Showstopper (2 page)

“See?” Gracie pleaded with Liberty. “Pretty please?”

Rochelle chuckled. “Aw, come on, Liberty, give the kid a break. Call up Beyoncé and tell her you're bringing a friend. Oh, wait—you
don't actually have Beyoncé's number, do you?”

“At least I have somewhere exciting to go,” Liberty insisted, pointing a finger in Rochelle's face. “What are you going to do with your week off? Sit and watch the grass grow? Change your baby brother's diapers? It's not like your family has a lot of extra money to go on a vacation.”

Rochelle stood up. “You take that back.”

Scarlett jumped in between them—as she always did—to referee. As the unofficial team captain it was her job to keep the peace and remind them of what Miss Toni would expect. Toni ran a tight ship, and wouldn't stand for anyone rocking the boat.

“Guys,” Scarlett said, “do you recall what Miss Toni threatened to do to anyone on her team who isn't getting along?”

“She said they won't be allowed to go to Smooth Moves in Las Vegas,” Gracie piped up.

Both Rochelle and Liberty backed down—there was no way either of them was going
to miss out on a trip to Vegas—or one of the biggest dance competitions in the country. And they knew Toni meant business when she made a threat.

Anya strolled into the dressing room with her dance bag slung over her shoulder. “What did I miss?” she said, noticing Rochelle and Liberty glaring at each other.

“Oh, just the usual,” Scarlett said.

Anya turned to Liberty. “Did you insult Rock again?”

“She started it,” Liberty said grumpily. “But I'm willing to forgive and forget. I'm the bigger person.”

“You're certainly the bigger mouth,” Rochelle muttered under her breath.

Bria tried to change the subject—anything to keep those two from fighting. “Anya, did you hear the news? Miss Toni gave us Presidents' Week off! The whole week!”

Anya's eyes lit up. “Really? I've been dying to go home to L.A. and see my family.”

“You miss them a lot, don't you?” Scarlett asked her.

“I do. Especially my big brother, Alexei. He's the coolest.” She found a photo on her phone of a tall teenage boy with blond hair and blue eyes at the beach and showed them.

Rochelle grabbed the phone out of her hands. “Wow. You never told us you have a cute brother!”

“And
you
have a boyfriend,” Bria reminded her. “What would Hayden think of you drooling over Anya's brother?”

“I wasn't drooling,” Rochelle said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “I was just looking.”

“Alexei's an amazing surfer—he taught me how to ride waves just like him,” Anya told them. “He's going to be a really famous filmmaker one day—he's always shooting movies. He even has one of those cameras you wear on your head. He wore it last week skat
ing down the pier in Santa Monica. He got the most amazing video of people's feet!”

“He sounds weird,” Liberty interjected. “Who films feet?”

“He's just really creative, and he's always there for me,” Anya explained. “When my parents didn't want me to come join Divas full-time here on the East Coast, he convinced them that my mom and I should move here. He's my biggest fan.”

Scarlett smiled. “Then you should text him and let him know you'll be home soon,” she said. “Get the surfboards ready.”

The Luck of the Draw

When they reported to the studio for technique class, the girls could hardly contain their excitement.

“Why do I hear chattering?” Toni asked. She had her back to the class and was studying her binder filled with dance notations and schedules. “This is a
silent
warm-up.”

The girls obeyed but Anya couldn't help beaming as she stretched at the
barre
.

“Very nice, Anya,” Toni said, looking up and noticing her
cambre back
. “Your flexibility has improved a lot these past few months.”

Toni took a seat on her stool at the front of the studio. “I suppose you've all heard the news by now. I've decided to close the studio over Presidents' Week for vacation.”

Gracie's hand shot up. “Liberty's taking me to meet Beyoncé in Hollywood!”

Liberty groaned. “I never said that.”

“I'm sure you all are excited to make plans,” Toni continued. “I would just like to remind you that two weeks later, we are competing at Smooth Moves. City Feet will be there as well, and losing is not an option.”

“Can't Justine give it a rest?” Rochelle complained. City Feet's coach—and Toni's archnemesis from her ballet school days—was always trying to outdo the Divas.

“No, she can't,” Toni replied. “And I guarantee her team isn't resting either. I'm sure they're working straight through the holiday week. Which means we have to work ten times as hard now if you want to have those days off.”

Toni then dug into her tote bag and pulled out a deck of playing cards. “See these?” she asked her team. “I want each of you to pick one.”

“Is this a magic trick?” Gracie asked. “Are you going to make a card appear behind my ear?”

Toni tried not to laugh. Gracie was the youngest member of the Divas, with the most active imagination. “No, Gracie. It's my idea for our group choreography and costumes.” She held the deck fanned out in front of her. “Pick.”

Gracie pulled a card out and looked at it. “It's a ‘joker,'” she told the group.

“Well, that's appropriate,” Liberty said, smirking. She was the next to choose and drew the queen of hearts. “And so is my card! I'm the queen!”

Each of the girls pulled their cards as well: Rochelle was the jack of spades; Scarlett was
the king of clubs; Bria was the ten of diamonds; and Anya was the ace of hearts.

“The card you chose will inspire your costume,” Toni instructed them. “I don't want a giant playing card made out of cardboard for this routine. I want something that's flashy and fabulous and worthy of Las Vegas.”

“I'll have my mom call Lady Gaga's costume team,” Liberty volunteered.

Toni shook her head. “Nope. No costume designers, no moms, just you. I want you to make your own costumes so you are truly invested in this number.”

Liberty looked shocked. “I don't sew!” she protested. “I don't even own a needle and thread. My mom has people who do that!”

Rochelle elbowed Scarlett. “Oh, this is gonna be good.”

“Couldn't I get a teensy-weensy bit of help?” Liberty pleaded with her teacher. “I hear Katy Perry's designer isn't very busy at the moment . . .”

But Toni put her foot down—literally. She stamped her heel on the studio floor. “Enough! I want to see a sketch of your ideas and some fabric swatches by this weekend.”

When they got back to the dressing room, Bria immediately tore a sheet of paper out of her notebook and started sketching.

“I think I should do a black leotard and skirt covered in shimmering faux diamonds, don't you?” she asked Anya.

“Don't ask me,” Anya insisted. “The last time you BeDazzled our costumes for our duet, it was a fashion disaster.”

“It wasn't that bad,” Bria replied.

“Really? It was so heavy I could hardly move! And the stars kept flying off and attacking the judges!”

Bria shrugged. “Well, this is different. I'll make sure the diamonds are superglued to the dress and don't fly off.”

“What does a joker wear?” Gracie asked.

“He's kind of a clown,” Anya explained. “With a silly hat and pointy shoes.”

Gracie studied her card. “I could do pom-poms on the hat and collar.”

“And two different colored tights for your legs,” Scarlett suggested. “Something really fun. I'll help you, Gracie.”

Gracie shook her head. “Uh-uh. I'm doing it all by myself. Miss Toni said so.”

“My ace of hearts is going to wear a red tutu,” Anya said, envisioning her design. “Maybe with a white satin bodice—and red lace fingerless gloves?”

“Do you think I should wear a mustache?” Rochelle asked, looking at the dapper gent on her playing card.

Scarlett also noticed the jack had curls in his long blond hair. “You definitely gotta do that 'do,” she said, giggling.

“Yeah, well, your king has curls in his beard!” Rochelle pointed out.

“But I get to wear a cool crown,” Scarlett replied.

She suddenly noticed Liberty was very quiet. “Your queen has a crown, too,” she told her. “That should make you happy, Liberty.”

Her teammate just sat, staring at the card in her hand, not saying a word.

“I think she's still in shock that Miss Toni nixed having someone do her work for her,” Rochelle whispered to Scarlett.

“It's not so bad, Liberty,” Anya tried to reassure her. “I mean, you have great taste in fashion. Maybe this could be the start of something big! Your own dancewear line!”

Liberty got up from the bench, gathered her dance bag, and stormed out of the dressing room.

“Was it something I said?” Anya asked.

“No, she's just upset,” Scarlett said.

“Or planning something sneaky and underhanded,” Rochelle added. “Do you
really
think Liberty Montgomery is going to make her own costume?”

“But Miss Toni said no helpers,” Gracie insisted. “Those are the rules.”

“And since when does Liberty
ever
follow anyone's rules but her own?” Rochelle said. “You just wait and see. She'll find a way to wiggle her way out of it.”

Designing Divas