At school today, during recess, I fell and scratched my leg on the concrete. I got a princess bandaid, though.
"Come on, girls, let's go!" Miss Abby yelled, calling us into the studio. "Let's go. Join the party."
We all entered Studio A, and I hoped that my princess bandaid was caught on camera.
"So, did everyone have a good time in Chicago?" Miss Abby asked.
"Yes," Mommy replied.
"Alright. Now, let's talk about our group dance. I thought it was beautiful. I thought the costumes looked gorgeous on everybody. I gave everybody a challenge with acting. You all did it. Alright, now, Maddie, you did a solo this week. I know there was some boys you were worried about. But you beat them. You can't psych yourself out backstage. Understood?" Miss Abby questioned.
"Yes," she answered, nodding.
"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?" Miss Abby asked.
"Yes," she replied.
"We have a lot to do. I'm gonna get right to the pyramid," Miss Abby said. "At the bottom of the pyramid...Chloe. 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. Remember, there is no 'I' in 'team,' but there is an 'M' and an 'E.' And it's all about me. Understood?"
She nodded.
"Alright, moving on. Nia. Nia, that trio- you wanted it, you got in it. Like I said, you have the style and the sass, but the rest of it is a mess. Paige. You did a great job, did your part. I want more. Max. Your acting was great in the group number, I was impressed. But I want your technique to be as strong as your acting. Next, I have Mackenzie. Mackenzie, you continue to improve each week. Every week I come into the studio, you learned a new trick. But I don't want it to all be about your gymnastics. Got it?" Miss Abby asked, and she nodded. "And...Brooke. I thought that your part in the group dance was excellent. Just watch the chin and the chin stand; no more hickeys. On top of the pyramid...is Maddie. You won the overall high score, you beat Justice, you beat all the boys, congratulations."
𝙈𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙚
𝘽𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙯𝙞𝙚
𝙈𝙖𝙭 𝙋𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙚 𝙉𝙞𝙖 𝘾𝙝𝙡𝙤𝙚
"Moving on. I need to talk a little bit about this week. There's going to be a scout from the Joffrey Ballet in Michigan at Energy Dance. He is scouting kids to go to an audition for Joffrey," Miss Abby told us, and we all gasped.
"I have family there!"
"Wonderful!"
"So, you need to be your best. You need to represent the Abby Lee Dance Company to the best of your ability. Alright. The group number this week is entitled 'Nip and Tuck.' I know that you talk about having some work done. Kelly," Miss Abby stated.
"What?" Kelly asked in shock.
"We all know what you want," Miss Abby insisted.
"Boobs? Yes!" Kelly exclaimed.
A bunch of us started laughing. Mostly me.
"You all know that you have beautiful, gorgeous children. So this is a message about our body image. It's a message about people that do have work done. It's kind of eerie, it's kind of dark. And, I didn't wanna use everybody in the routine at first. Then I figured, you know what, you're never gonna get any better sitting around doing nothing," Miss Abby spoke. "We have two trios. I'm splitting the group in half. The trios will be Mackenzie, Paige and Nia. You will be doing a high-energy jazz routine incorporating gymnastic tumbling. Then I have Brooke, Max and Chloe. You will be doing a contemporary lyrical routine. Chloe, it's about the trio. Brooke, you've never done a trio with these girls, so this is gonna be all new for you. Same with you, Max. You better keep up with the older girls, alright? Chloe and Maddie will be doing solos. I'm excited about going. I had a great time in Chicago. I hope this 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. Alright, moms, you can leave. Thank you very much. Girls, spread apart. We're gonna do an entrance."
We started learning the group, and I enjoyed it.
"One, two, three, four. Go, bum, bum!" Miss Abby exclaimed. "Down, down, here. Down, down, here, ledge, ledge, peek. Crawl. Pretty feet, turn them out. Ready, five, six, slow motion. One, two, three, four, five."
After rehearsal, I had a ballet class. One of my least favorite classes.
While I was talking with Kylie and Stella, I noticed Jordan standing there...alone?
"Guys, look," I said, pointing at the boy. "Both of them are here. I saw them earlier."
"What the freak," Kylie spoke, "They are always together."
"Maybe something happened?" Stella suggested. "Maybe they got in a fight."
"I hope so," I stated. "Should we talk to him?"
"No! No way! Are you stupid?" Stella questioned. "Do not talk to him. We don't like him."
"Yeah. We're too good for him," Kylie added, doing a weird pose.
"Ew, stop that," Stella said, but she ignored her.
"You look stupid," I told her.
"That's okay," she replied, starting to dance like a fish out of water.
"I'm leaving. Goodbye," Stella said, pretending to leave when Josie and Jack came over to us.
"What's up with him?" Jack asked, pointing to Jordan.
"We don't know," Kylie responded. "Maybe a fight."
"He's so weird. It's good that he has no friends now," Josie shrugged. "Why does he keep looking at us?"
"I think he wants to talk to us," Stella said. "We should test it."
"Josie, pretend to die," Kylie instructed, and she nodded.
She pretended to roll her ankle and fall to the floor in pain.
"Ow! It hurts! Ow, someone help!"
Some weird kid with boogers coming out of his nose rushed over, trying to help her help.
"No, not you. Go away," she said, pushing him away.
I noticed Jordan look over and make his way over to us.
"You okay?" he asked, helping her up.
"Yes. Now leave," Josie snapped, dropping his hand and shooing him away.
"He came over and helped. That proves our point!" Jack happily exclaimed.
"No. He thought she was hurt, so he came over to help her. It wasn't personal," Stella argued.
"You were the one who wanted to do this in the first place," I added. "He could've easily ignored you and let someone else help you."
"Yeah, and if there's one thing about Jordan, he doesn't like helping people when they're hurt. Remember when Caleb fell off his bike and Jordan just stood and laughed?" Kylie asked, and we nodded. "He's clearly desperate for us to talk to him again."
"I think we need to talk to him," I said. "He wants to talk to us, so let's talk to him."
"I agree. Let's just see what he wants," Josie stated, about to walk over to him when the teacher walked in. "Frick!"
•Three days to competition•
Unfortunately I had to take off my princess bandaid. Mommy claimed that the cut 'had to breathe' in order to heal. I wasn't buying it, but I still had to take off the bandaid. It hurt.
We still haven't gotten around to talking to Jordan yet. We haven't had another time.
In the middle of the other trio's rehearsal, Nia hurt her ankle.
The rest of us went in the studio to check on her, and she was crying on the floor.
Holly came down shortly after as Gia was talking to her. I felt so bad.
"Can you stand on it?" Gia asked.
"Yeah," she nodded. Nia stood up to give her mom a hug, and they went into the den with Miss Abby.
I heard that they went to the doctors, and she got the okay to dance. She just can't do any of her tricks.
The rest of us went back into the den, and I grabbed my water bottle.
"I hope Nia's okay," Chloe said, and we all agreed.
"Max! Max, are you in here?" Kylie screamed, entering the den. "Come on! We gotta talk to Jordan!"
"Right now? Okay," I shrugged, following her out.
Kylie took me outside where our whole friend group was waiting by the tree, including Jordan.
But just him.
"Everyone's here. Let's go," Cam started, looking at Jordan. "I heard that you helped Josie when you thought she was hurt."
"Whatever, she was faking it," he stated.
"You still helped her. That's very unlike you," Cam continued.
"You also kept looking at us," Stella added. "That's weird."
"We think you want to talk to us," Jack spoke, getting to the point.
He looked back at the studio, then back at us.
"Well, I don't. I don't like you guys," he insisted.
"Kayla and Nora aren't here," I added. "Talk to us."
"We know you want to," Josie smirked, and Jack stepped on her foot. "Ouch!"
"Shut up, you two," Kylie snapped. "Now is not the time!"
"I don't wanna talk to you guys," Jordan continued.
"We don't believe you!" Olivia argued.
"Well too bad!"
"So does this mean you like being friends with them? They're such brats," Stella said.
"Yes, I do," he insisted. He thought about it for a moment before speaking again. "No, I don't."
"Aha! Knew it!" Josie exclaimed, and we all shushed her.
"You don't like them?" Caleb asked, and he nodded. "So why are you still friends with them?"
"I don't have any other friends," he told us. "They always leave me out and stuff. When I'm with then it's weird. I don't think they want me around anymore."
We all looked at each other and had a silent conversation.
"I feel kinda bad."
"He left us, he did it to himself."
"Yeah, but I still feel bad."
"Should we let him back in?"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Come on, he has no friends and he seems to be sorry."
"He never said he was sorry."
"Are you sorry for leaving us and being a traitor?"
"Yes. It was bad of me."
"See? He's sorry."
"Whatever. He doesn't deserve us."
"Give him one chance, and if he messes up, then we'll never talk to him again. Okay?"
"I want a cheeseburger."
"Shut up, Josie!"
"You can be our friend again," Olivia said. "Under one condition."
"What is it?" he questioned.
"You can't talk to Nora or Kayla ever again. Okay? You're not friends with them anymore," Olivia stated, and he agreed.
"Okay bye," Josie said, leaving with Jack.
"Who wants to have a handstand competition in Studio C?" I asked, and they all agreed as we ran back into the studio.
•Two days to competition•
"Max, let's go, you have an interview," Mommy stated, leading me to the set.
"Hi, Max," one of the producers greeted. "You ready?"
"Yes."
"Tell us about your trio this week."
"This week I have a trio with Brooke and Chloe. I'm a little bit nervous about dancing with the big girls, just us three. I don't wanna mess it up."
"Okay, you're done, that's all we need."
I hopped off the chair and ran back into the den, lying down on the floor.
"Maddie, get in here!" Miss Abby yelled, calling the girl in for her solo rehearsal.
"Max died," Paige stated, looking down at me.
"Again," Chloe added, smiling.
The next thing I knew, someone stepped on me. I sat up and saw Kenzie cracking up next to me.
"She's not dead!" Kenzie announced, and we all started laughing.
"Now we can do the trio with all three dancers," Brooke joked.
A while later, Maddie came back, and Chloe went in for her rehearsal.
"How was it?" Paige asked as Maddie drank her water.
"Good, I like it," she replied, putting her water down.
Chloe came back into the den a few minutes later, and she looked upset.
"What happened?" I questioned as she sat down.
"Miss Abby gave me a break," she answered.
"Maddie, come in here for a sec!" Miss Abby shouted at the girl.
We were all confused.
Turns out Miss Abby made Maddie do her solo in front of the senior company. During Chloe's rehearsal time!
We had an acro class about an hour later, and I personally think I did great.
In the middle of class, Mommy came in and started talking with Miss Abby.
Christi and Kelly opened the door, sticking their heads through the doorway.
"Hey, Melissa, we weren't done talking to you; would you mind coming back like an adult, instead of hiding by Abby?" Christi asked.
"I'm not hiding," Mommy insisted.
"You are hiding," Christi argued.
"Bite my ass," Mommy snapped, storming out. Christi and Kelly left with her.
Kelly ended up giving us a ride home since Mommy stormed out.
I requested Taylor Swift to be played during the ride, and Paige agreed.
We jammed out to Speak Now the whole time, and Paige took a bunch of selfies for her Instagram.
•One day to competition•
Today we had a trio rehearsal, and I was very hyped.
"Girls," Miss Abby said, clapping. "One day!"
We started running the dance again, and I loved it. I just hoped I could keep up with the others.
"Watch your feet. Ugh! Sickled feet, Max," Miss Abby said.
Towards the end of the routine, we have this really cool lift where Brooke and Chloe are holding my legs, and I'm in a split.
"Ugh, sloppy, girls," Miss Abby complained. "Straighten that left leg, Max!"
Miss Abbg was being extra hard on us today, but it's just because she wants us to do well for the Joffrey Ballet guy.
•Competition day•
A few days ago, Mommy bought a huge thing of chocolate milk for us. I love chocolate milk, so I wanted to bring it to competition, but Mommy said that it was too big. So, I brought a bunch of different water bottles full of chocolate milk.
Mommy said that if I wanted to bring them, then I had to carry them myself. Kenzie helped me since she wanted some for herself.
"You can only have some if you help me carry them."
"What's up with all the water bottles?" Paige asked when we boarded the bus.
"Chocolate milk," Kenzie replied.
"You brought eight water bottles full of chocolate milk? Seriously?" Paige questioned, laughing. "Can I have one?"
"Sure," Kenzie shrugged, handing her one. She took a sip, and her face immediately lit up.
"Damn, this is good," she laughed, chugging like half of it. "No wonder you brought so much of it."
Chloe came on the bus soon after, asking how Paige had mysteriously grown a mustache overnight.
"It's chocolate milk. Want one?" I asked, and she nodded. I handed her one of the bottles, and she did the same as Paige.
"Bus driver, we're gonna stop at my house and pick up my dog, okay?" Miss Abby announced.
"Oh, I don't think we can deviate from the route," he replied.
"Oh, yes, we can- I'm the boss," Miss Abby argued. "Trust me."
"I'm the captain of this ship," bus driver Jim smirked, and the moms laughed. So did Miss Abby.
"Oh, you tell her, Jim!" Kelly exclaimed. "That's why you're our favorite bus driver."
We started driving, and Chloe was eating some cookies.
"Can I have one? Pretty please?" I asked, giving her the puppy dog eyes. She laughed, handing me a cookie. "Yay, thank you!"
I ate it in one bite.
"Aw, come on. Jim, you're killing me!" Miss Abby exclaimed.
Mommy bought Kelly a present. Maddie told me it was a bra. I don't know what a bra is.
-
Hours later, we finally arrived at the competition. I was tired and ready for bed.
We made our way to the dressing room and quickly got to work.
"Alright, girls, now, listen to me. First we have Maddie's solo, then the two trios, then Chloe's solo. Chloe, Maddie, tights, shoes. Yes? Understood?" Miss Abby asked as Maddie started going over her solo. "Stretch those out. Stretch the back of that knee. That's the développé. Lengthen the back of that knee."
Maddie went over so Mommy could fix her costume while Kenzie and I waited for our hair to be done.
"Make sure her tights are not sticking..." Miss Abby was cut off by Maddie gasping. "What? What's wrong? What's wrong, honey?"
"Something...the thing just stuck me," she shakily replied.
"Okay, okay, let go," Mommy told her as Maddie started crying. "It's okay. Don't-don't cry, Maddie. Don't...don't cry. Let's go, go over here."
"It hurts so bad," Maddie stated.
"Okay, come on. Come," Mommy instructed, leading Maddie away.
"You keep jabbing her over and over," Miss Abby insisted.
"No, I don't," Mommy argued. "I'm not jabbing her. I have my finger..."
"Put your hand in here," Miss Abby told her.
"I have my hand on the pin!" Mommy yelled.
"Put your hand there. You put your hand there," Miss Abby said.
"Walk. I have my hand on the pin!" Mommy exclaimed as the two entered the changing area.
Maddie's pin problem was solved, she was fine, she was able to make it backstage on time.
The rest of us went into the audience to watch.
"Please welcome to the stage, Maddie, with a solo performance, 'Quiet Places,'" the EMCEE introduced, and she took the stage.
She was fantastic, she really told the story. I was so happy for her.
We went back to the dressing room, and Maddie gave Mommy a hug.
"What'd you think?" Miss Abby asked, following us in.
"It was good," she answered.
"Yes. It was good," Miss Abby stated, giving her a hug. "The turns were good. Did you hear people clapping?"
"Yeah," she replied.
"Yeah, that was me," Miss Abby joked, and the moms laughed. Mostly Mommy and Kelly.
Mommy did my hair into a messy bun and sewed in the headpiece, which was a headband with roses in the back and a long veil behind it.
The three of us made our way backstage, doing our handshake to shake off all of the nerves.
"Please welcome to the stage Brooke, Chloe and Max, with the trio performance, 'Somebody Told Me,'" the EMCEE announced, and we entered the stage.
Somebody told me I'd be fine
Shook her head, smiled, and wiped off mine
And so I saw the sight of strength
And heard the sounds of healing
I learned to read it like a sign
She was beside me, I was fine
When the music finished, all I could hear was the audience screaming. It felt good.
"Thank you, ladies. Great job," the EMCEE said as we held our ending pose.
The three of us had a group hug backstage to celebrate our awesome performance. Brooke picked me up and spun me around.
"You did so good, you were with us the whole time!" she exclaimed, not spinning anymore but still carrying me. "You totally carried the dance."
"Really?" I excitedly asked. I thought I did good, but not that good!
"Oh, for sure," Chloe added. "We couldn't have done it without you."
I felt like I was on the moon. I hoped the Joffrey Ballet scout was just as impressed as Brooke and Chloe were with my performance!
Brooke put me down, but the three of us held hands as we walked back to the audience, since the other trio was so soon after.
"Please welcome to the stage, Mackenzie, Nia and Paige with the trio performance, 'Girl Fun,'" the EMCEE stated, and Nia entered the stage first.
They killed it, they were amazing!
All of us went back to the dressing room, waiting for the trio to come in.
When they did, I ran straight to Kenzie.
"You were so good!" I yelled, giving her a big hug.
"So were you!" she exclaimed.
"Hey, girls," Miss Abby said, ruining the moment. "Good job."
"How were my jumps?" Nia asked Miss Abby, who was currently stretching Brooke or something.
"What? What jump?" she asked, confused. "Your grand jeté? They were good. You have to watch your back foot coming in."
"Do you have anything else to say for Nia?" Holly questioned.
"No, it was good. I thought it was good. You guys want all this big description for a two-minute-and-ten-second dance," Miss Abby said.
"Well, you know, they don't have a whole lot of time onstage, so when they go, it's nice to get some feedback," Holly explained.
"Well, you'll have to get all those judges of all these competitions that they go to and listen to them," Miss Abby told her.
Chloe began running her solo while I played a bunch of games on my iPad.
"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 they could still be eating or getting their coffee or figuring out where their papers are. Do you understand me?" Miss Abby asked as Maddie gave Chloe a hug.
"Yes," she replied, putting on her team jacket.
"Love you!" Maddie called as the blonde left.
We went to the audience, and as always, I was excited.
"Please welcome to the stage Chloe from Abby Lee Dance Company with the solo performance 'Watercolors Fade,'" the EMCEE announced, and she entered the stage.
She was doing amazing, and then she forgot part of the dance. She covered it up and finished it pretty well.
I still thought she was beautiful.
We went back to the dressing room, and Chloe immediately hugged her mom.
"Everybody blanks, but you stay onstage, you keep dancing, you figure it out, and you get back on the music," Miss Abby told her. "Nia, did you learn something from that?"
"There were a lot of circumstances surrounding that, and it wasn't just all about Nia. That was a whole 'nother can of worms," Holly insisted.
"Nia, just so you know that it's a lot better to do what Chloe did than to just stand there and freeze and run off and cause all the hoopla," Miss Abby said. "Let's do the group, group, group. Girls. I'm running the group. Let's go right now."
She scares me a lot.
"Paige, are you in a diagonal line?" Miss Abby questioned. "Count, ladies, count. Feet! Watch the supporting foot- 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 asked.
"I think legs straight, feet pointed are a given. When they do a side aerial, it should be perfect if you remember the choreography or if you don't," Miss Abby stated. "Max, keep up! You're falling behind!"
"We have one number until..." Gia trailed off.
"Oh, my gosh," Mommy said as I grabbed my jacket.
"Have fun, go," Miss Abby said, and we all made our way to the auditorium.
"Please welcome the girls from the Abby Lee Dance Company with the group performance 'Nip and Tuck,'" the EMCEE announced, and we all took the stage in a single file line.
Reinvent yourself
Tell the world what you wanna be
Reinvent yourself
Choose the style that you wanna see
Reinvent yourself
With what you do every single day
You can reinvent yourself
When the music ended, I was exhausted. It was a pretty tiring routine.
"Beautiful, girls, great job," the EMCEE said as we made our way off the stage.
Solo awards were next.
"We're gonna get right to it. Junior division. In first place in the junior division, can I get a drumroll please? Entry number 39B, 'Quiet Voices,' Maddie," the announcer announced, and she went up to retrieve her award. "Awesome job."
Chloe ended up placing 5th, but they made it seem like she didn't place for the show.
"We have a top five in our power junior duo/trios. Third place going to entry number 99, 'Fly on the Wall,' Kathy's School of Dance. Second place goes to entry number 127, 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love.' And our top scoring power junior duo/trio...entry number 130A, 'Somebody Told Me,' Abby Lee Dance Company," the announcer stated, and Brooke went up to get the award.
The other trio didn't place.
"Moving on to our power junior small groups, we have two high scores, two top scores. In second place, entry number 116 'TV Land,' Studio Three. In first place is entry number 131A, 'Wipe Them Out,' Star Dance Studio. Congratulations," the announcer spoke.
The group didn't place.
We went back to the dressing room, and of course, Miss Abby was upset.
I gave Mommy a big hug. I was so happy about the trio!
"You did so good, you were amazing!" she insisted as I pulled away.
"You are never going to win the overall group doing a group routine that's not together," Miss Abby told us.
I was busy trying to take out my bobby pins when a man entered our dressing room.
"Who is this gentleman?" Mommy asked.
"Hi. Brian McSween from the Joffrey Ballet School," he introduced. "The reason I wanted to come 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 like for you to join us for that audition."
As soon as Brian left, we all started cheering in excitement. Chloe gave Miss Abby a hug while I continued destroying my hair.
"What are you doing?" Mommy questioned, helping me remove the bobby pins. "You're too rough. Before you know it, you're gonna be bald."
"No way," I insisted.
Miss Abby lifted Kenzie up. It was so funny.