Jeté to Stardom

24. I Know What You Did Last Competiton

"Come on, girls! Let's go, let's go, let's go. Come on, girls! Hustle up!" Abby claps, urging them to move faster. Running into the room, Lux slides into the spot next to Nia. "Finally, overall high score, junior group."

Clapping, Lux smiles softly. She's glad they got a clean sweep last week; if not Abby wouldn't be smiling at them like she is.

"Let's move on to the pyramid," Abby says before shifting to face the mirror. "First, we have Brooke."

Lux's eyes widen at the sight of Brooke's headshot. It's not that Brooke was at the bottom; she expected that, but with the words' PROBATION' written across it she did not.

"Prohibition, so no solos this week. Paige. Same thing. Brooke, Paige, you didn't do your routines; nobody got to see them," Abby explains.

"They didn't not do their solos because they weren't prepared. They didn't do their solos because of unfair treatment," Kelly defends.

Chewing on the bottom of her lips, Lux frowns. Her Mamá said Kelly was doing what's best for Paige and Brooke, but what did Maddie doing her solo have to do with Brooke and Paige not doing their solos. Brooke and Paige should have just done their solos. She, Chloe, and Nova did.

"Well, regardless, it doesn't matter," Abby shrugs before turning back to the mirror. "Chloe. Last Monday, you went to the doctor's, then you went to the movies."

Who told? Lux wondered. She looks over at the moms because she was confident that none of the girls did. They wouldn't want Chloe to get in trouble.

"That's ridiculous. You need to be in class, not at the movie theater," Abby chides. "Mackenzie... you did a great job, but it still wasn't your best. You need to be in more ballet classes.

"Nia. You're here because you worked very well with Mackenzie. I gave you a role; you were the ringmaster in a circus. Some may say it's a little immature for you. But I love the fact that you embraced it, that you had fun with it, that you were entertaining to the audience."

Smiling, Lux nudges Nia in the shoulder, who smiles back at her. Nia and Mackenzie did an excellent job on Saturday; they wowed the whole audience.

"Next, I have Nova," Abby says and Lux hugs her sister. "You stepped out on stage with a point to make-- that you aren't a sixth-place dancer. And you did just that. Next Lux."

Lux shares a look with Nova before focusing back on Abby. Of course, she expected it; just like Maddie got extra points for dancing to her skipped music, she was on top of the pyramid for the same reason even though Lux won.

"Head to toe, you were amazing. You hit everything," Abby compliments her.

"Thank you," Lux replies.

"And at the top of the pyramid, we have Maddie. You stepped out on stage, you started your routine, and your music skipped. You didn't let it get the best of you. You stayed out there, you kept going, and you finished without missing a beat. You really had the audience behind you," Abby shrugs. "So I don't know what happened with the CD. It was just scratched, but we need to move on."

"Now, this week, we're going to the Energy Dance competition again. It's in Waterford Township, Michigan," Abby announces. "Last week, when I called to enter the routines, Gina, the owner, she told me there are two studios specifically coming to be the Abby Lee Dance Company."

Lux holds back a groan. If a studio is coming specifically to compete against them, they will bring their best routines. Abby's gonna be a tyrant this week.

"Let's talk about the group number. It's called 'Silver Spoon.' 'Silver' meaning the finest quality flatware. Meaning the luxuries of life. The country club, uh... the finest school. So this is a pretty dance. We also have a prop. We have a big giant spoon, and you pass the spoon around throughout the routine.