I'm Trying ||m.z||

Chapter Nine

On Monday, Mackenzie woke up fifteen minutes early to straighten her hair. Normally, she’d just throw her hair up into her ponytail or bun, but today was different. Today, Mackenzie had to be like Maddie.

          “What to wear, what to wear?” She muttered as she ran the flat iron through her hair.

          She knew that Maddie put a lot of thought into her outfits and that hers had to be perfect to live up to her sister’s “legacy.”

          When Mackenzie was done with her hair, she put on a bit of make-up: just a bit of lip gloss and mascara—enough to make her stand out.

          She threw open her closet doors and stood up on her toes to grab one of her favorite tops. It was gray with white, hot-pink, and black stripes, and Mackenzie just loved it. She pulled it on along with her favorite dark jeans. The combination was absolutely perfect.

          “C’mon, Kenz!”

          Mackenzie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. “Coming Mom!” she yelled back.

          Once she was downstairs, Mackenzie grabbed and orange and quickly began to peel it.

          “Don’t you look nice,” Melissa said. “Trying to impress someone?”

          Mackenzie rolled her eyes. “No, I just wanted to dress up for once.”

          “She’s all dressed up for Tyler!” Maddie exclaimed from her seat at the kitchen table.

          Mackenzie blushed and nearly dropped her orange. “Um…”

          “You know I’m right,” Maddie smiled.

          No, you’re not right, Mackenzie thought.

Had she said this a few weeks ago, she would have been right. But this was…well, it was today. Tyler and Ava were together and Mackenzie was trying to imitate her sister. It was weird.

“I’m just gonna go now,” Mackenzie said, grabbing her bag. “Oh, look, there’s the bus. Bye!” 

She ran out of the house faster than ever and quickly hopped onto the bus. This day was definitely going to be a strange one.

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At dance that afternoon, Mackenzie didn't even bother to pay attention during pyramid. All she really cared about today was whether or not they would be going to a competition. 

        "This week we will be going to a competition," Abby said. She put up a hand to stop the moms' incoming protests. "I know I said we wouldn't. But it's local, and Cathy will be  there."

        Everyone sucked in a breath in unison. That meant that Abby would be expecting nothing but perfection from all of the girls.

        "Anyway, this week, we will be doing four dances. Mackenzie, I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself. You have a solo called 'Stepping Stones' and it's about learning from your mistakes. You need to do that."

        Mackenzie nodded. "Thank you Miss Abby."

        "Maddie, you have a solo, too, and this one is lyrical acro. It's entitled 'Drop in the Ocean.'"

        Maddie glanced over at Melissa and they smiled at each other. Of course.

        "There will also be a duet, and it is going to Chloe and Paige. It's a musical theatre number called 'Legally Blondes.' This number had pretty simple choreography so your facial expressions will have to be perfect."

        Chloe and Paige grinned. It had been a long time since they'd had a duet.

        "And the group dance is a ballet number called 'Breaking Pointe.' This dance has to be perfect, so you're going to start learning it now. Moms," she turned to face them. "Leave. Perfection is what I need this week, girls, and it's what I'm going to get. No matter what."