the next step ; corrected.

two - richelle.

'It will make me better' I tell myself, looking at the pill I was fiddling with in my hand.

The pill was a steroid. But it will make me better. I throw up after taking too many. But it will make me better. I cry and cry thinking about how awful I am. But it will make me better.

I hope the steroids aren't making me fat. I hope they aren't like the kalteen bars regina eats in mean girls. Sure, there are side effects but - it's nothing unbearable.
Homework's pointless for me. I can only justify that by being a good dancer; if I'm good enough, I won't need pointless subjects like geography and languages. However, I have to graduate and not fail my classes. I wouldn't be able to I don't think without my friends Noah and Camille who help me get through classes.

They don't know about me being on steroids though. They just think I'm super dumb, feel bad for me and teach me all of the stuff that I didn't do for homework or didn't pay attention to. You see, my mind is constantly focused on dance - All I do is think about it & how I can improve.

Being at the next step and being 12 is hard. You're too young for b-troupe and a-troupe so you're stuck with all the other people your age. Which
is fine, but the real stars are better than people older than them. In my eyes, age is just a number when it comes to dance.

I hope to move up to a-troupe when Miss Kate allows me, she will see that I work harder than anyone else in j-troupe. She will see the dedication, the long hours I spend at the next step, the homeworks I miss to be here, the things I do to constantly prove myself.

This morning, A few of us were preparing a routine for a local competition and Miss Kate pulled me aside in rehearsal. I was worried about what she was going to say as usual.

"Hi Miss Kate" I sat down in the chair opposite her, trying to look as authorative as possible.

"Are you okay Richelle?" Miss Kate asked. I wasn't sure what she was implying. I thought the way I had come into the room and sat down was perfectly reasonsble.

"I'm great thanks, why?" I replied. I tried to smile but didn't show my teeth, it just looks awkward when I do that.

"Richelle, I have known you since you were tiny - what's wrong" Was my dancing really that bad? Has all of the extra hours at the studio made me...worse?

"Nothings wrong Kate, I uh..." I stuttered, considering what to say next. "Am I improving? In dance?" I wanted to know so badly. If my training paid off.

"Of course. Everyone is constantly improving. Please don't feel like this is a competition Richelle" Miss Kate went on.
"Even at the highest level, dancers still works as a team - you understand right?"

"Team work makes the dream work" I shrugged, I could hear my voice cracking, on the verge of crying.

I got up and left the office, heading straight to the girls bathroom. Where I took out a pot of steroids, that someone at school was dealing for all of the atheletes. Being practically the smallest year in the school, I got this dude to drop off my pills at my locker where he would find a payment in cash. I have no clue who he was, but the fact that he was so willing to give someone steroids should have disturbed me.

So there I was, at the mere age of twelve contemplating whether to take my first steroid. How I wished Camille would have walked in and stopped what I was doing right away, but she didn't. No one was there to see me do it. I put the pill near my lips. It smelt of chemicals that shouldn't really be digested into the body. I close my eyes, my hands trembled as the pill touched my lips. I think I felt a tear roll down my cheek although I didn't bother wiping it away, as I put the pill in my mouth. I stared into the mirror above the tap.

Soon enough, this weak excuse of a dancer would become something different. Something worth looking at. Someone that Kate won't have to pull aside from dance class to check whether she's okay.

"It will make me better" I said to my reflection.

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Thank you guys for reading! A huge thanks to @backstage_confessions on instagram for coming up with the idea for richelle's storyline, although I altered the context a little.
There are still many characters that are available for readers to write a plot line for;
- Michelle
- West
- Hunter
- Amanda
- Eldon
- Thalia
If you wish to get in touch with me about the book or are interested in writing a chapter, please send me a wattpad message or instagram direct (@tns.edit)
I would really appreciate any enquiries but please note that Riley has been requested by several people and in fact already has an author, so i would ask for no more storylines entitling Riley

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