Trina looked around.
“Hurry! Grab something. We’re live!” Hailey yelled at her. Trina went over and grabbed Hailey’s hairbrush. We all started laughing.
“What’s your theme?” Lily called out. “We should have a theme.”
“Good idea.” Hailey nodded.
“Okay, my theme is sadness and pain.” Trina held up her prop. “Specifically, the pain of getting my hair done for a competition.”
We all started laughing so hard. Something we could all relate to.
“Preach!” Lily yelled.
Hailey started the music, a slow song with a woman singing sadly.
Trina jumped on the bed and danced with the brush. She waved it gently in the air, then dropped down and rolled on the bed. Then she reached out toward us, brushed her hair up into a bun, making pained faces, and held it with her hand. Finally, she whirled around, holding her head as if in pain, and posed dramatically.
“Wooo!” we all cheered.
“That was our first contestant, Trina. So authentic, so relatable,” Hailey said into the mic.
“You should consider this for a career,” Lily told Hailey.
“No trying to sway the judge with compliments!” Megan barked. “Even if she is the cutest thing!”
“That’s a compliment too!” Lily shot back, laughing.
“No, no, don’t stop the compliments,” Hailey encouraged. “Keep them coming.”
“Hey! You can’t mess with the judging process,” I protested.
“But she’s not even the judge,” Trina said, looking confused. “They’re the judges.”
We all looked at the teddy bear, robot, and doll. And we all started laughing.
“Um . . . Trina,” Megan started to say.
“See! So, don’t waste your time complimenting my annoying little sister,” I said, waving my piece of paper in the air. “Let’s get on with the show.”
“Hey!” Hailey said. “Oh, look who our next contestant is. The annoying big sister, Harper.”
“Ooooh,” Megan said. “Don’t insult the host! You’ve been insulted in front of a worldwide audience.”
She high-fived my sister.
“Ouch!” I laughed. “I hadn’t thought that through!”
It was my turn. I hadn’t really thought this through either. I looked around for my prop.
“I have a ballet dance.” I jumped on the bed. “Which, FYI, speaking from previous experience, is hard to do on Hailey’s bed because it’s so bouncy.”
“No excuses in dance competitions,” Hailey scolded. “Although, yes, I do have a soft, bouncy bed. Too bad, so sad.”
Hailey turned on ballet music and I posed on top of the bed like a ballerina.
“Wait, where’s your partner?” Lily asked.
“You’ll see,” I said.
When the music started, I melted on top of the bed, sliding over so my head was nearly on the floor. From this position, I could see under Hailey’s bed. As I also knew from previous experience, it was a disaster. And her hiding place for snacks. I grabbed a box of cheese crackers and pulled it out from underneath.
And I began dancing with it like a partner.
Everyone cracked up.
“She’s dancing with cheese crackers.” Trina was doubled over, laughing.
I was. I danced what I would say was a beautiful—okay, maybe not beautiful, but interesting—interpretive ballet dance with my box of crackers. I did an impressive arabesque and a not-as-impressive leap from one end of the bed to the other. I saved my favorite move for the grand finale as I lay back on the bed, my head dangling down as I flowed my hands to put the cracker box back under the bed. Then I did a back walkover to the floor. Not a ballet move, but one I thought looked cool.
When the song was over, everyone applauded and I bowed.
“Oh wait, I forgot to say my theme is snacks,” I said. “I mean, who doesn’t love a good snack?”
“Uh,” Hailey said. “You’re not going to tell Mom about my snack stash, are you?”
“Depends if you vote for me to win.” I smiled.
“RIGGED!” everyone started yelling. “RIGGED!”
“Okay, okay! I take it back!” I laughed. “I promise I won’t tell.”
Hailey went right back into her emcee mode.
“That was our second contestant, Harper, with a lovely, although cheesy, ballet number,” Hailey said. “Clean lines and good technique, but your partner was a bit stiff.”
“Wow, you really know how to critique,” Lily said.
“She watches a lot of dance shows with me,” I said.
“The dance was also a little boring,” Hailey added.
“Hey!” I said. “You didn’t insult the other dancer!”
“Ha! I thought since you’re her sister you’d automatically win.” Riley snickered.
“Nope.” Hailey smiled smugly. “Why would I vote for my annoying sister?”
“You’re annoying,” I shot back.
“My little sister is annoying too,” Riley said to me.
“Thank you.” I bumped fists with Riley in solidarity.
“Our next contestant is Riley!” Hailey announced after Riley raised her hand. “Who has an automatic deduction for insulting little sisters.”
“Augh!” Riley said. “I take it back! Little sisters are the best!”
We all cheered for Riley.
“I’m doing a jazz number,” Riley said. “With my partner, Pool Noodle. My theme is ninja dancer.”
She picked up Hailey’s pool noodle and jumped on the bed. Hailey started the music and Riley danced. She twirled and swished the pool noodle around and up in the air as she did a jump. As the music got more dramatic, she used it like a sword over her head, slashing through the air. For her final move, she jabbed the sword at the judges and at us, then jumped off the bed using the noodle as a jump rope.
We all applauded and cheered.
“Powerful moves and impressive partner usage from our contestant, Riley! Let’s see what the judges think so far.” Hailey went up to the immobile judges. “They aren’t giving anything away. Our fourth contestant is—”
Hailey was interrupted by scratching at the door.
“Mo wants to come in.” I smiled and opened the door. Mo raced in carrying his rubber chew toy, sniffed at each of the girls, and then jumped up on the fluffy white chair, knocking the robot dog off in the process.
“Mo wants to be a judge!” Trina said. “He’s taking over for Robot Dog.”
Mo sat on the chair and chewed his toy.
“Remember who feeds you treats, Judge Mo,” I said to him.
“No swaying the judges!” Lily swatted me. Then she jumped up and picked up Robot Dog. “And I now have my partner for my hip-hop routine. My theme is robots.”
She jumped up on the bed and placed the robot dog next to her. Hailey turned on the hip-hop music, which jammed loudly through the room.
Lily turned on the robotic dog, who beeped and lit up. As the dog moved its head side to side, Lily did too.
We all started cracking up as Lily did robot moves next to it. She made some precise movements along with the robot, popping and locking.
Everyone was laughing hysterically.
Lily shifted into high-energy hip-hop moves for her dance. She held up Robot Dog and did a strong heel stretch. Then when she put Robot Dog down for her final spin on the bed, he dramatically bounced off onto the rug and under the bed.
“Oh, no! My partner!” Lily gasped.
I dove off Hailey’s bed and found Robot Dog where he had wedged himself among all of the serious mess underneath.
“Is he okay?”
“I can’t tell!” I wedged myself in farther. “He’s not lighting up. . . .”
“Noooo! Robot Dog, don’t die!” I could hear Hailey’s dramatic voice from above. “You have so much to live for!”
“Wait, he’s really alive?” Trina asked. “I thought it was a toy.”
I finall
y got a grip on the robot and scooted myself backward with him in my hand. I pressed his ears—and he lit up and made noises.
“He’s fine,” I said, panting. “I’m not sure about me. Hailey, you have to clean out underneath your bed. I almost suffocated.”
“Well, what’s most important is that Robot Dog is okay,” Hailey said, cradling the robot dog, who bleeped at her.
“You’re welcome for the rescue,” I said to her and shook my head. Then I heard crying sounds behind me.
Lily was fake-sobbing.
“Was I that bad that my partner leapt to his doom to escape?” Lily asked.
“No, you were amazing—for ratings! Now, that’s the kind of scandal that brings TV viewers!” Hailey said. Then she grabbed her microphone. “The only way to describe it is you have swag, Lily.”
Lily bowed.
We all cheered. Mo barked along, sharing the excitement. Hailey placed the robot dog on her dresser and Mo back on the judges’ chair.
“Our final contestant is . . . Megan!” she announced.
“Thank you, thank you. I’ll be performing a contemporary dance with my partner . . .” She went over and picked up Mo.
“Cheating! Cheating!” we all yelled. “You can’t have the judge as a partner.”
“But he’s sooo cute,” Megan said, putting him back down on the chair. “Please, Hailey?”
“What do you think, Mo?” Hailey said and held Mo out toward Megan. Megan leaned in and made kissy faces. And, of course, Mo kissed her.
“That’s a yes!” Megan said, and took Mo on the bed with her. “My theme is cute puppies!”
We all groaned. Megan was obviously a master manipulator.
“Be careful,” Riley cautioned. Megan rolled her eyes.
The music started, and Megan did a gentle contemporary dance with Mo, who was happy when cradled in her arms. She danced beautifully, then put him down and did a needle with her hands on the bed next to him and her leg in the air. Mo started to bark up at her and race around on the bed in circles. Megan picked him up and posed with him to end her dance.
We all applauded for her as she and Mo hopped off the bed.
“Wow!” Hailey spoke into her mic. “Let’s give a round of applause to all of our contestants! And now let’s see what our judges think.”
She moved the microphone to the doll and the teddy bear and then chased a lively Mo around the room.
“The judges have weighed in,” Hailey said. “It’s a hard decision. It’s hard judging people.”
Actually, I realized it was kind of easy to judge people. I looked at the Bunheads. I’d been judging them this whole time. They were actually pretty fun. As long as they weren’t being mean, we might be able to all get along. I smiled.
“In last place is Harper, because her dance was boring.” Hailey knocked me out of my thoughts.
“Last place?” The smiled dropped off my face. “I demand a recount! I lost to someone who almost killed your robot dog?”
“You know I’m not a fan of ballet.” Hailey shrugged. “Please show good sportsmanship.”
I threw a pillow at her. She laughed and ducked. I laughed too.
“In fourth place for her lyrical dance is Trina!”
“Woo hoo!” Trina danced around excitedly.
“Fourth place out of five,” Megan said to her.
“I know!” Trina continued her happy dance.
“And in third place is Riley!” Hailey pointed to Riley, and we all clapped for her as she slashed her ninja pool noodle around.
“And the moment we’ve been waiting for . . . ,” Hailey said. Then she deepened her voice. “Is your phone ready for an upgrade?”
Everyone groaned.
“No commercials, Hailey,” I said.
“Okay, okay,” Hailey said. “Our runner-up is . . . Lily!”
“I WON!” Megan seemed genuinely excited as Hailey went and got one of her princess crowns and placed it on Megan’s head. “I won!”
“Of course you won—you danced with a dog!” Riley said. “Who can compete with a cute puppy?”
“Shout-out to Mo!” Megan blew him a kiss.
I grinned. We were all cracking up.
“And did Lily get second because she also danced with a dog?” I asked. “Even though she tried to break him?”
“He jumped! Which is maybe worse,” Lily said. Then she turned to Megan and gave her a high five. “Dogs for the win!”
“Take it up with the judges,” Hailey told me.
I went to the judges’ seat, picked up the teddy bear, and tossed it at Hailey.
“My partner’s feelings are hurt,” I said. I picked up one of the pillows and threw it at Hailey. She grabbed another one and threw it back.
“Pillow fight!” Trina yelled.
Everyone grabbed a pillow—and Riley had her pool noodle—and we all started hitting each other. I stood for a second and looked at everyone having fun. This was what I’d been hoping for. Then I hit each of the Bunheads with a pillow.
I had just gotten bopped by Lily and fallen over onto the bed when the door opened.
“Sna . . . ACK!” My mom poked her head in the door.
Megan’s pillow flew at my mom’s head, and she ducked just in time!
“Sorry! Sorry, sorry!” Megan said.
“I’ll try that again.” My mom smiled. “Snacks in the kitchen if you’d like to—”
Yes! Everyone dropped their pillows and raced out the door. My mom waited until everyone had headed out into the hallway before she whispered to me.
“Are you having fun with your team?” She didn’t whisper quietly enough.
“YES!” Riley turned around and said.
Yay.
CHAPTER
19
A fter yesterday, I felt much better about our team spirit. I went into our rehearsal feeling good about things. We were all much nicer on the way in. And excited.
Dress rehearsal! We put on our costumes for the first time and went into the studio.
“We look awesome!” Riley said.
We did. Vanessa had wanted our first costumes to reflect our studio colors. Our leotards were white with beautiful silver rhinestones. A flowing skirt made of light ribbons of fabric in pink and white swirled around my legs as I twirled. It was one of the prettiest costumes I had ever had.
We all swirled and twirled as the ribbons fluttered around us.
But things quickly got serious when Vanessa came in.
“This is our final run-through,” she said. “Let’s knock this out.”
She had us run through the routine. And then run through it again. And again.
Vanessa was in beast mode.
“Watch your step,” Megan snapped at Riley. “Watch your arms.” At Lily. “Watch your face.” At Trina.
If Vanessa was in beast mode, Megan was really wound up.
When rehearsal was over, Vanessa stood in front of us.
“That was an okay rehearsal,” she said. “Okay, but not great.”
“You know the saying: A bad dress rehearsal means a good performance!” Trina said.
“There is also a saying that practice makes perfect,” Vanessa said. “And that was far from perfect. Stretch tonight! See you tomorrow.”
Everything was super tense. As we walked out, I tried to end on an uplifting note.
“Guys, remember last night,” I said on the way out. “We were all getting along! Let’s be a team!”
“A team that forgets their routine,” Megan said, giving Riley a side eye.
“It was one time!” Riley protested. “If you’d stop glaring at me, I might remember it.”
Later that night in bed, I couldn’t sleep. I was tossing and turning, thinking about the competition. It was tomorrow! My first competition with my new studio! It was really happening!
Then I got a text from Lily.
don’t worry about it!!!
I smiled.
how did u know I was up worrying?! im
ok
Lily texted back.
i’m glad you’re not too upset! don’t let them get to u!
Huh?
don’t let who get to me?
I waited a few moments. I could see Lily was typing, but then it kept stopping. I texted again.
WHAT
Lily texted me.
nothing! that wasn’t for u! go to sleep!
I could tell it wasn’t nothing. What was it? A group text I wasn’t included in? A social media post? I scrolled through social media. And then I saw it.
The video. I hadn’t seen it at first, but Megan was tagged on it.
There I was. First you saw me smiling happily and dancing on the parade float. Then you saw me jump, hit Trina, and fall toward the edge of the float. The camera zoomed close up on me as my face twisted in horror and—
I fell in SLOW MOTION.
Slo-mo me was making a really ridiculous face and falling, falling toward the camera. Ugh, Hailey had been right that my arms did flail on the way down. I had to give myself props, though, on my landing, which was on my knees, versus other, more embarrassing places.
Then I threw up my hands, like I was a gymnast sticking a landing or something. Oh, I was totally embarrassing.
And it was now on social media for everyone to see, up close.
I looked to see who had posted it. It was anonymous, but it had already gotten forty-two likes. I knew who it had to be. It had to be the Bells. If they were trying to shake me up, they were doing a good job. My hands were shaking when I texted Lily back.
o no. did the bunheads see it?
There was a pause.
i don’t know. It’s pretty late. maybe they’re sleeping. hey! It’s 11:11! MAKE A WISH!
My door suddenly opened and my mom stuck her head in.
“Harper! Are you on your phone? You need to get your sleep!” she said.
“But—”
“No buts,” she said. “Hand over your phone. You have a big day tomorrow.”
Reluctantly, I handed her my phone. It was probably for the best. I didn’t really want to know anything else. If the Bunheads and everyone at DanceStarz hadn’t already seen it, they certainly would before the competition.
I lay in my bed, blinking back tears. But I did make a wish. And finally, finally I fell asleep.
CHAPTER
The Audition Page 12
