TWISTED
Chapter 9
"And on top of the pyramid this week is… Maddie!"
"Big fucking surprise," Jocelyn muttered, shoving another handful of Cool Ranch Doritos into her mouth.
"So why is this Maddie girl so special?" Stan asked, plucking a chip from Jocelyn's hand.
"Well," Jocelyn began, taking a swig of the flat Sprite she had found in Hazelle's fridge, "Maddie is basically Abby's go-to girl for everything. And don't get me wrong, she's an amazing dancer, but Abby shows so much partiality to her. Like, Chloe left because she never got any attention, even though she's just as good as Maddie is."
Stan grabbed another chip and popped it into his mouth. "So which one's Chloe?"
"Oh, no, Chloe left at the end of last season."
"So then who's that?"
Jocelyn took another swig of her soda before pausing the TV on a shot of all the girls lined up for pyramid. "Okay, so the little one is Mackenzie. She's Maddie's younger sister, and I feel kinda bad for her sometimes because she's a really good little dancer, but Abby is always comparing her to Maddie. The one next to her is Maddie, our star child. Then there's Kalani. I think Kalani's an amazing dancer. Like, damn, girl, those legs. She's so good, but Abby refuses to put her up against Maddie in competition because god forbid anything threaten Maddie in any way, shape, or form. Then there's JoJo, who I like a lot. She's got spunk, and she's a good dancer, but she never keeps her mouth shut and it gets her into trouble. The next girl is Kendall. She's okay I guess. She's, like, a good dancer and all, but she just doesn't have the stage presence, if you ask me. And lastly we have Nia. She's one of the few remaining original team members, and she's constantly getting short changed by Abby. It makes me so mad cause she's actually pretty good. But yeah, that's everyone. Got it?"
Mabel raised her hand. "Wait, so who's the first one, again?"
"Mackenzie. Now shut up, this is important." Jocelyn grabbed the remote and clicked the episode back on again.
"This week," Abby was announcing on the screen, "we will be traveling to Teaneck, New Jersey. Cathy will be there."
Jocelyn groaned. "Ugh, not that witch." Out of the corner of her eye, Jocelyn saw Stan open his mouth to ask a question. "Rival dance studio owner," she supplied, waving her hand in his direction.
Stan slowly closed his mouth, taken off guard. He looked a bit disgruntled, but stole another chip and leaned back in his seat again, appeased.
Jocelyn rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the TV, smirking as Ford stomped by, heading toward the basement. She considered calling out a sarcastic comment just to mess with him, but decided against it. Dance Moms was more important.
The room was quiet as everyone watched, fully immersed in the drama that was Dance Moms.
"Hell yeah, Holly!" Jocelyn yelled out when a fight broke out between some of the moms.
Stan cheered. "I don't know what they're fighting about, but I support it."
"They fight about stuff all the time," Jocelyn replied. "Holly's usually the level-headed one, so if she gets involved you know somebody really fucked up."
Jocelyn glanced up as Hazelle entered the room and plopped down on the couch next to Dipper.
"What's up, Buttercup?" Jocelyn asked, not taking her eyes away from the screen. Cathy's group number was on, and Jocelyn wanted to make sure she didn't miss any of it. She needed to be able to compare this one with Abby's and make damn well sure that Abby's was better.
Hazelle sighed and took a moment before answering. "Well, Joss—"
Jocelyn quickly cut Hazelle off as one of Cathy's dancers obviously fell out of a very important turn.
"OHHHH SHIT!" Jocelyn exclaimed throwing her arms up in the air.
Stan also cheered through a mouthful of chips. "TAKE THAT, YOU WITCH!"
"Yeah!" Jocelyn excitedly high-fived Stan before turning her attention back to the TV.
Jocelyn was so focused on her show that she didn't notice the look on Hazelle's face.
The competition progressed, and, as expected, Abby's team beat Cathy's by a landslide.
"Hell yeah!" Jocelyn yelled, circling the room for high-fives, as Dipper and Mabel had also become interested in the battle for first place.
As the ending sequence for the "next time on…" segment played, Jocelyn drained the rest of her soda.
"What should we watch next?" she asked.
"What other game shows do you have?" Stan asked, reaching into the bag and coming up with a large handful of Doritos.
"Hmm," Jocelyn mused, waiting for the TV to return to the On Demand menu. "What do you think, Haze?" She took several chips from Stan's hand and ignored his glower.
"Well, we could watch something intellectual," Hazelle began. "Like—"
"YOOOO!" Jocelyn yelled, sitting up on the couch, remembering something very important. "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader is On Demand!" She quickly clicked through the various on-screen menus, eager to get to her favorite game show.
She had just reached the correct men when she heard the unmistakable the sound of Ford's boots clomping up the stairs cut him off.
"What's all the ruckus about up here?"
Jocelyn's mood immediately fell.
Hey God? she thought. It's me. What are you punishing me for this time?
