𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨

“Where on earth were you?” I asked. The studio was practically empty by now. Everyone was eager to leave for the summer. Six weeks of no 7 am rehearsals or strenuous dance practice. I think I spoke for myself when I said I was going to miss it. And working with Leon was one of the few chances I had to continue guided dance practice over the summer. And Finn had blown it. 
“I was somewhere. Don’t even worry about it.” I cringed at his use of that saying. I had heard that enough times from my brother. I didn’t need to hear it from him either. 
“You were somewhere?”
“Yeah, don’t stress about it, Pipes. It’s just an internship.” 
“Just an internship? Just an internship?” I repeated for emphasis. “This wasn’t just an internship. We would have gotten to work with Leon Blackwood.” 
“Would we get paid?” He asked. 
My brows creased. “No.” 
“Sounds like an internship to me.” How was he so indifferent?
“How about I make it up to you? I’ll buy you some juice. Just let me talk to Michelle first. Before I could deny his offer, he had already entered the office. I didn’t feel mean enough to just walk out. Instead, I waited on the benches with my dance bag tucked underneath one arm and my phone in my other hand. 

I tried to decipher his conversation between Finn and Michelle but it was pretty difficult. Eventually he came out. 
“You ready for the juice?” He asked. 
“I don’t have the time-”
“It’s summer,” he said. “You have nothing but time. Common. One juice. Ten minutes. It wouldn’t kill you to have some fun.” I flinched at that remark. I was fed up with people telling me to “have fun”. Who were they to tell me what to do? 
“I can have fun in my own way, thank you very much.” I got up from my seat and swung my bag over my shoulder. “Bye, Finn. See you after summer!” Just as I thought I would finally be saying goodbye to the strife of the past two weeks, and the entire dance season for that matter, Michelle called after me. 
“Piper, I thought you would have left by now. Can I talk to you?” As much as I wanted to go home, I didn’t want to say no to Michelle. Plus, she might have some news on any of the workshops and conventions I had applied for. 
I waited for Michelle to signal me into her office. She did not. Meanwhile, Finn was just standing there for some reason. 
“I know you’ve been wanting something dance-related to do over the summer, so I thought you might like to lead some of the summer ballet workshops we have at The Next Step.” I perked up a little. It wasn’t working with Leon Blackwood but it was definitely better than nothing. 
“That sounds great. What level are the dancers?” 
“Baby ballet.” She gave me a bright pink pamphlet with The Next Step’s logo and tacky image of pointe shoes printed across it. 
“Baby ballet?” I suddenly felt myself deflate a little. 
“Hey, Pipes, that’s the workshop I’m leading as well.” I was now an empty balloon.
“We’ll work together?” I gestured between me and Finn. 
“Yeah,” Michelle answered. “That’s fine, right? I mean you guys did a… decent job on your duet.” The hesitation before “decent” said everything. I knew our duet was awful. “It’s either that or...  nothing, actually. It’s a little last minute, so that’s all I have.” 
That was all she had. Right. I weighed the options in my head. 
Stay at home with my annoying brothers and no one to hang out with as Amy would be busy working with Leon. Or work at The Next Step with Finn. 
It was basically the same thing except one involved dance and money and the other didn’t. 
“Oh, and it’s a volunteer role,” Michelle added. 
Correction: it was basically the same thing except one involved dance and the other didn’t. 
“Yep, sounds great,” I said through gritted teeth. 
“Cool, the workshops start this Friday.” 
“Today’s Thursday,” I said. I tried to bite back my shock. That wasn’t enough time to prepare. 
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow!” She cheered before skipping back to her office. 
“You still up for the juice?” Finn asked. 
“Nope, I now have a ballet workshop to get ready for!” I was glad to finally have the excuse as irritating as it was. I skipped out of the studio, knowing that tomorrow I would be crawling back in.