⎼⎼⎼ 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖋𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 ➵ 𝑏.𝑓.

004

mikki

abby wheeled into the studio. everyone was completely and utterly silent. her face was like a mask, unreadable. i glanced over at brady, who was standing beside me and saw that he was staring straight at abby, a little nervous, but his head was tilted up as if braced for the impact.

"we won!" abby finally yelled, pumping the air. i clapped along with the others, cheering. "now enough. you may have been the highest scoring junior group there, but in our eyes, that was not an aldc performance. you had one goal. come here and dance together as one. and i didn't see that. there were eight soloists on that stage. alright, we're moving on to the pyramid.

"on the bottom, we have hannah." hannah and her mom, ann, nodded. "the turns looked weak. i don't want a weak link. next, pressley. when you do a toe lift backbend back walkover, do not go down on your foot. next, lilly. the favorite was third. you were the lead, but when you stepped out on that stage, you slipped. from that point on, your musicality was fast."

"i just felt like there was a lot of pressure on me," lilly explained. i sort of understood what she meant. she was the only returning member of the aldc and abby expected more from her than from the rest of us.

"but you let me down," abby shrugged, the corners of her mouth tugged downward. i think that was what set stacey off. tricia, michelle and stacey started fighting. it took nearly all of my self control to keep looking at abby, since i knew the cameras were filming.

"enough," abby announced, which ended the feud, "let's move on to the pyramid. next, we have savannah. i saw some growth. i saw improvement. i need to see more. moving up, sarah. you did well. sarah is not lazy. she has that pittsburgh work ethic.

"next we have...brady. i think you improved emotionally, but the dancing was timid. the attack you had in rehearsal wasn't there on the stage."

brady nodded in understanding, but tricia seemed confused. i felt a little jump in my stomach. there were two more spots on the pyramid, which i would be more than happy to be in.

abby tore off another piece of paper and underneath was my headshot. i smiled up at mom, who squeezed my shoulder.

"mikki. i thought you sold the story. you were the lead in the group dance and your technique was really good. the reason you aren't at the top is because you weren't in the trio."

i nodded. that was fair enough.

"and on the top of the pyramid, gianina." everyone clapped for her. "you stayed focused and you performed.

"this week, we're travelling to wilmington, ohio and we're attending the dream maker competition. there's a few people i like in ohio, but there's one i hate," abby smirked. everyone gave laughs of understanding.

cathy, i thought, grinning.

"hopefully, we won't see her at the competition, but if we do..." abby paused for dramatic effect, "i might just have to run over her feet."

everyone laughed.

"i'm doing three solos. the first solo...goes to lilly. lilly, the name of your solo is mommy dearest." stacey chuckled. "second solo goes to savannah. your solo is metamorphosis because i've seen a change in you, but i need to see more. the final solo..." abby stared at all of us. i held my breath.

please let it be mine, i begged silently.

"goes to mikki," she announced, cocking an eyebrow. i smiled as mom tightened her hold on my shoulder. i could almost feel her smile. "your lyrical solo is entitled, above. lilly and savannah are going head to head and mikki, you're going up against some very strong dancers.

"this week's dance will test you. it is a tribute to haka. the haka is a pre-war, ceremonial dance. moms, you're dismissed."

i gave mom a hug and began to run through the routine with everyone else. it was a really difficult, tiring dance. the timing was precise and the movements were sharp. needless to say, i was puffed.

"what's up with you? you're all out of breath," abby remarked, "you know what gianna," she said, addressing her assistant, "i don't like this formation. sarah, swap positions with mikki. mikki, come to the front here."

i moved in front with an apologetic look for sarah, who looked a little disappointed. i felt so bad for her. she was in front and centre, but it was snatched from her. brady grinned at me from his spot and my guiltiness evaporated.