*Eldon's POV*
So right now, I'm in Culture Shock getting some juice before going up to the studio.
Yesterday was the day Tiffany left, and we threw her a little going away party before she did. It was really great, but what shocked me th most was that it was Emily's idea. Is there a chance she's not as cold-hearted as we think she is?
When I turn, I see James, so I go up to him.
"Hey, James," I say. He nods.
"Do you think we're getting our new dancer today?"
"I really don't know." I am actually really psyched about this new girl. I mean, who knows? She could be, like, a robot for all we know. All Kate and Pheobe told us was that she's an amazing dancer, and we need to treat her like she's part of the team.
***************************************
When James and I enter studio A, everyone is already there, except Noah. West waves us over and starts telling us one of his crazy stories.
Suddenly, some girl that we've never seen before walks in. She has long, dark hair, and she's pretty tall.
She's probably one of the prettiest girls I have ever seen.
Everyone's staring at her now. She clears her throat. " Um...Hi. Is this A-troupe?" Emily walks toward her.
"Who's asking?"
"Uh...I'm your replacement for the girl that just moved."
"Yeah, 'the girl who just moved,' has a name," Emily says offensively.
"I know. But I never learned it."
"Great. Do you have a name?" I wish Emily would stop intimidating her so much.
"Oh," she laughs and holds out her hand. "I'm Amanda." She flashes a beautiful smile.
"Awesome," Emily says and walks off, leaving her hand outstretched.
"Amanda?" James says as he walks toward her, just like Emily did. She nods.
"Hi. I'm James. These are my friends, West and Eldon." I smile and wave. I hope I don't embarrass myself. She smiles at me. I hope that means I'm doing good.
"So how do you know Kate?" West asks.
"My mom used to live next to her until she moved. She actually danced here, even. They were best friends, so she's kinda been, like, an aunt to me." We nod.
"That's pretty cool." She smiles at me again. I mentally cheer myself. "So you must be a really good dancer, huh?"
She shrugs. "Well, I wouldn't say I'm the best, but I'm not too bad."
"Well, sorry, but if you wanna be a part of A-troupe, you have to be better than 'not too bad.'" James teases. She laughs.
Miss Kate comes in. "OK. Has everyone met Amanda?" We all nod. "Great. So here's what's going to happen. First, since Amanda is new to the team, she will be an alternate, and Hunter will be an A-troupe member." We all cheer for Hunter, except Emily and Stephanie.
"Second, because there are many new members on the team, we are going to do a duet exercise. Everyone is going to pair up with someone else and choreograph a duet with that person to show the team. The point of this is to learn how to work with each other. Sound easy enough?" We all say yes.
"Great. Oh, and one more thing - each boy has to get with a girl, which means there can only be one group of 2 girls."
"Well, I wonder who that's gonna be," Emily says, smiling at Stephanie.
"OK. Everyone else, go pick your partner."
Obviously, I'm going to ask Amanda. I may be awkward, but I can always rely on my dancing to impress.
As I'm walking over to her, I hear someone yell my name. I look over. Great. The E-Girls. What do they want?
"You're gonna be Giselle's partner," Emily says. Giselle? Why her and not Riley? Wait. Where is Riley?
"Um, actually I was thinking about asking-"
"Well too bad your Giselle's partner," Stephanie says. I look at Giselle.
Sorry. She mouths me. I sigh. There's no way I'm getting out of this.
"OK."
*Thalia's POV*
"Hey, West. You want to be my partner?" I ask. I really hope he says yes. I've always loved his style, and I think mashing our very different styles would be really cool.
"Of course!" He says. This is going to be so fun!
*Hunter's POV*
"Hey, Hunter, do you want to be partners? It'll be just like in Madison," Michelle says sweetly.
"Yes. That sounds like so much fun!" Call me crazy, but I was kind of hoping I could ask Emily. I mean, Michelle's great, but there's something about Emily that makes me want to get to know her. But she's with Stephanie, so I'm happy with Michelle as my partner.
*Noah's POV*
I walk in to studio A and see everyone talking. Wow. I can't believe myself. I was with Richelle in Culture Shock talking about how things were, and I totally lost track of time.
It's OK. I don't think anyone noticed me.
"You're late," says a voice behind me, and I jump out of my skin and turn around to see Riley.
"Heeeeeey, Riley," I say nervously.
"Don't worry. I won't tell Emily."
I exhale sharply. "Thank you so much. So what's going on?"
"We're picking partners for duets."
"Oh." Great. I have to choose a partner. I turn around. Then, I realize something. I turn back around to face Riley. "Hey. So, um, you know....I like pizza," I say awkwardly.
She gives me a weird look. "What kind of pizza?"
"Um, well, pepperoni."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Sometimes, when I was little, I liked to pretend like I was getting married to it, and, um.....Do you want to be my duet partner?" She stares at me. That can't be good.
She smiles. "Sure." Yes.
*Amanda's POV*
I think this duet thing is a great idea, and I already know who I want to ask.
As I'm walking towards him, I see he's already with someone else who I think is one of that blonde girl's friends.
Wow. That hurts. He was being so sweet, too.
Then, I glance over and see James. Well, he seems pretty nice, too. I think he'll be a good partner.
"Hey," I say as I approach him.
"What's up?"
*Eldon's POV*
I look at Amanda and see her talking to James. Oh no. Please don't say they're going to be partners.
What if she starts falling for him?
I should really be her partner. But I'm not.
This is gonna be harder than I thought.
