Free Bust a Move by Jasmine Beller

couldn’t go blabbing that to her friends. Not even to Emerson.
    â€œWeird how?” M.J. repeated.
    â€œI don’t know. Just a vibe,” Sophie muttered.
    â€œHas anyone even tried to call him?” Emerson asked.
    â€œI heard Devane say she was going to call him for Gina,” Chloe said.
    M.J. looked around the backstage area. “Devane!” he called, spotting her.
    She hurried over. “What’s up? I told Billy we needed at least twenty-five waters, and he didn’t send enough. Are we out?”
    â€œWe just wanted to know if you talked to ill papi,” Emerson told her.
    â€œI just got the machine,” Devane told them all. “I left all the competition info in case he got confused about the date or something.”
    â€œNo way,” M.J. burst out. “After all the extra rehearsals?”
    â€œAnyone hear anything about ill papi?” Fridge asked as he headed toward them.
    â€œNo,” everyone in the group said at once.
    â€œWhat are we going to do about the showstopper?” Fridge tilted his head from side to side, cracking his neck. “We need that jackhammer to one-arm planche. No one else can do it. And me and M.J. doing the crickets on either side of nothing isn’t going to be that impressive. We’re gonna get burned.”
    Sophie knew she should be thinking about how they could still win without ill papi. But all she could think about was . . . ill papi. There was no way he’d have bailed on them tonight unless something big had come up. And if it was a good big, he probably still would have shown. Because good bigs didn’t stop your life the way bad bigs did.
    â€œAt least we’re not up until after intermission,” Rachel said.
    â€œBut if he’s not here, then what?” M.J. asked. “Fridge is right. Ill papi’s front and center in a lot of our routine. We’re going to look damaged without him.”
    â€œThe judges are definitely going to notice something’s off,” Chloe agreed. “Do you think we could get eliminated tonight?”

    â€œWe could get eliminated tonight. We might not even get a shot at the championship,” Ky said softly. He and Sammi stood side by side in the wings, watching the Storm Lords do their first routine. “I can’t believe I’m sayin’ that.”
    â€œYou guys are great,” Sammi told him. “ You’re great. And when you guys are up, I’m going to try to get a seat right behind the judges and clap as loud as I possibly can, just in case they aren’t seeing how great you are.” She gave him a light punch. “I can’t believe you’ve got me trying to build up your ego. It’s already out of control.”
    â€œLook at those guys,” Ky said, skipping one of his usual mock-conceited answers. “Three of them doing a jackhammer at once.” He shook his head. “I’ve got the cricket down, but I haven’t been able to take it to the next level, not all the way. Ill papi’s the only one in our crew that’s got one. We need the illin’ man tonight to keep up with this crew.”
    â€œWhere do you think he is?” Sammi asked.
    â€œIf you don’t know, why should I? You’re his keeper, right?” Ky asked, an edge to his voice. Then he shrugged. “I got no idea. It’s not like papi to disappear.”
    Sammi didn’t like the sound of that. Had something happened to ill papi? She’d just been thinking he was late. Was something more going on? Something worse?
    â€œMaybe Gina’s heard from him by now,” Sammi suggested as the Storm Lords slammed to a finish and the crowd went crazy. “Maybe he’s even shown up.”
    â€œHe best have,” Ky said. “Like I said, we need him tonight.”
    Sammi reached out and gave Ky a fast, hard hug. “With him or without him, you guys are going to fire up the place.”
    Ky