It was the day before Thanksgiving Break started. 

Today Ophelia went with an outfit that was a maroon-colored blouse with a black tank top underneath, light blue jeans that had floral print on part of it, and tan colored converse. She went with makeup that would match her outfit, left her hair curly like she usually does, and also wore a navy choker necklace. The drama club was in the bomb shelter, rehearsing the scene Troy and Gabriella sing 'The Start Of Something New'. Ophelia had took quite a few pictures of them rehearsing since it was her turn to take pictures of the drama club. She thought everyone did a great job with the scene. Ricky and Nini harmonized their voices together beautifully and the dancers were amazing while Seb showed off his piano skills by playing the song for everyone.

The school bell interrupts the song though, signaling for school to be over and Thanksgiving Break to begin. From her place beside Luca, Ophelia looks at EJ with amusement when he stands up from the risers, raising his arms as he cheers. "Yes! Yes! Whoo!"

Seeing that now everyone was looking at him, EJ apologetically smiles and lowers his arms back to his side. "Sorry. I really love Thanksgiving."

From where she's sitting by EJ, Fallon chuckles and sarcastically comments, "Really? We couldn't tell at all."

EJ rolls his eyes playfully and sits back down. "I think you been hanging out with Ophelia too much. She's rubbing off on you."

"Nah," Ophelia stands up, her lips forming into a smile as she picks up her backpack, putting it on her lap. "She always been sarcastic. She's just doesn't use sarcasm every day like I do."

"Okay, hold on." Miss Jenn calls out, getting everyone's attention. She stands in front of everyone along with Carlos. "I know everyone is excited for the holiday break. But I'm me, and I have notes." She chuckles, turning to face Ricky and Nini who were getting their stuff. "Ricky and Nini, that was good. But it could be better. She said in the spirit of holiday cheer."

Carlos nods. "Good save."

"Huh." Ricky glances at Nini with a smile. "I thought we sounded pretty good."

Nini holds onto the strap of her backpack that's on one shoulder, smiling back at him. "Heck yeah, we're kinda killin' it."

Ophelia watched the two teens with a smile. She noticed that recently Ricky and Nini have gotten closer again which meant that the 'Operation Troy' plan was working. Well, it already was working since Ricky is Troy and that was mainly the whole plan. If the two do get back together Ophelia is gonna say 'i told you so' to Ricky because she did tell him that she was sure they would get back together.

"Did you mean both of us?" Ricky chuckled.

Nini nods. "Yeah." 

"Oh." Ricky smiles. "Okay."

By now everyone had got their backpacks and were ready to leave. "Your homework over the break, all of you," Miss Jenn continues. "Is to please go on vocal rest. And go over your lines, too, which is hard to do on vocal rest. But make it work. And remember, may nothing ever block your doorway to happiness."

Mr. Mazzara steps into the room. "Excuse me!"

Miss Jenn's smile fell upon noticing him. "Okay, starting now."

"Oh, don't mind me." Mr. Mazzara speaks, walking further into the room. "I just came to return a missing item." He looks at Ashlyn, showing her the binder he held. "Ashlyn. Cannot have our robotics team co-captain going home without her binder over the break."

Ashlyn went over to him, taking her binder back with a smile. Mr. Mazzara and Miss Jenn then tried to one-up each other with their Thanksgiving plans. EJ was standing beside Fallon on the right side of the room, conversing with her while she got her backpack and dance bag. EJ even offered to carry her dance bag for her, but Fallon politely declined, saying that she was capable enough of carrying it herself and EJ agreed with her because she was right. He was just trying to be a gentlemen because, honestly, he was starting to really like her. Fallon did think it was sweet though she wouldn't admit it to him.

Gina and Luca sat beside each other on the risers. Luca was telling her about how he was recently writing a song which made Gina excited and told him that she better hear it when he was done. He assured her that she would be the first one to hear it when he was done it and that made her smile. 

Meanwhile all that was happening Ophelia and Ricky were playfully arguing with each other over which 'Cars' movie was the better one since Ophelia brought up a comment that the first one was the better one. To end the debate they decided on having a movie night that night and watch all three 'Cars' movies to decide together which 'Cars' movie is better.

Carlos' sudden yell was brought to everyone's attention. "Party at Ashlyn's after Thanksgiving tomorrow! Everyone's invited!"

The room erupted with cheers after that announcement.

****

(this is what ophelia is wearing for the rest of the chapter)

On Thanksgiving Ophelia went with wearing a more dressed up outfit. She wore a purple and yellow striped sweater, an orange skirt, and black flats. Like normal, her hair was curly, and she wore simple makeup. Her nails were painted, and she also wore some rings. The Roberts household was full of family chattering with one another while the kids were playing games. Phoebe and Nate both had big families and even though they're divorced they all still joined together for the holidays and surprisingly both sides of the families got along well. Well, most of them did. The ones who didn't get along well either avoided each other or didn't show up if they knew the other one wasn't there.

They had already had dinner and were now just hanging out. Ophelia had just won a Uno game she played with her cousins, who were different ages the youngest being eight, when the doorbell rang. Ophelia could barely hear the doorbell over the complaints of some of her cousins who thought she cheated at the game but she assumed one of the adults opened the door. 

"You guys!" Ophelia laughs, shaking her head. "I'm telling you, I won fair and square."

Her eight-year-old cousin, Emmie, pouts, and crosses her arms. "I still think you cheated."

Ophelia's oldest cousin, Quincy, who's the age of twenty, nods in agreement. From his place beside Emmie, he leans over to whisper to her not so subtly, "Yeah, she's definitely a cheater."

Ophelia pretends to look at him with offense. "Hey, I heard that!"

Quincy looks at her and shrugs. "Yeah, well, I said it loud enough 'cause I wanted you to hear it."

Ophelia sticks her tongue at him childishly and he does the same back to her. The two shared a laugh and look over to the entrance of the dining room the kids were at when they heard Phoebe call out Ophelia's name. "Ophelia! There's a friend of yours at the door here to see you!"

Ophelia excused herself from her cousins as they started another Uno game. A look of surprise forms on Ophelia's face when she sees Gina standing at the door. Gina looks at her with a small smile and waves at her. Ophelia smiles back at her as she walks over to the dark-skinned girl. "Gina, hi! What are you doing here? I mean, not that I mind."

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could walk over to Ashlyn's together." Gina responds. She quickly adds, "If you're okay with that. If not that's totally fine."

Phoebe raises her eyebrows, glancing at Ophelia. "You're going to Ashlyn's?"

"Yeah, actually, Ricky and I were planning on going there together, but we can just walk over to his house to pick him up and all three of us can head over to Ashlyn's together." Ophelia suggested.

Gina smiled, a little relieved that Ophelia wasn't upset that she came there uninvited. Gina knew where Ophelia lived because Ophelia and Fallon had invited her over for a sleepover one time. It was a big deal to Gina since she has never been to a sleepover before. The sleepover was full of makeovers, games, and a movie marathon and they all had a blast.

Ophelia cringes when she realized that she hasn't told her parents about the Thanksgiving party at Ashlyn's yet. "Sorry. I was going to tell you, but the drama club is having a Thanksgiving party at Ashlyn's. Is it okay if I go?"

Phoebe smiles and nods. "Yeah, of course. Just let me or your dad know if you need a ride home."

"Great." Ophelia smiles and gave her mom a side hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Phoebe chuckles. She glances at Gina with a smile. "Gina, it was nice to meet you and you girls have fun at the party."

Gina smiles back at her. "It was nice meeting you too, Ms. Baxter." 

Baxter is Phoebe's maiden name and Phoebe went back to that last name when she and Nate got a divorce. Ophelia decided on going with her dad's last name since she didn't really see the point in changing her last name at that moment. 

Phoebe excused herself and went back into the living room where the adults had gathered. Ophelia got her coat from the coat rack by the door and she followed Gina out the door, closing the front door behind her. Her coat was all she needed to get since she had her phone in the back pocket of her jeans she wore. 

She put her coat on, gesturing with a nod of her head to the tray of cupcakes Gina held that were decorated for Thanksgiving. "Those cupcake's look delicious."

Gina smiles and shrugs. "I decided to make them when I got bored. They're a gluten-free recipe I found on YouTube. Oh, I also made you something." The two girls stopped at end of the driveway while she got something out of her pocket and handed it to Ophelia.

Ophelia smiles upon seeing the friendship bracelet. "You made me a friendship bracelet?" 

Gina nods, her smile widening as she showed Ophelia a matching bracelet she wore on her right wrist that she also made. "Yeah, I mean, you were one of the first real friends that I ever made. Our friendship means a lot to me."

Ophelia smiles widely and puts the friendship bracelet on her right wrist. "Thank you, G. Our friendship means a lot to me, too. It really does and, honestly, I didn't think we'd be this close of friends."

"Yeah, same here." Gina chuckles softly, nodding in agreement. "But I'm happy we are."

"Me too." Ophelia agreed. 

"I also made you this since it's kinda chilly out and I didn't know if you had, like, a cozy hat or something like it." Gina gets another thing out of her pocket of her purple colored coat she wore, handing Ophelia the hat she knitted.

Ophelia looks at her with surprise. "You know how to knit? And it actually looks like a hat?" Gina chuckles at her comment. "It's just...When I try to knit something it never ends up looking what I wanted it to look like." Ophelia comments, shaking her head. "It just looks like a mess."

"I'm sure it's not that bad." Gina assures her, sending her a small smile. She shrugs. "And, well, spending time alone at home gave me time to learn different crafts. With the help of YouTube."

Ophelia chuckles and puts the knitted hat on. "Thanks. So," She puts her hands on her hips and dramatically poses. "How does it look?"

Gina tilts her head to the side, narrowing her eyes at Ophelia and a cringed expression formed on her face. Ophelia raises her eyebrows. "Really? That bad?" 

"The hat is a little big for you." Gina apologetically smiles. "My bad."

"It's alright." Ophelia chuckles, taking the hat off and puts it in the pocket of her brown colored coat. "Maybe it'll fit Ricky."

The two girls began walking towards Ricky's house which wasn't far.  "Yeah, I don't know if he'll like it." Gina chuckles lightly. "But I hope it'll at least fit him because then that just reveals at how bad at knitting I am. Yeah, I can knit a hat just apparently not the right size."

"Yeah," Ophelia agrees and sent her a smile. "Besides it being too big for me to wear it looks great."

They converse more on the way to Ricky's and once they get there Ophelia rings the doorbell. Ricky opens the door a few seconds later, sending a smile to the two girls but the smile didn't meet his eyes. Ophelia had texted him that Gina was joining them on going to Ashlyn's together and he was fine with it. It's just he literally found out about his mom's new boyfriend who answered the call when he called his mom. Finding out your mom has a new boyfriend by him answering the phone isn't what any kid wants.

"Hi, Ricky." Gina greeted, her lips forming into a smile. 

"Gina, Ophelia, come in." Ricky opened the door more and stepped to the side so they can walk in and he closed the door behind them when they walked into the kitchen.

"So, Gina knitted this hat for me and since it's a bit big on me we thought it might fit you." Ophelia spoke, taking out the knitted hat from her coat pocket.

"Sorry, do you guys think I can meet you there?" Ricky questioned, setting the hat down on the kitchen island when Ophelia handed it to him and went over to stand by the counter near the sink. 

Ophelia looks up from the hat, looking at him with concern when she noticed it seemed like he was upset. "What's wrong?"

Ricky turns to face the two girls, tears threatening to escape. He knew he couldn't lie to Ophelia and say it was nothing because Ophelia would eventually find a way to get him to tell her the truth. "My mom has a new boyfriend and it's just a lot."

Sympathetic expressions forms on Gina's and Ophelia's faces. "Sorry." Ricky apologizes. "I hate to be a downer."

"Look, I...I get it." Gina spoke, putting her hands in her pockets after she set the tray of cupcakes on the kitchen island.

Ricky shakes his head. "No offense but I'm not sure you do."

Gina sent him a small smile. "Let me guess, you're mad at everyone and everything because just when you're getting used to things changing, they change again." When Ricky doesn't say anything, Gina tilts her head to the side. "Am I close?"

"Little bit." Ricky chuckled.

Gina points at her head, her smile growing. "Not just a hack rack, my friend." 

Ricky looks at her with confusion. "Who told you about..." His voice trailed off, glancing at Ophelia in question. Ophelia shook her head, silently telling him that she didn't tell Gina about his parents being divorced. Not that he would ever tell anyone about something like his parents getting a divorce it made him feel a bit better to know that she wasn't telling anyone about it.

"Ricky, I'm not sure if you noticed, but, um, my family's just me and my mom." Gina admits. "She works at FEMA, so we basically move whenever disaster strikes. I've had a few feelings in my life."

"And I may not understand what you're going through with your mom getting a new boyfriend," Ophelia speaks up, sending a small smile to Ricky. "But I understand what you're going through with your parents getting a divorce so if you ever want to talk about that with me then all you have to do is tell me."

Ricky looks at her with a grateful smile. "Thank you, Lia." He looks at Gina with an apologetic smile. "And I'm sorry."

Gina shakes her head, sending him a reassuring smile. "Don't be. I'm just saying you gotta ignore it and push through."

"You guys think I should text my mom, like, Happy Thanksgiving or something?" Ricky asked, looking at the two girls as he tilted his head to the side.

Gina and Ophelia shared a look. "I mean, only if you think you're ready to do something like that." Ophelia speaks, looking at Ricky with a soft smile. "But I think you need to have some fun with your friends."

"And spend a few hours as drama dorks as the good Lord intended." Gina added. 

Ophelia glances at her, sharing a smile with her before she looks at Ricky and nods in agreement. "Yeah, also that."

Ricky is quiet for a few seconds, staring off into space. He sighs, shaking his head as he went over to stand in front of the girls. "Give me that hat."

Gina and Ophelia chuckled. Ophelia picked up the hat off the kitchen island and handed it to Ricky, ignoring the butterflies she felt in her stomach when their fingertips grazed each other when he takes the hat from her. 

Ricky puts the hat on and it was too big for him as well which made Gina and Ophelia laugh. "Wow, I'm so bad with hats. Maybe that YouTube video I watched while I made it wasn't the best help." Gina commented. 

"At least it looks like a hat." Ophelia told her.

"I'll grow into it." Ricky chuckled.

"Okay." Gina nods, picking up the tray of cupcakes as the three of them began to leave. "Um, I mean, it kinda works."

A/N okay but like gina's & ophelia's friendship <3 im also in love with all of my ocs & their love interests, they're all so cute ! & im loving the trio of gina, ophelia & ricky tbh