Shell we dance, p.2
Shell We Dance?, page 2
Cam stood up, his face even redder than usual. “I was… um…”
Simon’s heart sank. The set was ruined. The costumes were a disaster. The dance was a mess. And Cam had been hiding instead of rehearsing.
“Everyone can go home,” Simon announced sadly. “Rehearsal is over.”
Then he turned and hurried away from the pavilion as fast as his fins would carry him.
7 Emergency Ice Cream
“Simon, wait!” Olive called. She caught up to him as he swam out of the park. “Are you all right?”
Simon was so upset that he couldn’t answer.
“Come on,” Olive said. “I think we need some emergency ice cream.”
Simon nodded. If there was one thing he could never resist, it was kelp ice cream.
They swam over to the Kelpy Cone and ordered double scoops of their favorite flavors. Then they found a bench outside and began to eat.
Simon was glad Olive didn’t bring up what had happened at rehearsal. Instead, she waited quietly until he was ready to talk about it.
When his kelp-chip ice cream started to work its magic, Simon began to feel a little better—and a lot embarrassed about how he’d acted.
“I’m sorry, Olive,” he said. “I shouldn’t have lost my patience and swam off like that. I just wanted everything to be perfect!”
Olive nodded. “I know. But did you notice that the others weren’t very happy during rehearsal?”
“Well, no…” But suddenly Simon remembered how tired everyone had looked.
“Is it possible you’re taking this dance a little too seriously?” Olive went on.
Simon stared into his empty ice cream dish. It was hard to admit, but maybe Olive was right.
“I can’t believe Cam was hiding behind the set during the whole rehearsal,” he said. “How did I not notice he was missing?”
Olive gave Simon a little smile. “You were so focused on getting all the details down, I think you forgot about some of the big stuff.”
“I guess you’re right.” Simon sighed.
Then he remembered what his dad had told him. The most important thing was for everyone to have fun. If that was the job of the group leader, he’d failed. He told Olive all this.
“Being a good leader takes practice, that’s all,” said Olive. “Just like the group needs time to get the dance steps right.”
Simon nodded. They had one more rehearsal left. Maybe he still had a chance to fix things.
“Olive, can you ask the group to meet at the pavilion for the dress rehearsal tomorrow?” Simon asked.
“Are you sure?” said Olive.
“Yes,” said Simon. Then he smiled. “And tell them to get ready for some fun!”
8 Simon Says Sorry
At the Seashell Pavilion the next day, Simon found the whole group waiting for him. But they didn’t look all that happy to be there.
As Simon faced his friends, he took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting,” he said. “I was so stuck on things being perfect that I forgot about having fun.”
Simon glanced at Olive. She gave him an encouraging nod.
“And I realized something else,” Simon went on. “I might be the group leader, but dancing will be a lot more fun if we all work together. So… I’d love to hear your ideas.”
Lionel’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Really,” said Simon.
Lionel smiled, and Simon was relieved that he didn’t seem upset anymore.
DeeDee perked up. “Well, I was thinking: What if we pair up to practice the dance? That way, we can help our partners with the steps.”
“Good idea, DeeDee!” said Simon. She was right—it would be a lot better than having the whole group do the dance over and over.
“I have an idea too,” Cam said, shyly raising his claw. “What if we practice with our sashes on? That way, we’ll be more used to them and won’t get tangled up again.”
“And what if,” Nix jumped in, “we put the smaller dancers in the front of the group and the taller ones in the back? That way everyone can see.”
Simon nodded. “And I was thinking we should change our song,” he said. “DeeDee was right. ‘The Bubble Bop’ is too fast.”
To Simon’s surprise, everyone looked disappointed.
“But I love that song,” said Nix. “I just wish we could keep up with it!”
Olive’s face lit up. “What if we switched songs halfway through the performance?” she said. “We can start with a slower tune during the tougher dance steps and save ‘The Bubble Bop’ for the big finish.”
Everyone cheered, including Simon. His friends had such great ideas. He wished he’d listened to them sooner. In fact…
Simon turned to Lionel. “Could you teach us all the Lionel leap today? Maybe we can do it as part of the big finale.”
Lionel grinned. “Sure!”
“All right,” said Simon. “We have a lot of work to do, so let’s get started!”
Everyone spread out and started practicing. Simon went around, cheering on the pairs and showing them the steps if they asked for help.
As Simon watched the groups working, he realized this was the best rehearsal they’d ever had—and the most fun.
9 Working Together Is Better
After the dress rehearsal, everyone was in much better spirits—including Simon. But they still had to fix the broken sets and figure out the costumes.
Simon swam over to where DeeDee was packing up the headpieces.
“You were right,” he told her. “You warned me the headpieces would be too heavy, and I didn’t listen.”
“They did look great, though,” DeeDee said with a smile.
Simon sighed. “It’s too bad we can’t use them.”
DeeDee thought for a moment. “What if we took off some of the shells and glitter? Then the headpieces won’t be as heavy.”
“Good idea!” said Simon.
Together, he and DeeDee carefully peeled off the larger shells and scraped off some of the glitter. When they were done, the headpieces were still sparkly—but they were much lighter.
Next, Simon swam over to where Lionel and Nix were getting the sets ready to move to the school for tomorrow’s show.
“Some of the sea fans broke when they fell over,” Nix said. “I don’t think we can fix them in time.”
“I’m sorry, Simon,” Lionel added. “I know you wanted the sets to be extra special.”
Simon didn’t answer right away. He was busy looking at the backdrop that Lionel and Nix had painted. It was simple but beautiful. Why had he ever thought they needed to add to it?
“Your sets are perfect,” said Simon. “We don’t need anything else.”
Together, Simon, Nix, and Lionel moved all the sea fans off the stage. Now they had a lot more room to dance.
Finally, Simon swam over to where Cam was carefully folding the sashes.
“Cam, you looked great in rehearsal today,” Simon said. And it was true. Cam might not have gotten all the steps right, but he’d clearly been working hard.
“Thanks,” Cam said. “You know, I never thought I’d like dancing. But the way we all came together today, it made me really proud to be part of the group.”
“I’m sorry if you felt left out before,” said Simon. “No wonder you hid behind the backdrop yesterday.”
To Simon’s surprise, Cam laughed. “You should have seen the look on your face when you found me back there!”
“Oh yeah,” Lionel called from across the stage. “It was priceless!”
The others started laughing too, and Simon couldn’t help but join in.
He’d missed joking around and having fun with his friends. He’d been so busy acting like the group leader that he’d almost forgotten how great it felt to be part of the group.
10 The Grand Finale
The day of the Coral Grove Elementary School Showcase finally arrived.
At breakfast, Simon tried to eat his kelp waffles, but his stomach was woozy with nerves.
“Remember,” Simon’s dad told him as he swam out of the house, “the most important thing is that you have fun today.”
Simon smiled. “Trust me. I won’t forget this time.”
At school, everyone was buzzing with excitement. Simon checked the performance list and saw that his class would be going last. Ugh. How was he going to wait that long?
But the other performances were so good, Simon soon forgot about his nerves. He watched in amazement as the other groups recited poems, juggled bubbles, and did magic tricks. Simon had no idea there was so much talent at his school!
Finally, it was time for Simon’s group to perform.
Simon checked that the backdrop was in the right spot behind the curtain. Then he pulled on his sash and headpiece and took his place on stage.
“Have fun, everyone!” Simon whispered to his friends.
The curtain went up, the music turned on, and they started to dance.
They did the sea shuffle, the jellyfish jumper, the electric eel slide, the whale walk, and the guppy grapevine. Simon barely noticed what his fins and tail were doing—it was all going by so fast.
Finally, “The Bubble Bop” came on, and it was time for the big finish. Simon and his friends turned and twirled. As the music ended, they all did the Lionel leap together.
There was a moment of silence. And then the audience erupted in applause.
As Simon and his group took a bow, the audience gave them a swimming ovation. Someone even tossed sea flowers on the stage! Simon scooped up the flowers and handed them out to his friends.
They all linked tails and fins and claws and took one last bow together before swimming off the stage.
“We did it!” Simon cried.
The group cheered. Then they all started talking over each other.
“I went the wrong way during the whale walk!” Nix said.
“I did the sea shuffle too early!” Lionel said.
“I almost fell during the Lionel Leap!” Olive added.
But no one seemed upset about their mistakes. In fact, they were all laughing and smiling, just like Simon was.
Maybe the performance hadn’t gone exactly as planned, but it felt like everything was just right. And most of all, Simon knew he would always remember how much fun he’d had with his friends.
SIMON’S STORY
A long, long time ago, there was a seahorse named Shelly. She loved to dance—and she was amazing at it. She could do triple-tail spins and sideways shuffles, and she could make up a dance on the spot. One day, a squid named Queenie challenged her to a dance-off. All of Coral Village gathered to watch. Shelly started first by doing a double-fin wave into a bubble bounce. Queenie copied her moves. Then it was Queenie’s turn. She did an upside-down spin and a move called the sea sway. Shelly copied her. They were tied all the way up until the end. Then, at the last minute, they decided to do their final move together. They linked tail and tentacle and did a triple-flip step, a tentacle tap dance, and a seahorse slide. And the crowd went wild!
THE END.
More from this Series
Dragon Dreams
Book 7
Simon Says
Book 1
I Spy . . . a Shark!
Book 2
Don't Pop the Bubble…
Book 3
Summer School of Fish
Book 4
Into the Kelp Forest
Book 5
Keep reading for a preview of
Dragon Dreams
by
Cora Reef
“Olive, look what I found!” Simon Seahorse called over a driftwood bookshelf in the school library. “It’s a story about sea monsters!”
His best friend, Olive Octopus, smiled. “I found some good ones too,” she said. Her arms were loaded up with books. “Let’s go check these out.”
Simon curled his tail around the sea monster book and started to swim after Olive. But just then he heard whispering, and he was pretty sure the words “sea dragon” were mentioned.
“Psst, Olive!” Simon whispered, waving her over with his fin. “Down here!”
They swam to the end of the fiction aisle. There, they spied their classmates DeeDee and Lionel having a hushed conversation.
“I heard the sea dragon can see the future!” DeeDee was saying. “But only if you’re lucky enough to find him.”
Simon couldn’t wait a moment longer. He needed to know more! He burst out from behind the bookshelf and cried: “Sea dragon? Who? Where?”
“Ahh!” DeeDee shrieked in surprise, almost falling out of her seat.
Olive hurried over. “Shh! We’re in the library, remember?”
“Oops, sorry.” Simon lowered his voice. “Can you tell us more about this sea dragon, DeeDee?”
Continue Reading…
Dragon Dreams
Cora Reef
About the Author and Illustrator
CORA REEF has been telling tales for as long as she can remember. She might not have grown up in a large family like Simon’s, but her big imagination has always kept her company. Cora lives near Boston, Massachusetts, with her family, where she is never far from the ocean.
JAKE MCDONALD graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in illustration and now specializes in digital illustration for kids. Taking a playful approach to illustration, Jake is inspired by all things storytelling, from board games to Studio Ghibli. He credits a childhood meeting with Chris Riddell for showing him the potential for the career that he loves.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Cora-Reef
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Jake-McDonald
Little Simon
Simon & Schuster, New York
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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First Little Simon hardcover edition October 2022
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978-1-6659-1217-4 (hc)
978-1-6659-1216-7 (pbk)
978-1-6659-1218-1 (ebook)
Cora Reef, Shell We Dance?
