Hopes and Dreams Read Online Free PDF

words because there’s truth in them, whether I want to admit it or not. ‘Thing is, Jodie, if you mess up and waste this opportunity I don’t know if I can ever forgive you. It’s what we’ve both dreamt of for as long as I can remember. I’ve blown it, but you haven’t – you still have everything to play for. Don’t wimp out, OK? Give it all you’ve got. Heart and soul.’
    Relief floods through me, hope taking hold again after the longest time. I can’t stop smiling. It will be New Year’s Eve in just over a week, and I know already what my resolution will be.
    Heart and soul – that simple, that life changing.
    And, just as simply, my friendship with Summer patches itself up, good as new. All the awkwardness and tension that crowded in when she began to get ill, the guilt that swamped me when I was given a place at the academy, the polite, one-way letters – all of that is wiped away.
    Outside, fat white flakes of snow are beginning to fall … a white Christmas.
    We exchange prezzies; a glittery pink scarf for Summer, a silver heart charm bracelet for me. It’s getting late by now, the waitress quietly stacking chairs and wiping tabletops. Outside, I see the glow of headlights as Dad’s car draws up to the kerb.
    We stand, pulling on our coats, paying our bill, and head for the door. Outside in the snowy street we cling together in a lingering hug, and even through her coat I can feel how thin Summer is, just skin and bone, a wisp of a girl who might blow away in the blizzard.
    I no longer feel like I’ve stolen her dreams, her future. Instead, I promise myself I will do everything I can to make the most of the chance I’ve been given. I’ll do it for both of us.
    ‘I’m glad we got to catch up,’ I whisper. ‘You’re amazing, Summer. Get well, OK?’
    ‘I’m trying,’ Summer promises. ‘I’ll write. And remember – heart and soul.’
    I watch her walk along the street, alone in the streetlights, slender, bird-like, picking her way carefully through the freshly fallen snow. We are on different paths these days, Summer and I, but I think our friendship will survive whatever lies ahead.
    5th March
    Dear Summer,
    Thanks for your last letter. I was so glad to hear that Honey’s home, and that you’re starting to feel better. Your Valentine’s Day surprise with Alfie sounded amazing! Sebastien and I had a candlelit picnic in this derelict summerhouse we know; not quite as cool as your day out, but still pretty awesome.
    Anyway, you asked how things were going and the answer is that, finally, things are going great.
    Heart and soul … that’s my new mantra these days. Madame Rochelle says it’s like having a different person in class, and my contemporary dance tutor, Joe Nash, says I have a rare quality, an intuitive, instinctive talent. Me, Jodie Rivers … who knew? All this time I’ve been pushing and pushing with the classical ballet, but I honestly think contemporary dance might be my thing. I am loving it so, so much!
    It’s all been kind of crazy here and I never seem to have a minute to myself. I don’t mind, though – it’s brilliant. I’m starting to feel like I actually fit in. And last week something really exciting happened … we’re putting on a contemporary dance production called
Spring Awakening
that we’ve created and choreographed ourselves with lots of improvised scenes and dances, and Sebastien and I have the leading roles. I am having to pinch myself every five minutes to remind myself it’s true!
    Me, finally, centre stage!
    Love you lots,
    Jodie
    xxx

6
    How do you open up and let your feelings show when you’ve spent a whole lifetime hiding them away? It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s about learning to trust, learning to let go of the fear that people will laugh or frown or turn away if they see what lies behind the mask of friendly politeness.
    Love, fear, anger, sorrow … they’re not so scary any more, not now I have stopped burying them and begun