About Last Night....

As soon as they were done with their dance, Karina jumped straight into Antonio's arms. She could not contain her smile. They had done well. They had done so well. And she looked beautiful; she knew it. She could hear Sharna screaming from the Sky Box. Jacoby was cheering from the audience. The crowd had loved them. While Antonio could have been sharper, they had done well. She was excited to hear what the judges had to say. Walking over to stand before them, she was certain of her success. The judges had been weird all night but they would like this dance.

Except that they didn't like this dance.

As soon as she saw the judges' faces, her smile fell.

They weren't smiling.

"It was long on performance; It was short on technique. There was too much bump and grind going, all that bump and grind stuff... The bits of chacha you did were in my opinion were poor... If you wanna shine, you've got to polish..." Len went on further but she already knew his verdict. He hadn't liked it. She had failed.

"Alright, Maks." Tom said, as the camera changed position.

Her eyes shot back up. In her disappointment she had forgotten about the heaviness of tonight. Maks was here. Maks was here. Last time they had been in this situation, he had said that she was, in his opinion, "top five female dancers of all time." Then again, at that point in their lives they had been almost dating. Almost. It hadn't worked out. They never worked out. They had been friends. Not anymore.

"Listen, I'm a fan. I can't deny that. I'm a big fan. And uh you're definitely shining. Your jacket, your teeth, your bling, uh... shines..."

He was talking as he always did. Talking and saying the first thing that came to mind. And he was making no sense. Did he like the dance? Did he not like the dance? He wouldn't look at her so she couldn't tell. She could see something in his eyes. His ires were darker than usual. She felt a sick feeling begin to form in her stomach.

"The cha cha... yah know the whole point of this week is to, is to learn something you don't know. You're getting away with what you do know... what comes natural to you and that's amazing, you put a little bit of effort into pointed toe straightened knees and it's an amazing chacha, but unfortunately it's just amazing performance, it's not actual content."

And there it was. Her head fell. She had failed. She had miserably, miserably failed. And he still wouldn't look at her.

She blurred out the rest of the judges' comments. Carrie Ann picked up on Maks' smirk. When Karina saw it, it took everything within in her not to burst into tears. Instead, she put on her angry face. She refused to cry in front of him, so instead she would be angry. She was done with this set up and, quite frankly, the entire night.

They were up in the Sky Box. She was apologizing to Sharna, the only person that she actually felt truly sorry for tonight. She felt for Antonio a little bit as well, but he could have made that dance better. She had taught him how to point his feet. He just hadn't pointed them.

And then came scores.

A 7 from Carrie Ann.

She winced

A 6 from Len.

She grimaced.

Then it was his turn. She could see him in the monitor. Sitting in his grey suit, looking all professional. He had cut his hair and shaved his face (thank goodness). His hairline was beginning to recede, but, all in all, he looked good.

He was squeezing his eyes in a comedic way. He was smiling a little too hard, sweat pouring down his brow a little too fast, as he raised up his paddle for America to see.