Leading Ladies

XVII. Bullets and Ballets

"Bye, Elias," Sabrina wiggles her finger before pulling the door open.

"Thanks for dropping us off," Elsa tells him.

"Yeah, yeah," he waves them off. "It's a favor for Mom, not you three."

Climbing out of the back seat, Bianca places a smacking kiss on his cheek. "We love you too."

There, Mom had a teacher's meeting today, so Elias was dropping them off at the studio.

Rolling his eyes, Elias waves at them as he pulls out of the driveway.

Turning around, Bianca links arms with her sisters as they make their way to the studio. "So... how do we feel about this? First rehearsal of 2012."

"I'm happy to be back at the studio," Elsa shrugs. "Not looking forward to the arguments but happy to get back to dancing."

"Right," Bianca nods before turning to Sabrina. "How are you feeling? You lost again last time."

"I feel like last time, with Paige's win, confirmed that judges have a different thought process. Paige was amazing but," Sabrina lowers her voice as they approach the glass door. "She won cause of her energy. If I'm not what the judge wants, I'm not gonna win."

"Right," Bianca nods as Elsa opens the door for them. She realized that when they were in Florida early that year. It's all up to the judge's taste, so why stress herself out.

"Hi girls," Abby greets from behind her desk. "How was your holiday?"

"Hawaii was great," Sabrina says. "We went paddleboarding, skimboarding, and climbing."

"I thought you go to Hawaii to relax," Abby says. "Lay on the beach, swim a bit."

Bianca grins. "Not our family."

"I like your hair, Bianca," Abby tells her.

Bianca grins, pulling the bangs out of her face. "Thanks."

She had decided to get bangs over the break. Not the normal ones that cover your forehead but curtain bangs that frame her face. She thought they looked amazing on her.

"Head to the den. I'll see you, girls, in there."

"Okay."

The three of them head to the den. They waited for approximately twenty minutes before the girls, moms, and their Mom showed up.

"Ladies, let's go!" Abby yells from the studio, causing everyone to rush in. "We have lots to go over. It's gonna be a busy, busy, busy week here. No coming late, no leaving early. Now Texas. We had all these plans made to go to New Jersey, and then at the last minute, we had to completely flip it.

"There's a lot of dance companies in this country that would have said, 'Fine. We're not going.' And we didn't do that. We went, some great things happened, and some really bad things happened. Now, this week, we're going to Hollywood Vibe right here in Pittsburgh."

Bianca claps with the rest of them. What better way to start the year than with a competition on home turf.

"I want to see 100% from every single one of you. Remember, we're in our backyard. You have a target on your back, so do I," Abby continues. "The group number is called 'Privates Eyes.' I'm gonna arm you with a secret weapon. You're going to be using guns in your routine. When you step on that stage, I want you to kill it. Understood? You're gonna blow the competition away."

Grinning, Bianca makes guns with her fingers, Sabrina does the same, and the two of them pose side to side.

"Yes, like that," Abby nods at them. "Now we're going to move on to the pyramid. Mackenzie, you went from first to worst in one routine. You always have to keep working. Nia, you had a pretty dance. I thought you did well, no problem.