Chapter 60

Next week came in a rush of Christmas preparation. The only reason that I was slightly excited for the competition was that the dances would be holiday-themed. There would most certainly be drama because of the mothers changing the group dance.

Melody, who had school off, chose to come to Pyramid with our aunt. She wanted to see what it was really like. "They're going to try to interview you," I warned her. She gave me a smile that made me raise an eyebrow. "Just don't do anything drastic, Mel, okay?"

"You probably won't hear about it," Melody replied. I wasn't reassured.

"I see that we have a visitor for Pyramid," Abby said when the mothers entered Studio A. "Hello, Melody, it's nice to see you."

"Hello, ma'am," Melody said in her best impression of politeness. I held back a smirk.

"Everyone, if you don't know, this is Joanne's sister Melody," Abby introduced. Jill, of course, had to run her mouth.

"Are you pregnant?"

"No," Melody snapped. Jill's face dropped and she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm four months along, it's a boy. I'm not here to talk about that, though, I'm here for Joanne."

"Quite right. Last competition didn't go so well, did it?" Abby glared at everyone except for Ursula and I. "I gave you this wonderful number, and instead of that, you all decided to change it up behind my back. I'm surprised that you even placed third. Moving on, it is almost Christmas, I don't want to dwell on the negative. We had a winning Junior trio, a winning Teen soloist, and the top 3 Junior soloists, that was all good. We will be going to Xpression Dance Competition in Bernardsville, New Jersey. All of the dances will be themed after the winter holidays. Onto the pyramid. Maddie, first to worst. Don't expect any solo opportunities for a while, you got scared, that's unacceptable. Brooke, you were just in the group, it was okay, but you should have been the one to say, 'No, we're doing the number that Miss Abby planned.' You're the oldest."

Brooke nodded while Maddie looked crushed.

"Chloé, the improv wasn't cohesive with the other dancers. Mackenzie, you were good in the group, you didn't stand out for being too small. In the middle is Kendall, the trio was fabulous but you were a mess in the group. Paige, same thing. Nicaya, second place in your home town, I was happy with you. You were a standout in the group, such as it was. Ursula, top Teen soloist, you weren't in the group, that helped you."

"Hold on, why is Joanne so high? She didn't have a solo," Jill protested.

"I'm getting to her, Jill, calm down. Joanne, the trio alone wasn't enough to put you up here though it won, but I appreciated how you respectfully stood up for yourself and refused to be in the group. You tried to set an example. That's what a leader does."

Christi was the one who spoke up now. "She was rude and should have stuck with the team."

"Whatever. I don't care what you think, Christi, that's where she is. On top of the pyramid, though, is Nia. Nia, you did a wonderful job, and I thought that your improv was great and you tried to be in sync with the others."

Holly and Nia beamed.

"That brings me to this week's assignments. Joanne, you'll be doing a solo to 'Carol of the Bells.' Brooke, you have a solo about falling in love under Mistletoe. It's going to be a challenge because you have to act. Nicaya, you have a Lyrical routine about the joy of receiving presents. Mackenzie, you've been getting more mature dances, so I'm giving you a cute routine in the Mini division about an elf making presents. Nia and Kendall, you have a duet about the Christmas spirit, or just the spirit of giving, whatever you want it to be. The group routine is about spending time with family and friends during the holidays. Everyone is in it, so it's Teen. Mothers and Melody, you're dismissed." This was another pretty Lyrical and I liked it, though others were having trouble with the difficulty of the routine. Abby seemed to be in a giving mood, at least towards Kenzie.

"Mackenzie, do you know how to do those turns?"

My little cousin shook her head. "I'll start learning them next week."

"Well, I can't have you doing them, then. This is a Teen-level routine and you're not nine yet, just tell me when you can't do a move and I'll change it. Do a handstand walk in the front while the rest turn."

In contrast, Abby was harsh on Maddie and Paige in particular, even if they were both doing fine with the dance- I daresay better than Kendall, who was a beat behind. I was glad when rehearsal ended.

Abby herself taught me the solo, but it had actually been choreographed by Nyssa. "This is a hard dance, a beautiful dance, so don't lose with it. Begin in fifth position."

This was very close to being a pointe solo, and I immediately fell in love with it. "Carol of the Bells" was my favorite song and even though it was the hardest solo I'd ever gotten, I picked it up right away and made a lot of progress."

"Excellent! I will look it over with you tomorrow. Please send Brooke in."

Melody was in the hallway, looking upset, when I stopped working on ballet for my dinner break. "Is everything okay?" I asked, aware of the cameras recording us.

Melody sighed. "Jill and Christi think that it's ridiculous that you have a solo and that you're selfish and that you should tell Abby to treat their kids better. Is this normal?" I rolled my eyes. "Pretty much. They're just trying to get a rise out of you, don't give into it. You don't have to be up there if you don't want to. How's my nephew doing today?"

"He's kicking more and more. Right on my bladder too. The morning sickness is fading, though. Mind helping me with math for a few minutes?"

Despite Jill and Christi's grumbling, the week actually went by quite peacefully. All of the dances were looking good going into competition for once. Unsurprisingly, Melody didn't go to the competition with us. The producers were suddenly more respectful towards me, so apparently whatever she'd said to them had worked.

Nia and Kendall's duet was a pretty Lyrical and they led off the team beautifully. Kendall was visibly improving as a dancer, at least in a group setting. Maybe she just wasn't a great soloist. Nia was determined to stay as the top Junior and danced like it while managing to gel her style with Kendall.

I followed up the duet a few numbers later, and found myself much more nervous than usual. I only got this way around national competitions, and it always made me perform better, but today it felt odd to truly care if I won- and what my score was.

I entered the stage gracefully. Do your best. Show how much you love this routine. You get to do it twice. The music started, and I poured everything that I had into the dance.

"Ding, dong, ding, dong, ding

Ding, dong, ding, dong, ding

Ding, dong, ding, dong, ding

Ding, dong, ding, dong

Ding, dong, ding, dong

Ding, dong, ding, dong

Ding, dong, ding, dong

Hark how the bells, sweet silver bells

All seem to say, "Throw cares away"

Christmas is here, bringing good cheer

To young and old, meek and the bold

Ding-dong, ding-dong, that is their song

With joyful ring, all caroling

One seems to hear, words of good cheer

From ev'rywhere, filling the air

Ding, dong, ding

Ding, dong

Oh, how they pound, raising the sound

O'er hill and dale, telling their tale

Gaily they ring while people sing

Songs of good cheer, Christmas is here

Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas

Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas

Hark how the bells, sweet silver bells

All seem to say, "Throw cares away"

Christmas is here, bringing good cheer

To young and old, meek and the bold

Ding-dong, ding-dong, that is their song

With joyful ring, all caroling

One seems to hear, words of good cheer

From ev'rywhere, filling the air

Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas

Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas

On, on they send, on without end

Their joyful tone to ev'ry home

Ding, dong, ding, dong, ding

Ding, dong, ding, dong, ding

Christmas is here, bringing good cheer

To young and old, meek and the bold

Ding-dong, ding-dong, that is their song

With joyful ring, all caroling

Ding-dong, ding-dong"

I was grinning backstage, and Brooke gave me a quick congratulations before heading onstage for her routine. I was pleasantly surprise because she nailed her Musical Theater routine and did the best acting that I'd ever seen from her. She had nice technique and that helped her hit the simpler moves well while performing. She even pulled off a longer turn sequence.

"That was amazing!" I squealed quietly to Brooke backstage. "That was the best you've danced. Ever."

"It felt like it. Thank you," she grinned. "I guess I just felt inspired."

I also loved Nicaya's solo, her Lyrical was her most-improved style. She really sold the dance as well. Kenzie looked adorable onstage and nailed her number, having a great time doing it. Her flexibility was coming along very well.

Abby gathered the soloists and duet in the dressing room. "I have to say that I'm happy with everyone. Joanne, that was perfection, you were clearly connected with the dance and I can't imagine that you won't get a perfect score. Brooke, you were great, entertaining, and sharp. I need to see that every week from now on, yes? Nicaya, I gave you an opportunity and you took it. It was clean and beautiful. Mackenzie, you do cute well, and I think it will win this time. Nia and Kendall, you worked well together, I enjoyed the dance. The group needs to be just as good."

"It's a Christmas miracle, she likes what everyone did," Holly joked, and Abby actually laughed along.

I'd seen a few other Teen groups before us, and they were great, so I was a bit nervous for our routine. I didn't need to be, though, because everyone did great, and it was a competitive dance. Kenzie in particular did great for being thrown into a proper Teen-level number.

Awards came around, and I was honestly just tired. I wanted to go home and spend the holidays with my family, not be recorded on a TV show. Still, the team was cheerful so I did my best to be.

"Your top Junior Duo/Trio of the day goes to Nia and Kendall, entry number fifty, 'Celebrating!'"

Jill and Holly were thrilled, as well as their daughters.

"First place in Mini solos, winning the 'Charmer' judges' award, goes to Mackenzie, entry number sixty-five, 'The Workshop!'" Kenzie grinned and took her trophy.

"First place in Junior solos goes to Nicaya, entry number fifty-eight, 'Gifts!'"

Nicaya, thrilled with first place, smiled at her happy mother. Abby looked impressed.

"Your first place Teen soloist, winning the 'Entertainer' judges' award, is Brooke, entry number fifty-four, 'Mistletoe!'"

Brooke let out a big sigh of relief. I hadn't seen her care this much about a result in a long time.

"Your first place Senior soloist scored 300 points today, and won the judges' award for 'Grace.' That's Joanne, entry number fifty-three, 'Carol of the Bells.'"

I grinned and stood up, taking the trophy.

"What is your name?"

"Joanne Ziegler." "Who choreographed this dance for you?"

"Nyssa Kane."

"What's your studio?"

"The Abby Lee Dance Company."

The group dance won the Teen division as well, and everyone was happy on the way home, which was a great way to enter the holidays.