Lily's POV:
"You heard what?" Kenzie and I were the first ones in the studio and had taken the few quiet moments to talk. I could not believe what she was telling me.
She gestured as though she was telling me to keep my volume down, not that anyone was here.
"I said, it sounded like she was moving over to B-troupe." Richelle- going to B-troupe. It wasn't possible. Not when we had a tour to rehearse for. Not when she had already left A-troupe in the dust before.
"Do you think Emily will allow it?" I asked.
"I don't know, but apparently the dates work in such a way that-"
"What dates work?" Henry, Finn and Piper all walked in. I think they had heard us.
"We were just talking about the tour dates," Kenzie casually brushed them off quicker than I could. We simultaneously began to stretch; the three of them joining in as well.
"Anyways," Kenzie continued, whispering this time. "Nationals takes place two weeks before the tour so Richelle can go to Nationals and then come back and learn all the choreo for the tour."
"Richelle can what?" We both glanced up at Piper who, even though she was standing above us, still managed to over here our conversation. She quickly sat in a butterfly pose, leaning in to hear our conversation.
Kenzie and I exchanged quick looks.
"Richelle might be thinking of going to B-troupe." I tried to stop my jaw from dropping. When I looked at her, I thought I was specifically saying: do not tell Piper what we were actually talking about.
"Excuse me?" Piper looked just as shocked as I was when Kenzie first told me. There was no way Richelle would actually leave A-troupe. Even if the timing was perfectly convenient.
Kenzie fiddled with her nails. "Thinking about it, we probably heard wrong." I didn't hear anything, but if she wanted to drag my name into this, so be it.
"What did you hear wrong." Henry literally slid into our conversation, spinning in on the floor before securing his position. Finn joined as well. I swear everyone on this team is addicted to gossip.
Kenzie let out a sigh of defeat. "Do not tell anyone because I don't even know if this is true but...."
***
Somehow, a story that started between just me and Kenzie was now the hot topic of the troupe. Phrases like: Richelle would never move down a troupe and that doesn't sound like Richelle had now become common sayings of the rehearsal. But our beliefs were being proved wrong because guess who hadn't turned up to rehearsal today? Richelle.
"Hey, Jones," Ozzy called. "Do you know why Richelle isn't in today?"
It seemed reasonable to ask him as everyone noticed that they had been hanging out more often. Well, more like he trailed after her because she was the only person on the team who hadn't hated him at some point. I still couldn't tell whether Ozzy was bitter over it or maybe he had finally given up.
He had a smug grin. "No, haven't seen her since yesterday." Same as everyone else.
"If she doesn't leave A-troupe, are we going to need a new dancer?" Summer asked.
Kenzie answered, "No, Nationals takes place two weeks before our tour."
"That's not a lot of time to pick up the choreo," Ozzy pointed out.
"Yeah, but Richelle can pick up choreo in, like, two minutes," Amy said. A few people hummed in agreement.
"And if B-troupe wins, will she stay for internationals? Then we have two weeks to find someone to fill in for her," Henry said. A few people started to state their opinions and eventually it turned into a ruckus; you couldn't hear one single voice.
"Why are you laughing?" Finn directed his question towards Jones who was sitting on one of the benches with a wide smile on his face. He must find us very entertaining.
"Why does it matter?" Jones asked. We all waited for him to expand.
"How about we actually rehearse and stop caring what other people are doing with their lives." He got up and walked to the front of the studio.
"What dance do you guys want to go over..." No one answered his question. We were too distracted by who walked in.
"Richelle!" We all cried out in unison. Some of us saying it as though it was more of a question. She seemed to be looking at Kenzie, who, to be fair, was the whole reason the team was so distracted.
"Hi, guys. Richelle has something she wants to say." Michelle walked in behind her. She tapped her shoulder encouragingly.
Richelle took in a deep breath. "I will be leaving A-troupe, temporarily, in order to compete with B-troupe."
A/N: Consider this your midseason finale. Except you won't have to wait three months for the next part.
Question: do you want the next part to take place right after this one or should I format it like the actual episodes. E.g. we get a small time skip and we learn what happens regarding this cliff hanger through a monologue (like talking heads.)