⎼⎼⎼ 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖋𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 ➵ 𝑏.𝑓.

001

mikki

"mikaela harper gray!" mom yelled up the stairs, "you're the one who made us move to pittsburgh! get down here!"

i sighed, laid down my hairbrush and picked up my blue gym bag. excitement flooded through my body as i made a (slightly) undignified descent into the elevator. i couldn't wait.

i'd been invited to join the elite competition team for season 8 of dance moms. like literally every other dancer i knew, it had been my vision to dance with the aldc and i was finally living it. of course, mom was reluctant to travel all the way to pittsburgh from arizona, but she understood how important it was to me.

"excited?" mom asked, gripping my shoulder. i nodded, unable to speak. i was heading into the biggest opportunity of my life. abby's dancers reached heights of success and fame, especially the ones on dance moms. they got amazing offers from being on the show. we got into the car.

a producer was waiting at the front when we arrived. "name?" they asked, sniffily, wiping the corner of their mouth with their finger.

"mikki and maggie graham," mom responded. the producer waved us through into the building. i made my way into the dancer's den, where two other dancers were already. mom went to the producers to talk through the show.

"hi," one of them said, grinning at me, "i'm sarah."

"i'm mikki," i replied, smiling back awkwardly and dropping into a split to warm up.

"i'm pressley," the other introduced, "i don't think i saw you at the audition..."

"oh," i said. i didn't want to tell them abby had personally invited me. it seemed egotistical. "i, um, got invited."

"that's cool," sarah smiled. i felt relieved. thank goodness they hadn't taken it the wrong way. pressley joined me on the floor while sarah sat on the bench. slowly, the other dancers trickled in. savannah, hannah, gianina, lilliana and the aldc's first boy, brady.

i watched each dancer as they stretched out, flicking my eyes to catch flaws or weaknesses. competitive habit.

"mikki," sarah hissed, tapping my shoulder. i raised my eyebrows at her, folding up my hoodie.

"yeah?"

"brady's watching you."

i almost snorted, but managed to contain myself. i turned my head as inconspicuously as possible to look back at brady. he turned his head sharply back to his bag. shrugging, i pulled the zipper on my own bag and followed the producer out of the dancer's den.

i pushed open the door and led the way inside with my mom, lining up in front of the mirrors and carrying my headshot.

"are you ready?" she squealed quietly, almost as excited as I was.

"yeah," I replied, breathing deeply, "a little nervous though."

abby lee miller rolled in on her wheelchair a second later, smiling at us all. "hey, how are you?"

there was a chorus of 'good'. abby began her speech that we all knew was just for the camera and the viewers. i didn't start paying attention until she began talking about this week's competition.

"this week we have a group routine with everyone in it. It is entitled 'broken hearts'. we also have two trios. the first is called 'the favorite'. it will be with sarah, lilliana and pressley. the second will be 'dance with the devil'. gianina will be my devil and two little angels will be savannah and hannah."

i was a little disappointed that i didn't get a trio. 

"right, moms, get out. kids, come start warming up."

i had already stretched, but i did as i was told. brady, who was beside me, did the same while abby went around, correcting feet and postures.

"let's run the choreography for the group first," abby instructed, "i'll be back in a bit, ok?"

"alright," gianna said, bringing us closer, "this dance is about emotion, about heartbreak and about telling a story. so use your face and sell it. ok?"

we danced for about an hour before we were dismissed and let go to the dancer's den.

"so," i said, trying to make conversation, "what are your best styles of dance?"

"mine are lyrical and contemporary," brady offered.

"lyrical," gianina said.

"acro, but i really like ballet."

"contemporary."

"musical theatre."

"acro."

"i really like jazz," savannah shrugged.

"cool, personally, i really like contemporary and ballet," i finished.

"nice," brady nodded.

well, isn't this awkward.

the author speaks:
why is my maths teacher so mean.