With effort, B got to her feet and slid back the way they had come, into the wings. They had to find Dawn!
B peeked through a gap in the curtains. A girl was making her trained Jack Russell terrier dance on his hind legs while balancing a dog biscuit on his nose. Beyond the girl and her dog was the judges’ table, and in the front row of the audience sat the other contestants. There, closest to B, sat Jason Jameson, grinning broadly as if he was the only one who knew a huge joke. He chewed loudly on a thick wad of gum.
“We’ll never find her in time,” B worried aloud.
“I’ll go get a mop and a bucket,” George said, “and I’ll …”
“There’s no time for that,” B said. “Even if you could mop it, it’d still be wet. No, George. You can’t clean this floor. But I can. Stand guard so nobody sees me. C-L-E-A-N!”
B concentrated on the floor, on a safe, sturdy floor that would let Dawn do all her jumping moves flawlessly. Magical bubbles and suds appeared and vanished over the entire surface of the spill. There was a whiff of French fries in the air for just a second, and then the whole mess disappeared, as if it had never been there.
“Wow,” George said. “No matter how often you do that, I still can’t get used to it.”
B barely heard him. “This isn’t over yet,” she whispered. “Who knows what else he might try? I’ve got to warn Dawn to be careful, and to keep an eye out for Jason. Where would she be?”
“The acts get to warm up beforehand, and hang out afterward, in the band room,” George whispered. “Let’s go.”
They hurried across the hall to the band room. Kids of all ages were there, dressed in costumes and makeup. At first B couldn’t see past a half dozen mimes, but then she saw Dawn, chatting with Jenny Springbranch. What would she be doing here? Something connected to Jason, no question. A troupe of acrobatic cheerleaders made a human tower right in front of B, nearly poking a hole in the band room ceiling, and B lost sight of Dawn once more.
“Dawn Cicely,” Nancy the director called, poking her head in the door. “One-minute warning!”
B made her way toward Dawn. When her sister saw B, her mouth dropped open in shock. “What are you doing here?” she hissed. “You’re supposed to be at the … somewhere else!”
“Wait, Dawn, listen,” B said. “Jason Jameson is trying to sabotage you!”
Dawn frowned at her, almost like she didn’t believe what B said. “I’ve got to go,” she said, and ran out of the room. B just had time to race after her before the music began.
Dawn danced perfectly. Despite everything, B was proud. She couldn’t say which she enjoyed more — watching Dawn dance, or watching the angry look on Jason’s face when the judges gave her a standing ovation. Dawn took her final bow and rejoined B offstage, out of breath.
A set of triplets went on and did a skit; then Clifton Davro took the microphone. “All you contestants should be proud of yourselves tonight. You’ve all got tremendous talent to have made it this far. We can’t quite decide who to take on to the TV show, so we want to see five acts one last time. They are: Katie Bell, Calum Gardner, Deirdre Fink, Jason Jameson, and Dawn Cicely. Only one act can make it to the national TV show and show us that You’ve Got It!”