Sous-Sus: Premier Jewels

Chapter Eleven: It All Ends Here

ILSE

"Hello, ladies," Mom greets as we walk into the studio. "Come on in."

Myla skips over and hugs her while I walk toward the two of them at a slower pace.

"You okay?" I ask Mom once I got my hug. "You're voice sounds hoarse."

"It's been a long three days," Mom tells me. Mom and Aridane have a silent conversation with her before she looks back at me. "Now, get in line so that we can start."

Mom started the pyramid once all the girls were lined up in front of her and the Moms were over to the side.

"Here we are in another studio, another week. We need to learn a new group routine. This is tough. We have to do it today, and there are props. Now I want to reflect a little bit on the past two weeks. I keep telling you guys you have been given an amazing opportunity.

"You've been hand-selected to go across the country and learn a new number each week and do these competitions. And you are not stepping up to the plate. I want to see energy, enthusiasm, fun. If you don't want to do it, there's probably a hundred other kids that would love to be in your shoes right now.

"So I need to see motivation. I want you to want to win. This is my reputation on the line; it's my name. But by now, it's also your names," Mom turns to the pyramid. "So, I'm gonna start now with Paige. Moving on -- Mackenzie. Nia. Next, we have Chloe. Brooke. Maddie and Myla. And on top, we have Ilse.

"Ilse, Myla, Maddie, and Chloe, you will all be doing a solo. Ilse, you will be doing a duet with Myla. Maddie, Chloe, you will also be doing a duet together. Paige and Brooke, I'm giving you a duet. I want you to work together as friends. I do not want you fighting as sisters.

"If you waste time and energy bickering back and forth, you're never gonna get it finished. Everybody is in the group number this week -- even Mackenzie. Every single one of you is an important part of this puzzle. And in a group routine, everybody needs to pull their weight. And I'm telling you what: We need to win. All right, let's get to rehearsing. Let's get moving."

The girls and I picked up our bags and carried them over to the side before taking off our sweats to reveal our dance clothes underneath. Once we were ready, we walked back to the floor and started stretching.

"Okay, ladies, the piece is called beautiful," Mom tells us once we are all stretched. "It's about not how pretty you're gonna be in your costume, not how pretty your air is, but what's on the inside. And it's about taking a good look in the mirror-- not at what you see but at the internal window. Are you getting any of this, Mackenzie?"

Mackenzie gives Mom a grin, unwilling to admit that she wasn't.

"Yeah. It's a little deep," Mom tells her before going over to the side. She takes out eight mirrors and gives each of us one. "Hold the mirror and cover your face."

Mom positioned us all in our starting position before teaching us the routine.

"You're gonna roll stage left," Mom tells Paige and Brooke. "Go, roll, left. Ilse, Maddie, Myla, and Chloe, while they're doing that, your gonna do six pirouettes to the right."

Once we were done learning the routine, Mom had Gianna run it while she watched for any mistakes.

"One, two, three, four..." Gianna counted us in.

"Okay, we're done with the group for now," Mom tells us. She looks around us. "Where are the Moms?"

"Outside," Nia replies.