“Just remember to keep the count,” Rochelle reminded Liberty as they warmed up and waited their turn backstage. “One and roll and two and roll and three and …”
“Roll! I get it!” Liberty snapped. “Let’s just get this over with it.” She scratched at the fur on her monkey suit. “This thing smells like it’s been in a litter box. Eww.”
“Shhh,” Scarlett hushed her. She pointed to Gracie, who was sniffling in the corner. “Let’s cut the kitty talk, okay? Someone is really upset.”
Liberty rolled her eyes. “I’m not the one who tore her costume, Big Sister Scoot.”
“It was an accident,” Scarlett insisted. “And I pinned it back so you can’t see her undies anymore.” But she doubted she could convince Gracie that the tear had been unintentional. Gracie refused to speak to Scarlett or even look in her direction. As far as Gracie was concerned, Scarlett did it on purpose to get even with her for ruining her leotard and tights. There was no convincing her otherwise.
“The first duo is up,” Bria reported. “Sweet Peaches Dance Company from Marietta, Georgia. Their dance is called ‘Lion Queens.’ ” She peeked out through the curtains and saw two girls dressed in fiery orange leotards with yellow sequins. One girl was swinging from a vine across the stage.
“Great,” replied Rochelle, “more jungle acts. Just what we need to compete with our monkey routine.”
“They’re pretty fierce,” Bria added, observing the duet’s explosive acro moves. “One of them just did an amazing back layout with a half twist!”
Rochelle shook her head. “I can’t watch. It’s only making me more depressed.”
“Next up,” the announcer said into the microphone, “we have Explosion DC from Washington, DC, dancing a lyrical duet to ‘Let It Go’ from Frozen.” Two girls emerged onstage wearing silver wigs and white dresses covered with dangling icicles. “You see that?” Bria pointed out to Anya. “That’s a costume. You don’t hear them complaining about too many icicles, do you?”
Anya watched the girls pirouette across the stage. “Are they supposed to be abominable snowmen … or porcupines? I can’t tell,” she replied.
“Nah, definitely chandeliers,” Rochelle piped up. “But they are pretty good.” She watched as one girl did a lively series of chaînés from one end of the stage to the other.
“Oh, I love this song!” Gracie clapped her hands. “It’s from my favorite movie. But they need a snowman that talks.”
“How about snow?” Scarlett asked. White snowflakes suddenly floated to the stage. The whole auditorium was a blizzard!
“Oh my gooshness!” Gracie squealed. “I wanna make a snow angel!”
Scarlett caught her just in time before she raced out in the middle of Explosion DC’s duet. “Chill out, Gracie!” Scarlett reminded her. “It’s not real snow, and it’s not your duet!”
Gracie wrestled free of her grip. “You are the meanest sister in the world, Scoot!” she shouted, then stomped back to the dressing room.
“That was a close one,” Bria whispered to Scarlett. “That Gracie is a handful. We could have been disqualified for sabotaging another team’s routine.”
“Tell me about it!” Scarlett sighed. “Sometimes Gracie just leaps before she looks.”
The icicle-clad girls took their bows, then strutted past them. Rochelle peeked out to see the judges’ reaction. “They seem a little icy,” she reported to her fellow Divas. “That’s good news for us.”
The announcer stepped up to the microphone once again. “There will be a brief pause while we clean up this snowstorm,” he said. “Then we will have City Feet performing ‘Rock and Roll.’ ”
“Oh, goodie.” Liberty smirked. “Stinky Feet get to follow the slushy sisters.”
Mandy suddenly zipped by them on a pair of red sequined roller skates. “Make way, losers.” She giggled.
“Seriously? A contemporary dance on wheels? Is that even allowed?” Anya asked.
“Oh yes, it’s allowed,” Regan said, watching her teammates take the stage. “It’s never been done before—so I guess you could say we’re making history here at Dance Fusion.”
“Did you say history—or mystery? Because the judges look pretty confused as to why Mandy is spinning in circles like some circus act,” Liberty said.
“Attagirl,” Rochelle told her fellow Diva. “That’s the loudmouth Liberty we know and love.”
Regan looked out at the audience. They did seem a bit dizzy. The judges were also whispering among themselves. As Addison played an air guitar, Mandy continued whipping around the stage, faster and faster. “I don’t think she’s supposed to do that,” she said. “She’s going too fast.”
“Ya think?” Liberty said. “Maybe Mandy’s a little confused. She thinks this is a roller derby, not a dance competition.”
Suddenly, a little voice screamed from the stage. “Help! I can’t stop!”
Phoebe raced over to see what was going on. “OMG! I told Miss Justine this was a bad idea! That wood floor is really slippery after that snow number.”
Addison grabbed on to Mandy’s elbow, trying to anchor her. But she was going too fast.
“It’s Newton’s First Law of Motion,” Bria said, recalling the last physics test she had crammed for. “A body in motion stays in motion …”
“Until it goes splat!” Liberty smirked. “Which is what Mandy just did right in front of the judges.”
The Tiny Terror was lying on her back with her feet in the air, wheels still spinning, moaning in agony.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll take a short break,” the announcer’s voice broke through the last chords of the music. “Can someone please call a medic?”
Mandy slowly got to her feet. “No, wait. I’m fine! The show must go on!” She smiled sweetly and winked at the judges. She did an elegant arabesque on her roller skates, then faced the crowd and curtsied. The audience applauded wildly and gave her a standing ovation.
“I’m going to be sick,” Bria said in disbelief. “She just wiped out and they love her!”
“She wiped out on purpose,” Rochelle said, gritting her teeth. “She’s trying to get the sympathy vote.”
“We wiped out a dozen times in our group routine. You think we’ll get the sympathy vote?” Anya asked.
“No, because we didn’t fake an injury. Look at her!” Liberty said. Addison was holding Mandy around the waist as she rolled her gently off the stage.
“Aw, Mandy go boom?” Liberty asked as she skated by, cradling her elbow.
“For your information, she’s really hurt!” Addison said. She pointed to a small purple bruise on Mandy’s elbow. “Can someone please get us an ice pack? A doctor?”
“An Academy Award for Best Actress?” Rochelle offered. “ ’Cause that was the fakest fall I have ever seen.”
Justine pushed past the Divas to check on Mandy. “Are you okay, sweetie?” she asked. “Does it hurt?”
Mandy nodded her head. “Uh-huh. Addison pulled it really hard.”
“It was an accident,” her teammate insisted. “I was trying to help you brake—not break—your arm.”
“I’m sure the judges appreciate how you kept going, even in the face of a painful injury,” Justine said. “That’s what a professional does.”
“And that’s what a liar does,” Liberty said, challenging her. “Did you see how she played those judges? Just so they’d feel bad for her?”
“I feel bad for you—for all of you,” Justine said. “I think the whole Diva ’tude has gone to your heads. Yours, too.” She motioned to Toni, who came to see what was going on.
“Roller skates? Really, Justine?” Toni smirked. “So predictable.”
Rochelle elbowed Scarlett. “What does she mean?”
“Just like at ABC when Melissa Donovan threw her Sweet Sixteen party at RollerJam USA,” Toni continued. “Remember?”
Scarlett shrugged. “She’s lost me. Some ballet school drama from back in the day.”
“She’s lost me, too,” Justine replied. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Toni.”
“Really? You don’t remember how you pretended to fall on your roller blades right in front of Marcus Sanzobar so he’d come to your rescue?”
“Now, Marcus I do remember—he dumped you for me.” Justine smiled maliciously.
“You weren’t hurt back then, and I seriously doubt Mandy is hurt now,” Toni said. “At least, I hope not. Because if you purposely did anything to put one of your pupils at risk …”
Justine cut her off. “Nonsense! Mandy is an expert skater. The floor was just a little too slick. She’ll be fine.” She ushered Mandy back to the dressing rooms.
“Do you believe her?” Rochelle asked their coach.
Toni sighed. “It doesn’t matter if I believe her or not. What matters is what the judges think. And there’s nothing we can do about that, is there?”
She adjusted the yellow banana headdress on Rock. “I want it clean, precise, flawless. Clear?” she said.
“Clear!” Rochelle and Liberty replied.
Toni nodded. “Then get out there and show them what the Divas are made of.”