The Eldest Ziegler

Maddie Has a Secret

Everyone walked into the Dance Den, ready for another week of dancing.

The thrill was still in my veins, the excitement of being able to dance kept me going. Even though it has already been a week since the doctors gave me the ok to start dancing again, I was still super excited. I was ready to work my butt off and get back to being a first place winner.

"All right," Miss. Abby started, once everyone was in their place, "So... Energy Dance in Waterford, Michigan. Again you were second. Any other teacher would probably think overall high score, second place was wonderful. And now for the pyramid."

Miss. Abby had one of her creepy grins on her face as she turned and started at the bottom.

"On the bottom.. Paige," Miss. Abby says, revealing her headshot, "And Brooke."

Both of the headshots had the small piece of tape that read, "Probation" on it. So I guess nothing has changed for the Hylands.

"Once again you're on probation," Miss. Abby tells the girls, "You never came to me and said, "Hey, can I enter my solo?" Brooke, you should want to do that acrobatic routine. It was beautiful."

I glanced over at the Mom, and I could tell that Kelly was very annoyed to see her daughters still on probation. I wouldn't blame her, it would be really annoying.

"Next... Monica," Miss. Abby said, revealing my new headshot. I couldn't help feeling somewhat surprised to see myself so low on the pyramid but then I realized that it was just Miss. Abby being Miss. Abby. "I gave you an amazing solo last week, it was your comeback solo. But what do you do? You made simple mistakes that you shouldn't make. I was disappointed."

The words hurt, but I tried not to think about it.

"Nia... Nia, you did a great job on your solo," Miss. Abby says, "you made the top ten, but pay attention to the technique. Apply your corrections. You don't always do that. Next we have... Chloe. Chloe, great job in the duet. Came out, your back leg was up on the arabesque, you fixed your problems. You had a good weekend."

Miss. Abby moved on, revealing the next headshot, "Next on the pyramid... Maddie. Maddie, you had an outstanding solo. You did a beautiful job on the duet. On top of the pyramid this week is Mackenzie. She won the overall high score and was crowned Petite Miss Energy Dance."

Mackenzie

Maddie Chloe

Nia Monica Brooke Paige

A grin came onto my face, I was happy to see my little sister on top of the pyramid. I turned to see that she was trying to hit the grin that was coming onto her small face.

"Let's give her a round of applause," Miss. Abby says, as she starts to clap. Everyone follows suit quickly, giving Kenzie the round of applause that she deserves.

Once the applause died down, Miss. Abby started talking about this week's competition.

"This week, we will be attending Starpower in Woodbridge, Virginia," Miss. Abby tells us, "This is the largest dance competition in the United States. I'm excited about the group dance, I've been preparing for it for weeks. Mackenzie, you proved that you're not a little baby anymore. You must be advanced enough to be in the group dance. I'm not watering down the choreography. You'll be expected to do what everyone else does."

"Maddie, you will be doing a routine," Miss. Abby continues, "called "Looking for a Place like Home." It's a little spin on 'There's no place like home," a modern-day version. Chloe, you will also be doing a solo. Your solo is entitled "What Goes Around Comes Around." My last solo goes to Monica, just because I want a teen soloist. Your solo is going to be called, "Broken Glass." It is about a young girl who is abused, like the solo that Maddie did last year, but I expect you to win with this one."