Ellen Tebbits (2 page)

“I didn’t see you,” said Amelia.

Ellen pretended to be so interested in rotating her leg that she didn’t hear. If she kept moving, maybe no one would notice the goose flesh on her bare shoulders.

“I didn’t see you either,” said Joanne.

“Where were you?”

“Oh, I was there,” said Ellen vaguely.

“You just didn’t see me.”

She twirled her leg faster. Then she looked in the mirror and saw Austine watching her. Ellen felt sorrier than ever for what she had said, because Austine looked so unhappy. She was practicing alone at the end of the bar and none of the other girls were talking to her.

Valerie Todd Spofford walked to the center of the room. “All right, girls,” she said.“Let’s get in line in front of the mirror.” The girls stood several feet apart, in a row.

Ellen was careful not to stand near Austine, who, she could tell by looking in the mirror, remained at the end of the line.

Valerie Todd Spofford stood in front of the girls with her back to the mirror.“Now, girls, we will go through the five positions of the ballet. Remember, ballet dancing is based on these positions.To be good dancers we must learn them perfectly. First position.” She stood with her heels together and her toes turned out, and held her arms slightly out from her sides.The girls imitated her as she looked critically up and down the line.

“Knees together, Joanne,” she corrected.

“Turn your toes farther out, Amelia. That’s right, Linda. Splendid!”

Ellen was careful to do everything exactly right, because she did not want Mrs. Spofford to call attention to her. The five positions of the ballet were easy for her, because she practiced them every night before she went to bed. Now, as she pointed her toes and held out her arms, she thought more and more about what she had said to Austine. What a terrible person she was to make a new girl unhappy! Again she looked in the mirror at Austine and thought how lonely she looked, standing at the end of the line a little apart from the other girls.

Ellen knew what it felt like to be lonely, because she had been lonely herself since Nancy Jane had moved away. Maybe Austine sat on her front steps and wished she had someone to play with. Maybe she hoped someone in the dancing class would ask her to come over after school. The very least Ellen could do was to be friendly. She made up her mind to tell Austine she was sorry the first chance she had.

“Fourth position,” said Mrs. Spofford.

“No, Janet. We do not raise both arms over our head in the fourth position.” She walked over to Janet and arranged her arms so that one was circled over her head and the other was held out from her side.

Here was Ellen’s chance! When she saw that Valerie Todd Spofford was not watching the whole class, she slipped out of her place in line, darted behind several of the girls, and stepped into line beside Austine, where she quickly assumed a perfect fourth position.

“Austine,” she whispered, “I’m sorry I said what I did. I really didn’t mean it. Honestly, I didn’t.”

“Ellen,” said Mrs. Spofford sharply, “have you forgotten that we do not whisper during our dancing lesson?”

“No, Mrs. Spofford,” said Ellen.

“All right, girls. Fourth position again!” Ellen arranged her arms and legs in the correct position once more. Mrs. Spofford was watching, so Ellen could not catch Austine’s eye in the mirror. Had Austine for-given her? She couldn’t tell, but she hoped so.

The more she thought about the lonely new girl, the more she wanted her for a friend.

It was not until Valerie Todd Spofford asked the girls to assume the fifth position that Ellen felt her underwear slip. Oh my, she thought, what am I going to do now?

How can I hold it up when I have to raise my hands over my head? Carefully she arranged her feet and lifted her arms to form a circle.The underwear slid alarmingly.

As she stood in the fifth position, Ellen heard someone running up the long flight of stairs. When the footsteps neared the classroom, she heard a jingling sound. Oh dear, thought Ellen.That sound could mean only one person—Otis Spofford.

Most of the boys and many of the girls at school owned a cowboy hat or neckerchief.

Several even had boots, but Otis was the only one who owned a pair of real spurs that jingled when he walked.

Now he burst into the room, the spurs on his tennis shoes clinking against the hard-wood floor. “Hey, Mom,” he demanded, “can I have a dime?”

“Otis dear, you are interrupting the lesson,” answered his mother, as the girls lowered their arms and turned to look at him.“All right, girls, let us do the fifth position again.”

Ellen carefully arranged her feet so that the heel of one foot touched the toe of the other foot. Then, just before she raised her arms to form a circle over her head, she gave her underwear a quick hitch.

Looking into the mirror to see if the bulge showed, she saw that Otis was standing directly behind her. He too arranged his feet, made a hitching motion, and raised his arms. At the same time he blew a huge bubble with his gum.

Ellen was horrified. What if Otis guessed her trouble! She was even more horrified when she felt her underwear slipping again. Quickly she put her hand on her hip.

Otis put his hand on his hip.

Ellen raised her arm again. The underwear slid still more.

Otis raised his arm again and blew another bubble.

“Now, girls, we will go through the positions once more. First position,” said Mrs.Spofford.

Ellen set her heels together and turned her toes out. She gave her sliding underwear a discreet tug before she held her arms out from her sides.

Otis turned his toes out, tugged, and held his arms out from his sides.

Ellen turned and whispered fiercely,“Otis Spofford! You go away!”

Otis looked cross-eyed at Ellen and blew another bubble with his gum.

“Ellen Tebbits,” said Mrs. Spofford, “I have already spoken to you about whispering in class.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Spofford,” replied Ellen.

“Second position,” said Mrs. Spofford.

Ellen had been pressing her knees tightly together to keep her underwear from slipping. Now she grasped it again, at the same time trying to feel through her costume for the elastic of her panties, and yanked it into place. She could tell that her underwear had come unrolled. Then she held her arms out from her sides.

Miserable because she could do nothing to stop Otis, Ellen watched him in the mirror. He copied her movements exactly.

By this time all the girls were watching Ellen and Otis in the mirror. Ellen knew they could not help seeing how thick she was around the middle.

“Third position,” said Mrs. Spofford.

Ellen was determined not to tug at her underwear again. Surely it could not fall any farther. She moved as carefully as she could, but once more the underwear slid.

Ellen had to grab it and pull it into place.

This time the girls giggled when Otis imitated her. Ellen swallowed and blinked her eyes to keep from crying.Why did Otis have to pick on her? Why couldn’t he tease someone else?

Then, to her amazement, Austine spoke out loud.“Otis Spofford! You stop bothering us,” she said loudly.

Everyone was startled, because no one ever talked out loud during a ballet lesson.

The girls stopped looking at Ellen and stared at Austine. Ellen gave her underwear a good hard tug while no one was watching.

Was Austine really trying to keep Otis from teasing her? If only Ellen knew for sure.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Spofford,” said Austine.

“Otis is bothering me so I can’t do the steps right.”

“Otis dear,” said Mrs. Spofford, “you know Mother doesn’t like her boy to come into the studio while she is giving a lesson.”

“Can I have a dime?” asked Otis.

“Mother is busy now, Otis,” said Valerie Todd Spofford. “All right, girls. Let’s do our exercises at the bar.”

Otis clinked across the floor to the piano, where he leaned over the keyboard and amused himself by blowing bigger and bigger bubbles with his gum.

After the exercises at the bar, Mrs. Spofford had the girls practice the Dance of the Falling Leaves while Mrs. Adams played
Rhapsody of Autumn
on the piano and glared at Otis.

Every time Ellen leaped, her underwear slipped. After each leap she had to clutch it and pull it into place. In the mirror she could see that she looked more and more bulgy. Leap and clutch, leap and clutch.

Ellen thought they would never finish being falling leaves.

When Mrs. Adams came to the end of
Rhapsody of Autumn
, Otis added to the tune by picking out “Shave and a haircut—six bits” on the bass keys of the piano. Mrs.

Adams was annoyed, but Otis looked pleased when the girls giggled. Ellen was glad he had found someone else to tease.

Mrs. Spofford did not pay any attention to Otis. “Once more, girls,” she said.

Then it was leap and clutch, leap and clutch again. Ellen stayed as far away from Otis as she could and hoped he would continue to bother Mrs. Adams.

Finally Valerie Todd Spofford clapped her hands for attention.“Ellen Tebbits,” she said.

“I think you have forgotten. Falling leaves do not put their hands on their hips. They flutter their arms slowly and gracefully.” She fluttered her arms slowly and gracefully.

“Yes, Mrs. Spofford,” said Ellen miserably.

Usually her dancing was praised.

“Try to watch the way Linda dances and think of falling leaves. Think what falling leaves feel like.”

“Yes, Mrs. Spofford,” answered Ellen, telling herself glumly that she was too busy thinking about falling underwear to think about falling leaves. She noticed Barbara glance at her waistline and whisper something to Amelia.

“All right, Mrs. Adams. We will take it from
tum tum te tum
.” Mrs. Spofford hummed a few bars of
Rhapsody of Autumn
.

The girls leaped and fluttered their arms.

By making short awkward leaps, Ellen managed not to clutch her underwear. Then to Ellen’s horror, Otis suddenly bounded onto the floor with a loud jangle of spurs.

Leaping and clutching, he began to dance beside Ellen. But Otis did not come down lightly on his toes like a falling leaf. He landed with a flat-footed thud. His spurs made more noise that way.

The girls began to snicker. Ellen stopped dancing, but Otis went on leaping and clutching. She could see that he knew the Dance of the Falling Leaves as well as she did. I wish he would trip on his spurs, she thought crossly.

Then Ellen noticed Austine lengthen her leaps. She could not help thinking that Austine did not look a bit like a falling leaf.

She was out of breath and she did not flutter gracefully. She flapped.

When Austine caught up with Otis, who was making an extra-long leap, she suddenly sprang sideways. They collided in mid-air and both sat down hard on the slippery floor.

“Ouch,” said Austine loudly, as everyone stopped dancing. “Mrs. Spofford, Otis bumped into me.”

“I did not,” said Otis. “You jumped in front of me.”

“Well, you weren’t supposed to be there,” said Austine, as she stood up and rubbed herself. “Was he, Mrs. Spofford?”

“Otis, run along and play like a good boy,” said Valerie Todd Spofford.

“Can I have a dime if I go?” asked Otis, untangling his spurs and standing up.

“All right, just this once.” Mrs. Spofford took a dime from her purse on the piano and handed it to her son. Otis made a face at the girls and ran out of the room, the jingle of his spurs growing fainter as he ran down the steps. Ellen sighed with relief.

“Once more, girls,” said Valerie Todd Spofford.

Austine smiled triumphantly at Ellen, who gratefully returned her smile. Austine had bumped into Otis on purpose! Ellen knew now for sure that Austine had for-given her and wanted to be friends. She was very glad, but she began to worry about getting into the broom closet without being seen by the other girls. And what about Austine? Now that they were friendly, she would expect Ellen to talk to her in the dressing room. The lesson certainly could not last much longer, so Ellen danced her way nearer the dressing-room door.

Finally Mrs. Spofford clapped her hands.