CHAPTER ONE

“Let’s escape into the rhythm, lose ourselves in a beat!”

The school courtyard was alive with the sound of pop music playing from a large speaker.

Some students casually sang along as they left the building, but for Kade, Colton, Jaiden, and Zara, their after-school, “de-stress” music hour had to be paired with a dance.

Colton was performing headspins, windmills, and hand glides, breakdancing to the same beat as Kade. Both were swaying their hips, practicing a modern dance routine.

Zara’s more contemporary style was filled with graceful twirls, combining ballet and modern dance forms.

Jaiden’s exact, energetic movements made her seem like a K-pop dancer. She looked just like one of the stars she liked to watch on social media, with the same innocence and sweetness.

Even though the dancers were all doing their own thing, they were performing to the same song. Everyone who saw them took a moment to watch and cheer them on.

“Don’t stop the music! Keep on dancing!” Kade encouraged his friends, who all whooped in response.

When the song reached its last few notes, each of the dancers finished with a memorable pose.

“Well done!”

“Wow! I wish I could dance like that!”

The four dancers were thrilled at the enthusiastic response from the small audience.

“Are you guys on the school’s dance team?” asked one of their admirers.

“Nope!” Jaiden laughed shyly at the crowd. For a dancer, she was quite timid. “We just dance because we like to dance!”

“It helps us express ourselves and relieve stress after a long day of classes,” Zara agreed.

“You’re not on the varsity dance team?” one of the students in the group asked, seeming shocked at their response. “Well, you guys are really good! Are you going to be in the Dance-Off competition this weekend?”

Colton frowned, clearly confused by the question. “The what?”

“The Dance-Off!” another student said. “A bunch of dance teams are going to compete against each other for a chance to win a spot on Rhythm Revolution!”

“Rhythm Revolution?!”

Kade’s face lit up faster than a light switch at the name. Rhythm Revolution was a famous TV series that took high school dance groups and gave them a chance to compete live in front of famous artists.

“I’ve been watching it since I could dance—or even walk!” Kade told his friends. He was practically bouncing on the concrete courtyard. “It would be so cool to get to meet some of my idols!”

“It does sound pretty fun,” Jaiden agreed.

“Yeah!” added Colton. “It will give us all a chance to dance more, and spend more time together after school!”

“If we all remember to get our homework done—we still have plans to study for that science test and get pizza tonight!” Zara, always the serious and responsible one, reminded the other three.

They laughed, but appreciated her keeping them on their toes in the school department.

“Well, come on!” Kade urged his friends excitedly. “Let's go sign up for the Dance-Off!”

After learning sign-ups were in the gymnasium, the four ran back into the school as the other students were leaving for the day.

“We’ll have all week to prepare,” Colton noted excitedly as they ran. “We should come up with an original dance for the event!”

“Something remarkable!” Kade agreed, being the first of the group to enter the gymnasium, and—

—the first to bump into someone.

“Gah!” the dancer yelped, falling into the hands of his friends ready to catch him.

“Kade! Are you good?” Jaiden gasped.

The four looked at the dancer who had fallen. He was tall, lean, and carried himself with the confidence of a senior.

“Hey!” he snapped, quickly getting up. “What gives?”

“S-sorry,” Kade muttered as they both rose. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“Well, that much is obvious.”

Zara frowned, her usually quiet voice surprising the others. “Listen, it was an accident. No need to be snappy. We’re just trying to sign up for the Dance-Off.”

At that, the student stared at the four friends briefly, then laughed.

“What?” Jade asked. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just…” The student smirked. “I don’t think you should even bother to sign up, because I, Derek Stevens, will be leading the varsity dance team to victory!” He struck a dramatic pose, then pointed back at Kade.

“And because we are going to win, you all are going to lose!”

CHAPTER TWO

“What are you talking about?” Colton asked. He glared defensively at Derek, and Jaiden squeezed her friend’s shoulder supportively. “Just because you guys have money from the school and fancy uniforms doesn’t make you better dancers than us—or anyone, for that matter.”

Derek smirked. “Oh, I disagree.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Kade asked, clearly growing more upset at Derek’s attitude.

“Our uniforms show off our sense of unity—something other dance groups, such as yourself, clearly don’t and won’t have. The school funds our team because we’re good—very good.”

Kade glared at him.

“I don’t see the Board throwing money at your little dance parties after school,” he continued. “If you can even call what you guys do dancing.”

“You little—!!!” snarled Kade.

It took both Colton and Jaiden’s combined strength to hold back Kade from lunging forward to attack Derek.

“Let me go!” he growled at his friends. “Let me give him a piece of my mind. Then we’ll see how well he can dance!”

“And get yourself suspended?” Zara asked. She shook her head while Derek walked off laughing. “If we want to win this Dance-Off competition, Kade, we have to do it by the books.”

“Oh, we’re going to win,” Kade declared, once they finally calmed him down.

His fiery gaze stared across the gym where Derek was signing his team up, giggling about something. Probably Kade and his friends.

The four dancers approached the sign-up table, with Kade in front.

“Come on,” said Kade. ”Let’s sign up and show Derek who the real dance squad is!”

With that, Kade scribbled all four names, emails, and phone numbers onto the sign-up paper, confirming their spot in the competition.

“What’s our name going to be?” asked Colton, the others looking on with anticipation.

“The Dance Masters!” Kade decided. “Because we’re masters on the dance floor!”

The following afternoon, instead of holding their usual after-school dance hour in the courtyard, the newly christened Dance Masters opted to practice in an empty classroom that their science teacher offered them.

Kade and Colton worked to move the desks so they all had room to dance, while Jaiden and Zara picked up loose papers from the floor and swept.

“Perfect.” Zara nodded at the tidiness approvingly. “It’s almost like a professional dance studio!”

“If a dance studio had a bunch of microscopes,“ Kade snickered.

“Focus guys,” Colton said with a smile. “We need to figure out what sort of dance we’re doing for this thing.”

“Right!” Jaiden bounced up excitedly. “I have a few ideas!”

“Me too!” Kade winked.

“I have a couple of suggestions as well,” Zara added.

First, Colton turned on some old-school hip hop music and began to breakdance to it.

“Maybe we can do something like this!” he gasped in the middle of a headspin.

“Uh, Colton,” Zara muttered. “One problem…”

“We all can’t breakdance,” Jaiden giggled, leading Colton to freeze and smile guiltily.

“Oh yeah. I forgot.”

Next, Zara turned on a song the group had recently heard on the radio. The song started slowly, got fast at certain points, then slowed again, allowing Zara to sway, spin, and leap along with the beat.

The rest of the group tried to follow along, but they were obviously struggling to do so.

“It’s a little slow at times,” Jaiden said politely. “I like it a lot, but...”

Colton toppled to the ground after trying to stand on his toes like Zara.

CRASH!

“Yeah. No.” Kade shook his head. “We need something more lively!”

Jaiden turned on some light-hearted K-pop music, only to be disappointed when she saw that her friends were not in sync with her moves.

“Aaaaah.” She rubbed her hands together nervously. “I guess these sorts of performances would take a LONG time to get perfect, which is what makes them so fun to perform!”

“But we need to be more than good,” Kade urged. “We have to win!”

When it was Kade’s turn, he restarted Zara’s song but danced a more modern routine.

“Woah!” Colton’s eyes widened as Kade moved. “That actually looks kind of fun!”

“Yeah. You could probably teach us a simple dance in your style!” Jaiden beamed when Kade was done.

However, Kade frowned.

“But basic isn’t enough.” He shook his head, then moved to the door. “We need to be the best! Come on. I have an idea.”

CHAPTER THREE

“Kade, what are we doing at the varsity team’s practice?” Colton asked as the group sat down on the bleachers outside of school.

Even from a distance, the four could see Derek and his crew working together on the opposite end of the field.

“Yeah, I’m just as confused as Colton,” Zara agreed, giving Kade a funny look. “We aren’t here to try and steal their routine or something, are we?”

Kade rolled his eyes. “What? No! If we got caught cheating, we’d never be able to compete! I’m not an idiot!”

“Only sometimes,” Colton chuckled.

“Anyway,” Kade ignored Colton’s teasing. “We’re here for inspiration. To see what the varsity team does well, and how we can be better!”

The group’s attention turned to some upbeat K-pop music started by Derek’s team. To their awe, the varsity squad moved together without Derek having to tell them what to do. As the song went on, they danced, posed, and moved across the field in perfect sync.

“Woah!” Jaiden’s eyes widened. “They’re good.”

The song continued with the group watching on as Derek, on one leg, was lifted into the air by his team.

“Show off,” Kade muttered, but the other dancers were impressed.

“They’re talented,” Colton noted. “They’ve clearly had a lot of practice.”

“Practice and time that we don’t have much of,” Zara added.

“Well, it’s okay.” Jaiden tried hopefully. “We’re entering to have fun. It's okay if we don’t beat them!”

“No, it’s not!” Kade shot back. “We want to get on Rhythm Revolution! If we’re gonna win, we have to beat Derek and his squad.”

The rest of the group looked at Kade with doubt.

“Uh, but we still want to have fun, right?” Jaiden timidly asked, but Kade shrugged.

“You guys can have fun if you want. I’ll have fun when we win. If you aren’t up for that Jaiden, you can leave.”

“Kade, that’s not fair,” Colton cut in, putting himself between Jaiden and Kade. “Dancing isn’t supposed to be done out of spite. We’ve always done it to chill and get the stress out.”

“I—” Kade’s eyes flared up, then immediately died down. “Whatever.”

He slumped back in his seat on the bleachers, putting his head in his hands.

“I think I need some space,” he said wearily.

“Kade—” Colton started, but was cut off.

“Leave me alone. Just go,” Kade snapped. “I’ll text you later.”

Colton looked like he wanted to respond, but Zara gently put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

“Let’s give him a bit of space,” she whispered, then spoke a bit louder for Kade to hear. “We’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

Kade remained silent, letting Jaiden, Colton, and Zara take their leave.

“Come on, Kade,” he sighed to himself once his friends were gone. “You’re better than this.”

“You’re right,” a familiar voice agreed. “You ARE better.”

“Huh? Who is that?!”

To Kade’s disbelief, Derek stood in front of him with two of his dancers at his sides.

“Hey Kade,” Derek smiled, his tone oddly welcoming. “How about you get up and join us for the rest of practice?”

CHAPTER FOUR

The two other dancers practically dragged Kade across the field after Derek insisted that he join them. As they moved, Kade bombarded the varsity team’s leader with questions.

“What do you mean, ‘join you?’ Back in the cafeteria, you talked a pretty big game to us. Why are you being all nice and welcoming now?”

“Oh, I was talking a big game to your group,” Derek smirked. “Your team? Amateurs. Not dancing to compete, and not in it to win.”

Kade tried not to wince. That had been exactly what he had told his friends minutes before.

Derek continued. “But you. You have potential. I heard what you were telling the others. You want to win. I like that. We need more of that on this squad.”

Derek shot an accusing glance at a couple of his dancers, who knew he was talking about them.

“Anyway, you can take Niya’s spot.”

When Niya spoke up to argue, Derek scoffed. “Girl, you’re moving too slow to dance with us. Sit and watch. Maybe we’ll let you dance at our next competition—if you’re any good by then.”

Niya dejectedly went to sit on the sideline with tears in her eyes after being humiliated by Derek.

That was pretty mean, Kade thought. Will I be the next one that he cuts from the team? Wait! Am I on this team?

“Hmm—yes,” said Derek as the other dancers positioned him on the field. “You’re a little tall compared to the rest of us, but you’re shorter than me, which is perfect.” Derek nodded. “And your hair is a little messy. Don’t worry though. We can fix that before the competition.”

“Huh?” Before Kade could answer that his hair was perfectly fine, Derek led him to the bench, right beside Niya, to watch their performance again.

“And we’re only going to do it once, all right? Watch carefully. This has to be perfect, and so do you,” Derek said to the team.

With that, Niya turned on some plucky pop music, and the varsity team sprang into action.

“Pose! Pose! Pose! Everybody get moving, come on, get up and pose!”

Kade watched on, almost hypnotized by the fluid, in sync motions of the dance squad. They moved like dolphins, swimming between each other and leaping to the beat. Had it not been for their uniforms, Kade would have mistaken them for a K-pop group.

That is, until—

WHAM!

When the dance called for the team to step right, one of the dancers accidentally moved to the left, crashing into Derek as a result.

“HEY!” Derek shrieked, toppling onto the turf as the music played on. Small black pellets of rubber flew into his face upon impact, and the other dancers froze in terror while Derek screamed out.

“STOP! STOP! STOP!”

Niya paused the music.

“You idiots!” Derek snapped. “Lilly, you know we're supposed to turn right, not left! We’ve been over this three times in the past month!”

“I know, I know,” Lilly winced fearfully. “I’m sorry, Derek! I was just lost in thought. I had a big science test today! I’ll do better though, I promise!”

“You don’t need to do better because I’m replacing you now!” Derek glared, with Lilly yelping in shock at the boy’s words. “Kade, how do you feel about standing in for this amateur?”

All eyes fell on Kade.

“Um—” Kade’s eyes darted from Derek to Lilly, Niya, and the other dancers. He saw the nervous, tired looks on the dancers’ faces. None of the varsity students looked happy to be practicing with Derek—or to be dancing at all.

It was nothing like the dancing Kade was used to with his friends.

“No,” Kade said firmly.

“Huh?”

Kade rose from his seat with a huge frown on his face, gesturing to the fearful dancers all around.

“This isn’t what dancing is supposed to be. This isn’t right.”

“Oh?” Derek raised a sarcastic brow. “Are you about to tell me it’s all fun and games? Like your loser friends think it is?”

“No.” Kade shook his head. “It’s not just about having fun. That’s a part of it, but not everything.”

“Dancing is about expressing yourself, and working together as a team,” Kade continued, grabbing his belongings.

Derek smirked at him.

“It’s about accepting differences, acknowledging disagreements, and working together to overcome flaws—that’s what teamwork is,” Kade said with commitment. “Your dance squad isn’t a team. You don’t let them be one—you’re too focused on being perfect!”

Kade started walking away, thinking about his old dance partners.

And so was I.

He turned back and said, “Thanks for the offer Derek, but I want to dance with my friends. See you at the competition this weekend.”

“You’re going to regret that,” Derek called after him, laughing scornfully.

But Kade didn’t respond. Instead, he turned to the varsity team.

“If any of you ever just want to chill, we have dance sessions after school.” He turned to Niya and Lilly. “And if you’ve got tests you need to worry about, it’s a nice way to clear your mind and de-stress.”

With that, Kade left a flabbergasted Derek and his team and headed home.

Three days before the Dance-Off, Jaiden, Colton, and Zara all met inside their practice room, nervously fidgeting.

“It’s almost time,” Jaiden whispered loudly. “Do you think he’ll come?”

“I don’t know.” Zara sighed. “I haven’t seen Kade all week outside of our classes. What do you think he’s been up to?”

“I hope he hasn’t just decided to practice on his own. Do you think we upset him that much?”

Jaiden’s words brought everyone to silence.

“Guys!”

The sound of Kade’s excited voice caused the three friends to whirl around in shock. He was out of breath from running and immediately took a seat at one of the desks.

“Kade!” Jaiden yelped. “Are you all right?”

“I’m—hold on,” Kade gasped. “Let me catch my breath.”

Zara offered him some water and Kade eventually found the energy to form words again.

“Guys,” he began, “I want to apologize to you. We’re a group—a team, and I wasn’t being a team player. We’re all different, and have our own reasons for dancing. I shouldn’t have tried to impose my wants on all of you. I’m sorry.”

Kade’s three friends looked at one another, then back at Kade.

Jaiden approached him, then wrapped Kade in a tight hug. “Kade… it’s okay! You were stressed, and let that get the best of you. It’s okay to be competitive.”

“Yeah, but don’t lose yourself, or your friends, along the way,” Colton chuckled.

“Heh, fair!” Kade smirked. “Now, if you guys are still all right with it, I’d love to compete with you.”

“Uh, duh!” Jaiden squealed.

“Of course!” Colton piped up.

Kade smiled at the three in response.

“But now we have to figure out a dance,” said Jaiden. “How are we going to beat the varsity team—if we still want to, that is!”

Kade smiled. “Well, I have an idea.”

He turned to the classroom’s entrance.

“You guys can come out now!”

CHAPTER FIVE

On the day of the Dance-Off, Kade, Colton, Zara, and Jaiden all walked into the school gymnasium—with Niya and Lilly at their sides.

“Thanks for inviting us,” Niya told the Dance Masters. “It’s been a while since I’ve been this excited to dance.”

“Me too,” Lilly agreed. “It’s like Derek sapped all of the fun out of it with his bossiness!”

“Well, no more bossiness from me,” Kade promised everyone. “That’s if I can help it,” he laughed.

“Oh, we’ll make sure you can,” Zara teased Kade, and everyone laughed.

Just then, a familiar varsity dancer approached the group with his squad.

“You chose the wrong side, Kade,” Derek started, but froze upon seeing Lilly and Niya. “Wait, what? What are you two doing with them?”

“Choosing the wrong side, I guess,” Kade scoffed. But Lilly cut in defensively.

“We want to have fun dancing again, Derek,” she said firmly. “We can’t do that with you!”

“Then have fun losing!” Derek snapped as the varsity team was called up to dance.

Upon starting their routine, Derek’s nervousness was obviously rubbing off on his teammates. The music played with its lively, fun beat, but the smooth movements Kade saw at the practice were not there for the competition. Not only was their team two people down, but Derek himself fumbled many moves throughout the dance.

Naturally, he blamed the others.

“You dolts!” he snapped at his teammates, with the confused judges looking on. “Move with me!”

The varsity team quickly left when their performance concluded, and the judges called up the other teams. Finally, it was time for Kade and his friends.

“And the final team to perform,” one of the judges announced, “The Dance Masters!”

“You guys ready?” Kade asked, with the other students nodding in excitement.

“Let’s rock!” Colton cheered.

“Escape into the rhythm! Lose ourselves in a beat!”

The music came to life, and Kade, Colton, Jaiden, and Zara all sprang into action with their favorite dances.

Zara’s contemporary dance, Colton’s breakdancing, Lilly, Niya, and Jaiden’s K-pop-esque movements, and Kade’s fluid, modern routine were all distinct.

However, as the beat went on, the students all came together and began to swap styles.

The group attempted basic breakdancing moves Colton had taught them throughout the week, then danced along with Zara’s ballet-like leaps.

They went through the motions of the other students’ favorite styles, too, with even Lilly and Niya able to follow along.

As the group came to the climax of the song, Kade realized he was having fun. He still wanted to win, but he was happy he was trying to win with his friends.

As the music concluded, the dancers were met with a shocking amount of applause.

“You guys did great!” one of the students cheered.

“Yeah, and even if we didn’t win,” Kade turned to his friends, “that was a lot of fun. Thanks, guys.”

“Didn’t win?”

To the group's shock, the head judge stood up from her seat and approached Kade. When she reached the dancers, she extended her hand to Kade.

“I’d say that our school would be honored if the Dance Masters would represent us on TV in Rhythm Revolution!”

Kade practically fell into Colton’s arms.

“We won?!” they yelped in excitement.

“We won!”

The group cheered loudly over Derek storming out of the room, and even the rest of the varsity team celebrated the win of Kade’s team. Nobody was perfect, but they had all done their best, had fun, and had come together as a team.

And that, Kade thought triumphantly as he was paraded out to the front of the school, is what dancing is all about!