‘You are the dancing queen,’ Laura’s voice sang out among the trees as Charlie practised the dance at school.

There was a spot, right up the back of the pine tree area, that was almost hidden from view. It was the only place at school where Charlie didn’t feel too shy to dance.

Sometimes, someone would run past playing chasey, but usually the other kids didn’t go near them.

As Charlie danced, the dry pine needles kicked up around her feet.

Kick and lean back … swivel on two feet …

Charlie was getting used to the speed of the dance now. She had been practising for weeks. At night she would pull open the curtains in the lounge room, and use the windows as mirrors.

She must have done the dance a hundred times by now!

In fact, she had practised so many times that it didn’t even feel fast anymore. The dance just felt happy and free.

Sometimes, Charlie even felt like she had time within the dance to reach out that bit further or to kick a bit higher.

Time, even, to dream that she was the Dancing Queen.

As Laura hummed the end of the song, Charlie leapt to the side of her pretend stage for the end of the dance.

‘Yay, Charlie!’ Laura clapped. ‘You make it look easy.’

Charlie smiled and shrugged.

The dancing was easier now. In fact, her old ballet training had come in handy. But she still didn’t feel like she fitted in at the new dance school.

‘Bet you’re the best in the class,’ Laura said.

Charlie let out a small laugh and shook her head.

Then Laura started singing again. ‘Charlie’s the dancing queen, shy and sweet, see her tiny feet!’

They both laughed and sat down on the roots of a tall pine tree.

‘I’ll never be the best in the class,’ Charlie said after a while.

‘Yeah, right!’ Laura started pushing pine needles into a big pile.

‘I’m not …’ Charlie searched for the right words. ‘I’m too … different.’

Laura shifted over so that she was sitting on her pile of pine needles like it was a cushion.

‘That’s just because you’re new,’ Laura said. She started pushing more pine needles into a new pile.

Charlie shrugged. She wasn’t so new anymore. The trendy girls didn’t tease Charlie now, not like that time with the bathers. But they still weren’t very nice to her, either.

They never said hello or bye to Charlie. They were always too busy giggling and whispering in a group.

When Charlie finally came to class wearing proper dance shoes, the trendy girls hadn’t even noticed!

She didn’t have any idea how to make them like her. She still didn’t know how to fit in.

But after weeks of classes at the new dance school, Charlie did know one thing.

She knew that she loved to dance.

‘Your throne, my lady,’ Laura said in a posh voice. She pointed at a new pile of pine needles.

Charlie giggled.

Then she sat on her throne, laughing and pretending to be a queen.