Leading Ladies

XXX. The Recital to End All Recitals

"Kelly didn't ask for permission," Ileen cuts in, ignoring Kelly's glare. "However, Jill, you have to admit it's completely different for Brooke to leave for cheerleading and for you to take Kendall to a rival team. And let's not forget that Brooke was gone for a week. Kendall was gone for half the season, and we constantly competed against her."

Christi chuckles. "You're really wrong, Jill, if Ileen and Kelly are agreeing with each other."

Ileen shrugs. It's not about agreeing with Kendall, but Jill's constant need for Kendall to get what she 'deserved' is annoying. Kendall does not deserve more than anybody else on the team, especially when they've stayed.

As much as Ileen thinks Kelly should leave and take her children out of this toxic environment, she hasn't, and she's stayed throughout all the hurtful words hurled at her and her daughters, yet Brooke and Paige are constantly at the bottom of the pyramid. It's only right that Kendall isn't on the pyramid at all.

It's also not about being fair. It's about a mother who constantly leaves a studio when things are not going her way. Abby wasn't favoring Kendall, so Jill left.

Cathy was no longer given Kendall exposure, so Jill left the Candy Apples. Personally, if Ileen was Abby, she wouldn't have Kendall back on the team until Jill proves that she won't jump ship again.

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Ileen was only half-asleep in the daybed in the garden when she heard footsteps, followed by her husband's fingertips caressing the line of her jaw.

"Don't you have to take the girls to rehearsal soon?"

Ileen allowed her eyes to slide open a crack so she could glare at her husband properly. Marko chuckles at her, utterly unmoved by her scowl.

"Scary," he teases. He shook his head and sat down by her hip, shucking his oxfords, then sprawling possessively on top of her. Ileen elbowed him half-heartedly as he shifted, settling so he was lying behind her with his arms wrapped around her upper body, his legs pinning her skirts between her.

"Hello, wife," he muttered, lips brushing her war and the feel of his breath on her skin making her shiver.

Ileen leaned into him, the back of her head brushing his shoulder as her nose slid up against the underneath of his jaw. "Hello, husband."

"You guys are outside! Outside!" Elias screams from the doorway.

Marko peaks up at him. "We're not doing anything."

"And I'm a virgin," he deadpans. "I know that position. I know what you wanna do."

Snorting, Ileen sat up, her leg sliding off the opposite side of the daybed to touch the floor as she stretched up. She would never stop being affectionate with Marko in front of her children as much as it embarrassed them-- really, it's only Elias and Sabrina. Acacia, Bianca, and Elsa are perfectly fine with it-- because she wants them to find that type of love for themselves.

On the way to the theater, Ileen thinks about yesterday. The hip-hop routine was a mistake, and Abby refuses to admit it, so instead of turning the number into a jazz piece and having Paige not dance, she invited Payton to dance with the girls in hopes of making it better. It was probably Abby's worst idea yet. Worse than the girls doing a hip-hop routine.

Arriving at the theater, Ileen rushes the girls out before joining the other Mom in the audience. She watches rehearsal after rehearsal before Abby gets to the hip-hop number.

"Is anyone in 'Children' in 'Elite Point'? Payton?" Abby's voice emanates through the intercom, and the static-filled transmission makes Ileen wince worse than the performance on stage. "No, that doesn't work. I'm gonna need a minute to fix this, so let's just go with this hip-hop number. You're in the fire with all this smoke."