DANCING THROUGH LIFE, dance moms

Chapter 10: Dreading the Pyramid

Maddie and Mackenzie rushed through the door just as Abby called us into studio A. "Ladies! Let's go! Come on!"

The eight of us filed into the dance studio, me right in between Chloe and Paige. "We've got a busy, busy week here. No coming late. No leaving early." Miss Abby eyed the two Ziegler sisters, who stood at the end of the line furthest from the door.

"Now. Texas. We had all these plans made to go to New Jersey. And then at the last minute, we had to completely flip it." Abby shrugged. "There are a lot of dance companies in this country who would've said, "Fine. We're not going." But we went."

"Some great things happened..."

Abby looked pointedly at Paige, who grinned widely.

"And some really bad things happened."

She then directed her glance to Maddie, referring to when she fell out of one of her tricks during her solo. I bit the inside of my lip, feeling bad for her.

"Now. This week, we are going to Hollywood Vibe, right here in Pittsburgh." Abby announced. The girls and I applauded, because the cameramen motioned for us to. "I want to see 100 percent from every single one of you. We're in our backyard. You have a target on your back. So do I."

I nodded. It was always a bigger deal when you were competing in your own town. Everyone already knew who you were, which meant that you had to measure up to their expectations of you.

"The group number is called "Private Eyes"," Abby said. "And I'm gonna arm you with a secret weapon. In the routine...you're going to be using guns."

I could see our mothers' shocked faces out of the corner of my eye. I, personally, didn't see what the big deal was. I knew that guns were bad, and that I'd probably never fire a real one, but if it was just a prop for a dance, it didn't really matter. Did it?

"When you step on that stage, I want you to kill it. I want you to blow the competition away." Abby continued on. Next to me, Chloe's eyes widened. I hoped she didn't think Abby meant that literally.

"Now. Let's move onto the pyramid. On the bottom we have...Mackenzie. You went from first to worst. In one routine. You always have to be getting better." Abby eyed Mackenzie, who pouted slightly. I saw Melissa shrug, like "What can you do?" That put me off a little bit, because I knew that if Maddie had been on the very bottom of the pyramid, she would've cared much more.

"Next we have...Nia. You had a pretty dance. You did well. It was good." Abby shrugged. Nia nodded. I felt a little bit bad that she was on almost the very bottom of the pyramid, and yet she had been told she had done well. It didn't make much sense to me.

"And next on the pyramid is...Kendall. I understand the costume was an issue. Jill, I'm sure you have something to say about it, but I'll tell you what: it doesn't matter what you wear. In the end, your technique will be what gets you across that finish line. Understood?" Abby asked. Kendall nodded, despite Jill's eye rolling from the other side of the room.

"Next we have...Maddie," Abby said. Maddie's eyes widened, and I grimaced. Melissa shook her head in disbelief over from where the moms were standing, like it was absolutely unthinkable that Maddie could ever be on the bottom row of the pyramid. "Maddie, you could've been seriously injured."