Bust a Move (17 page)

“I wasn't going to say that,” Gina told him. “But missing the competition—and all the classes—without any notification, that's serious. I have to put you on probation, ill papi. I need—we all need—to know we can trust you again.”

“That's fine,” ill papi agreed quickly. “Whatever. As long as it takes. I'm here.”

“But we need papi
now
,” M.J. complained.

“That's not how it works. You know that,” Gina told him. “Now, I—”

“Gina?” ill papi interrupted.

She nodded at him.

“I wasn't going to say why I didn't show,” ill papi admitted. “But I guess . . . it doesn't seem fair to everybody if I don't. I don't want everyone to think I'd just blow off the competition for no reason. Even if the reason wasn't good.” He shrugged. “It seemed good to me then.”

“It's up to you,” Gina said. “Just know that the reason won't change my decision.”

“You don't have to, ill papi,” Devane blurted. “It's not our business.” She knew she wouldn't want to have to spew any of her personal stuff in front of her friends.

“Yeah, it is. You're my team,” ill papi said, glancing at Sophie. “The deal is, I haven't seen J-Bang since I was practically a baby. I know I talk like we're tight and all. But he doesn't even live in Miami full-time, and when he's here, he doesn't come around. He's my dad, but not, you know?”

“Dang,” Fridge muttered.

“Yeah,” ill papi said with a harsh laugh. “Anyway, I knew you'd find out if I was at the competition. You'd see him look at me—and not even know who I was. And after all the stories I'd been telling all the years I've been taking classes here . . .”

“I told everyone at school Star Jones was my aunt once,” Devane said. “In the third grade.” Actually, Tamal had done that. But Devane just wanted to make ill papi feel less like a chucklehead.

He smiled at her. “Anyway, after I cut out on the competition, I just stopped coming to class. Because I didn't know what to say.”

“I really appreciate you telling us that,” Gina said. “I know that must have been very hard for you. And I also know that we all have things that we're ashamed of that we wouldn't want the group to know.”

“Does that mean he's not on probation?” M.J. pleaded.

“No,” Gina told him. “You heard what I said. The rules are the rules—no exceptions. But I know that you are going to bring down the house at the nationals. Especially because you'll have Emerson performing with you. And Sammi. And you'll also have Devane.”

“What?” Devane said softly. Although this was what she'd been hoping would happen. This was the other part of the plan.

Gina nodded. “Devane has really proven she's a team player. We've all seen that, right? She organized that team picnic, and she did everything she possibly could to make sure the regionals ran smoothly for us backstage, and best of all, she took the lead in finding a way to get Emerson back on the team. I'm sure Maddy will agree with me that it's time for her to come off probation and take her place as a full member of the Performance Group again.” Gina clapped. “Now, let's get warmed up. We have competitions to prepare for.”

“Not before this.” Fridge ran over to Devane, lifted her up in the air, and kissed her head. Then he turned toward Emerson and gave a playful growl.

“Catch me!” Max yelled as she came charging at Devane. Then Sophie and Emerson and what felt like everyone else was hugging her.

“Okay, that's all the time we have for the love,” Gina called with a smile. “We're going to the world championship, right?”

“Right!” everyone yelled back.

A few seconds later, Devane's favorite Missy Elliott track filled the room. “Just freestyle it for a couple of minutes,” Gina called. “Nothing too fancy. Get your muscles loose.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Devane caught sight of Emerson doing what Randall, the guy who taught the hip-hop basics class, called toss the pizza. She had her hips going back and forth and her arms over her head, hands twirling. And she was grinning like a fool. That part was pure Emerson.

Devane started tossing the pizza herself, and a second later she was smiling, too.

Y'all at the next competition best step back,
she thought.
Devane and Emerson are comin' at ya.
Her eyes swept over the room.
And we're bringing the whole team with us.

Air track:
A windmill in the air.

Baby suicide:
Handspring where the dancer lands on his/ her back.

Backspin:
A spin performed high on the back with the legs tucked close to the body.

Bridge:
A back bend.

Clowning:
A mix of popping, locking, break dancing, and African tribal dance.

Cricket:
This spin is almost identical to the hand glide except in this move, the dancer's weight is temporarily transferred to the pushing hand, while the spinning hand lifts off the floor, is rotated, and is replaced on the floor.

Cross-legged flare:
A more difficult version of a flare done with crossed legs.

Down rock:
A floor move where legs and feet travel in a continuous circle around the hand that supports the dancer.

Flare:
A move where the dancer is on the floor with the weight on his/her hands and swings the legs in big circles in front of and behind the arms.

Freeze:
The dancer stops in the middle of a move and holds the position.

Hand glide:
The dancer balances on one hand with the body horizontal to the floor as the other hand pushes the dancer so he/she spins around.

Hollow back:
In this freeze, the dancer is in a handstand with the legs bent toward the back.

Jackhammer:
This move is similar to the cricket except the dancer uses one hand to hop in a circle with no assistance from the free hand.

Kip up:
A move where the dancer is flat on his/her back, rolls backward, kicks out the feet, and lands upright.

Krumping:
Fusion of clowning and hip-hop.

Locking:
A jerky style where the dancer moves through a series of ultra-quick poses.

Planche:
In this freeze, the dancer is in a horizontal handstand where the legs are horizontal to the floor instead of vertical.

Pop out:
When the dancer moves from down on the floor to up on the feet without using his/her hands.

Popping:
A style where the dancer moves through poses in a more fluid way than in locking.

Top rock:
Four-step, four-beat basic dance that many hip-hoppers use to launch into more complicated moves.

Windmill:
The dancer rolls from shoulder to shoulder, spinning the legs around in the air continuously.