Okay, this was not one of those fun moments. Megan also was very competitive and intense—and my duet partner. Lily and I smiled at each other. It had taken a little while, but we had learned not to let Megan get to us before a competition.

“You’re on deck, DanceStarz!” A woman with a clipboard came backstage.

Eek! This was it!

We all gathered around in a tight circle to do the ritual we’d made up as a squad.

“Dance!” Trina led the cheer.

Lily, Megan, Trina, Riley, and I all did a little dance move.

“Starz!” Trina continued.

We fluttered out fingers like sparkling stars. Then we leaned into a huddle and said:

“Squad!”

DanceStarz Squad was ready to take the stage! HERE WE GO!

“Make some noise for . . . DanceStarz!” the announcer’s voice boomed throughout the packed convention center.

On that cue, we flashed out best smiles and stepped onstage in formation, our arms swinging in perfect sync. We sashayed to our positions, and we struck a pose and waited under the hot lights for the music. I had one hand on my hip and one in the air, steady. I took a moment to take it all in—the excited charge in the air, the supportive cheers. Yes. This was it. We’d worked so hard to get to this point. We’d edged out the fiercest including the team from competitive Energii, our biggest rivals. All that would be left for us to do is perform our hearts out. A solid show here would advance us to nationals, which—

Which I couldn’t think about right now. I had to focus and go into my zone. This is when all of my training, my muscle memory, all of those hard rehearsals pay off. My brain shuts down, and my body takes over.

The music began. And I danced. We used to watch ourselves in the dance studio mirrors, but now the crowd is our only reflection. From the roar of the crowd, we were delivering the goods. Our leg extensions must have been showing off the flowy chiffon trailing from the backs of our shoulders. The pretty fabric swirls looked like a ribbon dance. Finally, that last beat dropped. We bowed and trotted offstage to extended applause.

Vanessa was the first to greet us offstage. “Beautiful,” she said, beaming proudly. She’s our dance team teacher and our choreographer AND owner of the DanceStarz Studio. We all grabbed one another in a big hug and jumped around to celebrate.

We got two seconds of celebration before Vanessa cleared her throat.

“Duets, get ready.”

Annnnd our killer performance was already a thing of the past. Lily and I went to give each other extra hugs.

“You got this,” she whispered.

“Same!” I told her. It’s a huge day for Lily. She got picked to be the solo dancer, and will be going last.

“Harper!” Megan hissed at me. “Let’s go!”

CHAPTER

2

I rushed to the shared backstage changing area to change costumes, into the sparkly deep purple leotard we picked out together. The farther we walked away from the rest of the squad, the more tense it felt to be alone with Megan.