Sous-Sus: Premier Jewels

Chapter Six: Dying to Dance

MYLA

"You guys have everything?" Dad asks Ilse and me as we get out of the car.

"I have everything," I chirp, grabbing my duffel bag.

"Yep, everything is packed," Ilse tells him. "And if we missed something, Mom has it."

This week we're sleeping over at Mom's place like we do once a month.

"It's not the first time we stayed with Mom," I tell him while Ilse closes the door behind her.

Dad chuckles, passing us our suitcases. "Just making sure." He kisses us both on the temples. "Have fun."

"We will," Ilse promises, grabbing my hand and leading me into the studio.

"Hi, girls," Mom smiles at us while Ariadne waves before covering a yawn.

"Morning," Ilse let's go of me to cover a yawn herself, and I giggle out how alike they are.

"Hi Mom," I ran around the front desk to hug her. "Hi, Aria."

Mom squeezes me. ""Go put your bags in my office, then get changed before coming back here. We need to talk to you before pyramid."

"Kay," Ilse replies, already heading for Mom's office. I give Ariadne a quick hug before following her.

After dropping off our bag, we decided to just change in there before returning to the front desk.

Mom glances at Ariadne, who nods before leaning over the desk to get a look at us. I wonder what this is about? Is it serious?

"This week is Starpower-- it's their last regional to qualify for nations. You both won their regionals earlier in the season, so you already qualify. So that's two solos with a high chance of winning in two different divisions. Right?"

"Yeah," I nod.

Ilse shrugs. "Makes sense."

"That got me thinking, and I had a brilliant idea yesterday," Mom says. "I want a clean sweep at nationals -- group, solo's, and duo-trio-- and to make sure that happens, you two will be doing a duet."

I gasp, grinning up at Ilse, who looks down at me in surprise. "We've never done a duet together!"

"We haven't," Ilse nods. "What division are we in then?"

"Junior," Mom purses her lips. "That means Myla, you have to keep up with Ilse."

Ilse nudges me in the shoulder. "Think you can keep up."

I shove her back. "Of course." I wasn't scared to compete in the junior division. Besides, next year it'll be my division. It's good practice.

"That's right," Ariadne reaches over to high-five me. "You can do it."

"Alright, get to the den. I'll be in soon."

When pyramid starts, I sit between Maddie and Mackenzie. It's really cool to see myself on top again.

"I wanna talk about this upcoming weekend," Mom starts. "It's regional. Everybody knows how important that is. You know that's one of the toughest competitions out here. This is what's gonna happen this weekend. Maddie, new solo. Brooke, new solo. Chloe, new solo and Ilse, and Myla duet."

"Yay!" I clap, giving Maddie a high-five.

"We are doing a new group routine, and everybody is in it, the enter cast," Mom continues. "It is called, 'Where Have All the Children Gone.' This is a routine about children who have gone missing. You've all seen the children's faces on the milk carton. It's contemporary, it's mature, and it is very dark. You have to be great actresses to pull it off,"