ℒ𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒪𝓃 𝒯𝒽ℯ 𝒟𝒶𝓃𝒸ℯ ℱ𝓁ℴℴ𝓇 [𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏]

𝟐.𝟎𝟒- 𝐍𝐨 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲

˚✧.⋅₊˚ ‧ 🩰⋅୨୧ ⋅🦢 ‧₊˚ ⋅.✧˚

["Dance To Express, Not Impress"]

Tuesday afternoon, Emily sat in the back seat of her mom's car, staring out the window as the streets of Pittsburgh blurred by. It was just past noon, and they were on their way to the dance studio. Her mom had picked her up early from school, and a bag of McDonald's sat on her lap, the smell of fries and chicken nuggets filling the car. Emily absently reached into the bag, pulling out a fry and popping it into her mouth as she watched the cityscape change.

"You excited for today?" Katie asked from the driver's seat, glancing at her daughter in the rearview mirror.

Emily shrugged, "I guess. I'm just tired. And I'm kinda nervous. The interviews are always awkward."

Katie smiled sympathetically, "I'm sure you'll do great, honey. Just be yourself. And if they feed you lines don't say them."

They pulled into the parking lot of the dance studio, but instead of heading inside, they made their way to a building across the street known as Base Camp. It was where most of the producers had their offices and where the girls would sometimes go for their interviews and other behind-the-scenes work for the show.

As they walked into the building, Emily could see the rest of the girls and their moms gathered around a large circular table. The table was cluttered with coloring books, markers, and sheets of paper filled with doodles and bubble letters.

"Hey, Em!" Paige called out as Emily and her mom approached.

Emily waved and set her McDonald's bag on the table, "Hey, everyone." She plopped down in an empty chair between Nia and Paige, and immediately grabbed a blank sheet of paper and some markers, "What are you guys doing?"

"Just coloring," Nia said, showing her the page she was working on. "We're writing our names in bubble letters. It's kind of relaxing."

Emily nodded, picking up a blue marker and starting to draw. She began outlining her name in big, loopy letters. As she worked, she glanced over at Paige, noticing the empty chair next to her, "Is Brooke still gone for cheerleading?"

Paige sighed and nodded, her brows furrowing in frustration, "Yeah, she's still not allowed to come back to dance because of her deal with the producers. It's so dumb. She misses dance, but they're making her stay away for drama or whatever."

Emily frowned, feeling a pang of sympathy for Brooke. She hated the fact that the producers were making drama with Brooke for the sake of television. She should've just been allowed to go to that football game and shouldn't have had to make a deal, "That sucks. I hope she can come back soon."

"Me too," Chloé agreed, her voice heavy with disappointment.

The girls continued to chat and color, their conversation drifting from school gossip to upcoming dance competitions and everything in between. Emily passed around her bag of McDonald's, sharing her fries and nuggets with the others. The smell of the food made her realize just how hungry she was, and she quickly snatched up a few more fries before they were all gone.

"Hey, save some for me!" Maddie protested with a grin, reaching over to grab a nugget.

Emily laughed and handed her the bag, "Sorry! I didn't have breakfast."

Emily normally didn't have breakfast though. If she did it was school breakfast.

As they ate and colored, the girls began pulling out their homework, reluctantly turning their attention to math problems and history essays. Emily took out her math workbook, flipping to the page with her unfinished problems. She sighed, leaning over the table and starting to work on her equations.