I'm Trying ||m.z||

Chapter Thirteen

As Mackenzie walked into dance on Wednesday, she tried her hardest not to think about Ava, which was practically impossible for her.

          Ever since Dance Moms had gotten kind of crazy in Season 3, Mackenzie had become a worrier. Every little thing threatened to push her over the edge, and if she could have one thing, it would be to go back in time and make sure a certain producer named Jeff Collins never called her house. Had never told them that they'd be stars in a show called Dance Moms.

          "Hey, Kenz," Nia said as Mackenzie put her bag down in the dancers den, "You have to be in here in five."

          Mackenzie nodded as she began to pull off her boots, "'Kay." Normally, Mackenzie would be more talkative, but today, she just wasn't in the mood to talk.

          "Everything okay?" Nia asked.

          "I'm fine," Mackenzie snapped. Everything wasn't okay, but what could she do about that now? Nothing.

          Ava and Tyler were going to the dance together. Ava probably hated her. Ryan and Grace were together, and math…

          Crap, Mackenzie thought. She—of course—had left her math books at school.

          Nia nodded and turned her attention back to the bluish carpeting on the floor. Mackenzie felt extremely lucky that Nia of all people had been in the Dancer's Den when she came in. If Kendall or Paige were there, they would just pry and pry until Mackenzie broke down and told them everything, but Nia wasn't like that. She understood that Mackenzie didn't want to talk and left it at that.

          Suddenly, the old door to Studio A creaked open, making Mackenzie jump.

Maddie popped her head in, "Abby wants you, Kenzie."

          "Okay," Mackenzie said. She hopped up and followed Maddie back into the studio.

          "Wait," Mackenzie muttered to Maddie, "Why are you following me?"

          "Abby wants me to critique you," Maddie said as she sat down along the wall of mirrors near the CD player and glanced over at Abby and Mackenzie, "Ready?"

          Mackenzie lied down on the floor in her starting pose and gave Maddie a thumbs-up. Her dance, 'Be the Best' was relatively simple, so she knew it had to be extremely clean.

          "Fix your feet!" Abby yelled as Mackenzie went into her elbow stand.

          "Tuck in your rib cage, too," Maddie added. She paused the music and re-winded it to be beginning, "Start again."

          Mackenzie fought back the urge to roll her eyes and went back to her starting position. Just think about your corrections, she thought.

          Maddie started up the music again, and even though Mackenzie was trying, she just couldn't get herself to emote and fix her corrections. It was either she looked like a robot or some kid who had never had any professional dance training.

          "Use your face, Mackenzie!" Abby screamed, "You have one, don't you?!"

          Okay, Abby, I'll use my face. Mackenzie threw on the happiest facial expression she could muster as she went into her front aerial.

          Bam!

          She landed flat on her hands and knees. Luckily, Mackenzie hadn't heard a crack, so she knew she'd probably just have some bruises, but the fact that she'd fallen on something as simple as a front aerial in front of Abby and her sister of all people made her feel as though she had broken all of the bones in her body.

          Abby snapped and pointed towards the door, "Just go, I'm pulling your solo. I can't look at a kid who can't dance!"

          Mackenzie slowly stood even though her knees were aching and moved towards the door. She could just go practice in Studio B. Maybe she could go practice with the Minis. Anything would be better than being yelled at.

          "You're so worthless, Mackenzie! You can't do lyrical so I give you acro and now you can't even do that! When Maddie was your age, she could have learned this solo in five minutes! That’s how easy it is!"

          Mackenzie froze, her right hand about two inches above the door knob.

          Relax, Kenz, she thought, trying to calm herself down. Abby hadn't said anything worse than normal, but today she had just struck a nerve, and now, Mackenzie was mad.

          Well, maybe "mad"wasn't a good enough word.

          "No," Mackenzie said, "You're the worthless one," She stayed facing the door because Mackenzie knew that if she turned around, she would definitely lose all of her nerve, "You always treat us like trash, but have you ever realized that you can't do anything. And you always say 'Oh, Mackenzie, you'll never be as good as Maddie but-"

          "You will never be as good as-"

          "Can't you see that I'm trying!" And with that, she left.