Chapter 6

Madeleine didn’t believe in ghosts. At least that’s what she told herself all night alone in her room.

It didn’t work. She barely slept a wink. She kept remembering the hallway’s strange shadows and the footsteps she had heard on the other side of the curtained French doors. She remembered looking out the window and seeing the bronze dancer twisting grotesquely in the shadows.

For a while, she wondered if Ophelia was just messing with her. But she had always trusted her instincts, and they told her that Ophelia owed her one and knew it. And she had a feeling that not only did Ophelia not want to owe her but also that she might even want to be her friend.

The thought brought a smile to Madeleine. Maybe the academy wouldn’t be so horrible after all. She had two maybe-friends, at least one great teacher, and a helluva grand jeté. This could be a great school.

Even with a ghost.

The next morning, Madeleine walked shyly into the studio, ten minutes later than she normally did, her eyes a dark baggy mess. A quick look at Ophelia and Madeleine knew she hadn’t slept well either. When their eyes met, Ophelia said, “Madeleine, put your stuff here.”

Madeleine had to hold in her surprised grin.

“Madeleine, this is Emma and Sophie,” Ophelia said, waving to two other girls in her corner. They’re twins, fraternal.” Madeleine couldn’t believe how different they looked. Emma had red hair and freckles. Sophie had super dark hair and eyebrows, dramatic against her pale skin. The only thing the two girls had in common were their startling blue eyes.

“Hi, Madeleine,” they said perkily, in unison. Madeleine tried not to be freaked out.

“And this is Kayley,” Ophelia said. Kayley winked at Madeleine, her brown eyes twinkling.

“Oh, Madeleine and I had a heart-to-heart in English.” She grinned at Ophelia, who did her best to remain haughty looking. “I was telling her that you suck in a lot of ways, but you’re no thief.”

Kayley took out a Twizzler and started eating it. Ophelia snatched it away.

“This is going to make you sugar crash, and you know Madame is going to make us fouetté a billion times today.” She threw the half-eaten Twizzler in the garbage, ignoring Kayley’s indignant, “Hey!”

Ophelia turned to Madeleine. “Kayley may be a little blunt and misguided, but she’s right. I didn’t steal anything. Which brings me to my next point.”

Madeleine leaned in. The other three girls did too.

“Madeleine, when was your necklace stolen?” Ophelia continued.

“The first night I was here.”

“Yes, but when?”

Madeleine paused for a second. “It happened during dinner. I didn’t go down to eat, but I sort of half-explored the hallway.”

Ophelia shot a knowing look at the other girls, who all nodded. “We all had something stolen at the same time. Ours was during dinner, when we were in the dining room. So I think later on tonight, we go exploring.”

Madeleine crinkled her eyebrows. “Where? We have no idea who might be doing this and no idea where to look.”

Ophelia leaned in. “Well, I don’t think it’s the girls here, because there’s no way anyone can hide anything for long in this place. And the boys can’t even access this wing.”

“Seriously,” Kayley said. “Everyone is in everyone’s business. You can’t sneeze without somebody knowing.”

“So we can rule out the second floor,” Ophelia said. She flipped her hair. “And none of our things were super expensive or anything. They just meant something to each of us.”

It was true, Madeleine thought. Her necklace wouldn’t be worth anything to anyone else. It was just something personal for her. She wondered what had been stolen from everyone else.

She asked Kayley, “What was stolen from you?”

“A pair of gloves I got from my grandma. They’re all torn and stained, so no one would want them. Except me, because my grandma passed away two years ago.” For once Kayley’s mischievous grin disappeared. Emma rubbed her shoulder.

Madeleine looked at Emma and Sophie. “And you two?”

“Our grandpa’s pocket watch,” said Emma.

“Our grandma’s locket, with a picture of her and our grandpa together. It plays ‘Let Me Call You Sweetheart,’” said Sophie.

Kayley rubbed the twins’ shoulders in turn.

“Yeah, that’s weird,” Madeleine said. “They’re all old or something too. Has anyone else had anything stolen?”

Ophelia waved her hand. “Oh, who cares about anyone else? The main thing is we have.” As Ophelia leaned in, Madame Puant entered the room and tapped her cane on the ground.

“Barre work, everyone! You were sloppy yesterday, and I want to see perfect turn out, perfect pointed toes, and deep pliés. No cheating. That means you, Kayley.”

Kayley rolled her eyes and looked to her bag. Probably for another Twizzler, Madeleine thought.

Then Madeleine realized she hadn’t even put on her shoes. She sat down fast and began suiting up.

While the piano player came in and started warming up with some scales, Emma, Sophie, Kayley, Ophelia, and Madeleine rushed to tie up their pointe shoes.

“Madeleine’s right,” Ophelia whispered. “Everything stolen was old and family-related but nothing expensive. So who would want to steal these things?”

All four of them shrugged.

Ophelia’s eyes sparkled. “A ghost, that’s who! So tonight we go ghost hunting.”

When Madame slammed her cane into the ground again, all five of them jumped.