Paloma runs her hand through the cold glass, taking a peek at the diamond earring laid under it.
The piercer, a pretty thing with her hair pulled back to expose the diamond drop earrings, smiles at her before handing her some papers. "Please sign this while I get ready."
"Okay, thank you," taking the paperwork, Paloma looks over it before signing her name on the bottom line. She looks down and smiles at Lux and Nova. "So what do you two think you want?"
"Does it have to be stainless? We can't have diamonds?" Nova pouts.
"No, but you can pick a pair out for when they've healed."
"Okay," Nova smiles.
"I'm nervous," Lux mutters. "Is it going to hurt?"
"A little," Paloma runs her hand through her hair. "It's gonna be a little sting, like a shot."
She laughs at the scrunched up look Lux gives her.
"See, this is why I'm not getting one," Ciaran grins. "No piercing, no pain."
Alaric darts over to them. "Nova, Lux, come here; the ones over there are star and moon-shaped."
"Really!?" Nova gasps before running in the direction he came from.
Lux took a step forward, hesitated, and glanced back at them. "Tú adelántate," Paloma smiles at her. "I'll be there shortly."
Reassured, Lux turns on her heels and runs after Alaric and Nova.
Paloma looks down at her 12-year-old. "Are you sure you don't want one?"
"Nope," he answers promptly, chest out. "Why does anybody want a needle to go through their ear. No. Not for me."
Paloma chuckles at him. With all the drama at the studio, moments like this are what she lives for.
Just spending a few hours with her family rejuvenates her and gives her strength to deal with the following week.
She places a hand on his shoulder. "Okay, then let's talk about your birthday. In My baby is turning thirteen!"
"¡Mamá! ¡Por favor! Not in public!" he groans, trying to escape her hold. But the smile on his face told her he didn't mind as much as he complaining.
Amused, she reaches out and pinches before letting him go. For some strange reason, she had a good feeling about this week.
________________________________________________________________________________
"So, did everyone have a good time in Chicago?" Abby asks the nine children and five adults standing before her.
"Yes," Nova smiles. Chicago was great, at least for her. The group might not have got first place, but she got first in her duet with Lux, which always felt good.
"All right, now let's talk about or group dance. I thought it was beautiful. I thought the costume looked gorgeous on everybody. I gave everybody a challenge with acting. You all did it. Now, Maddie, you did a solo this week; I know that there were some boys you were worried about. But you beat them. You can't psych yourself out backstage. Understood?"
"Yes," Maddie nods.
"Nia, I watched the trio, and I watched you closely. I feel that you were a beat behind. It's the difficult technical things that you have trouble with. That's what you need to keep working on. Understood?"
Nia also nods. "Yes."
"We have a lot to do. I'm gonna get right to the pyramid. At the bottom of the pyramid... Chloe."
Really? Nova blinks profusely. To her, Chloe was the best in the trio, and the trio didn't place in the overall, but they won first in the open division.
"You are one of the most advanced dancers sitting in this group, but I want more from you. You need a challenge; you need to work up to the next level," Abby tells the blonde. "Remember, there is no 'I' in team, but there is an 'm' and an 'e,' and it's all about me. Understood?"
Silently Chloe nods.
"All right, moving on. Nia. Nia, that trio-- you wanted it, you got it. Like I said, you have the style and the sass, but the rest is a mess. Paige. You did a great job; you did your part. I want more. Next, I have Mackenzie. Mackenzie, you continue to improve each week. Every week I come into the studio, you learn a new trick, but I don't want it all to be about your gymnastics. Got it?"
Mackenzie nods.
"And Brooke. I thought your part in the group dance was excellent. Just watch the chin; no more hickeys. Next Nova and Lux. I thought you two were beautiful, and it was the most emotive performance you've ever had. I think me saying Maddie has better facials pushed you to prove me wrong. And... I'm eating crow."
Grinning, Nova holds her hand low for a high-five, that Lux happily returned.
"And on top of the pyramid... Maddie. You won the overall high score; you beat Justice, you beat all the boys. Congratulations. Moving on, I need to talk a little bit about this week. There's gonna be a scout from Joffrey Ballet in Michigan at Energy Dance. He is scouting kids to go to an audition for Joffrey."
Mouth dropping into the perfect 'O,' Nova stares at her sister, whose face is identical to hers, before glancing at her Mama, then turning back to Abby.
"Wonderful!"
"I have family there."
"So you need to be at your best. You need to represent the Abby Lee Dance Company to the best of your ability," Abby says over the excitement. "All right, the group number this week is entitled, 'Nip and Tuck,'" Abby's eyes dart over to moms. "I know you talk about having some work done. Kelly."
"What?" Kelly wonders.
"We all know what you want," Abby reminds her.
"Boobs? Yes!"
"You all know that we have beautiful, gorgeous children. So this is a message about body image. It's a message about people that do have work done. It's kind of eerie; it's kind of dark," Abby explains. "And I didn't want to use everybody in the routine at first, but then I figured you're never gonna get any better sitting around doing nothing.
"We have two trios and a duet." Nova grins at Lux; they know who that duet was going to. "My first trio will be Mackenzie, Paige, and Nia. You will be doing a high-energy jazz routine incorporating gymnastic tumbling. The second trio goes to Chloe, and she will be dancing with... Lux and Nova."
"Ahhh!" Nova claps.
"Yay!" Chloe wraps an arm around Lux's neck. "We're doing a trio!"
"That's right, I am putting my three ballerinas together and give them an angelic lyrical routine. Chloe; it's about the trio. Then I have Brooke and Maddie. You will be doing a contemporary, lyrical routine. Brooke, you've never done a duet with Maddie, so this is going to be all-new for you.
"Chloe and Maddie will be doing a solo again. Lux and Nova, you will also be doing solos. I'm excited about going; I had a great time in Chicago. I hope the next trip is just as fun without Cathy from Candy Apple.
"But I'll tell you what, she's easy to beat. The people at this competition aren't gonna be so easy to beat. All right, Moms, you can leave, thank you very much. Girls spread apart, we're gonna do an entrance."
After going through the usual warm-up, Abby begins with the group routine. It's bizarre and meticulous and not something they're accustomed to.
They spend an hour and a half, maybe two before Abby ends group rehearsal. "Okay. I'm gonna start on the lyrical trio the rest of you are dismissed."
"Thank you, Miss Abby," six of the girls say before leaving the room.
"You three will be dancing to 'Unbreakable.' It's a technical routine, so no playing around," Abby rubs her hand together before sitting back on her square. "Let's go."
"Nova, you're going to be center stage, while Chloe is to your right and Lux is to your left," Gianna directs.
Nodding Nova gets in position. She was surprised to be in the center. Chloe's the only blonde and usually, the person that sticks out is the lead. She wasn't going to complain though.
"Nova, you're going to be facing away from the judges. The music is going to start, and you're going to turn around with your arms open," Nova watches as Gianna turns with her right hand leading. "Then come to passé, arms in fourth and hold. While she's doing that, you two will..."
Watching Gianna go through Lux and Chloe's parts with them, Nova couldn't help but grin. It's her first trio ever, and it's with Chloe; they're going to do great. She knows it.
☆☽☆☾☆☽☆☾☆☽☆☾☆
"I don't understand why she was at the bottom of the pyramid," Paloma pockets her phone as Christi whines. "I don't. I think she deserves to be in the second row."
"I don't know how Kenzie got in the middle, to be honest with you," Melissa admits.
You should not be saying that Paloma thought. "I didn't think she deserved to be on the bottom either. No offense, but I thought Chloe was the best in the group."
She looks over at Christi when she audible swallows. "So Melissa I..."
"We want to apologize," Holly takes over for the blonde.
Paloma's eyes widen. What? Is this progress?
"For what?" Melissa asks, clueless.
"You don't know this, but when you left, Paloma gave us a tongue-lash about how we have been treating you, and after she left the..." Holly gestures to herself, Christi, and Kelly. "Three of us discussed it more, and she's right."
"We weren't good friends. You told us not to talk about it, so we shouldn't have," Kelly agrees.
"So yeah. We're sorry," Christi mutters.
Paloma snorts. You sound it.
"Thank you, girls," Melissa smiles. "I appreciate it."
"I just hope that Abby gives enough time and attention to the choreography for each of the girls," Holly effectively changes the subject. "And I have a feeling that the other trio will be just slapped together and the lyrical duet and trio will have-- it'll be a very... thoughtful piece."
Christi nods. "And I worry about that. And then when she said there four solos, as well. Like there's not enough time to choreograph nine routines in the way that all nine of them should or deserve to be choreographed."
"Paloma, are you surprised that Abby but Chloe in the trio with Lux and Nova?" Kelly wonders. "Because that's... that's Abby's baby. Our trio has been touched over and over again, but that duet has never been touched."
Paloma shrugs. "I don't know why Abby did that, but I don't mind. Chloe is a good dancer."
"I'm happy for Chloe because this is a good opportunity, but I'm nervous for her," Christi admits. "I wanna look at this glass-half-full, but if this trio messes up, Abby is going to blame Chloe. She's the Nia of this group."
"Right," Holly nods. "It's a reward and a punishment at the same time because now Chloe has to keep up with two girls that know each other inside and out. It's going to be hard."
"I would think she would put Maddie in there," Kelly says.
Paloma shakes her head as Melissa frowns." Yeah, I wonder why she didn't do that?"
Someone's jealous, Paloma thought. Melissa didn't have a reason to be upset that Chloe is in Lux and Nova's trio. Maddie gets a lot of chances to shine, and this was Chloe's turn.
"Why is Chloe crawling around like she has no arms," Christi observes the routine.
"It's 'Nip and Tuck,' she lost her arms maybe. They cut them off," Kelly teases.
Paloma stares at her, speechless, before bursting into laughter.
"Well, I'm getting a boob job," Kelly tells the moms.
"Well, good," Melissa tells her. "I thought you wanted to do it for your 40th."
"I was gonna do them for my 40th birthday. I thought my husband would get it for me, and I thought he would get me my ring," Melissa laughs at that. "This year, I've decided I'm doing both of them for myself. I used to have nice C's. And then I had-- I nursed my kids, all three of my kids, and now I don't have any. So I told my husband I lost them because I had kids, so he should... reimburse me."
"Wow, Kelly," Paloma shakes her head.
"Return of his investment," Holly joked.
"Exactly. I gave him three beautiful children, and he should give me two boobs. And then if I like them, then I'll get my ass sucked out. So Paloma, if you could tell me who your doctor is because you have a really nice pair of boobs and good but."
"One, my huge ass is all me. Two, I got you," Paloma winks at her.
"I know everybody wants me to do my nose," Christi touches her nose. "but I wear this thing like a badge of honor. Maybe I'm being naïve, but I don't think anybody struggles with body image. I think they kind of like own it. I was built like that. You know, like..." Christi sucks in her breath, squeezing her body together.
Paloma nods. "I was born like that too."
"You still are like that," Christi glares.
Paloma rolls her eyes. Christi adds so many body issues, but she looks fine. She needs to stop dying her hair so bright, but the blonde looks good.
She just hopes these routines don't bring more drama than needed.
________________________________________________________________________________
On all fours, Nova those a fan kick before, before rolling on to her right knee, spreading her arm wide. She rolls one more time before coming up on her toes.
"Beautiful," she hears Abby say as she preps for a leg hold turn before stepping forward, chasse tour to her right before doing a cabriole.
Her solo this week is to Celine Dion's "At Last." It's a beautiful routine but very technical. It has a lot of turns and jumps in it and was the most demanding solo she's ever had, but if she does it well, it'll impress the Joffrey scout.
"That was good. Really good... technically," Abby claps at the end of the routine. "I know you have good facials now, so you need to bring that to this routine. It can't just be technically sound. Understood?"
"Yes," Nova nods, chest heaving.
"Go get a drink. Acro trio up here."
"Okay," she breathes before leaving the room. She headed for the fountain upfront and drank like a fish before returning to the studio.
"I like your solo," Maddie says as Nova sat between her and Lux.
Smiling, Nova rests her head on Lux's shoulder. "It's really you. It's really hard, though, but I like it."
"You make it looks easy," Lux tells her.
"You make yours look easy, and you have more turns than me," Nova compliments before yawning. "What time is it?"
"It's almost seven," Maddie tells her.
"Oh," she replies before closing her eyes. They've been at the studio for maybe five hours working on the group, trio, and solos, and Nova was exhausted.
A thud sounded in the room, and Nova shot her eyes open. Seeing Nia crumbled on the floors, she scrambled to her feet and rushes over to her.
"Are you okay?" Nova hovers over her. She didn't see the fall, but she heard it, and it sounded like it hurt.
"Can you stand on it?" Gianna hurries forward and kneels in front of Nia.
"Yeah," Nia cries. Nova follows her eyes to see Holly entering the room. Slowly Nia stands and limps into her mom's arm.
Nova worriedly watches them leave the room. I hope she can dance this week.
________________________________________________________________________________
"It's nice to put all your eggs in one basket," Christi grumbles.
"Yeah, okay," Melissa scoffs.
Paloma sighs, watching Maddie demonstrate her solo for the senior company. "Let's not make this bigger than it is."
"It is a big deal," Kelly shakes her head. "Abby is trying to turn our kids against your kid. She tries the same thing with Lux and Nova; the only difference is Paloma doesn't let it happen."
The only difference is that I don't suck up to Abby, Paloma thought to herself. If she went above and beyond as Melissa does, they would be treating her the same way. Because she doesn't do anything to incur Abby's favor, the moms have nothing to complain about when her girls win.
Melissa shakes her head. "Well, you know what..."
"And you let her do it," Kelly says.
"No, I don't."
"She sits there, and she watches them dance, so she knows what people's strengths and weaknesses are, and she uses that as an advantage for your daughter," Christi argues. "Why don't you even stand up to Abby Melissa. You always say that you're her friend, so you should have a different kind of connection with her. So why don't you ever stick up for the kids."
"I'm sick of the whole... the same thing over and over and over again," Melissa says.
So am I.
"I know, but that's the thing..."
"And we're sick of it happening over and over and over," Christi says over Kelly.
"Well, I'll go tell Abby," Melissa says.
"Then she'll have her featured in the group dance, and she'll make sure that she wins all the solos because she'll have the most attention, the best choreography, and the most private lessons."
"This isn't... stop talking about my daughter because she's nine years old."
"We're not talking about your daughter! We're talking about what you enable to happen. I'm not talking about your daughter. I'm talking about you."
"Okay, so you're gonna stick up for my daughter when Abby yells at her."
Paloma winces. You shouldn't have said that.
"I stick up for Maddie all..."
Again Christi cuts Kelly off. "I stick up for every one of those kids, Melissa!"
Melissa shakes her head. "No, you don't."
"Oh, I absolutely do."
"I tell you all the time..." Kelly tries.
"Ha," Christi laughs. "You know what? Your daughter doesn't need me to stick up for her because," she points at Abby. "you have her so far in your back pocket she doesn't need it. I stick up for the kids who need it."
Tired of the tirade, Melissa gets up.
"You see what she does to my kid and her kid, and you don't stick up for them," Christi yells after her.
"Why do we have to do this every week?" Paloma wonders.
Christi shakes her head. "This is not my fault; this is her fault."
"Really? 'This is her fault, not my fault.' How old are you, Christi? Chloe learned her solo. She went back in there after Maddie demonstrated and finished her solo. Why are you mad?"
"Why are you not mad?" Kelly asks Paloma. "She's trying to take Lux and Nova's position. Something Jill was doing."
"A couple things are wrong with that. I don't agree with Melissa's way, I don't, but. But while Jill is combative, Melissa is not. This is the only way she sees to help her children. Maddie is sitting on her butt doing nothing either. Second to my girls, she spends the most time at the studio. So when you say it's all Abby, you are discrediting that little girl's effort. And you two attacking Melissa about it day in day out is insane to me."
"I don't care if it's insane; I want what's right for my daughter," Christi says.
"You can't complain if your staying, Christi," Paloma chides. "It's an oxymoron. I know why your not leaving now, but before you had six years to do so. You went through this for six years."
"Chloe loves it here. She loves her friends; she even loves Abby."
"And you're the mother. Her healthy is less important than her friends? Look, you're my friend. I'm not trying to pick on you, but you after to admit being here brings the worse out of you. Your bitter, you're jaded, and you hate it here."
"Yes, I am," Christi gestures to the studio. "Look at her. Melissa's in there with Abby. You're not allowed to talk to Abby till after class. We're having a disagreement with Melissa, and this just goes to show close she is with her; she goes in and talks to her."
Paloma blows out a heavy sigh when Christi storm down the room. The blonde would be so much happier if she didn't care what Melissa and Abby did.
________________________________________________________________________________
"All right, girls, now listen to me," Nova's eyes go to Abby as she spoke. "First we have Maddie and Nova's solo, then the two trios and duet, then Lux and Chloe's solo. Lux, Nova, Chloe, Maddie, tights, shoes. Yes? Understood?"
Nova nods before turning back to Mama and tilting her head up so she could finish her makeup. "Ya terminé. Ve a cambiarte."
"Okay," lifting herself out of her chair, she walks behind the curtain and quickly gets changed into a pale grey dress. The dress features a glitter motif on the bodice, Swarovski crystals, and waterfall drapes over a full circle mesh skirt. In a word, she looked beautiful.
"What's wrong?" Mama asks her. "Exhausted?"
"Hmm," Nova nods.
Mama runs her hand through her hair. "I know. But we have a break after next week, and you can sleep for as long as you."
Nova grins. "That sounds nice."
Soon- while holding Maddie's hand- she makes her way backstage.
"Please welcome to the stage, Maddie, with a solo performance, 'Quiet Voices.'"
Maddie's solo, like the group routine, abnormal for her. The younger girl doesn't do contemporary much, especially dark pieces, but she sold it. She did a good job.
"Please welcome to the stage, Nova with a solo performance, 'At Last.'"
Shaking the tiredness off, Nova walks on stage. She lays flat on her back, facing away from the judges, and waits for the music to start.
She didn't know anything about love, but she tried to make her face look as sweet as possible, sending kind smiles at the judges when appropriate. Her routine was classy and breathtaking.
At the end of the routine, she brings her right leg into a développé and holds it while going on releve with her left foot. Brining her leg down, she places her left hand on her chest before reaching her right arm towards the audience. She jerks it back suddenly and sways in her spot.
When the music ends, she takes a bow before heading off.
"It was so good," Maddie runs up and hugs her. "The best ever."
"Thanks," Nova smiles. "Come on, let's go back to the green room."
"Okay."
The two of them quickly head back to the room. Opening the door, they quietly enter the room."
"Eras increíble, just like you always hear," Mama enfolds Nova in her arms.
"Nova, you were so good," Chloe calls as Lux walks up to Nova and joins the hug.
"Thank you," Nova smiles.
"What'd you think?" Abby asks, coming into the room
"It was good," Maddie smiles modestly, walking over to Abby.
"Yes. It was good," Abby hugs her before letting her go. "The turns were good. Did you hear people clapping?"
Rubbing her left arm, Maddie nods. "Yeah."
"Yeah, that was me," Abby jokes. "Nova, what about you?"
"I liked it," Nova responded, turning in Mama's arm. "I thought I did well."
"Thought? You were like one of those classic Hollywood divas. You looked absolutely stunning."
"Thank you," she grins, walking over to Abby to hug her.
"You're welcome, sweetie," letting her go, Abby stands straight and addresses the room. "Now we need to get ready for the trios and the duet."
Quickly Nova got ready. She changed her solo costume into her group costume: a white leotard with white/silver mesh half skirt and cascades at hips. The leotard features sequin appliqué detail and Swarovski crystals.
"You three look so cute," Christi coos while she snapped pictures. "All we need to do is dye Chloe's hair dark, and you could be triplets."
Nova giggles. Chloe looks nothing like Lux and her; even if her hair is brown, she would never be mistaken for their twin.
"Okay, girls, let's go," Abby opens the door to the green room. "Come on."
Holding hands with her partners, Nova walks backstage.
"We got this," Lux whispers right before they go on. "We're going impress Joffrey, and we're going to do so well. Abby will give us a trio again."
"Right," Nova and Lux nod.
"Please welcome to the stage Chloe, Lux, and Nova, 'Dance of the Swans.'"
Clasping her hand behind her back, Nova stayed between the two of them as they gracefully walked on to the stage.
Pushing through her exhaustion Nova began dancing. It might have been the first time they danced as a trio, but Nova thought they did amazing.
☆☽☆☾☆☽☆☾☆☽☆☾☆
Paloma smiles as she hugs her girls. They were fantastic in their trio; it wasn't compared to Lux and Nova's duets, but it was a stunning routine. The duet and trio didn't measure. "Bien," she kisses both of their foreheads before letting go. "Lux, come on, let's get you ready for your solo."
"Su-" Lux holds her hand up to cover a yawn. "-re."
Paloma frowns while guiding her over to her vanity. It's not the first time Lux and Nova had to do three performances, but they didn't have the pressure of Jofreey hanging over them then.
"One more week," she whispers to Lux, rubbing her back. "Just push through for one more week."
"I will," Lux nods, sitting on her vanity.
"Good job," Abby walks in.
Paloma takes Lux's hair out of its low ballet bun and reaches for the hair comb.
"How are my jumps?" Nia asks.
"What? "Abby asks, taking a seat. "What jump? Your grand jeté? They were good. You have to watch your back foot coming in."
Brushing Lux's hair, she twists the hair into a French twist while leaving some out to braid.
"Do you have anything else to say for Nia?" Holly asks.
Paloma frowns, braiding the loose hair. Abby compliment and critiqued Nia. What else does Holly want?
"No, it was good. I thought it was good. You guys all want these big descriptions for a two-minute and 10-second dance," Abby complains.
"Well, you know, they don't have a whole lot of time on stage, so when they go, it's nice to get some feedback."
"We're gonna have to get all those judges of all these competitions that they go to and listen to them."
Rolling her eyes, Paloma secures the braid with a hair tied before placing the braid over the French twists' edges and pins it. Holly should have learned her lesson by now. When you ask Abby to do something, she's gonna give it to you. Just not how you want it.
After using some hairspray, she adds small bead green flower clips and snaps them onto the braid. "Go change Lux. I'm done."
"Listen to the music Chloe, you're rushing," Abby tells Chloe.
Tilting her head to Abby, Paloma watches as Chloe runs her solo. It was a beautiful routine, but she seemed to be making a mistake on one of them.
When Lux steps out in a green leotard, covered in Zaharia crystals, pearls, appliqué, and beautiful snakeskin chiffon, Paloma grins. "That's different. Me gusta."
"I like it too," Lux spins, exhaustion no longer lining her face.
"Lux come here," Abby beckons. Smiling, Lux skips over to her. "That looks good on you."
"Thank you."
"I don't want to put pressure on you, but I'm going to put pressure on you," Abby wraps the snakeskin tighter around Lux. "Your trio was amazing, and earlier today, the judges watched someone with your face do a stunning performance. You understand."
"I do."
"Good. I'm not worried, though; I just had to remind you," Abby smiles at her before letting go and standing. "Chloe, listen to me. When judges go on a break, do not step out on that stage till every judge is seated and has attention on that stage 'cause one can still be eating or getting their coffee or figuring out where their papers are. Do you understand me?"
"Yes," Chloe nods.
"Okay, let's go."
Grabbing her phone, Paloma walks over to Lux and hugs her. "Te amo."
"Te amo," Lux hugs her before running after Abby and Chloe.
Following her out at a slower pace, Paloma heads to the audience.
"Please welcome Chloe from the Abby Lee Dance Company with a solo performance, 'Watercolor Fade.'"
Chloe is a beautiful dancer, and it shows. But sometimes it gets in her head, and that was the case today. She forgot the same part that she forgot in the dressing room.
"Poor Chloe," Nova whispers.
Paloma glances at her before nodding. "She covered it well, though."
"She did," Nova smiles. "She was good too."
"Please welcome Lux from the Abby Lee Dance Company with a solo performance, 'Nature Boy.'"
"Go, Luxie," Nova cheers.
Lux does a great job. Her routine was as close to perfect as Paloma could ask for, and she knew her daughter was prouder of herself when she finished.
Standing, she takes Nova's hand and heads back to the dressing room.
"So good. Tan bello. Proud of you. Both of you," She smiles when Lux and Nova grin up at her. "Okay, let's get ready for the group."
Letting go of them, Paloma watches as they run behind the curtains.
She just took a seat when Abby walks in. "Where's Lux? I was gonna hug her."
Paloma tilts her head to the curtains. "She's changing."
Abby cups her hand around her mouth. "Lux, you were wonderful!"
"Thank you!" Lux's voice comes out.
Paloma watches as Abby walks over to Chloe. "Everybody blanks, but you stay on stage, you keep dancing. You figure it out and get back on the music. Nia? Did you learn something from that?"
Paloma chuckles. You can always count on Abby's pettiness.
Holly shakes her head. "There were a lot of circumstances surrounding that. It wasn't just all about Nia; that was a whole other can of worms."
"Nia, just so you know, it's a lot better to do what Choe did than to just stand there and freeze and runoff and cause all the hoopla," Abby walks forward and claps her hand. "Let's go to the group, group, group! Girls, I'm running the group. Let's go right now!"
Swiftly, with the help of the moms, the girls were dressed and running the routine.
"Paige, is that a diagonal line?" Abby critics. "Count ladies, count. Feet. Watch the supporting feet, don't let it sickle when you turn around. I see air between your insteps in the floor, Paige."
"You think they know it well enough?" Holly fretted.
"I think legs straight, feet pointed her a given," Abby replies, eyes never leaving the girls. "When they do a side aerial, it should be perfect; if you remember the choreography or if you don't."
The door swings open, and Gianna peeks her head through."We have one number left."
"Oh, my God!" Melissa gasps.
Paloma stands as Abby rushes the girls out of the room. "Have fun, go!"
She makes it, with the moms, to the audience just as the lost group before the girls walk off the stage.
"Please welcome the girls from the Abby Lee Dance Company with the group performance, 'Nip and Tuck.'"
It's an interesting routine. It was sharp, a little militaristic, weird, but the girls did absolutely amazing.
When awards arrived, Paloma could feel her heart race. They need to do well to impress Joffrey.
We're gonna get right to it. In fifth place, Chloe, 'Watercolor Fades.' ...In third place in the junior division entry number 39B, 'Quiet Voices,' Maddie. In second place, Lux, 'Nature Boy.'"
"And in first place, drum roll please, entry number 38B, 'At Last,' Nova."
"Way to go Luxie and Nova!" Paloma cheers. She grins as a crown was placed on top of Nova's head.
"...We have a top-five in our power junior duo trio. ...Fourth place goes to 'Fly on the Wall,' Kathy's School of Dance. Third place goes to entry number 127, 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love.' Second place goes to 'Somebody told Me,' Abby Lee Dance Company. And our top-scoring power junior duo trio... Entry number 130A 'At Last' Abby Lee Dance Company."
Rising from her seat, Paloma cheers. "Wooooo!" she reaches over Melissa to hug Christi. "They did it."
"They did!" Christi grins before they both sat down.
"Moving on to our top group, we have two high scores, two top scores. In second place, entry number 116, 'TV Land,' Studio Three. And in first place, 'Wipe Them Out,' Star Dance Studio."
How disappointing, Paloma thought.
Back in the dressing room, Paloma hugs her girls tight. "Top scores and a crown. I am--"
The door swings open with a bang, and Abby walks through it. "You are never going to win the overall group doing a group routine that's not together."
Paloma had a feeling she would have continued if the door didn't open again, allowing a man in a suit to walk in.
"Who is this gentleman?" Melissa asks.
Could it be? Paloma wondered. All week they've been worried about impressing the Joffrey scout. Could this be him? And if so, did they impress him?
Hi," the man holds his hands out to Abby.
"Hi," Abby returns the handshake.
"Brian McSween from the Joffrey Ballet School," he introduces himself. Palom's face lit up, and she looks down at her girls, who grinned back at her. "The reason I wanted to come in and talk to you is because next Friday we are having an open audition in New York City for a full scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet School, and we would love to join us for that audition."
Paloma listens quietly as he explains the audition process. This is a big deal, and if one of her girls got it-- there would be no words for it. This is a fantastic opportunity.
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A/N: A Lot of things have come out about dance mom, but for my story, I'm going to keep it as contained in the dance mom world as possible because there's so much drama on the show I don't need to add outside drama. Comments, constructive criticism, and votes are appreciated.
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