Jeté to Stardom

39. Bye Bye Baby

"Where's Abby?"

"Again?" Mama wonders, stepping into the room behind the girls.

It's the fourth time, they arrived in the studio and Abby isn't there.

Lux looks around the room. "Gianna isn't here either." I can't think of anything she'd be upset about. The group won, and all of the routines placed in the top five.

The door swings wide, and Abby solemnly steps into the room. "Hi, girls. Okay, this is going to be a rough week for me. Broadway Baby passed away."

Lux's heart sinks as Abby's voice cracks. Oh no.

"She was lethargic, and I knew something was wrong, but I just thought that she had eaten something that didn't agree with her, and she was just kind of down and out. But it ended up being kidney failure," Abby explains. "I mean, I know she's 16, but she's your kid. It's like your kid."

Feeling her eyes water, Lux reaches up and quickly wipes the tears. Looking to her left, she sees Nova do the same. This hits home for them because they have dogs.

"I'm sorry, Abby," Nova tells her.

"Me too," Lux says. I can't imagine losing Cosomo. I've had him since he was two months old.

"I'm here. We need to get ready. We are going to St.Louis to Dance Xpressions," Abby wipes the tears off her face. "It's a huge competition. On the bottom, we have Paige.

"Paige, the reason you're on the bottom is the duet. We need-- all of us in this room-- need to be confident in you, in your performance. Next on the pyramid... is Brooke.

"Brooke, for you to get in the top five was good. For you not to win was bad. And next, Mackenzie. I thought for you to be doing the same choreography as a 14-year-old was great.

"Next on the pyramid is Kendall. Kendall, I think you're good at evil. I thought you looked really good in the costume, and I thought you went out there and you sold it. Moving up the pyramid, we have Nia.

"Nia, you're here because, again, your facial expressions-- you told the story. Next, we have Nova. I thought you were fun to watch and the best part about is, is that you didn't get second.

"And next... we have Lux. It was jazzy, it was energetic, it was good. And at the top of the pyramid once again-- Maddie. You went out on that stage, you danced for your life, and you won."

"You stayed on top of this pyramid for another week. Chloe, just to make things perfectly clear-- you are still on suspension. Understood?"

I hope Christi doesn't upset Abby this week because she is not in the mood, Lux thinks. With how sad Abby is, she might take it on whoever makes her madder.

"Moving on. The group routine-- which Mackenzie is not in-- is called 'My Dream Will Be Your Dream,'" Abby announces. "It has a ton of ballet technique in it. So, this story is going to be an epic love story. It's going to be beautiful and entertaining.

"Now, moms, I've taken care of the costume. The headpieces are being made. Everything is ready to go. Now, we have some solos. Nia, you're going to be doing a solo. The name of your music is 'Breaking Your Heart.'

"Maddie, you're also going to have a solo. The name of your routine is 'Showing You My Heart.' Lux, you have a solo called 'Yayo.' And Nova, you have a solo entitled, 'Hearing Feelings.'"

Abby looks over at the moms. "Just one more thing I want to remind you of. St.Louis is the home of Black Patsy. So Lux, Nova, Maddie, and Nia, you're going to be going head-to-head with Nicaya. Moms, I am begging you-- no chaos.