That afternoon, Lily spotted her mom’s car pulling into the parking lot. She jumped up from the steps of the camp house and raced to the curb. Her suitcase bounced along behind her.
“Bye, Dani! Bye, Kala! See you next week!” she called over her shoulder. Only a handful of girls were still waiting for their rides home from camp.
Lily’s mother got out and gave her daughter a big hug. “Hey, sweetie!” she said.
“Hi, Mom! You’ll never guess my great news!” Lily began happily.
Mom smiled, but there was an odd look in her eyes.
“Oh?” she said, taking Lily’s suitcase and lifting it into the trunk. “Let’s get in the car, and you can share. I have some news too.”
They climbed in the car. Lily waved once more to her friends as they pulled away. Then she turned to face her mom.
“So camp was fun?” Mom asked.
“Yes! And the best part is, Coach made me team captain!” Lily burst out. Her excitement was too big to contain.
“That’s great, Lily. I’m so proud of you,” Mom said. Then she took a deep breath. “But remember how I said I had some news too?”
“Yes . . .” Lily said. Her excitement began to fade and worry settled in its place. Her mom was acting strange. She knew how much Lily had wanted to be team captain, but now she was barely acting happy about the news.
“Well, while you were at camp, I got a promotion too!” Mom said, smiling. It was a nervous smile.
Lily’s worried feeling grew. Why would Mom be nervous about a promotion?
“That’s so great, Mom,” she said. “Congrats!”
“Yes, I’m going to be a regional manager now. It’s a big step up. I’ve been working hard for years to get this position,” Mom explained. “But . . . it’s in Wilmington.”
Lily blinked. “Wait, you’re moving to Wilmington?” she asked, confused. “That’s, like, four hours away! You can’t live four hours away.”
“No, honey,” her mom said. “We are moving to Wilmington. Our family. You and I head out on Friday.” Mom didn’t look at Lily but kept her eyes locked on the road.
“What . . . Friday? That’s in five days,” Lily said. The news still wasn’t sinking in.
“Dad will stay to pack up the house, and then he’ll join us later. We’ll be there just in time for the first day of school.”
Lily’s mind was racing. Moving? Now? Right before school starts? She could hear that her mom was still talking, but she couldn’t listen anymore. A new school, new kids she didn’t know, and . . .
“Mom! What about dance team?” Lily burst out. “I can’t leave my team! I can’t go into eighth grade with no dance team!” Tears suddenly sprang to her eyes.
“Don’t worry! I called and talked to the Wilmington dance coach,” Mom assured her. “They have a great team, and you’ve only missed camp. You can still join. All you have to do is a quick special tryout to show them you’re as good as I said you are. Don’t worry, honey, I know how important dance is to you!”
Lily didn’t say anything. She just stared out the window as tears ran down her cheeks, watching the trees and houses rolling by. This wasn’t her home anymore. She wasn’t going to be team captain or enter eighth grade as a dance team champion with her best friends by her side. She was moving.
“I know this is sudden,” Mom said. “I’m really sorry about that. But . . . at least you’ll get to start fresh with the new school year, right?”
Lily sniffed and blinked back tears. She nodded a little, then took a deep breath. “I need to call Amy,” she finally managed to say.
* * *
“Moving?” Amy shouted over the phone. “You can’t be serious!”
“I know!” Lily said, flopping back on her bed. She and her mom had just gotten home, but half-filled boxes were already lurking in the corners of the room. She had only been at camp for a week, and everything had changed.
“But you’re team captain! You can’t leave!” Amy wailed.
Lily sighed. “Well, maybe Coach will make you captain now. You deserve it. Silver lining?”
“I don’t want a silver lining, I want my best friend!” Amy said angrily. She took a deep breath. “If there’s really nothing we can do to stop this from happening, I have to help you put together a killer routine for your tryout. No way are you moving and missing out on dance team. See if your mom will let me come over for dinner.”
* * *
Later that evening, after eating lots of pizza, the two friends huddled around Lily’s laptop in her room. They were watching dance videos on YouTube and writing down ideas for the tryout routine.
Since Lily didn’t have much time, Amy had suggested she use the same song and basic routine they’d been working on at camp. Now all they needed to do was change a few things for it to work as a solo.
“Oh, see that rolling move she does there?” Lily said, pausing the video. She backed it up and hit play. “I could do that in place of the kick.”
“Yeah,” Amy agreed. “That would be great. And then go straight into the walk. But what about the formation? You need something else there too. You can’t make a star with one person.”
“Ugh,” Lily said. “You’re right. This is so hard.”
“No, you can do it,” Amy assured her. “You’re going to be awesome. Those Wilmington kids had better know how lucky they are to be getting Lily Richter!”
Lily plopped her head on Amy’s shoulder and sighed. “I just hope I can be half as awesome without you.”