→ chapter uno
Celebrity Aurelia Ellery was spotted today at 10.14 leaving Stars of Ohio, her dance studio, with a full suitcase along with her post-fame mother, Idella Ellery. The pair was seen climbing into a red Porsche and driving away. We managed to sneak an interview with her dance teacher, Ms Crystal, and two of her best friends, Olivia Greenhill and Harper Hallow.
"Aurelia is a pleasure to work with," Ms Crystal, her dance teacher and owner of Stars of Ohio, told us. "And always has something new to add to every dance. Her style is so unique and flows well with everyone else's; like the secret ingredient in a long-lost family recipe. She truly is a wonderful dancer."
Ellery is a well known dancer not just in the dancing community but worldwide. After she announced a couple of years back her departure from her music and acting career, Aurelia Ellery seems to have withdrawn from the limelight her siblings shed on her and improved her technique in dance.
Miss Harper Hallow, aged 14 and best friend and fellow dancer of Ellery, said, "everyone at our studio knows how much she used to struggle with all her fame, but she is always positive and thoughtful and seems willing to do whatever it takes to keep her friends happy. I am forever grateful to have Lia as my bestie!"
When we asked where Ellery was destined to go after getting in the car with all her bags, Miss Olivia Greenhill was happy to supply us with information: "every four months Lia goes back to LA to be with her family, and since it it her birthday in about a month she wants to go celebrate it with them. While we miss her here in Ohio, we always know how important her family is to her and that she's happy. Although, funnily enough she always comes back better at dancing than when she left."
With Aurelia's continuous improvement in her dancing career, many are wondering how long it will take before Ellery begins focusing on other careers, as she has already indulged in modelling and commercials through the dance aspect — still slightly different to her sister. What do you think about her possible future careers? What could be the secret to her dancing talent? And what do you think she gets up to back in LA?
Tune in for more later today at ElleryNews.com and check out our latest on all the Ellery Siblings.
•••
"Shoulders down," says Ms Crystal, her hands resting tentatively on them as I finish fourteen pirouettes perfectly, landing in fifth. "And chin up. You won't score anything if you're staring down at the floor the entire time like an amateur."
Ms Crystal's gold, piercing eyes always seem to spot the tiniest flaw; my tense shoulders are barely noticeable from close up, much less so in the eyes of a judge some distance away behind stage.
I bring my shoulders dramatically down just to show that I heard my criticism. The door opens and both of our heads snaps towards the sound. Harper, still clad in her yoga pants and crop top calls out, "Lia, your mother's here! And a whole load of cameras as well..." she trails off, grinning widely at me. I shake my head at her as we laugh silently and make my way towards the dressing room.
Olivia is waiting for us there, one hand holding my suitcase and the other a crutch, and her eyes are downcast as she talks to a boy. Olivia has always been very self-conscious around other people who weren't her friends, especially with boys. I unlace my pointe shoes and pack them away into my dance bag.
"I'm going to miss all of you so much!" I say, hugging them both. I won't be seeing either of them for a few weeks. The boy beside Olivia coughs nervously.
"Sorry," he says, moving to shuffle out the room. He laces a hand through his brown hair as he does so and I watch it swish.
Olivia doesn't look too pleased as he leaves, her only form of company gone. "Wait, Josue!" she calls out but he's already left.
Harper grins apologetically and then squeals. "I bet you half my sweet stash that I'm going to miss you way more." She gives me her hand, displaying her friendship ring on her little finger and Olivia and I show ours as well. They chink together unceremoniously as a token of our friendship.
"On the bright side," chimes Olivia. "At least there's only one week left of this cast to go, and by the time you come back we'll all be able to dance together again."
I give them one last hug before I take my suitcase from Olivia's hands and walk to the door. Even through the tinted glass I can see cameras waiting in anticipation to click.
"Wish me luck!" I shout over my shoulder before opening the door wide onto the onslaught of paparazzi.
My mother stands beside the red Porsche, smiling and waving at everyone. She gives me a brief kiss on the head as a way of greeting. I throw my bags in the back and then hop in.
"How's it been so far?" She asks as we pull out of the car park. I watch the buildings of Ohio whizz past.
"Amazing," I reply. "I can't wait until December to go back though; Ms Crystal is so good! How's everyone else?"
My mom reaches into the glove box and pulls out an apple, munching on it while we pull onto a motorway. She sighs and smiles. "They all missed you of course. Eben has just got back from tour, Hiram is training for who-knows-what, and Finnie has just flown to Australia for some fashion movie. She might not be back in time for your birthday, though, so don't expect too much."
Our conversations continue about home - mainly about Eben and whatever mishaps he managed to accomplish on stage, making his fans and his TV show love him more. However, my mother doesn't seem to be completely with it, constantly throwing guilty glances out the window when she thinks I'm not looking.
An hour in I ask quietly, "What's wrong Mom?" Her eyes widen immediately as if she'd been caught doing something wrong.
"Well...I have some good news and some bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
I don't give it a second thought. "You know me, good news always first."
She smiles, part of her makeup cracking around her wrinkled eyes. "Okay, so you know your brother's TV show?"
I pause, eyes furrowing. I don't know where this is going. "Yes, you mean Life of Eben Ellery?" To be honest, when I first heard the name of his TV show I thought it was the least-original name ever, but I don't really care anymore.
She nods her head. "Well, they caught wind that you were coming back to LA and so... they've decided to extend their offer to you."
It takes me a moment to process. I shift in my seat to see her face better. "Wait, you mean to say that they now want me to be on it? Mom you know—"
My mom shakes her head and smiles. Her stellar grin reflects on her years as a professional. "I know dear, and that's supposed to be the good news."
I sigh; things were just starting to get good with my dancing and now I might not have as much of a chance anymore to do the one thing I love the most. "And what's the bad news?"
"The bad news is," my mother trails off slowly, contemplating whether it's really worth telling me. "You're not going back to Ohio."
My mouth drops open in disbelief. I might never be able to meet up with Harper again or receive helpful criticism from Ms Crystal or actually see Olivia dancing without her crutch. I just don't understand why; I was happy in Ohio. There was nothing wrong with it at all.
My mother tries to justify her choices, and the words gush out her mouth, "I received a call from another competition team that is very prestigious and could help boost your image, and I checked with your manager. We both think this could help you get back into your career."
I get many offers from tons of different teams every day. How is this one special? "Mom! You know I don't want to go back into all that business about careers. I'm only thirteen—"
"—You'll be fourteen in less than a fortnight—" She interrupts.
"—Which isn't the point—" I try to argue back but she cuts me off again.
"—The point, Aurelia is that you are going to be fourteen soon. As a teenager you need to step it up a bit and not hide like you have been doing so for the past few years." Her words are final and I know no matter what I do I can't get out of this.
"Fine," I lean back in my seat. "But if I don't like it by the third week — by my birthday — then I will decide whether I will actually stay."
My mother rolls her eyes. "You know contracts always have a six week minimum." I do, but it was worth a try.
"What is it called and when do I start?" I say, defeatedly. I'm only half listening as I scroll through instagram.
"The ALDC, search them up. You start on Monday, so in two days." We don't talk much after that.
AureliaEllery
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AureliaEllery just a little road trip🚙🌆 Guess where I'm headed to!! 📸 marksingerman
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Username1 my house hopefully
Username2 ugh such a stunner💕💕
EbenEllery i thought I could get away with not seeing your face for just a little longer
Username3 ooh LA!
Username4 something tells me we're about to get an Ellery Reunion!! So pumped!
[AureliaEllery liked this comment]
FinnieME love ya sis
→AureliaEllery @EbenEllery @FinnieME stawp i love you too but y'all give it away
Username3 a good sibling love ay
Username5 I spy facetune and photoshop
•••
The Lifetime producers weren't evil, they just wanted to make money. Lots of it. Who didn't, though?
As they received the confirmation email from the Ellery's manager, they loudly plotted each and every way they would break the newcomer.
Their only problem would be if the Ellery girl didn't actually like all the others, but as far as they were concerned, teenagers were more predictable than others often assumed. But Aurelia Ellery certainly wasn't predictable.
[Wow so this has a but of a weird undertone for some reason, but I'm definitely changing up the format and plot a bit. If anyone wants to know about any improvements that I'm definitely going to be making or want to point out something really annoying from the old version, feel free to ask or tell me here and I will respond.
Do y'all like this new format. Also don't get too comfortable with this recent update cos there is no guarantee lol.
Exams are this week, so if I get bad grades then we all know why!
Remember to vote and comment! Thanks for reading!
-aldc_beauts-]