HEARTBURST,, The Next Step

[2.16] hazy shade of winter

[2X16]

{Michelle comes to terms with how much the drama at the studio is affecting her life, while Thalia and Giselle try to get James and Riley to take the duet back.}

❝Usually, I get a shawarma with James and then just take a nap... But obviously, that's not the best option in this certain scenario.❞

Band music played over the speakers and the rest of the troupe cheered for the four girls in the centre of the floor, dancing to the small group choreography they had spent weeks preparing. 

"Right now, we are watching Giselle, Maxie, Amanda and Thalia rehearse their small group," Chloe explained to the camera with a small smile, obviously impressed with the progression the girls were showing.

With an even bigger grin, Giselle proclaimed, "I love our small group. It's so old school and no one does this anymore. So, I think we'll definitely stand out at Nationals."

"The dance is starting to look better," Thalia began, her voice, however, giving away how unsure she seemed, "But, it's still not Nationals ready."

"I love choreographing this small group with the girls," Maxie nodded, a beaming smile for once on her face as she spoke about the dance, "I mean, it's got a fun energy about it. The only thing that really de-motivates me, though, is the fact I'm now gonna have to help Thalia and Giselle choreograph a whole new duet for Nationals on top of this. At this rate, I should just charge Phoebe for doing her job for her."

Giselle shared the same concerns as Maxie. "What I'm more worried about than the quartet is the duet that Thalia and I have to work on."

As the dance progressed, more and more members of A-Troupe filled the studio, both to watch the four girls rehearse and get in there early for the session.

Miss Kate then went on to explain the girls' previous plan that ended up falling flat on its face. "Giselle and Thalia came up with a plan that they would fake challenge Riley and James for the duet."

"But, our plan totally backfired." Thalia sighed, regret written on her face.

"I mean, I did warn them." Maxie then shrugged, referring back to when they first proposed the plan to her the other day.

‧₊˚✩

As the day went on, Thalia and Giselle had informed Maxie of their plan to get James and Riley to take their duet back. On paper, it seemed like a good idea, but in reality, it wasn't going as smooth as they had initially hoped ━ after speaking to Riley, it seemed like there was no chance for the pair to ever take their duet back.

To take her mind off of what a catastrophe the whole duet situation was, Maxie decided to help Eldon out with his tumbling in Studio A; ever since losing his solo, his game had been off and the boy had been bugging her for days on end to help him out.

After watching many attempts of flips that turned into Eldon just throwing himself at the tumbling mat, the girl decided to step in, obviously concerned for her friend.

"Eldon." Maxie spoke up, standing from her seat at the bench before she made her way over to the mat in the middle of the room. "You do that one more time and you'll end up in Intensive Care."