The girls rushed into the studio the next day and began stretching. Gracie squeezed in beside Scarlett at the barre. “I told Miss Toni and she loves the name Mr. Mustard,” she whispered. “She said it was really cute and clever.”
Scarlett gritted her teeth and tried to focus on her cambre back. Maybe if she ignored Gracie, she’d go away and stop bugging her.
“Okay, time to talk Dance Fusion,” Toni said, taking her place on a tall stool at the front of the room. “This is a big competition in Connecticut, and I want to pull out all the stops.”
“What else is new?” Rochelle muttered under her breath.
“Rochelle and Liberty,” Toni said, “I am putting you two together in a duet.”
Liberty’s face went pale. “A duet? With her? Again?”
“Is there a problem? Because I’m happy to give Rochelle a solo if you’re not up for it,” Toni said, warning her.
“Fine,” Liberty grumped. “I’ll do it.” She turned to Rochelle. “I’m not about to let you have a solo.”
“It’s called ‘Going Bananas,’ ” Toni continued. “It’s an acro routine and you’re going to wear this.” She tossed Rochelle a bright yellow leotard.
“OMG, that is hideous!” Liberty said. “I’ll look like a giant highlighter pen!”
“Oh no. That’s not your costume,” their coach replied. “This is yours.” She handed Liberty a brown, fuzzy unitard with a long tail attached.
Liberty’s face turned bright red. Scarlett actually thought she saw steam coming out of her ears. “No way! I am not making a fool out of myself in that!”
“What’s the matter?” Rochelle taunted her. “Afraid of a little monkey business on the dance floor?”
“This is going to get ugly.” Anya sighed. “I can see it coming.”
“I refuse to wear this—and to dance with that,” Liberty fumed. “I’m gonna tell my mother. She will never stand for it.”
Toni stayed cool as a cucumber. “Then take a seat, Liberty,” she said calmly. “In the corner, on the mat. No one is forcing you to dance on the Divas team.”
She turned back to the class. “Bria and Anya, you’re also doing a duet. It’s a lyrical routine called ‘Count the Stars,’ and I’m going to need your moms to help with the costuming.”
“My mom’s totally into it,” Bria volunteered. “She’s a whiz at BeDazzling.”
Anya wrinkled her nose. “BeDazzling? I was thinking more simple and classic like the night sky …”
Toni held up her hand. “Girls, the costumes are the least of my concerns at the moment. We need to block out the group routine today.”
She went to the closet and pulled out a large inflated beach ball. She tossed it to Scarlett. “I call this number ‘By the Beautiful Sea.’ You’re all going to be 1920s bathing beauties frolicking on the seashore.”
Gracie’s hand went up. “Miss Toni, can I be the one in the bathtub?” she asked, hopefully.
Scarlett sighed. “Gracie, there is no bathtub. It’s set on the beach.”
“In hideously ugly costumes with bloomers,” Liberty piped up from the corner. “As if the monkey suit wasn’t bad enough.”
Miss Toni ignored the chatter. “I’ve found real vintage bathing suits for all of you—and parasols and bathing caps.”
She held up a black-and-white photo of a woman in a navy-and-white striped skirted bathing suit with baggy white bloomers peeking out from underneath.
Gracie stared at the image. “I don’t get it. How’s she gonna swim in that? Can’t we just wear bikinis?”
Liberty’s hand shot up. “I second bikinis!”
Scarlett actually thought she heard Toni growl. “I have had enough of all of you today,” she said firmly. “The only voice I want to hear now is my own. Is that clear?”
Six heads nodded in unison. Toni meant business.
“I want two lines of three. Scarlett, Gracie, Rochelle. You’re up front. Anya, Bria, you’re in the back. And Liberty, too … if you care to grace us with your presence?”
Liberty stood up and took her place in line.
“This number is nostalgic. It will be light and lively with lots of kicks and tricks. I want the judges to be wowed from the minute you set foot onstage.”
She motioned for Scarlett to toss her the beach ball. “This is going to be in constant motion during the routine, passing from hand to hand.” She tossed it at Rochelle, who was caught off guard and nearly dropped it.
“Anyone who is not on the ball for this group number will have me to deal with.”
Rochelle wasn’t sure that Liberty would show up for their duet rehearsal the next day. She could have kissed Miss Toni for making Liberty the monkey instead of her. How funny would she look jumping around onstage and shaking her tail?
When Liberty walked into the studio, Rock had to try her hardest not to crack up. She knew Toni wouldn’t tolerate it.
“Oh, so you’ve decided to join us?” Toni asked Liberty. “If you’re going to do this duet, I don’t want any complaining—not about your dance, not about your costume, and not about this …” She put a pair of monkey ears on top of Liberty’s bun. Rochelle burst out laughing. This was payback for her soaked shoes and every snarky comment Liberty had ever made!
“This is ridiculous!” Liberty cried. “We’re going to be the laughingstocks of Dance Fusion!”
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Toni assured her. “You’re going to stop the show.”
She demonstrated what she wanted them to do: Rochelle would roll across the stage and Liberty would leap and flip over her. The timing had to be perfectly synchronized. There was not a split second to hesitate or make a mistake. It was some of the most complicated choreography Toni had ever created for them.
“You gotta admit it’s a pretty cool dance,” Rochelle said to Liberty as they tossed their bags on a bench in the dressing room. Gracie was already there, getting ready to run through the group routine.
Liberty shrugged. “Whatevs. It’s not any cooler than what my mom just choreographed for a hot, new pop star.”
“Toni knows what she’s doing.” Rochelle couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. Wasn’t she the one who was always questioning her coach’s out-of-the-box ideas? Amazingly, she was learning to trust her; they all were. Except maybe Liberty.
“I would have gone for sequins—chocolate-brown velvet with gold sequins,” she said. “Not fuzz.”
“Fuzz is fun,” Gracie piped up. “My cat, Mr. Mustard, is fuzzy.”
Liberty continued to fume. “Please do not compare me to your raggedy feline,” she said. “If you’re going to call me an animal, at least make it a mink … or a chinchilla.”
Oh, great, Rochelle thought to herself, that’s just what we need: for Liberty to turn this dance number into a chinchilla chasing a banana!
“Don’t pick on my kitty,” Gracie said, pointing her finger in Liberty’s face. “You take that back.”
Liberty smirked. “Take what back?”
“What you called Mr. Mustard. A Raggedy Ann sea lion.”
Rochelle couldn’t help but giggle. Gracie had quite a way with words.
“And don’t laugh at me, Rock!” the little girl shouted at her. “It’s not funny!”
She ran out of the dressing room, practically knocking Bria over on her way in.
“What was that about?” she asked.
Liberty shrugged. “Grace Face tantrum. Nothing new.”
“Because you insulted her kitten,” Rochelle reminded her. “You can’t just tell everybody off because you feel like it. Right, Bria?”
Bria looked up, startled. She hated to take sides. “Um, I guess?”
“All I said was my costume could be a little more stylish,” Liberty explained.
Bria bit her lip. “Maybe Liberty has a point? I’m kinda partial to sequins and BeDazzling myself.”
Anya walked in and overheard them. “Tell me about it. My costume looks like the Milky Way exploded.” She held up the leotard that Bria and her mom had adorned. Every inch was covered in silver and gold stars. “Bria, this is hideous.”
“It’s gorgeous!” Bria insisted. “We’re supposed to sparkle and shine.”
“Sparkle and shine, yes. Blind the audience, not so much.”
“There’s no such thing as too much sparkle,” Liberty interrupted. “You just have to be dazzling enough to carry it off. A plain Jane can’t handle it.”
Anya’s eyes narrowed. “Did you just call me a plain Jane?”
Liberty smirked. “Would you prefer Ordinary Anya?”
“I’d prefer you to zip your lip,” Anya warned her.
“I’d prefer you all to zip your lips,” said a voice at the doorway. It was Toni, and she looked furious. “I could hear you yelling all the way down the hall in studio one with the door shut.”
Gracie peeked out behind her. “I told you, Miss Toni,” she tattled. “She started it!” She pointed straight at Liberty.
“And I’m finishing it,” Toni fumed. “I don’t know what’s gotten into all of you, but if I hear any more bickering, I’ll start replacing the Divas. Is that clear?”
Scarlett walked into the dressing room just as Miss Toni was storming out.
“Whoa! What did I miss?” she asked Rochelle.
“A major Toni meltdown,” Rock replied. “And a warning: get along or get off the team.”