Chapter 42

Braxton was late to our rehearsal that Monday, and by how ruffled his hair was when he eventually came down, both Nyssa and I knew why. He and Melody were smitten with each other and had been making out (and considering going further) lately.

"Mr. Jones, this is highly unprofessional," Nyssa frowned. "Don't let it happen again."

"I won't," Braxton said, clearly embarrassed. "Mel-"

"I don't want to know," I cut him off hurriedly. "Can we just dance?"

Being back en pointe felt natural, especially since I'd let my body recover after the YAGP final. Braxton and I marked out a few new pieces before we started learning our individual pieces for the next season.

"You can go for a very difficult Classical dance because you have many months to learn and perfect it," Nyssa said to me. "I think that you should try the Le Bayadere Three Shades Variation."

I took that in. "That's a high-level Senior variation."

"You have the ability and work ethic. I'll only teach you the first ten seconds now because that's all the time we have, and you can take it as slow as you need to."

There was an interesting shift in the classes that I was taking at the ALDC; I was only down to three non-Ballet classes, and one of them was Contemporary. Much of it needed to be on my own, as there was no one else at my level at the studio. I also took Jazz and Lyrical. It made it much easier to make time for Pyramid.

"We beat the Crab Apples last week," Abby began. "I was pleased with most of you. This week we're going to Starbound in Atlanta, Georgia, and I expect the group to win. It's Lyrical, a winning number. This week, everyone but Joanne, Ursula and Nia will be auditioning for a role on the show Drop Dead Diva. Onto the pyramid. She knows it, on the bottom of the Pyramid is Maddie. You forgot and froze, no more solos for you this season. Next is Brooke, your spacing was off in the group, and that dance should have been easy for you. Kendall, you blended in the group, all good. Paige, second place in your solo, the first to lose. In the middle is Mackenzie and Nia, the duet won, it was great. Ursula, a few mistakes but you beat Peyton and Taylor. I thought those turns were strong in the group, and you kept up with older dances. Joanne, you had the overall high score, beat Opal and Erika, and looked like the best of that group. On top of the pyramid, though, is our Junior winner Chloé. You were beautiful in your solo and in the group."

We all clapped for Chloé.

"This week, Joanne will not have a solo but will be choreographing for Kendall, Chloé and Nia as well as Ursula. Brooke and Paige, you have a duet, it's been a while since you've done one together. Moms, you're dismissed, and after the group rehearsal Joanne has Studio A."

"How is Joanne going to choreograph for Ursula if she can't do all the Acro tricks?" Christi asked. I sighed then responded.

"This isn't an Acro solo. Even if it was, I'd just talk her through the harder moves for me."

"Mom, please, just go upstairs," Chloé practically begged Christi, who scoffed and left the room.

"Why am I not auditioning for Drop Dead Diva, Miss Abby?" Nia asked.

"The role is for a white girl," Abby explained. "A blonde white girl, so even Maddie, Kendall and Brooke don't really fit."

"Oh, okay, I see. Could I still audition just for practice?"

"Go right ahead. Let's get started on the group."

This dance was much the same as last week, except that it was already tighter after the first rehearsal and it was with a boy, Nick Dobbs, for lifts. I was the lead and had a few solo parts, though there wasn't much of a story. After that, I had Kendall come into the studio. "I'm giving you a Lyrical solo this week. It's called 'The Path' and it's about someone who's on a journey. It's a bit abstract. Start with your back to the judges, cheating it so that your shoulder is showing to them. Yes, good. Extend your right leg as far as you can, arm in parallel..."

I led Kendall through the piece for forty-five minutes, ate dinner, and then Ursula came in for her solo.

"This is my first Joanne solo, I'm excited," she said. I smiled at her.

"I'm not going to go easy on you."

"I wouldn't want you to."

"Alright then, this solo is called 'Torn Apart' and you're playing someone who is torn between two things. Imagine what they might be. It's a rather angry solo."

I went through the dance alongside Ursula, who picked it up then went off to keep working on it while I called Nia in. "Okay, Nia, I'm excited to work with you again. You're a powerful dancer so I want to use that in this dance. It's called 'Stand Up' and you're an activist, for a cause that you can pick, and you're leading a march or demonstration."

"I want to do women's rights."

"Sounds great. Let's start."

Nia was highly committed to the routine from the start, and danced beyond her years. The solo was Open, with a few tricks but also a strong story. "I don't normally put walking in a solo, but at the end, I want you to walk forwards and come up with something powerful to say. You're working on poetry in school right now, right?"

"Yeah, I could ask my teacher for help."

That would be best, I'm pretty good at English but am no poetry expert. Come up with something by tomorrow, the dance is looking good. Let's try the ending. This has to be strong and powerful, otherwise it just looks silly."

I was just starting with Chloé, who was getting a ballet-focused solo, when Leslie, Abby and Peyton walked in the room. I blinked at them in shock. "Hello, Peyton, Mrs. Ackerman."

"Leslie has strongarmed me into getting Peyton another chance on the team," Abby grumbled. "I will very much appreciate it if you could give her a solo."

"I'd have to have the night to come up with one, but sure," I replied swiftly, wanting to avoid conflict. "What style?"

"Lyrical," Abby said. "Thank you, Joanne. We'll get out of your hair."

"That's crazy," Chloé said. "I mean, I like Peyton, but I thought she was at the Candy Apples!"

"I have no idea what's going on," I shook my head. "Oh well, it's not really your concern. This dance is called 'Lovely,' and it's very technical Lyrical. There isn't too much of a story here, but feel free to come up with one."

It was a late night, so I slept in the next morning. Keeping up with school was becoming harder for both myself and Ursula, who was getting more professional opportunities and wouldn't be in rehearsal the next day. As a result, she was out of the group routine and would be expected to independently practice her solo. She could handle that just fine.

Abby made the executive decision to cut the group down to four girls and Nick, with myself getting a guaranteed spot as a lead. She held auditions of a sort, having smaller groups go up and show the routine. Kenzie was cut because of her size (though she would have a special part at the end), then Kendall because she wasn't keeping up with the timing. Chloé and Nia were selected from that group.

Brooke, Paige and Maddie went up and Maddie fell out of a turn, causing Abby to cut her. She was dismissed from rehearsal for the week. Brooke slightly beat out Paige to be in the number.

It was much better with less people, so we were able to make more progress. I liked getting practice with lifts. The story was that Nick and I were a vampire couple and we were slowly turning the other three, and by the end everyone was a vampire. Kenzie came in to be captured and turned at the very end.

Peyton came in for her solo after that, and I was friendly enough. I didn't have a problem with her, just her mother. We were friends of sorts.

"I don't have tons of time, as I only allotted time for four solos this week, but I can squeeze you in," I told her.

"I appreciate it, really. I feel like I'm old enough to go over the details on my own anyway."

"Awesome. This dance is called 'Stepping Stones' and it's a Lyrical piece about someone remembering a happy memory. It needs to be wistful and sad, and it's hard."

Peyton had the moves down but wasn't fluid at all by the end of thirty minutes. I had to dismiss her, though, as we were already cutting into Kendall's solo time. "You'll have more time because you're not in the group, so there's a silver lining. Were you able to practice last night?"

"Yes, I had my dad judge me."

"Does your father dance?"

"He thinks that he can, but he really can't."

I snorted. "Well, good job for practicing. How's the Drop Dead Diva audition prep going?"

Competition came with all of the dances except for Peyton's solo being in good shape. She wasn't bad, but if she wanted to stay on the team, she'd have to be a lot smoother and less sloppy. Abby told her so, quite harshly, while watching her prepare in the dressing room.

"You're rushing. You're off the team for good if you don't win, and that won't win," she snapped.

"Abby, come on," Leslie complained. "Why such high expectations? Give her a break."

I groaned softly. Really, Leslie?

"I don't give anyone a break, let alone studio hoppers. Peyton, you have thirty minutes to fix it. Chloé, show me what you have."

The other soloists performed well just to please Abby, who was about to get into a screaming match with Leslie if she said another word. I escaped the tension when Studio Bleu came by and walked with the soloists and I backstage.

"Everyone, this is Braxton, my pas de deux partner. Chloé, Ursula Kendall know him, and this is Peyton and Nia," I said. Braxton, who was competing in the Senior category, shook everyone's hand before getting ready for his solo. Kaeli and Bella, two Junior dancers, also introduced themselves.

Ursula started all the solos off for the whole competition, and danced with a lot of confidence and poise. She told the story excellently. She and Peyton were up against each other, but she didn't seem too worried, and that was backed up when Peyton had to follow Braxton's stunning Lyrical piece with her dance, where the moves simply weren't connected. I was a bit upset that she'd done the choreography badly, because I'd lost precious sleep over it, but I just hugged her and asked her how she thought that she'd done.

"I'm glad I'm not up against Braxton, but I thought that it was good," she said, a bit out of breath.

"Yeah, it's hard to beat YAGP top 12," I replied. "It was pretty."

Nia went on and danced her heart out, hitting every move and performing a powerful poem at the end. "You pulled it off, that was so good," I told her afterwards. Chloé was a little angel onstage, and Kendall was beautiful, giving a light-footed performance. Kaeli and Bella were against them, and also did well, but I thought that the ALDC would go 1-3.

Paige and Brooke, on later for their duet, danced well as sisters and Brooke especially was quite animated. Abby gathered the soloists and duet back in the dressing room. "Ursula, that was excellent. Your technique shone through and I got something of the story. Chloé, very pretty, technically great, but watch your face when you turn. It falls flat. Kendall, I was surprised by that, it was a good Lyrical dance. You're showing a lot of improvement, so keep it up. Nia, I was blown away, that was a challenging solo and you nailed it. Good work on the choreography, Joanne, I'm impressed. Paige and Brooke, you danced as one, and I was very entertained. I'd be shocked if that doesn't win your category. Now, Peyton, that was a hot mess. You've regressed."

Peyton looked hurt but didn't say anything. Her mother did it for her, leaping up out of her chair and starting to screech at Abby.

"You must be blind! That was a great dance, and she definitely beat Ursula with that. I only saw one dance that was better."

Abby snorted. "Ursula blew her out of the water, and so did the Juniors. Yes, your feet were pointed and your legs were turned out, but you had no connection with the music, no connection between the moves, and your face was boring."

Peyton cut her mother off with a look. "Thank you for the feedback. I promise to work very hard to fix it."

"Don't bother. You're done, get out, find your own way home."

"You're making a mistake," Leslie snarled. "We'll get our revenge. Come on, Peyton, let's go."

Leslie and Peyton packed up in silence, though Ursula and I hugged Peyton before she left.

Brooke tested out a backflip for fun after that, and Paige did the same, but she landed a bit short. I heard a crack and went to her.

"Are you alright? That wasn't a nice sound."

"I- I think so," Paige replied. "It does hurt a bit."

"Just rest, you're not in the group anyway," Abby told her. "You can get it checked out on Monday."

I wore a fancy black costume to match Nick's for the group number, and got to put on fun makeup to look like a vampire. "Miss Abby, what are we going to do about my hair? I don't think I've ever heard of a redheaded vampire."

Abby shrugged. "Well, no one has a wig or dye, so we'll just go with it. Just dance so well that no one pays attention to your hair color and have it up in a bun."

This group dance was actually a lot of fun, and I committed to the character, going through the lifts with Nick and partner work with the other girls with a lot of intensity. Abby was high clapping when we finished, me holding Kenzie, so I thought that it had gone well. Awards came around soon enough.

"Your first place Junior Duo/Trio, with 286 points, is going to the Abby Lee Dance Company, 'The Forest!'"

Bella and Kaeli placed seventh and fifth in the Junior solos, then it was down to the top three.

"Your second runner-up in the Junior solo category, with 293 points, goes to Miss Kendall from the ALDC, 'The Path!' Your first runner-up, with 293.7 points, is Miss Chloé from the ALDC, 'Lovely!' Your champion today, scoring a perfect 300 points, which is the highest-scoring dance of the day, and winning the Power award, is Miss Nia from the ALDC with 'Stand Up!'"

Nia stood, crying with joy, and her mother was in the same state in the audience. I was so, so proud of Nia, and she really deserved this moment.

"Who is your choreographer today?"

"Joanne Ziegler."

"What studio do you represent?"

"The Abby Lee Dance Company!"

"Your tenth place Teen soloist today, scoring 278 points, is Miss Payton from the ALDC with 'Stepping Stones!'"

I stood to take the award, causing some confusion. I put my best competition smile on my face.

"Your Teen solo champion today, with 295 points, is Miss Ursula from the ALDC, 'Torn Apart!'"

Braxton also scored 300 points to win Senior solos, but lost a tiebreak on age to Nia. Studio Bleu's groups swept positions 5-2, then our group was called up, much to our joy. We scored 288 points, a great score for a group routine.

"Congratulations, Nia!" Abby actually hugged Nia when we got back to the dressing room. "The judges loved you, I loved you. Really, everyone but Peyton did well. It was a good week."