after getting a text from ashlyn, i arrive at big red's house. "thanks dad," i say, giving him a short hug in the car. "i'll text you later," i say, opening the door. "have fun kid," he replies. i close the door, walking up to the others. "hey guys," i say, looking at nini as everyone says hi back. "hey nini," i say a little softer. "hi," she responds, looking away.
we all walk down to big red's basement, sitting on the empty couch. i look up at nini, whose eyes flicker at me, sitting on a table. we sit in an awkward silence before natalie speaks up, "this is a terrible party. there aren't even pretzels. what are we all even doing here?" "we all ended up in the same basement after a really bad day, so someone should say something," ashlyn decides. "fine. i'll say something," carlos says, "i'm mad at miss jenn." "why? because she's got a couple skeletons in her closet?" gina says, sitting on the floor. "no, because she's giving up. she was the first teacher to not see me as a punchline, and now she's not even a real teacher?" carlos says. "define real teacher," ashlyn says. "he's got a point," kourtney says. "does he though?" natalie says, "so why are we all here then?" "yeah, good question. this was a waste of time," ej complains. "honestly? because she gave me a shot. and it's been a long time since someone gave me a shot." "she gave me a voice," nini adds. "yeah, and now nobody's gonna get to hear it because miss jenn screwed up," kourtney says. "okay, does anybody actually care if her past is a little bit sketchy?" ashlyn asks. no one responds.
"i do." i speak up. "seriously?" gina says, looking at me. "what, because you live some perfect life in your big ass mansion?" kourtney says. "not at all," i respond, "because she put our show in jeopardy. and now we're all here, maybe for the last time together. and for some of us... this has become... i don't know..." "family," nini finishes my sentence, looking at me. i stare at her, nodding. "what team?" i say. "wildcats," everyone finishes. "okay, wildcats, so what're we gonna do about it?" ashlyn asks.
we sit in the cafeteria, listening to the board meeting. "i have always done my best to these kids," miss jenn says into the mic. "just answer the question," principal gutierrez says, getting annoyed. "excuse me," dad says, standing up from the small crowd, "can i say something?" "i'm sorry, we're not opening the floor to parents on this," gutierrez shuts him down. "let him speak," mama d joins in. i look at nini on the other side of the cafeteria, who looks back at me with a proud smile.
"go ahead mr l/n." "i'm a little late to this party, but i gotta say the real crime here would be booting a teacher who's making a positive impact. i wish you guys could've seen the look on my kid's face the second she ran downstairs when i got home from work to tell me she got the lead in this musical! i don't think that's something we should punish, your... honor." "mr l/n, i appreciate your statement, but i think we can all agree that theater isn't unique in this regard. it doesn't have some special fairy dust that can't be filled by another extracurricular." kourtney starts to hum, and principal gutierrez taps his mic, "what's that? who's humming?" ashlyn stands up, humming in harmony. i stand up as nini stands up, and we smile at each other across the hall.
the beat drops, and nini points at me. i look up, pointing at kourtney. "don't say another word," kourtney sings. "some of us need to be heard," nini sings.
"she stands for us and we believe!" we sing, making a semi-circle behind miss jenn and shaking jazz hands to her. we look at the principal, hearing a clap. everyone cheers and claps, and i smile, catching my breath. "so how do i snag two tickets to opening night?" a woman says, doing a little dance. we all cheer again, and i hug ashlyn.
nini's pov i look over at y/n after hugging basically everyone, seeing her lift up gina into a hug, spinning her around.
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after gina gets put down from y/n, they hold onto each other's arms. "oh my gosh, we did that! you were amazing!" she exclaims. gina gets pulled away by natalie and y/n takes out her phone, smiling.
y/n's pov i read gina's message. 'your dad rocks! takes after you :)❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️' i smile, texting back before shoving my phone back in my pocket. i look up, seeing dad talk to miss jenn. after miss jenn looks away, i look at nini, who's looking at me.
"i know, that something has changed, never felt this way," nini and i both sing, holding the microphone. "but right here tonight this could be the start of something new, it feel so right to be here with you, oh..."
the school bell rings, and we stop singing. "yes! yes!! whoo!" ej yells. everyone looks at him. "sorry. i really love thanksgiving." we all chuckle. "y/n and nini, that was good, but it could've been better, she said in the spirit of holiday cheer," miss jenn says as i pick up my bag. "huh, i thought we sounded okay," i say to nini next to me. "heck yeah, we're kinda killin' it," she says. "party at ashlyn's after thanksgiving tomorrow, everyone's invited!" carlos yells.
"so, have you called your mom yet?" dad asks as i pick up a hot wing. "working up to it," i respond. "i know it's tough to be doing the holidays without her but she really misses you, y/n, and she's all alone in chicago," dad says, "she's waiting for you to call." i sigh.
after stacking the dishes, i lean against the counter. i take out my phone, sighing before tapping on mom's contact name. i bring the phone to my ear. "hello?" a man says on the other line. "oh, um, i'm sorry. i was trying to reach lynne," i say, checking the contact name, "i think i reached the wrong number." "no, you got it right.y/n, this is todd. i've heard so much about you." "wait, uh, what?" i ask. "lynne's in the shower, can i take a message?" my breathing gets heavy, and i hang up. i close my eyes, feeling my chest tightening. i lean over the bench, going to my contacts. i go to tap nini's contact, but turn off my phone.
i look up as the doorbell rings. i open the door, seeing gina with a tray of cutely decorated cupcakes. "gina, hey," i say. "hey," she responds, smiling. "come in," i say as she walks in. "thanks," she thanks. "nice house, wow," she says, looking around. "thanks," i say as we walk to the kitchen. "thought i could walk you to ashlyn's, but it's kinda freezing out, so i made you this hat," she places the cupcakes the the table, taking out a knitted hat. "you made this?" i ask, taking it and looking at it. "i mean, you spend enough time alone in the house and you pick up all sorts of arts and crafts, on youtube," she mumbles the last part. "uh yeah, sorry, can i meet you there?" i ask. "is everything okay?" she asks. "yeah, yep," i lean again the kitchen island after placing the hat on the table.
she stares at me, not believing my lie. "okay, no. i guess my mom has a new boyfriend, it's kinda a lot. sorry, i hate to be a downer." it felt weird to talk about this to someone else besides nini, but it felt nice. "look i... i get it." "no offense, but i'm not sure you do." "let me guess. you're mad at everyone and everything because just when you're getting used to things changing, they change again," she reads my emotions, "am i close?" "a little bit," i chuckle. "not just a hat-rack, my friend," she says, smiling. "y/n, i'm not sure if you noticed, but my family's just me and my mom. she works at fema so we basically moves whenever disaster strikes. i've had a few feelings in my life." "yeah, no, of course, i'm sorry," i say. "don't be. i'm just saying you gotta ignore it and push through." "i think i should text her happy thanksgiving or something." gina scoffs, "no, i think what we should go is go to the part and spend a few hours being drama dorks as the good lord intends. do what makes you happy." i walk to the hat, putting it on. "hm?" i say. "oh... that's too big!" gina laughs. "i'll grow into it," i say, laughing. "okay. um, i mean, it kinda works!"
