Mackenzie nervously paced backstage, her palms sweating. So far this weekend, everything had gone wrong.
Tyler was going to the dance with Ava, Abby had changed part of her dance 15 minutes before she went on, her hair felt super heavy, and to top it all off, Mackenzie’s costume didn’t fit right.
She tugged at the too tight top, and let out a sigh. Her costume resembled the one Maddie had worn for her solo ‘Hold On’ but it was gray. Mackenzie’s hair was done in a neat French twist with curls piled on top; a large silver clip was on the side.
“Let’s give a warm welcome to contestant #86, Asia, with ‘Lightning’.”
Mackenzie watched as Asia did a jazzy walk out on stage and struck her beginning pose. Her music started blaring, and Mackenzie moved into the wings to watch. All of Asia’s movements were extremely strong, and her facial expressions were off the charts. Everything about her dance was amazing, and Mackenzie was sure she would place, but winning? That wasn’t likely. Chloe and Maddie still had yet to dance, and she knew they had beautiful dances prepared
About a minute into the dance, Mackenzie turned away and started running her dance. She was most worried about her Russian switch leap. She’d been able to do it since she was nine, but Abby didn’t put it in too many of her dances, so Mackenzie wasn’t extremely confident in it.
She looked back out at the stage as Asia’s music died down. Mackenzie walked up to the wings, knowing she would be up next. She did a little shake-out and took a deep breath. Nothing could mess up this dance.
“Up next we have contestant #87, Mackenzie, with ‘Stepping Stones’.”
Before going out on stage, she took one more deep breath. Mackenzie sat down near the back of the stage, and her music started.
C’mon, Kenz, she thought, you got this
Mackenzie smiled as she did two front aerials in a row.
Just imagine the look on Abby’s face when you win. You’re good enough.
She did a fan kick and a short set of turns before seeing Abby’s face. All she saw was disapproval.
Maybe you’re not good enough, her inner voice said. Maybe you’ll never be good enough. You’ll always be stuck in Maddie’s shadow. Maddie never had trouble with boys, but you do. Maddie never had problems in school, but you do. Maddie is always perfect in dance, but you’re not. Maddie is everything you’ve always wanted to be.
Mackenzie did a side aerial down to one knee and froze. Her mind went blank. For what felt like an hour she was still; slowly, Mackenzie stood up and ran off stage, tears threatening to spill over. She ran past everyone backstage and in the halls until the dressing room came into view. There was no crying, until she dove behind the black curtain the girls had gotten dressed behind.
It was normal for people to forget their dances once in a while. Everyone had done it before, and Mackenzie thought it was better for her to get it out of her system while she was still young instead of messing up at an audition.
But I’m not a kid anymore. She rethought everything; I’ll be turning fourteen in four months away. This can’t happen again.
“Kenz…”
Hastily, Mackenzie stood up wiped away her tears and moved out from behind the curtain. Paige and Asia stood in front of her, both with open arms. She pulled them into a group hug.
“It’s okay, Kenzie,” Asia said as she pulled away “Everyone’s forgotten a dance before.”
Mackenzie forced out a small laugh, “You haven’t.”
“I’ve done it twice, so that makes up for Asia,” Paige smiled.
“What was going through your head, Kenz?” Asia asked, “Something must’ve been bothering you,”
“True,” Paige agreed, “I’ve never really just forgotten a dance. Well, I’ve forgotten dances, but you know what I mean. There’s always a reason.”
“I’ve just been under a lot of pressure lately, but I’m fine. I can handle myself just fine.” Mackenzie stated firmly, even though she was breaking on the inside.
“C’mon,” Paige grabbed the younger girls’ hands “Let’s go to awards,”
I was there for that long? Mackenzie thought.
Abby was probably extremely upset. She’d wanted a clean sweep this week, and Mackenzie knew she’d get in double the normal amount trouble for forgetting.
The three girls joined the others on the stage, and Mackenzie tried to sit as far in the corner as possible. She really didn’t want Abby to see her.
“We’ll be starting out in our teen division. In tenth place we have entry #86, Asia, with ‘Lightning.’”
Mackenzie’s jaw dropped. Asia had been amazing, much better than tenth! This competition must have been harder than she expected.
She shook her head to clear away any thoughts and focused on hearing her team-mates names.
“We have a tie for sixth place. Would entries 90, Nia, with ‘Brave’ and 92, Paige, with ‘Vegas’ come up to accept their awards?”
Mackenzie saw Abby shoot them disapproving looks before turning to look at Maddie…of course.
“In fourth place is Kendall, entry #88 ‘If You’re out There,’”
Kendall smiled as she took her award. Abby had been making her feel awful throughout the entire week, so this was a small victory for her.
“Only one fifth of a point separate first from second. In second place is entry 90, Chloe, with ‘Let Him Go,’”
Chloe took her award with a smile, but Mackenzie saw it falter slightly when Maddie was called up for winning first.
Abby was clapping wildly in the audience, her smile wide, and she kept mouthing “You won!” to Maddie.
Mackenzie instantly knew what it meant. The vote they had taken, the competition, Abby’s favoritism…everything.
Mackenzie had wanted to be treated that way for years. She wanted the extra time, she wanted the fun rehearsals without yelling, she wanted to be…
Operation be like Maddie, Mackenzie thought, commence.
YOU ARE READING
I'm Trying ||m.z||
Fanfic"Tell me, will it ever be my turn to show the world I'm ready, and it's my time to shine"
