After losing Nationals, Abby decides that her team needs a bit of pressure put on them: Amelia and Max. Two best friends who have danced since they could remember have gone through every up and down together, and now they need to tackle the beast.
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After the long bus trip to West Virginia, everyone was excited to start moving and crush the competition. As they were exiting the bus, Amelia looked around and saw a young girl with a sign that read, Max and Amelia On Top!, and she nearly burst out crying. It was the first time she had seen a sign with her name on it. The moment felt totally surreal. When Amelia pointed the sign out to Max, he immediately dragged her over to the girl and took a photo of the three of them. Sure, they got their jackets last week, but this was the moment that they felt truly integrated in this crazy show.
Walking towards the dressing room, Abby instantly picked up on the high pitch whine coming from their room and she knew something was up. Opening the door, Abby was greeted with Cathy and the rest of the Candy Apples. Except they weren't in the ALDC dressing room. They were in the CADC dressing room, which conveniently had an interconnecting door into the ALDC dressing room. As soon as Abby realised this she let out an exacerbated, "Of course," and then she slammed the door connecting the two studios shut. Immediately, Sandy started clapping for the woman, glad to not have to see Cathy, at least for now.
As everyone was setting up their mirrors, Ann turned towards the children, "How are we all feeling for today? Are we excited?" Everyone cheered loudly, pumping each other up. The feeling in the dressing room was electric, their spirits were high and nothing was bringing them down. Abby smiled at the pure joy being expressed by the kids. It wasn't often that all the kids were happy when Abby was in the room, and seeing it made her wish it happened more often. The children quickly broke off into hushed whispers, excitedly discussing their dances, and what they wanted to happen today.
Looking at the clock, Abby demanded that the children all leave to get changed for solos. As they were walking out of the room, Abby turned to the mothers, "I will not be embarrassed by that woman," The moms all nodded, interested in where this was going, "That means no one will not place," Abby sent a strong glare to Stacey, "No infighting," Joanne and Sandy both looked to the ground in shame, "And no yelling," Abby's head whipped around to Ashley, "We will behave like civilised people and not let that lady get to us!" The moms all respectfully nodded, knowing that Abby was right, so until she broke the rules, they weren't allowed to either.
The moms were quietly chatting when the kids re-entered the room in their costumes, each child rushing in and sitting ready for the fashion show. First to enter the room was Hannah, as she had the least complicated costume to put on. Walking into the room in a simple black sequined leotard that had tasteful mesh cutouts. It certainly wasn't extravagant, but it was pretty enough, and Ann appreciated how the costume complimented her daughters features and made her look taller.
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Abby nodded approvingly before sending Hannah to her mother, specifying that Hannah should have mascara running down her face. Both Stacey and Joanne were suddenly worried, if that was the quality of costumes for the week, what would their daughters be wearing? A crop top and booty shorts? A trash bag?
|| I need Lilli to get a good costume! She needs a boost in confidence after this week! || - Stacey Ketchman
Stacey's fears were quelled when Lilli entered the room, looking utterly radiant in her costume. The yellow seemed to shine, and the delicate embroidery made the costume appear much more elegant than it actually was. Lilli's smile, however, was what Stacey thought was most beautiful about the costume. It was so clear how much Lilli loved the costume, twirling around the room, giggling with Brady as he spun her under his arm as Max pretended to be blinded by her beauty. The sight made Stacey's heart smile, it wasn't often she got to see Lilli truly acting like a kid, and it always made Stacey happy.
