The bell at the door chimed as Carlos and I entered the local coffee shop Miss Jenn had asked us to meet her at; as soon as we entered, I spotted her, sitting at a nearby table, looking down at some newspaper.

"Miss Jenn," Carlos sped up to greet her, getting a call from her had filled him with a tiny bit of hope; I couldn't help but feel a little bit reluctant, though; Miss Jenn stood to greet us, pulling both of us into rather tight hugs.

"You said you got something for us?" I asked; Miss Jenn's arms were still outstretched, one on each of our shoulders.

"Please say it's good news," Carlos added.

Miss Jenn took a breath before replying, "it's complicated," She finally said, "please sit." Carlos and I shared a worried glance, sliding into the two seats across from Miss Jenn. "Carlos, Eloise," She started, folding her hands together, "if tomorrow's board meeting goes the way I think it will, you guys are going to hear a lot of," Miss Jenn paused, unsure of what to say, "not great things about me."

Carlos shook his head, "no, we don't-"

The teacher held her hand up, "it's all true," she informed us.

I furrowed my brows, "what is?"

Miss Jenn sighed, "I never told you guys my real last name because I was embarrassed of how little I've accomplished," She admits, tears brimming her eyes; I want to reassure her that none of that matters to us; she's an amazing teacher, and that's enough. but Miss Jenn continues, "I'm a fake teacher," Her voice cracks, "most of the learning that's been happening in that rehearsal room has been all of you teaching me."

I gape at her, unsure of what to say; I thought she'd lied about a few things on her resume, but she's not even a real teacher?

Carlos scoffs, shaking his head in denial, "No, that's not true."

"It's the only part of this that ever was," Miss Jenn responds. Carlos and I both share a glance; I could see the wheels turning in his head, "here," Miss Jenn continues, lifting her red director's file onto the table, was this what she wanted to give us? "it's my director's file; auditions notes, staging ideas, everything... it's all there."

"No, no, no," I mumble, pushing it away slightly, "I can't be the director of this show Miss Jenn; we need you." When I took on the role of assistant director, I never expected this.

"It's not for you, honey," Miss Jenn reassured, "it's for your next teacher." Could anyone teach the drama class like Miss Jenn? Would anyone accept and love Carlos and I like she had?

Miss Jenn cleaned up her stuff, standing up from the table, "I just hope she loves you guys half as much as I do." Miss Jenn squeezed my shoulder, smiling down at Carlos and I sadly before walking out of the coffee shop.

Carlos and I parted ways soon after Miss Jenn left, both of us still comprehending what Miss Jenn had told us. I debate getting in touch with Nini; as much as Carlos wanted to be alone right now, that's the last thing I wanted, which was odd considering my usually introverted tendencies.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I slid it out, Ashlyn's contact lighting up my screen.

"Eloise, hey," Ashlyn greeted, sounding relieved I'd answered, "I was wondering if you're free to meet up at Big Red's house; the whole drama club is getting together to talk about Miss Jenn." She informed me; relief washes over me; they weren't all giving up.

"Yeah," I nodded, turning towards the direction of his house, "what time?"

"As soon as possible," She said; I nodded, greeting her goodbye before shoving my phone back into my pocket.

The way to Big Red's wasn't long, and soon I was walking into his basement, trailing behind the rest of my classmates. Everyone scattered the room, all moving around the small space to find a place to sit. I sat on the floor, in front of Big Red, Ricky seated on a chair facing me.

Once everyone was settled, an awkward silence fell over us; finally, being broken by Natalie minutes later, "this is a terrible party," She sassed, "there aren't even pretzels; what are we all doing here?"

"We all ended up in the same basement after a really bad day, so someone should say something," Ashlyn suggests, taking the lead.

"Fine," Carlos snaps, "I'll say something; I'm mad at Miss Jenn."

"Why?" Gina scoffs, "because she's got a couple of skeletons in her closet?"

"No, because she's giving up," Carlos explained, "she was the first teacher to not see me as a punchline, and now she's not even a real teacher." A few people replied, none of them on the same page.

"So, why are we all here then?" Natalie asked impatiently once Big Red had cut off the beginning of their argument.

"Yeah, good question," despite what happened with EJ, I could tell the usually confident boy sounded about ready to quit; a small part of me felt bad for him, "this is a waste of time."

EJ's question was met with silence; no one sure how to reply, "Honestly?" Carlos started, staring ahead sadly, "because she gave me a shot, and it's been a long time since anyone gave me a shot."

I smiled at him sadly before speaking, "She believed in me." I admit, shrugging my shoulders sadly. "before this whole thing, I felt like I was invisible to everyone, but Miss Jenn saw me despite the wall I put up to protect myself; no other teacher has ever done that."

"she gave me a voice," Nini added on.

Kourtney nodded in agreeance, an annoyed expression on her face, "yeah, and now nobody's gonna get to hear it because Miss Jenn screwed up."

"Okay," Ashlyn scolded her, "does anyone here actually care if her past is a little bit sketchy? Anyone?" she asked the group. I thought about it, so what Miss Jenn lied, she's the best teacher east high has ever had, and no one was perfect; if they could hire someone so insufferable as Mr. Mazarra, they shouldn't care about Miss Jenn's lies.

"I do," Ricky spoke, standing up from the chair he sat in, "She put our show in jeopardy, and now we're all here, maybe for the last time, together. And for some of us, this has become... I don't know," Ricky trailed off.

"Family?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly; Ricky's eyes connected with mine; it was different for us; we both had lost family, making what we had in here the closest thing to it.

"what team?" Ricky asked?

A small smile appeared on everyone's face for a moment, "wildcats."

"Okay, wildcats," Ashlyn took charge, "so what are we doing about it?"

🤍

"You doing okay, Eloise?" Kourtney asked in a whisper; we stood at the top of the cafeteria, watching Miss Jenn's "trial" go on below us.

I fiddled with my hands; why had I said yes to this? When coming up with the plan for today, Carlos was very adamant that we all performed it for Miss Jenn, not just those who were actually in the musical.

"Yeah, you don't look too good," Big Red chimed in from the other side of me; Kourtney leaned past me, shooting Big Red a glare, "No, I mean you look great; it's just, you look like you're going to be sick."

I hummed in response, nodding my head; I felt that way too, my stomach twisted with anxiety, "how are you two not nervous?" Both of them had been roped into this performance as well, and neither looked anxious about performing.

Kourtney shrugged, "we're standing up to the patriarchy," Kourtney bumped her hips against mine, "if anything, I feel liberated."

"Excuse me," the three of us looked back down at the crowd; a parent had stood up now, "can I say something?"

"I'm sorry, we're not opening up the floor to parents on this," the principal dismissed him.

"Let him speak," another parent interjected, others murmuring along with her in agreement.

Principal Gutierrez sighed, "go ahead, Mr. Bowen," Bowen? I squinted, trying to get a better look at Ricky's dad.

"I'm a little to this party, but I gotta say the real crime here would be booting a teacher who's making a positive impact. I've never seen my kid this invested in anything, and I don't think that's something we should punish, your... Honor." He finished; I smiled; it's obvious Ricky had taken after his dad in a lot of ways.

The principal didn't seem moved by Mr. Bowen's argument, though, "Mister Bowen, I appreciate your statement, but I think we can all agree that theatre isn't unique in this regard. It doesn't have some special fairy dust that can't be filled by another extracurricular."

Before anyone could say anything else, Kourtney began humming beside me, signaling for the rest of us to copy, "what's that? Who's humming?" you could tell he was getting irritated by all the interruptions.

One by one, drama kids around the room stood up; students at the top of the balcony holding up signs, "Don't say another word," Kourtney started out strong, holding a boom box that was playing the track music over her head.

I froze as eyes looked back at us, only moving once Big Red grabbed my hand, pulling me behind him as he ran down the steps to join the rest of the drama club.

"Whatever you think about her," Ricky and Ashlyn harmonized as Big Red, and I joined them, "the show can't go on without her," the music picked up, and every drama student was out of their chair, making their way to the center of the cafeteria near where Miss Jenn sat.

As soon as Miss Jenn's eyes locked with mine, with a surprised smile on her face, I loosened up, dancing like I had the other night. The number I'd dreaded performing all night flew by, and soon we all huddled around Miss Jenn, all pointing to her with jazz hands.

Despite the unpleased expression on our principal's face, the parents, students, and some board members all clapped, all applauding our hard work; I just hoped the principal could see how much this all meant to us, how much Miss Jenn meant to all of us.

"Settle people, settle down, settle down," He raised his voice, stopping the cheering, "do we have any further questions?" He asked, looking over at the board members.

"Just one," a woman who looked weirdly familiar stood up, "so, how do I snag two tickets for opening night." We all cheered; Miss Jenn turned to Carlos and I; tears brimming her eyes.

"How did you do this?" She asked.

Carlos smiled widely at her, "we stayed up all night." Miss Jenn pulled Carlos into a tight hug before turning to face me.

"I am so proud of you," She hugged me, "Eloise, you're an extremely talented dancer." She informed me, holding both of my shoulders once we pulled apart.

I shrugged, "thank you, I'm glad we have you back." I smiled at Miss Jenn before walking away, giving the rest of the drama kids an opportunity to hug her.

My eyes connected with Ricky's across the cafeteria; besides being in the group, the two of shared an excited smile, and before I could think about it, I began moving closer to him.

"That was amazing," Nini yelled excitedly, hugging Ricky; I paused, watching as Ricky's arms wrapped around Nini's small frame, lifting her off the ground slightly.

I guess they've gotten over everything now; it's only a matter of time until they get back together; I know I should feel happy for Ricky, but all I can feel is a weird pit in my stomach and an emotion I don't I've ever felt before.

"Hey, El, a group of us are going to get celebratory milkshakes, do-" Ashlyn ran up to me, pausing when she noticed my expression, "what's wrong? Is everything okay?"

I nodded, turning my gaze off of Nini and Ricky, "yeah, of course." I nodded, linking my arms through hers; Ashlyn doesn't ask any more questions, and I'm thankful for it because I don't think I'm ready to admit that I might feel jealous about Ricky and Nini, not yet anyway.
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^^ Eloise's outfit
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Eloise is finally question how she feels about Ricky, and admitting to herself she might feel jealous...
hope you all enjoyed!!