baby take a bow ! ( dance moms )

001. the competition begins

i walked slowly down the stairs, skipping every other one, tip-toeing on the edge of each step. mackenzie rushed past me, shouting about how we needed to get there a bit earlier so she could get ready for filming. mommy had already told me that i wouldn't be doing much dancing for the rest of this season, so i wouldn't have much to do at competitions, but i might be able to do a solo.

after 10 minutes of driving- that felt like hours with maddie complaining about her math quiz- we arrived at the studio. mommy un-clipped my car seat, and i walked into the abby lee dance company.

"hi ladies." miss abby greets us from behind the desk. i scrunched my nose up in confusion. miss abby never sat behind the desk. 

"hi miss abby!" i smiled back at her before rushing into the den to take my street clothes off. i revealed my pink and black polka dot two-piece that mommy picked out for me and kenzie- maddie called the colours inverted- and walked into studio a to sit next to nia and my middle sister.

"alright, girls, it's the first day of the new season. ladies, you all know why you are here. you are the cream of the crop in your age group, and I have a lot of ideas in store. i am going to do something no other studio in the country does. every single competition, we are doing a new routine."

i looked over towards mommy, as that seemed impossible! how would i learn a whole dance in a week? miss abby snapped her fingers to get our attention again. "uh-uh-uh girls, don't look at your mothers. i am the coach. i am the teacher. i can make you, or i can break you."

i wince as abby turned the chalkboard around, it made a horrible sound. i looked for my headshot on the right next to mackenzie, i didn't mind i was at the very bottom, seeing as i was four, the youngest of the girls.

"everybody wants to be on top, of course, but you have to work for it. everybody wants to be front and centre; i hear it all the time. you know what? whoever's in front, they can't make a mistake. they are holding that group together." abby lectured. "so on top, right here, we have maddie; because of her stellar record last year. maddie, are you ready to be front and centre? are you ready for that pressure?"

maddie nodded at miss abby. i turned and looked at mommy again, and she was smiling at the chalkboard, and when she saw me looking, she widened her smile again and waved her hand to get me to look at miss abby.

"our first competition is going to be in phoenix, arizona, because I want you to experience some of the best competition teams in the country. we're gonna do three new numbers. a high energy, really cute adorable routine with maddie, brooke, chloe, paige, and nia. and a trio with maddie, chloe and paige. unfortunately, mackenzie, matilda, you two are too young to compete at west coast dance explosion, but you're still going to go with us anyway."

"girls, we are going to win in phoenix and the next competition we're going to win, and the next competition we're going to win, and that's all gearing up for nationals. so let's get to it. moms, you can be dismissed. girls, let's go to nationals and bring home the winning trophy, all right?"

while mackenzie went to a private with jennine, the mini's teacher, me and the moms headed up to 'dance jail', i sat on the highest step of the seats with chloe's sister clara, while starting my activity book mommy got me, and i coloured in a bee. 

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i walked out of my ballet class to find mommy at the front desk talking with a lady and her daughter.

i tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention, but not really for any purpose.

"hi honey, have you just finished ballet?" mommy asked, and i nodded in response. "oh, cathy, this is my daughter matilda, she's four, so only two years younger than your vivi." she says to the lady while pulling me onto her lap.