Theatre Geek - (R.B.)

01 - Breakup & Makeup

Ricky Bowen took a seat in the high school he wasn't sure if he really liked or not. It was the first week of classes and he was dumped by his girlfriend of a year just earlier that morning. He wasn't sure how to feel, except regret. It was a supposed 'break' - but Nini took it the wrong way and went on with dating some other senior student named EJ, that she just met that summer during camp. Ricky took a few months to get to know Nini's feelings before he made the first move, even considering the fact that they'd known each other since kindergarten, but there she was, dating this other guy within a month.

He really wanted his girlfriend back, it dreaded him to add an 'ex' to the front. Only if he said he loved her too, maybe they would still be together. He just couldn't stop thinking about her; brown eyes, straight hair and cheeky smile. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to move on.

He sighed, taking out his Algebra homework. He told himself he'd work on it later, but he needed something to keep him busy after all the drama he had to deal with earlier.

He was planning on auditioning for the new drama production that is taking place this semester, one that a new teacher has assigned: High School Musical. Ricky wasn't sure what he was thinking when he signed up for the audition, all he thought when he found out that Nini was also auditioning for the lead actress, was that he needed to be the lead actor. It would allow him the opportunity to be close to her . . . and hopefully a way to get her back.

Just when he was about to answer the first question, his best friend, Big Red, slumped down on the chair beside him.

"Hey," Big Red greeted with his usual smile, "What's up?"

"I'm nervous about the audition," Ricky replied, putting his pencil down. "What if I don't get the part of Troy Bolton?"

"Ah, don't worry," Red said, "I'll be right there in the audience, cheering you on."

Ricky smiled slightly at his friend. He wasn't sure what to think about the ginger's words, but something deep inside him said to pay close attention. He continued the conversation, talking about a lot of different subjects: School, Summer . . . Nini.

✩✩✩

After school, that day, auditions for the drama production took place in the school theatre. Many students did their auditions, with some being way better than others. Nini sang a nice song, which earned a lot of good reviews from Ms Jenn, the drama teacher.

"Alright, I think that concludes the⸺" the teacher was interrupted by the entrance door opening quickly. Ricky stumbled in, muttering, "Sorry, I'm late!"

He took a step onto the stage and spotted Nini's unhappy expression. He noticed Big Red with a bright smile and thumbs up a few seats behind her.

Ricky cleared his throat, took a good standing position, tuned his guitar and began singing.

The small audience applauded just as he completed his last strand of lyrics. He smiled slightly, glancing over to Nini, who now also had a sad look on her face, and walked off of the stage. He took a seat beside his best friend, who gave him a high-five.

"I didn't know you could sing like that," Big Red said, clearly amused, "I mean, I always knew you could sing, but never that good."

Ricky shrugged. "It's all part of the plan."

Ms Jenn glanced over to a folder, the audience, and then spoke, "Thank you, everyone, for auditioning. The results will be up shortly."

The door unexpectedly burst open, catching everyone off guard. an unfamiliar girl with brown, wavy hair walked in. Ricky shifted his gaze to the bustle, spotting and gruntingly recognising her. It was Julia Baker who was in his grade, and a member of the school newspaper as well as the art club.

Big Red patted him on the shoulder. "I never imagined there would be someone even later than you."

Ms Jenn seemed pleased. "Oh, Julia, I was wondering where you were."

"I'm very, very sorry! I was speaking with another teacher and totally lost track of time," Julia explained, looking around the crowd uneasily, "Is it alright if I go?"

"Of course, hop on!"

Julia took her place in the spotlight in the centre of the stage. She began to sing with the most melodic voice Ricky Bowen had ever heard. By the looks on their faces, he knew the students seated around him felt much the same way he did.

✩✩✩

The auditions had been officially closed for the evening. Before the results were posted, all of the students who auditioned were told to wait roughly an hour. Ricky's eye spotted something glittering near the stage stairs as he walked out of the auditorium with his guitar case slung over his shoulders. It was a silver bracelet with a dolphin chain when he picked it up. The Julia engraved on it pretty much told him who it belonged to. It must've slipped off her wrist on her way out of the theatre.

Walking a little faster, he noticed the owner of the bracelet sitting in the study hallway benches, reading a book. Shaking his head, he approached her and called her name, causing her to look at him in surprise. Jeez. He didn't mean to scare her.

"Uh, Julia, you⸺" Ricky briefly looked at her and then took out the bracelet from the pocket of his hoodie, and handed it over for her to take. "You dropped this."

She furrowed her brows and looked down at her wrist, where the bracelet was clearly not where it should have been. How could she have been so irresponsible?

Sighing, she rose to her feet and pulled it out of his grasp. "Thanks . . . Ricky, is it?"

"Yeah, and uh, no problem." He smiled goofily with a shrug. "You have a nice⸺nevermind." Voice, he wanted to say, but something inside was stopping him from doing so. Nini, he reasoned. Nini was always the one. He shook his head once more, turned away from the girl, and walked away quickly.

Julia continued with her extracurricular activities after gently looping the metal bracelet around her wrist and locking it in place. However, just as she was about to start writing, she was interrupted by a loud voice.

"The results are posted!"