Dancing at the ALDC

Chapter 8

Lucy POV

Abby invited me back to the ALDC and I was thrilled to be competing with the dance moms girls for another week. 

I remember sitting on my bed checking to see what the fandom had been saying about me.  I was reading tweets that said things like, OMG!  Lucy is so good!! or I thought Lucy would be really bad like Vivi Anne  #sorryVivi  but she turned out to be really good!  #iloveLucy:)  I had smiled at the thought of being permanently on the team.  That's when I had received the notice on the top left corner of my screen.  It said, "Message: AbbyLeeDance....".  I was about to scream with happiness when I had found out that the email was Abby inviting me back for another week. 

Now I was walking into pyramid, a little nervous about what my placement would be.  I knew that Abby was happy with my performance in the group dance, but I couldn't help but feel like she was going to place me at the bottom and say that I would have to work my way up.  Just like my first day at the ALDC, what ifs flooded into my mind.  I tried my best to push them away but I was still jittering when Abby called us into studio one for pyramid. 

"Alright girls!  Get in here!  Get over there so that we can start."  Abby yelled.  I followed everyone else to the middle of the room.  I saw Chloe standing next to Paige, and so I moved towards them.  Paige saw me coming, and moved to stand next to Nia on the end.  "Alright!  Time for pyramid!!!"  Abby said, clearly excited.  I could imagine Christi saying, "I haven't seen her this excited since she found out that Burger King was giving her free burgers if she advertised for them."  I sniggered and Chloe nudged me and I saw that Abby was watching me.

"So today," Abby began to uncover the bottom spot on the pyramid.  "Paige.  What the Heck were you doing?  In the group dance, you turned the wrong way and you stood out like a blue flower in a snowy field."

"Sorry, I thought that that was the way that we were supposed to turn."  Paige said with a straight face.  "I'll do better." 

"Yeah," Abby said.  "You'd better.  Next... is Nia.  I'm just not seeing your best effort right now, I want you to work even harder in class.  And Next, is Mackenzie.  I'm sorry, Mackenzie, you haven't really been proving to me that you deserve to be higher.  Work harder and you'll shoot right up."  Mackenzie nodded.  "Now... it's Kendall.  C'mon Kendall!  You should be higher up!  I know that.  But you need to show me that you know that.  Next is... Chloe.  You hurt yourself.  Do you deserve to be higher up?  Yes, but you hurt yourself, and I can't put an injured dancer on the top.  You will not be dancing this week, but I still want you to come to the competitions.  Yes?"  Chloe nodded, looking a little more deflated.  "Next... is Brooke.  Great job on wininng first!  I'm very proud of you for winning that spot and I think you have earned your spot on this pyramid.  Keep up the good work.  And now, it's Lucy!"  Everyone clapped.  I smiled widely and my mom gave me a double thumbs up.  Christi mouthed good job to me and Chloe hugged me.  "Lucy, I was baffled by your performance in the group.  You were definitely the perfect choice for the lead.  And, naturally, on top is Maddie."  Maddie beamed, and I couldn't help but feel a little bit of jealousy.  "Maddie, you won with your solo and I thought you were beautiful!  Great job.

"Now for solos."  It suddenly became eerily quiet.  It seemed as though everyone wanted a solo so badly that they were in suspense.  "We are going to have three solos and a group.  Those solos are going to... Maddie, Mackenzie, and... Lucy."  I felt my jaw drop.  I couldn't believe it; it was only my second week on the team and Abby was ready to give me a solo.  I was so happy that I could have cried. 

"Maddie, your solo is going to be a lyrical routine called Here and Now.  Mackenzie, you will be doing and acrobatic number called I'm Too Talented.  And Lucy, congrats, your solo will be a lyrical/contemporary dance called I'm Staying.  And, I think, you already have realized that you and Maddie are going head to head this week.  All I can say is good luck!"  Abby smiled, when she saw how happy I was.  I was really happy that I was getting a solo, but I couldn't help but think that this solo was going to be my only ticket onto the team permanently.  What if I mess it up?  What if I don't get first?  The what ifs started up again just a quickly as they had gone.  I tried to push them away, but this time I found it hard.  If I mess up this solo, then I will be banished from the ALDC.