Jeté to Stardom

12. Return of the Candy Apples

Lux nods. She wasn't upset about her placement on the pyramid. After all, she got third, and Chloe, Maddie, and Nova scored higher.

"Next, we have Nova. You gave me attitude, you gave me sassy, you entertained the audience. Good job. And on top of the pyramid... Maddie, you also did a great job. I've seen you dance better. Every single person is gonna be in the group dance. It is called 'Bad Apples.' It's a little '40s, has a little novelty with a bit of Katy Perry, it's a little kicked up."

Abby tilts her head to the moms. "So I want the pin-up girl look. We have the rat; we have the snood. If you don't know what a rat and a snood are, go Google it and figure it out. When you go on stage for the competition, you better be on fire. Brooke, you will be doing a solo. Cathy has a girl entered your age; I want you to make applesauce out of that kid, backstage freak that kid out. I want that kid in tears before she ever steps on that stage. Alright, Candy Apples-- applesauce. Squish Em. Alright, Moms, you're dismissed. Girls spread apart. Let's warm up and start doing the number. Music!"

Lux makes a face at Abby. She was a lot more aggressive than usual. She must really want to beat Cathy.

"Why are you two dressed like that?" Abby asks as they stretch.

"We thought it would be fun," Nova giggles.

"It was my idea," Lux agrees. And she was happy she came up with it; the befuddled look everybody had when they started at us was hilarious.

Abby looks between them, scrutinizing them. "So which is which?"

Getting into her straddle, she shares a look with Nova. "Guess."

"I think that's Lux," Maddie points to Nova.

Chloe shakes her head. "No, that's Lux. Lux's voice is quieter than Nova's. Am I right?"

Lux forces herself not to act. She didn't even think about that; she's always thought she and Nova had a different voice, but she didn't know anybody else could tell.

Abby claps to bring the attention back to her. "We can figure it out later. We're warming up now, focus."

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"I just want to stay 'stand up tall,'" Paloma hears Jill mummers.

Sitting beside Kelly, she drops her bag in front of her and takes out her phone.

Melissa takes the spot next to her. "So, what did you think of your first pyramid?"

Jill let out a sigh. "Yeah, you never know- I didn't know what to expect. I really didn't think she'd be on the bottom."

Christi arches an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, but Jill, you're new."

Paloma chuckles. "Exactly."

"I know. I-I know. But still, I thought- that that was a lot of pressure on a little kid."

Paloma suppresses an eye-roll. "What did you expect? Kendall on top?"

"In three days, she learned a solo; they switched the music the night before," Jill defends.

"That's what we do every week," Melissa informs her.

"Welcome to our world," an amused Christi adds.

"My kids still have no music," Kelly pipes in.

"I just don't understand why she couldn't have thrown her a little bone," Jill continues to bitch.

"She did. Our girls had less time with their solos because Abby was making sure your daughter was ready," Paloma rolls her eyes. "She got more than a bone Jill."  If Jill wants to fit in, she better stop bitching.