Lost

--Chapter 23--

The girls and I sat in the dressing room until they called all dancers back onto the stage for awards.
As we stepped out the door, I looked down and fiddled with my fingers, disappointed in myself for not talking to Maddie. It needed to happen, but not in front of everyone.
We walked back down the hallway for the third time, then through the same door we had came through for our dances. I followed Jojo onstage, then sat down once we reached our spot. Kalani plopped down next to me, eagerly tapping her fingers on the stage as soon as she reached the ground.

"Deep breaths." I said to her.
"I'm trying, I just really want to place well, maybe even win." she replied.
"You'll do great." Jojo said, chiming into the conversation. "You're and Brynn's duet was great and you did good in the group. No matter what happens, we're still walking to get ice cream afterwards."

We laughed and chatted until the announcer walked onstage, along with two other girls rolled a cart that held the trophies.

"Hello everyone, and thank you to both dancers and audience members for joining us today." he said, the audience applauding in response. "What do say we get started with awards?"

"It's about time." Kendall whispered, laughing as we all applauded.

"Let's begin with mini events."

---

The announcer handed out awards for the mini category, and then the junior category. It was about twenty minutes before he came to ours, the teen category.

"Let's go with teen solos next. Top three." he said.

He announced the top three teen solos, my stomach knotting up more and more each word he spoke.

"Now, teen duo trios, top three." he finally said into the microphone. "In third place, we have Wait For It, Hannah, Kacy and Payton."

We applauded as the three excited girls dashed up to the front of the stage to receive their plack.

"Second place, we have Light and Dark, Kendall and Maddie."

My heart sank as I began to applaud. I thought we good enough for the top three, but at least Maddie won't find me as a threat anymore.

"And in first place, Someday, Kalani and Brynn!" the announcer exclaimed.

It took a few seconds to process what he had said, and when i finally did, my eyebrows raised at least five feet from where they should be.
Kalani grabbed onto my arm and dragged me up to the front of the stage.

"Congratulations girls! What studio are you from?" he asked us, handing me the microphone.
"Abby Lee Dance Company!" we yelled, the crowd clapping in response.

I smiled, but that smile turned to a frown as soon as my back was to the crowd. This would not make fixing things with Maddie any better.

"And now, our teen group awards!" the announcer said. "In third place, Winter Storm, Washington Dance Academy!"

I clapped, my hands shaking as I did so.

"In second place, Pulled, Dance Connections!"

More clapping, more shaking.

"And in first place, Practically Perfect, Abby Lee Dance Company!"

We all practically jumped up and ran to the front of the stage. One of the two girls handed the trophy to me as the announcer walked over to us.