August 31
"All I wanna do is SIIIIIING!" Mackenzie Ziegler leaps into a balloté, whilst screaming the lyrics to one of her current favorite songs. "Nobody ever KNOOOOWS!"
"All I wanna do is sing," Kendall Vertes sings back, following Mackenzie to the ballet bar. "Everybody, here's me!"
"Enough!" Miss Abby Lee Miller claps her hands repeatedly, leading several more of her girls into her dance studio. "No more singing. Kendall, you're improving, I will say that."
Kendall beams, while Mackenzie tries to not let her disappointment show on her face. Hasn't Kenzie been the one trying to sing for like, her entire life?
"Against the mirror, girls. Take a seat and face me."
Maddie Ziegler, Kenzie's older sister and mentor takes a seat against the mirror next to Kendall, following Kalani, Nia, and Brooke Kosinski.
Abby's usually harsh eyes softened as she looked from girl to girl. She seemed in a much better mood than usual, she was chipper even.
Kalani knew something was up.
"Girls." Abby started. "I believe there's something important we need to talk about."
Mackenzie giggled.
"Mackenzie, don't laugh." Abby warned. "Just because you chose to be homeschooled doesn't mean everybody else did. In fact, you don't need to be here, as I'm here to talk to the girls about school and I don't need your distractions."
Mackenzie's face fell. "No, I'll be quiet, I can stay-"
"Uh uh. Go join your mother outside." Abby pointed to the door.
Mackenzie sighed, not even bothering to argue her way out of this. She would never get her way. It was incredibly unfair.
Once Mackenzie was out of the room, Abby turned back to the girls. "Girls, today is August thirty first. Tomorrow you start high school. For some of you-" she glanced at Brooke and Kalani, "-this isn't as big of a deal as it is to some others. Kalani, Brooke, I'm not worried about you girls. What's there to worry about? You've been going to public school all your lives."
Yes, and? Kalani wanted to roll her eyes so badly.
"However. Some of you, and you know who you are, will be attending public school for the first time in years. And I'm going off on this spiel for a reason, I promise, I'm not crazy." She barked out a laugh. "As your dance teacher, I'm here to help you learn and grow. Not just in dance, but in life. You're starting high school. In high school, there are so many challenges you will face and opportunities. You will be tempted to do things like take drugs, drink alcohol, sneak out to parties, and way more. I cannot stress this enough. These things can ruin your dance career. You don't want that. Does everyone understand me?"
The girls nodded, some confidently and some nervously.
"Good. Now onto dance. Everyone up." She clapped.
"That was scary," Kendall whispered to Nia.
Nia shrugged. "We just have to be careful," she whispered back.
Maddie got down into her splits and sank her head to the floor. Abby is right, she thought. I've gotta be real careful of who I hang out with.
Oh, who am I kidding? The only people I'm gonna know are Kendall, Nia, and Kalani. They're smart. Just like I am.
Maddie bit her lip, still feeling uneasy about the next day. There's nothing for me to worry about... right? Except...
I really hope I don't run into Chloe and Paige.
