Too Young

3

Riley

I've never been one for the limelight, I've never been one for any ounce of attention because I know how quickly one ounce of attention can turn negative
and I'm not prepared to go through that again 
Yet here I am in Studio A waiting for the rest of A-Troupe to arrive

The first to step foot into the Studio was Eldon and the moment he saw me, he smiled before making his way over 
"Hey there little lady" He teased making me smile as he took a seat next to me
"I heard you made it" He smiled tapping my shoulder making me smile 
I nodded before lightly looking down, I still wasn't sure if this was the right choice for me to make, I didn't know how this was meant to play out 

"What are you thinking?" He asked making me look up
"what if i'm not good enough for this place" I sighed making Eldon copy my motions
"Riley, the next step isn't just about being good enough. Which by the way you are" he said
"It's also about working as a team, it's about keeping our weakest link as strong as possible" He said making me furrow my brows
"I'm the weakest link?" I asked making Eldon frantically shake his head

"look Riles, every single one of us have our flaws. How we use them is the key" he explained making me scoff
"I doubt everyone has flaws" I said making Eldon raise his brows

"I can't seem to master the head spin that Hunter does, in fact I'm not totally in touch with the whole break dancing style" He explained
"James has never once had a successful Duet" He said 
"West is not one for Ballet, his whole technique misses a big key part" He continued
"Hunter also lacks in his technique" Eldon said 

"Then the girls, Michelle is very into using her hair and her sass but when it comes down to the knitty gritty like I don't know, contemporary, it isn't her key element but shes working on it" He continued
"Chloe makes up in Ballet what she lacks in Hip Hop" He continued 
"Amanda can't do acro" He continued
"Thalia lacks partner work, she can try and she'll succeed occasionally but it is not a strong suit 
"and Em? Emily sticks to the same choreo because she isn't as confident in anything else. Now she's come a long way in the last year but still lacks a lot" He finished making me look down agani

"So Riley, you aren't alone here" He explained
"You have your flaws, we all do but you need to attempt to use them to your advantage" Eldon said making me look up at him
"No matter what, you have this team to rely on. We are here for you rain or shine" He smiled

Before I could say anything else, the rest of A-Troupe walked in making Eldon's gaze shift to them not before he shot me a glance with a sincere smile 
Maybe he was right? I hope he was at least 

--

Practice ended and it's safe to say it went smoothly, Emily attempted to get me to hang around but honestly I needed a breath
"Hey" A voice said running up to me as I walked home, I slowed down noticing James catching up
"Hey" I replied as he finally stood safely by my side

"Well done in practice today, you picked everything up so well" James said giving me a small smile
"Really? I felt like I was 20 steps behind everyone" I said making James chuckled again
"Nah, that's just Emily's reign. You'll get used to it" He said making me laugh lightly
"Get used to it? I've been doing that for the last 16 years" I said making him nod with a light chuckle
"Yeah good point" He said fixing his bag to stop it falling from his shoulder

"How about this" He said making me look at him confused
"Starting tomorrow" He started only peaking my curiosity 
"Every Tuesday, we'll stay behind later and I'll help you with it all" He offered 

I smiled widely too myself before glancing back at James
"You would do that?" I asked and he happily nodded
"Of course I would Riley so what do you say?" He asked nudging me lightly 

"I'd like that" I smiled 
I can't help but think that this could be the start to something great