HI WELCOME!!! 

Thank you for checking out my book! I'm currently in the process of editing this book so don't mind the grammar mistakes. 

Mila's POV

"And ready, 5,6,7,8!"

I let out a breath of air as I pushed open the door to the dance studio. Glancing around at the various rooms lining the hallways, I noticed it looked like an office building.

The Royal Academy of Dance. But in Berlin, Germany.

Definitely a ways away from my home in Canada.

There was no sign that this was the Royal Academy of Dance, aside from the Court of Arms on the door to the entrance. It featured a single red and gold shield flanked by two winged deer, a dancer posed atop. The words salus et felicitas or health and happiness written on a banner at the bottom.

Why Germany? That's what I asked myself. Germany had nothing to do with Britain, but apparently it was the perfect place for a branch of the RAD. Smack dab in the middle of Berlin.

"Hello, you must be Mila?" a man dressed in a long black shirt and white jeans greeted. He had bleach blonde hair and blue eyes. Standing around 5'8, he was taller than me by a solid 4 inches.

"Yes, that's me," I replied, giving him a meek smile.

"Welcome to The Royal Dance Academy, Berlin. I'm Adam."

"Thank you, nice to meet you," I smiled, tightening my hold on the duffle bag hanging from my shoulder.

"You are ready to meet your new dance mates?" he asked, motioning for me to follow him.

I opened my mouth to respond when someone called out to us. He spoke in German across the hall, sticking his head out of a room.

"This is Oskar Koch, the director here," Adam introduced.

"Hello, thank you for having me," I greeted, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly.

"My pleasure. Now, I know that you've been through some tough times these past few months, but I know what your capable of. I want you to showcase that talent of yours. The IDO Competition is in 3 months, I want you to compete."

"I-I don't know if I ca-"

"You can, and you will. The Royal Academy of Dance is no place for those with self-doubt," Oskar said sternly. I closed my mouth and nodded. He had a point, I couldn't quit now. I was too far in.

"Come, I'll introduce you to the others myself."

I followed him out of the room, feeling my palms sweat as I held onto my bag. My heart raced in my chest and I could feel myself sweating from the nerves. I didn't like meeting new people in general. This would be worse, they probably didn't even speak English. And I knew for a fact that my broken German wouldn't get me anywhere

I stood silently beside Oskar as he spoke to the group of 9 dancers that stood spread out across the room. I could make out a few word - new, Canada, welcome - and then my name.

"Hallo, ich heisse Lena," a blonde girl chirped, coming up to shake my hand.

"English Lena," Adam reminded, an amused look on his face. Lena's face turned pink as she ducked her head in apology.

"Hi, nice to meet you," I said quietly, giving her a small smile.

"I looove your name, it's so pretty!" another girl said, coming up next to Lena. She had dirty blonde hair, a contrast to Lena's chestnut locks. I could sense something hidden in the tone of her voice, and I immediately put her on my red flag list. I wasn't one to judge, but I knew which type of people to look out for, almost like a 6th sense.

"I'm Anna, Anna Schein," she smirked before spinning on her heels and walking back to her spot.

"Ignore her," Lena mumbled under her breath, pulling my arm forward. "This is Lotte, Ada, Gabriella - we call her Gabby, Maxime - or Max, Dean, and Ajax."

I tried to memorize the names as Lena went down the line of people. I gave everyone a meek smile, glancing to Adam who nodded at me. Max gave me a wave, an amused expression on his face. The others just stared at me.

"Are you up for a little contemporary improv?" he asked, motioning for me to follow him.

"Sure," I nodded, slipping my bag of my shoulder.

"Actually lets go to the other room, the rest of you clean up and you're free to go," he said, walking out of the room.

I followed him to another room that had windows lining the side so you could clearly see inside the room. This one, like the other, had one entire wall covered with mirrors from ceiling to floor. It was smaller than the main room, obviously meant for solo's and auditions.

"Choose a song, I just want to see your technique," Adam smiled encouragingly.

I slid off my duffle bag, throwing my hair up into a ponytail. I quickly chose a song that I had done improv with before and stood in my starting position.

The music floated through the room, encompassing me and making my body move to its rhythm. I just let my mind move accordingly, flowing with the lyrics of the song.

"Wow, great job. I'm impressed," Adam nodded, a satisfied look on his face. I nodded and mumbled a quiet thank you.

"You are free to go unless you have any questions. Meet back in the other room tomorrow at 7 am sharp."

"Ok, thank you so much," I smiled appreciatively.

"No problem. The others might be in the main hall, you can chat with them if you'd like."

"Thanks Adam, see you tomorrow," I waved, leaving the room.

My unused dance shoes tapped lightly against the polished floor as I walked down to the main hall towards the entrance. Sure enough, I rounded the corner and spotted everyone talking and eating snacks together.

"Hi," I mumbled quietly, coming to sit beside Lena who was tying up her converse.

"Hey! How was it?"

"It was ok, I just did one routine," I said quietly, pulling my hair out of its ponytail.

"Do you know which dorm you're in?"

"Um, not sure but I think its 12," I replied.

"I'm in dorm 11!" Lena exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"Lena was ist spannend (What's so exciting)?" a voice came from the table behind us and we turned to see the boys walking up to us.

"Nothing concerning you Max," Lena replied, crossing her arms in a playfully aggressive manner.

"So, a Canadian Newbie," Max spoke, training his eyes on me. He had a slight English accent, as he spoke that overtook the tinge of a German accent. Dark blonde hair and baby blue eyes, standing at a height of around 6'1. He seemed the nicest of the 3 boys.

Also - QUIT GETTING MAD ABOUT THE HEIGHT CHARACTERISTICS! I CHANGED IT FOR Y'ALL SINCE EVERYONE WAS "TOO SHORT" SMH (they were short because partner duos need to have reasonable height ratios but I just made Mila taller) - You're welcome 😤 

"You dance competitively?"

"Newbies don't dance competitively," Ajax spoke up beside him, rolling his eyes. He had dark brunette coloured hair and stunning green eyes. His face was chiseled to perfection - nose, jaw, and everything. He was at least 5'10, not too tall and not too short. What threw me off was the air of superiority and distaste that surrounded him.

"Not a newbie," I grimaced, pulling my bag higher on my shoulder and hopping off the table.

"You look like one," he shrugged, taking a sip of his water.

"You're entitled to your own opinion. Doesn't mean it's right," I smiled sarcastically, sliding on my Vans.

"Listen lady, just because people like you got into RDA doesn't mean they have talent," he sneered, glaring down at me.

"Evidently so," I replied calmly, looking him up and down. He opened his mouth to respond but Lena cut him off, saying something in German I didn't understand.

"Let's go check out your dorm," she offered, handing me a key card. I nodded, walking past Ajax, purposely bumping his shoulder.

Sue me for being a tad bit passive agressive.