SCENE L

INT. STAGE – MOMENTS LATER

Mae stands in the wings trying to get Caleb's attention.

MAE

Pst! Pst!

Caleb bends down into the crowd for photos. Mae scurries onto the runway, grabs Caleb and pulls him backstage.

DANNY

Give it up for Caleb. Who finally realized that this is not the Caleb show.

INT. BACKSTAGE – CONTINUOUS

Caleb and Mae wait backstage.

CALEB

Are you sure she's ready? I've got tons of looks in my locker.

Ariella appears in her showstopping finale outfit.

ARIELLA

I'll take it from here.

She faces the stage and braces herself.

ARIELLA (CONT'D)

It's time to wow the crowd.

Torin appears holding Ariella's solar system.

TORIN

Ariella! Catch.

She tosses the mobile across the room. The solar system sails through the air and falls on Ariella's shoulders. She stumbles onto the stage.

INT. STAGE – CONTINUOUS

Ariella faces the crowd wearing the solar system.

DANNY

Wow.

Ariella turns to run off the stage, but Mae and Caleb prompt her to keep going.

ARIELLA

(to herself) Confidence makes everything work.

She struts down the runway like the planets are In that season. The crowd cheers. She gets to the end of the runway and strikes a power pose.

Dave, Karen, and Ren enter in the back of the auditorium, surprised and confused. Ariella stops in her tracks. Devastated, she turns away and runs off the stage.

DANNY

Okay...

He tosses the cards.

DANNY (CONT'D)

That's it for tonight. I was your host Danny Lockhart, and you can find me in a sales ad near you.

INT. BACKSTAGE – CONTINUOUS

Caleb and Mae help Ariella out of the mobile. Torin enters.

TORIN

Nice outfit, Ariella. I bet the science geeks are raving.

ARIELLA

You got what you wanted. My show is ruined. Do you have to rub it in?

TORIN

It's sort of my thing.

CALEB

What you did was not cool, sis.

TORIN

(re: Caleb's outfit) Because you're such a pro when it comes to cool.

CALEB

You can make fun of my clothes all you want, but just because you don't get it, that doesn't make them lame. I like what I wear. That's what matters to me. These are my friends. So get used to them because I'm going to hang out with them whether you like it or not.

TORIN

Well, I don't. And I won't. Even if I do love that jacket.

Ariella removes her blazer and hands it to her.

ARIELLA

Here. Just tell everyone where you got it.

Torins stares at Ariella's shoes.

TORIN

I also really like your shoes.

ARIELLA

You're pushing it.

TORIN

Thanks. But I still don't have to like you.

She exits.

CALEB

Don't sweat it. It took her fourteen years to like me. She never admitted it, but I can tell I'm growing on her.

ARIELLA

Thanks for having my back, you two. This may not have turned out the way I wanted it to, but I couldn't have done any of it without you.

MAE

That's what friends are for. We stick by each other.

Karen, Dave, and Ren enter.

CALEB

You're on your own.

Mae, Danny, and Caleb quickly exit.

ARIELLA

I guess I owe you an explanation.

DAVE

Hopefully, at a rate much faster than Mae's presentation.

ARIELLA

I made up the whole science fair so I wouldn't have to tell you about my fashion show.

KAREN

Why wouldn't you want us to know about your fashion show?

ARIELLA

Because then I'd have to tell you that I don't plan on becoming an astronomer. I want to be a fashion designer.

DAVE

Why didn't you just say so?

ARIELLA

I know how much you were hoping I'd follow in your footsteps. You bought me my first telescope when I was five. You even named a star after me.

Dave and Karen exchange looks.

DAVE

We're sorry to tell you this, but we later found out that the Ariella star belongs to Leo and is actually called Wolf 359. You see, it's a red dwarf about...(off Ariella's look) You have no idea what that means, do you?

ARIELLA

You must be really disappointed in me.

KAREN

Honey, we could never be disappointed in you for following your dreams. If being a fashion designer is really what you want to do, then we support you. No matter what, you will always be our star.

REN

Except lose the solar system. It clashes with those pants. (off their looks) What? I have a life.