Happy new year 2013.

I was looking forward to a lot of things this year. Zane would be turning fourteen, I would be turning thirteen, and Ava would be turning one. I wanted to do a double party with Paige, but her birthday is in November while mine is in March.

The Christmas Eve party was amazing. Kendall helped Maddie with the games, replacing Genevieve, and it went better than Genevieve could have ever done. It didn't even feel like someone was missing.

Nick and I met up there, and I'm really confused about what "the next step" is going to be for us, but I'm really excited about it.

But I wasn't as excited about the pyramid.

"Of course, we have to talk about Bernardsville, New Jersey." Abby starts. "Second, second, second, second, and first." She looked over to Annie. "I guess we already know who's on the top, right?"

"It isn't surprising anymore." Kelly comments. "It's always her or Maddie."

"There's a reason it's always her," Abby tells the mother before turning back to us. "It's okay. Everybody needs to be knocked down a few pegs. Even you, Maddie. Such is life."

Life, like a lifeline?

"So, let's talk about the group dance. You looked exquisite, but I didn't see the envy. I didn't see any of you trying to get the guy to love you. The tragedy of the love story fell short. If you want to be second, then you did a great job. If you want to win, you might have to go back to the basics. I'm not gonna yell at you or scream at you or anything else. I'll just smile and be sweet and nice and you be second."

Abby was acting extremely weird, but on the good side, which was even scarier.

Everyone seemingly thought the same as I did, because they were all visibly confused by the teacher's words and actions. Was it a new year's resolution or something?

"This week, we will be traveling to Minneapolis, Minnesota. We will attend In10sity Dance. We've been there before. We're going again." Abby announces. "So, let's move on to the pyramid."

If Annie's on the top, then, I wonder who's on the bottom. Maybe the dancers from the duet?

"Mackenzie."

That does not look like the dancers from the duet.

"Fifteen points between you and Annie," Abby explains. "I could easily just replace you entirely with the girl who's standing right next to you."

The brunette turned over to her right, taking a glance at the other girl, who looked utterly embarrassed by the situation.

It really was a repeat of the Maddie and Chloe situation.

"Nia. You weren't feeling well. We can blame that. You know how to perform, but the legs get sloppy, the feet get sloppy, the arms get sloppy." Abby continues. "Paige. Your arms-- out of control. I tell you; you still do it wrong." She revealed the next headshot. "Maddie. You did four turns in the corner, stunning. Then you bobble on simple, easy things. I threw you a lifeline; you must have missed it." Next headshot. "Kendall. Remember I told you before your mom could hurt you, or she could help you? This week, she helped you. She wants you right on Maddie's heels, chomping at the bit. I think that's a good thing.

"That seems a little cutthroat." Holly comments. "But each to his own."

"If dance competitions aren't cutthroat, I don't know what is." Abby turned over to the mothers. "Brooke. You did amazing in the group dance, and your parts with Nick were amazing."

The teenager smiled as Abby revealed the second headshot.

"Giselle. Your parts with Nick and Maddie were amazing. You let everyone know the story and made them feel something." Abby explains. "You do that every week, you'll be winning trophy after trophy after trophy."

I smiled as everyone clapped.

Abby thought I did really well, that's great.

And I was finally moving up the pyramid.

"And on top of the pyramid, we have, no surprise, Annie," Abby revealed the top headshot. "You went up against Mackenzie, you beat Mackenzie with a difference of fifteen points, and got the second highest-scoring solo of the entire competition." She smiled softly. "You would do amazing performing with Evie."

Then the awkward silence came.

Except for Annie. She smiled brightly as she thanked the teacher. She didn't care about the situation, but why would she? She hasn't even been here long enough to actually get hurt by what Genevieve did to us. She's still the newest one in the group. She did not care about the whole thing and it was a little mean to us. We were deeply affected and she didn't acknowledge it.

Annie

Giselle    Brooke   Kendall

Maddie   Paige    Nia   Mackenzie

"What about me?"

I turned over to look at Chloe, who had slowly raised her hand.

"What about you?" Abby sharply asked, the smile instantly fading.

"How come I'm not on the pyramid?" Chloe asks.

"You're on suspension." Abby simply answers.

The awkward silence comes once again as I sighed.

The group routine had an interesting concept. There were five solos this week. Yet, none of them were mine. Brooke, Kendall, Maddie, Kenzie, and Annie all had solos. Kendall and Maddie are going head to head, same with Kenzie and Annie, again.

~~~

Kendall was really enjoying her time in the spotlight.

With Chloe still being on Abby's bad side, her focus would be on the youngest Vertes girl. She was going up against Maddie, which is a pretty big deal. Maddie has been, somehow, on a losing streak, so it gives Kendall even more chances of winning. Although Maddie was going up against some huge competition, she wasn't the only Ziegler with that. Kenzie has a lead role in the group dance ― which is hip-hop ― and is going up against Annie, again. While she hasn't been all that victorious throughout the messy competition season, Annie, on the other hand, has won every single time, constantly placing in the top five of the entire competition.

Both Zieglers were being set up against their potential replacements, but they weren't the only ones feeling the pressure.

Brooke's solo is, as usual, challenging. She's fourteen years old and has to twist her entire body to entertain some people for two minutes and thirty seconds. Abby is always really hard on her. It probably has to do with the fact that, once upon a time, Brooke was the favorite. However, as she got older, she got bored and didn't give her best effort, which caused Abby to make the decision of replacing her with someone new and younger. Maddie was one. My sister was another one. Annie is another one. Sophia is another one. She doesn't give everyone a chance, but I think she should.

Chloe, Paige, Nia, and I have been working our butts off in the studio night and day for the last eight years. I think it's only fair that we were given the chance to be the star of the show. To be her new golden girl. To be able to step out of the shadows and feel victorious for once in our lives.

How are we supposed to have triumphs of our own if we're never given the chance to try?

I thought that last week was my time to show Abby that I didn't have to fill anyone's shoes, but then we lost. We were the first ones to lose, and now, I don't know what to think anymore. I guess I'll have to do my very best this week, even though the group dance is hip-hop ― which sucks ― and I'll have to deal with it.

When Melissa revealed that Kenzie had injured her foot, I didn't know what to think about it. Just like Paige, Kenzie shouldn't force her foot to do anything that could end up hurting it even more. Nevertheless, it was kind of weird the week when it happened. According to both Melissa and Kenzie, she injured it two weeks ago, when we were on the break. However, why did it start hurting now instead of when it happened or a couple of days after that? Why the week she has the lead in the group dance is going up against Annie, who has been on a winning streak ever since she debuted on the show?

An injury seems like a great excuse to avoid all responsibilities. I know that after Zane decided to make the genius idea of faking his injury for one more week so that he could skip a science test that he hadn't studied for at all. I mean, he still failed, but that's dedication. Both of our parents believed him, and with someone with puppy eyes like little Kenzie, it sounds too good to be true.

A couple of days later, Abby announced that Kenzie had gone to the hospital because the injury had gotten worse. I was still skeptical of the situation. Why now? With so many things lying on your shoulders?

I didn't want to distrust her, but the circumstances were pretty . . . questionable, to say the least.

After it was revealed that Kenzie wouldn't be performing, the moms were the ones that seemed skeptical about the entire situation. I mean, I was still skeptical about it, but they were on a whole different level. It was just too convenient for it to be true.

When I watched Annie perform her solo, I was convinced she was an undiscovered dance prodigy. There was no way that an eight-year-old could be that flawless while performing a piece that she learned barely three days ago. Her facials were on point. Her technique was on point. Her fluidity was on point. I don't think even Maddie was that good when she was eight. It made sense why Kenzie would be so frightened about going up against her. Annie was the definition of perfection.

I also gotta admit, I was really adamant about the group routine, but it grew on me. Even if it wasn't a pretty lyrical dance where all that mattered was technique, it was an entertaining dance to perform. Nonetheless, there were some serious errors that we committed while performing, which ended up with us having to do push-ups as a punishment. Abby had taken the military thing to a whole new level, and she even surrendered. Even if it was entertaining at the moment, it meant that we had done so badly that she didn't even want to give us a chance.

The Annie and Kenzie rivalry was more prevalent in the studio, and it would end up with either one cracking under the pressure and the other one having a traumatic experience, or with both of them stepping up to the plate and giving it their all week after week.