Part 9 (1/2)

I feel a soft paw on my shoulder and turn to see Jackson. I'm lost in his eyes when Cinnamon nearly knocks me over with her enthusiasm.

'Hey, can I come to the dojang tonight with you and Elecktra?' she asks. 'I can be your wing-woman with Mr Axe,' she whispers into my ear so Jackson doesn't hear.

'Cim!' I shush her.

'We need as many fighters as we can find,' Jackson says.

Cinnamon claps her hands and runs back to her House. I watch her showing another Gate Two her hammer-throw technique.

'Well, she's turned over a new leaf,' Jackson says.

'She's a new tree,' I say.

'Don't worry too much about Elecktra,' he says. 'I reckon she'll show us who she really is soon enough. Don't stress.'

He's right. Elecktra will be a ninja when she's ready to be a ninja. She's too busy being Lecky now. All I can do until then is support my sister, starting with her viewing party this afternoon.

'Want to come to a viewing party for the Teen Choice Awards?' I ask.

Jackson looks at me crookedly and I laugh.

'Nah, man. I think I'll leave it to the girls. I've seen Elecktra's blog and I'm not a fan of her Rug Report,' he says.

'Well, I don't think she needs your fas.h.i.+on advice anyway,' I say, pointing to his bunny tail. He winks.

We walk across the oval with my hobbyhorse. A black shadow crosses our path. I look up into the sky, but it's overcast.

'The town is filling with shadows,' I say, patting Maheadabell.

Jackson squeezes my hand with his purple fluffy paw. 'And these shadows have no suns.h.i.+ne,' he says.

I race home to watch the Teen Choice Awards at Elecktra's viewing party, which consists of me, Chantell and Elecktra. Elecktra has made fairy bread and Chantell has brought over soft drink. They are best friends again, as if nothing ever happened.

'Shut up,' Elecktra says to me. It's not even five minutes into the party and Lecky is being mean. Her moods are driving me nuts. I never know if she's going to hug me or hit me.

'Lecky, I didn't say anything,' I say, taking a seat on the couch.

'Your face said it all. This is a viewing party, not a point-of-view party. So take your status updates somewhere else, thank you,' she says. If Chantell wasn't here, she'd be all nice to me, I bet. What is it with Gate One? They care so much about what other people think that they don't think for themselves.

'I don't think Mum would want us -'

'Celebrating the world's greatest talents, fas.h.i.+on and ”girl stole my looks”?' Elecktra interrupts. 'Of course she does! This is the kids' Oscars.' She points to the red carpet of the Teen Choice Awards.

I was going to say Mum wouldn't want us eating fairy bread and drinking soft drink. Lucky she's out and Art doesn't mind.

Chantell and Lecky erupt with anger over a teen girl blowing a kiss to the camera. She's wearing a tank top, miniskirt and ankle boots.

'Is she kidding? Who would wear a statement necklace with those accents? That bag and those shoes. And the ugly hair extensions. Chantell!' Lecky screeches.

Chantell lifts panicky eyes from the laptop on her knees. 'Internet's dropped out.'

Elecktra rushes over to the laptop and hits the keys. 'My blog!' she screams. 'I can't live like this! I need the comfort of everlasting internet access to function.'

I'm sure no one's dying to read Lecky's Rug Report, but she's treating it like a triple-zero emergency. 'Geez, what a party,' I mutter.

'It's him!' Chantell squeals, pointing at the boy on the TV. 'Yay! And internet's back on.'

'Star light, star bright,' Elecktra sings. 'He's nailed it!' Her cheeks heat jam red and her feet lift off the ground in excitement.

'Lecky!' I hiss. She realises her mistake and drops onto the arm of the couch. Chantell is oblivious, madly typing Elecktra's Rug Report.

'Ten out of ten,' Elecktra dictates to Chantell.

Elecktra must start training. She can't control her levitation. What happens if she spots a pair of shoes she likes in a magazine and flies off into the trees at lunchtime?

I stride over and pull the cords out of the back of the TV. The screen flicks blank.

'Roxy!' Elecktra moans.

'Party's over.' I shrug. I'm sick of Elecktra only being nice to me when no one else is around. I'm taking charge. 'I really need you to come to the dojang with me now,' I say.

Elecktra disappears behind the TV, but can't figure out which of the cords fit into the yellow, white and red holes. Chantell is busy blogging. I'm not sure she's noticed me at this 'party' yet.

'Will Jackson be there?' Elecktra asks, poking her head out from behind the TV.

I purse my lips. 'Yeah, think so.'

'Then I'll come,' she agrees.

'5pm at the dojang,' I tell her.

'Art!' she screams upstairs. 'TV broken!'

I hear Art's footsteps and flash invisible to walk up to my room. Lecky is too busy fiddling with the TV to notice and I don't exist to Chantell anyway. Reading the Ninja News is more fun than a viewing party, I reckon.

TEN.

'Welcome to the dojang,' Sabomin greets Cinnamon, Elecktra and me at the door of the practice hall in his Taekwondo uniform, his frayed black belt tied low under his belly. I tell Lecky that 'Sabomin' means 'Instructor' in Korean.

'I thought he would look more like a GI Joe,' she whispers, looking at him the way she watches doc.u.mentaries. Real life is a disappointment to her. 'I'm Elecktra,' she says loudly to Sabo.

'Elecktra,' he says, shaking her hand, 'strong name.'

Strong, yeah, but I reckon it sounds more like a brand of nail polish. Lecky smiles.

We stand behind the dojang doors, peering through the gla.s.s at Jackson teaching a cla.s.s of twenty ninjas how to run up a wall. I'm so happy to finally have Cinnamon's eyes eagerly devour every inch of the room. She is still glowing after her win at the sports carnival today and hasn't taken off her crowning glory - her lucky cowboy hat.