Chapter 76

I spent the morning that I got my new implants packing up what I needed for New York, which wasn't too much. Misty must have sensed that something was changing, because she sat on my bed and meowed at me with her big yellow eyes.

"You're coming too. I would never leave you," I promised her warmly, petting her head and making her purr. She was a good little companion.

I was looking forward to Pyramid even less than usual this week, because with Abby off caring for her mother, she'd tasked me with leading it and given me comment cards. I stepped to the front of the room to blank stares and cleared my throat before starting.

"So, Miss Abby's not here this week because Mrs. Miller is ill. I can hear now so I've been asked to do Pyramid. She gave me her comment cards. Um, we're going to Xpression Dance in Orlando, Florida. All of the soloists will be up for titles, and Miss Abby really wants a group win this week. Okay, onto pyramid. Brooke, you got third with your solo. I think you did really well, but that's where you are. Maddie, you got second to Mackenzie. I think that you didn't commit enough emotionally to the dance, the technique was there. Asia, Kendall, and Paige, you were in a group that got second. You did dance well, though. The first person in the middle is Ursula. You looked great leading the group, but it got second. Chloé and Nicaya, the duet was beautiful and you won. Nia, your solo was strong and you won. I'm next because- why did no one tell me about the perfect score?"

"Oh," my aunt laughed. "I guess you wouldn't have heard it. Sorry." The rest of the mothers chuckled.

"Cool. Well, good for me, I guess. All of you are below me for not telling me that I got a perfect score, then." This made the dancers laugh, too. "But, Kenzie won with Hip-Hop, so she's on top of the pyramid!"

Everyone clapped for my little cousin, and there were no arguments, much to my relief. "Asia is the Mini competitor this week. Chloé, Kendall and Nicaya are up against each other in the Juniors. Nia, you have a solo in the Teen division. Ursula and I are up against each other in Seniors. The group dance is Contemporary again. This week, James and Gia will be working overtime, so please be respectful and make sure to be on time and work hard."

Mothers and daughters nodded. I let out my breath. "Um... okay, the group is up first, then the solos."

The group dance was even less competitive than the week before, and you didn't have to be a choreographer to know that it was hastily thrown together. At least everyone learned it quickly and was much more together this time around.

I was able to learn my solo with James that evening. It was a dark Contemporary piece, which is what I was best at, called 'The Shadows.' The story was about a girl who was slowly being consumed by shadows, so the darkness of bad behavior and a dark path in life. It was strong, competitive, and required a lot of acting.

Ursula showed me her solo that night; it was a pretty Lyrical piece that was just movement, but she absolutely had the fluidity and technique to pull it off. She was probably the most versatile dancer on the team, as she was even a passable Hip-Hopper. There was a lot of value in doing something decently well, and she was incredibly flexible. You had to compete two solos for a title, so I would be repeating my Beatles solo from the week before. It would be nice to compete it when I could actually hear the music.

Interestingly, the moms called me up to Dance Jail when I had free time. I sat beside my aunt, a little on edge, and that proved to be an appropriate feeling.

"Why is Abby really gone this week?" Jill demanded. "I bet her mom's fine."

"Mrs. Miller is very ill," I said woodenly. "Miss Abby's place is by her side. If any of your family members were ill, you wouldn't be here, would you? I understand that you have conflicts with Miss Abby, but please respect this absence."

Holly nodded slowly. "I believe you. You did a good job with Pyramid, by the way. How did Abby rope you into that one?"

I scoffed slightly. "I asked to choreograph two dances for Nationals, so I'll be doing a solo for myself and a duet with Ursula and I."

Christi whistled. "You drive a hard bargain. I can't believe that she agreed. You may not be a favorite, but she does respect you more than the other dancers."

I nodded. "That's definitely true. I've tried to use it to help others, but there are limits."

"You didn't help Kendall. Why not do a duet with her?" Jill frowned. "She's earned it, she works hard."

"Kendall's a very hard worker, but so is everyone else," I pointed out. "Nationals will be my last competition and I've had that solo and duet in mind for ages. I don't think that Kendall would be right for a love story with me."

Jill pulled a face. "No, no, it would be a different duet."

I sighed. "Look, Kendall's a good kid and a good dancer. I just really wanted to do a duet with my girlfriend for my last competition, because that's a time where it's okay to be a little bit selfish. Kendall does have a shot at that Junior solo, so she could still have a second dance."

Jill huffed. "Whatever."

"Ignore her, Joanne," Kelly chimed. "We just wanted to know about Abby. Mrs. Miller likes you, will you visit?"

"Yes, I'm going to visit tomorrow," I confirmed.

The next morning, I stopped by the hospital where Mrs. Miller was staying. She had a cancerous, terminal tumor and wasn't in hospice quite yet. Still, she was older, and struggling with her health. Her face lit up when she saw me, especially because the cameras weren't around.

"Hello, Mrs. Miller," I said warmly. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, call me Maryen," she responded just as warmly. "Thank you so much for visiting. I'm alright, they're taking good care of me here."

I sat down beside her. She looked weak but she wasn't pale, and had gained a bit of weight since I'd last seen her. Abby stood from her chair and took a break, a sign of trust with her ill mother.

"I'm glad to hear that," I said. "Did they say why you needed to go back to the hospital?"

"They're worried about me being home alone during chemotherapy because of my age. I have a lovely private room. The man next door is very cute, though," she said cheerily. I laughed lightly. "So when am I going to meet this girlfriend of yours?"

"If you want her to come by, she can when not dancing because school is out," I responded. "Oh, did I tell you that my sister had her baby?"

"Oh, how lovely! Is it a boy or a girl?" "A little boy named Dustin. He's cute, and I enjoy playing with him. Melody and her boyfriend do a good job caring for him."

"I'm glad that the boyfriend stuck around. Boys that age can be afraid of commitment."

"Yeah, Braxton's responsible, and a good guy. I guess I'm a bit responsible for the pregnancy because Mel and he met after he became my pas de deux partner," I joked lightly. "They don't want to have any more kids until they're at least in their twenties, though." "Good." Mrs. Miller nodded. "You leave soon for New York, yes? How is the move going?"

"I don't have too much stuff in the first place, so it's not too hard to pack. I'll miss being in Pennsylvania but I'm ready to move on. This show has just thrown a wrench in everything."

"It's turning Abby into someone I don't recognize," Mrs. Miller said seriously. "I think that she'll drive herself- and those other dancers- crazy trying to replace you."

I nodded grimly. "Me too. The show is getting to the mothers too, especially Kendall's mom. I definitely wish that the show hadn't happened."

"Abby said that you wouldn't have as many opportunities without it."

I tilted my head. "I don't think that's true, because I've gotten a lot of attention through YAGP and that can't be put on the show at all. I was also modeling before all this began. That might be true for others, but it can be a two-sided coin. It's probably hurt Maddie's chances professionally, because the pressure's gotten to her a few times and she's acted out."

"You have a good head on your shoulders," Mrs. Miller reassured me. "I think you'll be just fine. Next time you come by, please bring Ursula."

"How's Mrs. Miller?" Ursula asked me when I got the the studio that afternoon.

"She's stable and seems pretty cheerful," I answered. "She wants to meet you soon."

"Oh, really? Sure, I should have time when I'm not dancing."

"Ursula, Joanne, get in here for the group dance," Gia reminded us. "Five minutes."

I was leading this group dance and had a good half of it as a solo part, which was odd because the others were doing just fine even on day two of rehearsal. Oh well, it wasn't worth arguing over. Asia did look a bit lost, so I helped her out in Studio F for half an hour after. Gia arrived then to work on Asia's solo, so I decided to help out with that too. Kristi sat in the corner, watching intently. I liked her because she didn't start drama but did defend her daughter, and she understood that Asia needed to make improvements. She wasn't upset when Asia got fair corrections.

Asia was being challenged with a Lyrical solo this week, and while her technique was coming along well, she lacked fluidity. That couldn't be learned overnight, but she was a hard worker and took corrections well. It was looking better by the time I left for dinner.

"Let me see this solo," Gia said later. I ran through it full-out and she nodded in approval. "That's good. You need to make it special, though, because Ursula's solo looks great. I think that you could do one less turn in the turn section, there isn't enough time in the music. I would also add more flow before the music changes. I have to say, I'm glad that you can hear the music this week because you don't know this song."

"Yeah, that would definitely make things a lot harder," I agreed.

Competition rolled around and we took a plane, which was much better than driving across the country. The drama was much lower without Abby around, though that probably wouldn't last.

All of our solos were up right after the other, with Ursula leading things off. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her onstage- I still couldn't believe that she was my girlfriend after almost two years of being together. I did lock into competition mode as she walked offstage, focusing in on what I needed to do. To my estimation I did the best I could and told the story well. Ursula and I congratulated each other backstage.

Asia did surprisingly well with her routine, giving good facials and putting as much fluidity into her movement as she could. It wasn't the best solo she'd ever done, but she had worked hard at it and put on a good performance as a result.

Nia followed up Asia with a somewhat basic but excellently executed Jazz routine. She looked like she was having a great time onstage and the judges were smiling, so that was a good sign. Chloé came on next with Musical Theater that had quite a bit of technique in it, and I thought it was amazing. She was gaining in confidence and dancing much freer now that she was almost off the show.

Kendall and Nicaya also did very well with their solos, Kendall expressing herself well with Jazz and Nicaya pulling off Contemporary. Everyone should be proud of themselves, I thought.

The group dance went smoothly as well, I thought. The second day of competition was dedicated to second solos and dance-offs, with everyone eligible making the cut for the top-20 dancers. At the filmed awards, Asia won, Chloé won and Kendall and Nicaya tied for second place, Nia won, and I beat Ursula by a point and a half. We both scored 297 or higher, and Chloé actually outscored Nia. The group dance won, which was a relief.

For the title, Asia won her category as did Chloé, with Nicaya getting third. Nia won the Teen Miss title and myself and Ursula went 1-2 for the Senior Miss title. It was a very successful weekend overall.