you are the music in me - ricky bowen

the auditions

Emma and Morgan walked in sync up to the front doors of East High, ready for their junior year. 

"I know I saw you, like yesterday, but how was your summer?" Emma was full of excitement as she asked her best friend the same question again. 

"The same as it was last time you asked; boring. I was either playing piano, or being yelled at my evil stepbrother to stop playing piano, and it was mostly the second one! You looked like you had so much fun, relaxing on the beach with your perfect family. The last time we took a family vacation was when I was- never, we have never taken a family vacation," Morgan explained. Emma went to say something, holding a finger up in the air, but Morgan was quick to stop her. "Camping is not a vacation," she added. 

The two girls made their way to their lockers, knowing little about the scene that was about to unfold in front of them.

"Yo Nini! What's good?" Ricky yelled down the hall.

"Hey, um, can we talk?" Nini, who stood a couple of lockers down, turned quickly with a look of horror on her face. "I met somebody else at camp. I didn't plan-" 

She was cut off by Ricky who was in the midst of confusion "Wait, wait- is this some kind of joke?"

"Still talking here" Nini said quickly.

"Ooo snap" Nini's best friend, Kourtney, added with a glare towards Big Red, Ricky's best friend. 

"I met someone at camp, I didn't plan for it to happen, but it happened. He was the Music Man and I was Marian, the librarian. It's called a showmance" Nini explained.

"Emma, I don't think we should be listening to this" Morgan tried to pull her best friend away from the situation, but she wouldn't budge. 

"Come on, Ricky! You know what you did! Or what you didn't do..." 

Everyone in listening distance from the small group fell silent at Nini's last statement. Everyone in the junior class saw what went down over the summer between Ricky and Nini. How Nini wrote an adorable song for him, professing her undying love towards him. Well apparently it did die, over this summer. The post was deleted and all comments and posts between the two love birds came to a halt. 

The tension in the air was thick as everyone surrounding the group of four attempted to get back to their own conversations, but no one could deny the awkwardness. Luckily for Morgan, an announcement came over the speakers asking everyone to head to the gym for an assembly. 

"Come on, Emma" Morgan whispered as she pulled her best friend away from the lockers and down the hall. 

"I am also pleased to announce that this year, seniors will be allowed to wear baseball hats on Fridays" The principle announced, earning a faint shout of 'go seniors!' from somewhere in the crowd. The rest of the schools population stayed dead silent during the 'annual back to school kick off', or so it's called. "And now for a special introduction. This year, East High has a new drama teacher with an announcement that she swore, in writing, would not cost too much money" The principle concluded before handing the stage over to the new drama teacher. 

"Please hold your applause" The unfamiliar women said to the silent crowd as she pulled out a T-shirt cannon before shouting 'Go Wildcats' and firing it upwards, hitting a poor boy in the 4th row. "My name is Miss Jenn" the new drama teacher said into the screeching microphone. "And when I heard that the high school where High School Musical was shot had never staged a production of High School Musical, the musical." The crowd began to chatter. "I was shocked as an actress, inspired as a director, and triggered as a millennial. Auditions are tomorrow after school." Miss Jenn explained.