I was sure no movie could ever captivate me. For me, it was more of the actor or actress. To know how they were offscreen and the characters they portrayed onscreen. The magic of changing entirely and pretending to be someone you actually aren't like at all. I thought it was beautiful, and even with a movie that was nearly eighty years old, I thought the exact same.

Of course, in a movie that was made and released almost a hundred years ago, not that many actors survived. Not with the life expectancy at the time, but there were exceptions. People that had good luck, and people that were young back then. That was why, as I sat in front of the TV, I could easily recite the words as if they were my own.

"Oh no, it was the grandfather. Goat Peter said I'd never learn to read, but the grandfather said I could if I wanted to--" I recited, absolutely mesmerized by the beauty I could never imagine a black-and-white film could have. "--And I did. So I thought Klara could walk if she wanted to, and she did."

As I continued watching, I heard some soft footsteps as they made their way to the living room. Unintentionally, my right hand touched the soft carpet that lay on the light wooden floor. Suddenly, I felt how the brown couch ― which I had been using as a backrest ― dipped lightly, letting me know immediately there was someone else in the room.

The movie continued playing as I looked over my right shoulder, noticing my grandmother, who watched the TV for a brief moment before turning back at me. "Why are you sitting on the floor?"

"I like it," I told her before standing up and sitting on the couch. "I can also get closer to the TV and I do it here because Zane gets annoyed when I do it back home."

I turned back to watch the TV, aware of the smile Grandma had on her face.

It was Monday ― the day before we started filming a new episode ― and we ended up in Scranton to visit my grandparents. In reality, we were here because Zane had one of his biggest games yet. Of course, my mom thought it would be nice to invite them and visit them. Right after the competition was over, we obviously went back to the hotel. Still, by the time we arrived, Dad was already waiting for us to start our six-and-a-half-hour road trip to Pennsylvania. Within the first hour, all four of us were annoyed with each other. We were doing something as simple as playing I Spy, and Giselle had to make a big deal out of it, making me get mad at her, making Zane get mad at both of us, and Ava existed. She said no for about ten minutes until she moved on to say some of the most random stuff you could ever think about. It got quite hard to be mad at someone while another person is trying their best to make you laugh.

Everything calmed down around the third hour, but we were now hungry. When there was a pit stop, we had only thirty minutes, and Giselle took longer than usual in the bathroom and then complained about her stomach hurting. Meaning that Zane and I had less than ten minutes to do our thing while Dad and Ava ― apparently ― finished buying the snacks. The gas station was way more crowded when we left than when we arrived, so we got lucky with that.

With three hours left, it being twelve-thirty nine at midnight, and it being a competition day, I knew I would spend the rest of the time texting my best friend, who wanted to FaceTime me, but it definitely wasn't the time to do so. At around two, all three of my siblings had given up to the exhaustion and fallen asleep. My parents were having an apparently entertaining whispered conversation at the front, which left me to try to watch some YouTube while trying my best to not wake up my younger sister. For some reason, I had to be the one sitting next to her car seat, as usual. Sadly.

Then, another problem came: my internet stopped working. After staring at the annoying loading circle for about ten minutes, I closed the app. Instead, I entered Instagram and remembered that it also works with the internet. Closing the other app, I gave up, and accepted my fate. In defeat, I pressed on the Temple Run app, wishing that I could simply fall asleep instead.

Traffic was a horrible factor in this so-called adventure, so we were stuck in it for a while and I had to suffer while listening to some old '70s songs, but it's not like I can say much when I'm watching a movie that came out the same year Snow White did. For some reason, the song that says "everybody wants to rule the world" made me want to scream. Both singers sounded as if they were about to cry, and that made me want to cry, but out of frustration. Still, I think that's an '80s song.

But "Dancing Queen" was perfect for me, seeing as I'm a dancer and queen is a title a woman has. The dancing queen in the song was apparently young and sweet and only seventeen. Then, it switched up for some more '80s something, I fact I knew due to "Never Gonna Give You Up".

Despite that, a song that really entertained me was "Another One Bites The Dust". It was quite hilarious to imagine someone literally biting dust simply because they want to. When my internet started working again while the song played, I decided to look up what it meant, and Urban Dictionary said that it could mean death. Then, something else came to mind. Imagine a domino effect and that after each time they say "dust", someone else falls victim.

Okay, I was simply sleep-deprived at that point and making up random stuff.

We ended up arriving at the house at around five in the morning, and the only thing I did was enter the first empty room available and get on the bed. The game was at one the following afternoon, so I was able to wake up at eleven to get ready. After the game, we went out to celebrate a victory and came back at around ten. We were going to leave on Monday afternoon, and I decided to watch TV at around eleven.

At first, I was planning on watching some Malcolm in the Middle, but my eyes fell on a CD case. One of the many pink Shirley Temple CD cases. When I looked at its side, it had the title "Heidi.". At first, I thought it could be in color, but once it started playing, I realized it was no more than a lie. Still, I got pretty interested in the movie's plot and spent my time watching it.

I had watched multiple Shirley Temple films before here, but this was the first one I was actually entirely interested in. Still, I found myself watching the young child actress every single second. There was something about her that made me stare at her in awe. It wasn't the ringlets ― which I wondered how they looked so perfect ― but her acting. How could someone so young have such talent?

Now, let's talk quickly about my grandma. She's my mom's mom and she's sixty-five. I also happen to be her namesake, in the middle name sense. There's a reason my middle name is Astrid, and it isn't because my mom was an Astrid Lindgren fan. I mean, the Pippi Longstocking 1997 series was entertaining, but it isn't the reasoning behind my name. My grandma's name is Astrid, so my middle name is also Astrid.

It was something cool, but a not-so-usual middle name. My first name pretty much made up for it, but my middle name is shorter and easier to pronounce-- I take that back. The many times the receptionist at my pediatrist's office pronounces it the same way is infuriating. Simply became it's not quite literally the pronunciation of the letter "A", but more like "ah". Kinda in Spanish, but these people don't seem to care.

But a nice family I met back at a hotel when I was seven pronounced it correctly. I was surprised until the girl told me that they were from Argentina while we hung out by the pool. It made sense because their first language is Spanish, but it still made me happy. After that summer, I went back to the studio just in time to hear Jamie ― one of the senior dancers back then ― absolutely butcher it while attempting to say it. Needless to say, I stopped telling people my middle name after that.

But it was something I took pride in. It became something important to me, and even if no one except my family and closest friends knows how to pronounce it, it felt special. Not everyone can get to say they have the same name as their grandparents. I was one of the people who were lucky enough to have so.

And you know, considering the fact that she was born a Baby Boomer, she wasn't as annoying as they usually are. She understood technology quite quickly, and it's cool, considering that most people her age still haven't gotten past flip phones. Oh, should I add that she looks like she's in her forties yet? She looks about Abby's age, and Abby's seven years younger than her, so that was a compliment.

"How is she so good?" I admired, still watching the TV. "Like, imagine the talent she had to do all of those things before she was even ten."

"Do you know that she ended up becoming an ambassador?" She commented. "I found out like a month ago."

"That's cool." I smiled, my eyes still not leaving the screen. "But she's still alive. She's eighty-five now."

"Yeah. I think everyone could be like Shirley Temple." Grandma agreed. "Find something they're talented on and use it to get opportunities." She looked back at me. "You've done that already."

I turned back and looked at her, the smile going away. "I've done what?"

"Acting." She answered. "And you've done well with dancing." She let out a chuckle. "You've been on Broadway and you're eleven."

"I'm gonna focus on the show now, though." I pointed out. "And the fame is nice, but I don't know if I'm going to stick with it--"

"And there's the first mistake." The older woman interrupted. "If you find the thing that you're truly passionate about, you would do anything to continue with it."

"You're saying that I'm not passionate enough about dance?" I asked in an incredulous tone. "I've won so many titles. Including two national ones. Three if you include my duet with Elle."

I looked back to the screen, just to notice that she had paused it, and when I looked back, she placed the remote next to her, right on top of the armrest. "But are you doing it because you like it, or because of the trophies?" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Or are you doing it because someone else wants you to?"

"I--" I let out a puff of air as I chuckled and shook my head left and right slowly two times before stopping. "I love dance. It's literally my favorite thing in the world. Yeah, sometimes I have a little pressure on me for winning, but I do it because I want to, not because someone else wants me to."

"Genevieve, you were great, but you were second. You were the first to lose, and I was counting on you. You can't let that happen."

"And what about acting?" She asked again. "I thought you liked that."

"Nah." I denied, another smile coming onto my face. "It wasn't that fun."

"I'm not auditioning for anything else because if it's my fault that I got the part instead of Maddie or Chloe, I don't want to do it. Because you all say time and time again that I don't deserve it. That I don't deserve the special treatment, that I don't deserve the solos, that I don't deserve the opportunities, so be it. I'm not going to stand in your way. Chloe and Maddie and Paige and Nia and Brooke and everyone else will audition and have a bigger chance to get the role or whatever it is. I'm tired that you keep talking about me as if I wasn't even there, as if I didn't have feelings just like your daughters. Honestly, there's a reason that I get first place, and it is beyond Abby, beyond Gianna, and beyond every single person at this studio. Drop Dead Diva will be my first and only project to make you guys happy."

Grandma raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Maybe you need to give it another chance. Maybe a bigger role and then think if you like it or not." I shrugged in response. "I mean, it's something exciting. There must be at least one thing you like about it. When you dance, you get into roles and characters and wear costumes, and because of the show, cameras film it. It's basically the same thing, but you have to talk during it."

Something then felt different. I felt more . . . excited about the topic?

Was I actually considering it?

"Maybe I should try again." I finally gave up. "I don't know when, though."

"It has to be something that makes you happy." She told me and then sighed. "I sound so weird saying things like that." We both laughed. "But I'll be supporting what you do either way, but give it another chance if you want."

And then we had to leave. Her words echoed in my head as I said goodbye to both of my grandparents and got back into the car. From there, it was yet another road trip to go back home, which I wasn't excited about at all. However, this time around, it felt way faster than last time, maybe because it was earlier when we left, even we if arrived at around eight because we decided to stop by a fancy restaurant and like five different people recognized me, Mom, and Giselle.

Once we were back, I didn't take that long to take a shower and go to bed. I had to be up at five for the show and ― including the hours of homeschooling ― I wasn't exactly looking forward to falling asleep during pyramid.

During those five hours of torture, neither Maddie nor Kenzie was present, leaving me with my estranged sister. Apparently ― or what Maddie told me once they arrived ― they had to be at their house because they were filming something for the show about that. We then took a tap class while the rest arrived from their schools, and soon enough, we were back for yet another week. We walked into studio "A", and while we got into our usual line, I noticed a difference.

Now that Payton is gone, I'm back to my old spot between Maddie and Chlo-- Oh, Paige is standing there now. They switched places. That means that my new spot is between Maddie and Paige.

"Well, congratulations. You beat the Wicked Witch of the West." Abby started. "The crab apples--"

"The sour bananas." I piped in, earning some laughs.

"The sour bananas," Abby added with a smile. "And you were the highest-scoring routine of the day."

We all clapped, clearly feeling satisfied. We went and beat the Candy Apples, which meant that we had a happy Abby for the week. Win-win.

When we stopped, Abby resumed, talking a bit too loudly in my opinion. "I am going this week-- and I'm very excited-- I have my second open-call audition." There it goes. "Girls, I don't know what your mothers told you about the last audition in Orlando, but I kept enough kids that I could have created a whole new team."

That's what I said!

"--And replace every single person, including Maddie and Evie--"

That's, not what I said.

"--My eyes are open. I'm always watching--"

That's usually what happens when the eyes are open. Even though it's more of the eyelid than the actual eye because you can still-- shush.

"When Abby finished, she stared at us, wanting to see our reactions. Then, Holly spoke up. "Abby, I would be more than happy to offer my services. I was an admissions director, and I recruited for twelve years."

Abby turned to look at the mother. "Okay, well, I'm gonna take you up on that."

Holly smiled. "There you go."

"Are my children coming with you again this time?" Melissa spoke up, taking the attention."

"Uh--" Abby turned her head back to us, specifically towards the sisters. "Maddie, Mackenzie, do you want to go with me?"

They both nodded as Kenzie responded. "Yes."

"Okay--" Abby looked around, her eyes soon falling on someone from Kendall's area. "Giselle, you couldn't come last time because you were sick. Do you want to come this time?"

"Yes," Giselle answered, a little enthusiastically.

"All right," Abby confirmed. "Then I'm taking Evie too because it wouldn't be fair." She turned over to look at the mothers again. "If that's okay with you?"

"Sure." Mom answered. "I think she wants to do it."

And then Abby's gaze fell on me. "You want to?"

Don't look nervous. "Yeah." I grinned in response. But not that relaxed.

"You're going to sell Abby Lee Dance Company apparel at the audition, okey-doke?" Abby announced, seemingly to the moms.

It was seemingly all okey-doke to them.

And Abby got ready to start revealing the pyramid, and I couldn't lie, I was starting to feel both nervous and curious about what position I ended up in. "Kendall. You were the only person on our team that didn't get the first. You could do it in the group. You need to be able to do it on your own." Ouch. "Brooke. Round off back layout, step out, about this high off the ground." Abby showed the distance with her arms. "Giselle. During the whole dance, you were in sync with the rest, but in the last few counts, boom! As late as a turtle--"

--Hare.

"Paige, you have to work on your posture. Get a book on your head. Don't be embarrassed in front of your friends. Do it, because someday, you want to be able to stand up straight and tall." Abby continued. "Mackenzie. You did the group dance. It was fine. I'm thrilled that you're picking up quickly, but is the belly in? How many times do I tell you that in a day?"

"A lot," Kenzie answered.

"A lot," Abby repeated. "Lace up the ribs and shh, close it like a turkey." The girl nodded. "Nia. I thought you were good in the group, and I thought your facial expressions were good. I thought you were in the moment. I thought you really got onto your character." Nia smiled, mirroring her mother's reaction. "Evie. You beat Kendall and were first. And you lived through your character in the group dance."

Maybe that's what Grandma was referring to?

Chloe

Maddie    Genevieve   Nia

Mackenzie    Paige   Giselle   Brooke   Kendall

"All right, this week, we will be attending the Masters of Dance Arts competition in Atlanta, Georgia," Abby announced. "The first routine I want to talk about is a trio. We're talking about the good old South. Southern belles. Paige, you are part of the trio with Giselle and-- Kendall." Better send my condolences early. "I have two solos. Maddie, you will be competing this weekend, but you will be doing a ballet routine. And Mackenzie, you will also be doing a solo. You will be entered in the lip-sync category, and you must lip-sync the song. It has to be big. You have to exaggerate every word."

LIKE THIS.

"All right, everyone will do the group routine, except for you, Mackenzie. This will be a very mature piece." Abby mentioned. "Now, since we're going to Atlanta, I wanted to do something historical-- educational, believe it or not, and also Academy-Award worthy. This will be a piece about the civil rights movement. So, Nia, your mother has been on my back, "When is it going to be Nia's turn? When is she gonna get something special?". Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da." Just like Ava trying to say "Dad". "So, Nia, I'm challenging you to give an Oscar-worthy performance as our young heroine in the piece "At Last". So Nia will be our featured performer, but with that, the weight of this victory is on you."

It was a pretty piece, and I was glad we were doing something like that this week. Not like I want to portray a bad person, but it's acting. It's getting into the character as grandma told me. It's literally our conversation, and if I did well and felt satisfied and happy, maybe she was right. I was also happy Nia finally got a featured spot in a routine. It had definitely been a while since she had one, and if there's one thing that she proves week after week after week, it's that she deserves