To Become A Star

Chapter 4: Stealing the Show

I unbuckled my seatbelt, opening the car door and hopping out. Leaning down and taking my dance bag out of the car. Walking up the steps with my dad, I waited as he opened the door. The house smelled like stew, rich and flavorful.

Taking my shoes off and putting them on the rack as quickly as I could before heading in search of my father. "Mom?" I called, she worked from home so I knew she was here. "In the dance room, sweetheart," she yelled back. I went as fast as I could without running, pushing the office door open in seconds.

"I missed you," I murmured, rushing into a hug. My face burrowed into her chest, my body relaxing in his arms. Dad came inside, leaning over my relaxed form to give mom a kiss on the cheek. "How was the competition?" She asked, looking down to observe my face.

"It was great. The group dance placed 1st, Maddie and Chloe's duet placed first and my trio placed second," I replied, smiling at the thought of 'Ups and Downs'. It was my favorite group dance that we had done so far.

"Well, dinner is almost finished," Mom said, releasing me from the hug. "So I want you to go wash your hands and change your clothes. Dinner will be ready by the time you're done. Oh, and go tell Giuliana that dinner will be done," I nodded, rushing out of the room and into the bathroom. I couldn't wait to eat what my mom had made.

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We were all sitting in studio A, this was the second time they had us walk in. "Let's talk about the Starbound competition. Can we have a round of applause?" She said, holding her hands above her head for a big clap. We all clapped, the excitement of finally having a clean sweep at the competition making us all giddy.

"Okay," Abby continued. "So, Brooke blew them away. The people behind me were in awe when you did that handstand twist." Brooke smiled, joy clear on her face at the recognition Abby was giving her. The look quickly soured as Abby spoke again.

"But why all the drama with the hip? If you are seriously injured, you don't need to go to your mother and get everybody worked up. You should come to me, and that needs to be clear." It was obvious that Abby just wanted something to criticize Brooke about.

"I wanna talk about this week's competition," Abby turned the blackboard around, albeit with a little less struggle than she did last week. "Do you see there's somebody new on top? Yes, Brooke, you are here because of your performance; you worked through an injury, you did what you had to do, you were a team player."

Brooke didn't look excited like she did a few moments ago, it was her very first time on top of the pyramid yet she looked as if she was in math class.

"You are getting a solo this week," Abby continued. "All right, Kianna, Chloe, Maddie, you are also getting solos this weekend." I smiled, I loved the solos I had recently, and hoped that I would like this one too.

"The bottom row, what am I supposed to do with you four? You need to step it up. You need to get your butts back into class and start working on your technique. And you know what? Since we're in Pittsburgh this weekend, I'm gonna give every single one of you a solo."

We all clapped, mine a bit more enthusiastic than the rest. The others looked excited, but you could tell the moment that they realized who they would be competing against.

"Mom's, it's going to be a busy week this week; I expect them to be amazing. Sit up straight. Ladies, let's go." Abby sent the moms away while we all started warming up.

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"Ok," Abby said, moving to stand behind me in the mirror. "Your routine is entitled 'Toxic'. It's a jazz dance, and it is all about the fluidity of your dancing. How well are you able to connect the moves, to have the sass and make it look effortless as you control your body.