Relevé to the Top

Chapter 27. Worst Birthday Party Ever

"Here comes Johnny Appleseed."

"Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop," the girls chant, marching into the room.

"Come on. Chop, chop, chop. Chop, chop, moms. Get in here," Abby waves the moms in. "I wouldn't say it was a brilliant weekend, but I would say it was successful. We set out to beat Cathy, the wicked witch of the west, and that's what we did. We beat her hands down in every single category. You knocked the apple tree down."

Lexie grins, bouncing on the balls of her feet. For winning fifth place, she's unusually chirpy. But once you put into the fact that they beat the Candy Apples and she got the role of Caelia Hydraless, it makes sense.

"With that said, I want to get through the pyramid quickly because we have tons of work to do. On the bottom of the pyramid... Paige. You beat Kendall. I'm thrilled with that. You made the top ten, but you need to do the choreography you were told to do," Abby turns slightly to Kelly. "You got that, Kelly? You don't change Abby Lee's choreography. Come on.

"Moving on, Mackenzie. You've greatly improved, but if you're gonna be in the dance, and you're gonna know the choreography, you have to pull your weight. Understood? Next... Brooke. You are off probation. Moving up the ladder... Nia. You have really matured. Less than six months ago, you were sitting in a dressing room in your Dad's eye, bawling your eyeballs out. I don't ever want to see that again. That little kid is gone.

"Next is Lexie. I thought you worked well with the older girls, and you kept up with them. Moving on. Maddie. You had a big victory last week; all you had to worry about was the group dance. You were excellent. You were right on time with the music, and I'm proud of you for that. And on top of the pyramid is my Angry Bird, Chloe. Chloe, you won the costume award for the entire competition, and you made the top ten.

"Congratulations. I'm very proud of you. I think you could have had a lot more confidence when you started the dance, but when you finished, you certainly made up for it. Moving on. This week we will be attending the Starbound Talent Competition in Atlanta, Georgia. We're gonna go to sunny skies and hot weather. Moms, I might even sit on the veranda and have a mint julep with you."

What's a julep? Lexie wonders, even as the moms laugh.

"Oh, aren't we lucky," Kelly jokes.

Holly snorts. "Lucky us!"

"The last time we attended Starbound, you lost by 1/20 of a point to that Wicked Witch of the West. And I have never lived it down until this weekend. The behavior by Cathy was out of control. The whole competition was a fiasco. That's not gonna happen this time.

"Do you understand? All the numbers that we're going to do are going to be off the chart," Abby demands. "Alright. Chloe, you have a solo this week. You will be doing a routine called 'Trouble.' You need to learn to use the entire stage. You need to jump higher than you've ever jumped. I want to see you larger than life on stage."

Chloe nods.

"Maddie, we're back to work this week. You have a solo in the competition. It's in the lyrical category, and it's entitled, 'Mom It Will Never Be the Same.' Lexie, you have a lyrical piece this week called 'La Luna.' Now, I also have a trio. The trio is going to be Paige, Nia, and Mackenzie. The trio is entitled 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us,' and I hope nothing does stop you. Let's move on to the group dance. The group number is entitled, 'All Kids Go.' We're talking about our childhood going away.

"We're talking about Brooke leaving the eighth grade and going to high school. She's a teenager now. Everybody is in the group dance, except Mackenzie. The nature of the dance is a little mature for you. Since I'm not using Mackenzie, I need to bring somebody in that looks like a teenager that the judges see instantly as older than the rest of you. So, Moms, lookout. I'm putting Payton in the number, and Leslie will be joining us."