CHAPTER NINE!

"Hey! Yeah, excuse me, over here. Yeah, I know you don't knew me very well, but guess what? You probably know him even less," Nini told a couple at the coffee shop.

"Have you eaten today?" Kourtney asked.

"Neens, you're worrying me," Eliza said, eyeing the girl.

"Is that EJ?" Nini asked when Kourtney's phone buzzed.

"This fool is working my last nerve."

"Um, just tell him I went out. Shopping for a lie detector," Nini said.

"It's not EJ. It's Tonya Freeman," Kourtney stated. "This senior on costume crew. She made herself head designer and vetoed every one of my suggestions. Treats me like a child," Kourtney scoffed.

"Which is completely stupid, because Kourt you're my style icon. Have you talked to Miss Jenn about it?" Eliza questioned.

"I don't need Miss Jenn to fight my battles. If Tonya wants to trash my turtlenecks, I'll T-bone her track pants."

"Ew, track pants?"

"Who's wearing track pants?" Nini asked.

"If it were up to Tonya, everybody," Kourtney answered.

"Want me to say something?" Eliza questioned, leaning on the table.

"You can't keep a senior from acting like a senior. This 'tude comes with the territory. I'll just shut my mouth and focus on make-up crew."

"Absolutely not, you need to fight," Eliza said. "You need to demand respect. You have the lead to back you up, I'll just refuse to wear anything she suggests. You will not see me in track pants, because you never see Gabriella in those ugly clothes."

"You both seem hangry—"

"Actually, it's almost dinner time. I have to go," Eliza said as her parents texted reminding her about dinner. It was a nice thing to do as a family, but some days she'd like to hang with her friends longer.

🏀

"We started blocking the show, and honestly, I am having a lot of fun being the lead," Eliza told her parents. "It is a lot of responsibility, but I've been doing well and I am ready for opening night in six weeks."

"That's amazing you're having fun, and you've been keeping up on your schoolwork," Mrs Parks complimented her daughter. "You make us so proud."

"It's really fun, I'm actually thinking I love theater again. It really comes natural to me, you know. I kind of wish Nicole was home to see me," Eliza said, surprising her parents as she never brought up her sister. The last time Eliza saw her sister was when she was fourteen and going into her freshman year at East High.

"I think she'd be proud of you. Insanely proud," Mr Parks told Eliza. Nicole hadn't contacted her family in two years, she had been busy with whatever Broadway show she was in as the ensemble. Daily calls turned to weekly calls, then monthly calls, then a text every few months. Now, Eliza watched her sister's life entirely on social media.

🏀

Ricky Bowen

Ricky: I really hate to ask this
Eliza: well hello to you too Ricky.
Ricky: can I come over?
Eliza: are you okay?
Ricky: maybe, I don't know. Can I?
Eliza: you know where I live.

"What are you doing up?" Mrs Parks asked.

"I don't know what's happening, but Mrs Bowen is back and Ricky isn't doing well. He asked if he could come over. Is it alright?" Eliza asked her mom. "I know you guys have rules about boys coming over this late, but he really needs a friend."

Eliza's mom grabbed Eliza's face, and smiled. "You're a good friend, Eliza. Thank you for letting me know and not sneaking him in."

"I think he's here," Eliza said when she heard a knock on the door.

"There's leftovers if he's hungry," Mrs Parks said before going upstairs to bed.

Eliza opened the door and Ricky had his skateboard in his hand. "Come in," Eliza spoke softly, stepping aside to let Ricky in. "Are you hungry? We have leftovers from tonight."

"I'm good, I had some chips at Big Red's."

"That's not dinner, come on," Eliza said leading Ricky into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and grabbed the leftovers from earlier. She plated it and set it in the microwave.

"You don't need to—"

"I want to," Eliza interrupted. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. Nini and I almost kissed," Ricky admitted. "My parents are separating and my mom's moving to Chicago. Everything is changing and I hate it."

"Change is scary— but it can be good, too. I'm sorry about your parents," Eliza said as she set the warmed up plate in front of Ricky. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Thanks for the food," Ricky said, before he started rambling, "I should've known this was coming, my mom has been in Chicago since the summer and they've been avoiding each other's calls. But I had to find out during an important rehearsal. I'm sorry I was late today, I made a promise to you and didn't keep it."

"Oh, don't worry about that. You were dealing with something more important than me having to rehearse with Luke. I was overreacting in the texts I sent. I'm sorry," Eliza apologized.

"Thank you, Liza. For being here for me, and listening. You're a great friend."

Friend. Why did hearing Ricky say that word to describe Eliza hurt? And that's when Eliza's phone buzzed.

Luke Nelson

Luke: I know it's late but I can't stop thinking about you and us. I was hoping we could go to homecoming together? 3 for 3?

"Luke?" Ricky asked, looking at Eliza's face. It looked confused, happy and annoyed. The same face she had when she talked about Luke.

"He just asked me to homecoming," Eliza stated.

"You should go with him. That's what you want, right?"

"I haven't even thought about homecoming at all," Eliza admitted. "I'll go with him if you ask Nini."

"I can't ask her, yet or at all. I don't think I'm ready for that," Ricky admitted. "It's been a long day."

"I can get an air mattress if you don't want to go home," Eliza told Ricky. "It's getting late and totally up to you. It isn't that much of a walk home."

"I don't think I'm ready to go home yet."

i didn't forget about this story. i am just procrastinating about updating this.

not proofread.!!.