New Beginnings

Chapter 4-New Boy

Riley's POV

I walk into B studio, chuffed with myself. I see Stephanie and Tiffany, looking really angry, but I like it because I know why.
"OK Ri, I know you're really pleased with yourself and you did really well yesterday, but if you're gonna act like this you really need to keep it up." Em says.
"And what's up with you?" I ask. She rolls her eyes and goes over to Stephanie and Tiffany. Confused, I go over to Chloe and Giselle and start stretching when I hear monkey noises. We look over and see Eldon and another boy his age going up to everyone, pretending to be monkeys. We all laugh apart from Em, Steph and Tiff.
"Who are you?" Stephanie says.
" A monkey!" Eldon shouts.
"Not you idiot, you!"
"That's who I was talking about! Anyway, his name is James. He's my best friend from school and I convinced him to do dance. But don't worry, he's not like this all the time."
"Also, I speak English," James adds.
"Weird," Stephanie mutters. James is already talking to every single girl. He looks about Emily's age.
"HEY!" he shouts to us.
"Hi, you should probably warm up," I say to him.
"I've already done that!" he shouts. We just look away and carry on.
"Alright dancers," Kate says, coming in," today we're going to be pairing up with A troupers and doing duets!" We all look at each other excitedly and she leads us to studio A.
"Who do you wanna be with?" I ask.
"KATE!" Emily shouts, obviously hearing what I had just said.

We enter studio A and see nine dancers, all stretching.
"OK so this is A troupe and A troupe, this is J troupe and this is the Regionals team, plus me of course!" Kate says.
"You're going to Regionals?!" Emily asks, excited. Kate nods and carries on.
"J troupe and A troupe, you can pair up yourselves and...yeah." I see about half of J troupe rush over to Kate and she laughs. I see they all leave apart from Emily. Emily gets to go with the dance captain. Everyone else pairs up apart from me. I'm this room with only one other person. She's in A troupe and se just stares at me.
"Do I really have to go with you?" she asks. She certainly doesn't seem very nice,"uuuggghhh, at least we get studio A." I follow her into the middle, without speaking, she hasn't even told me her name, not have I.
"Splits," she simply says. I slide down into box splits and put my hands up." Great we're warmed up. I'm choosing the song and choreography, got it?" I nod nervously as she puts the music on. She starts pirouetting.
"Cartwheel around me," she says, still turning. I do cartwheels, non stop around her. Thank goodness I had that acro lesson with Giselle yesterday! I then get too dizzy and fall on her. She falls on the ground and glares at me.
"YOU IDIOT YOU'RE SUPPSOSED TO DO IT PROPERLY GO AGAIN!" She starts the music from the beginning and turns. I cartwheel until I've gone round her twice and she stops. She tells me to copy her as she holds her leg in the air and spins. She gets round twice but I only get round once. She then does handstand in straddle, then into the splits, the a backwards roll. I can only just do a backwards roll.
"OK, let's take a break," she says as I follow her into squeezed.
"Can I ask you something," I whisper.
"What?" she says, rather sternly.
"Have I done something wrong, like why you're cross?"
"No, it's just me. Look, my dad and my brother were arrested for robbery and my parents got divorced. I moved here, a new studio but, that really made me change my personality to this so I didn't make any friends. So yeah. You probably won't understand."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. If you're nice I'll let you make some choreography, if you're stuck I'll help you." I smile and go back to studio A with her. We do the routine, for what we had got to so far and the she asks me, "so, what do you want to do?"
"Umm I was thinking maybe..." I say, then do I full plié, step up into a leap and then a straddle jump in the air.
"That's amazing I love it...apart from that...I can't do a straddle jump." she says.
"Why don't I do that and then you do something."
"Actually! Why don't I lift you in the air and then you do straddle." I nod and we do it from the beginning. I really like this routine, first one I've made choreography of!

James's POV

We're watching each other's dances and it's Riley's now, she the last one. Hers is probably my favourite. After wards, I walk out with Eldon but Riley bumps into me and spills juice all down my shirt.
"Sorry!" she says.
"Don't even worry about it," I say.
"What?"
"Don't even worry about it, it's what I like to say." I know my Mom is really going to tell me off but who cares. Riley's a lady.