Chapter 52

Completely out of the blue, Nia, Ursula, and I were the only three to show up for Pyramid the next week. The mothers, sans Holly, were standing outside in the parking lot. None of the dancers were there that day. I stuck my head out of the studio, highly confused, as Abby huffed her way over to them. From what I could gather from the conversation, they were on strike? To get Kelly and her kids back?

"Since when are Brooke and Paige off the team?" I asked Ursula, who shrugged.

"I have no idea."

A few minutes later, Abby came back in. "Into Studio A, girls."

"What's happening?" Nia asked.

"Abby told Brooke and Paige that they were off the team because they missed classes yesterday, and the other mothers are striking to get them back," Holly explained.

I blinked. "And they think that will work?"

Holly laughed. "Apparently. I think that Kelly needs to talk it out, so that's why I'm here."

"You've always been the smartest," Abby told Holly. "I guess we're doing Pyramid. Paige, Kendall, Maddie Nicaya and Brooke are on the bottom, they're not here. Joanne and Ursula, you were great in the trio and the group, so you're in the middle. Then there's Mackenzie and Chloé, not here. Nia, you're on the top, you won the Teen division. I had planned on Joanne and Nia having solos, but Ursula, you'll have the solo I meant for Brooke."

I raised my hand. "Are we going to have a group?"

"Yes, we are. Everyone's replaceable, except for you, Joanne. I will be bringing in at least two other dancers. In the meantime, I'd like to teach Joanne her solo. You two can go to class or do what you need to do." Abby turned to me, anger simmering in her. "I have a lot going on this week. I'll teach you the steps and that's it. This number is called 'Fame' and it's about how you're famous now, because of this show and dancing for Adele. It shows how you have to keep up the hard work through the pressure and it's Jazz. It's fast, it's hard."

I nodded. "Sounds wonderful." I didn't bother with facials while learning the dance, as she only gave me fifteen minutes of her time and rushed the teaching. I put the steps in my head and went off to properly learn the dance after letting Ursula know that Abby wanted her for the solo. It was an interesting dance- my character was a combination of cocky and intense, so I leaned into my acting skills. Abby didn't have anything other than the solos for us, so we all went back early. I confronted Aunt Melissa that evening.

"Why are you really striking? Brooke and Paige didn't miss class yesterday."

My aunt sighed. "We aren't getting paid enough, and we want to take a stand."

"Abby doesn't pay you, the producers do. You should have gotten a lawyer and talked to them."

"The producers said that they'd pay us more if we went on strike, I think Holly got a lawyer."

I rolled my eyes. "Ridiculous show drama. Abby's spitting mad, she'll come down hard on Kenz and Maddie and the others for this."

"I know. I hope I made the right choice."

"Did the producers sign a contract saying that they'd pay you more?"

"No..."

"Get a lawyer, please."

The next day, Abby had managed to get Kaeli and Bella from Studio Bleu in for a week (so this strike would only last that long), as well as Ally Serigne, who was from New Orleans. I greeted them all warmly, and Abby lined us up in Studio A.

"Thank you three for coming in on such short notice. I have three of my originals here, Joanne, Nia and Ursula. The group dance is called 'Cry,' and it's Lyrical. Ally, I'm giving you and Joanne a duet in the Teen division. Joanne is an advanced dancer, so Ally, you'd better keep up. Everyone spread out for the group dance."

Rehearsal was a bit rough; every girl had a little solo part at the beginning, and while everyone was pretty clean, we weren't together. Abby also realized that our average age would put us in the Teen division. "Who of the two of you should I pull?" She asked Ursula and I.

"Ursula can do the group, I already have a solo and duet," I said.

"Fine. It's a risk," Abby sighed. "You're dismissed, then, Joanne. Go work on your solo."

Ally came to get me later for the duet. "It's really nice to meet you, I've been following your dancing," Ally admitted to me.

I smiled. "That's really nice! I'm looking forward to our duet."

"Ally, this is a huge opportunity," Abby said. "The number is called 'The Good Life' and it's a Lyrical routine. The story is that Joanne is the rich girl who has everything and Ally is the poor girl who has nothing, so she's envious. At the end, Joanne brings Ally into her world and both of you are happy."

Abby had watered down the choreography a bit, so Ally picked it up pretty quickly. She was clearly a gifted dancer and I enjoyed working with her- she easily got over her wonder at dancing with me and we worked together well.

Maddie called me on my dinner break, which luckily was away from the cameras. "Hey, Maddie."

"Mom told you about the strike?"

"Yes, yesterday afternoon."

"Then why are you still at the studio?" Maddie seemed more curious than upset.

"This is a ploy by the producers, it's not going to work," I responded evenly. "I'd just be missing out on practice. Holly knew that, Ursula knew that."

"Oh, okay. Well, I guess I'll see you later." Maddie hung up. I sighed and got back to my dinner; I had a competition to prepare for.

My solo and Ally and I's duet were going well by the time competition rolled around, though the mood was a bit tense. Kaeli's mom was complaining that she didn't have a solo.

"Kaeli is as good if not better than Nia. Why does Nia get the solo?"

"Nia's been here since she was three," Holly replied swiftly. "Kaeli is a great dancer, definitely, but she's a guest this week. Besides, Nia had an extra day to learn it. And she won Nationals and in the Teen division last week, I'd say she earned it."

"Whatever. I think that all of them should have solos."

"It's a bit late now."

I just blocked everything out and changed into my solo costume, which was my leotard from the Moulin Rogue solo last season with a golden skirt this time. I'd grown a few inches since that solo, and filled out to be a bit curvier and less stick-thin than before, though I had a slimmer body type. I needed a bigger size, but that was easily done. I didn't have a problem with how my body looked but it did mean that I needed to make adjustments with turns and balances as my center of gravity shifted.

"My soloists, come here," Abby called. "I have three dancers, three different divisions. I expect three wins. Joanne, you haven't lost, don't start now. Ursula, this solo was meant for Brooke but I think that you can excel with it. Nia, you have Contemporary, you need to be strong and emote."

I went up first, dancing to the song 'Paparazzi' by Lady Gaga. I made sure that I hit the accents and pulled off the character, matching my dancing to the lyrics.

We are the crowd

We′re c-coming out

Got my flash on, it's true

Need that picture of youIt′s so magical

We'd be so fantastical

Leather and jeans

Garage glamorous

Not sure what it means

But this photo of us,

It don't have a price

Ready for those flashing lights

′Cause you know that, baby, I

I′m your biggest fan

I'll follow you until you love me

Papa-paparazzi

Baby, there′s no other superstar

You know that I'll be

Your papa-paparazzi

Promise I′ll be kind

But I won't stop until that boy is mine

Baby, you′ll be famous

Chase you down until you love me

Papa-paparazzi

I'll be your girl

Backstage at your show

Velvet ropes and guitars

Yeah, 'cause you′re my rock star

In between the sets

Eyeliner and cigarettes

Shadow is burnt yellow, dance and we turn

My lashes are dry

Purple teardrops I cry

It don′t have a price

Loving you is cherry pie

'Cause you know that, baby, I

I′m your biggest fan

I'll follow you until you love me

Papa-paparazzi

Baby, there′s no other superstar

You know that I'll be

Your papa-paparazzi

Promise I′ll be kind

But I won't stop until that boy is mine

Baby, you'll be famous

Chase you down until you love me

Papa-paparazzi

Overall, it was a good performance. Ursula went on and did her Acro/Jazz with accuracy and energy, making a good impression on the judges. Nia stunned with her Contemporary routine, with a few technical issues.

I changed into the blue dress for the duet, and Ally met me backstage. We went out and pulled the routine off, dancing in sync and apart. We did a longer turn sequence and a few ballet moves together, always fun to do in a duet. Apparently Kaeli's mom had tried to get her to do a solo and nearly gotten Kaeli pulled from the group, so Abby was still dealing with mama drama without the original mothers and Jill.

I was in the audience for the group routine, which was good but boring. It definitely looked like it was the group's first week dancing together, to my eye and probably the judges'. Awards came around again.

"Your champion Junior soloist, entry number fifty-eight, Miss Nia with the ALDC!"

"Your champion Teen soloist, winning the 'Bendy' Judges' Award, entry number thirty, it's Miss Ursula with the ALDC!"

"Your champion Senior soloist, winning the 'Beauty' Judges Award and scoring 295 points for the overall high score of the day, entry number eleven, it's Miss Joanne with the ALDC!"

"Your first place Teen Duo/Trio, it's entry number one hundred and fifty, Miss Ally and Miss Joanne with the ALDC!"

"Your second place Junior group today, entry number three hundred and sixty-three, the ALDC!"

Abby stormed into the dressing room. "Second place. The first to lose. Maybe because it looked like a trio and three solos! At least the solos and duet won, those were good. Ally, you were strong in the duet, I'm asking you back next week. Kaeli and Bella, I'll let you know what I decide next week. Let's get going."

"We're back at Studio Bleu next week anyway," Kaeli shrugged later. "That's my studio."

"Of course, I enjoyed it there," I assured Kaeli. "What about you, Ally?"

"I can't be this far away from home," she said. "I loved dancing with you guys, though."

So the rest of the team would be back next week, I supposed. This wouldn't be pretty, Abby was angry at the mothers and would take it out on the kids, as was her awful habit.