Remarkable (Dance Moms Fic)

Chapter 10: L.A. Rehearsals

Two days later at a dance studio near Los Angeles named AMP, which was where Lady Gaga and Britney Spears rehearsed, Abby, Shane, Lauren, Skye, Megan, Sylvia and Gianna were waiting for the girls and their moms to arrive so they could begin.

"Shane, just to let you know, your solo is gonna be known as Play Ball, since i know you're a fan of sports." Abby informed.

"Thanks for the heads up." Shane commented.

"No problem."

Skye noticed that Abby had pulled out a airhorn. "Mom, just asking, what's with the airhorn?"

"Shane bought this for me when we were in Vegas." Abby commented.

"Now we get it." Lauren said.

Gianna, Megan and Sylvia heard the voices of the girls and moms come from outside.

"Abby, they've arrived." Gianna stated.

"And you know what that cues." Megan stated as Maddie and Chloe were the first two to enter.

"Shield your ears." Abby warned as her kids, Megan, Sylvia and Gianna all covered their ears, then she sounded the airhorn which and the rest of the other girls and moms came in, but Melissa wasn't there because she informed them that she was gonna spend some time with her boyfriend, Greg, who Abby, Shane, Lauren and Skye had met a few times as Megan and Sylvia hadn't met him yet.

"We now know why you used the air horn, Abby." Christi laughed.

"Yeah." Abby agreed, then her face turned serious as she went into all business mode. "All right, we're here in Los Angeles aka the City of Angels and City of Dreams and we'll be competing at iHollywood, which is the last competition before Nationals in Lake Tahoe. Here in L.A., you're gonna recognize kids that have been and are in movies, television, commercials and are here in a weekly basis for auditions and they're pros. Maddie, Mackenzie, your mom isn't here, we know we make choices and your mother chose to be away and not be here with you, but at least she warned us in advance, so you'll be with me this week. Shane, would you like to help me with the pyramid? You can go first."

"Sure." Shane replied and the first pictures he revealed were the headshots of Brooke and Paige. "Brooke, Paige, you both won't be doing solos, but you will be in the group dance, which is better than nothing. My mom has had it with your mother, she's said that she could find some better choreographers and she could find some in this city and not back home in Skokie. Here is a little warning, though, if you go as a independent, you two will be out and finished."

"Next, Brookie and Mackenzie, you two will be doing your duet this week. Which is named Snake Charmer" Abby said after she revealed Mackenzie and Brookie's headshots and the two hugged and the next photos that were revealed were Nia and Chloe's headshots.

"Next is Nia and Chloe. Chloe's gonna be doing a solo named Dream On A Star and the group routine."

"And to the surprise of nobody..." Abby revealed Maddie's headshot. "Maddie, you'll be doing a solo known as Disappear and remember, you, like Shane are undefeated. People are out to get you and Shane, you two are the ones to beat in your respective divisions. Does everybody get the memo on how big of an opportunity this is? The judges at iHollywood are gonna be people who are in a capacity to hire you. Those are the individuals that choreograph for film and television. So it is really important that you step on the stage like pros. Get that?"

"Yes." The girls all said.

"All right, let's begin." Abby said and they began the group routine while Shane was in another room, working on his solo and the moms were talking amongst themselves.

"Moms, what is your opinion about Abby taking care of Maddie and Mackenzie since Melissa isn't here?" Kelly asked.

"I believe she's gonna take them and Chloe out to be "seen." Holly said.

"Getting their names out in L.A." Hollie added.

"I don't mind at all." Christi stated. "I'm surprised that Melissa picked her boyfriend over her kids, but then again, if she wants Maddie and Mackenzie to keep dancing, she's gotta keep her boyfriend happy so that this continues."

"Good point." Holly told Christi. "Kelly, what's your opinion on your kids being at the bottom."

"To be honest, not surprising because of the arguments i've had with Abby and i think that she and Shane thought i was joking when i told them that if they weren't gonna teach them if they had solos, then i could find someone that wold. I paid money and they want me to be happy that they're just in the group dance? i don't think so." Kelly replied.

"Being in the group dance is better than not being in any dance." Christi stated.

"I get that, but..."

"You're probably gonna use the yellow pages." Hollie predicted.

"Well, i have and i've found two choreographers who have really good credentials." Kelly said.

Later on, Abby had gathered Lauren, Skye and the girls as Shane, Megan and Sylvia came in to see what Abby had up her sleeve.

"Girls, i've got a big surprise for you all, i have a visitor that is coming to see us and she knows how to work the stage, so let's give a warm welcome to LaQuifa!" Abby stated and coming in was Shangela, also known as LaQuifa as the girls all cheered and to their amazement, she did a move by falling on her back.

"In the words of Harry Caray, Ho-ly cow!" Shane exclaimed.

"You can say that again." Abby told him.

"Yeah." Lauren and Skye added.

"As some of you know, i'm Shangela aka LaQuifa and today, Abby invited me here to tell you guys a little bit about the art of performance, being sickening and really working it when you're out there." Shangela stated. "Maybe i can teach you the move i just did called the Death Drop. Res assured, it's really safe, you're not actually falling on your back, first, you jump backwards and bend one of your knees as you hit the floor with your arms open wide, that is how the Death Drop is done."

Shangela taught Nia the trick and she did it really well and that was going to be at the end of the group routine and while more rehearsals were going on, Abby got a phone call and she found out her mother was in the hospital because of a blockage, it upset her and her kids. Gianna helped Abby book a flight back to Chicago and Abby told shane to watch his sisters and he willingly told her that he'll do it.

The next day at the studio, Kelly and Paige walked in to another studio room and greeted Mike Munich, who is a choreographer that Kelly hired. They began the rehearsal for the solo, which didn't have a lot of technique and it had more body movement, which made Paige look tense.

"Paige, you have got to use your attitude to show Abby and her son that look, i have learned this really cool dance without the both of you, that's what you've got to show them." Kelly stated as Paige

"Paige, i believe you're scared of something." Mike said. "I don't know whether is you being scared of yourself, or it's Abby and Shane or this choreography since it's new and isn't familiar."

"He's right."

"I can tell you can smell it a mile away, i'm not judging you and neither is your mom, we just want you to be the best dancer that you can be, ok?"

Paige nodded as to say got it, then she began to get upset as Kelly was sighing, then Paige went to the bathroom and locked herself in as Mike felt bad for her and Kelly went to the door and opened the door and saw Paige was crying.

"I don't think i can do this." Paige cried as Kelly hugged her.

"Paigey, you don't have to get worked up about this, if you aren't ready, i'm not gonna let you do it. You've got to chill out and have fun with it." Kelly softly assured and a few minutes later, Kelly was trying to convince Abby to allow Paige to be in the group and go as independent, but Shane stepped in and shot the idea down big time and a day later, Abby took Maddie, Chloe, Shane, Lauren and Skye to lunch.

(Cameron's costume for Play Ball: Foil pinstripe spandex leotard with sequin dot lycra trim and zipper back, attached lycra trunks, buttons and applique, pants with elastic belt, sneakers and a baseball hat.)