𝒫𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝒮𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃 𝒮𝒽𝑜𝑒𝓈

𝟤𝟢𝟫. 𝒸𝑜𝓈𝓉𝓊𝓂𝑒 𝒹𝓇𝒶𝓂𝒶

Ok, so... let's talk about this.

I had been planning out this series for about six months before I sat down to begin writing, and one of the most important discussions I had to have with myself other than solos and duets and trios were the recalled episodes of Dance Moms. I knew that doing the season three episode that was recalled due to certain accusations of Kevin Cosculluela was something that I didn't think would be the biggest issue because it had only been recalled in 2021 (there will be a whole blurb surrounding that when we get there), but this episode was a whole other mountain to tackle.

I think the first thing to acknowledge here is that this episode should have never happened. There is a reason why this episode was taken off of the air, and I agree that appropriate actions were taken in doing so. Dancing in nude bikinis with big pink fans is not appropriate for anybody at the age of the girls on the competition team, and since my character is set to be the youngest on the team as of this season, it was a really big debate in my head whether or not I was going to write this episode into my book. 

As someone responsible for a story that had grown beyond my biggest hopes and dreams, not to mention responsible for a wonderful community I had built, would this be a creative risk I was willing to take?

Ultimately, the decision was made to include this chapter in the book for two reasons. The first one was that I was somehow able to acquire a copy of this episode after weeks of digging around the internet so I would be able to accurately portray the events taking place in this book.

The second reason is that this book is all about Rue's journey, and if she was a real human, this week would have been a part of her journey as a dancer. Even though this whole episode should not have happened, it did, and it is essential to acknowledge all parts of someone's journey, fictional or not. Every journey has its good, bad, embarrassing, and awkward parts, and this episode just happens to be one of the embarrassing and awkward ones. I understand that the reader reading this (yes, you) may not agree with me, but as a writer, it is a risk that I am willing to take. 

If you feel uncomfortable or triggered in any way by this episode, feel free to skip it. I don't blame anybody for not reading this chapter. (I honestly won't be putting too much effort into this chapter.) Also please keep any comments or reactions to this chapter appropriate. Any comment that may send off uncomfortable vibes will be taken off of the chapter as well to protect the wonderful community I have built surrounding this book.

I'm sorry if this was a mountain of text that you didn't care about, but I thought it was important to explain why this chapter exists in the future. Anyways, happy reading!

(Also warning for vomit towards the end)

🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

"𝐿𝑒𝓉'𝓈 𝒹𝑜 𝒶 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝑒 𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝐼'𝓁𝓁 𝓁𝑒𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑔𝑜," Mr. Lake states and I anxiously look at the clock looming over four-thirty, when filming is supposed to begin.

My final class of the day is a mandatory acrobatic class with a bunch of minis. Normally, combined classes aren't an issue since they give me a chance to work on the basics instead of the more complicated tricks, but when they run long on pyramid day, it's an issue.

"Mr. Lake? Rue and I, we have to go film the pyramid," Kenzie exclaims, fiddling around with her outfit.

"How about you two go first, and then you can go film the show?" Mr. Lake offers and without any argument, we shuffle to the front of the line for the trampoline, cutting in front of Brooke Kosinski.