Swap Over by Margaret Pearce Read Free Book Online Page A

car on the fifth floor.
    â€œWe can catch the lift down to the basement and walk across,” Mr. Walton said, as he pressed the lift button. “Finding parking is the worst thing about coming on opening day.”
    â€œI think it’s wonderful that you managed to get tickets for the matinee at all,” Mrs. Walton said.
    â€œWonderful,” Maddy echoed dreamily.
    They got out of the lift in the basement, walked across the car park and got into another lift up to the ground floor. It opened into a big, carpeted lobby. Lots of people were gathered around talking. The men mostly wore suits like Mr. Walton, and the women all wore good dresses and high heels like Mrs. Walton. There were lots of girls wearing the same sort of long-sleeved dresses with longer hemlines like Maddy’s.
    A bell chimed. Everyone started walking towards the doors where the ushers waited to take tickets.
    Maddy stared at the placards and glass-fronted displays of costumes and pink or white satin slippers as they walked towards the doors. She looked at the blown-up photographs. They were all of people wearing interesting outfits, but they were wearing nasty satin slippers, not skates under their fancy costumes.
    The horrid suspicion became a certainty. The basement car park had been under the road! They were across the road from the building with the Disney ice show!
    â€œBallet!” she gasped in shock and disappointment. “We’re going to the ballet!”
    â€œKnew you would be thrilled about it,” Mrs. Walton said.
    Mr. Walton handed over the tickets, and they went through into the darkened auditorium. He ushered them down to the very front row. They sat down and he produced programs.
    â€œThat’s right, Princess. Your favourite show, Swan Lake. Your Superman father managed to get tickets to the opening matinee for you. What do you think of our surprise?”
    â€œShe’s too overwhelmed to thank you. Aren’t you, Maddy?” Mrs. Walton asked with a smile.
    Maddy stared at Mr. and Mrs. Walton. This was supposed to be their wonderful surprise! A yucky, stupid, boring ballet instead of the Disney ice shows! She hated ballet!
    It was fortunate that she was too speechless with disappointment to say so.

 
    Chapter Eight
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    Swan Lake ended at last, but it wasn’t that bad after all, Maddy decided.
    Watching it in person was different from seeing it on telly. Because they sat in the front row, there wasn’t the illusion of fragile wishy-washy dancers drifting about. Maddy heard the thuds and thumps as the dancers bounded across the stage, and saw the effort and energy put into their steps. She realized that the dancers really were as fit and hard-working as the local footie team. It was just that they were so good; they made it look sissy and easy.
    She was able to assure Mr. and Mrs. Walton with perfect truth, as they jostled their way across the car park with all the other people, that the ballet really was something else, and she hadn’t realized how fit the dancers were.
    For an instant a sad expression crossed Mrs. Walton’s face, and then she smiled agreement. “Yes, my darling. Think of all the years they dedicate to practising to get so good.”
    Mr. Walton cleared his throat and said practise makes perfect, and what about they buy some take-away chicken on the way home to finish off their perfect day. Maddy lost interest in the oddity of the sad expression on Mrs. Walton’s face. She loved take-away chicken.
    However, when they got home and sat in the breakfast nook to eat, Maddy looked at the hot steaming chicken and chips and suddenly wasn’t hungry. Still, she loved take-away chicken, and she intended to eat every delicious morsel.
    She took a mouthful and chewed. Her head ached and thudded in time as she chewed. Her stomach felt as if it was churning around like a washing machine. She put down her beautiful drumstick and stood up. The kitchen whirled