𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 - 𝙀𝙅 𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡

↳ 27

It was finally opening night, and the theater crew couldn't be more excited. Sure, they were very nervous but excited nonetheless. They worked so hard for the last few months, and it all culminated on that night when they would be able to show everyone what they've been working on.

Students ran back and forth through the backstage room, making sure everything was perfect. Autumn took a deep breath as she observed her reflection in the mirror in front of her, her hair slightly curled to resemble Gabriela's. 

She was wearing a costume that resembled remarkably the one Vanessa Hudgens wore in the original movie and her makeup had been done by Kourtney a couple of minutes before. She was gorgeous, she was sure of it, but despite looking calm, her nerves were neverending.

Autumn was broken out of her trance by a soft voice calling her name. The girl turned around to see Nini and Gina standing behind her, proud smiles on their faces. "You've got this, girl," Nini spoke, placing a hand on Autumn's shoulder. "You're super talented. The audience will be in awe."

"Aww, thank you." The Campbell girl said, placing her hand on top of Nini's. "You guys are the best."

"You don't need to thank us, babe. We know you would do the same for us." Gina affirmed, grinning at her best friend.

"Will Andrew be coming to the party after the show?" Autumn asked Gina, giving her a suggestive look. "I'm sure Carlos wouldn't mind if you brought him. You've been dating since Homecoming, it's time he met the crew."

"You have a boyfriend?" Nini turned to look at Gina, her mouth opened in surprise. "How did I not know this? I want to hear everything about him."

Gina simply chuckled in response. Before the girl could respond to Nini's question, Carlos suddenly entered the room, dressed in a beautiful flower-patterned suit. He carried a huge bouquet in the basket, and everyone looked at him expectantly.

He placed the basket above a conga drum, beaming as he faced everyone present in the small backstage room. "We've got mystery flowers, people!" Carlos exclaims.

"Wow, they're massive," EJ commented as he sat down beside Autumn, Nini, and Gina, now that his makeup had been fully done and his hair had been arranged.

"Why are they a mystery?" Big Red questioned, curious by the peculiar gift.

"Well, there was no card so I'm guessing it's the dealer's choice. But if I had to bet, I'd say they're for our leading lady." Carlos explained, pointing to Autumn. She brought both hands to her chest, moved by the situation.

"Not from me," EJ voiced as all eyes fell on him. He looked towards his girlfriend, mouthing a quick yet heartfelt 'sorry'.

"It's no problem, darling," Autumn assured him with a gentle smile. Everyone went back to their conversations when Carlos left the room once more, presumably occupied with other matters.

Nini nudged Autumn with her arm, discreetly pointing at Ashlyn, who was approaching Big Red, already fully dressed in her Ms. Darbus costume. The four of them watched the pair's banter from afar, amused. "Ash is so in love," EJ remarked, making the girls chuckle as they nodded in agreement.

"Half-hour!" Natalie Bagley announced as she entered the backstage area, causing cheers to erupt from the whole crew. Autumn rose from her seat, smiling nervously as EJ grabbed her hand in his, intertwining her small fingers with his longer ones to provide her reassurance.

"My beautiful babies!" Miss Jenn called, marching into the room and clapping her hands together to obtain everyone's attention. "Let's gather around for some housekeeping!"

The students formed a circle around her teacher, who looked at the enormous basket of flowers rather suspiciously. "First of all, who brought Versailles?" Miss Jenn questioned.

"No one knows," Carlos answered, amused by how the subject kept going back to the mysterious flowers.

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to share, then." The older woman said serenely. "So now, what I would like to do is, please think of a word or phrase from the show that expresses where your head is, or your goals for tonight. If anyone wants to share?"

"You're my guys and this is our team." Big Red was the first to speak out. A few chuckles were heard before Ricky stood up from his seat, ready to share his answer.

"What if you wanna try something really new, and it's a total disaster and all your friends laugh at you?" The curly-haired boy said. Nini smiled sadly at him, understanding the anxiety behind his calm facade.

"Oh, um... Do you ever feel like there's this whole other person inside of you just looking for a way to come out?" Nini quoted.

"I guess mine would be... When I was singing with you, I felt like just a girl," Autumn admitted.

"Do the romp, and strut your stuff!" Carlos exclaimed next, and some of the members laughed.

"My shower head is very impressed with me," Kourtney affirmed.

"I'm proud to call you my sister," EJ responded, looking affectionately at Ashlyn, who gave him a warm smile.

"Aw. It's close enough." Ashlyn answered, giggling, before turning to the rest of her friends so she could pronounce her line. "My nail beds are history."

"Sharpay's kinda cute, too." Seb stepped in.

"So is a mountain lion, but you don't pet it!" Everyone exclaimed in unison, replying to Seb's quote.

"And I'll just say, no matter what happens tonight, we're all in this together." Miss Jenn spoke. The room was silent for a moment, everyone soaking in those words as emotions ran through them like waves.

"Okay, Wildcats, take a moment to settle your nerves. If we had a curtain, it would be up in 20 minutes!" The blonde woman announced, and once again cheers erupted through the crew.

Nini and Ricky stared into each other's eyes for a moment before everyone started doing the pre-show rituals. Their feelings were clear to everyone around them, except for each other, and each passing second increased the expectation, the tension, and the possibility of something happened.

Everyone gathered around in a circle for a moment, joining hands as they inhaled slowly. The show was about to start and, soon, their lives would change forever.