A dance journey

Revenge of the Replacements

I walked into the studio with Maddie, Mackenzie, and Melissa. My mother called me last night. She was telling me about what she and my siblings were doing.

We stood in our line, waiting for Abby to come in.

"Well, once again, I'm not very happy. When I left that competition, everybody was gloating about how amazing you were, the big winners. Nothing blew me away. I think all of you would be interested in knowing that our duet, "Sugar and Spice," did not win. There was a mathematical error. And that means that "Sugar and Spice," Maddie and Kendall, were not the overall high-scoring winning duet/trio. It was our duet with Cameron and Brooke. So Greensboro, North Carolina, which we thought was a smashing success, Turned out to be a big letdown." Abby said

We all kinda stood in silence.

"I watched the group number. I saw some superb dancing, and I saw some horrendous dancing. Kendall, whose place did you take?"Abby asked

"Sophia's," Kendall said

"Sophia's. Did you look like she would have looked doing that number?"Abby asked

Kendall just shrugged her shoulders.

"You don't know. Should I have put in Claire instead? I'll tell you. I should have put in Claire because you look nothing like Sophia. No way."Abby told Kendall

When I glanced at Kendall, she was crying. I gave her a small, comforting pat on the back.

"Listen to me. Learn this, every single one of you, when you're in here rehearsing, and you keep screwing up, you don't need me to stand there and point out every mistake. Can't you see it? I went over Claire's solo with her once in the studio. And every other time, she practiced by herself in the mirror. At home and here! Isn't that right, Claire!"Abby yelled

I nodded

"Tell the girls what you do."She said

"I take what Abby told me to fix, and I fixed it. I watch myself in the mirror. I have my mother record me so I can watch myself on film. I ask my brother to watch me at my house. Just things like that."I said awkwardly

"Yeah, but let's not forget girls that Claire goes to private with Abby too. So mention that Claire. Mention that Abby works on solos ahead of time, and you already know what you're doing wrong."Christi said

I looked at Abby for a second, confused.

"What are you talking about? I pay for privates in different styles, like a tap private with Maddie. I have ballet privates and jazz. But I pay for them, and they are set in a schedule. If you don't know how to pay for a private Christi, I'll be happy to help."I told her

"No, Claire, I'm talking about the privates where you learn your solo beforehand, "Christi yelled, drawing out her words.

"That's not what a private is. I thought you were smarter than that."I answered her

"Enough Christi. Claire was the overall high-scoring solo at the competition! She doesn't need some lazy mother yelling at her about her privates that her mother and father pay for!"Abby yelled

Christi rolled her eyes.

Abby went to pull the first photo on the pyramid.

"Cassandra. Didn't dance last week. Next, Kendall. You worked your way up that pyramid, and now you're right back where you started from. Next, Maddie. All for one, one for all, it's about the team. Kendall's there, you went with her. Nia, you did an ok job. I just don't see the feet getting any better. Cameron won the duet with Brooke, which was okay. Moving up, Paige, you placed in the top five. That's an improvement. Next, Chloe, I thought you stood out starting the group dance. Was the group fabulous? No. I think if your mother was more honest with you like she used to be two or three years ago, you would continue to improve. Next is Mackenzie. It's like you bumped your sister right down there. Does it feel good to be up here? Well, guess what? You are back in the group routine. If you could go against nine-year-olds and win, then you can dance with a nine-year-old. And on top of the pyramid, I have Claire. Claire, you were the overall winner of the competition. I saw improvement. I saw determination. I saw a winner."Abby said