Back To The Next Step

Blindfold!

*Sorry for any mistakes*

Richelle's pov
Internationals is flying by! We passed the next round, Thalia had to join a group with other people from different countries and they made up their own dance. It was pretty impressive to be honest. Who knew she was fluent in Polish? There was a Polish guy in the team, I'm sure his name begins with 'B'! Whoever he was, I think Eldon was a tad bit jealous of him. I can kind of see where he's coming from though. If Noah spent the day talking with another girl in another language that I didn't understand, I'd probably feel a bit uneasy.

But, that's not what I'm worrying about right now. Instead, I'm worrying about Noah and the rest of the group dance. Because we're at Internationals, they decided to put a twist on this dance by making the dancers dance blindfolded. Blindfolded! This is so unsafe! What if there's a ballerina who falls on her pointe shoes and breaks her ankle? Or an acrobatic dancer who flips and land badly because they can't see? That could be Noah, or West, or James! Thalia and Emily aren't acro dancers, but Thalia can do an aerial. What if her foot slips? Then what? She'll be carried offstage clutching her foot and crying in pain? That's horrible! The only safe thing is that no one will fall offstage. Overall, this isn't fair.

"Good luck Noah," I whisper to him as the other team struts offstage after having an amazing performance. He's normally the one that's scared for me. Now, I'm genuinely worried about him.

"Richelle, I'm sure it'll be fine," he reassures me, giving me a small smile as he cups my cheeks. But I'm not so sure.

"Look, I don't want to throw you off your game, but please, be safe," I tell him, and give him a hug. Why do I feel so scared? I guess, I just don't want to see Noah in pain or upset, ever.

"I will," he whispers, kissing the top of my forehead softly.

Soon enough, they all run on stage, taking their positions. Please go well, please go well! The thing is, they need to be safe, but if they play it safe, then they may not win. And no one wants to go home losers. But, if they do lose and they're all okay, then that's okay with me. It's better than winning and having someone break their ankle. Although, we do have Michelle as our alternate, but someone who should be dancing that wouldn't be because of a stupid twist on a dance isn't fair.

The music begins to play, travelling through everyone's ears and fixing their eyes to the stage. So far so good! Everyone's in sync, and no one has tripped! The other team managed to pull of a back tuck, so hopefully West can. And....he does! Phew! Okay, Noah and Thalia need to do their aerials in sync facing outwards now. Yes! They did it! A wash of relief and hope passes over me. Now that I know that they can do that, I have high hopes that they can dance the rest of this pretty well.

It's nearing the end of the dance, and the girls have to hold a split in the air whilst the boys bounce around the stage doing synchronised flips. Everyone thinks that it's West who has springs in his feet, but I think that they all do! Come on boys! You've got this! They run up, take their feet of the ground and begin to flip the highest they've ever done. Wow. Even I haven't seen them flip that high! And well done to the girls too! They kept their balance!

As soon as the dance finishes, a large applause is made by the audience, and some even stand up from their seats to clap. A standing ovation! They got a standing ovation! I'm so proud of them! And so is the rest of the team, who are cheering uncontrollably behind me.

The dancers form a line, and the group that they competed against joins them onstage. Here we go! I really hope we win, they pulled of some amazing tricks! Then again, so did the other team, but I wouldn't say as good. Anyway, where are they from? France? Germany? Australia? Who knows. We'll find out later I guess.

"And the team that is going through to the next round with a score of ninety two points is," the announcer bellows into his microphone somewhere from the judge's tables, "The Next Step!"

The crowd begins to cheer again, and we all jump,around with excitement. They did it! We're going through to the next round! Yes! After saying well done to the other team, the group runs into the wings and we all hug them. I stumble around to get to Noah, who scoops me up into his arms as soon as he sees me.

"You did it!" I squeal and squeeze him tightly, smiling like mad. "I'm so proud of you! You didn't fall or miss a beat!"

"Pretty impressive right?" he jokes, and we both start laughing. We're going onto the next round! But, I'm in the next round!