Let's Rock! (5 page)

Miss Toni still wasn't back by the time they'd washed up, put on new leotards and tights, and returned to the studio.

“Do you think she's gonna fire him?” Bria whispered.

“Miss Toni's been mad at me tons of times and she always gets over it,” Rochelle said.

Apparently, she was right. The door opened and J. J. walked inside.

“So,” he began, “Miss Toni has asked me to take over the rehearsal for tonight.”

Scarlett raised her hand. “How come?”

“I'm not really sure,” J. J. answered. “Something
about ‘having to connect more with the material.' She went off to do some research, I guess.”

“This is all my fault,” Bria said, staring down at the floor. “I made Miss Toni mad at us.”

“You want my advice?” J. J. asked. “I think you should just nail your routine and let Miss Toni cool down.”

Rochelle bristled. “We took your advice before and look where it got us!”

“We don't really have any other choice,” Anya pointed out. “The competition is two weeks away and we don't even know the whole choreography.”

“Exactly!” J. J. said, studying Toni's notes. “So let's clean up those
jetés
before she comes back.”

“
Jetés?
What do you know about
jetés
?” Rochelle asked. “I thought you didn't know anything about ballet.”

“I guess Toni's rubbing off on me,” he said with a wink. “Let's take it from the top.”

The next day, Bria came to school an hour early to meet with her science teacher. She could hardly sleep, she was so nervous.

“Bria?” Ms. Moran asked. “What are you doing here so early?”

“I um … I … well …,” Bria stuttered.

“This has to do with your test grade, doesn't it?” her teacher said, sighing. “I tried calling you at home last night, but your mom said you were at your dance class.”

“I know. I'm sorry. But let me show you something!” Bria pleaded. She opened her laptop and the worm video started playing. Ms. Moran watched it intently. “I can't believe you did this,” she said.

“I did. I really did!” Bria said. “I do know the material, I swear! I just panicked on the test. I'm not sure what went wrong.”

“I know what went wrong,” Ms. Moran assured her. “There was a computer error. When I saw the F, I knew something was wrong. I went back and marked your test again by hand. I changed your grade last night. You didn't fail, Bria. You got an A minus.”

Bria's eyes lit up. “I did? I didn't fail?”

“No, you didn't fail. But I do think I'll have to change your grade again.”

Oh no. Bria's mind began to race. Her teacher hated the video. Now she really
was
going to fail her.

“Please,” Bria said. “Can I do it again? I promise I'll do better next time.”

Ms. Moran looked puzzled. “You mean an A plus isn't good enough for you?”

“An A plus?” Bria gasped. “Really?”

“Anyone who goes to this much effort to show me she understands earthworms deserves it. My favorite part was the compost goo. Do you mind if I use this for future classes?”

Bria couldn't wait to get to the studio to tell her friends the great news.

When Bria arrived a few minutes before class started, the dressing room was surprisingly missing all the Divas. So she changed into her leotard and went to look for them. There was a large
note on the studio door in Miss Toni's handwriting: Diva Competition Team: Please meet at 111 Alton Street.

“Need a ride?” a voice asked. It was J. J.

“Where are we going?” Bria replied. “And where is everybody?”

“Toni decided to take you girls on a little field trip today. The rest of the gang is there already, but Miss Toni asked me to stay behind and give you a ride when you arrived. We better hurry. Food's getting cold.”

“Food?” Bria asked, grabbing her bag and trailing after him to the parking lot.

J. J. nodded and opened the car door. “Yup. You'll see.” He made the lock-and-key movements over his lips again. “Miss Toni swore me to secrecy.”

J. J. and Bria pulled up in front of a large church with stained-glass windows. Bria noticed there was a long line of people out front. “What are they waiting for?” she said.

“They're hungry,” J. J. explained. “Come on in.”

He led her through a back door of the church, down a flight of stairs, and into a large, bustling kitchen. There, wearing an apron tied around her waist, was Miss Toni.

“Welcome,” she said, noticing Bria and J. J. standing in the doorway. “Well, what are you waiting for? An invitation?” She handed them
each a tray of chicken and rice. “Take this out there and start serving.”

They both obeyed and headed into the dining room, where Scarlett, Rochelle, Gracie, and Anya were all scooping out dinners on plates for the huge crowd. Bria settled in next to Scarlett. “What is this place?” she asked.

“It's a homeless shelter,” Scarlett said. “Miss Toni came here yesterday to volunteer all of us.”

“It's really sad,” Anya whispered. “So many of these people have no homes, no food. Look over there …” She pointed to a dark-haired girl about their age, sitting in the corner with her mother.

Bria smiled at her, but the girl looked the other way. “How do people lose their homes?” she asked.

“A lot of different ways.” J. J. tried to explain. “Sometimes they lose their jobs and there's no money coming in. Sometimes there's a tragedy that causes them to lose their way.”

Bria stared at the girl. She wondered what her story was. She looked like any girl she'd see in
school or at the Dance Divas Studio. She liked her pink sparkly sneakers. “I think I'll go bring someone a piece of pie for dessert,” she said, taking a plate from Scarlett.

“Hi,” she said warmly, bringing the slice over. “I'm Bria.”

The girl didn't say anything. She didn't even look up.

“Reese, where are your manners?” her mother said, scolding her. She put down her sewing and held out her hand. “Hello, there. I'm Genevieve—you can call me Jenny. And this quiet girl is Reese.”

“I'm not hungry,” Reese insisted, pushing the plate of pie away. She turned her back, opened a book, and plugged in her earphones and iPod.

“What are you listening to?” Bria continued. “I love all kinds of music.”

Reese held up the screen.

“Oh, Sugar Dolls!” Bria exclaimed. “I love them! I'm going to meet them when I go to L.A.”

Reese turned around. “Seriously? You're going to meet them? You're not making that up?”

“Cross my heart,” Bria said, making an X over her chest. “I'm on a dance team and we're going to Hollywood to be their backup dancers.”

“You don't need any extra girls, do you?” Reese asked. “I took a lot of dance classes—tap, hip-hop, jazz—before … well, you know, before we came here.”

Bria sensed that Reese wanted to change the subject.

“Show me what you can do,” she said, encouraging Reese. Then she took a seat on the floor and did her best Miss Toni impression. She pursed her lips and squinted her eyes so she looked totally focused. “Go on … Wow me!” she said with a wink.

“Here? Now?” Reese replied. There were dozens of people in the room.

“Good a time as any,” Bria said. “Unless you're chicken?”

Reese rolled up her sleeves. “No one calls me chicken,” she said, getting to her feet. She arched her back and held her leg up behind her in a perfect scorpion move.

“Not bad,” Bria said, “but can you do this?” She stood up and did a time-step combination, tapping in her sneakers.

“In my sleep!” Reese copied her and finished it off with a “Shuffle Off to Buffalo.”

“Okay, I'm impressed,” Bria said. “You've got moves.”

“Told ya! Can I be in the Sugar Dolls' video now?”

Bria felt terrible; she hadn't meant to mislead her. “I'm so sorry, Reese. There's only room for five girls.”

“So you were just doing that … to make fun of me?”

“What? No way!” Bria insisted. “You really
are
a good dancer. I just don't make the decisions when it comes to our team.”

“Well, who does?” Reese asked.

Bria pointed to Toni, who was dishing out slices of pecan pie. “Our teacher.”

“Her? I've seen her here a couple of times now. She's a dance teacher?”

“The best—and the toughest,” Bria answered.
“I'm sorry, but it's really hard to get on our dance team.”

“Well, maybe another time.” Reese tried to hide her disappointment. “I'm really busy anyway.” She went back to her seat and opened up a book.

“Can I ask you a question?” Bria said softly.

Reese sighed. “Sure.”

“Why did you give up dancing?”

Reese bit her lip. Obviously, it was a sensitive subject. “There's no money anymore for dance lessons. There was a fire in our house. Almost everything was destroyed, and we don't have any insurance to pay for it. So until my mom makes enough money for us to afford a new place and furniture, we have to stay here.”

Bria tried to imagine what she was saying. What would happen to her family if there was a fire in their home? She guessed they would go live with her aunt Robbi or with Gram Loraine and Poppy Blake in Connecticut. The Divas would lend her clothes, and if they needed a
place to go, Scarlett and her mom would surely take them in.

“But don't you have any family or friends you could stay with?” she asked Reese.

“My mom is the only family I've got. We're a team,” Reese added. “I guess I could have stayed with a school friend, but I wanted to be with my mom.”

Bria nodded. She understood what it was to be a team, and how important it was to stick by each other through it all.

“I'm really sorry this happened to you, Reese,” Bria said. “I hope your mom gets some money soon.”

“Me, too,” Reese said. “It's really noisy here at night and it makes it hard to study.”

Bria noticed the book in her hand. “Oh no. Earth science. That is the worst!”

“Tell me about it,” Reese groaned. “Worms totally gross me out.”

“Me, too!” Bria smiled. “But I do happen to be a worm expert—if you want a few tips.”

Reese thought for a moment. “I guess that would be okay,” she said. When it was time to leave, Reese and Bria exchanged school e-mails and promised to stay in touch. “If you get stuck, just e-mail me,” Bria said. “The next unit on oceanography is super tough.”

Reese nodded. “I will, Bria. Thanks. I mean, for coming over and everything.”