I also knew what was in store for us that was crazy exciting. Something that people from all over the world came especially to see.
“There are so many people!” Lily said.
“It’s that time of year for tourists,” I said. “Just wait.”
We cross the street, and… oh! THE TREE! Rockefeller Plaza is the site of the world’s most famous Christmas tree. It had recently been lit, and we all oohed and aahed over it.
“ ‘The tree has been lit annually for over eighty years,’ ” Lily read off a sign. “ ‘More than one hundred million people visit every year.’ Whoa.”
“Picture time!” The moms whipped out their cameras and had us shuffle as close to the tree as we could. “Say ‘cheese’!”
We walked around and saw the famous skating rink, where people were ice-skating in circles, doing tricks—and falling down laughing. I remembered my parents taking me to ice-skate every few years as a special holiday treat. We looked at some of the incredible, lit-up holiday window displays. Being back there brought on nice memories I hadn’t thought of in a while.
“It’s nice to see you so happy,” Lily said. “I can tell you’re loving this.”
“What about you?” I asked. “Are you having fun so far?
“So far, so good,” said Lily. “But if that changes, I’ve got the best local guide to turn up the fun.”
“At your service.” I curtsy with an exaggerated leg tuck.
“I have to admit it is colder than I thought.” Riley’s mother shivered. She had dressed for style, in a thin wool coat. “I underestimated this.”
Florida people, I thought. We’d been told to bundle up, and I’d worn my last year’s black ski jacket, furry boots, and thick purple gloves. Also my favorite pale lilac hat with a white fluffy pom-pom on the top. But I realized they didn’t have any need for them usually—so why would they have it on hand?
“I vote for some… shopping!” Megan’s mom said. We all cheered.
“There are lots of stores around here,” I said. “Bigger versions of what we have in Florida. Also, over there is a shop where we’d always buy thick leggings and hats and warm tech stuff!”
We all split up. Those who needed warmer clothes (Riley’s mom, Riley, and Lily) and the rest of us who went to the trendy store next door to look at cute sweaters and boots and accessories. Megan bought a sparkly skirt, and Trina got a bracelet. They were cute, and I was tempted, but I was saving my money for the stores downtown that we didn’t have in Florida.
“Ah, much better.” Riley came out wearing a cute brown teddy-bear-style coat.
“Love the coat,” we told her. Then Lily followed behind.
I had to laugh. Lily was bundled up in a puffer jacket, with huge green earmuffs and a huge scarf wrapped around her head. You could only see her eyes peeking through.
“Lily, are you in there?” I leaned in.
Then we went into the store that was attached to a television studio. It was so fun for everyone to see shirts and gifts that was from some of our favorite shows and know that some of them were even being filmed right upstairs in the Rockefeller Center building studios!
“Girls, we’re going to stop in here to pick up a few souvenirs,” said Vanessa, before walking into a tourist trap of a store with our other two chaperones. “Trina really wants a snow globe.”
“For my collection,” Trina said.
“You have a snow globe collection?” Riley asked.
“I’m starting one now,” Trina said brightly. “We don’t get snow in Florida, so I am going to get one here!”
Lily and I decided to wait right outside the store.
My phone rang. Eliza. On video chat!
“Hello from Rockefeller Center!” I answered.
“Oh my gosh, then that is you?” Eliza squealed over the traffic noise.
“On the screen? Yes! Did you not mean to call me?”
“No—I mean yes. I mean no, that’s not what I meant. Did you just curtsy? Because there’s a girl across the street from us that looks just like you.”
I started waving and laughing boisterously.
“Yes! Yes, it’s you! I’m crossing the street right now!”
I watched as Eliza’s long blond hair practically floated behind her, she was running so fast across the crosswalk toward me! She was wearing a navy coat, buckled up over black tights and flats.
“Trina is happy with the shiny things in there,” Megan said as she came out with Riley. Then they stood like astonished statues as Eliza ran from the crosswalk and and we hugged and squealed and shouted and hugged again.
“Wow, I didn’t realize you’d be staying this close to the venue. We’re just leaving rehearsal at the dance studio,” said Eliza.
“We have ours tomorrow.”
“Ahem!” Megan cleared her throat.
“Oh, I almost forgot.…” I turn to the Squad. “Eliza, meet my new Squad members, Lily, Megan, Riley—and here comes Trina.”
“Hi, everyone!” said Eliza, giving the group a big smile. “I hope you’re looking out for my girl. She’s very special to me.”
I take a look at the Squad, but they’re barely smiling.
“Of course we are,” Megan said finally. “She’s special to us, too.”
“Speaking of special,” Eliza continues. “I’ve got a special treat tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at lunch.”
“Awesome, I’ll see you then!” I said.
Lily’s eyebrows go up, and Megan exchanges a look with Riley and Trina.
Eliza gave everyone a friendly wave. “It was nice to meet you guys! I hope we get to hang out a little this week.”
“Isn’t she great? Isn’t this whole trip the coolest?” I ask.
“Cooler than the rink,” Megan said.
CHAPTER 9
The next morning, after a yummy New York breakfast—including bagels, of course—we walked to the rented studios assigned to most of the nationals competitors. We had a specific private room and practice time. We had to get there early and use our time wisely, because that would that be our only private run-through while we’re here. Tomorrow we’d be running through a sort-of dress rehearsal at the hotel ballroom, making sure we all knew our designated performance times, and marking everything. And there, people were invited to stay and watch from the audience.
“This is it, girls,” Vanessa said when we entered the sunlight-drenched white space. We’re a few floors above street level and out the windows are buildings that look made for black-and-white photography.
It’s one thing to have the choreography down, but it’s another to adapt it to the space you’re rehearsing or performing in. Vanessa believes a choreographed work can change its look and feel depending on the setting. And from the sound of it, she definitely thinks this dance comes to life a little differently here in this studio. Who’s to say how it will play out once we hit the competition stage at nationals.
But that’s our job. To make adjustments on the spot and remember them.
“That last move on the ‘and four’ isn’t working anymore,” says Vanessa. “Let’s instead reverse the step and see if that works better.”
We twist the opposite way with the “and four” and then look to our instructor, whose face says it all.
“Yup, that’s it. Remember that change. Let’s do it again!”
Vanessa drilled into us all the new choreography changes, until they became second nature to us. Lily performed with flawless extension because she’s the most flexible one on the team. Trina’s trademark footwork skills were at their peak. Riley’s signature facials could not and would not fail to energize the audience. Megan owned her tricks and overall awesomeness like nobody’s business. And I managed to make my fiercest leaps and turns look easy. After a quick bite to eat—thank goodness for the downstairs deli—we went in one at a time to rehearse our solos.
“Come in,” Vanessa greeted me when it was time to work on my solo. I left the other girls in the warm-up roo
m, where we had been listening to music and doing our stretches and conditioning. It was a cool-down room that we all appreciated having access to after the nonstop rehearsing. And, knowing that we nailed the group performance and switched to a solos mind-set, everyone had kind of retreated to their own individual bubbles. There was less talking and joking around. It was every dancer for herself.
“Ready?” Vanessa asked me as I placed my bag down in one corner and peeled out of my gold, white, and pink jacket and matching track pants.
In the months since I’d joined DanceStarz Academy, Vanessa had become someone I totally admired. She may be tough at times like this, but she has a way of recognizing your strengths and pushing you to reach further, aim higher, go harder.
“Ready!” I nodded, focused and pumped.
My solo was a lyrical dance with intricate footwork. At first I was mortified that Vanessa would pick something with tricky footwork. She knew what a hard time I had learning how to perform like this without looking like I’m counting in my head and concentrating on every step.
When I first joined her dance studio, she got Trina to meet with me after hours for the extra help I desperately needed. Never mind how embarrassing that was for me to acknowledge at first. The last thing I wanted to do as a dancer was come across robotic. Especially at an epic event like nationals. For the few moments following her announcement of our scheduled solos, it felt like Vanessa was trying to sabotage me.
“Is there any way I can perform a different type of choreography at nationals?” I’d stayed behind to ask her at the time.
“I wouldn’t give you anything you couldn’t handle,” she’d answered. “And I believe you can do this. Besides, the judges in New York will award a routine like this higher technical points, which will put you in the running for the top spots.”
As amazing as that sounded, there was more than top spots on the line. Scouts from the most coveted summer dance programs would be in the audience at nationals, recruiting standout performers. A strong showing meant an invitation to one of those career-making programs. This would be a dream come true. I knew this was the same for Megan and Eliza, too.
“I believe you can do this.” Those words echoed in my mind as I went through the moves over and over—sometimes tripping up a little, but always trying again.
By the time I had to give up the room, I was sweaty, exhausted, and worn-out, but I was ready and confident.
We were all happy to get back to our hotel room and hit the showers.
“You can go first,” I told Lily as we both stood with arms full of shampoo, soap, and body lotion.
“No, you go ahead,” she said. “I know you have your friend coming to pick you up soon.”
Oh, yeah. Lily had overheard Eliza asking me to lunch. I had been sort of afraid to remind her, so a part of me was glad I didn’t have to.
“I wish you could come too, but I’m not sure what she’s got planned.”
Was it rude not to insist the Squad come along—or at least Lily? But no, they had to understand that I needed alone time with my friend. Besides, Eliza’s mom was authorized to take me out for a couple of hours. I didn’t think she could just take anyone else along with us, unless one of the mom chaperones joined us.
“No, it’s okay—really,” says Lily. “I wouldn’t want to miss where Vanessa will take us after lunch. Riley thinks Vanessa set up a fun surprise.”
Was Lily jealous?
She’s just a little stressed, I said to myself. It had been an intense day, and everyone was starting to get nervous about nationals. Yup, just needs some time.
* * *
“Is this place even real?” Eliza and I were in front of Cupcake Queen, already smelling all of the sugary goodness that was waiting for us inside.
I walked into the cupcake bakery with my jaw hanging. It was like we’d been transported to inside a painting. The walls were all murals of cool cityscapes. Without overdoing it, the splashes of color all complemented one another in a way I wouldn’t have expected.
And behind the glass counter were rows and rows of deliciously colorful cupcakes. These were no ordinary cupcakes. They had magical powers.
“I knew you’d love it,” said Eliza. Her mom grabbed a seat in the far corner. She’d been nice enough to come with us, since we couldn’t go by ourselves, and had brought a book along so Eliza and I could hang out.
“I forgot just how much you know about me,” I said.
“Of course! Just because you’re the new girl in Florida doesn’t mean you’re the new girl here.”
The truth of Eliza’s simple statement struck me. That’s totally right. Unlike in Florida, I had history here. I had a past people were familiar with. I had a track record. A pretty cool one, especially when it came to dance.
We ordered swirly cupcakes with chocolate frosting, and grabbed seats at a bright two-seater table.
“Mmm, this is the perfect dessert after the pizza we had,” I declared between delicious bites.
It had been a while since I’d visited one of those famous NYC pizzeria shops that were so common, especially downtown. During our lunch, we’d posted our selfies with floating emoji pizzas streaking down our pic. It seemed Eliza and I had been cracking up at every little thing ever since.
But now it seemed the conversation was getting a bit more real-life.
Eliza took a long sip of her water. “So, tell me what’s been up with you.” Eliza leaned in closer, as if she’s asking me to tell her my deepest secrets. “Are you loving Florida?”
“Yup, it’s a pretty place to live,” I casually answer. “I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of seeing palm trees.”
“Good.” Eliza smiled cheerily. She took another bite of her cupcake. “What about your new studio? How’s that going? Looks like you’ve made some pretty cool friends there.”
“Yeah, I got lucky.” I smiled a little wider. “With Lily, especially. She’s super supportive.”
Eliza nodded. “We all need someone like that. Remember how hard we used to push each other?”
I shake my head. “How can I forget?”
She laughed. “Remember that time we couldn’t get our double-timed move down fast enough? We must’ve tried it over a million times until we got it.”
I winced at the memory. “That was pretty intense. Lily is a different kind of supportive, though.”
Eliza scrunched up her face. “How do you mean?”
“Well, she’s more cheerleader than coach,” I said. “She reminds me to have fun, which is nice.”
“Sure, fun is important. But…” Eliza shrugged. “No judgment. Just wondering if you’re staying challenged like you did when you were here. Remember what Ms. Fiona used to say to us—”
“ ‘Can’t get too comfy, girls!’ ” we say at the same time with that same cracked voice Ms. Fiona used to speak in. We chuckle at the memory.
Being here with Eliza, reminded about what used to be important to me, was eye-opening. In some ways, I had changed a lot. In others, though, I hadn’t.
“I’m still the same go-hard dancer you remember,” I replied, wiping my mouth of any lingering green icing.
“Good, because we’ve got to dig deep at the nationals,” Eliza said. “The scouts are coming, and this is the time to start making choices.”
“Yeah, I want to make a good impression on them and see how far I can take it.” I said I actually hadn’t admitted that to anyone else yet, but I realized how excited I was at the possibility of going for one of the summer programs.
“Well, this is the epicenter of dance right here,” she said. “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.”
I recognized the lyrics to that famous old song, so I started singing the rest. “It’s up to you—”
Eliza joined in. “New York, New York!”
We cracked up all over again. Just like old times!
CHAPTER 10
Bzzzzzzzzzzzz.
I shut off the buzzing alarm on
my cell phone and willed myself awake a half hour earlier than I’d intended. Careful not to wake Lily in the queen-size bed beside mine, I grabbed my secret stash of fruit I’d brought home from our dinner last night. As gross as it sounded, the best place to do this quietly was the bathroom, for sure.
I shut the door behind me and cut up the pear and apple I had grabbed as best as I could. Next I took the clean fruit to the nook where the coffeemaker and extra cups were stored. Even though this area was in the tiny hallway entrance to our hotel room, it was still tucked away and private enough that I wouldn’t be seen if Lily suddenly woke up.
As I worked on my secret Operation Cheer Up Lily project, I guessed salvaging this fruit was the one good thing about our team dinner last night. Vanessa and the chaperones did most of the talking. Well, actually, Vanessa mostly did the listening. She was great at head nods and reactions at just the right time, when I’m pretty sure she was not paying one hundred percent attention. But nevertheless, now I knew all there was to know about Megan’s mother and Riley’s mom, including that they play tennis together and their views on social media monitoring (there should be more), legal driving ages (it should be raised), and sunglasses styles.
If Trina and Megan were embarrassed by any overheard revelations, I couldn’t tell. Had it not be for their chewing, they would’ve been scowling the entire night. And Lily just wore a nonstop mopey face. Riley was lost in her phone, researching whether Trey Thomspon was in town and how to track his every move. I seemed to have been the only person feeling totally normal and even happy. Everyone was a little more on edge than usual. And I wanted to at least lighten the mood for my favorite person on the team.
The Competition Page 4