⎼⎼⎼ 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖋𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 ➵ 𝑏.𝑓.

006

mikki

"brady, stop!" i shrieked, as he streaked mascara over my eyelids. brady was purposely wiping it everywhere except where it was actually meant to be.

"brady, stop," his mom repeated, pinning a clip into lilly's hair. he held up my arms in surrender and handed me the mascara. i glared at him and closed my eyes to wipe all the black stuff off them. he then wandered off to help savannah to fix her hair.

"mikki! your solo is up in five numbers," abby yelled, "go warm up backstage and do your thing!"

i nodded and walked out. brady went after me, just to give moral support.

"hi," i breathed.

"you ok?" he asked.

"just nervous. first solo on this team, right?" i replied, my voice higher than usual.

"you'll do fine," he assured, giving me a side hug. i nodded, but wasn't convinced. "go freak them out."

i felt my wicked grin spread across my face. that was something i could do.

there was a satisfying thud as i landed after a back tuck. i gave brady a thumbs up and shook out as my number was called.

"up next we have act number 47, mikki gray with above."

i felt like my dance was really good. releves were high, turns tight, body relaxed. it felt amazing. just to be on that stage, here out of the thousands of people who wanted to be on this team.

"woo! go mikki!" brady yelled as i walked off the stage. i was panting hard. he handed me a plastic water bottle which i took gratefully and began chugging down. "that was so good!"

"thanks," i gasped, "hope the judges think so too."

⤎⎼༌·⋱🩰⋰⋆༌⎼⤏

"group number!" abby yelled, waving her arms in the air as she moved her wheelchair closer to her table. "get out there and do what the aldc does, win!"

brady pushed the door open for us all. pressley smiled up at him as she went past. he gave her a thumbs up. i was frowning in concentration, going through the steps in my mind. the haka was definitely extremely hard to perform.

"up next, we have act number 103, haka from abby lee dance company!"

it was full of tricks, strength based and the timing had to be perfect. i focused on playing my part and doing everything correctly, so i couldn't see the others. i hoped they were doing well. on the final drumbeat, i felt relief. it was good.

"good job!" savannah grinned, pulling us into a group hug. we headed back to the dressing room. as we did so, a dancer from another team knocked me into a costume rack. i tripped and fell.

oh no. my ankle hurts like hell.

when we came into the corridor, i could feel my face twisted in pain.

"my ankle," i wheezed.

"it's ok, just lean on me," brady said, trying to sound calm.

"mikki! what's wrong?" mom asked, rushing toward her. i was now pale with pain. i pointed at my foot, trying not to cry. it was swollen. "oh my goodness," she shrieked. brady helped me into a chair as abby came over in her wheelchair.

"alright, we're going to strap this ankle up. gianna, call first aid," she directed, as gianna punched in numbers on her phone.

"are you ok?" pressley asked, getting ice. i almost crying now, biting my lip. i shook my head.

"you see? this is what you all need to be!" abby yelled at everyone, "mikki hasn't cried, and she's twisted her ankle! the rest of you," she motioned with her finger at everyone else, "are crying because of some stupid thing the other moms said."

"with good reason!" michelle, sarah's mom, screamed. i was now looking uncomfortable as well as in pain. i wished abby wouldn't use me as an example in this time. i was so close to tears. "sarah was accused and torn at! and mikki is close to tears, look at her!"

it was true, my eyes were brimming, but i blinked fast to keep them back.

"don't you dare start at my daughter!" mom yelled, throwing down a fabric flower.

"stop!" abby shouted over the top of all the noise, "i don't want this happening in my dressing room. kids, get out there. awards are coming up."

mom glared at michelle as the team walked out.

abby looked at me. "as much as i want you on the stage, there is no way i'm letting you walk with your foot in that state, ok? your mom will stay backstage with you and hannah will get your solo award if you win."

i nodded and shifted my foot slightly. "hopefully we win!"

the silence was pressing as mom and i waited for the rest of them to return. the team came back several minutes later. hannah handed me my trophies, grinning widely, and we raised the giant group award in the air.

"we won again!" abby screamed.

indeed we did. but what if i couldn't dance this week?

the author speaks:
i am editing the story, that's why
none of the other chapters are
up :)