⎼⎼⎼ 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖋𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 ➵ 𝑏.𝑓.

024

mikki

"everyone, we had two soloists planned for today," abby announced, "now we're down to one. but i came prepared. mikki, do you remember your dance from your private?"

i couldn't believe what i was hearing.

"because you're doing that as a solo."

guess i did believe it. i really didn't want to do it. ellie had worked so hard on her solo.

"here, put on this," abby drew out a black leotard with a cape and a headpiece. both were gorgeous.

"this isn't right," joanne said, "how could you just put mikki in? she doesn't have a dance!"

"she does, she learnt one in her private," abby told her.

mom was in shock. so was i. but i put on my costume.

"you lied!" yolanda screamed, "you said she learnt dances all the time, to get the choreography quicker, but she gets a solo against my daughter!"

"i didn't lie, i had no idea this was happening!" mom shouted back.

"sure you didn't," yolanda hollered.

"i didn't tell anyone about this," abby called over the top, "mikki didn't know about it. i put her on stage because i want to win, and my other dancer has gone."

"isn't ellie enough?"

"she is, but i put her here for the other girls to have competition, and that's what i'm doing! mikki, get on stage with elliana."

i was more than happy to go wait in the wings with ellie.

"well hi!" she said brightly, "i'm ellie."

"i'm mikki," i grinned, "our mothers seem to be getting along beautifully."

"definitely," ellie agreed and we laughed. the apple falls very, very far from the tree. it was an interesting way to meet someone, chatting casually about mothers who were ripping each others throats out. we warmed up in the wings, competing for turns, flexibility and jumps.

"and we have act number 44, elliana, the strangler."

i cheered as ellie did all her acro and dark moves. it was haunting, mysterious and pretty, all at the same time. she had great technique, her moves were fluid, but she was missing the confidence and the attack. and she bobbled a little. but overall, it was incredible. how was i meant to beat that with a solo i barely knew?

"woo elliana!" i screamed.

"i missed the rope," she said.

"it was really great though," i reassured.

"and next we have act number 45, broken wings!"

i danced my heart out. i tried to be the girl with broken wings. the girl who missed home. the bird who had fallen out of its nest and had no hope of ever going back. for some reason, brady kept popping into my head. i guess i did miss him.

"you did so good!" elliana congratulated, hugging me.

"you did great too," i puffed.

"from abby lee dance company, pressley performing scissor hands."

my head snapped to the stage and my heart lifted. across the dance floor, was pressley.

⤎⎼༌·⋱🩰⋰⋆༌⎼⤏

"press!" i cheered, hugging her tightly.

"pressley did a great job," ann smiled.

"let's go soloists!" sarah and lilly laughed.

"ellie and mikki did great too," ann complimented. i grinned. i felt like nothing could bring me down.

"your kid missed the rope two times. you two shouldn't even be here. so get out."

yolanda sat there for a few seconds before getting up. stacey took a sip of her drink.

well.

⤎⎼༌·⋱🩰⋰⋆༌⎼⤏

"listen, hazing is happening here is america. it goes too far and it's wrong. that's the message we are sending. get out there and win. alright. let's go."

"from abby lee dance company, this is hazing."

we were together. if that was one thing, we were together. we had been with each other 24/7 these last months and we had created a bond. a bond as thick as a rope. we were together until we dropped lilly. but everything else after that was on fleek.

gia was panicking.

"it's my fault!" she panted. "i didn't understand."

"follow hannah! we've been practicing like that the whole week," pressley explained.

"the thing is, we can't keep doing this. we keep not working as a team and proving abby right," sarah shrugged.

⤎⎼༌·⋱🩰⋰⋆༌⎼⤏

"in third place for junior solo, give it up for pressley with scissor hands!"

i clapped as the judge put a medal around press' neck

"our second place junior soloist..."

i didn't want to sound arrogant, but it was between me and ellie now. no one else on that stage was as good as us. sorry.

"elliana with the strangler!" ellie looked a little disappointed, but beamed.

"and our top scoring junior soloist, mikaela from abby lee dance company!"

i couldn't believe it. i gasped as i went up to collect my trophy.

"third place for groups..." we gripped each others hands. "wonderful world."

"second place, hazing from abby lee dance company!"

second place.

second place.

second.

also known as certain death.