Skating School: Sapphire Skate Fun Read online

  Linda Chapman lives in Leicestershire with her family and two dogs. When she is not writing, she spends her time looking after her three children, reading, talking to people about writing, and horse riding whenever she can.

  You can find out more about Linda on her websites at lindachapman.co.uk and lindachapmanauthor.co.uk

  Books by Linda Chapman

  BRIGHT LIGHTS

  CENTRE STAGE

  MY SECRET UNICORN series

  NOT QUITE A MERMAID series

  SKATING SCHOOL series

  SKY HORSES series

  STARDUST series

  UNICORN SCHOOL series

  Linda Chapman

  Illustrated by Nellie Ryan

  PUFFIN

  PUFFIN BOOKS

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

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  Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India

  Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)

  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  puffinbooks.com

  First published 2010

  Text copyright © Linda Chapman, 2010

  Illustrations copyright © Nellie Ryan, 2010

  All rights reserved

  The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted

  Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  ISBN: 978-0-141-95760-9

  To Charlotte Grant – number-one fan, eagle-eyed reader and brilliant writer in the making!

  Contents

  In the Magic Land of Ice and Winter …

  1. Issy

  2. Ice Owls

  3. Skating at Last!

  4. Fairies and Dragons

  5. Exciting News

  6. Costume Crisis

  7. Skating Magic

  8. Competition Day!

  In the Magic Land of Ice and Winter…

  The weather was starting to warm up. Every hundred years, the Dance of Winter needed to be performed to keep the magic land frozen and the snow thick on the ground. Only an Ice Princess could perform the dance, but choosing an Ice Princess was never easy. She couldn’t be one of the ice sylphs who lived in the land; she had to be a very special human girl with ice-skating deep in her heart and certain other unique qualities.

  In her study at the Magic Ice-skating Academy, Madame Letsworth, the headteacher, rested her chin on her steepled fingers and waited. Twelve human girls had been selected as possible Ice Princesses. Soon they would start to arrive. Would one of them be suitable? In six weeks, she would know the answer.

  For now, all Madame Letsworth could do was wait…

  Chapter One

  Issy

  Issy Roberts came bounding out of school, her blonde hair escaping from her ponytail, her bag thrown over her shoulder. Seeing her mum waiting in the playground, Issy waved, but before she could run over she was joined by Rosie, the girl who had been chosen to show her round that day.

  ‘I’m really glad you’ve come to school here, Issy.’ The words came out of Rosie in a rush. ‘Do you want to come to mine at the weekend? I could ask my mum.’ Rosie blushed shyly as she waited for Issy’s answer.

  ‘Thanks.’ Issy smiled at her. ‘I’d like that. Bye, Rosie.’

  ‘Hi, sweetheart,’ Mrs Roberts said as Issy reached her. ‘How was your first day?’

  ‘Fine.’ Issy flicked her thick hair off her face; her sideways fringe was always falling over her eyes. ‘Everyone seems really fun.’ Issy was used to starting at new schools. Her dad worked for a large company and they moved around a lot. Issy didn’t really mind; she usually found making friends easy.

  ‘That girl you were just talking to looked nice,’ her mum commented.

  ‘Rosie? Yeah, she’s asked me over at the weekend.’ At break time Rosie had told Issy that her old best friend had moved away a few months ago. Issy had the feeling that Rosie would really like her to be her new best friend.

  But did she want to be? Something inside Issy seemed to shrink away from the idea. She’d had best friends before and it was always really difficult when she had to leave them. It was easier just to be friends with everyone.

  ‘Everything’s all sorted out for your first skating lesson tomorrow morning,’ Mrs Roberts said as they started walking home.

  ‘Cool!’ Skating was the thing Issy loved most in the world. She’d done a lot of gymnastics when she was little and had been very good at it, but then two years ago she had gone ice-skating and ever since had thought about almost nothing else. Issy loved whizzing around on the ice. She wasn’t quite as good as some girls her age who had been skating since they were three or four, but she’d been told she had lots of talent and that she would soon catch up if she kept practising.

  ‘We’ll have to think about getting you a new competition dress,’ her mum went on. ‘Your old green one is getting quite small.’

  ‘I’d like a red dress this time,’ Issy said, imagining herself jumping a triple loop in a sparkling red dress. ‘Or maybe a dark-blue one with silver thread.’

  They turned into the woods. There was a short cut there that led to the road where they lived. Issy loved the woods. They felt so magical and she liked the carpet of spring flowers that covered the banks.

  ‘Can I go and climb the oak tree?’ It was on the other side of one of the banks that led down to the path.

  ‘OK. I’ll meet you at the end of the path.’

  Issy ran up the bank, her school bag on her back. There was a steep slope running down the other side. As she ran down it, she imagined she was skating. Putting her arms out to the sides, she leapt into the air, turning round as she went. If only I was on the ice, she thought, I’d be spinning twice, feeling like I was flying…

  And suddenly she was!

  Issy gasped as she whirled round not twice but over and over again. The woods blurred around her, but before she had time to call out, or shout, she felt herself dropping down. Her feet touched the ground again with a bump.

  In an instant, she knew that everything had changed. Freezing air stung her cheeks, her legs felt cold and her feet seemed heavy as if they had skat
es on. She looked down. ‘Oh… oh, wow!’ Issy gasped, almost falling over in shock. She was standing on a frozen river and she did have skates on!

  Issy could hardly believe it. Her school uniform had disappeared and in its place she was wearing a dark-red jersey skating dress, matching wrap-around cardigan and white ice skates.

  ‘Hello!’

  Issy looked behind her and saw a large stone mansion with turrets and a grand staircase leading to the front door. A woman wearing a blue woollen dress was standing at the top of the stone steps.

  ‘You must be Isabelle Roberts?’

  ‘Y-yes,’ Issy stammered. She stared at the slim, dark-haired woman in astonishment. ‘Who are you?’

  Chapter Two

  Ice Owls

  ‘I am Madame Li.’ The woman came down the steps towards Issy. She had the largest, most pointed ears Issy had ever seen. ‘This is the Ice-skating Academy in the Land of Ice and Winter. You have been brought here by magic. Come inside, my dear. There are eleven other girls here, so you won’t be on your own.’ The teacher handed Issy a pair of skate guards to go over the blades of her skates. ‘Madame Letsworth, the headteacher, is about to explain it all to everyone.’

  For the first time in her life, Issy felt completely lost for words, but Madame Li was waiting expectantly. Not knowing what else to do, Issy slipped the guards on and went up the steps into a large hallway. A group of girls who all looked about her age were just heading off down a corridor.

  ‘Take your skates off,’ said Madame Li, pointing out a locker to one side with Issy’s name on. ‘You’ll find some slipper-boots in there. Put them on and hurry after the others.’

  Maybe it’s a dream, Issy thought as she dazedly unlaced her skates. But it didn’t feel like a dream. She could smell wood smoke and the floor was hard beneath her. Pulling on the fleecy red slipper-boots that were in the locker, Issy hurried after the other girls, catching up with them just as they turned into a grand hall. Twelve chairs faced a raised platform where a teacher was standing. She had pointed ears, just like Madame Li.

  Issy sat down at the end of the row. The girl next to her was small with glossy dark-brown hair. She had a straight fringe, creamy skin and serious hazel eyes. She looked at Issy and gave her a quick smile. ‘Hi, I’m Sophy,’ she whispered, but before Issy could answer the teacher on the platform started to speak.

  ‘Welcome, all of you. My name is Madame Letsworth. I am the headteacher here. I and all the other people who live here in the Land of Ice and Winter are ice sylphs.’

  On the other side of Sophy, a tall girl with freckles put up her hand. ‘But why are we here?’

  ‘You were brought here because, every so often in this land, we have problems that can only be solved by a human girl doing a magic ice dance. This girl is called the Ice Princess. Sometimes the Ice Princess helps us solve one type of problem, sometimes another. We are now in need of a new Ice Princess. We hope one of you will be that girl.’

  A murmur of excitement ran round the room.

  Madame Letsworth held up her hand for silence. ‘You do not have to stay here if you do not want to; you may return home. If you choose to stay then you will live here at this school taking lessons that will improve your skating. You will also learn about this land. After six weeks, we will choose one of you to be our new Ice Princess. If that person succeeds in helping us then she will be granted her secret wish.’

  She looked round. ‘You must each now decide whether you will stay or return home. Do not worry about your friends and families; time passes differently in the human world from here and no one back in your world will even know you are gone.’ Issy was glad about that. She had been worrying a bit about her mum, who was still in the woods.

  Madame Letsworth looked round at the girls once more. ‘Would anyone like to go home?’

  None of the girls put up their hand. Quite a few of them, including Issy, shook their heads hard.

  Madame Letsworth smiled. ‘Excellent. Well, I hope you will all have a very enjoyable time here.’

  Sophy put up her hand. ‘What will the Ice Princess have to do, Madame?’

  ‘She must perform the Dance of Winter – a special dance that needs to be skated every hundred years to keep this land frozen, but you will learn more about that in the following weeks. Right now, I am sure you would all like to see the dorms – the bedrooms where you will be sleeping. In the Ice Owls dorm will be Isabelle, Jo, Maisie and Milly.’ Issy saw two girls with black hair and dark skin nudge each other as the headteacher spoke out the last two names. They were obviously twins although one had long hair in braids and the other had shoulder-length curls.

  ‘In the Frost Fairies dorm will be Vanessa, Lou, Abigail and Narinder, and in the Snow Foxes dorm will be Niamh, Jessica, Cecilia and Sophy.’

  The tall girl with freckles leant forward. ‘What’s your name?’ she said to Issy, and Issy told her.

  ‘I’m Jo. We’re in the same dorm. Isn’t this all brilliant? We must do loads of fun things. Pillow fights!’

  Issy grinned. ‘Yeah. And a midnight feast!’

  ‘And we have to play some tricks on the teachers.’

  Just then, Madame Letsworth started speaking again. ‘The frost fairies will now show you to your dorms, girls. They help do everything around the school; they tidy up, cook and clean. You’ll soon get used to seeing them.’

  The girls all gasped as a vast glittering cloud of fairies swept through the doorway. They were each just a few centimetres high and had masses of fluffy blonde hair. They chattered to each other in high-pitched voices.

  One of them landed on Issy’s hand, gauzy wings fluttering.

  Jo pulled back as one approached her. ‘Whoa! They’re weird, aren’t they? Like little wasps.’

  Sophy, who had two of them perched on her shoulders, looked at her in astonishment. ‘They’re nothing like wasps! They’re beautiful!’

  Jo pulled Issy’s arm. ‘Come on! Let’s go and find Maisie and Milly. I bet it’s those two girls over there.’

  Issy followed Jo over to where the twins were standing. ‘Hi. I’m Jo and this is Issy. Are you Maisie and Milly?’

  The two girls smiled. ‘Yep, that’s us. I’m Maisie,’ said the twin with the shorter hair. ‘And this is Milly.’

  Issy immediately saw there were differences between the twins apart from their hair. Maisie’s eyes were lighter and she had a restless, energetic look about her. Milly looked more serious and thoughtful.

  Before they had a chance to talk any more, Madame Letsworth told the fairies to take them up to their dorms. The fairy who had landed on Issy’s hand now perched on her shoulder as they went up the stairs.

  ‘What’s your name?’ Issy asked her.

  The fairy spoke in a high-pitched voice. It sounded like Cobweb.

  ‘Cobweb?’ Issy asked.

  The fairy nodded.

  ‘Well, hi, Cobweb. I’m Issy.’

  The little fairy giggled as if to say she knew that already.

  ‘Here we are!’ said Jo as they reached a door that had a sign with the words Ice Owls.

  ‘Cool!’ said Maisie, going inside. The dorm had large windows looking out over the gardens. There were four single beds, each with a patchwork quilt. On the opposite side of the room there was a big wooden wardrobe for each girl. The frost fairies pulled the doors open. Inside there were plain skating dresses for wearing each day, outdoor clothes, lots of pairs of tights, underwear and socks, as well as other clothes like jeans and T-shirts. There was also a desk, some shelves and a mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door.

  Maisie went over to the window. ‘This is so exciting!’ She spun round, flinging her arms out. ‘I could have danced all night!’ she trilled.

  Milly looked up from the book she had fou
nd on a bookcase behind the door. ‘Don’t mind Maisie. She’s mad about singing.’

  ‘If I’m not a figure skater when I’m older then I want to be a singer,’ Maisie said. ‘I can’t decide which would be more fun.’

  ‘Do you two skate a lot?’ asked Jo.

  Maisie nodded. ‘Every day.’

  ‘I go skating three times a week,’ said Jo. ‘I’ve been skating since I was four.’

  ‘I haven’t been skating that long, but I love it and I go five times a week,’ said Issy.

  The frost fairies all flew to the door and chattered at the girls, beckoning with their hands. Issy frowned. ‘I think they’re telling us to follow them again. Are we about to go skating?’ she guessed.

  Cobweb gave Issy a thumbs up.

  ‘Cool!’ all four girls said at the same time. They looked at each other and giggled.

  ‘You know, something tells me the four of us are going to get on really well,’ said Jo, putting her arm through Issy’s. ‘Let’s go and see the rink!’

  Chapter Three

  Skating at Last!

  The ice rink was down a long corridor and through some heavy double doors. Issy looked round in amazement. It was beautiful. Above the sparkling ice was a domed glass ceiling through which they could see the sky. Frost fairies darted through the air and hovered round the silver barriers at the edge. To one side of the rink there was a large purple box covered with silver buttons and nearby was the changing area with wooden benches and lockers.

  The girls from the other dorms were all arriving too. Sophy came in with a very pretty girl with straight, shoulder-length chestnut hair and a girl with wild red curls.

  The girl with the straight hair looked worried. ‘Oh, I wish you two had waited a few more minutes so I could have changed out of this dress. I look awful in yellow. And I haven’t even had time to brush my hair.’ She smoothed her hair down anxiously. ‘Do I look OK?’

  ‘You look fine,’ Sophy reassured her. ‘I like your yellow dress.’

  ‘And I don’t know why you’re worrying about your hair, Cecilia,’ said the Irish curly-haired girl. ‘Look at mine. My dad always says that it looks like I’ve got birds nesting in it!’