A dance journey

Rotten to the Core

Walking into the studio felt weird. As we made it into the den we saw Kendall and Jill

"Hey, Kendall!"I said as I ran up to hug her

"Claire!"She squealed back

As we hugged my mother and Jill hugged one another, exchanging some words.

Kendall briefly hugged Cameron and Cassandra before we went to change.

Then Nia and Holly walked in.

"Hey guys," Jill said

"Hey, Nia," I said

Then Kelly, Brooke, and Paige came in as well.

"Have you guys seen Christi?"Jill asked

"I think she's mad at me. Because I said something about the hat."Kelly said

"Which is crazy," Jill added on

"I mean we all saw that hat."My mother added

"Every week somebody messes up in a group dance," Holly said

"Well, I wonder if Christi is not coming," Kelly said with a laugh

"I find that hard to believe," Kelly said

"Christi's never left before, "Holly added

The mother kept talking until someone entered the den—Jillian and her mother Maria.

"Hello, welcome in," Melissa said

We watched as they waved awkwardly and sat away from all of us

"Why are you here Jillian?"Kendall asked

I gently slapped her leg and whispered, "Don't be mean."

She whispered back, "I'm not trying to be."

We watched as Jillian removed her sweatpants and hoodie revealing a simple black leotard and pink tights.

"Abby called my mother and me back. Told us to join you guys in the studio for something called pyramid."Jillian said

We all looked at her not knowing what to say

"But you're not on the team," Kendall said with confusion

"Oh no, I think I am. My mother signed some things and talked with Abby."Jillian said while she started to stretch

"Oh, okay," Kendall responded

"Come on ladies, let's go!"Abby yelled

We all walked into the studio, Jillian and her mother trailing behind us

"All right. Last week you walked in here and you were losers. Fourth place. Today, you're the winners. You walk in here like, woo, we won. And that's all fine and dandy. But let's be realistic you won by a tenth of a point. I don't want the Abby Lee Dance Company to be just 1/10 of a point ahead of the who you beat. I don't want it. I want you to be 30 points ahead, or 20 points ahead, or 10 points, or for goodness sake, one whole point. Can we be one whole point above the next group?"Abby said

"Abby, do you know where Christi and Chloe are?"Kelly asked

"I'm dealing with them," Abby said

We all looked at each other trying to understand what that meant.

"Now, girls. I'm sure you see someone who's new. Meet Jillian Rose and her mother Maria. Claire, you have been the shining ballerina of this team since the very beginning, right?"Abby asked

I nodded slowly, unsure.

"Say goodbye to that title, because Jillian is a ballerina too. And if you want to be number one, you have to fight for it. There is always someone else. The moms have always picked at me that you don't have any competition, so here's yours."Abby said while motioning to Jillian. "She wants to be on this team. Her mother has signed her contracts, and they are here. But she's not here permanently. She is here to replace one of you. Especially you Claire. Two ballerinas up head to head."