The sounds of wild animals filled the auditorium: lions, tigers, and monkeys, oh my! Liberty and Rochelle took their places on opposite sides of the stage. As the music began to play, Rochelle performed a series of split rolls while Liberty did a chest stand, kicking her feet high above her head.
“So far, so good,” Anya commented. “They look great out there.”
The next part of the duet was the hardest: Rock had to roll across the floor as Liberty “dove” over her. On the last dive, her monkey tail got caught in the zipper of her costume. As she and Rock stood up to do their simultaneous fouettés, the tail was wrapped so tightly around her chest that she could barely move her legs. She looked like a monkey mummy.
She turned her back to the audience and tried to fix it. “I’m stuck,” she whispered to Rochelle. “I can’t move in this stupid costume!”
No matter how hard she tugged, the tail wouldn’t come free. “Help me!” she said. Rochelle pulled on the tail while Liberty yanked on the zipper.
“What are they doing?” Bria asked. “Playing tug-of-war?”
All of a sudden, the tail released, and Rochelle fell backward, pulling Liberty down on top of her. “Get off of me!” she screamed. “You’re ruining the dance!”
“I’m ruining it? Who just knocked me over?” Liberty shouted. They began wrestling on the floor, completely forgetting they were in the middle of Dance Fusion!
“Rock! No!” Scarlett called from the wings. But it was too late. The music had stopped, and they were brawling on the floor. Liberty peeled all of Rock’s bananas off her headpiece, and Rock tied her tail in a huge knot. Toni raced to the stage to break them up.
“Enough!” she barked, pulling them to their feet. Both costumes were in tatters. “Have you completely lost your minds?”
The girls stared out at the audience, who were staring right back at them.
She dragged them backstage, where normally she would have demanded they both turn in their Divas jackets had Justine and City Feet not been there listening to every word.
“We will discuss this later,” Toni told them both.
Anya and Bria were up next, and they were her last hope. Anya squirmed in her leotard. It weighed a ton thanks to all of the intricate beading Bria and her mom had stitched on it.
“Light, delicate, ethereal,” their teacher had instructed them.
The music was soft and twinkly—almost like a lullaby—and Bria and Anya twirled around the stage as if they were dancing on the clouds.
Gracie stopped moping long enough to sneak a peek. “Pretty,” she said softly. “Magicificent.”
Scarlett smiled. “Is that magic and magnificent rolled together?” she asked her little sister.
Gracie huffed. “What do you care? You’re the meanest person in the whole world!” She went back to her corner.
“Oh boy.” Scarlett sighed. “This has been some crazy competition.”
Rochelle handed her a plastic banana—all that was left of her hat. “Yup, I’d say it was pretty bananas.”
At least things were going well for Bria and Anya’s duet. They just had a few more minutes to go. Anya waited patiently in fifth position as Bria leaped around the stage. Anya noticed a long string hanging from the strap of her leotard. Oh no, she thought. What if Miss Toni or the judges saw it? She quickly gave it a tug—then regretted it. All the beading on her bodice began to unravel.
The last part of the duet called for simultaneous fouettés—twenty-five of them in a row. As Anya began to spin, the shiny metal stars Bria had sewn on flew off her costume, pelting the judges in the face.
“Ow!” yelped one woman. She shielded her face with her papers, as if she was under attack.
Another judge got an eyeful. “I can’t see!” he said squinting. “I think one of those things scratched my cornea!”
“Stop! Young lady, please!” the head judge begged Anya. “Your stars are a lethal weapon!”
Breathless, Anya stopped spinning. She looked down at her costume. Only a few stars remained on the blue velvet. “I told you,” she whispered to Bria. “Now do you believe me? This costume is a menace!”
“I didn’t tell you to pull it apart!” Bria fired back. “You’re the menace!”
The announcer ushered them off the stage, where they continued fighting.
“You can never admit when you’re wrong,” Anya yelled. “Little Miss Perfect can’t say these costumes were a stupid idea!”
Bria fumed. “That is so not true. You’re just not a team player, Anya. You always have to have it your way.”
Toni did nothing this time to stop the fighting. She stood there silently, letting the girls go at each other. No one even noticed she was there until she cleared her throat.
“Oh my gosh, Miss Toni!” Scarlett said. “We’re sorry.”
“Are you?” Toni said quietly. “I don’t think so. I don’t think any of you are sorry for your behavior or your actions today. But I’m sorry. I’m sorry I ever invested my heart and time into a team that doesn’t care about each other.”
She walked back to the audience to await the awards ceremony. They all knew it wouldn’t be good news—there was no way any of their routines would come in first place. The only consolation prize would be if they had somehow managed to beat City Feet.
When it came time to announce the Junior Duets, Anya and Bria gave each other dirty looks, which was nothing compared to what Liberty and Rochelle did to each other. Scarlett had to sit between them just to keep them from pulling each other’s hair.
“In fifth place, Dance Divas Studio with ‘Going Bananas,’ ” the announcer read. Then he turned to the judges. “Are you sure?”
“You go get it,” Liberty told Rock. “I’m too embarrassed.”
“I will not!” Rochelle refused. “You go get it.”
The judge finally walked over and handed the trophy to Scarlett. “Maybe you should hold on to this?” he said.
The Hippie Chicks took fourth place for their “Zombie Love” duet.
“Seriously?” Bria sighed. “They beat us with body parts falling off of them?”
The announcer took a deep breath before reading the third-place title holder. “I would like to assure the audience that Ms. Goldberg, our esteemed judge, will be just fine. She’ll be wearing an eye patch for a little while, but …”
Anya growled at Bria. “Great job. We blinded a judge!”
“Nonetheless,” the announcer continued, “our third-prize spot goes to ‘Count the Stars,’ Dance Divas Studio.” Anya and Bria both stood up and gave each other a shove.
Second place went to two of the Groovy Boyz for their Super Bowl–inspired routine, “Touchdown.” Which left only one team for first …
“Congratulations, ‘Rock and Roll,’ City Feet!” the announcer boomed. “What a comeback!”
Mandy bounced up to receive the trophy. Her left arm was in a sling, but she managed to blow kisses with her right one to the judges.
The group titles were just as disappointing. “By the Beautiful Sea” didn’t even make the top ten. At least City Feet’s Diva diss didn’t win first place. They came in second behind the Fab 5 from Philly and their rendition of the Beatles’ “Yesterday” performed as a tap routine.
“At least Miss Toni will be glad about that,” Scarlett said. Their teacher was heading for them with a scowl on her face. “Or maybe not?”
“Everyone, in the dressing room, now!” Toni commanded. “This calls for drastic measures.”