Leading Ladies

XLIII. Camouflaged Maneuvers

Sabrina fidgets as Abby scrutinizes them. Walking into the studio after Christmas break was filled with kisses and hugs until they walked into Studio A and faced Abby.

Sabrina leans over to Bianca. "You think she's still upset?" Bianca side-eyes her in disbelief. "Yeah, that's what I thought. At least we're at the top."

Bianca snorts. "It's clear as day when there's three headshots on top."

"Of course, we have to talk about Bernardsville, New Jersey. Second, Second, second, second. The duet was fifth," Abby shrugs. "It's okay. Everybody needs knocked down a few pegs. Well, almost everybody. The trio won--"

"Yes, but they're the ones that you spent the most time with," Kelly complains. "The group, the duet, even Maddie's solo all came second to making sure they kept their 'undefeatable' title."

Sabrina's eyes narrow, and she purposefully rolls her eyes. She watches Bianca open her mouth in the mirror, but luckily, Elsa grabs her hand and jerks her.

Good, Sabrina sighs faintly. If Bianca says something, then Kelly's gonna say something back, and then Mom is going to get involved, and I don't want that.

"No, Kelly, it's what they do with the time I give them," Abby argues. "I don't spend time repeating myself; they pick up faster, and they want my attention. Let's talk about the group dance.

"You looked exquisite, but I didn't see a love story. If you want to be second, then you did a great job. If you wanna win, you might have to go back to the basics."

"And I'm not gonna yell at you or scream at you or anything else," Abby smiles briefly. "I'll just smile and be sweet and nice, and you be second."

Sabrina's eyes widen. Alright. I'm okay with this.

"This week, we will be going to Minneapolis, Minnesota," Abby announces. "We will attend In10sity Dance. We've been there before we're going again. So, let's move on to the pyramid.

"First, Mackenzie. 11 between you and the next person. 11 points. Next on the pyramid, Nia. You weren't feeling well. We can blame that. You know how to perform.

"But the legs get sloppy, the feet get sloppy, the arms get sloppy. Next, I have Paige. You're arms out of control. I tell you, you still do it wrong," Abby shifts to look at Kelly. "And Kelly, she has no excuse because You saw the trio. Their arms are longer than hers, and they have amazing control."

Abby goes back to the pyramid before Kelly can reply. "Next, Maddie. You did four turns in the corner, stunning. Then you bobble on simple, easy things. I threw you a lifeline. You must have missed it."

"Next, Kendall. Remember I told you before your Mom could hurt you or she could help you? This week, she helped you. She wants you right on Maddie's heels, chopping at the bite. She wants you up there with Elsa, Sabrina, and Bianca. I think that's a good thing."

Sabrina's nose scrunchies, like a bunny, in pleasure. Abby loveeees us.

"That seems a little cutthroat, but to each his own," Holly shakes her head.

Abby smiles like she finds what Holly just said funny. "If dance competitions aren't cutthroat, I don't know what is. Next, we have Brooke. You're second because you were second at the competition. You should have won.

"And now on top of the pyramid," Abby reaches out and rapidly reveals Elsa, Bianca, and Sabrina. "Your trio ended the year undefeated. That's amazing."

"Woooo woooo," Sabrina raises the roof, grinning when she hears her Mom's laughter. Being undefeated is incredibly hard to do, and as a soloist, she hasn't been able to do that, but with her sisters, she accomplished that.