I'm Trying ||m.z||

I'm Trying ||Mackenzie Ziegler||

Mackenzie was scared. 

     The first three people on pyramid had already been revealed-Paige, Nia, and Kendall-and criticized for sloppy feet and arms, and only one spot remained on the bottom row. Mackenzie knew this spot would either be occupied by herself, Asia, Maddie, or Chloe, and she knew that the odds were not in her favor.

        She stared down at her now turquoise toe-nails as she thought of the last competition. The group dance ‘Guardian Angels’ had been the first to lose, a Paige and Nia duet ‘Sugar and Spice’ got fifth, Mackenzie got third for ‘Starlight’, and Maddie pulled out a near perfect score with her solo ‘Lost in your Love’ and got first. Overall they hadn’t done very well, and Abby was really making them pay for it during pyramid.

        She cringed at the noise of the next paper being ripped off.

        “Asia,”

      Mackenzie bit her lip to suppress a smile. Sure Asia was her friend, and seeing her upset didn’t leave anyone with a good feeling, but Mackenzie hadn’t been expecting that.

       “I originally meant to put you last on the pyramid because you weren’t at the competition,” Abby said. “You were shooting some commercial in LA, but I decided that those three shouldn’t have been any higher up. That’s why you’re here, Asia.”

      The dance teacher tore off the next sheet revealing a brown-eyed girl with her hair pulled into a braid on the left side of her head. From the picture, the girls could see the she was wearing a light blue sweater.

      “Mackenzie. Third place; third on the pyramid. Simple as that.”

     Showing no emotion, the thirteen year-old nodded. Even smiling would cause Abby to get mad. She remembered years ago when Abby had gotten mad at Maddie for being excited to have a duet with Kendall.

        “Second on the pyramid we have Chloe. Chloe you were only in the group dance last week and I personally thought you did great. Keep up the good work.”

        Because she was standing next to her, Mackenzie gave the tall blonde a hug and smiled up at her.

       “And on top of the pyramid, no surprise, is Maddie. You were four points from perfection and you got first in your age group. Just amazing.”

        All of the girls, except Mackenzie gave Maddie huge smiles. She wasn’t on top of the pyramid as often as she was a few years ago as some of the other girls were improving and sometimes beat her at competitions.

          “This week,” Abby shot her dancers a sly smile “Everyone will have a solo. The competition we are attending is in Hollywood, and it turns out that all of you are in the same age division.”

          While holding back a sigh, Mackenzie willed herself to steal a quick glance at her mother. Melissa smiled which seemed odd to Mackenzie, but she figured the smile was intended for Maddie.

          “Alright,” Abby said. “Let’s get to work.”