You Had Me At Hello

Prologue

Zendaya’s POV

I throw my duffle bag in the living room, and sit on the couch after a long day on set. Thank goodness, today was the last day of shooting for season four. Of course I love filming Shake It Up, it’s pretty much my entire life, but I need to rest. So now that we are done filming, I finally get a break. From filming of course, I still have school, until summer. I slowly close my eyes, when I hear my mom calling from the kitchen.

“Daya, honey, can you come to the kitchen for a second?”

I sigh deeply, but I make my way to the kitchen, where I see my mom standing there with a great big smile on her face. I raise my eyebrow, and tilt my head to the side,

“Uh, mom…what’s going on?”

She pats a chair next to her at the countertop. So many thoughts go in my mind; I am so oblivious to what is going on with my mom. I face her and shrug my shoulder,

“Okay mom, tell me what’s up?”

She sighs, “So—how was your last day of work?”

I groan, “Mom, you know I hate when you call it work. Why don’t you just say ‘How was your last day of filming?’  Because that’s what it is.”

My mom laughs, “Well that’s what it is—it’s your job Daya.”

I nod my head, “I guess, anyways, why’d you call me in here for? Am I in trouble? Did I forget to do something? Or do you have a surprise for me? Oh, what is it!”

My mom waves her hands in front her face as she laughing harder, “Enough with the questions Daya, calm down. You’re not in trouble—you rarely get in trouble. But I do have a surprise; I just got off the phone with, Renana Barkan, and she really wants you to be on here show, and I agree with her.”

My eyes widen, “Show? Mom I just finished filming one show, now you want me to be on another? C’mon I need a break. What is the show anyway? A drama? A sitcom? “

My mom shakes her head, “Nope, Dancing with the Stars. This way you can be yourself, but do what you love!”

I think for a second, “Mom, that sounds like so much fun, but I feel the contestants and viewers will hate me because I already dance, even though it’s ballroom dancing and I’m a hip-hop dancer.”

I stand up, “I would love to do it, but I don’t think I could handle the hate.”

My mom embraces me, “Sweetie, I think this will be a great experience for you. And besides, it’s like I always say, ‘opinions are like assholes, everyone has them, and they stink!’ But that shouldn’t get in the way of experiencing something new!”

I smile, “You’re right I guess I’ll do it!”

My mom smiles, “Alright, you’ll meet your new dancing partner in 2 weeks. I bet you’re going to have some much fun Daya, I think this will be more than just a completion show for you—I think this will become so much more for you.”