.â
He frowns. âOkay. How do the soldiers come out in the ballet? Maybe itâs the same.â
I close my eyes and try to picture it. The battle scene begins after Clara has shrunk and the tree-growing music has been playing, up and up, to a crescendo.
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