Page 5 of Fire Dancing For Icey Dragons

"We need something that makes us stand out from all the other cheer squads," I say. "And we don't have it."

Yuri looks over the squad who are breaking away and getting ready to head back to their dorms or the library or wherever else they plan on going. "I see your point."

"I just don't know how to fix it," I admit. "You can't tell anyone, obviously."

"Obviously," she repeats. "Can't have the cold cheer captain be seen as weak."

"I'm not cold," I mutter.

"You're literally an ice dragon. It's not your fault that some of that carries through to your personality."

I roll my eyes, trying not to be too hurt by what she's saying, even if I know that's what some of the squad think of me. "Not helpful."

"All right, what can we do?" Yuri asks. "We could watch every cheesy cheerleading movie that's ever been made for ideas."

I snort. "If we listen to those, then all we need to do is try a load of different types of dance until we find the right one to mix into our routine."

"Okay, so why can't we do that?" she asks slowly. "If we're looking for the thing that makes the Sapphire Sparks unique, then that's one way to find it."

"What? Are you serious? You want me to go up to the society for salsa dancing and ask them to teach a load of cheerleaders how to do it?"

Yuri shrugs. "Why not? It's only the same as blowing our budget on team-building exercises."

Without meaning to, my mind goes back to the food festival and watching the fire dancers perform. Ihadbeen admiring the way they moved and comparing some of it to what we did when we cheered. "You know what, yeah. Let's do it. We should see which societies have time to teach us things and go from there. You'll help me send out the emails, right?"

"Sure. I have a date at seven, but after that I'm yours."

"Should you be going at all if you think you'll end up in my room?"

Yuri rolls her eyes. "It's afirstdate, it's not going to end anywhere else. You know I don't do that."

"No, you just wait until the second date," I tease.

"I do not," she protests. "But that's immaterial. Expect me around nine, and none of that decaf stuff you drink, I want proper caffeine."

"We live in the same flat, you can make coffee from your own cupboard."

"I want you to make it for me if I'm going to help you out."

"All right, you've got a deal." I'm not sure if what she's suggesting is going to work, but we have to trysomethingif we want to win the cheer competition, and this is as good as anything. And with a few months to go, there's still a little bit of time for us to experiment with. I just hope this isn't about to blow up in our faces.

Chapter 4

BLAZE

I head into Pixie Cups and order a cappuccino from the barista behind the counter. I turn around, spotting the person I'm supposed to be meeting coming inside the coffee shop as I do.

Zara gives me a tentative smile and pushes a strand of pale blonde hair behind her ear. "Hi," she says.

"Hey. What do you want to drink?"

"Earl Grey, please, with a slice of lemon and no milk," she says straight to the barista. She taps a few things on her phone and holds it out, clearly intending to pay.

"I can get these," I say.

She shakes her head. "You're meeting me as a favour, I can't let you pay for your drink."

I want to argue with her, but let her do as she wants. Shedoeshave a point. I am meeting her as a favour, but it still feels wrong to let her pay for my coffee.

---