"Knock knock."

"Who isn't there?" I ask, not moving from the bed.

"Frances Mackenzie."

"Remember what I told you twenty times for the past hour?" I say, "Leave me alone!"

"Geez."

I hear her footsteps going away and I sit on the bed. 

Call me weird, but for the past two days, I've been on my room, almost pitch black. You would think that after the incident I would avoid dark rooms, but I like it. It just calms me down. Maddie had to go back to New York. Mom and Kenzie have tried to talk to me, but I prefer being alone right now. 

I sigh as I unlock my phone and check the hour.

10:30 am

Guess I should start packing. 

Instead of spending the time alone, I decide to take out my new camera. I've been thinking about starting a YouTube channel for a while, and I think that this it the time, when I don't want to talk to anyone. Ironic, Mel.

"Hey guys." I start vlogging, "Welcome to my channel. I want to say welcome back, but this is the first video, so I still can't say that, hopefully soon. Anyways, I need to get ready for dance, even though I'm a little bit scared about what could happen, but we gotta go."

I quickly change into my dance clothes, and street clothes over it. I style my hair into a ponytail and take my dance bag.

"All ready." I fake smile at the camera, really Mel? Now it's not the time, "Let's go downstairs."

I put my left hand in the knob and stop.

Is this really what you want?

It's been too long, I won't give up now. I mean, how am I supposed to get my Grammy? 

Wait, so you want to be a singer?

In a couple years, now, let's go.

I rush downstairs into the kitchen, where Kenzie and Mom were talking.

"You all done?" Kenzie asks.

"Say hello to the vlog." I actually smile.

"Since when do you vlog?" Mom smiles.

"Since now." I answer.

Whoa, it feels good to actually smile again.

"I call shotgun." Kenzie announces.

"Guess it's fair." I shrug, "But I call shotgun for the ride back."

"What?" Kenzie asks, "You are smart."

"I know, some may say I'm a genius." I flip my hair and look at the camera, "Would you?"

"Of course, Melie, of course." Kenzie says on a sarcastic tone and I laugh.

The three of us, and Kalani, make our way to the car. Soon enough, we meet up with the rest.

"I gotta go, but I'll be back later." I say as I stop vlogging.

"Sounds fun." JoJo comments, "You better?"

"Way better." I chuckle, "Even though I have an appointment tomorrow."

"For what?" She asks.

"Therapist."

"Oh."

"Pretty simple." I tell her, "I'm actually curious of what's going to happen. Last time, she gave me brownies."

"Brownies?" JoJo smiles.

"Yeah, it's her way to gain our trust, even though she already had mine." I say, "But why would I say no to brownies?"

"You would be crazy if you turned it down." JoJo comments.

"Girls!"

We look at the moms, who were looking at us from a distance. We were the only ones left, everyone else walked away. The two of us run to catch up with the girls.

"Third street, we meet again!" Kendall exclaims as we stop on front of the studio.

The story? Abby resigned and kicked us out of the studio. So now, we have to go to the old Pinky-Pie studio once again with no teacher. Yay.

I'm getting pretty good with the sarcastic stuff. I should practice my sarcastic laugh! Ha ha. Okay, that did not work out, let's forget 'bout that.

"Talk about a full circle." Jill comments.

"You know, even though Abby's not here, I'm glad the girls are here." Holly comments.

"She still wants them to dance." Ashlee adds, "Under her name at competitions?"

"We're still competing ALDC 'cause Gia is here." Mom answers.

"I think for sure she will be back."

"They always say that." Kalani leans in and whispers, "And even though it's true, we shouldn't depend on that."

"I know." I agree.

"I can't imagine her not coming back." Mom says, "My girls have danced for Abby since they were three."

Kenzie and I look at each other, trying not to laugh.

"You know Nia's not here." Jill says.

"Wait, where's Nia?" Holly asks as all the moms turn around.

I look around me just to notice that, Nia is not here, but where is she?

Holly walks away and the moms follow her.

"Drama." I sing, "Every day, if you want some, come to the ALDC LA."

"Magnificent." Kenzie says and we laugh.

"That song on a tap solo." Brynn adds, "Performed by Maddie."

"She would be the living ALDC billboard Abby always wanted." Kalani laughs.

"Imagine." I say, "And she goes on Broadway."

"ALDC the musical." Kenzie laughs.

"Pure perfection." Kendall says.

All of the moms except Holly come back. We soon hear them, and look at Nia crying.

"It's just the new post I put." Nia tells her mom, "It's just been getting a lot of bad feed on it."

I sigh as Holly and the other moms comfort her. Who would've thought that social media was so hard? We all go inside, get ready, and start stretching for when Gia arrives with the minis. 

"Normally, the first day of rehearsal Abby would have a pyramid on the wall." Gia starts, "That's not really my thing. I'm just here to tell you guys what's going on this week and to get the routine started as fast as we can. We are going to FIERCE Dance Competition in Lawndale, California, but no solos this week. Three duets." Interesting, "So, the first duet, Nia and Kalani. It's kind of a spin on an african routine. It's something that I don't normally do, so I am going to have some help with this." Gia announces, "Travis Payne's assistant, Aisha Francis, is gonna come in and work with you guys. Next, we're gonna do a mini duet. It's called 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'. It was a routine that was created about four seasons ago, but it was competed two or three seasons ago. It was Asia and Chloe, and it's going to be Peyton and Alexus."

I remember the first version of that duet, it was Brooke and I, but she was hurt, so we couldn't perform it. 

"I have one more duet, who I don't think that have ever been paired together. The duet is called 'The Odd Couple'." Gia says as Kendall puts her arm around Brynn's shoulders and they both smile, "They already know! Kendall and Brynn!" We all clap, "Kendall is kinf od the hard-core, dark, punk chic while Brynn would be the complete opposite."

"So what part is the harder part, exactly?" Ashlee asks.

"It's a duet." Gia answers, "They're gonna do the same thing."

"Same thing?" Ashlee says, "I was just wondering."

"She wants Brynn to have the harder parts." Jess comments, "All the leg tricks and all those things that the little kids do."

"Maybe you should just be thankful you have a duet because there are three kids-- Five kids on the team who don't have one." Jill adds, "Brynn, if Abby were here, she would say that your mother just blew it for you."

"I gave you guys a little heads up last week." Gia continues after the drama, "About the group dance, and I think that's gonna need a lot more work than we think-- It is. So I'm actually going to bring in the person who's gonna help us, and he can tell you guys about it."

"A he?" Kenzie asks with a shy smile.

"It's not Austin Mahone." I tell her, "I knew Brynn would make you boy crazy."

"What can I say?" Brynn smiles and we laugh, "It's my passion."

We look back to the front, where Gia was standing with Nakul and Monica.

"Well, you guys don't know who I am. I know who you guys are." Nakul says, "I love your team, and I've been watching you for many years. I don't know if you have been watching me, but I'm the Bollywood guy on So You Think You Can Dance'. I am going to teach you a large group number. So I'm very excited. Let's get started doing Bollywood, because Bollywood's all about joy and happiness and we're gonna win first place with this number."

We all start cheering after that. After everything, we start learning the group number. First up, hands gestures.

"So this is a classical hand gesture." Nakul tells us, "It is actually called katakamukha." Interesting name, "This is called the lotus. It is important that we do this correctly, because all the technique that you're doing, they're very, very, very ancient. Like, older than the pyramids." I absolutely know what Nakul's talking about, but my mind goes back to Abby's pyramid, "If you do them incorrectly, someone who knows the style might be upset if they see that you did it wrong. So you have a huge responsibility here; you have to focus."

~~~

"Believe me, I've tried to bake, but I don't really have any time." I tell the therapist, "We're mostly out and when we stay in, I almost burn down the kitchen."

So this wasn't going that bad, we just had to maintain a normal conversation, here and there, notes notes notes, and it was cool.

(Here I am again, disclaimer that I'm writing this based on other people's experiences!)

"I wish everyone was as talkative as you." She tells me as she writes down some notes.

"It's depending the reason they come in for." I say, "At least on my case, I'm always pretty talkative, but what if it's someone who doesn't really like to socialize?"

"Good point. Besides, you're really well spoken and mature for your age, you know?"

"I'll take that as a compliment." I take a bite of the chocolate chip cookie, "Guess I really had to mature for the show."

After ten more minutes, I was officially out. After my mom talked with the therapist, we were on our way to the studio.

I really need to start baking stuff.

You sure? You could burn the house down.

Maybe.

Back at the studio, I walked in to absolute chaos between the duets and the group.

~~~

"I can't do the hand gestures." Kenzie admits as we take a break, "I don't want to make anyone upset, but this is too much."

JoJo and Brynn nod as Kendall and I sit down.

I gotta admit, I'm typically hard on myself, but I don't really like the girls to be hard on themselves, let alone Kenzie. We're stressed about every single thing. The minis, the moms, Abby, Kalani's back is hurting, I'm still trying to calm myself down from what happened last week, the dance, this is basically a chaos.

"We could practice before we start rehearsal." Brynn says, "We need to do our best."

"We should do it with the minis." I say, "So we can all learn it."

That's exactly what we did, we all start practicing the hand gestures, and by the time we had to go to rehearsal, well . . . They were definitely a little bit better than before.

~~~

"Is it normal that I can't feel my back?" Kalani chuckles as we sit in the dressing room.

"I don't think you should be laughing." I tell her, "And nope, I don't think that it is normal."

"Worth a shot." Kalani says.

"After today's dance you can rest." Nia tells her.

"Ready for a weekend of Kalani laying in bed while we are her personal waitresses." I comment.

"That was you last week." Kalani comments, "Remember?"

"Weird weekend, I know."

"Kalani and Nia, you're up next." Kenzie calls as she walks in with Peyton and Alexus.

"Break a leg." I say, "I mean, don't break anything."

The two of them laugh as they leave.

"Have you noticed the way the moms are acting?" Kenzie asks.

"Yup, they're fighting every single second." I answer.

"Do they always do that?" Alexus asks.

"Sadly, they do." Kenzie tells her, "And Abby leaves time and time again."

"That's just her with her temper tantrums." I add.

"But our moms are fighting too." Peyton says.

"That's what it takes to live on the dance floor." I say, "I know it's really hard, but it's pretty much worth it."

"I hope." Alexus comments.

Soon enough, we start getting ready for the difficult group dance. At least the costumes looked great. Besides that, we were practicing the gestures every five seconds.

Wonder how it would be like if Maddie was here, would she keep up?

She always does.

Yeah, I know, but she hasn't been competing normally for a while now. Maybe she regressed.

Maddie Ziegler? Regressing? Not a chance.

Just sayin'.

Just answerin'.

You're annoying sometimes.

Same goes to you.

Hey!

Sorry!

"Melanie!" Kendall yells, "Let's go!"

I smile as I stand up and follow the girls backstage.

"Hand gestures, facials, energy, everything has to be perfect." Kalani tells us, "Just like Nakul said, this is extremely cultural and he has a reputation. Same goes to us."

"We know, we know." Kenzie sighs.

"Junior advanced groups open. Please welcome to the stage act number 67, 'Bollywood Dreams'." The announcer says and we go on stage.

Smile, smile.

One of the most interesting dances we've done in a while? Sure. Was it fun? Absolutely. Awards, bring it on.

"Mini advanced duo/trio." The announcer says, "We have a top champion: 27, 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'."

One win.

"Junior advanced duo/trio. In third place overall, act number 26, 'The Odd Couple'."

One first place, one third place, and one left.

"Teen advanced duo/trio. We have a first overall champion going to-- drumroll please-- Act number 28, 'Isolations'."

"We're doing pretty good so far." JoJo whispers and we high-five.

"Our highest scoring group dance of the entire competition, act number 67, 'Bollywood Dreams'."

Three first places, one third place, a lot of smiles, and a lot of fights. At least I didn't end up in the janitor's closet this time, I should watch my back, literally.