The Story Of My Life

Chapter Four - Competition

*that was a large time skip I promise for next week it'll be a full week*

My mom and I rush out the door and nearly miss the competition bus. Ms.Abby and Gia are in the first row, Kelly and Christi behind them, Melissa and Jill diagonally behind them. Jill is trying to bribe Abby with chocolates, and it seems to be working. I guess Kendall will be getting a lot of solos this season. Stacey and Yolanda are sitting behind Melissa and Jill, and my mom and Holly are across from them. The kids are two rows behind everyone else. Maddie and Kendall together, Chloe and Paige, Kenzie and Nia, Lilly and Ellie. I sit with Brooke. We make loads of tiktoks, and in what seems like just a few minutes, we're at the competition.

*** (I know this is season three, but just pretend it's like 2018 and everyone is still little, also, RIP vine not like I ever had it lol). ***

The solos are first, so Maddie, Mackenzie and I get ready for those while everyone else gets ready for their groups. Maddie comes out of the dressing room first. I love her costume. Mine is pretty too, but hers is so flowy and it's blue, my third favorite color after purple and gold, which is good, because my costume is purple and gold. I have a short, stiff skirt, something I have not had the opportunity to dance in before. I've competed a lot of solos en pointe, but they were usually really cutesy. And I'm just not a cutesy dancer. Then I come out, followed by Mackenzie. Out of our three costumes, hers is the plainest. She has on a ruffled yellow crop top, and matching booty shorts, with a bunch of plastic lemons on her headband.

Since Maddie is in the junior division, and Mackenzie and I are in the mini division, she isn't competing for another half hour, so she takes Mackenzie and me backstage.

"Welcome everyone to StarQuest dance competition! Competing in the mini division is act number 1, Mackenzie with 'Lemonade'."

Mackenzie does great, but she stumbles a little on one of her aerials. The dance is below my level, but she rocked it. Numbers 2 and 3 go on, both with amazing hip hop solos. How will I ever beat even one of them, let alone both?

"Next to the StarQuest stage, please welcome entry number 4, Maddie with 'The replacement'."

I bourree on to the stage and stand in fifth position until my music comes on. After ten seconds of waiting, my music doesn't play, so I start dancing, just as Ms.Abby instructs us to do if our music skips, stops, or doesn't play. I do the counts in my head, and push up on pointe exactly when I am supposed to. I do ten fouettes, before doing a saute arabesque, saute passe, and a tour jete, before exiting gracefully off stage.

Everyone cheers, and I feel dizzy. Mackenzie and I walk back to the dressing room, and everyone is cheering. Abby gets up from her makeup chair and comes over to hug us. "Mackenzie, work on that aerial. I want straight legs and maximum height at all times, understand?" Mackenzie nods, and goes over to Melissa to get ready for her group dance. Abby turns to me and says, "That was... acceptable. Do you remember when Maddie's music skipped in season 2? She got second. Second! I expect no less from you, Madison Thomas, I expect more!"

She slips a Kit Kat bar into my dance bag, as if to say "It's all for the show". I watch Maddie do her solo, and it's really good. She doesn't miss a beat, and I'm in shock when she comes off the stage.

*************
Everyone is frantically running around the dressing room trying to get all those last minute touches ready for the group dances.

For the group I'm in, we need a sparkly rose colored eye shadow and a matching lipstick. Ellie and I have our hair curled in high ponytails and Maddie, Brooke, and Kendall have their hair curled and half up.

The other group has bright pink lipstick, a little silver eyeshadow, and really big eyeliner wings. They all have their hair straightened and in a really high ponytail.