Chapter 69

Everyone was in a pretty good mood at Pyramid the next week, including Abby, but of course that didn't last long. "We had a clean sweep last week, and I saw a lot of good performances. I want to move forward, be better, always. This week, we're going to Powerhouse Dance Invitational in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There's going to be tough competition and the group dance is very special. First, though, the pyramid. On the bottom, Chloé. There was nothing really wrong with your solo, but it got third, and you just didn't shine. The duet was good."

Chloé nodded sadly, and Christi kept her mouth shut.

"Paige, I didn't get your character in the group routine. Kendall, same thing. Nicaya, you were beautiful, I thought that was the best Lyrical solo you've danced. I just can't put you higher for getting second place. Nia, you were good in the group, nothing special."

Holly frowned a bit but held her tongue.

"In the middle, Maddie, you shone in the duet. Brooke and Ursula, you looked strong, you committed to the dance, you won. Asia, you won the Mini division, but I saw a lot of silly mistakes, and the judges did too. Mackenzie, you got into the Junior division, you won, and you stood out in the group. But the only perfect score of the day came from Joanne."

I smiled as everyone clapped for me. "Joanne, you choreographed that dance, I barely helped you and it still got 300 points. That's admirable."

I'd probably helped my cause by not having her change the dance, I thought, but I just nodded and thanked her.

"Well, we go on, and this week it's trio week- except for Brooke and Ursula. You two will be facing off in the Teen division with solos. My trios are Mackenzie, Asia, and Kendall because you're my youngest and can go in the 8 and under division. Chloé, Maddie, and Nicaya, you'll be in the Junior division. Nia, Paige and Joanne, you three won Nationals with a trio a few years ago, so you'll be dancing together."

Everyone seemed pretty pleased with that. Abby's face became more serious.

"The group routine will be led by Brooke. It's entitled 'Living with the Ribbon.'"

Asia looked up at me. "Why's everyone so serious now?"

"That's a term for people who have cancer, specifically breast cancer," I explained. "Mrs. Miller, Miss Abby's mom, has cancer."

"Will she get better?"

Abby nodded at me to tell the truth, so I did. "It's not very likely, Asia."

Asia frowned and turned to Abby. "I'm really sorry. That's very sad."

Abby, now fighting tears, nodded at the girl. "It is. But maybe it's a part of life, hopefully no one else's. I want this group dance to be more than a competition dance, girls. It needs to touch people, it's not just for my mother. Understood?" Abby wiped her eyes. "I should get my pillowcase. I want to see my Mini trio first. My Junior trio, head to Studio F, Gia will teach you the dance. My Teen trio, James can teach you the dance in Studio G. Everyone be back here at five-thirty for the group. Brooke and Ursula, you'll learn your solos tonight."

Paige, Nia and I chatted excitedly on the way, as we hadn't done a trio in quite some time. "I hope that we get Jazz," Paige said.

"It'll probably be Contemporary," I guessed. "Any style would be fun."

I was right; we were doing a Contemporary piece called "The Golden Rule." I was the lead, playing someone abandoned by her friends, and eventually I left them behind. We all had individual parts and it was a great dance.

"Paige, watch your arms," James corrected. He was a clean professional, ignoring the cameras but allowing them space to work. "They get sloppy. Nia, you need to get your leg higher on the á la secondes. Joanne, slow them down before the leg hold turn, you can't look like that much of a better turner. Let's work on the sync on that leap."

The first group rehearsal went well, with Brooke doing great as the lead, but drama arose with the solos the next day. We figured out pretty quickly that Brooke and Ursula had the same solo, because they tended to practice together. It was a rather cheesy Acro solo, classic Abby, competitive enough.

"What did my mom say?" Brooke grumbled. "Ursula, you must be glad that your parents aren't here much. So much less drama."

Ursula laughed. "Yeah, my dad isn't too keen on coming back. Well, this'll be interesting. I don't love the song."

Bryan clearly wasn't happy. "Aren't you upset?"

Brooke shrugged. "Not really. It's an even playing field this way."

"Play it up, will you? This is for TV."

"My mom'll get upset, don't worry," Paige said. She was right; Kelly yelled at Abby right before group rehearsal, making her tense and snappy.

"Paige, your arms are sloppy. Fix it. Asia, you're a beat behind. Point your foot, Mackenzie! Nia, you need to be sad."

We all got the chance to see each other's trios before heading home. The Mini trio was trick-heavy Jazz. Kenzie made it look easy and Asia's energy was brilliant. Kendall was doing it technically the best, but really lacked energy.

"It's not cohesive, and it shows on the leaps and tumbling," I said.

The Junior trio was pretty Lyrical, but looked like three solos. At one point, Maddie nearly collided with Nicaya.

"It's messy," I said bluntly. "I saw three solos, and the spacing was way off."

Nia, Paige and I did well, and got positive feedback.

We arrived at the competition feeling good. Both Nia and I were competing older solos off the air, me as a Senior and her as a Junior. The competition was clearly aimed for the show, with producer interference, and I wasn't sure how it would go.

The trios were up first. Nia, Paige and I led off. Nia was nervous beforehand but we all did well, telling the story. We left the stage pleased then watched the Mini trio go, putting on a good performance and making their corrections. It wasn't brilliant but it would likely win their division.

I winced my way through the Junior trio. If anything, they'd gotten worse, and Maddie and Nicaya did bump into each other-twice. The only person who I actually enjoyed watching was Chloé.

"That was kind of bad," Nicaya said backstage.

"Yeah," Maddie agreed. "That was terrible, actually."

Brooke was on a few numbers later, doing her best to make the basic solo look good. It was boring but clean. Ursula was much more entertaining, clearly beating out Brooke to my eye.

Nia performed her off-air solo well, and I came on a few numbers after that for my Pinocchio solo, which was better than the first time I'd performed it as I practiced it for fun. Then I rushed off to change for the group, coming into the dressing room just as Abby was calling the trios for feedback.

"Ah, Joanne, good. I was just saying that you, Paige and Nia performed admirably. I thought that it was great. Kendall, Mackenzie and Asia. Kendall, the one issue that I had was that Mackenzie outdanced you, but it was better than rehearsal. Asia, you stepped up, good job. Mackenzie, you made that look easy. Now, my Juniors. Chloé, you looked good. Maddie and Nicaya, what was that? How could your spacing be that far off?"

Maddie bit her lip. Nicaya spoke up. "I'm sorry. The spacing was terrible, and we should have done better."

"Well, at least you can admit that. My soloists, both were good, we'll see what the judges have to say. This group routine is important, you all have to be amazing, yes? For my mother and anyone else who's ever had breast cancer."

We all nodded. Brooke put on an inspired performance, likely for her late grandmother, and everyone else was together and worked with the prop (a long ribbon) well. I was happy with my performance as well. The audience and judges really seemed to appreciate it and several of the mothers and Abby were crying. Awards followed that right after, and I was snacking subtly onstage.

"First place Mini Duo/Trio, that's entry number thirteen, Mackenzie, Asia and Kendall from the Abby Lee Dance Company!"

The Mini trio were happy, but Chloé, Maddie and Nicaya didn't place in Junior trios. As much as I felt for them, I would have been shocked if they had, the dance was that bad. Abby glowered from the audience.

"First place in Teen Duo/Trio, that's entry number eleven, Joanne, Nia and Paige from the Abby Lee Dance Company!"

We stood and gladly took the plaques. We were proud of ourselves.

"Your top Junior soloist today, by a whopping eight points, is entry number sixty-three, Nia from the Abby Lee Dance Company!"

Teen solos brought some tension, but the result was as I had expected, Brooke in second and Ursula in first.

"The champion Senior soloist today, scoring a competition-high 295.4 points, is entry number sixty-five, Joanne from the Abby Lee Dance Company!"

"Your top Junior group today, winning the 'Heart' judges' award, is entry number one hundred and five, the Abby Lee Dance Company!"

The Junior trio aside, it was a successful competition. Even better, there was a long break from filming up ahead, which I was very excited about.