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painted nutcracker in her hands as the rest of the children in the party scene reached for it. It felt strange for her to play “second fiddle” to her little sister. In the past, it had always been Scarlett who was in the lead. Now Gracie was getting all the attention.
    â€œLike this?” she asked Marcus as she pretended to cradle the nutcracker in her arms like a baby.
    â€œExactly!” he replied. “You’re worried about the Nutcracker being broken. You’re sad that he’s hurt.”
    Gracie’s eyes welled with tears. “It’s okay, little Nutcracker,” she whispered. “I’m here.” Her face looked both tender and brave.
    Mr. Minnelli dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief. “Lovely, just lovely,” he said. “You’re a natural actress. The rest of you, please stand on the sidelines while we go over Clara and the prince’s duet. You,” he said, pointing to Hayden, “you stand in for the prince.”
    Scarlett shuffled off to a corner. This was not going to be easy. Rochelle read her mind. “How do you think I feel?” she whispered. “I wanted those roles so badly for me and Hayden.”
    â€œWhy do you think the Nutcracker Prince is MIA?” Bria asked them. “Mr. Minnelli hasn’t said a word about who he might be.”
    â€œI bet it’s some big-time ballet star,” Anya said, speculating. “Like Chase Finlay or Jared Angle.”
    Rochelle shrugged. “I don’t know who either of those dudes are, but who do you think that little pip-squeak is?” She pointed to the studioentrance, where a tiny boy in a fedora hat was standing with his mother. His nose was pressed up against the glass door.
    Mr. Minnelli noticed him at the same time. “Ah, yes! Here at last! Please come in!” He motioned for the boy to enter the studio.
    â€œEveryone,” Mr. Minnelli announced, “I would like you to meet Olivier Mason from Central Delaware Youth Ballet. He is going to be our Nutcracker Prince!”
    Rochelle’s jaw dropped to the floor. “Seriously? This little munchkin is the prince? Is he even out of diapers yet?” She gazed over at Hayden, who looked just as shocked. Mr. Minnelli had practically shoved him to the side to make room for Olivier.
    Bria elbowed her. “Check it out.”
    Olivier was extending his hand for Gracie to shake it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said.
    Gracie scratched her head. “Um, hi, Oliver,” she replied.
    The boy pulled his hand away. “No, notOliver.
Oh-liv-ee-ay
. Like the famous actor Laurence Olivier.”
    Gracie’s face lit up. “Oh, I get it! O-live-ee-YAY! Cool name!”
    The boy seemed pleased and took his spot next to Gracie.
    Scarlett chuckled. No wonder they chose her little sis to play Clara. They needed someone who was actually shorter than the prince!
    Olivier took off his hat and began stretching out on the floor. “His feet are pretty sick,” Rochelle commented. “Look at that arch! And he’s so flexible.” They watched as the little boy did an effortless split, then pressed his forehead to his knee.
    Anya nodded. “He’s like a human pretzel. Impressive, I gotta admit.”
    Liberty had been silent the entire time. “This ballet is a joke,” she barked. “Clara and the prince look like they belong in kindergarten, and I’m playing a walking pastry!”
    â€œA cookie, technically,” Bria corrected her. “Gingerbread men are cookies.”
    Liberty practically snarled at her. “If it weren’t for Toni’s stupid rule that we had to do this show, I’d be out the door.”
    As much as she hated to agree with her, Anya felt the same way. “Better a cookie than a rodent.”

Chapter 5
That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles

    The gingerbread scene was the most comical in the ballet. As lead gingerbread, Liberty