CHAPTER EIGHT!

"Oh no, what happened to Natalie?" Eliza asked walking up to the entire drama club standing outside the rehearsal room. Natalie had walked out saying she needed a moment.

"Is he dead?" Ashlyn asked.

"Is who dead?" Eliza questioned.

"No, now she thinks he's in her gym locker," Carlos responded. Eliza gave a confused look to everyone beside her. What is happening?

"Why the screaming?"

"That was me, she stepped on my toe. We're ready to begin, people!" Carlos announced and then walked up towards Eliza. "Miss Jenn talked to Ricky, he's running late."

"No! That means—"

"Yes, Luke's Troy until Ricky comes," Carlos finished. "We're blocking the Troy and Gabriella duet."

"Great," Eliza smiled, looking at Luke who made his way next to her.

"You'll see that I'll be a better Troy than Bowen," Luke whispered. Eliza sighed before walking into the rehearsal room typing at her phone.

Ricky Bowen

Eliza: you promised you wouldn't let luke get to be Troy at all. we're blocking the duet. You better get here asap. Or I will find you and drag you by your hair or ear. Whatever hurts the most.
Eliza: okay, that was a bit psychotic, but please hurry we're supposed to be doing this together. Hope everything is okay, see u soon. hopefully

"Can I get you to move a little closer to each other?" Miss Jenn said. Eliza had avoided Luke since her parents invited him to dinner. But Eliza was serious about the musical, so she did move closer. "Awesome. Thank you."

"I think that chair was over there," Carlos stated.

"Strike the chair please," Miss Jenn told Big Red.

"With what?" Big Red asked.

"Take it away. Remove it," Miss Jenn explained and focused on the two on the stage. "Troy, once the intro begins, cross downstage and plant yourself at the piano. Which should be further downstage, okay?" Big Red set the chair down and went to push the piano. "No, dear, that would be upstage. Gabriella, you slowly approach the piano and rest an arm on it, naturally. Can we make sure her book-bag is off stage right?"

"Sure. Which way is that?" Big Red asked Nini who was sitting at the piano. She pointed in the right direction.

"Okey-dokey. Take it from, Wow! Now that's really nice," Miss Jenn directed.

"Wow! Now that's really nice," Luke repeated. Nini, who is Kelsi, started playing the piano. Luke walked across the stage next to the piano and began singing.

"It's hard to believe that I couldn't see that you were always there beside me," Luke sang.

Eliza followed Miss Jenn's stage direction as she began singing, "thought I was alone with no one to hold but you were always there beside me."

"This feeling's like no other, I want you to know I've never had someone that knows me like you do. The way you do, I've never had someone as good for me as you. No one like you, so lonely before, I finally found what I've been looking for."

"That was— I can't recast Troy, can I?" Miss Jenn asked Carlos quietly. "That was great, you two. The chemistry is perfect for this decisive scene. Thank you. I would've liked to see it with our actual Troy—"

"Sorry, I'm late," Ricky rushed in, and Eliza felt super grateful. "My mom, she caught an earlier flight. Where are we?"

"Scene seven," Miss Jenn answered.

"Right," Ricky said. "I don't have it. Could I borrow..."

"You need your script, Ricky. And a pencil. It's a blocking rehearsal."

"Here, I can share with you," Eliza grabbed the extra pencil in her back pocket and tried to hand it to Ricky. "I always have an extra."

"No, you can't. When you come to rehearsal, people, you come prepared," Miss Jenn said before Natalie ran in. Elliot, whoever that was, wasn't in her gym locker, and her cherry glitter lip balm had his teeth marks in it. "Natalie. I feel your pain, but I was just explaining what a constructive rehearsal requires. Focus."

"Miss Jenn, I know the scene," Ricky spoke up. "I really do."

"Would you wait in my office, please? Thank you," Miss Jenn said gathering her stuff.

"What, are we done?" Ashlyn asked.

"We are, Ms Darbus. Take a note. This is what a frustrated drama teacher looks like. Go. Come back when you're ready to be punctual, park your distractions at the door and take the work in here seriously."

What the hell just happened?

why couldn't this show have a fifth season? like, I think we needed to see ricky, Kourtney, and big red (+nini) graduate.