High School Musical (Riverdale)

Stick to the Status Quo

All was quiet until the next morning. Then, Cheryl walked into school. She checked out the sheet that Ms. Grundy has posted, listing who had to take part in a second round of auditions. And she saw the dreaded phrase . . .

"CALLBACKS!!!" Her scream echoed through the halls of Riverdale High.

Jason rushed to her side and read from the sheet. "Callback for role of Arnold and Minnie, next Thursday, 3:30 p.m. Jason and Cheryl Blossom. Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Cheryl demanded angrily. "They didn't even audition."

"Maybe we're being punked?" Jason suggested. "Maybe we're being filmed right now. Maybe we'll get to meet Ashton!"

"Shut up, Jason!" Cheryl snarled.

By this time, a crowd of students had gathered. Jughead's teammates Archie, Kevin, and Reggie were among the students staring at the list.

Archie saw Jughead's name. An expression and utter horror crossed his face. "WHAT?!!!!"

_______________

At lunchtime, the news that Jughead and Betty has tried out for the musical has spread through the school. As students went into the cafeteria, they took their usual seats. Jocks sat with jocks. Brainiacs sat with brainiacs. Drama kids sat with the drama kids. Skater dudes, cheerleaders, punks. . . each out with their own kind.

That was the way the world was meant to be. Orderly. Predictable. Understandable.

Cheryl held court at the head of the drama kids table. Josie sat at the table far end, listening to every word, but keeping quiet, as usual.

"How dare she sign up," Cheryl said. 'I've already picked out the colors for my dressing room."

"And she didn't ask our permission to join the Drama Club." Jason pointed out supportively.

"Someone's got to tell her the news." Cheryl decided.

"Exactly," her brother agreed. He thought for a moment. then asked. "What are the rules?"

As if he was just waiting for that cue, Reggie, a tall basketball player with a killer smile, began singing.

Reggie:

You can be there's nothing but net

When I'm in the zone and on a roll

But I got a confession, my own secret obsession

And it's making me loose control

Jocks:

Everybody gather 'round

The other jocks gathered around, curious. Reggie looked at them, took a deep breath, and admitted. "If Jughead admits he sings, then I can tell my secret." He whispered to them. "I bake."

"What?" Archie couldn't believe what he heard.

But now that he had confessed, Reggie felt that he had been set free. "I love to bake." he said. "Scones, strudel, even apple pandowdy." He was too caught up to his enthusiasm to stop.

Jocks:

Not another sound

"Someday I hope to make the perfect crème brûlée," he said as Archie buried his face in his hands.

The jocks were horrified. Urgently, they sang:

Jocks:

No, no, no, no
No, no, no
Stick to the stuff you know
If you wanna be cool, follow one simple rule
Don't mess with the flow, no, no
Stick to the status quo