Her | Maddox x OC | HSMTMTS

Episode 3 -- Part 1

A/N: Happy New Years / New Years Eve!!! Here's part 1 of episode 3 :)

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I was rudely awakened by a chorus of screams coming from a certain two people. Like, I get it. You got the leads. I'm happy for you! But...

I'd be even happier if you'd let me sleep.

I groaned and rolled back over. Once the Wildcats left the bunk, it was quiet again. But just as I was starting to drift off again, I was woken up once again by someone entering the bunk.

"Zoe! Get up! The cast list is out. People have... mixed reactions. Carlos tried to change the cast list. He didn't pull it off. Obviously. But anyway, we have rehearsals soon, so you need to get up!" Maddox said.

"But Maddie..." I groaned.

"Zoe. Don't make me bring the bucket." That got me up.

"Okay, okay. I'm up. I'm up." I frantically got up and out of bed, throwing on shoes and a hoodie, taking about a minute to brush my teeth before following her outside.

We left the bunk to be greeted by the chaos of cast lists being posted. My cousin was complaining but not really about being in the ensemble. My brother was complaining about being cast as an animal. Carlos was complaining about being cast as a snowman. There was really a lot of complaining. Such high-maintenance people...

"Quiet your voices!" Maddie shouted.

"Mornin', stage managers. You got everything ready?" my brother asked.

"Sure do, Rocket Man," Mads replied.

"It's Newbie Initiation Campout Night, folks!" I cheered. "A night in the woods among the wildlife. And spirits."

"Pack your tents. Oh! And rest your vocal cords," Maddie said.

"You'll be screaming tonight," I added.

"Oh, and by the way, Carlos, we have cameras in the stage manager's office. But nice try recasting the show," she finished.

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"It's the most wonderful time of the year!" Maddox said excitedly in the bunk. "Not Christmas, not Tax Day... Newbie Night! You guys are gonna have so much fun."

Ashlyn, Kourtney, and Gina were clearly not paying attention, but she hadn't noticed that yet, and I wasn't going to be the one to tell her, so I let her continue her excited rambling. It just gave me an excuse to admire her anyway, so it's not like I was gonna complain.

"You guys are gonna have so much fun," she continued. "Once we reach the camping spot, we start by setting up the tents. Then we gather around the campfire for a little sing-along experience, followed by the world-famous retelling of... Am I talking to myself?" She glanced around at the other girls. "Talking to myself."

"Hey!" I said. "I was listening! You're talking about Susan Fine, right?" She nodded.

Before she could respond, we were distracted by some drama primarily driven by my cousin and her concerned friends. "Are you okay?" Kourtney asked.

"A hundred percent," my cousin answered. "Just journaling." She tore out a few more pages from her journal, crumpling them into a ball and throwing them on the floor. She was probably still upset about being cast in the ensemble. "Reframing the news from this morning so I can make it a win."

Yep. She's still upset.

"Oh, I get it! You're a Leo Rising," Maddie said. Right then, I crossed my fingers, shut my eyes, and began to pray. I've never been religious. If there's one thing my cousin hates, it's being told things about herself.

"Capricorn Rising, actually," she said tersely. "I'm all earth and air signs in my big three."

"Really? I totally get fire sign vibes from you," Maddie said. Part of me was tempted to start chanting a bunch of gibberish, just to distract the two from the current topic and stop a potential third world war. Either that or pretend to pass out.

But there wasn't much that could be done. It was up to them to crawl out of the hole they'd dug themselves into. A tiny, shameful part of me was a little happy that Maddie and Ashlyn didn't seem to be getting along too well. Maybe their crushes would go away, and I'd actually stand a chance. I tried to push that rather unkind thought out of my head, though.

"Look, I know myself," my cousin started. "I'm a Ravenclaw, and ENFP, a Belle, and a Samantha." Upon seeing everyone's confused faces, she clarified, "The American Girl doll, Samantha. And I'm definitely a Capricorn Rising." Maddie clearly didn't believe her, but dropped the subject.

"Okay. Tonight's gonna rock." I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding in. It had literally been three hours since I woke up, and the day had already been way more stressful than summer vacation should be.

Just then, my brother poked his head in through the window. "Hey, G, can I talk to you?" The rest of us all shouted in surprise, yelling for him to get out. In the end, Maddox allowed him to come in for two minutes. The two started a conversation, discussing Corbin, the read-through, Gina being cast as Anna, and he was probably heading in the direction of "I won't be able to hang out with you tonight because I need to prepare" but unfortunately never got there because he was interrupted by Kourtney clarifying that they were staying out all night even though Corbin was coming the next day. And then Maddie told him to get out because his time was up. Well, she told him his time was up. She's too polite to tell him to scram.