Gracie checked her ballet slippers one last time, making sure her Lucky Stars were tucked neatly inside.
“Remember, you’re not alone.” Scarlett hugged her one last time. “We’re right here!” Rochelle, Bria, and Liberty all gave her the thumbs-up.
A voice over the loudspeaker boomed: “Performing an acro routine entitled ‘Watch Out, World—Here I Come!’ please put your hands together for Gracie from Dance Divas!”
Gracie skipped out onstage and took her position: hands on her hips in a sassy, playful pose. As the music started, she kicked up her heels, wiggled her butt, and did a split while blowing kisses to the judges.
So far, so good, Scarlett thought. Then she noticed Gracie was still sitting on the floor. She stared at the audience, glassy-eyed and terrified.
“Here we go again,” Liberty said.
Scarlett thought quickly. She skipped out onto the stage and twirled around Gracie, pulling her up under her arms to a standing position.
“Gracie, I’m right here!” she whispered in her little sister’s ear. “Snap out of it!” As soon as she saw Scarlett by her side, Gracie was fine. Together, they improvised a dance around the stage, leaping and twirling and playing off each other, just like they sometimes did at home in their living room.
At the end, Gracie did her back walkover and the crowd broke into thunderous applause. Their duet was a smashing success!
After almost all the single, duo, and trio performances, it was time for City Feet to take the stage for the group number. The Divas sat right up front to watch (and maybe to psych them out just a little).
The dance featured Phoebe and Mandy, dressed like ballerinas, having a tug-of-war in the center of the stage. The rest of the team danced around them, taking sides and encouraging them to tear at each other’s tutus till they were both in shreds. Then one ballerina—Mandy—let go of the rope. She extended a hand, and Anya took it. The dance ended with the girls, arm in arm, strolling offstage.
“It’s weird,” Bria whispered. “I don’t get it.”
“Do you think Toni does?” Scarlett asked. She glanced at the seat Toni had been in all afternoon. It was empty.
“Be right back. Forgot something in my bag,” Scarlett said, squeezing past the girls in their seats. She ducked out the door of the main stage and looked around the lobby. There, just as she had hoped, was Miss Toni.
“You missed City Feet’s group dance,” she said softly to her teacher.
“I saw it,” she replied. She patted the ledge where she was seated so Scarlett would join her.
“Justine and I were once as close as sisters,” she explained. “We would have done anything for each other—just like you did today for Gracie.”
Scarlett gulped. “Sorry about that. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“You did the right thing—even if your choreography wasn’t so polished,” Miss Toni said, and smiled.
“Do you think you will ever be friends with Justine again?” Scarlett asked.
Toni shrugged. “I don’t know. But she taught me a valuable lesson back at ABC. She taught me the meaning of friendship.”
Scarlett looked puzzled. “I thought she stabbed you in the back at the Swan Lake audition?”
Toni nodded. “She did. And I knew I would never do that to a friend. No matter how much I wanted to win. I try to teach that to you girls all the time. A team is only as strong as the sum of its individual parts.”
Scarlett nodded. “City Feet’s dance was pretty amazing.”
“My Divas are pretty amazing—and I don’t just mean on the dance floor,” Toni said softly. “Thanks for trying to patch things up between me and Justine. Let’s just say it’s a work in progress.” She stood up and headed for the main hall.
“You coming?” She winked at Scarlett. “I hear there’s this team called Dance Divas that’s about to perform.”
Scarlett smiled. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world!”