𝒫𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝒮𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃 𝒮𝒽𝑜𝑒𝓈

𝟤𝟣𝟫. 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝒷𝒾𝓇𝓉𝒽𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓎 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇!

𝒜 𝓅𝓊𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝓊𝓈𝒸𝓁𝑒. It was a simple pulled muscle in the lower back. All of the pain and agony I faced two weeks ago was nothing but a muscle being inflamed due to extra stress and overtraining.

After I nearly collapsed in pain backstage, we got a medic to examine my back. They said it was a small strain but I could barely stand or walk. So we went to a random emergency room in Virginia that was able to do tests while I lay in a bed in excruciating pain. It turns out that over the past couple of weeks, I had been neglecting my warmup routine too much and pulled a muscle in my back.

It made sense when I looked at the past couple of weeks. In Silver Spoons, I remember feeling this weird nagging pain in my back whenever I was rolling on the floor. I guess what put the nail in the coffin was the acro-heavy duet that somehow still won first overall for the duet. So after they gave me some pain medication, they sent me on my way back to Pennsylvania where I was strictly ordered bed rest for the week, effectively banning me from participating in the competition.

I had never felt so angry in my life. Sure, having to take a week off of dance is one thing, but having to stay home for the entire week with Logan is another. I had to rely on him for food and other necessities whenever Iris or Mommy wasn't in the house. Thankfully, he never refused to give me what I wanted, and he even got me this little keychain with a turtle on it. I can tell he's just trying to get me on my good side, though-- since he's yelling at Mommy a lot more and making me stay up until midnight.

But after a horrific week of rest, I've been in the studio non-stop in an attempt to gain back strength and flexibility. My muscle still hurts if I bend my back a lot, but thankfully Madame hasn't been using my back a lot in my make-up lessons. Better yet, I can join the competition team again. I'd rather be with them while they yell at Miss Abby than be at home while Logan yells at Mommy, and they're talking about marriage... as if Mommy would ever marry him.

As I wait in the dancer's den, I try my best to go through my warm-up routine without wincing, spending extra time on my back so it doesn't pull again. I don't know if I can go through another week without dancing for my sanity, so I have to be super careful. One wrong move and it could tear in half, effectively ending my dance career.

Right as I finish the last stretch, I hear Miss Abby shout as per usual, "Come on, girls. Let's go, let's go, let's go."

I stride into the dancer's den eagerly, excited to get back into the dance studio. As I make my way to the middle, Miss Abby shouts, "Here comes Johnny Appleseed..."

"Chop, chop, chop, chop!" everybody repeats back, and I have to assume they beat the Candy Apples last week.

"Come on, chop, chop. Chop, chop, moms, get in here," Miss Abby orders, and the moms obediently line up by the side.

Looking back at the poster, it reads, "Seven Weeks Until Nationals!" That means I have seven weeks to prove that this was nothing but a minor injury... nothing but a little slip-up.

"I wouldn't say it was a brilliant weekend, but I would say it was successful. We set out to beat Cathy, the Wicked Witch of the West. And that's what we did. We beat her hands down in every single category. You knocked the apple tree down," Miss Abby begins and the moms smile at Miss Abby's unusually pleasant tone.

"I always want to welcome back Rue. She has been cleared by the doctors and can compete this week. Rue, are you ready?" Miss Abby asks me.

I nod, "Yes."