𝑯𝑨𝑵𝑮𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑺 ♥︎ 𝑶𝒓𝒍𝒂 𝑻𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒐𝒓 (The Next Step)

𝑺𝑬𝑹𝑰𝑬𝑺 𝑭𝑶𝑼𝑹 ♥︎ 8

Orla had called James at the airport and right before the flight, and he had called her as soon as they landed in England, then again at the hotel, and again after they had been to the Bangers and Mash-Ups stage, which was apparently amazing.

But this all vanished straight from Orla's mind as she rehearsed the trio for the Regionals qualifier the next morning.

"Alright, let's go again, from the same spots," she said tersely. "Five, six, seven, eig-"

"Hey, can we go a bit slower, Orla?"

See, this was the problem. Piper and Richelle were picking up the choreo, learning fast, and doing it well.

Noah, however, was not.

It wasn't like he wasn't good enough, oh no, it was more like he... wasn't willing to try?

It had been like this for a few days. Noah would get home, go straight to his room, act weirdly at mealtimes, and just wasn't acting like himself. Orla knew her brother, and this wasn't him.

So she said. "That's the tempo, Noah," and moved on. "Five, six, seven, eight..."

And then Noah started marking it.

"Full out, Noah," Orla said quite loudly.

But he kept doing it.

"Full out, Noah!" She yelled sharply, getting quite irritated with her brother at this point.

So she said. "Stop, stop, stop there. Um... Piper and Richelle, that was amazing, you're getting good. Noah, can I speak to you in my office?"

My office. Gee, that still felt weird.

But now wasn't the time for sentiment as she led her slightly dazed, very nervous brother to the office.

He tried his luck when they got in, saying. "So, um, is everything okay?"

"I think you know fine well everything's not okay," Orla fought to keep her voice straight. "Look, Noah, I can see that you're struggling up there, so I'm giving you a chance to tell me what's going on."

Her brother's eyes widened slightly and he said. "I'm just saving my energy for the qualifier."

Orla tried not to scoff. She had heard that one before.

"Listen," she said, more forcefully than she meant to. "You need to get your head in the game, Noah, because if you continue marking in rehearsals, then I swear to God, Noah Ashley Taylor, I don't care if we're related or not, I will kick you off the trio as fast as you can say 'saving my energy', so I need to know, right here and right now, if I can depend on you."

She and her brother stood at the same height now, thanks to a recent growth spurt, so it was less effective when she yelled at him. But that didn't stop her.

Noah nodded immediately. "Of course, I won't let you down, I promise."

Orla just nodded. "I hope so."

And then, as he left, Orla noticed Skylar, lurking behind the office door.

"Come out, come out," she said in a sing song, irritated voice.

Skylar smiled. "You got a minute?"

"No, but go ahead," Orla spoke honestly.

Skylar then admitted slyly. "I saw what happened with the trio. Did you bring Noah in here to ask him why he was marking through the choreo?"