The Next Step: Season 7 Rewrite

Chapter 9: The Goodbye Girl

Richelle:

I'm waiting outside of studio a with Summer. Nick lists out all of the dancers, and I can hear the confusion when he says Summer's name instead of mine. Before the team can cause too much of a ruckus, I nod to Summer, indicating that we should go in.

Amy:

I can't believe Richelle's name isn't on the list. What's happening. And why's Summer on the list? Isn't she dancing with b troupe right now? Where is Richelle anyways?

Oh speak of the devil. There they... both are? Since when were Richelle and Summer friendly towards each other? This is really confusing.

"So, as you can probably tell by now, I won't be competing at Dancemania. I won't even be competing at nationals."

Richelle? Not competing? This is really strange. Did something happen while I was gone?

Richelle:

This is it. Time to announce it.

"I'm going to be joining Noah." I tell them. There are audible whispers and gasps around the room, so I wait for them to quiet down.

"Since Noah, the idiot he is, decided to submit our two regionals duets for his audition, the company found me and wanted me to join too. I was planning to accept the offer maybe after nationals, but since you guys are competing at Dancemania, I'm going to take his offer. I'll be dancing with them next week."

There's more talking and whispering. I can't tell if the team's judging me, or if they're happy or shocked. But I'm glad I finally told them. They seem to talk for forever, so I shush them.

"Summer over here will be taking my place. I trust her to do the best she can. She might not have had a good audition, but there's a reason she was a front row dancer at regionals. I've already talked to Cleo, and she would rather compete at nationals, so I gave the opportunity to Summer.

Summer:

I know that a troupe might not accept me as one of them yet. I haven't been here for a while, and things have changed. I know Lily's joined, and so has Heathcliff.

I just hope I get to dance with them. When Richelle asked me if I wanted to compete on Dancemania, I immediately thought of rejoining the a troupe family. Plus, I didn't want them to be left in a pinch if Richelle wasn't there to compete with them.

Piper:

I should've known Richelle would take the opportunity to join Noah after the Dancemania offer. I don't mind that she's leaving. Of course, I'm going to miss her so much, but she's needed elsewhere, and I'm okay with that. She's done so much for the team, so I'm happy that she's finally doing something for herself. I'm going to have to plan a leaving party for her though. It's only right, as we did that for Michelle and Noah too. I whisper that to Amy, and she agrees. I would've told Finn too, but I'd honestly prefer to keep ignoring him until my feelings go away.

I look around at a troupe, and they all share the same look. They're all okay with Richelle leaving. Even Ozzy, surprisingly. I guess he really does love her if he's willing to let her go.

Emily:

I can't believe Richelle's leaving. She's my last link to the previous next step. Everyone's gone now. Noah, Michelle, Riley. They've all moved on to do better things. Of course, I'm mad at her for not telling me, but I can't blame her. Since she was overlooked last season by Michelle and I, we haven't talked properly since.

I look at her now, and she's still the sassy little j trouper who's always determined to get what she wants. But she's also so much more mature. I'm going to miss her so much, but I'm delighted that she got the opportunity to dance at a prestigious company, like she deserves.