"Sorry I missed the rehearsal before class," I told Carlos, placing my bag on the floor beside the piano, "did I miss anything interesting?" Laurie had a vet appointment this morning, one I had to take him to because Dad had work; sometimes I feel like a full-time mom when it comes to him, I swear.

Carlos shrugged, "Just Miss Jenn's attempts at getting Ricky and Nini to bond." I didn't need to ask if it went well; by the expression on Carlos' face, it was apparent the two of them still hadn't bonded, "she added a kiss to the final scene; they freaked out."

"do they even kiss in the first high school musical?" I laughed, sitting behind the piano; Carlos just shakes his head, "Man, I never thought I'd be disappointed to have missed a rehearsal."

"Good, you're never gonna miss any ever again," He winked, handing me the sheet music I'd need for today's rehearsal, " Miss Jenn's out, by the way, so... you're our main director for the time being." He walks away before I can respond, knowing it'll only be a string of complaints.

Students begin entering the room slowly, all scattered around the room; I see Ricky enter the room and begin to make his way over to me when someone slides onto the piano bench beside me.

"Eloise, right?" I take my eyes off Ricky, turning to face the red-headed girl beside me; I nod, trying to hide my confusion, "I'm Ashlyn," She introduces herself; I nod, even though I already know her name.

"Uh, do you need something?" I ask; I glance over at Ricky to see he's talking to Big Red now, his eyes drifting over to me ever so slightly; I guess we'll talk about the kiss Miss Jenn added to the script later.

"I'm writing a song for the show," She began explaining; The act two power ballad for the drama teacher, Miss Jenn couldn't stop talking about it, "and Miss Jenn told me you could help?" I open my mouth to respond, but Ashlyn continues, "I mean, I totally get if your busy, it's just, Miss Jenn says I'll need your sign of approval anyway, and I figured since your new to the drama club, it'd be nice to get to know more people."

It's almost reassuring to know I'm not the only person who fumbles with their words around new people, "No, it's fine," I reassure her; honestly, if I had to help anyone, I'm glad it's Ashlyn, "Tomorrow? After school?"

"that would be perfect," She nods, smiling at me, "well, I won't take up any more of your time, thanks, Eloise."

I glance back over at Ricky once Ashlyn is gone; he is now rehearsing with Nini while Carlos instructs the pair on what to do.

Carlos told me earlier we were going over the curtain call today; I was a little confused at first, considering they haven't even rehearsed the rest of the play, but I never questioned it; Carlos knew best.

"Alright, everyone, let's take it from three counts of eight, right before Troy and Gabriella's entrance for the bows." Carlos finally finished instructing Nini and Ricky, now addressing the rest of the room, "A five, six, seven, eight." Carlos nodded at me, and I began playing.

Despite the step-by-step tutorial Carlos had given, Ricky did not get the choreography at all... it wasn't till this moment that I realized Ricky hadn't danced at the auditions.

He dropped Nini's hands, mumbling something under his breath, "I'm sorry," He apologized; I lifted my hands of the keys, making my way over to Carlos.

Nini gestured to Ricky, an annoyed expression on her face, "what is he doing?" She asked Carlos and I.

"Why are you talking to them? I'm here." He asked her, his voice quiet.

"Cause you're not here," She fought back in an exasperated tone, "at least not for the right reasons." As Nini and Ricky continued their conversation, I shared a look for Carlos, both of us unsure of what to do.

"Why don't we just get back to rehearsing," I say, cutting off Ricky and Nini; Carlos gestures for both of them to get back into their spots.

"Now you're rubbing some weird cologne on your neck." Nini continued as she walked over to her marking, this time raising her voice.

Ricky points at her, offended, "Hey! You love throb."

Nini continues, ignoring his comment, "and wasting everyone's time by making fun of something the rest of us take seriously."

Carlos finally snaps, "Okay, that's a five! On a break, people! Everybody out, get out!" as everyone rushes out of the room, all wide-eyed and staring at our leads, I place my hand on Carlos' shoulder.

"Can we at least try the dip?" Carlos asks, letting out a sigh. Both Nini and Ricky ignore him, Nini packing up her bag instead, "What just happened? Why aren't we dipping?"

Before either of them can respond, Miss Jenn walks in, "mission accomplished, a precious piece of the original HSM is on its-"Ricky walks past her, cutting her sentence off, "where are you going, Troy?"

"It's Ricky," He says under his breath, storming away.

I don't know what comes over me, but I follow behind; due to my height, I have to practically run to catch up with the taller boy, eventually finding both him and Big Red outside.

"Ricky," I call out; he pauses, but doesn't turn around, "Miss Jenn wants everyone back in the room now," I inform him, walking closer to him.

"Tell Miss Jenn I'm done, okay?" He finally says, turning around to face me, "Sorry, I can't dance like Fred Rogers."

"The puppet guy?" I asked, getting off-topic, "Sorry, but Ricky, you have to- "

"Nini is right," He cut me off, raising his voice, "I'm taking up space; I don't belong on stage."

"You don't know that," I argued; I didn't feel nervous or awkward around Ricky or Big Red anymore, meaning I was able to raise my voice to match his, "Ricky, it's been less than a week, you can't give up this easily."

Ricky scoffed, shaking his head, "you're only saying that cause if my plan worked, you'd get EJ... and we both know you'll never be able to build up the confidence to talk to him without my help. You don't actually care about me, so stop pretending to."

I take in a breath, taken aback by his harsh words, "I-"I shake my head, "that's not-"

"Save it, Eloise," He cut me off, "You don't want me here; if I go back, Nini will probably quit, and so will EJ; I'm doing us both a favor."

Ricky stormed off before I could respond; Big Red shot me an apologetic look before following behind.

"Eloise?" Carlos called out, running outside, "where's Ricky?"

"He went home," I say, walking towards the path I take home; I couldn't stop replaying his words in my head.

Carlos followed, his brows furrowed in confusion, "did he say something to you," He grabbed my arm, stopping me, "El, what's wrong."

I shake my head, not allowing myself to break down, "I'm okay; I just need to be alone for a little bit," I say; Carlos nods, letting go of my wrist.

"See you tomorrow?" He asks, concern evident in his voice.

I nod, turning around to walk home; Carlos would see me tomorrow, but not at rehearsals; Ricky was right, I'm not the kind of girl who wins over the boy, and it's about time I stop pretending to be her.
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^^ Eloise's outfit
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Oooo the drama is starting...

Hope y'all enjoyed