"Ah five, six, sev-uhn, EIGHT!" called Maddie as she strode to her position in the dance. The girls followed her and struck fierce poses, glaring at the imaginary audience. Chloe waited for 2 counts before springing into a leap, she landed and tucked her head in. Suddenly, the music stopped. The girls froze. "What was that?" Abby snapped. Chloe felt her face turn pink. "Me?" she squeaked.
Abby rolled her eyes. "For God's sake Chloe, get it together! Just because you're blonde and pretty doesn't mean you've got it all." Chloe flushed. Abby shook her head and motioned for the dancers to leave the room for a quick break. Chloe and Paige went to their water bottles, Maddie strolling behind them.
"Get it together Chloe!" Paige imitated in her high voice. Chloe giggled, Paige always knew how to make her laugh. Paige nudged her and leaned in. "Ohmygosh. Maddie canNOT leave us alone!" she whispered. Chloe smiled slightly, but inside she felt conflicted. After a huge blowout 2 competitions ago, Paige and Maddie were no longer speaking. Brooke wisely stayed out of the drama, and Mackenzie had no clue about it, since she was sick. The two girls turned towards Maddie. "Hi Chloe! Hi Paige! Paige, I love your hair!" Maddie chirped.
Paige smiled. "Thanks Maddie!" she said, turning back around and rolling her eyes. "Suck up." she muttered. Maddie's blue eyes widened. "What was that?" she asked nervously. Chloe felt a rush of empathy and smiled at Maddie. "Paige just yawned. But um, we were going to go to my place after dance. Wanna come?" Chloe improvised. She felt Paige sharply elbow her but she ignored the pain. Maddie grinned. "Sure!"
Kendall ran up to the girls. "What is this, a party?" Paige mumbled. Kendall flipped her hair out of her eyes. "Abby wants us back. NOW."
The girls ran back into the studio and took their places. Chloe pasted on a smile, but she was well aware that Paige was not happy. And if Paige wasn't happy, nobody was happy.
