Chapter 35

I barely had any time to relax at home with Misty and Melody before it was right back to dancing... and Pyramid. Abby was clearly in a rush so she began quickly.

"Maddie. Group dance and trio, you were fine, no issues. You're better than just fine, or are you? I don't know."

Maddie flinched at the dismissive words, and I squeezed her hand in support.

"Next is Kendall, you were good in the group but that's all you had. Mackenzie, the trio won, I thought you were great. Ursula, you made a few mistakes and all three Juniors scored above you. In the middle, I have Brooke. You were beautiful in the trio. Nia- you did very well with your solo and in the trio and group. You're improving every week. Next is Chloé, you were a good leader in the trio, and your solo was strong. Next is Joanne, a perfect score and you taught Paige that solo. Good job."

I grinned over at Paige.

"On top of the pyramid, joining the perfect score club, is Paige. You wowed the judges, and I couldn't find anything wrong with your solo. The trio was great and I thought that you were a standout in the group." Abby's face dropped a bit. "This is a group of national champions. You have to place, you have to win. This week, we're going to both the Starbound competition in Paramus, New Jersey as well as the Joffrey audition. Maddie, Chloé Brooke and Joanne were the solo winners last time, but other than Brooke, I'm giving others the spotlight this time. Joanne and Chloé, you have a ballet duet, and you'll be competing as Teens. Paige and Mackenzie, you have a duet. Paige, you have a solo because you were the star last week. Nia, Ursula, Brooke and Kendall, you also have solos. The group dance is a dark piece called 'Hurt Them First.' Before we do any of that, though, I want to see where your ballet is at. Ursula and Joanne, you'll lead it. Chloé, you'll work on your YAGP pieces instead. Get ready for a late night."

This ballet lesson was clearly set up by the producers, because there was no way that doing basic movements that Kenzie could get without any problems would actually help. I decided to go a bit rogue.

"Let's learn a combination," I said. "Kenz, just do what you can, I know that you're the youngest. Let's start in first. Up to plié. Brooke, your back leg is bent. Go down out of that and set up a pirouette. Do one less than the maximum that you're capable of. Then chainé out of it, arms in second, pretty, ribs tight."

The producers didn't look thrilled, but Abby just watched as the dancers actually got experience learning a combination. My aunt had to ruin it by sticking her head in and complaining.

"Abby, can I talk to you?"

"Melissa, there is a lesson going on."

"Why doesn't Maddie have a solo? She's been working hard."

Abby rolled her eyes. "Yes, but so has everyone else. Now, your niece is leading this lesson, so you're being quite rude to her. Get out."

My aunt left, chastised. Abby turned to Maddie.

"Do you want a solo?"

"I mean, it would be nice to have one, but it's also nice to be able to focus on the audition," Maddie replied quietly. "I'm fine with it, I was at the bottom of the pyramid anyway."

"At least you're reasonable." Abby scoffed. "Okay, five more minutes then we need to move on."

Abby had clearly just thrown together the group dance, as not only was it easy but there was also a big prop. It was about people who were in jail, but the choreography didn't really tell a story. It was far from my favorite group, let's just say that.

After that, Abby started Chloé and I on our ballet duet. It was proper ballet, not just Lyrical, with little story and set to classical music. We were about halfway done with it when rehearsal ended, which was about right for a ballet duo.

Chloé, Nia, Maddie, Kendall and I ate dinner while the others rehearsed their dances. Christi stuck her head in the room.

"Hey Chlo, what do you think of the duet?"

Chloé smiled. "I really like it! It'll be a tough win with ballet in the Teen category but we can do it."

"I'm just worried it's too much while you're getting ready for YAGP."

Chloé shrugged. "This is something I'm going to have to learn how to manage, Ursula and Joanne can do it, and so can many others. Besides, Miss Abby's letting me just practice competition and YAGP dances this week over going to class."

"Good. I just want you to be ready."

"What is a YAGP competition like?" Maddie asked me when Chrisit had left. "Behind the scenes, I mean. They're pretty long."

"Quite a bit like a normal competition, it's just all ballet," I replied. "The biggest difference is the cuts and that they divide it up by age, so the younger dancers go first. It usually starts with the Pre-Competitive age category, so the Seniors have a long time to wait and will do homework or play board games in the meantime. There's a lot of nice people there. My favorite parts are always the master classes."

"I'd love to try and compete there next year," Maddie said. "My ballet teacher says that I'm almost ready for pointe shoes and I'd have plenty of time to learn a few pieces. Joanne, would you be able to choreograph my Contemporary piece if I do that?"

"If Miss Abby's okay with it," I replied.

The next day, Melody watched as Braxton and I practiced our pas de deux. She was mostly watching Braxton, actually, much to my amusement. Nyssa was on FaceTime, but we were both hypercritical so she only had half of a job to do correcting us. The biggest challenge so far was a lift that required me to hold a full split and Braxton to be fully stable. It was coming along rather slowly, but that was to be expected.

"Don't drop me," I warned Braxton for the fifth time in half an hour. "Or if you do, at least catch me. Maybe we should just move on for now, we do have a lot of other steps to work on."

I was a perfectionist at heart, and I loved having to spend extra time learning dances, as it was always more rewarding when I got it right. Braxton stuck around once we had finished practicing, and I looked between him and Melody, finally figuring out what was going on.

"Really? Since when are you dating?" "Just two days, I asked," Melody said with a laugh. "Sorry to steal your dance partner, Jo."

"So long as it's not during rehearsal," I shrugged. "Good for you."

Too soon, the Joffrey audition was here, and we were in New Jersey. I had to be there early as it turned out that I would be walking around and correcting those that were auditioning as well as showing the combination. There were many studios there, including the Candy Apples. I faced the growing group of dancers as they filed in, swallowing down my nerves. Somehow, my peers made me feel on edge. At least they were of all ages.

"Hello, everyone," Gary Wilson, who was one of the top teachers at Joffrey, began. "Thank you all for being here. We're excited to see what you can do. The dancer beside me is Joanne Ziegler- she was third at last year's YAGP final, recently won everything at the YAGP Paris semi-final, and is one of our lovely students. She is here to help me out, so be on your best manners. Let's begin."

We began with just a few basic moves, showing arm and foot positions, and holding balances for a few seconds. Ursula was one of the best at it, predictably, and helped out those around her. At one point, arguing between the ALDC and CADC broke out and had to be shut down, then it was time to learn the combination. I went through it slowly, then taught groups individually before turning to see how everyone was doing. Poor Kenzie was a little overwhelmed, as were some of the other young dancers.

"Kenz, simplify it if you can't do everything," I said. "That goes for everyone, it's best to be clean over trying something too hard for you."

Out of the ALDC and CADC, I would say that Paige, Maddie, Opal, and Erika were doing the best. Maddie was a bit stiff but clearly had more training than Paige, who was visibly trying to do her best and extending excellently. Paige was going for the Ballet scholarship and Maddie was going for the Lyrical scholarship, so they weren't up against each other today. Opal and Erika were simply beautiful ballet dancers who already had scholarships to ballet schools for the summer, so they were probably there to support their teammates and get audition experience, like Ursula.

Mr. Wilson called Ursula, Erika, Opal and I up to show the combination, then had groups go for a final look.

The individual auditions took a while and I was allowed to watch, making a few comments. All the ALDC dancers did well, with Nia in particular shining for her Lyrical audition.

"You're a good dancer," Mr. Wilson told her. "How long have you been doing ballet?"

"I started taking ballet classes at three, but I got sick two years ago and lost a lot of dance fitness," Nia explained. "I had to relearn how to walk and everything. I've been getting a lot better lately, though, partially with Joanne's help."

"I'm very proud of her," I said. "Not that I'm biased, of course."

"That's very impressive, young lady," one of the other teachers told Nia. "Keep up the good work, and please send Mackenzie in."

Kenzie ran to me and hugged me. "Kenz, you're sweet, but it's time to dance," I reminded her gently. The teachers just looked amused. Kenzie got called out for inappropriate choreography, and Maddie was a bit stiff and rushed. Paige did a great job with her dance, as did Brooke and Kendall, who seemed much more focused this week with a solo.

The competition was tense as Maddie especially was nervous for the Joffrey results. Nia was in a bit of pain due to the stress of the week, but was able to dance.

The call came to two mothers; Holly and Kelly. Brooke, unsurprisingly, got the Acro scholarship while Paige received the Ballet scholarship and Nia received the Lyrical scholarship. I was happy for them, and Maddie hugged each of them, but she was close to tears. I took her out on a walk while the solos got ready.

"It's okay to be disappointed, you know," I said gently once we were in private. "I know how much you wanted that scholarship."

Maddie nodded, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm happy for Nia. She works really hard and she deserves it. But I work hard too, and I used to be the favorite, and now I'm just not. Over a few bad solos? I don't get it."

"So you're more upset at not being the favorite." I nodded. "I think that while Abby is treating others better and that's a good thing, she's being harsh on you, and with little warning. You're nine, how are you supposed to handle it well? It's okay to cry, no matter what Abby says."

"I'm not a baby, and only babies cry."

"That's not true. At all. Abby's a good teacher, but you don't always need to follow every command. Just... don't tell her that I said that."

"Oh, no, I wouldn't." Maddie shook her head, fully crying now. "When are solos on?"

"Half an hour. Take a few deep breaths and go back when you're ready, no need to be all cheery, but at least act neutral. You'll be okay, Maddie, this will pass."

"Is Maddie okay?" Nia asked when I walked back in.

"Oh, yeah, she's just a bit stressed and needed a few minutes to herself to get regulated," I replied smoothly. "She'll be in the audience to watch all the solos and the duets. Speaking of which, Chloé, we should get dressed and run through our duet a few times."

I went backstage with the soloists, and made sure that each one was taken care of. Ursula was pretty self-sufficient and did not want anyone around her, so I just chatted with Brooke until she was in the wings and her name was called. She had a pretty Lyrical Acro solo and I thought she really shined onstage. Ursula went on directly after her and was uncharacteristically sloppy on her tricks, coming offstage with a bit of a grimace.

"Is it your ankle?" I asked her. She'd turned it in practice two days before and thought it was fine, but clearly it wasn't.

"That hurts, but I was just sloppy. Oh well. Good job, Brooke."

Nia was performing an extended version of her Joffrey audition piece, and the dance really suited her. Paige went on and was strong, but she looked a bit tired and her energy wasn't as high as her Jazz routine needed it to be. Kendall, meanwhile, went onstage and was a ball of energy, though she was sloppy technique-wise. Paige rushed off to get ready for the duet while Chloé and I ran through it in the hallway. A few cameras and the Candy Apples duet approached us. It was Opal and Ericka, and they were quite good.

"Ooh, you're doing ballet," Opal said. "I wish we could do that."

"Our dance is good, though, it's Jazz," Ericka put in. "May the best dance win, I guess. It'll probably be up to what the judges like anyway."

Ericka and Opal had a fun Jazz dance, but it just wasn't that competitive choreographically. Both could do much more and probably wouldn't place that well regardless of anything Chloé and I did. We went out and were in sync and technically accurate, which was good. Paige and Kenzie performed well, working together and showing lots of energy on their Jazz dance.

Neither the CADC or our group routine was great, to be honest. We didn't have good choreography, the props were in the way, and we weren't together. The Candy Apples were slightly less messy.

Kenzie and Paige won the Junior duet category, while Opal and Ericka were third in Teens and Chloé and I won, also getting the Extension award. The CADC duo seemed to be good sports about it.

"In third place in Junior solos, that's Miss Kendall from the ALDC with 'Sharp Moves!' She scored 291 points."

Kendall stood, grinning from ear to ear. Her proud father cheered her on in the audience.

"In second place, actually tying with Miss Kendall but with a higher Technique score, is Miss Paige from the ALDC with 'See Me!'"

Paige stood, satisfied enough with the result. It was still a great score.

"Your Junior Miss champion today, also winning the Spirit award and scoring 297 points, is Miss Nia with 'My Heart' from the ALDC!"

Nia jumped up, and Holly looked beyond proud. Chloé, handing out the awards as the reigning Junior national Starbound champion, hugged all of her teammates excitedly.

"Your second place Teen soloist, scoring 287 points, is Miss Ursula from the ALDC with 'Twister'!"

"That's alright," Ursula murmured to herself, standing to get the award. Again, still a good score for not her best dance.

"Your Teen Miss today, scoring 293 points and winning the Fluidity award, is Miss Brooke with 'Lovely!' The ALDC!"

Brooke was thrilled as she got her award, and Ursula cheered for her. Maybe she was getting her passion for dance back.

Again, the group had to put a pall over the day. We placed 10th while the CADC placed 9th, only beating us by a single point. "It's not a win if we both sucked," Opal summed it up.

Cathy had some fun waltzing into our dressing room and congratulating us on 10th place. "Congratulations on 9th," Christi shot back bitterly. "Besides, my eleven-year-old and Joanne beat your teenagers by ten points in the duet."

"Your duet deserved to win. It was great," Cathay admitted. "I only really cared about the group anyway. Until next time."

Despite the drama, it was a good week.