I was hoping someone in here had a Riley-level celebrity crush on him. Maybe they’d come over and run away with the conversation, taking it right into the safe zone of topics.

There wasn’t much of a reaction to the name Trey Thompson, other than an “Oh, that’s nice.”

“Oh, Nala from NYC High is a dance student here,” Caty said.

“Oh.”

“My dad works on set and knows Trey pretty well,” said another girl.

“Oh again,” I said, my words echoing into my cup of lemonade right before I sipped. “Hey, is Miss Desi here?”

They told me she’d left. I took a seat in front of the mirrors on the floor and ate the rest of my slice in silence. It was cool hanging out in this familiar space again and seeing faces I used to see a few times a week. But, strange to say, time hadn’t stopped like I imagined it would. When I thought of this place from Florida, I realized I was imagining it as it was, not the way it became after I’d left. New elite team, new traditions, new instructors. It was hard to keep up.

A song I didn’t know came on and everyone squealed.

“Our song!” Eliza said, putting down her plate of food and running to the center of the dance floor. “The Bumblebee!”

I watched them do a line dance to something I’d never heard before. As odd as its title was, the song had a catchy beat. I could’ve jammed to this. That is, if I still lived here and went to my old studio and knew the dance moves and was a part of things.

Then Eliza waved me up. I shook my head no.

“We’ll teach you!” Eliza ran over and pulled me up with two hands. Oh, okay. It took a few rounds, but I got it. Then, when the chorus started, I had to crack up. Out of the blue, they all started saying, “Bzz, bzz. Bzz, bzz,” and doing some sting movements. Everyone committed.

After a few more cycles through the line dance, I was buzzing right along with everybody else.

“That was so awesomely cheesy,” I said when the song was over. I was still grinning about everyone buzzing. I had to show the Squad this dance. It would be fun to bring home something new and fresh from the NYC area. I’d be an early adopter. It probably would be hitting Florida.

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” said Kelly.

“Oh, really? Why’s that?” I took the bait. “Do you know the singer?”

“Ew, no.” She scoffed. “If I did, I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

I was confused. I thought everyone liked the song.

“No, it makes me happy to hear you say that because today’s theme is Cheesy Party, and I was responsible for planning it. The extra-cheesy pizza and cheese balls, the cheesy song . . . Did I nail it?” Kelly asked.

This party was . . . a cheese theme?