HEARTBURST,, The Next Step

[2.27] run this town

[2X27]

{After finally accepting the role of female soloist for The Next Step, Maxie juggles creating a new routine in time for the competition whilst working with Luther Brown to help her and the boys with their small group dance.}

❝Does this look like a drama class to you, Rob? Get back in the line before I lose another brain cell.❞

Two days, at most, had passed since Maxie had spoken with Miss Kate about her solo and she had been working non-stop. She had been skipping main rehearsals — which were mainly just the troupe teaching Michelle the new choreography — to create her solo in any open space she could find, whether that was Studio B, or even in the corner of a baby ballet class.

So, as James, West, Hunter and Eldon discussed anything but the small group they were supposed to be working on, she remained on the other side of the floor, running through what she had gotten down already as she tried to listen in on any moves they were thinking of adding in.

As the boys showed off to each other with new flips they had learnt, whilst simultaneously dissing Eldon's love life, Maxie tried her hardest to compress her laughter at half of their conversation as she listened to the song she was to dance to through her earphones.

"Guys!" Miss Kate called out with a smile, ultimately shocking the five dancers in the room, for they had no idea when she had arrived and how long she had been there for. "How is the small group coming along?"

Pulling her wires out, Maxie made her way to where the boys were walking over to as she smirked slightly at how confident they seemed. In reality, they were only one move into the dance, however, what Miss Kate didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

It seemed the boys' confidence plummeted when the studio head then asked of them, "Well, I'd love to see what you've come up with so far."

"The small group was originally Amanda, Giselle, Maxie and Thalia, but now that Amanda's gone and Giselle and Thalia are devoting their time to helping out Michelle, I've asked the boys and Maxie to make a new one," Miss Kate informed the camera with a knowing look.

"You're in for a treat," West grinned at the blonde before moving back to the group. James had just positioned Maxie in between himself and Eldon — the space they had kept for her when they had begun — just as 'Never get lost' began to play.

Once the beat dropped, each dancer, including Maxie, jumped into an action-ready pose: West and Hunter knelt on the ground, looking like they were about to start a race, James and Eldon folded their arms in a menacing-type fashion whilst Maxie placed her hands on her hips dramatically.

The music continued, however, the dancers didn't. Miss Kate watched on as the four boys and Maxie remained perfectly still — the only thing moving seemed to be their eyes as they tried to keep composure.

After having had enough of the makeshift statues, the woman clicked the music off, turning back to the five dancers disappointedly. "Planning on moving any time soon?" She asked, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

"Okay, okay, you know, our feet weren't moving, but our eyes were." West reasoned with her, playing it off as if they had it covered whilst James began moving his eyes around wildly to back his friend up. "It was, like, moving. It's called eye dancing."

Maxie couldn't contain her amusement much longer as she scoffed. "Eye dancing?" Her tone was playful as she giggled at the boys' demonstrations, repeating his statement in disbelief.

"Eye dancing is when you do the choreography just with your eyes," West explained matter-of-factly to the camera. "Not that Maxie would know. It's probably just not as common in England." He rolled his eyes before laughing.