𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄 - 𝐡𝐬𝐦𝐭𝐦𝐭𝐬 (𝐢𝐢) | ✔

thirty

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thirty: how are you feeling?
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     After much work and stress, opening night had already arrived. Everyone was running around on the backstage, trying to get the finishing touches to their costumes and songs, in hopes of making it the best performances of their lives. There was a lot on the line and no one wanted to be responsible for not winning the very much desired Menkie award.

     Juliette, on her side, sat alongside Ricky and Ashlyn, the three of them going over Ashlyn's and Ricky's central scene. The girl had been feeling greatly insecure after seeing Lily perform and everyone had made everything on their hands to reassure her that she was born to play Belle. 

     While there, Nini approached the three of them with their usual 'happy opening night' message. After being forced to take the Rose song out of the play, Miss Jenn had decided to give the girl two very minor roles, not wanting to keep her out of all the work they had put together.

     "So when the Beast was dying, was she holding him up like this? Or..." Ashlyn asked the brunette, holding Ricky in different positions.

     "It was like a Renaissance painting. I have no idea how they did it."

     "Come on, guys, stop thinking about North High's show," Juliette prompted them. "It was impressive but..."

     "It was like if James Cameron and a circus had a baby," Ashlyn interrupted her.

     "Howie was so good as the Beast, I'm actually rooting against myself tonight."

     "Ricky stop," Juliette kneeled besides him as Ashlyn and Nini walked away, ready to decorate Ashlyn's arm cast. "You're an amazing actor, okay? You cannot put yourself down like this."

     "Did you watch that show?"

     "I did but I have also seen you staying up until two in the morning rehearsing the same song," the girl remembered with a smile, making the boy imitate his gesture. "You're going to do amazing, Ricky. And then I could give you your opening night gift."

     "Juliette, you're an amazing friend," Ricky caressed her arm. "And don't even think that I have forgotten about our opening night tradition."

     "I'm pretty sure traditions need to be a bit longer than... one day," she laughed softly, her gaze travelling to her golden heels.

     After leaving Ricky, Juliette walked towards E.J., who could not stop admiring his fake butt. Although happy to see him smile, Juliette could not help but think that that was probably their last play together. And who knows it their last moments as well. She had grown so fond to him that she dreaded the time they would have to walk out of that stage, since that meant that E.J. would be nearly graduating and going to college. 

     "How is the most handsome boy in the room?" she greeted him with a smile. E.J., at the sight of the petite girl, smiled as well and opened his arms for her to hug him.  "I can't believe that you have your big date tonight, they grow up so fast."

     Laughing at Juliette's fake crying, the senior looked at her, "Jules, I'm older than you are."

     "And you have the energy of a golden retriever, what's your point?"

     "Wildcats! Villagers!" Miss Jenn intrrupted their conversation, making them walk towards her. "My friends and allies. As you know, there is a judge out there in the audience tonight who is very important to the future of this theater program. He is going to score every performance, our music, our sets, Lord help us, even me. And in two weeks at the Menkies, we could win $50,000."

     Juliette looked around her and carefully analysed all of her peers' faces. They were all a mixture of eagerness to step on stage alongside nerves and pressure of doing as amazingly as possible. None of them wanted to disappoint the teacher that had cared for them that past year.

     "So tonight," she continued, "we are going to put the 'U' in Utah! And to Ricky and Ashlyn, some words of inspiration. My deep and shameful disappointment in your recent accident has mellowed to a sort of numbness, so there's that."

     The redhead looked directly at Ricky, with enough time to see his smile fade. He had kicked himself over and over about what had happened and it had taken him a while to understand that it was not his fault and that they were all to blame, but Miss Jenn seemed unable to stop reminding them about it.

     "Oh, were those the words of inspiration?"

     "Yes, they were!"

     The group slowly dissolved as Ashlyn gave Big Red the flowers she had bought for his big debut, remembering how he had done the same for her in HSM. The boy, however, ran out of the room, retching and putting a hand over his mouth. 

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

     They could already hear the orchestra outside, tuning their instruments as all of them went over their lines for the last time. Juliette, looking on the mirror, tried to put her costume right, but she seemed unable to like it, seeing that she was second-guessing herself for the hundredth time in an hour. 

     "Everything okay?" Nini walked up to get, taking Juliette's hands out of the fake clock she was wearing and fixing it herself. "Don't be nervous. I will be with you on stage, okay?"

     "I... I don't know if I can do this."

     "Hey, you had the courage of dancing on stage without previous warning in HSM, you are going to crush this," the brunette tried to cheer her up. 

     "Yeah but I didn't have to sing. Or speak."

     "No one is judging you out there, okay? We're all supporting you," she smiled, hugging her friend. As soon as Nini left to continue her cheering duties, Ricky walked up to her.

     "Are you feeling better?" she asked him, trying to put her own problems aside.

     The boy simply nodded, quickly changing subjects, "how are you feeling?"

     "Like puking, but everything's alright," she attempted to joke. "I don't want to go out there, Ricky."

     "Juli, hey," he hugged her tightly, letting her smell his cologne. Juliette, however, could not help but notice that he was not wearing his usual one, but he had changed it, "you are an amazing actress and you deprive people of seeing you beautiful smile, okay? I believe in you."

     With only a small smile and a nod, Ricky left Juliette there to convince herself of stepping on that stage, while he walked outside of the room. Unbeknownst to him, a blue-eyed blonde was waiting for him with maybe more than friendly intentions.