Ashton's Dancing Dreams Read online

  Also by Camryn, Kaitlyn, and Olivia Pitts

  Ansley’s Big Bake Off (Book 1—The Daniels Sisters Series)

  And check out these titles by Alena Pitts!

  THE LENA IN THE SPOTLIGHT SERIES

  Book 1—Hello Stars

  Book 2—Day Dreams and Movie Screens

  Book 3—Shining Night

  ZONDERKIDZ

  Ashton’s Dancing Dreams

  Copyright © 2020 For Girls Like You, Inc.

  Illustrations © 2020 by Lucy Truman

  Requests for information should be addressed to:

  Zonderkidz, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

  * * *

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Softcover ISBN 978-0-310-76961-3

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2020939008

  Epub Edition July 2020 9780310769620

  * * *

  Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.

  Art direction: Diane Mielke

  Interior design: Denise Froehlich

  Printed in the United States of America

  * * *

  2021222324LSC10987654321

  From Camryn:

  To my mommy—for being my joy.

  To Lovie and Kaity—for being my amazing partners!

  And to Alena—for being my biggest sister and my inspiration.

  From For Girls Like You:

  To Roberta, for keeping the mission fresh and moving.

  To Nicole, for keeping the vision at the forefront and the picture clear.

  To Janel, for continuing to express the kingdom in all of its beauty through your beautiful writing and storytelling.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  An Excerpt from Amber’s Song

  Chapter 1

  My dad, sisters, and I were all in the car, just about to pull up to school, when my favorite song came on the radio—“God is Good,” by our favorite singer, Mallory Winston.

  “Oooh! Turn it up! Turn it up, Daddy!” My three sisters all spoke at once.

  Ansley started swaying to the music. Lena (the eldest) and Amber (my twin) started singing along. I closed my eyes to listen to the lyrics:

  When they gave me the bad news

  I didn’t know what to do.

  And I wondered what to say.

  Do I laugh or do I cry?

  Do I scream or do I sigh?

  Or do I just kneel down and pray?

  As I kept my eyes closed, I imagined a dance to go along with the words to the song. Daydreaming like this had become one of my favorite things to do lately. It was fun for me because I was taking classes in lyrical dance (a way of acting out a story with dance moves) and I loved it!

  The daydream usually went like this: I would be standing on a stage, silently waiting in the dark. Suddenly, the spotlight would come on me, making the sequins in my pink outfit shimmer ever so slightly. Then the music would begin. I could just picture the exact arm gestures I would do to the opening line, “When they gave me the bad news.” Then I would do a half-turn on “I didn’t know what do.” I would flip my hands up on, “Was there something I should say?” and would of course fall to my knees on “or should I just kneel down and pray.” Next I would leap . . .

  “Cammie!” a voice called me from far off in the distance. (Cammie was my family nickname.)

  My eyes were still closed as I made a joyful leap across the stage . . .

  “Cammie!”

  Now I was hunching my back and covering my face with my hands . . .

  “Ashton Joy Daniels!”

  Oh-oh. The music had been shut off and Dad had used my real, full name. I popped my eyes open and met his gaze in the rearview mirror of the car. “Yeah, Dad?”

  “Will you be joining your sisters in school today? Or were you planning on coming back home with me?”

  I giggled and unbuckled my seatbelt. “I guess I’ll be joining my sisters.”

  “Good idea,” Dad said, nodding. I watched the reflection of his eyes as they crinkled in a smile.

  “Come on, Cammie!” Amber called to me from outside. I popped out of the car and hurried over to catch up with her. We were not identical twins, so we didn’t look alike. People had no problem telling us apart. But they were always comparing us to one another anyway. Like, “Oh, she’s the shy one and you’re the more outgoing one.” Or “She likes singing and you like dancing.” My favorite one though was when someone called Amber “sugar and spice” and me “fire and ice.” I liked the sound of that! Besides, I guess when you are sisters, people are always going to compare you to each other, whether or not you are twins.

  “What happened? Did you forget something?” Amber wrinkled her forehead with the question.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I forgot to get out of the car!”

  We followed Lena and Ansley as they walked through the opened front gates of our school, Roland Lake Christian Academy. The school was made up of three buildings. The main building was a big, old-fashioned mansion with white columns, and the two other brick buildings stood one on each side of it. The middle building actually was the middle school, and Ansley dashed off to meet her friends there. Lena veered off to the left, toward the high school. Amber and I headed right, to the elementary school building. But since students from all three schools were gathered together on the front lawn, we could all hear greetings to each one of us coming from different directions. Everyone knew us Daniels sisters because there were four of us and we were the only set of siblings that year who were attending classes in all three buildings.

  “Ashton! Amber!” Our friends, Esperanza Harrison and June Harlow, called out to us.

  We waved at them and stopped walking to allow the girls time to run over and join us. Rani (which is what we called Esperanza) and June were really best friends to each other, just like Amber and I were. But at school a lot of the time Rani was more like my best friend and June was Amber’s. June had pale, reddish-blonde wispy hair that she usually wore in a simple ponytail, very light blue eyes, and eyelashes that were almost silver. Rani was practically her opposite. She had dark hair that she wore in two thick braids, super-dark eyebrows, super-dark eyelashes, and eyes that were almost black. Only by the time she reached me and came to a panting stop, I could see that her
eyes were looking red and puffy today.

  “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I asked.

  Rani nodded as she caught her breath. Then she shook her head. “Yes—actually, no. I have bad news!”

  “What happened?” Amber and I asked together.

  “It’s my dad,” Rani said with a sob. “He got a promotion!”

  I paused and exchanged glances with Amber. Wasn’t a promotion supposed to be a good thing? “You mean . . . he’s got a better, more important job?” I asked, squinting my eyes.

  Rani nodded again.

  Amber tilted her head. “Will he be paid more too?”

  Rani nodded a third time.

  I was definitely missing something. “So . . . what exactly is the problem?”

  “Well, he didn’t say ‘yes’ yet,” Rani said. She started biting her fingernails.

  “Why not?”

  “Because the job’s in London!” Rani blurted out, and she began to cry.

  Amber immediately reached out to give her arm a squeeze. June patted Rani on the back. But I was still having trouble understanding.

  “That’s . . . terrible, Rani,” I said. “I know you’re going to miss him a lot. How long will he be away?”

  “No! Don’t you get it?” Rani accepted the packet of tissues June handed to her. “I won’t miss him. I’ll be with him! We’ll all have to move!”

  I sucked in my breath. “Oooh. You won’t be missing him . . . we’ll be missing you.”

  “Right!” Rani groaned. “And I’ll miss all of you too!” A fresh batch of tears began to stream down her face.

  “When is it supposed to happen?” Amber asked. Her voice was softer and higher than mine. “Like, by this summer?”

  “That’s the worst part,” Rani said with a sniffle. “The job opened up unexpectedly. Dad needs to give them his answer in a week. And if he says ‘yes’ we’ll probably be moving in two weeks!”

  Amber and I gasped together.

  “But there’s more than two months left of school!” I shook my head. “It makes no sense to take you out now.”

  Rani shrugged. “It’s supposed to be a really great job.”

  “No, no,” I continued. “We can’t let it happen. There’s got to be some way to keep you here. I just know it.” I patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll think of something.”

  The four of us trudged up to the school, each quietly lost in her own thoughts. June had her head down. Amber was humming something to herself. Rani was still sniffling.

  Think of a plan, I commanded myself. I lead the pack to the front doors of our building and toward the auditorium where our classes were lining up. It was when we were passing by the main office that it caught my eye. There was a colorful mini-poster on the bulletin board on the wall.

  Do you sing? Do you dance? Are you a musician or comedian?

  Don’t hide your light under a bushel!

  Sign up for

  THE ROLAND LAKE

  LOWER SCHOOL

  Spring Talent Show!

  “Hey, guys, take a look.” I pointed to the brightly colored flyer. As my friends gathered around me to read it, I had a flashback to my daydream in the car. “Are any of you interested in signing up? How about you, Amber? You could sing.”

  Amber shook her head shyly. “In front of an audience? No way.”

  “I would dance,” Rani said. Then she sagged her shoulders and sighed. “But this will take place around Easter. I’ll probably be living in London by then!”

  I frowned. “Don’t say that! We can’t let that happen!” I set my lips in a thin line. Then I felt an idea jump out of my brain like a warm slice of bread from a toaster. “Hey, maybe we can do a dance together,” I said. “Something we have to practice a lot for, you know? Something you make sure to tell your parents you are looking forward to performing . . .”

  “As you tell them how much you like your school and your friends . . .” Amber said, catching on.

  Rani nodded with understanding. “I get it . . . ! You mean, being in the talent show might show them how much I want to stay so that maybe we don’t go to London after all or at least not yet?”

  “Exactly.”

  June clapped her hands and jumped up and down. “Great idea!”

  “Oh, yes,” Rani said breathlessly. “Oh, let’s do it! Let’s do it!”

  “Okay, then. It’s settled.” I rubbed my chin in thought. Then, since Amber didn’t take dance lessons with us, I pointed to June and Rani. “We three will do a dance together. A routine that needs at least three people to perform. Then your parents will see that we need you to stay, Rani. Okay?”

  “Yes!” Rani and June chimed in at the same time.

  Amber grinned at us, happy that we had a plan even though she couldn’t really participate in it.

  I smiled back at her. I just might be able to help my friend and get the chance to dance in a talent show. How great would that be? “Now let’s get to class before Ms. Roderick gets mad,” I said, leading the way to our classroom. I held my head up, trying to walk with a confidence that would make the others feel hopeful. But inside I was probably more nervous than all of them. I really hope this plan works! I thought. Besides my sisters, Rani was my best friend. I simply wasn’t ready for her to leave. In fact, my stomach had been feeling sloshy and gross ever since she’d told us that she might move. I swallowed hard. Have faith, I told myself. It will all work out.

  Chapter 2

  Our teacher, Ms. Roderick, was a really nice lady who kept her blond hair short because (she told us) it was the best way to show off her earring collection. She seemed to have hundreds! I don’t think I had ever seen the same pair twice. She explained that she had so many because once people found out how much she loved them, they always gave her earrings as gifts. Today she was wearing earrings that looked like tiny parrots perched on big, round swings dangling from her earlobes.

  Ms. Roderick taught us a lot of subjects, like creative writing, math, history, and Bible studies. It was like she knew everything! But she didn’t teach us science or art or gym. Those subjects needed special teachers, rooms, equipment, and storage.

  So I was surprised when I saw Ms. Ericson, our art teacher, standing in the middle of our classroom. It was weird to see her, with her familiar red smock and cloud of grey hair, someplace other than her art studio. Sometimes I felt like she lived in her art studio. I imagined that she stayed there overnight. That after everyone was gone for the day, she put on pajamas, pulled out a sleeping bag, and slept on the floor, surrounded by paints, crayons, easels, and the artwork that covered the walls.

  With a quiet chuckle at that silly idea, I glanced at Amber, who was getting ready to sit down next to me. She flashed me a look that asked, “What’s Ms. Ericson doing here?” I sent her a look that said, “I was wondering the same thing!”

  We wouldn’t find out until after Ms. Roderick took attendance. And that took a while because Ms. Roderick got us all laughing when she called out our names using a parrot voice. “Amber Daniels? Brraaaak! Ashton Daniels? Brraaak!” Then she had to wait until everyone had calmed down before she could explain why Ms. Ericson was with us.

  “You were supposed to have art a little later this morning,” she said, “but the middle school needs to borrow our art studio today. A water pipe broke and flooded their art room and the seventh-grade class needs space for a project they’ve been working on. You’ll have to have art here, instead.”

  “Yay!” Cheers went up around the room and kids clapped their hands. The teachers started handing out newspapers to spread out on top of our desks.

  “We’ll be using acrylic paints and special, oil-based markers today to paint and draw on these!” Ms. Ericson had a bucket full of flat, smooth rocks. Some were white, some were black, some were grey. “Do you have any idea what we’ll be painting on them?”

  I looked around at my fellow classmates. Our desks were arranged side-by-side in a horseshoe shape, with everyone facing the
center of the classroom. This made it easy for all of us to see each other’s faces. But judging by the blank or confused expressions I saw, no one seemed to have a clue what we would be painting.

  Finally, someone called out, “Words?”

  Then someone else guessed, “Animals?”

  June raised her hand. “Whatever we want . . . ?”

  Ms. Ericson laughed. “Those answers are all sort of correct. Actually, we will be painting these rocks with messages and images of kindness, welcome, and acceptance. They’ll be perfect to use for your Matthew 25 project,” she said.

  Our Matthew 25 project was something the class had been working on all year. It was based on the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 35, 36, and 40. In that Scripture, Jesus told his disciples some of the different ways that we could show love for our neighbor. We were learning how God’s love in us drives us to love others and how that love for others was actually our love for God!

  Ms. Roderick asked, “Can you guess which verse this art assignment will help you to live out?”

  Since the verses happened to be written on banners hung near the ceiling all around the classroom, I swept my eyes over them for a quick reread.

  The banner on my left had the words: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat . . . I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink . . .” The banner in front of me had the words, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me . . . I was naked and you clothed me.” And the third said, “. . . I was sick and you visited me . . . I was in prison and you came to me.” And although I couldn’t read the one on the banner behind me without turning around, I knew that the words were, ‘Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

  I read the words silently to myself, mouthing out the Scripture. Then I understood which verse we would be concentrating on that morning and my arm shot up.

  “Yes, Ashton?”

  “‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me?’”

  “Exactly!” Ms. Roderick beamed at me. “How did you figure that out?”