High School Musical (Riverdale)

Bop to the Top and Breaking Free

At three o'clock, the bells of Riverdale High were empty. There was a sense of anticipation.

—and then the bell rang!

Doors burst open and students rushed into the halls. The school was buzzing with excitement!

In the gym, the stands were full of spectators, cheering and clapping. The school band was playing, the cheerleaders were dancing up a storm, banners were waving in the air . . . It was time to decide who were the champions, once and for all!

In the locker room, Jughead was alone on a bench. The rest of the team had run into the court. He could hear the crowd being whipped into a frenzy.

All those hours of practice, all the training . . . it all came to this night.

His dad came into the room. "How're you feeling?"

"Nervous," Jughead had to be honest.

"Me, too." His dad smiled. "Wish I could suit up and play alongside you today."

Jughead grinned slightly. "Hey, you had your turn."

His father looked at him seriously. "Do you know what I want from you today?"

Jughead nodded. His dad didn't have to tell him. "A championship."

His dad looked at Jughead straight in the eyes. "That'll happen or it won't." He said gently.

"What I want is for you to have fun. I know about the pressure, and probably too much of it has come from me. All I really want is to watch my son having the time of his life, playing the game we both love. You give me that, and I'll sleep with a smile on my face, no matter how the score comes out."

Jughead looked at his father. A strange feeling of relief spread through him. "Thanks coa—" he corrected himself. "—Dad."

His father smiled at him and walked away.

—————
Blackboards have been set up on each side of the choir room–the first round of the Scholastic Decathlon was about to begin. The walls were lined with tables where constantly could conduct experiments. A few dozen chairs had been set out for judges and spectators.

As the clock ticked down, each team gathered for a final briefing.

In the theater, Josie played random tunes on the piano as a few spectators wandered into the large auditorium. Jason and Cheryl actor-prep exercises backstage opening their mouths wide, uttering weird vocalizations, and falling back into each other's arms to demonstrate their absolute trust in each other.

In the choir room, the decathlon teams, all wearing lab coats, faced off for the opening bell.

Betty stood at the blackboard, poised to begin. The moderator signaled "go", and she and the star of the competing team began scribbling big formulas as fast as they could.

In the theater, Ms. Grundy was making yet another speech. "Casting the leads of a show is both a challenge and a responsibility, a joy and a burden," she said. "I command you, and all young artists who hold out for the moon, the sun, and the stars—"

The five kids sitting in the auditorium just stared at her. They didn't have a clue about what she meant.

Ms. Grundy sighed, and tried to end on a grand note. "So . . . shall we soar together?" She checked her clipboard and form's sake, and called out. "Cheryl and Jason!"

The sister-and-brother team made a grand entrance to their recorded music started. From the first note, it was clear that this was a two-person musical, with light cues and choreography and moves that would put Broadway dancers to shame.