THE OLDEST ZIEGLER | dance moms

liar liar dance mom on fire

it was the end of the school day, and malia walked out of class with bree, adam, and leo beside her.

her backpack hung loosely off one shoulder as she stared down at the floor, still thinking about the math test she had just absolutely bombed.

meanwhile, the other three were in the middle of some loud argument about basketball players.

"all i'm saying is he's overrated," adam argued as they walked through the crowded hallway.

leo looked offended. "you literally don't know ball."

"i know enough."

"clearly not."

bree laughed beside them. malia barely even heard the conversation.

she was still replaying every question from the test in her head. "i definitely failed," she groaned suddenly.

bree looked over immediately. "the math test?"

"yes," malia sighed dramatically. "like actually failed."

adam shrugged. "you say that every time."

"because every time i think i failed."

"and every time you end up with like a b-plus," leo added.

malia stopped walking for a second just to stare at him. "leo... i left two questions completely blank."

his eyes widened a little. "oh."

"yeah," she muttered. "exactly."

bree bumped her shoulder lightly. "you're probably fine."

"i'm literally not."

they pushed through the front doors of the school, the late afternoon air hitting them instantly.

students crowded the sidewalks, parents waited in cars, and the parking lot was packed with noise.

adam stretched his arms over his head. "i'm starving."

"that's because you're always starving," bree pointed out.

"true."

malia finally laughed a little at that, though it faded quickly as she pulled her phone out to check the time.

dance started soon.

leo noticed immediately. "you have dance?"

"when do i not have dance?" malia replied.

"fair."

they slowly walked farther down the sidewalk together while bree kept talking about some teacher drama from earlier in the day.

malia half-listened, nodding occasionally before her eyes scanned the line of cars along the curb.

then she spotted her mom's car. "ugh," she sighed dramatically. "there she is."

adam laughed. "have fun getting yelled at by scary abby."

"don't put that energy on me."

leo smirked. "tell sophia we said hi."

malia rolled her eyes. "bye, losers."

"bye, math failure," bree called after her teasingly.

malia gasped loudly. "that was low!"

the three burst out laughing as she walked backward for a second, pointing at bree accusingly before finally turning around and heading toward the car.

as soon as she opened the passenger door, melissa glanced over from the driver's seat. "ready for dance?"