𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 - 𝙀𝙅 𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡

↳ 08

Carlos followed Miss Jenn's gaze to EJ, pondering over her previous statement. "You think we should re-cast EJ as Troy?" The choreographer asked, frowning.

Miss Jenn glances at Autumn this time, brows furrowing in concentration as if she was thinking hard. "My instincts are normally impeccable. It costs me to admit, but maybe I was wrong." The woman states.

This time, Carlos averts his gaze back to his teacher, eyes shimmering with confusion. "I thought I saw a spark between Autumn and Ricky during the audition. Remember when he sang, and she was the first to clap and cheer?" Miss Jenn asked, trying to get her point across.

Carlos nods, his eyes now moving towards Ricky's figure. "Well, I'm not seeing that spark now. But what I did see, is the way EJ looked at her earlier during the read-through. And I'm not scared of a challenge." The drama teacher affirmed, smiling.

"This one might be impossible." Carlos said carefully. "I recognize there's some weird chemistry there, but he's dating Nini. How are we going to make this work?"

Miss Jenn looks back at her student for the first time during that conversation. "Don't underestimate me. I come from strong stock. My mother bounced back from an autopsy."

His eyes widened due to the woman's revelation, mouth slightly open in disbelief. Before he could say another word, Miss Jenn announced the end of the break.

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Autumn was sitting on top of a huge mobile brown trunk in the auditorium. EJ sat beside her in a similar position, both their backpacks resting on the floor.

Miss Jenn and Carlos were behind the teacher's desk, gossiping about some Instagram account while Autumn and EJ chatted about their expectations for this musical.

"I just think it will be awesome if we somehow can get Troy to fly." The brunette teenager revealed, laughing.  "Not literally fly, obviously. But you know what I mean."

EJ chuckled and opened his mouth to reply when they were interrupted by Ricky running onto the stage. The latter dropped his bag rather harshly on the floor.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. I promise it won't happen again." Ricky apologized, walking towards Miss Jenn and Carlos.

EJ rose from his seat, offering his hand to help Autumn to the ground as well since she was shorter than him and, therefore, her legs didn't even touch the floor when she was sitting.

The Campbell smiled, accepting his hand and taking the small jump to the ground. His hand lingered around hers a second too long, and Autumn was ready to make a joke to crack the sudden tension before he slowly retracted his hand, following Ricky.

"Thank you all for an early start today." Miss Jenn said, grabbing some of the papers on her desk. "Let's begin."

"Wait, it's just the three of us?" EJ questioned, confused. He would understand if Miss Jenn wanted some time alone with Ricky and Autumn – they were the main pair, after all –, but his presence there was still a mystery to him.

"Uhum." Miss Jenn answered, passing each of them a page of the script. "I decided to call you three here because I wanted to talk to you first since this concerns all of you. We've been thinking about re-casting Troy."

"What?" Ricky asks, shocked by the teacher's announcement. "Did I do something wrong? Is it because I'm late?"

"Not really, dear. You've been great so far. However, we've noticed a severe lack of... romantic chemistry between you and our leading lady, which would have been fine if it wasn't showing in your work. It's not really your fault." Miss Jenn explained, her voice was as delicate as it could be.

"Miss Jenn, with all due respect, Ricky worked really hard to get this role. A couple of days ago he didn't even know a single song from the movie." Autumn stated, defending her friend. "Please give him one more chance."

"Autumn, darling, I believe you. I know Ricky is really committed to this musical. But what I also know is the public wants to see a spark." Miss Jenn declared, looking between the two of them.

Ricky scoffed, grabbing his bag and storming out of the door. Autumn sighed, quickly excusing herself to follow after him. "Ricky, wait. I'm so sorry, I know you've worked so hard for this. I can't imagine how you're feeling." Autumn spoke calmly.

"It's fine. I understand what Miss Jenn means. She's right. There's not a special spark between us. You're my best friend and you deserve to have a Troy that will bring out your talent." Ricky mumbles and the girl's eyes soften as she pulls him into a tight hug.

After a few moments, he pulls away, a small smile on his face. "I want you to know I'm not mad or anything. I just need some time alone to think." Ricky states, and Autumn nods.

Ricky gives her a soft kiss on the forehead, and then he's gone, rushing down the hallway towards the school's exit.

Autumn takes a deep breath before heading into the auditorium once more. Miss Jenn stands up, looking at her sympathetically. "Is he alright?" The professor asks.

"He seems fine. He just needs some time to process." Autumn replies, smiling softly before grabbing her page of the script that had fallen onto the table when she rushed out after Ricky.

"Let's begin then." Miss Jenn says, clapping her hands. "We're diving into page 97. EJ, as we were discussing, you'll be acting as Troy for now. Let me remind you this is not permanent yet. We're just experimenting."

EJ nods, a small smile on his face. He was feeling bad for Ricky, of course. However, part of him couldn't help to be happy for the opportunity he was given.

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ᴀᴜᴛᴜᴍɴ ᴄᴀᴍᴘʙᴇʟʟ, ᴊᴜɴɪᴏʀ

I hope Ricky is doing well. He worked relentlessly for this role, and now it's gone. I am happy to be working with EJ, of course, but I'd be happy working with Ricky too. I'm worried about him. His intentions on the auditions were dubious, I'll admit – but I can see he really wanted to impress Nini. Poor guy.

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Just then, Miss Jenn's words sink into Autumn's mind. "Wait, isn't that the last scene?" The brunette asks, earning a hum of agreement from the adult woman.

"You want to rehearse this? It's not even a scene, it's just one line from Troy and another from Gabriella." EJ remarks, confused by Miss Jenn's choice.

"And then there's the kiss." Miss Jenn says, making Carlos nod while looking at the two teens with a smile. EJ's eyes widen, as well as Autumn's. A kiss?