A Second Chance

Competition part 1

Competition day. I woke up and changed into leggings and a sweater for the bus ride, and grabbed a smoothie for the road. After I got ready, we went over to the studio
"Girls! Get on the bus!" Abby yelled, "we don't have all day!" We all headed onto the bus, and I settled down in a seat with Maddie. I put in my earbuds in and pulled up Netflix on my computer. After watching for a bit, I took a long nap.
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When I woke up, we were at the hotel for the competition, which was called Dance Forever. "Wow," I said, "This place is super fancy!"
"Welcome to our life!" Replied Kendall, grinning. "Girls, you have room 245, moms are in rooms 243 and 244, I will be in room 242," Said Abby. We took up the elevator to our room. Inside the room were 2 bedrooms, each with 2 beds, and a huge bathroom, as well as a little kitchen/living area. Kendall turned to me. "Maddie and Kenzie always share a bed, and me and Nia can share too, so you and Chloe can each have your own bed,"
"Ok!" I said "Sounds good. While we wait, do you want to swim?"
"Sure!" said Maddie. We all changed into our swimsuits and jumped into the pool. After an hour or 2 of swimming, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the competition. I pinned my hair up into a bun and put a nude leotard on, with my solo costume over it. I put on the final piece- an ALDC jacket. We got to our dressing room and started makeup and hair. Melissa suddenly called out worriedly
"Uh oh Abby, Maddie's costume is too big! We must have gotten the wrong size!" Abby sighed.
"Pin. it. Up. That is the one thing that we always do. Stop whining and get your kid ready to dance."
Melissa said something under her breath and started pinning Maddie's costume. The solo category started, and my dance was in between Kendall and Maddie's. We went backstage and watched the first few girls. The emcee called out Kendall's dance, and she walked on stage with tons of sass. She started great. "Chasse, up up, turn, six, seven, eight...and go!" I went over the choreo in my head. Suddenly, she faltered and missed her next jump. She had forgotten! She was improvising. I saw the scared look on her face as she struggled to connect some turns and leaps, and cringed inwardly. She went into her final pose and walked off the stage. As soon as she got backstage, she burst into tears.
"Abby's gonna kill me! I don't wanna go back there."
"Hey," I said "You can stay back here and watch with us. You'll be fine. I bet the judges didn't even know you forgot!"
"Okay..."

Just then, the emcee called my name. I stepped into the wings and took a deep breath. I walk onstage, my smile beaming to the judges. My music begins, and I dive into the dance. My arms float beside me as I turn and leap. My leg strikes the air and hovers as my body bends back. I slowly roll out of my pose and push my arms out. I leap, spin, turn, push, pull, and strike. As my music winds down, so do I. As I reach my final pose and exhale, I am pulled out of my trance. I walk offstage and Maddie gives me a big hug

"You did so well! Kendall's doing better. She's sitting over there if you want to watch with her"

"Okay. Break a leg out there!"

"Thanks!"

Maddie stepped onstage confidently and full of energy. She was beautiful, smiling, turning. She prepped for a front aerial, and hesitated as she pushed forward. She landed awkwardly, and lost some counts getting up. Her face never changed. She finished the rest of her solo beautifully, and strode offstage like she owned the place. She walked up to me, and her face fell.

"I'm so embarrassed. I did horrible. Abby's gonna kill me"

Mellissa appeared backstage

"Girls? Abby wants to see you."