It won't keep us apart

Chapter 14: Back to business

Emily's POV

I lean over the counter to hand a shake to a customer.

"Have a good day!" I say, and they nod in response.

I rub my hands together. Now, what did I need to do next?

Craning my head around to look for Michelle, I make out a distinct shape of her. Towels in hand, wiping the surface of the high table. I still wonder how we ended up working together. No longer against each other, but united as one.

"Hey Michelle, do you remember what I'm supposed to be doing now?"

She stops wiping the table and gives me an amused smile. "Funnily enough, I don't even know Em."

I bring my hand to my forehead. "Ugh. Mental blanks have to happen at the wrong time."

"You could go clear up the tables for me to clean? It makes my job easier," Michelle suggests, waving her hand in the direction of several plate cluttered tables.

"Fine," I groan, rolling my eyes.

I walk over to the other end of Shakes and Ladders to clear up the cups and plates. After carefully stacking them together, I lift the pile up and cradle it with both of my arms. It's quite a lot to carry, but I can manage.

Holding the pile in my arms, I weave my way out through the tables towards the kitchen in the back.

"How am I going to put this in without dropping anything?" I sigh as I push the door open.

I lean over the sink to gently place the pile inside. I hastily grab a plate one by one to rinse off before putting it into the dishwasher. Then I handle the cups and stack them with the dishes.

Shaking the water off my hands, I quickly wipe them with a hand towel.

Done.

I reach out to the door and pull it open.

Miss Kate's there?!

She didn't tell us that she was going to meet us. Or did Michelle forget to tell me? What's going on?

She appears to be in a serious conversation with Michelle. Michelle meets my eyes. Miss Kate turns around.

"I know you're closing for the day soon, but there's something that I need to talk about with both of you."

Jacquie's POV
We're waiting for news from Miss Kate about our new studio head.

Lily recently joined us after her mother's departure, and she seems less uptight without her mother around. I mean, she's making an effort to talk even though I can tell some of us are still reluctant to. After all, she knew of her mother's plans and didn't do or say anything against it.

Everyone is scattered across the room in their own groups except for Richelle and Noah. It seems like Noah's brooding over someone in particular... 

Whereas that someone is heading towards me now. 

Richelle reaches to where I'm sitting. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"No, no, it's okay. You can sit here," and I shuffle over to make room for her on the bench.

I carefully examine her face as she sits down beside me. There's something bothering her under her mask. I can see that she's trying to keep it discreet, but it's not completely hidden from everyone. We're not exactly friends yet, but I reckon she needs a friend right now. I'll be that friend for her.

I'm not sure what to ask her just in case I accidentally hurt her feelings.

"How are you Richelle?" I hesitantly ask.

She brings her eyes up from the floor. "I just don't want to deal with this drama that Noah is still going on about. It irritates me that he can't get past the fact that I helped the team – I even had to betray the team for our sake. I can tell he's still not happy about it."

I briefly look over to Noah, who's still moody, and sigh. "He hasn't been himself lately because..." I pause.

"I know it's because of me. It seems pretty clear to me that we're not going to be talking anytime soon," she finishes.

"Hey everybody, look who's back!" Kingston exclaims as several other dancers get up off the floor after him.

Richelle and I share a puzzled look. 

"Looks like we've got a visitor," I say grimly.

I bring myself up onto my feet and head towards the direction of our visitor.

"Visitors more like," Richelle whispers to me, and I see what she means.

Two familiar faces.

Both with short blonde hair.

Both wearing the same clothes.

Emily and Michelle are here!

Most of A-Troupe greet them enthusiastically. The others don't really know who they are, but they'll eventually warm up to them.

After our greetings, Michelle and Emily stand before us, ready to talk.

"As most of you know, we're Emily and Michelle, and we would like to announce that we have been officially reinstated as co-studio heads of The Next Step!" Emily announces.

We cheer and clap for them. I'm glad they are back as our studio heads. I know they'll always do a good job of running the studio.

As the cheering and clapping fades, Michelle simply says, "Well, let's get back to business!"

A/N: Took me a while to write this, and I finally got it done right before I published it today. I'm slowly building up Jacquie and Richelle's friendship in my story because I loved how they ended up becoming friends in Season 6 after all the rivalry they had.

With Emily and Michelle back as studio heads, A-Troupe finally is able to move forward. 

There's still a few things to be sorted, but how will it affect the team?