Shake Your Groove Thing Part Seven

     Carla took a deep breath. This was it. The thing the she had practiced for, for a whole week (Carla was amazed she had even managed to learn a whole routine).
     Dawn was skipping around and squealing. "O. M. G. So excited!" her voice went up so high, Louie's glasses almost cracked.
     Marty stepped out of the dressing room. "Why can't I just wear my-" he quickly changed sentences when he spotted Dawn zooming around in circles, making herself dizzy. "Wow, this is a nice vest! Good work, Dawn."
     "Thankyouthankyouthankyoooooo!" Dawn crashed into the wall.
     Julia was looking at the clock. "'K, five minutes to showtime. Everyone ready?"
     "Sweetheart, I was born ready!" Louie flashed his teeth at Julia (which were so white, the teens were temporarily blinded) and shot finger pistols at her.
     "Great," Julia assumed drill sergeant mode. "Marty, stop fixing your vest. Dawn, sit down! Carla, do you have the music?"
     "Yep!" Carla held up the cassette player.
     "And Louie, for pete's sake, close your mouth! It's like looking at sun on snow!" Julia covered her face with her clipboard. "Please!"
     Louie grunted but did what he was told. "My hair doesn't look too flat right?"
     "Louie," Carla responded. "Your hair has so much volume, it's louder than that shirt you're wearing."
     "Thanks, C!" Louie started to smile but stopped when he saw Julia's steely gaze.
     "Next!" A voice yelled from the other room.
    "That's us!" Julia grabbed Dawn before she broke through the wall.
    "Let's do this thing!" Louie led his ragtag group into the stage and danced like no one was watching.

     "Epic!" Carla punched her fists in the air.
     "That was totally the best thing ever!" Dawn cheered.
     Marty blushed as Dawn kissed him with overexcitement. "W-w-woah..."
     "Great work, team!" Julia bounced her cheerleading routine. "Carla, Carla, rocking out! Marty, Marty, let's hear you shout! Dawn, Dawn, like a blade of lightnin'! Louie, Louie, your hair is frightenin'! Yeah!"
     The teens high-fived. Best. Day. Ever.
     Louie beamed with admiration. "I gotta thank you kids. What you did to save my studio was incredible. And I really mean that. Now who wants to go boast at Disco Pop?!"
     Silence.
     "Just me? Well then let's... Go get victory drinks at Janet's!"
     Cheers.
     "Come my faithful foursome! Let us feast!" Louie marched into the rotating doors (he hadn't noticed the person coming through the other side).
     Carla grinned as Julia punched her in the shoulder. This was the best thing ever. And she couldn't wait to see what the future held for Good Vibes Dance Studio.

Shake Your Groove Thing Part Six

     After a weeks worth of Louie's bizarre dance routines, the teens were ready to audition for the Palace Theater. Carla was stretching when Marty slipped into the studio, his face creased with anxiety.
     "Are you ok?"
     "Yaaaahhh!" Marty could've been a rocket ship at the height he jumped. "Carla, don't do that!"
    "Well," Carla had finished and stood up normally. "What's with all the sneakin' around?"
     "Uh, nothing- is Dawn around?" Marty gave a swift scan of the room from where he stood.
     "Chill, she's with Louie in the back room. Something about costumes for the show..."
     "Great! I mean uh- cool. No- I meant-" Marty's face was slowly turning red.
     "You like her." Carla asserted. "And don't deny it," she added as Marty opened his jaws to protest. "I've seen the lovesick look in your eyes every time she waves at you.
    "Yeah..." Marty wanted to find a badger burrow and hide there.
     Carla crossed her arms. "And don't think me and Julia aren't going to not matchmake for you."
     "You just used a double negative. Does that mean you will or..." Marty shuffled his feet and pulled at his vest like he was too hot.
     "Yes."
     "Yes what?"
     Carla grinned. "You'll see."
     At that moment, the crazy Callahans' entered the spacious studio. Dawn looked rather pleased with herself.
     "Ta da!" she waved a flashy, sequin-covered, sleeveless rainbow dress in Carla's face. "Like it? I do! Worked a whole five hours on it! Five hours! Yeek, that was hard! But I did it! Do you think Julia will like it? By the way this is yours Carla! I already called dibs on the blue ombré one. Julia gets the grey one with neon flowers! And Louie wants a purple-sequin vest! What about you Marty? Do you need sequins? I can make you a vest too! Oh wait- I already did! And it's blue too! So we can match!" Dawn shoved the dress into Carla's outstretched arms and bowled Marty over with an adrenaline-filled energy hug.
     "Yeah-" Marty wheezed from beneath Dawn. "Real... *pant* nice..." *gasp*
    "Maybe I should make them all blue! No I already made them. There's always next time! Woohoo!" Dawn zipped around the room, bouncing off the walls quite literally (Louie had trampolines installed in part of floor).
    "I know she's energetic but..." Carla helped Marty to his feet.
    "I probably should not have given her a whole box of Double Sugar candy. She said it helped her work." Louie shrugged, making his hair jiggle.
    "These dresses are nice," Carla held up the sparkly dress to herself and looked back at the mirror wall.
     Just then, Julia rocketed into the studio. "Everyone! The audition is in a half hour! What are you all standing around for? Get changed and let's go!"

Shake Your Groove Thing Part Five

     Carla wasn't much of a brainstormer. She was the kinda girl who just did it, so fundraising wasn't her strong point. The teens and Louie were trying to think up ways to save Good Vibes. Dawn sat cross-legged opposite Carla and Julia. Even Louie was lounging on his belly in a beanbag chair, eyeing them with anticipation. And Marty was playing with the oversized sunglasses on his curly hairdo.
     "We should ask Darcy!" Dawn piped up, her blue eyes alive with energy. "He always has the best ideas!"
     "The waiter at Janet's?" Carla looked around at her fellow dancers. "Seriously?!"
     "Dawn's right. Darcy does offer quality advice." Julia agreed.
     Carla looked between the two, sure Darcy was nice and all but... "He's just a bartender! How can he help us?!"
     Marty shrugged. "Go with what you know, right? Anyway, Darcy's a cool dude, he usually has the best answers for pretty much anything."
     "Well then," Louie jumped up, making his hair jump with him. "Let's go see this radical dude and save-" again, he struck a pose. "Good Vibes!"

     The tiny bell sang its song of welcoming in new customers as the teens and Louie entered the trendy diner. The walls were coated in pictures of famous landmarks and people, the light teal booths were splattered with food stains, and behind the blue striped counter was a robust young man around Louie's age. The man had curly black hair, chocolate skin, and friendly eyes, he reminded Carla of a black poodle she'd once met, she had loved that poodle so she knew she would love Darcy.
     "Hello. Welcome to Janet's. How may I serve you?" Darcy said in a fruity voice filled with self-contained energy. "Hey, 'sup Martster!" He and Marty fist-bumped, then dangled their fingers in the air, like they had just made an explosion.
     "So," Darcy went back to scrubbing a skinny glass. "What can I do you for?" he paused. "You all look like you need a milkshake, sit on down, talk to me."
     "We need money!" Dawn exploded.
     Darcy jolted, almost dropping the half-filled root beer float he was making. Caught off guard by Dawn demanding request. "What?"
     Julia gave Dawn a sympathetic smile. "She means we need ways to earn money. Right, honey?"
     "What for?"
     "Good Vibes is closing down!" Marty burst in.
     "Well," Darcy scratched his head with a spoon. "You guys are good dancers right?"
     "Yeah..." Carla replied.
     "Then dance! You guys have a talent, so use it." Darcy whipped his wrist, expertly aiming each drink in front of the teens, expect Louie (who Carla was admonished by him not liking anything with the word "cream" in it).
     "Thank you, Darcy!" Julia sipped daintily out of her straw. "We need a plan of action. Any thoughts?"
     Darcy went back to scrubbing his glass. "If you could book a gig at the Palace Theater over in Thicket, I bet you could get yourselves quite the boatload of loot."
     "What would we do without you?" Dawn leaned over the counter to hug Darcy, getting the top of her dress smeared with strawberry milkshake.
     Darcy grinned. "Maybe not have milkshake painting on that nice gown of yours!"
     Everyone laughed and Carla smiled. She could get used to this mismatched group of wannabe performers.

Shake Your Groove Thing Part Four

     Good Vibes wasn't exactly what Carla was expecting from what she'd heard from Julia and Dawn. It was a rundown old building with a flicking neon sign and inside was even worse. The dance studio was spacious, but that was it. Just a big, dusty room with nothing more than a cassette player, a rail on the mirror wall, and a few frail windows that were so high up, they could have touched the ceiling.
     The only people inside the drafty barn were the dance teacher/manager and a boy a little older than Dawn.
     The man stood up, spotting Julia. He had large sunglasses that covered his whole face, a crazy pair of tie-dye bell bottoms, and a funky afro that sat like a giant dust bunny on his head. "Peace out, sister!" he swaggered over to Carla and said in a gravely voice. "So you the new kid? I can dig it! The name's Louie and that's Marty McSquito over yonder. Hope you like-" he posed for effect. "Good Vibes Dance Studio!"
     "Thanks," Carla smiled. "I can't wait to start dancing at such a..." she looked around, there wasn't really anything to complement. "Unique dance studio."
     Marty waved shyly at Dawn, who raced over to say hi.
     "Groovy. Now let's stop with the chitter-chat and get down to business... Let's boogie!" and with that, Louie struggled a bit less dramatically with the cassette player until it started moaning, then he and Dawn started flailing around like their pants were on fire.
     "Um... Are they ok?" Carla whispered to Julia.
     Julia shrugged. "They're cousins. I think it's a Callahan thing."
     Carla forced a smile. "O-kay. We don't have to join them right?"
     "Not unless you want to."
      While the duo were leaping around and hollering about (Carla suspected that they were singing, or they were secretly monkeys, she wasn't sure), Marty crept over to introduce himself. "Sup? I'm Marty, but you already know that... So you're Carla, huh? Nice to meet you! Louie must be desperate for students if he managed to snag you."
     "What are you talking about?" Carla sat down on a beanbag chair to re-lace her sneakers.
     "Jules didn't tell you? This place is going downhill, Louie can't pay the rental anymore."
     Julia waved her hands frantically for Marty to stop. But he didn't.
     "It's going to shut down any day now. Sorry you had to come here and then leave already. Boy, is Disco Pop gonna be happy win this place shuts down." Seeing Carla's confused expression, Marty explained: "Disco Pop, Good Vibes rival for almost ten years now. Louie got the place handed down to him from his father."
     Carla looked to Julia with distraught. "You said this was the greatest studio ever!" She stood up furiously. "You lied to my face!"
     Julia sagged, dropping her perfect posture. "I'm sorry! I didn't know until yesterday! Dawn told me!"
     Carla sighed and plopped back down. "What are we gonna do? The only reason I wanted to go here was because my parents didn't want to pay for Disco Pop!"
     "There's only one thing to do. Girl, we are gonna make this the best dance academy the world has ever seen!" Julia announced. "Dawn, Marty, LC! Get over here! We have a studio to save!"

Shake Your Groove Thing Part Three

     Carla took a deep breath and began twining her scarf around her hand in nervous anticipation. "I look good right? What if I slip up? What if nobody likes it?! What if it causes me to get nervous and I forget my routine! That would be bad... Very bad! What if-"
     "Girl, you're outta sight! You got this!" Julia rallied. "They don't call me a cheer-leader for nothing!"
     Carla nodded and stepped out onto the glowing dance floor. The shimmering lights from the mirror ball danced off her rainbow, turtleneck dress. I can do this... Then Carla danced like no one was watching... Right into the finale.
     Julia jumped around waving her imaginary pompoms. "She's got spunk, she's got flair! Go up against her, no, you don't dare! Goooo Carla!"
     "She's good!" Dawn whispered from beside Julia.
     "That's my girl!" Julia watched proudly. "And she's gonna get that scholarship!"
     Dawn nodded absently. "Maybe not..."
     Julia stared at her with shock. "She's the best on the floor, why not?"
     "You haven't been in awhile..." Dawn murmured.
     "Yeah, school... And helping out my grandma."
     "Good Vibes is closing down..."
     The crowd went wild, some stood up in their seats and screamed.
     "What?" Julia tilted her head. "For a moment there I thought you said Good Vibes was shutting down!"
     "I did!" Dawn yelled as the crowd cheered again.
     Julia went pale and bit her lip. This was not good. Carla had been working like a horse for months and all for nothing. "Should we tell her?"
     Carla whipped around the flashing, rainbow squares of the dance floor. She had never looked happier.
      Julia shook her head. "Let her dance... Carla might never get a chance like this again."
     Carla bounded over to Julia and Dawn as the song ended. She was panting and sweaty but Carla was still pumped with energy. "Aw man! Who died?" she looked between Julia and Dawn's downcast expressions. "Feeling bad for Jojo, huh? The dance is all in good fun! He's bound to lose though! Did you see me out there!? I was on fire!"
     "Yeah... On fire..." Dawn slumped, realizing her mistake about telling Julia.
     Carla narrowed her eyes. "I have two little brothers, nothing gets past me. What's going on?"
      Julia nodded solemnly for Dawn to answer.
     "Well-" Dawn began but the announcer cut her off.
     "And our finalists are... Carla Frizzle and Bob Roberts! Please step forward!"
     The crowd cheered loudly as Carla glanced over at the glittering stage. "When I win, you had better tell me what's going on!" And she jumped onto the stage, waving excitedly to the audience.
     "What are we gonna do?" Dawn whimpered.
     "What anyone would do- save that studio!" And with that Julia swiped a clipboard from behind her back (how it got here was anyone's guess) and began writing profusely.