Living With The Ribbon

Chapter 11: Competition part 1

After the flight we had 45 minutes to get to the competition from the airport. It was hectic. We all got on the bus and drove to the hotel. We quickly got the room keys and went up to our rooms. The hotel was gorgeous but we had no time to look around. I was staying in a room with Nia and Holly. All our rooms were next to each other on the same floor. We were in the first room and the Hyland's were next door. Well except from Paige who was staying with Kendall down the other end of the hall. I dropped all my bags in my room. I got my makeup case, mirror and my small suitcase with all my tights, shoes etc. I also grabbed my duffel and emptied the contents on my bed. I refilled it with things I would need. I picked everything up and walked out to the door, where Nia was waiting.

We all travelled to the competition on the bus. It was only down the road but we had too many things to walk. We pulled up outside the venue and my ears where practically deafened by the screams of our fans. I gathered my things and made my way through the crowd, occasionally saying thank you to their compliments. Once we got inside Abby signed us in while we raced to our dressing room. On the way past the front desk I grabbed a program so I could check the times for my dances. We got to the room marked ALDC and walked inside. I put my things in the corner and started setting up my mirror on the long tables in the centre of the room. After it was plugged in and lit up I sat down to inspect the program. The duet was in 35 minutes! I quickly notified Kendall before starting to get ready. Gianna walked in with all our costumes and I was handed mine. It was a black, shiny leotard with one long sleeve. There was also a black tutu. They were both covered in little sliver sparkles. In the duet I was a girl who was well kind of mental and Kendall was normal. By the end of the dance I had turned her mental as well. My tutu had holes cut in it and my makeup made me look mental. I rushed behind the black curtain to get changed. I slid on some tan tights and the leotard. I pulled up the tutu as I ran out to my makeup kit. I rolled it over to my mirror and I sat down. I pulled my hair into a French twist, curling the top bits out. I ran my hands over the top of my head, making my hair stick up. I sprayed it like that so I looked a little more crazy. I did my makeup normally and then I applied black shadow to make it look like I had a black eye. I smudged some dark brown stuff on various spots on my face and arms. I slipped on my tan jazz shoes and I threw my ALDC jacket over my costume. I started stretching on the floor at the back of the room. I got Maddie to stand on my back when I was in the middle split. I did a few turns and a tilt to check I was stretched enough. A guy in a suit rushed in and asked for Kendall and I. We laced our hands into each others and followed him to the wings. We quickly did our little ALDC prepping routine and prepared to walk on. "Now for a duet in the junior category we have Chloe and Kendall with Disturbia." I walked onto the stage and curled up in a ball in the middle of the stage. The music started and I began to dance...

We waltzed off stage, staring down the audience with our saddened glares. They screamed and cheered but I'm used to it. I ran my eyes over the crowd, searching for someone. His striking blues eyes practically leaped out from the sea of people. I let a small smile escape from my lips as the crowd disappeared from sight. I engulfed Kendall in a bear hug. We had performed flawlessly! It was possibly the best time I'd ever danced.

We rushed back to the dressing room, our sweaty hands laced together. The trio was going on in about 20 minutes and I wanted to watch it. As we entered the room I could hear the chaos behind the big doors. Surprisingly even without my mom here there was still something for people to fight about. Maddie, Nia and Paige were running there dance in the corner of the room, trying to block out the moms awful fight. Unlike our duet the trio was jazzy and fun. Their costumes were bright and bold. Maddie had a fluro pink crop top with silver sequins all over it. She had matching pink shorts. They were joined together by a strip of shimmery pink material that draped down from the right side of the top to the left side of the shorts. Her hair was in a donut bun with a big pink shiny headpiece at the base. Nia had the same costume but it was orange and her hair was in a high ponytail. Paige had a bright blue costume the same as the others but she had two smaller headpieces at the bases of her pigtails.

Once our presence was noticed by the mothers they stopped their screaming and turned to congratulate our performance. Holly wrapped me in a hug and the other mothers, quickly joined her. I was sad mom couldn't be here but at least I had other people around me. After I was released from their bone crushing hug I skipped over to my duffel bag to find some clothes since I had no more performances until tomorrow. I chose a pink and purple ALDC tank top and some baggy sweatpants that had DANCE printed in sequins on my butt. I carefully undid my French twist and retied my hair in a messy bun. I removed all my makeup from my faces and arms. I then quickly reapplied some eyeliner and mascara so I looked half decent instead of the sleep deprived raccoon I must really look like right now. I slipped on some chocolate brown UGGs and grabbed my phone from the table before heading out to the audience. I waited quietly at the back until the current dance finished. In the break I slipped down into a seat towards the back. It was empty all around me which was good because I didn't feel like being swarmed by crazed fans at the moment. I turned on my phone to see the time. 10:03pm. How the hell did it get that late? I mindlessly watched the next few dances. "Now from Thrive Studio we have a junior duo, please welcome Hadley and Zoe with I want to dance with somebody!" I sat up and stared up at the stage. I've seen this duet before. It's stunning. And it effortlessly wins everywhere. Kendall and I might be beaten tonight.

I watch the girls twirl and leap. They were fantastic. Technique wise. But their duet didn't exactly have a story to it. Ours did. So maybe the judges will like that. Every judge is different. I'll just have to wait for awards.

The duo landed in their ending position, signaling the audience to clap. They walked off, their beaming faces looking so triumphant. They knew they did good. But did they do good enough? Time will tell.