My Seventh-Grade Life in Tights by Brooks Benjamin Page A

works.”
    “But all you’re doing is copying her moves. That’s not what dance is about.”
    I plopped down on the couch beside her. I wanted to make sure she knew exactly how unfair I thought she was being.
    She must have gotten the message. She sighed and leaned close so our arms were touching. “I just want you to be yourself. Because that’s who I think is so awesome.”
    The frustration balled up on my face faded away and a smile broke through.
    “So how bad is it?” Carson asked. “Working with the Wicked Witch of Sunnydale?”
    “Like ninety percent of the time? Beyond awful.” I didn’t say how much I was actually loving all the stuff she was teaching me, though.
    “Yeah, but she’ll find a way to get you into the top three.” Kassie pulled her feet up on the couch. “She’s sneaky like that. Still not sure how she figured out I never sent in a video, though.”

    “Because she’s a demon and has evil mind-reading powers,” Carson said.
    “Dude, stop moving before I poke you in the eye with this thing.” Austin waved the little purple makeup stick in front of Carson.
    “Well, she must not totally believe you didn’t, because she’s still helping me,” I said.
    Kassie nodded. Carson drew in a slow breath. “Ooh, if Sarah can read minds, I wonder what dirty thoughts she’s picking up from Austin right now.” Carson laughed, raising his hands like he was ready to block whatever Austin was going to throw at him. Kassie started making kissy sounds and I had to force myself not to stare at her lips while she did it.
    “Okay, new rule.” Austin set the tube of fake blood down. “No talking about Sarah or the plan or anything like that during the makeup test.”
    Carson rolled his eyes. “I’m really starting to worry about you, Austin. There are better girls at Sunnydale to crush on than Sarah Middleton.”
    “You know what? Maybe I don’t care. Sarah’s hot. She’s got the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen and I think she smells good.”
    “She smells good?” Kassie asked, laughing behind her hand.
    “Yes! She smells like ice cream. And I’m sort of tired of hearing you all talk about how nasty she is. She’s never been nasty to me.”

    “She’s never been anything to you,” Carson said. “I’m not sure she even knows you exist.”
    “She will one day. She’ll look right at me. And she’ll say hi.”
    Kassie shook her head, still smiling. “You’re a freak, Austin. Which is why we love you. We won’t talk about it when you’re around, but I don’t think we’re changing our mind.”
    She looked at me like she was asking permission. I nodded. How could I stop after she’d admitted my lines were getting better? Sarah had said there’d be pain. I guess she meant it’d be going a lot deeper than just my muscles.
    When I got to the gym on Monday for my next private lesson, Sarah was sitting on the bleachers, texting. The little clicks rattling from her phone sounded like a machine gun. “Change out of your dance gear.”
    “We not having practice?” A little tiny bubble of disappointment swelled in my chest. I’d actually been looking forward to showing her how much I’d practiced the routine.
    “Not today.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because I’ve been thinking about what you said about studios. And it’s time you got un-brainwashed. So call your parents. Tell them you might be late today.”

    Sarah stood up and shoved her phone in her back pocket.
    “We’re taking a field trip.”

Me: ive been kidnapped by sarah HELP!
    I was sitting in her dad’s SUV and waiting for Kassie to text me back. When Sarah had told me where we were going, my stomach had turned to a lump of lead.
    Dance-Splosion.
    Where real dancers were made.
    But it wasn’t all the bad kind of nervousness. I’d always wanted to see the inside of a studio. Even more now that I was going to be sabotaging one of their contests. Thankfully, my parents needed some extra time to meet with some of their