A Second Chance

Competition Part 2

"What. Was. That. I have trained you two for YEARS. And you can't handle one solo? Alyssa was the only one who could do her dance without looking like crap, and she's the new girl! I cannot believe this. You two of all people should be able to pull off a solo performance at this age. Get into your costumes for the group and PULL IT TOGETHER."

All of us nodded our heads, not replying. Abby regarded me

"Alyssa. You did very well. I'm keeping you for a couple more weeks, at least"

I breathed a sigh of relief and went back to the dressing room, while Abby continued to yell at Maddie and Kendall. I could hear her as I headed back into the dressing room. 

"What. Was. That. You looked like fools out there! Alyssa was the only one who could even manage to remember her solo! Get ready for the group. I better not see any mistakes from the either of you, or there's going to be trouble."

Back in the dressing room, We pulled our hair into french twists and put on our dresses, then applied some basic stage makeup. A competition worker called us backstage, and we got into our positions in the wings. After our entrance, Maddie and Chloe did the starting piece, then we all joined them. We started the turns, and I managed to get through the sequence without bobbling. I made sure to really use my facials, even when I was just dancing backup to Maddie and Chloe. As I watched them do their part out of the corner of my eye, I saw Maddie hesitate on a leap and fall behind on the counts. Chloe stayed perfect throughout, despite Maddie struggling next to her. We had a short partnering section toward the middle of the piece, and Nia was lifting me. I was lifted without a hitch, but then I came down hard on my foot. Pain flashed through my leg. I set my face like a rock, making sure not to show my pain. Nia had felt how hard I landed, and I could see fear in her eyes, though her smile was still vibrant. My leg definitely wasn't broken or sprained, but it still hurt. As I transitioned into the next section of the dance, an acro section, I was grateful to be standing on my hands rather than my legs. However, I soon realized that I would have to do a back handspring on my bad leg. Come on Alyssa, you've got this. I went into my prep for the handspring and launched myself into the air. My hands landed solidly on the floor, and I popped my shoulders to snap onto my feet. As I landed, another burst of pain shot through my foot, and this time I bobbled slightly on my landing. Crap. I continued the rest of the routine without much issue, before making my exit with a glamorous smile. I hugged the other girls in the wings, and Nia looked my way.

"Alyssa! Your foot! Are you okay? I'm so so sorry!"

I smiled back

"It totally wasn't your fault, Nia. I just landed a bit too hard, and the pain is better already! No harm, no foul. Sorry I bobbled a bit on my handspring, though."

Kendall gave me another hug

"I'm so glad you're okay, you were great otherwise! Your turns were gorgeous."

I smiled back at her

"You were amazing too, K! You rocked that acro bit. Let's head backstage and catch a quick break before awards."

We headed backstage into the dressing room, where Abby and the moms were waiting. The moms clapped as we entered

"Great job girls! You rocked that number!"

Holly was smiling as she held the door open for us, and we each headed over to our moms to sit down. Abby was standing next to Gia with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Girls, with the exception of a few dancers..."

Abby shot a look at Maddie, and she looked to the floor. 

"While I definitely saw some mistakes, I think that this was definitely an adequate performance. But I don't want adequate. I want amazing. You girls are going to fall behind if you don't really push it with our numbers moving forward. Alyssa will be joining us next week, we don't have any official results yet, but she's done a great job in my book. She's a hard worker, and I expect all of you to follow her example. She shined this week. Maddie and Kendall, however..."

Abby paused before she dropped a bomb on us

"Will both be placed on probation."