McKinna Maryen Ziegler had lived in the shadows for most of her life, letting her sister have the spotlight. Until an opportunity for a chance to be on a reality TV show sent her into a spiral of fame, friendship and favoritism.
People can only be t...
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McKinna Maddie Paige Chloe Brooke Mackenzie Nia
This week we're going to Chicago, Illinois for Company Dance competition. Our group dance is called 'Trapped' and basically, it is all about homelessness. And because I'm top of the pyramid, which I still have this huge goofy smile on my face about, I get a special part with Maddie and we are two homeless twins. Maddie, Chloe and Nia have a trio as well as Maddie has a solo called 'Reflections', which is loosely based off Snow White. Paige and I also have a duet called 'Money Money Money', which is jazz with some little acrobatic moments.
The wedding is also coming up soon, so mom is starting to get really angsty. She keeps taking her ring on and off, like she can't decide if she really wants to believe she's getting married. Or if she even wants to get married. None of us are truly convinced, because I suspect she is marrying him to ensure she can pay for dance fees. Most of the time, we all think mom likes dance more than us.
"Paige, McKinna, duet time please." Miss Abby entered the Dancer's Den and both of us quickly stand up, following her into Studio A. "Now, your last duet was amazing. Top notch. But can you beat it with this one? You both better hope your little dreams on it, because if this duet doesn't beat the trio, it's over. No more of this silly stuff. I'm tired of it- you two are dancers and you are going to act like it. Understood?"
"Yes Miss Abby." we chorused and then the practise rolled on. It was a nice routine with good choreography, nothing out of the ordinary really. The difficulty degree wasn't very high, bar some tumbling, so we learnt it in no time.
"Girls, I want you to go up to your moms with these designs and tell them I want real money on them. I don't care if it is a jazz piece, these costumes are going to look amazing. Dismissed." she hands us both a colored sketch of a costume, scrunchie and a handbag.
"Not gonna lie, I wish the routine was more advanced." Paige told me as we walked up to Dance Jail.
"Agreed." I say and we both sigh dramatically. The producers follow us avidly with the cameramen. "Man, I wish we could just compete already."
"Don't we all?" Paige snorted and we sat next to the moms.
This is certainly going to be interesting.
-Two Days to Competition-
For one reason or another, mom had decided that instead of me helping the mini group and James, I would help her with the duet costumes, which were apparently going to take a lot of effort because we had to sew real money on it.
As I stitched some twenty dollar bills on to Paige's costume, I saw the cameras start to zoom in on the moms, which meant some drama was about to take place. Interested, I began to listen into their conversation.
"Why aren't you wearing your ring?" Christi asked mom and immediately, I saw her guard go up. Even though the moms were her best friends, she still didn't want to tell them anything, which was really weird.
"'Cause I'm not wearing it anymore." mom didn't look up from her work as she said it, but I could see she was starting to boil.
"Why?" the moms asked, clearly confused. "McKinna?" they all looked at me and my head shot up. Why couldn't they just leave me out of it?
"Don't ask me." I say, slightly panicked. On one hand, I want to know why too. What if the wedding is getting cancelled? On the other hand, though, I want to respect my mom and she clearly doesn't want the other moms to know about her marriage, even if it is a small event, it is a big deal. Basically, I'm just as confused as everyone else.
"I'm just not, okay?" mom finally looks up and glares at everyone, including me, which makes me cower. I watch as Kelly, Christi and Holly all exchange looks. I really just want to go downstairs, tot he Dancer's Den, but I know mom will kill me.
"Doesn't that hurt Greg's feelings, then?" Kelly questions. "Or the girls?" Which was clearly directed at me to answer, but I pretended to not hear her.
"No, it's just how we're doing it." mom tells them all, acting like she doesn't care about what they think, but I can tell she does. All of us Ziegler girls were happy for mom, that she had found someone she loved and that wasn't going to hurt her, like dad, but I wish the moms would keep their meddling noses to themselves.
"Do the girls say anything about how you don't wear it?" Holly enters the conversation when everyone turns silent. "Do they notice it? How does it make you feel, McKinna?"
I don't even get a chance to answer, because mom stands up, packs up everything, including the costumes and grabs me. We walk down to Studio A and the cameras follow us eagerly, absorbing in all the gossip.
"Abby, I'm sorry, but these people are starting this again," she starts to complain, "so my kids and I are leaving and we aren't going this weekend. Come on, Maddie, McKinna." I had sneakily joined Maddie in the back, but mom had clearly seen me. She grabs Kenzie and goes outside, and then comes back for us.
"Girls, I am not joking around, we're going home. Now."
"We aren't either, mom, we're staying here and we are competing this weekend whether you like it or not." I stand my ground as Maddie looks down. In a good way, she has always been the goody-two-shoes and it is really hard for her to stand up and disobey mom. Mom looks between us, almost challenging it, then turns on her heel and leaves us behind.
"Kinna, I hate this." Maddie tells me as I join the group, which Miss Abby had now decided to run.
"You get used to it, trust me. After the first time mom leaves you at home, you get used to it. We'll be fine." I reply, undisturbed by mom's disappearance. I'm so used to being left behind, I couldn't really care less if I got to stay here at the studio. I like it more than at home most of the time anyway.
We spend the rest of the day rehearsing, including the duet. Us Ziegler twins walked home and made some toast for our dinner, after being met with the lights out and the fire burnt out.
I fell asleep to Maddie crying in her pillow.
I'm starting to think this show really has broken us.
