THE OLDEST ZIEGLER | dance moms

you've been unfriended

rehearsals were about to begin for the day, and everyone was in the den stretching before pyramid.

"so, malia, how was being in l.a.?" kelly asked, looking over as she helped paige stretch.

"it was so fun," malia smiled. "everyone was super nice."

"it was different, wasn't it?" holly asked.

"pretty much," malia laughed. "instead of memorizing choreography, it was all lines."

"would you enjoy doing more of that in the future?" holly wondered.

"definitely," malia admitted. "i love dancing, but acting was really fun too."

as malia pulled her hair into a braid, the den door opened and chloe stepped inside with a small, shy smile.

all the girls immediately got to their feet.

"chloe!" malia grinned, hurrying over and wrapping her best friend in a hug.

"we missed you," nia smiled, hugging her next.

"it's good to be back," chloe laughed as everyone finally let her go.

the girls finished stretching and chatting until abby poked her head through the doorway.

"no need for applause," she called flatly. "let's go."

the room instantly quieted as the girls filed into the studio with the moms following behind them.

once everyone was lined up, abby folded her arms across her chest.

"you know, they told me that detroit was a tough city. well, it was. you weren't the big winners. you got beat."

malia glanced over at chloe through the mirror. neither of them had been there, but maddie had already filled her in on everything that happened.

"third place," abby continued bitterly. "cathy is a fake and a phony. she calls herself a choreographer? she's an embarrassment to my vocation. and then we had a duet, but i can't really talk about it because it didn't happen. i pulled the duet. if your mother is out of control, you don't dance."

paige looked down at the floor while nia quietly shifted beside her.

holly calmly spoke up. "and, abby, that is fine. i do want it noted that i was defending my daughter because you were being insensitive about her health issues. that's what my disagreement with you was."

"so let's just say i'm not putting up with it anymore," abby replied. "we've had a member of the team suspended. you all know what suspended is. it's like the last chance before dismissal. let's move on to the pyramid. chloe, obviously, you were not on the pyramid."

the bottom row started with nia and paige.

"then we have malia. you were not here last week. why don't you tell everyone what you were doing?"

"i was in l.a. filming an episode of jessie for disney channel," malia answered. "it was kind of like a competition week. we rehearsed all week, then filmed on friday and saturday. the cast was really nice, and i had a lot of fun."

"glad to hear it," abby nodded. "but now you're back, and you have double the work to make up for everything you missed."

"yes, ms abby," malia replied with a small nod.

kendall rounded out the bottom row, then moving up were mackenzie and brooke.

at the very top sat maddie after winning her solo the previous weekend.

"this weekend we will be attending in10sity dance in fort lauderdale, florida," abby announced. "everybody will be in the group dance. the routine is called money is the root of all evil. it's contemporary. moms, the costumes are emerald green—the color of money or envy. they'll need trim, headpieces, and you'll be using real money on the costumes."