The Showstopper

Chapter 23 (Part 1)

 Lauren's POV

Tomorrow was the big day. Valentines Day. One of the most important days for couples across the world. And this year I was in a relationship which has never happened during the holiday before. For the past two weeks I've been trying to come up with something nice to do for Camila and what to get her. I've already taken her on all the dates I could think of that I had no more ideas left on the list. I was getting stressed so I just decided to not make it a huge deal and have a candle lit dinner on the beach. It wasn't something we've done before anyway.

I was also going to give her a plane ticket to New York and many various Broadway show tickets. My family and I were going in early May and I was going to invite Camila to tag along. That was when many of the seasons new shows were already going to be opened. We had tickets for Fun Home, Gigi, Finding Neverland, The King and I, On the Twentieth Century, Something Rotten, Hand to God, and An American in Paris. I also snagged Hedwig and the Angry Inch tickets since Darren Criss was going to be Hedwig. That was an opportunity I could not miss seeing. I was honestly so excited for these ones since some big celebrities like Kristin Chenoweth, Matthew Morrison, Vanessa Hudgens, and like I said Darren Criss were going to be starring. And I know Camz will die of excitement once I gave these to her.

I hurried to school with Camila by my side since I drove her and just wanted to get the day over with. She laughed at me all day about how excited I was for tomorrow. Nothing could be more perfect.

I was in my Advanced Songwriting class which was a new elective I had for this semester. I took Intro to Songwriting last year and this one was for either the people who took the beginning course or seniors. It was a blast because Shawn, Justin, Ally, Dinah, Normani, and even Camila (since she was a senior) were in this class with me. There were many other friendly faces in here too but most importantly, not Austin. Mrs. Sanchez who was the teacher also taught the intro class and I loved her.

"Alright, everyone, so for the next lesson, each of you will be assigned a parter and you will not only have to write a song with them, but perform it in front of the whole school," Mrs. Sanchez announced. Everyone gasped and whined. "Sorry, but this is an advanced class. In the description it says you will learn performance skills. You don't necessarily have to sing very well but at least try to get up there and practice stage presence. It'll be very helpful in your life. Especially for those of you who want to be musicians, performers, or Broadway stars," she winked at me while I grinned. She knew of my dreams.

"Can we pick our partners?" Justin raised his hand and asked.

"Sorry again but no. I let you all pick last course but this one we're going to mix it up and I will choose for you." Everyone groaned again and so did I. I wanted to be with Camila and turned next to her, giving her a sad puppy face. "I will put your assigned partners up on the over head so look for your partner once you find your name."

The list read:

Normani Hamilton & Jacob Whitesides

Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello

Ricky Garcia & Emery Kelly

Lauren Jauregui & Brad Simpson

Ariana Grande & Jai Brooks

Kian Lawley & Dinah Jane Hansen

Alexa Ferrer & Justin Bieber

Ally Brooke Hernandez & James McVey

Jenn McAllister & Andrea Russett

Rebecca Black & Arin Ray

Vero Iglesias & Marielle Guzman