Coo by Kaela Noel

Author:Kaela Noel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Published: 2020-01-14T00:00:00+00:00

It was a very small room, only slightly bigger than the dovecote. Aggie’s bed took up most of it. On the floor was a soft pink rug that hugged Coo’s feet like a pile of feathers. On the walls were posters of girls and women in the same outfits Aggie’s mother wore in the picture of her in the hallway. Perched on a high shelf above the bed was a row of dolls, much fancier ones than Queenie, looking still and sleepy. All around on the floor, and peeking out from underneath the dresser wedged in by the door, were piles and piles of books.

Coo took a nibble of her brownie. Then another and another. It tasted like a peppermint candy and a chocolate bar and a piece of cake, all rolled into one. It was delicious. She fed one large crumb to Queenie, then popped it into her own mouth when Queenie was done.

“We could draw if you want,” Aggie said, finishing the last bites of her own brownie. “I have a lot more art supplies than Tully.”

Aggie pulled a large, flat, plastic tub out from under her bed. Coo gasped at what was inside. Hundreds of crayons in every color. Dozens of markers, thick and thin. A rainbow of paper. Jars of glitter. Stacks of stickers. She stared at it all, speechless.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” Aggie said. She quickly covered the tub again. “We could—”

“No! Draw, please.”

They drew in silence at first. Coo was making a pigeon using markers in three shades of gray. She glanced at Aggie’s drawing. It was a girl standing on one foot, with the other in the air.

“What’s that?” Coo asked.

“A dancer. A ballerina.”

“What’s a ballerina?”

“A ballerina is a ballet dancer. You don’t know what ballet is?” Aggie looked puzzled.

Coo focused on coloring a wing. She was trying hard not to blush.

“Where did you say you were from again? Duv . . . duv something?”

“Dovecotia.”

“Oh right,” said Aggie. “Never heard of it. What language do they speak there?”

“Bird.”

“Weird. Never heard of that, either. But I’m not good at paying attention in school, so there you have it.” She paused. “Not good at dance, either. They made me stop.”

“Stop dancing?”

“Yeah.”

Coo knew what dance was. She’d loved to twirl, leap, and move, especially when she heard music, and Tully had told her the word for it.

“I was in a really important ballet school since I was little. But they make you audition and last summer . . .” Aggie looked down. “I didn’t get asked back.”

Ballet, it seemed, had something to do with dance.

“Why?” said Coo. “Just go back.”

“That’s not how it works. They have to want you, and they didn’t want me.”

“Why?”

Aggie pressed her lips together so tightly they disappeared.

“Because I’m not good enough.”

“Not good?” Coo was baffled. Anyone could jump and spin.

“I can’t dance! I’m bad!”

Coo looked at Aggie carefully. She had pretty, glossy black hair, a round face, and blue plastic glasses. Coo peeked at Aggie’s feet. Were they injured in some way she hadn’t noticed before? No.

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