⎼⎼⎼ 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖋𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 ➵ 𝑏.𝑓.

018

mikki

"how do you feel?" mom asked, rubbing my shoulder as we walked into the dancer's den. i shrugged.

"i don't really know," i said truthfully, "i mean, i miss brady, but the other girls haven't been noticed at all because he was there, you know what i mean?"

"mm," mom agreed.

"alright girls, come in!" abby called. we all traipsed into the room. "well, you got your wish. brady's gone."

"i don't think it was a wish," joanne interrupted, "you sent him home, not us."

abby ploughed on. "brady has been a decoy. he has drawn the focus away. but brady's gone, so don't rely on him to cover for you. moving onto the pyramid.

"at the bottom, lilly. last week, you were actually facing the wrong direction in the group routine. you've messed up in a dance almost every week. i expect more from you. shame on you."

"i think i deserve to be there because i didn't prove i should be anywhere else," lilly admitted.

"ok. next, hannah. hannah, it's aggravating that i hand-chose you and you're getting seventh. do you have anything to say for yourself?" hannah shrugged imperceptibly.

ann piped up, "i think she did a fantastic job."

"ann, if that was her all, it wasn't good enough."

"as an educator-"

"woah, you, from indiana are going to tell me, who has taught over the world, what an educator is?"

"i'm not talking about dance. i'm talking about morals. she couldn't have beat gia with that piece. it wasn't difficult enough."

"because she can't do anything more difficult! do ten pirouettes! show me!" abby screamed. hannah started to cry. "next, we have sarah. sarah, i see potential in you. i just need to figure out if you can shine outside of pittsburgh.

"next, we have savannah. in the competition, you pulled my eye, you pulled focus. but in a good way.

"second row, we have pressley. you were clean, beautiful, you did a nice job. next to her, we have mikki."

i smiled. that was a good placement.

"you had great technique and your facials could have been at the level of a movie.

on top we have gianina! i am not going to take anything away from that, it was a win."

"today you say that," joanne huffed.

"the last thing i need is a delusional mother and delusional team members thinking they should've beaten brady."

"the judges thought she should've won and that was why she won. but instead of celebrating my kid, you tried to discredit her and told brady that he only lost because the judge was from miami!"

"shut up joanne!"

"no! you're saying this without facts. here's the result, let's look!" joanne drew out a white piece of paper. the moms were laughing silently. "brady was scored higher by the male judge."

"sweetie, take this home and frame it. this will never happen again," abby shrugged.

i side hugged gia. anger surfaced. what was abby's problem?

"alright, this weekend, we're travelling to sewell, new jersey to attend fierce dance challenge. the solos go to sarah and gianina. we'll also have a duet with pressley and mikki," abby announced as i grinned at press. "sarah, you are portraying an olympic gold medalist, mary lou retton! this is an acrobatic gymnastic routine, your moment to shine.

"gianina, your character is snooki." joanne was rolling her eyes and laughing. "and i am sure that your mother can help you with this routine. the duet is called 'suffragette'. it's about the feminist movement. you are part of this change for women, so it's a huge responsibility.

"pressley, your technique, control, flexibility, it's all improving, but i want to see more. mikki, your technique and facials are great. it's about being the best, rather than being great, for you.

"this week, the group dance is called, the widows. you will all portray the character of a wife mourning the loss of her husband. after he's six feet under, you're celebrating, a joy that he is gone."

it was a dig at us. about brady. even after he left, everything was still about him. and i wasn't too sure how i felt about that.

"girls, spread out and warm up."