I fluffed out my curled hair, and turned off the curling iron. I applied some mascara, and lipgloss, and refrained from painting the rest of my face before tonight. I walked over to my bed and sat down in my sweatpants and a tank top, resting my back against the pillows. I closed my eyes for a moment, dreaming of Joffrey and the life ahead of me. While relaxing, I heard a knock at the door. I got up, and answered the door to find Jordyn.
"Hey, I thought I was gonna text you the outfit?" I asked confused.
"I know, I just knew you weren't yourself and wanted to check in on you." She gave me her comforting smile, and I let her in. We headed to my bed and leaned up against the pillows. "So, I figured you didn't want to talk about it, because having everyone ask you the same thing literally makes everything worse." She laughed.
"Yeah, you're telling me." I sighed, and she opened her backpack.
"So...I brought games!" She pulled out an abundance of boxes. "We have 'Snakes and Ladders', 'Candy Land, 'Connect Four', 'Monopoly' but we're not playing that because that tears friendships apart." She laid them all out in front of me. I pointed at my favorite game.
"Obviously 'Candy Land'." I smiled and plugged in my phone. I started playing some Shawn Mendes, as we started our game.
"Madison, it's three, I know I'm late, but I can be ready in fifteen, are you ready to-" my mom walked in after about an hour, realizing Jordyn was here, and I was in pajamas.
"It's three? What?!" I shot out of the bed and ran to grab my dress as Jordyn laughed.
"I'm sorry, I'm making you late!" She apologized while wrapping up the game.
"Hey! Don't you dare move that board. I have four more spaces until I win." I peeked my head out of the bathroom.
"Okay, well what am I supposed to do with it?" She asked, laughing.
"Leave it! Come back tonight after the party and we'll finish!" I shouted from inside the bathroom while slipping into my black off the shoulder dress. I stepped out and Jordyn zipped me up. "Thanks!" I smiled and grabbed a pair of heels.
"You look great! I have to go start getting ready, I'll see you in like an hour." She hugged me goodbye.
"Jordyn?" I called after her as she left, and she turned around. "Thank you. I really needed that." She beamed and left my room. I grabbed my dance bag, and my moms purse. My mom came out of her bathroom and I handed her the purse and she thanked me.
"Oh honey, you look beautiful." She put her hand on my cheek and I hugged her.
"So do you." I grabbed my moms hand as we left the building.
"Madison, can you tell me what this experience with your mom has been like?" Jeff asked me as I sat on the familiar stool, in front of the three cameras, that seem to know me better than anyone these past two months.
"I've never spent so much time with my mom. Honestly, we kind of argue a lot at home, but like in a "I'm gonna yell at you for two seconds, and then it's fine and I won't be mad at you anymore" kind of way. I used to be the most nervous to perform in front of her, because her opinion matters the most to me. It still does, but I feel the most calm dancing for her. She knows exactly what to say, she's always there for me, she has the special mom touch. I couldn't be more thankful to share this experience with anyone else. I've never been closer with her, and I really hope that doesn't change when we go back home, because I've loved hanging out with her for two months, which is something most thirteen year olds can't say."
"What's been your favorite moment of this competition?" Jeff looked down at his clipboard.
"My favorite moment? Does everything count?" I nervously laughed, trying to come up with an answer. "Okay, so I think it was the fourth competition, where like it was the end of the world. I was having a rough week, and I got paired with Jordyn for a robot kind of dance, and she literally brightened my whole week. I loved the dance, the judges did, it went so well, I realized I had made such amazing friends here, and it just made a difficult week into a really pleasant experience. Also, last week with the circus, because that was literally one of the coolest experiences. How many times do I get to use silks, and get basically all positive feedback from the judges? Very rarely." I smiled, remembering the amazing memories I've made here.
"Do you think you can win?"
"Ummm...I don't know. I really want to win, and I think if I just let go, and I'm not so serious, I'll have a great chance." I answered nervously.
"Well why do you think you'd beat Asia and Brianna?" He asked, looking for specifics.
"Well, while I've grown close with both girls, especially Brianna, I just think overall I have better technique. Asia constantly gets technical notes, Brianna's are typically like about her feet and mine are about my face. It's easier to fix your face in a few days than it is your feet. Well, at least I hope it is." I awkwardly laughed.
"Great, thank you sweetheart. It's four thirty, so go start getting ready. Best of luck to you tonight."
"Thanks Samantha." I smiled as she handed me my three costumes. I brought them back to my station and laid them over my chair. I sat in front of my mirror and started doing my show makeup. The three moms were sitting in silence on the couch, which was a first, and us three dancers were nervously preparing. The room was filled with tension when Brianna and I made eye contact through our mirrors and I made a funny face towards her, causing her to snort. We giggled and I turned on my competition playlist, a list of songs I play before I go onstage to calm me down, which helped the tension loosen in the room. Brianna crossed across the room to me and pulled up a chair.
"Hey."
"Hey, everything okay?" I asked her, setting down my brushes.
"Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you. I wanted you to know that no matter what happens, you're one of my best friends and I'm so thankful that this experience brought us together. While I really want to win, I would be just as happy, if not happier, if you win tonight." She smiled and hugged her.
"I love you so much, you literally helped me through every week. I would have gone home weeks ago if it weren't for our sleepovers, our beach trips, the late night swims, skipping the episodes to read and talk. You've been there for everything, and I can't thank you enough. Also, I can't wait to meet Aidan." I winked, and she shoved my arm.
"Way to ruin a moment Mads!" She laughed and I gave her a look. "Okay, but yeah I can't wait for you to meet him too, it's going to be amazing." She gave me another hug and headed back to her station. After a few minutes, the rest of the group entered the dressing rooms, instantly lifting the spirits in the room. Jordyn ran up behind me with Zack following.
"You good? I brought cards just in case." She hugged me from behind and I laughed.
"You're very sweet, but I'm good right now. I might take you up on that offer during the wait though." I grabbed my phone and took a quick mirror selfie of us. She scurried away to her seat and I turned around to face Zack. "Hi." I grabbed his hand. "Thank you for being so understanding earlier, and I didn't invite her over, she just kind of showed up, but it helped a lot."
"There was nothing to understand. You had to get out of your head, and Jordyn clearly did that. You seem very calm." He rubbed my hand with his thumb.
"Mhm." I pursed my lips into a thin smile, and he raised an eyebrow. "Okay, no I'm terrified." I laughed and knelt down to be face to face with me. "I know that it'll all work out how it's supposed to work out, and everything happens for a reason, I just want it all to go perfect." He places a hand on my cheek.
"It will, and I'll be with you the entire time. So will Jordyn, and Hadley, and Amanda, and even Brianna. We all know your very emotional." He gave me a small wink and I laughed.
"Oh wow, what a pep talk!" I swatted his hand away from my cheek, laughing. He stood up and kissed my forehead before heading to his station to get ready. I watched him get ready for a few seconds and then he turned around and smirked. I blushed and faced my mirror as my mom came up to me.
"Do you want me to do your hair?" She asked me, already grabbing the brush.
"Sure." I continued my makeup. She took my curled hair and wrapped it into a bun.
"So we'll leave it like this for group and trio, then take it out for solo?" She asked me as she stuck bobby pins into my hair. I nodded and stuck in my earbuds to listen to the group song.
"Five minutes everyone, five minutes!" A producer called out and I looked in the mirror to make any final adjustments. I did some turns to make sure my flower collar wouldn't fly off. I quickly marked my dance by my vanity and Brianna joined me.
"Asia, go join them." Kristie tried to shove Asia towards us.
"Mom, stop! I don't need to! I'm fine, stop!" Asia argued as her mother continued to push her in our direction.
"Two minutes, dancers start heading to the wings. Returning dancers stage left, finalists stage right. Finalists mothers, go with your kids, returning moms head to the audience, your kids will join you immediately following the group routine." A producer called out. I looked over at Zack.
"What?" He asked, along with everyone else.
"You will sit with your mothers after the group, and will come back after the show is over to get your stuff." The producer repeated and we all clumped together in a group hug. Everyone broke away and left me, Jordyn, Brianna, and Zack.
"You've both got this. I love you both so much!" Jordyn gave us both hugs, and ran to catch up with the dancers.
"You both are going to be amazing." He hugged Brianna and grabbed my hand.
"Last time!" Brianna gave us a group high five and walked away.
"You've got this." He wrapped me in another hug.
"I know. I love you." I kissed his cheek and he started heading out with the returning dancers. "Bye!" I waved.
"Never goodbye, always see you later." He winked, quoting my solo. I walked over to Brianna and Asia, and we all grabbed hands as we headed backstage.
"Tonight, we have three dancers fighting for their life. To start things off, we have a group dance featuring Madison, Brianna, and Asia, plus some of their friends from earlier this season. This dance is a tribute to their amazing mothers, called "Mama I Made It." Kevin introduced as we climbed the scaffolding. I glanced at mom offstage and she gave me a thumbs up and I looked back to the audience as the music started. During the synchronized group section, I saw a sign that said "P2 loves Madison!" and another that read "Maddie for the win!", and nailed the rest of the group dance. The audience cheered and Kevin invited us downstage to talk to the judges.
"I loved it. Asia, you were fierce, as always, Brianna, you were tough, but soft, and Madison you performed, we saw a glance of a fighter, which I can't wait to see more of tonight." Abby complimented.
"Girls, what does it feel like to be in the final three?" Kevin handed the mic to Asia, who talked about how being so young it was a great experience, and Brianna talked about how she came out of her shell more, and then the mic was handed to me.
"Standing here with these two other girls, I've realized dance is so much more than a hobby for me, it's how I want to live the rest of my life. This competition has made me realize that, made me some amazing friends, and I couldn't thank my mom enough for this." Everyone clapped and cheered for our moms, Kevin invited them onstage, and we ran off and grabbed flowers for them. My mom hugged me and we headed back to the dressing rooms. I watched the other dancers head into the audience, all with smiles, excited for the rest of the evening.
Preparing for our trio would be the quickest change of the night. I quickly slipped into my blue dress and mom pinned in my head piece. The three of us quickly rehearsed the trickiest parts of the dance, and ran backstage, leaving our moms behind this time.
"Up next, our three finalists are performing a trio entitled "Finish Line." We took our places, and it was a mess. Asia was off by an entire three counts, and I was on the downbeat, was Brianna was on the upbeat, and it was hard to tell who was right- something the judges all pointed out.
"Honestly, I was watching you two," Abby pointed at me and Brianna, "and you two were not in sync with each other. Brianna, you are in such a bad habit of not winging your feet and at the end it took them eight counts to fully get there. Madison, we've been on you about the face, especially with the turns. You did it again, you went into your turns, you got nervous and dropped your face. As soon as you nailed it, there was this beautiful Kodak moment smile, that I need to see more of."
"It's just a nerve thing, and you need to know that you're going to nail your turns and keep the beautiful smile." Robin interjected and I nodded.
"Whenever there's more than one dancer, it has to be perfect. You were all off in some way, so it's just hard to tell who was right, who was wrong. At this level, none of you should be wrong though." Richie explained.
"I've always liked all three of you, but this was not the dance for any of you. Brianna you move with the words, while Madison moves with the motions, and Asia moves with...well moves with Asia." Robin lightly laughed and we all managed to give very small smiles. We were sent away, and Ricky and his dancers performed a routine while we got dressed for our solos.
"You were great, your turns were spot on, you emoted, you were on the music, and you looked beautiful." My mom complimented as she took my curled hair out of the bun.
"Thank you." I lightly smiled and reapplied my lipstick.
"Don't be nervous, you were just told that you were a fighter and had a beautiful smile, for the majority of the performance. That's a good thing, and take from that add on to it, okay?" She placed her hands on my shoulders.
"Okay." I nodded and went to go change. On my way out, Richie was starting his dance, and was getting the audience up and clapping. I quickly changed and ran back in, to catch the end of his routine. As I walked in, Asia was heading out.
"Good luck sweetheart. Point your toes!" I gave her a hug and she walked out with her mom. My mom and Kris were on the couch waiting for her routine to start, while Brianna and I were in the back running our numbers. I slowly stopped to watch Asia's, and so did Brianna. Her technique had improved, but only for the first sixteen counts. After that, it just became a typical Asia dance, so Brianna continued dancing. Brianna looked frustrated after marking her routine.
"Hey, what's up? Talk to me." I walked over to her and she put her hands on her head.
"I can't be angelic. Robin told me last night that they want a softer side of me, and that's not me. I hit things hard, how am I supposed to dial that back with only a day to figure it out?" She breathed out.
"It's okay! If you really feel like you can't make your movements softer, make your facials softer. Be light on your feet, and light in your face, and maybe they won't notice if you hit certain moves harder than others?" I suggested.
"Okay, yeah, that might work. Sorry, that was dumb, I'm just nervous." She admitted to me.
"It's okay! We all are, and it wasn't dumb. I'm so stressed about emoting right now, but it is what it is. Ricky and Richie told me it'll come to me onstage, so I really hope it does. It'll come to you onstage, and it'll all just click." I comforted her, as a producer called for her to head backstage. I gave her a quick hug. "Good luck! You're amazing, I love you!"
"Thank you! If I don't see you, you're going to be fine. You know what you're doing and it'll click- it always does. I love you!"
I ran my dance one more time and sat down to my mom as Asia's critiques began. Mostly about the technique from Abby, but Robin and Richie thought she had "star power", but Richie was mad about her lip syncing to the song. Asia bolted into the dressing room excitedly, and I congratulated her as Brianna's dance started. She was angelic, she looked flowy, and the you could tell that the judges loved her. A producer called me back as they started her critiques.
"She's going to win." I whispered to my mom as we walked backstage.
"No she's not. You don't even know what the judges thought." She said as we waited outside the stage door.
"Yeah but that was the best she's ever performed." I said nervously tightening my half ponytail.
"Well, go perform the best you've ever performed. Remember what Ricky told you. He knows you're the best dancer here, and so do I. Go prove it to yourself." She hugged me and Brianna came out the stage door.
"You were amazing!" I called out to her as our paths crossed.
"Thank you! Go kill it!"
I stood backstage and shook out the nerves. I looked at mom as Kevin introduced me.
"Thank you."
"It was a pep talk, it's what I'm here for." She humbly smiled.
"No, for everything. This is the best thing I've ever experienced and I have you to thank for all of it. I love you." I thanked her sincerely as I walked onstage. When I hit my pose, I heard Jordyn screaming my name, saw Zack clapping, slightly nervous, Ricky looking confident in me, and my dad beaming in the fourth row next to Riley and Nick. My music began.
I thought of everything from the day I met Riley, to when Kyle was born, to when Mariah left for college, and then her exchange program. I thought of when I received my letter, congratulating me for making it to the final round of auditions, me and mom jumping up and down in the middle of the kitchen. When I walked into the theatre and met Jordyn, Brianna, and Zack. The first trio I did with Hadley and Zack, meeting Ricky, my biggest fan here, I thought of the cabaret trio, and having to say goodbye to Zack. I thought of my Go-Go routine, and winning the villains challenge, winning this week's challenge, and my tightrope dance. I imagined what it would be like to win this competition, to study at Joffrey, and imagined what it would feel like to have to say goodbye to everyone I've met here tomorrow, and have to say goodbye to everyone back home if I won. I put absolutely everything I had into my last four minutes and thirty seconds on that stage.
I nailed my final turn, and held my final pose. People were standing and cheering in the audience, I saw Ricky pumping his fist, I saw Jordyn jumping up and down and hugging a beaming Zack, and I saw my family all hugging each other, with Nick lifting up Kyle.
"Madison, can you tell us what this solo meant to you?" Kevin asked, handing me the mic.
"This solo-" I took a bunch of deep breaths. "Sorry, ha, that was, that was a lot." I lightly laughed, catching my breath. "That solo meant the most that any dance has ever meant to me. That solo showed who I am as a person, and I hope it showed my fight and desire to be your Ultimate Dancer."
"It certainly showed your fight. I saw more than the three emotions, I saw the three Madison's. The Madison who is vulnerable, the Madison who is confident, and the Madison who is determined.You had beautiful turns, your faces were natural. You were a breath of fresh air." Abby clapped for me and I smiled so wide.
"I've never been a huge Madison fan." Ricky spoke up, and my heart dropped. "Until tonight." The audience screamed in support. "When I watch dancers dance a solo, I like to think they could have done it on their own. I I love an honest performance. I really think you put it all out there tonight, and gave me such an honest, Madison performance and I loved it. Tonight, you get the double finger wave." Ricky congratulated me, waving his fingers and I smiled so wide.
"I absolutely loved it. You have shown us this competition the technique, the turns, the styles, the emotion, the face, and that you can swing a ponytail like no ones business." Robin added and I laughed. "For me, you are the Ultimate Dancer." She stated proudly.
"Thank you so much." I handed the mic back to Kevin and ran to my mom. I jumped into her arms and started crying. Every emotion that I've had these past two months just came out all at once.
"I'm so proud of you. That was amazing." She guided me back to the dressing room. I walked in and Brianna ran to me and hugged me so tight.
"That. Was. Amazing!" She spun me around with her.
"Brianna, you've never danced like that! You were tough but gentle! Forget about the angel, you were a freakin goddess!"
"Ha, you sound like Robin!" She laughed.
"Good! They all liked it?" I confirmed.
"All of them. I was feeling confident until you went and did THAT." She smiled again and I smiled back.
"Well, don't count on me. I feel like since it's the finale they have to say all nice things about us." I lightly laughed and headed to my vanity. I took out my ponytail and adjusted my flower clip. I looked down at my counter, and found a pack of cards with a note.
"I know you killed it! Hope these will help pass the time. Can't wait to play candy land with Abby's Ultimate Dancer!
-Jordyn"
I smiled and opened the pack.
"Anyone up for cards?"