When I sat down in an empty dancer's den, I didn't think none of the girls would show up. When Annie showed up, I felt a bit better, but not enough. Annie isn't even on the team, but yet, she had shown up. As we both stretched and talked, Abby walked into the room.

"Girls?" She asks, looking around. Her eyes soon fell on the two of us. "Where are the others?"

I shrugged, uninformed of the situation. Annie looked around the room before repeating my action.

"Well, go into studio "A" for the pyramid," Abby tells me, not looking satisfied by our answers. I stood up as Annie continued stretching. "You too, Annie."

For that, Annie's eyes widened. Abby left the room as I grabbed her hand and helped her stand up. The two of us then entered studio "A".

"Why am I even here?" Annie asks. "Or is she replacing someone with me?"

"Maybe she wants you to try out," I explain, clearly unsure. "Let's just wait until the rest get here. Meanwhile, how many turns can you do?"

The next twenty minutes were spent competing with each other, seeing who did more turns. While that happened, I caught a glimpse of the pyramid, which was already revealed.

Maddie

Ally   Nia

Giselle   Kendall   Chloe   Mackenzie

It was a bit weird not seeing the Hylands or Evie's headshots with ours. It was also weird seeing Ally's instead, but who knew. I rolled down to the floor as I caught my breath as Annie laughed.

"I won!" She exclaims.

At that moment, she fell out of her turns.

"Huh," I comment. "Look at that."

Ally entered the room, looking confused.

"Hey." Annie smiles. "Oh, you're her." She pointed to the headshot.

"Yes, she's her," I tell the eight-year-old before looking up at the teenager. "Are any of the other girls out there?"

Ally shook her head in response. "Neither are the mothers."

Okay, that's weird.

The moms entered the studio at the same time. Where could they have gone?

"And mine?" I ask as Ally starts stretching.

"Yours and mine." She answers.

The door opens and Abby enters the room, looking rather annoyed.

"The three of you have solos." She simply tells us before leaving again.

The three of us looked at each other before smiling.

We all had solos.

Something I hadn't realized was that the girls never showed up and neither did the moms. My Mom sat in the viewing room, joined by Shelly and Katie. Starting with Ally's solo first, I sat on a prop as Annie practiced some tricks.

"Take that right foot, and turn it out, and dig it really hard," Abby instructs the older girl.

Noticing the camera from the corner of my eye, I looked over to Annie and smiled. Once the camera was moved away, I went back to watching Ally learn her solo. The next day of rehearsal was definitely something. Abby called three new girls in. Kaeli, Bella, and Sophia. According to Abby, they were all way better than Maddie. Even though I could see they were really good, I didn't want to compare them. I learned my entire solo, Annie learned hers, and we were all slowly getting ready for the competition this weekend.

From what I was told by Katie and Mom, the other moms were in a silent protest, supposedly about Kelly, but it was actually because of what they were paid for the show. I guess that between Dad's and Evie's jobs we were doing pretty well with money 'cause it didn't affect Mom.

The new moms were nice, sure, but they weren't Holly. They weren't Christi and they certainly weren't Jill.

They were chill, just like Holly, except that she isn't here.

I also wasn't able to communicate with the girls, which made me worry. I also hadn't been able to talk to my own sister, to make the circumstances even worse. However, the new girls were nice and made Abby happier. Every single rehearsal went smoothly, with Abby not yelling once. According to her, we were the dream team.

Kaeli, Bella, Sophia, Ally, Annie, and I.

I was starting to miss everyone else, but I liked the opportunity and being able to see the other side of Abby. One that is generally reserved for Evie and Maddie. It felt nice to have that for myself when I rehearsed my solo. The studio was mostly empty throughout the week, so I got to show the rest of the girls the different areas, and I could even take them to the back where we usually play games. We did play a volleyball game before Ally had to go back to rehearse her solo.

As I got ready for my solo, I went over the dance in my head. I was in the same division as Ally, so it meant that I was going head to head with her. Sophia and Annie were in different divisions, so all they had to do was beat a bunch of dancers they don't know.

Giselle: This week has been one of the weirdest ones in my life. Last season, I was with a whole different team from the one I am with now, and I'm trying to get used to it, but it feels so different.

"Last year, you won a national title with those other girls," Abby tells me. "They left, but you're still here. You have to show me that you've got what's needed to dance with anyone, not just Maddie or Chloe or Nia, all right?" I nodded in response. "Let's go."

Biting my lip, I started my way backstage with the other soloists. Back there, Ally was the first one performing, so we all told her good luck before she went onstage.

"Are you nervous?" I heard Annie ask.

"Nah, I'm excited," I answer with a smile. "What about you? It's your first solo."

"I think I'll do good." She answers. "I want Abby to know that I can be on this team."

Which one, though?

The team or this bunch of strangers?

"Ladies and gentlemen, here is Giselle with "Right Now"." The announcer says and I walk onstage.

We'll never be as young as we are right now
We'll never see the world like we do right now
So take in what's around you
Put your camera down
Take a shot, give it all you got

I have a way of getting stuck on yesterday
I tend to miss the little things that come my way
Always looking forward, always looking back
They seem so near, but they're not here
Cause time moves on so quickly

~~~

"We're gonna start off with our teen solo division." The announcer says. "Third place, with a score of 273.4 points, "Dimples"."

Everyone cheered as the dancer received the award.

"Second place, with a score of 276.9 points, entry number 36, "Forever And A Day"."

Ally received the award as we all clapped.

"First place in the teen solo division, with a score of 280.5 points, is entry number 39, "Right Now"."

A smile came onto my face as everyone cheered and I received my award.

First place? Check.

Beating Ally? Check.

Getting the second-highest scoring solo in the entire competition? Check.

Cheering really loud when Sophia and Annie won in their divisions? Check

Feeling really good about myself? Check.

Missing the other girls? Sadly, check.