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CHAPTER

Three

‘So tell us again what happened, Katya?’ Sian Edwards was saying, as the gymnasts sat around the giant kitchen table in the basement of Head-Over-Heels House, tucking into a supper of salad and cold roast chicken. Sian and Sophia, another of the Senior Elite girls, shared a flat at the top of the house, but they always took an interest in the younger girls. And it was impossible not to be interested in Katya Popolova.

‘My family runs Popolov Circus in Moscow,’ said Katya, who was already on her third helping. ‘Three generations all work together.’

‘And does everyone perform in the show?’ asked Kashvi, who was sitting astride a chair and staring at Katya in wide-eyed amazement.

‘Yes! My grandfather, he is clown,’ Katya explained. ‘My father does trapeze and high wire. My little brother Pietr is world’s smallest strongman, and my grandmother does acrobatics on horseback . . .’

‘Your grandma?’ asked Ellie with a look of surprise.

‘Oh, yes,’ said Katya, like it was no big deal to have a somersaulting granny.

‘And you?’ asked Tam. He had just about recovered from Katya’s kiss attack, but he had sat down on the opposite side of the table just to be on the safe side. ‘What can you do?’

‘I do many things,’ said Katya, helping herself to another baked potato. ‘Juggling, trapeze, high wire, tumbling, unicycle . . .’

‘Wow! Who trained you?’ asked Nancy.

‘Oh, circus is like one big family – everyone helps.’ For a second Katya’s twinkling eyes clouded a little and Ellie realised how hard it must be for her, knowing her family were thousands of miles away. ‘

OK, so tell us what happened with Toni,’ said Tam.

Ellie saw some of the others leaning forward, intrigued to know exactly how a small circus girl from Russia had ended up at one of the most prestigious gymnastic academies in Britain.

‘Is all big surprise!’ said Katya. ‘Toni, he come home to Russia to see his family – he is also Russian, you know. He comes to circus one night . . .’

‘. . . and sees you,’ added Bella.

‘And the next minute he’s whizzing you back to England!’ Robbie concluded. ‘Blimey – that’s all a bit like something out of a movie!’

‘It’s all a bit odd, if you ask me!’ said Scarlett. ‘I mean, it sounds too much like a coincidence – unless you’re going to tell us your uncle was an exinternational gymnast or something.’

She look pointedly at Ellie as she said this and Ellie knew what she was thinking – Scarlett never missed an opportunity to make Ellie feel like she had only won her scholarship to the Academybecause of her Aunt Lizzie’s success.

‘No, all my family are circus people,’ said Katya. ‘Is just my lucky stars that Toni comes that night!’

‘What did I tell you about luck!’ said Tam, grinning at Ellie and Nancy.

‘You must miss your parents,’ said Bella.

‘My mother died when Pietr was born,’ Katya said, quietly. ‘And my father think it is good for me to go to English school, and to have proper gymnastics training in one of the best academies in the world.’ She smiled again. ‘There he is right! But, yes, I do miss them – my brother Pietr especially.’

‘And the animals,’ said Robbie cheekily. ‘You must miss them.’

‘Yes, even them,’ Katya laughed. ‘I want to bring my favourite dog to Head-Over-Heels House but they say this is not possible.’

‘I’ve been trying to persuade Mum that we should get a Head-Over-Heels puppy for years,’ said Tam.

‘Maybe Katya could train it up and take it to Junior British Champs!’ said Nancy.

‘Well, obviously, Katya won’t be going to Champs,’ said Scarlett snootily.

‘Um – why not?’ asked Nancy.

‘Duh! Because she’s not actually British!’

‘My mother she from England,’ said Katya. ‘So Toni say I am allowed to compete over here too.’

‘Oh,’ said Scarlett, unable to hide her disappointment. ‘Well, only gymnasts who’ve qualified are eligible,’ she added. ‘Or perhaps you’ve failed so often you’ve forgotten that, Nancy?’

‘Then she’ll just have to qualify at the Challenge Cup!’ said Nancy through gritted teeth. ‘Just like me and Ellie.’

Ellie’s heart did a somersault. For a few moments she’d forgotten her fears about the make-or-break competition but now they all came flooding back.

‘There’s no way she’ll be ready for a major competition this term,’ said Scarlett. I doubt she even knows the rules!’

‘In circus there are no rules!’ Katya declared happily. ‘Is all about entertainment.’

‘Blimey!’ said Kashvi. ‘You’re going to get the shock of your life at the Academy then.’

‘Oui – gymnastics ees all about ze rules,’ added Camille.

‘And if you go breaking them you’ll be out of the Academy before you can say big top!’ said Scarlett smugly.

It was quite a squash in the room the girls were sharing. Mandy had moved in the old bunk bed that Tam and Nancy had used as kids and squeezed in another small chest of drawers. Nancy didn’t mind sharing with Katya, although she insisted on getting the top bunk.

‘Tam made me sleep on the bottom for years,’ she said. ‘Even though I was way too tall and forever bashing my head – I was black and blue all the time!’

Katya was thrilled with the bottom bunk. In fact, Katya was thrilled with everything. She seemed to have a permanent smile on her face, and she hugged and kissed anyone who came within a five metre radius of her – probably why Tam had offered to wash up rather than help the girls unpack.

‘I sleep always in different places,’ Katya told Ellie and Nancy, as she clambered happily into bed that night. ‘In circus you move around a lot. Different town every month.’

‘So how did you go to school?’ asked Nancy.

‘Oh, no school,’ said Katya. ‘My grandmother teach me.’

‘No school!’ said Nancy. ‘How cool is that! We do reduced school hours to fit in with our training, but we still have to keep up with our work. The Academy is really strict about that.’

‘But it’s fun,’ said Ellie, to reassure Katya. ‘School’s nice and the Academy is amazing. Just you wait – you’re going to love it!’

‘And you can forget about what Scarlett said,’ Nancy added. ‘Cos you’re going to totally rock it as an Academy girl!’

Ellie lay awake for a while after the others had dropped off. She always found it strange when she first came back to London, getting used to the night-time sounds of the city, so different to the soft lapping of the waves on Trengilly beach that she could hear from her bedroom at home. But it wasn’t just that stopping Ellie from sleeping. She couldn’t stop thinking about the dream she’d had on the train, and about the Challenge Cup – what would happen if she didn’t qualify this time round?

She had to qualify. Because if she didn’t, she’d lose her scholarship. Ellie’s parents were already making huge sacrifices to send her to the Academy, and there was no way they’d be able to manage it without the scholarship money. So, there was a lot more than just Ellie’s pride riding on the Challenge Cup – her whole future at the Academy depended on it. Even with the two other girls sleeping next to her in the room, Ellie suddenly felt very lonely.