Mountain

1.19

"No, I don't."

"Okay, let me prove it to you. Riley showed you the cards?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Tell me the angle." I showed him a drawing of a right angle triangle.

"I don't know. 92? I have no idea."

"This is a right angle triangle. It has..."

"90 degrees." He finished my sentence.

"Exactly. So how many degrees left over to make the other two?"

"45 degrees."

"Exactly. You just figured it out."

"Okay, but that's one question. There's gonna be like 50 on the test. 1 out of 50, what is that? Like 2 percent."

"Yeah. You just answered another maths question."

I do think James will pass his exam. He just has to believe in himself.

I went through more cards with him and he answered everything right. "You know it, James. I told you this."

"I hope you're right."

"I'm always right. High five." I put my hand up to him.

"High five?"

"High five." I nodded.

He grabbed my body and pulled me in for a hug. And I hugged him back. I really missed him.

"Thank you." He said.

"You're welcome."

He just got every single question right that I asked him, so he's clearly capable of doing this.

James: she believes in me when no one else does. It feels like everything is possible with Isabel.

I let go of him and put my bag down on the floor. "Follow me, okay?"

I started dancing the dance in order to make him dance with me. "Izzy, what are you doing?" He asked me.

"I'm dancing."

"There's nothing to see. Hit the road." He said, I guess to people who looked at me.

I begin dancing because for so long I always been the one who stressed out about everything and now James is stressed out about his maths and I need to show him how to let loos.

"Come on, James. Just learn the choreography. You can do this."

"In front of the school?" He asked embarrassed.

"Do it for me."

"Okay, well, I don't know it."

"Let me teach you."

"Slowly."

"Fine."

He put his bag down and began to do the dance with me, slowly.

The next day Kate Chris and I informed A troupe who's gonna join because it felt fair to let them know first.

"We talked a lot there were a lot of talented dancers. And the two people who's gonna move up to A troupe are—" Chris topped talking when we saw Stephanie walked inside the studio.

"Hi." She said quietly. "Are there still auditions for A troupe?"

"No. They finished." Kate said.

"Do you guys think you can make an exemption? Do you think I could audition?"

When Stephanie asking us to audition, practically begging, two things are going through my head. One, she's a traitor. She's been a horrible friend to me and she's been a horrible person to everyone. And two, she just lost her best friend, and she is a good dancer. And she was my friend before.

Riley went and sat with Stephanie while the whole group discussed if she can join our team again.

"Stephanie, the way you handled yourself was completely inappropriate." Kate said.

"Because of your actions you're gonna be auditioning like everybody else."

"Okay. I just have no clothes."

"You can dance like that." I said to her.

I played the music but I gave her one second before I stopped the music. "Stop." I said to her.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Her voice cracked and she turned around.

"Stop." I told her again.

She turned around to face us and I walked over to her. "We know you can dance." I stared at her for a moment. "That's why we need you at A troupe."

She let out a breath and then hugged me tight and started crying. "Thank you, Izzy." She whispered and then looked at the rest of the team. "I'm really sorry, you guys."

Everyone hugged her and welcomed her back.

I smiled at her and she hugged me again. "I'm so sorry, Izzy. You have no idea—"

"Forget it, okay? I'm just happy you're back."