I didn’t have time to really think about it. I pulled my leg up again and I spun around—and my leg went over her head again. Just barely. A few inches down and I would have smacked her in the face with my leg. I heard people gasp.
“Two . . . one.”
Megan rolled away from me. I pulled my leg up one last time and held the pose. Whew. Done. That was close. I did not want my first dance-off to be known as the one where I’d kicked the best dancer in the face, thank you. I inhaled deeply, trying to catch my breath.
“Time to vote,” Vanessa said.
The three of us turned around with our backs to the rest of the class. I was still breathing hard from that near-miss, while everyone voted silently. When we turned around, I noticed most of the people were looking right at me.
“Our winner is . . . ,” Vanessa said, “Harper.”
I won.
“Whoooo!” People clapped and pounded the floor. Lily was stamping her feet as well.
I smiled, embarrassed but excited! Okay, this was really cool. Really cool. My first victory at DanceStarz! I got to show my new studio what I was capable of. I looked over at Vanessa, who was smiling at me approvingly. Yay!
The only thing that would kill my mood would be to look at Megan, so I said to myself, Don’t look at Megan, don’t look at Megan . . . I peeked at Megan. She wasn’t giving anything away with her smile, but I saw her eyes narrow when she caught my glance. Ouch. You don’t want to know the eye conversation she had with me.
“Harper, as the winner, you get to be featured on DanceStarz social media,” Vanessa said.
“I do?” I asked, surprised. Everyone laughed.
Vanessa took my picture and I smiled for the camera.
“Be prepared to see the trophy emoji!” Trina called out and everyone laughed again.
CHAPTER
8
H arper!” Lily came bouncing into Studio C. She was wearing her turquoise dance top with black-and-white polka-dot shorts.
I had arrived early, as I always liked to do, and the studio had been empty. I was sitting on the floor doing butterfly stretches.
“Your polka dots are so cute!” I said.
“Thanks, but let’s talk about the real story. Hello, did you see how many likes you got on DanceStarz?!”
“Really?” I answered, trying to play it cool. Then I gave up on that. “Okay, I already know. I was kind of obsessed with looking at it.”
DanceStarz had posted a picture taken during my freestyle, while I was midleap. It was a cool picture. And the caption under it read: July’s lyrical freestyle winner: Harper. And yes, there was a trophy emoji next to it as Trina had said.
“I would be too. I was so excited for you!” she said.
“Thanks,” I said. “I’m sure you were great too.”
“Meh, lyrical freestyle’s not my thing. Years of ballet, and I’m still better at just jumping around.” Lily waved it off. She ran and did a round-off back handspring. Then she slid over to sit by me and stretched. “That last move you did made everyone gasp!”
“I just won because of luck,” I said. “If Megan hadn’t slid near me I wouldn’t have done it at all.”
I wasn’t sure if Megan would be so happy to hear that. I had relived that moment in my mind. Part of me thought that Megan hadn’t seen me there. But it was just as likely that she had slid in front of me to get the attention for herself. And if that was the case, it hadn’t worked.
“That’s not luck, that’s mad skills,” Lily said, and held out her hand for a fist bump.
I bumped her fist, but pulled it back quickly when the door opened. It was the Bunheads.
“Hello!” I said.
“So, Harper. You really came into the freestyle hard yesterday,” Megan said, putting her backpack in a cubby.
And hello to you, too. I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, exactly. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
“Wasn’t Harper awesome?” Lily said.
“Mm-hmm,” Megan answered. Megan and Riley came right over and started stretching with us. Trina sat down by the cubbies to take off her sneakers.
“Megan, you were awesome too,” I said genuinely.
“Harper. It’s kind of weird, you just busting in here and trying to take over,” Riley said. “By running over Megan. Everyone saw that.”
“What? I was just dancing,” I said. “If I hadn’t leapt, I would have run into Megan.”
“Mm-hmm,” Megan said. “Still, there’s some things newbies just should know on their own. Like how to stay in your lane.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Lily challenged.
“Just that she should dance where she’s supposed to,” Megan said innocently.
“I think we all did great,” I said. I’d danced with divas all my life. I didn’t want to make waves as the new girl, but I knew I couldn’t let her entirely push me around. “But also? I’m proud of myself that I won.”
Megan wasn’t expecting that. Her eyes narrowed.
“No offense, but I think your win was a fluke,” she said. “Enjoy it while it lasts.”
The door opened.
“Here’s our team! DanceStarz Squad, together as one!” Vanessa walked in.
Yeah . . . no.
We jumped up and plastered happy smiles on our faces.
“Now, let’s get right to work. We’ll start working on our first group dance today,” Vanessa said.
That perked everyone up. What was our first dance as a team going to be? I had an eye conversation with Lily to say I was dying of suspense. Would it be a jazz number? Musical theater? Lyrical?
“Our first piece will be a contemporary dance.”
Vanessa had chosen contemporary. Contemporary dances could really range: fast and upbeat, slower and more controlled. I was excited to see what it would be.
“This dance will be called ‘Awaken.’ The theme will be about discovering new things, new choices, and figuring out a new energy—which feels perfect for this group.”
Riley waved her hand wildly.
“What will our costumes be?”
“I’m still deciding,” Vanessa said.
She had us start in pyramid formation, and then we went right into the first block of choreography.
Megan was being set up as the featured dancer in the group. It made sense. I knew from lyrical class that Megan was a star in the studio. Megan’s tricks and confidence helped keep the attention on her while she was dancing. Vanessa knew what she could count on her for. I hoped someday she’d have that confidence in me. I felt like I had made a little bit of an impression on her by winning the dance-off, and I wanted to keep that momentum going.
“I want this dance to be fun and energetic,” Vanessa said. “We want to capture the audience from the first moment.”
We learned the next combination.
“High energy!” Vanessa called out. “There will be some intricate movements, and every movement will matter in order for it to work—and for you all to be safe.”
This dance had some challenging footwork. I had my toes pointed, my feet turned out, but by the time I was in position, I was a beat behind.
“No, no!” Vanessa called out, shaking her head. She came and stood in front of me and demonstrated. Vanessa did three quick steps.
I copied those three quick steps.
“Yes, like that,” Vanessa nodded. “Now get that in sync with everyone else.”
What was my issue? The other girls were getting it, even Lily. This combination seemed to move so quickly. By the time I got my arms and feet in position, it seemed the other girls had moved to the leap. They were leaping, and I was following them.
“Harper, you have to explode out of the position quickly,” Vanessa said, frustrated. “Megan, show Harper the pacing, please.”
Megan stood in front of me and showed me.
“Watch Megan’s transition,” Vanessa instructed.
I could feel the other girls’ eyes on me.
/>
“It’s easy,” Megan said brightly. “See?”
She did the footwork perfectly.
“Just do that,” Megan challenged me. She shot me a fake smile while I tried it. I fumbled.
“Harper, are you feeling comfortable?” Vanessa asked.
“Yes!” I quickly said. “Well—it’s just . . . the transition . . . something . . .”
I felt tears spring to my eyes, and I sucked in my breath trying to calm down.
“Maybe her old studio didn’t dance hard and she’s tired,” Megan suggested, giving me an innocent look.
“I dance hard!” I protested.
“Megan, that’s not necessary,” Vanessa said. “But I do agree, it can be a big adjustment to get used to a new studio.”
“Lily got the steps,” Megan fake-whispered.
I winced.
“We’re going to keep on until it’s right,” Vanessa said.
And we did. And I couldn’t get it right. What was going on with me?!
“I can’t believe we have to keep doing this just because she can’t get it,” Megan whispered.
“Wasting everyone’s time,” Riley agreed.
La, la, la. I tried to block them out and just ignore them.
It was hard.
After class was over, I got up and went straight for my dance bag. Once again, it wasn’t where I’d put it. After last class, I had put it into one of the higher cubbies. Now it was in a low cubby. I reminded myself to ask where I was supposed to store my things. I didn’t want to be paranoid or suspicious, but . . . I was getting frustrated. I just wanted to go home and be alone for a while.
“Harper.” Lily came up to me. “I wanted to see if you could come over to my house.”
“To be honest, I’m kind of not feeling great.” I felt a lump in my throat, and I swallowed hard. I didn’t want to admit how much my fail in class was bothering me.
“But today I get to go home,” Lily said. “Most days, I’m going to be stuck waiting for the store to close. But my mother has to go home to wait for a plumber or something. Yay, I get to hang out at home. Boo, I have to spend it by myself unless you come with me?”
Lily gave me a winning smile and posed. I had to smile back at that. I did want to get to know Lily. But I also wanted to go home and just feel sorry for myself for a little bit.
“We could go swimming,” Lily kept going. “I have a poooool. You can borrow a bathing suit. We can float away your worries.”
“That does sound pretty good.” I wavered.
“I’m going to walk on my hands until you say yes,” Lily said. She did a handstand and started hand-walking in circles.
“I’m getting tired!” she continued, upside down. “I’m getting dizzy. Say yes, Harper!”
Swimming > sulking.
Lily > loneliness.
“Fine, I don’t want to torture you. I’ll ask my mom,” I said. She landed with a thunk on the ground, and we were both smiling.
CHAPTER
9
On the drive to Lily’s house, her mom asked the usual mom questions: How did I like it here (pretty good so far), what was my favorite subject in school (math), and where would I be going (to the same school as Lily, yay!). She also asked me what yogurt flavors I’d like to see in the store, which was fun. I suggested s’mores and then thought up macarons, which were my favorite dessert to get when I went into New York City.
“I’ve never had a macaron,” Lily said.
“Macarons are amazing. Lemon, pistachio, chocolate . . .” I sighed. “We’ll have to find some here.”
The plumber was pulling up to Lily’s house when we got there, so her mom said we should go straight back to the pool. 1Lily’s pool was curvy-shaped with a diving board at the deep end. She had white lounge chairs set up along the side.
“You’re so lucky you have a pool,” I told her. “The best part of living in Florida is swimming.”
“Totally. I can’t believe I have a pool. And cute new bathing suits. Pick any of them and I’ll get towels. There’s a little changing room in there.” Lily pointed to a large white shed.
I went inside the shed, which was set up with two benches. Three bathing suits and some towels were on one of the benches. I chose an emerald-green top and navy bottoms and put them on.
“Go ahead and get in!” Lily’s mom called from the screen porch overlooking the pool. “I’m watching you girls.”
I waved to Lily’s mother, who waved back.
I went to the shallow end of the pool and sat at the edge, dangling my feet in, letting myself get used to the temperature. The water was pretty warm, so I slid in up to my waist, then held my breath and went underwater. I popped up and then floated on my back. Ah. I stared at the bright blue Florida sky, the sun blazing warm on my face. Lily was right. This was a good way to relax and not worry about dance class today. To not worry about how I couldn’t get the choreography down and I’d been a beat behind the other girls. And how the Bunheads seemed to think Lily and I had replaced their friends, and obviously I was a poor substitute and—
SPLASH!
Lily jumped in right near my head and sprayed me with water.
“Sorry, not sorry!” She laughed when I sputtered. “You’re supposed to be relaxing and not thinking about dance. You don’t look relaxed at all.”
“I know, I know,” I said. “I always think about dance. Usually, it’s fun, though.”
“Okay, let’s dance, then,” Lily said. “Let’s do the fun part: tumbling!”
“You really like your tumbling, don’t you?” I laughed.
“I did gymnastics for four years, but my mom wanted me to switch to ballet,” Lily said. “So hopefully this team will be a good combination of those.”
Lily threw herself into a back handspring and popped up with her hands straight in the air.
She disappeared underwater and then her legs and feet popped up into a handstand. She held the handstand underwater for a long time, but was wobbling, before she popped back up and took a breath.
“How do you hold your breath like that?” I asked. “Impressive.”
“Your turn,” Lily said.
I took a deep breath and dove underwater. I felt around for the bottom and put my hands flat on the pool floor. I pushed my feet up and out. I pointed my toes and stayed there for a few seconds before I lost my balance. Then I pushed off and arched my back to resurface.
“Nice and straight,” Lily said approvingly.
“Were my toes pointed? Was I wobbling at the end?”
“Your toes were totally pointed. But, okay, you wobbled.”
“Like I messed up the steps today.” I groaned.
“Hello? You did, like, a hundred pirouettes and a leg hold into a relevé the other day,” Lily said. “If I did that, I wouldn’t just wobble, I’d fall over on my face.”
We both laughed.
“I just wanted to be, you know, perfect.” I sighed.
“Well, you weren’t,” Lily said so matter-of-factly it made me laugh. “And you get a seven-point-five on your handstand.”
“I can do better,” I promised. “Next round.”
“Now the pressure’s on me,” Lily said. She went under for another handstand. She was super straight and balanced. She stayed under for a long time. A long, long time. Finally, she popped up.
“Wow, you really can hold your breath forever,” I said. “Extra points for stamina. Eight out of ten. Extra point off because your toes weren’t pointed.”
“I always forget the toes.” Lily shook her head, smiling. “Back handspring next!” Lily said. She flung herself backward and her feet appeared, and then her head again.
“That was so fast!” I was impressed. “You’re so good at tumbling. Nine!”
I flung myself into a back handspring. Lily graded me an 8. Then we each did a front flip with our legs tucked in (Harper 8, Lily 8.5), and a back walkover (Harper 8, Lily 7.5).
“What do I need to work on?” I asked. �
��Seriously.”
“I guess your speed,” Lily said. “Some of the moves require power. And holding your breath longer.”
“You’re great at those,” I said.
“I need to work on my legs and feet,” Lily said. “That’s what my ballet teachers always told me. It’s so hard to focus on every little thing, you know?”
Oh, I knew.
Lily pulled herself out of the pool and ran around to the diving board. She stood at the end and held her hand up high like a gymnast before a vault. She ran to the end of the diving board and . . .
“CANNONBALL!” Lily yelled. She plunged into the water with a big splash, spraying water all over me.
“Okay, I was not expecting that.” I laughed when she emerged.
“Ten out of ten, right?” Lily asked.
“Well, your arms were a little crooked wrapped around your knees . . . ,” I teased.
“Picky, picky,” Lily said. Then she splashed water at me. Water fight!
“Girls!” Lily’s mother came outside.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I apologized, sputtering from the water.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Lily’s mother said. “Water is for fun. I’m bringing something I thought you might enjoy.”
She held up two items that shimmered in the sun. They were actual mermaid tails! One was an aquamarine-green mix and the other was a purple-blue mix.
“They’re waterproof. Go ahead and put them on to swim,” said Lily’s mom.
“Mom, these are so cool! Thank you!” Lily jumped out of the pool.
“You’ve been really helpful at the store, so I wanted to bring you a present,” Lily’s mother said. She smiled at our thanks.
“These are so cute,” I told her. I swam to the edge of the pool, and Lily’s mother handed me the shimmery purple-and-blue tail. I sat on the pool steps and pulled it on. “Great timing that I was here when they came in.”
“Actually, I’m guessing they came before but my mom hid them until I had a friend over,” Lily said. “Remember? No friends, loser.”
“We just moved here!” I said. “I have no friends here either. We’re both losers together. Loser mermaids!”
The Audition Page 5
