Showtime

17. The Field Trip

[Avni: So, I found out that Ricky's incredible blow-up at Miss Jenn on Sunday was because of her dating his dad- I haven't talked to him about it. But he made it very clear that he doesn't want me pushing him to do something I think is right, so I'm just going to be supportive. Which is what I did with Gina, and it looks she's staying, so I guess it's paying off. Also, EJ and I became 'friends' which actually doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would- so maybe I am moving on? Or maybe I need to stop obsessing over what other people are doing and focus on what I can do instead.]

"Welcome to the East High Morning Show," Gina said dramatically. "I'm Gina Porter-"

"And I'm EJ Caswell. And we're co-hosting the first-ever East High Morning Show," EJ matched her tone. "Because I'm president of the AV club."

"I'm his only friend who agreed to do it." Avni laughed at that. She was.

"That's right. Back to you, Gina," EJ played it off.

"Thanks, EJ. Now, for our first-ever guest. You know her from The Rose Song that's been blowing up the East High Instagram." Oh, right.

"Oh, uh, quick reminder, tickets for Beauty and the Beast go on sale next week."

"Hmm, that's right, EJ. Now, please welcome Nini Salazar-Roberts."

"Hey, guys! Thanks for having me," Nini said.

"This just in... Nini's song has over 2500 views, making it the most viewed post in drama club Instagram history," he pretended he was wearing an ear-piece. Adora- no it's not.

"Are you serious?" Nini asked.

"Song writing skills, universal acclaim- Nini, how does it feel to be you right now?" Gina asked.

"Uh, feels good."

"So, what was the song writing process like for you?"

"Yeah, I was actually inspired by my-"

"Hey, is that Nini on the TV?" Big Red asked Ricky.

"Yeah, and she's killing it."

"Are you actually fine with the song not being a duet?" Big Red asked him.

"What else would I be? Hurt? Offended?"

"It seems that you're all those things," Avni noted.

"It's a show tune. It doesn't actually mean anything," Ricky shrugged it off.

"But it means so much to me," Nini said in the background.

"It's fine," Ricky said, but mostly to himself. "Besides, if Avni can be happy about EJ hosting the show with Gina, I can be happy for Nini."

Avni scoffed, "Gina's like the one person I'm not worried about. And I'm trying to get over EJ, so when he asked me, I said no, so it's fine."

"Everyone's in denial today," Big Red said.

"Shut up," Ricky and Avni said together.

♡♡♡♡♡

Avni ruffled through racks upon racks of expensive fabric, looking for a very specific piece of costume. They'd been looking for ages, with no success.

They were all currently in North High's costume room, with Gina as lookout. Why? Because those North High assholes stole their Beast mask.

Ugh.

"Okay, I need to sit down," Kourtney said from somewhere in the room. "These expensive costumes are bumming me out."