"Okay, everyone, gather around," Ms. Jenn said, walking into the rehearsal room where everyone already was. "We have got a two-hour window before the storm is expected to hit, and I intend to use every minute of it. Big, splashy group numbers always succeed at the Menkie Awards. So we need to workshop a punchy, breathtaking number that will put us in the number one spot," she explained before she turned to Carlos to let him speak.

"As our head choreographer, I am so happy to announce that today we will, at last, begin rehearsing one of the most show-stopping, iconic, and bar-raising numbers of the entire show," he said and Nadia tilted her head, intrigued.

"'Be Our Guest'," Gina said, stepping up beside Carlos, which made him look at her in surprise. "Yeah, it's 'Be Our Guest', guys," she continued, looking over at Carlos. "What?"

"I have a feeling that our...co-choreographers aren't getting along so well," Nadia said to the camera, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "The only reason I know that is because both Carlos and Gina are definitely both leaders and when two leaders are put into a pair, it never works. Trust me, it happens to me all the time."

"Before we begin, I'm going to tell you a little story about hospitality," Ms. Jenn announced.

"Maybe we should—"

"Once when I was a little girl, my mom and I heard a clatter come from the kitchen. We thought it was a burglar. So my mom ran over, hog-tied the man, and promptly called the police," she retold and Ashlyn gasped. Nadia just looked at her teacher in disbelief. "As we waited for the cops to come, I watched my mother place a bowl of iced tea next to his face. 'Because,' she said, 'until the police come and get him, he's still our guest.'"

"So, did he, like, get arrested or..." Kourtney trailed off.

"And are you sure this even happened?" Nadia added, arching a brow in amusement.

"Yes, it did happen. And No. Turns out, it wasn't a burglar at all, just a repairman who entered the wrong unit," Ms. Jenn told them and Nadia snorted quietly, covering her mouth with her finger. "But the point remains the same. Just like our intruder, we need to make Belle and our entire audience feel welcome. And with that, Carlos and Gina, take it away."

Ashlyn started to clap loudly, so Nadia quickly went along with her, but it was still awkward.

Gina stepped up to the front, making Carlos frown in annoyance slightly. "Thank you, Ms. Jenn, that...wasn't terrifying at all," she said sarcastically and Ricky laughed out loud, causing Gina to give him a side-eye. Nadia furrowed her brows, but didn't read much into it...yet. "Okay, so," she chuckled, stepping forward and grabbing her feather dusters, "my vision to make this dance really soar, is to stage, wait for it, a Cancan-style dance that features a feather dusting spectacle. I don't know, it'll probably go a little something like..."

Gina then began kicking her legs up high in the air, showing off her incredible flexibility. This caused most of them to exclaim in excitement. "Absolutely!" Ashlyn shouted.

"Oh, alright!" Ricky said, nodding.

"Yes, Gina!" Kourtney yelled.

"Amazing, I love it," Nadia commented.

"I'm not even sure my legs could go up that high," Marcus joked, causing them to laugh before Gina stopped dancing.

"Interesting. I had a different path that's a little more...elevated and less basic," Carlos said in Gina's face, causing her to frown. "Think. A noir-inspired performance that Lumière guides our audience through the entire time," he explained towards everyone.

"M'kay," Gina chuckled. "But I actually spent a month in France once, so I kinda know this dance inside out," she told Carlos.

"And I choreographed all three of my sister's quinceañera dances, despite not getting one for myself, so I think I know how to twirl with a salad fork, okay?" Carlos said, turning towards Gina with a determined look on his face. Nadia looked between the two of them, getting ready to jump in between them if they started to fight.

"Okay!" Ms. Jenn said, stepping into between them and pushing them away from each other. "You know, what? Let's stick a pin in 'Be Our Guest' and brush up on 'Gaston'. EJ, Nadia, and Big Red, to the front of the room, please," she instructed and Big Red got up from his seat, as did Nadia. "Wait, where's EJ?" Ms. Jenn asked and Nadia furrowed her brows, looking around to see that EJ was nowhere to be found.

"Yo! I think the feather duster brigade sounded cool," Nadia heard Ricky say to Gina and Nadia subtly turned to look at them from where she was standing.

"Really-really?" Gina asked.

"Yeah. What, do I need to send you a random box of chocolates to-to prove it?" Ricky replied and Nadia furrowed her brows in utter confusion. Box of chocolates? What is he talking about?

Gina sighed. "Sick burn."

Ashlyn laughed. "What's this sick burn?" Ashlyn asked, seeming to have the same idea as Nadia.

"Yeah, I wanted to know that as well," Nadia added, sending Ashlyn a subtle look.

"It's nothing," Gina told them both a nod and they both gave each other confused glances.

"Okay, well, if anyone's sees EJ, would you please tell him that rehearsals are mandatory, even for soon-to-be college students who are obviously suffering from senioritis," Ms. Jenn told them all.

"Nini!" Kourtney exclaimed after a moment, looking over at the door. Nadia followed her gaze to see that Nini was standing there, and her eyes widened.

"I don't wanna interrupt. I just needed one more group hug," Nini said and everyone let out a shocked laughed as they went over to go hug her.

"Hugs available!" Ms. Jenn said in a sing-song voice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Listen up, everyone! I am going to step out for a little while to make sure that Nini catches her bus. Please go back to workshopping 'Be Our Guest' concepts until I return, and find a path forward," Ms. Jenn told them all. "I've asked Mr. Mazzara to pop in." As if on cue, Mr. Mazzara popped his head out from behind the wall, causing them to yelp in fright. "And make sure that you don't get too rowdy while I'm gone. Thank you, Benjamin," she said before she walked out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nadia stood and talked with her brother as they all waited for Gina and Carlos to come up with something they could agree on. "Honestly, I think I should've been made co-choreographer," Marcus told his sister, shaking his head in disappointment.

Nadia shrugged. "There would probably be less arguments since you're more of a follower and Carlos is more of a leader," Nadia pointed out.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Marcus questioned.

"Uh, nothing," Nadia quickly said.

"Has anyone seen EJ?" Ashlyn asked no one in particular. Nadia looked over her shoulder at her and shook her head.

"That's surprising since you used to keep tabs on him every second of everyday," she heard her brother mutter and she quickly turned around, slapping his arm. "What th—!"

"I heard you," she cut him off, pointing a finger at him and he sighed.

"Everybody, listen up," Gina said, making everyone turn to look at her and Carlos.

"Great news. Gina and I agreed to joint custody of you all," Carlos announced.

"Oh, so who gets us on weekends?" Kourtney sarcastically asked, rolling her eyes slightly.

"We're gonna workshop our 'Be Our Guest' visions on you guys separately before adding the dancers. The winning version," Gina said as she made a gesture to herself, "will then be decided in an anonymous vote." She looked over at Carlos and they both gave each other a forced chuckle. "Fun and easy."

"Yay," Ricky said softly with no enthusiasm whatsoever.

"Are you sure this is gonna help?" Nadia asked.

"Help what?" Carlos replied.

"This tension between the two of you," she said bluntly, not wanting to take sides on anything to lose any relationships over a stupid disagreement.

"Tension?" Gina asked, looking to Carlos and laughing. "What tension?"

"Yeah...okay," Nadia said, giving up.

"Or, this could just be solved if you both made me lead choreographer!" Marcus offered, putting his hands up and gesturing to him.

"No," Gina and Carlos said at the same time.

"Aw."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This number was inspired by my second-oldest sister's quince," Carlos said, holding up a fake candlestick. "Theme, sultry jazz. Sebastian, you may begin."

Seb turned around on the piano seat and began to play before the lights went out. "Oh, what was that?" Ashlyn questioned, getting up from her seat. A loud thud was then heard and Nadia got up from her seat, looking around wildly to make sure no ceiling was breaking overhead.

"Maybe a power line went down," Gina said.

"Oh, no, you guys. I-I missed an alert from my Farmer's Alman-app," Seb said, looking down at his phone. "Salt Lake just got half a foot in half an hour." Nadia's eyes widened, taking out her phone to check the weather app.

Ricky then got up and checked his phone. He scoffed. "My dad says the roads are completely closed," he told them.

"Yeah, my parents said to wait until the snow stops falling and then leave the school since it might be dangerous to leave now," Marcus told them, reading from his phone.

"I didn't get anything from them," Nadia said, pulling up her phone messages

"Oh, that's weird," Marcus said and Nadia sighed in annoyance, putting her phone away.

"Oh, my gosh, you guys, get out here!" Carlos yelled and everyone rushed out after him, even though Nadia didn't even see him leave the room.

Once they made it outside of the rehearsal room, they looked out the windows to see the harsh, thick snow pounding against the window. "Whoa," Nadia whispered under her breath, her eyes widening.

"This is insane!" Ricky exclaimed. "Are we the only ones stuck at school?"

"Looks like every other club went home," Kourtney pointed out. "Should I check on Nini? I'm checking on Nini." She quickly pulled her phone out and started typing away at it.

"I don't mind the idea of being stuck together all night," Big Red said to Ashlyn, and Nadia slowly turned her head towards them, giving them an odd look.

"Maybe we should hold each other for warmth?" Ashlyn suggested and Nadia's weird look only grew.

"Okay, you guys," Ricky said, holding his hand up to try and stop their weirdness.

"Listen up, folks," Gina started, walking towards the front of everyone. "We need to act fast and gather supplies in case this gets worse."

Carlos scoffed. "Love the commitment, Gina, but I don't think it's that serious," Carlos told her.

"Rehearsal can wait," Gina told him and he gave a surprised look at that. "Follow my lead. Contact your parents every half hour, but conserve your phone batteries," she told them and Nadia nodded even though Marcus would probably be the one needing to contact their parents. "Waters, flashlights. Let's move, people!"

Nadia quickly jumped up and followed behind Big Red and Ashlyn, who were holding hands and running. "Don't make me regret my decision in following you both," she called out, making them look behind them.

"I'm surprised that you're even following us. I thought you'd be a million miles ahead of us already," Ashlyn said back to her, slowing down.

"I'm conserving my own energy along with my phone's. I don't want to pass out or anything, not like I would," Nadia told them both, catching up since they stopped walking. "What are we looking for, anyway?"

"Waters," Big Red told them.

"There might be some in the cafeteria," Ashlyn said and Nadia nodded, making her way to the cafeteria with the couple.

Big Red waited for the girls to get the waters since he was scared to break in into the kitchens for some reason and once they were done, Big Red was nowhere to be seen. "Uhhh," Nadia hummed, looking over to Ashlyn in confusion.

"He probably went with Ricky or something. Let's just go put these in the rehearsal room and then we can find him," Ashlyn told her before they set off towards the rehearsal room and stacked the water bottles inside of it.

Then they walked out to find Big Red. "So, what's it like dating Big Red?" Nadia asked, nudging Ashlyn teasingly.

"Lots and lots of pizza," Ashlyn joked, making the two of them laugh. "No, it's great. He's really funny and I feel he really likes me. I mean, he tried so hard for me on Valentine's Day and..." she trailed off, a loving smile on her lips.

"Of course he likes you, Ashlyn. What's not to like?" Nadia asked.

Ashlyn shrugged. "Many things," she said with a laugh. "But what about you? Do you have anyone, you know..." she trailed off, but Nadia knew what she was talking about.

She laughed. "Definitely not," she said. "I'm probably the only one in the musical that doesn't have a partner."

"That's not true. Kourtney, Gina, and EJ don't," Ashlyn told her. "Probably some others, too."

Nadia shrugged, giving her a look. "I don't know, after Valentine's Day, I probably don't even want to have a boyfriend any time soon. Especially since Leo was my last one."

"Yeah, he was a jerk. But that doesn't mean the next guy you like will be one. You gotta give it a chance. I'm sure multiple people like you," Ashlyn told her.

"I didn't even like Leo. It was just something I did to get my parent's off my back," Nadia admitted by accident and Ashlyn gave her a confused look. "And that's not even true, don't lie," she quickly changed the subject. But, Ashlyn was still giving her a puzzled look, so she searched for something else to say. "Uh...speaking of Gina before, what do you think is going on between Ricky and Gina?" she asked.

"Oh, uh, I don't know. Something about chocolates, apparently," Ashlyn said before the found Big Red, Ricky, and Gina in the hallway. "Biggie, there you are. Way to abandon the fam in a crisis!"

Big Red chuckled. "We're coming now," he said before he looked to Ricky as he started walking. "Told you it was a bad idea."

"Whatever. Shut up," Ricky said, following his best friend.

"Hey! What'd we miss?" Ashlyn asked Gina.

"Now now, please," Gina said before she walked past the both of them.

Nadia watched her walk away before giving Ashlyn a look. "Something definitely happened."

"Yeah..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How many hours have we been here?" Seb asked after they had tried to cure their boredom by playing Charades for the millionth time.

"All of them," Kourtney said sadly, holding up her fingers.

"Anyone wanna play Charades again?" Seb said and they all groaned. "Sounds like no."

"You guys, if we eventually run out of food, I just wanna say, you can eat me first," Big Red offered.

"Dude..." Seb said.

"I probably taste like pizza," Big Red said.

"Wait, he's got a point," Nadia said slowly, narrowing her eyes, as if she were contemplating eating him.

"Hey, whose phone charger is this?" Ricky asked, holding it up.

"I'm at 6%. You wanna fight me for it?" Kourtney said crazily.

"You guys, this cabin fever isn't good. What would would Ms. Jenn do right now?" Seb asked.

"I wanna say hog-tie a stranger," Kourtney answered.

"Yep. Probably," Ashlyn agreed.

"Or sing with our hands held together," Nadia added.

"That, too," Marcus said.

"Where are our choreographers?" Big Red questioned. "Shouldn't we be rehearsing a song?"

"I wanna believe they're quietly working out their differences somewhere," Ashlyn said, holding her arm out.

"Have you met Carlos?" Seb asked in disbelief.

"Maybe they're already laughing about it," Ashlyn said, shrugging.

"Also, where's EJ?" Nadia asked.

"If he didn't come to rehearsal, what makes you think he's here?" Kourtney asked rather aggressively. "Sorry, that was mean, but I'm growing crazier by the second."

"I don't know. I feel like EJ would never miss rehearsal so maybe something happened," Nadia said.

"Surprising that you don't know," Marcus said with a laugh.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nadia questioned.

"I'm just saying..." Marcus trailed.

"Saying what, Marcus? You seem to be questioning my actions all the time," Nadia said, getting mad.

"Okay, okay, we don't need any sibling fighting right now. Let's just all calm down, okay?" Ricky said, holding his hands up.

"Fine," the twins said at the same time. "You better thank, Ricky, because without him, you'd be running away right now," Nadia told Marcus, without him this time.

"O-kay..." Ricky awkwardly muttered quietly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Big Red started to sniff the air. "Wait, do you guys smell that?" he asked.

"Yeah, sorry," Ricky said in embarrassment. Nadia, Ashlyn, and Kourtney made a noise of disgust at the boy.

"No, no, it's my Grandpa Noah's pizza recipe," Big Red told them happily and Nadia's eyes widened.

"Dude, don't you even joke about that, okay? I'm so hungry, I actually would eat you," Ricky said and Nadia shrugged and nodded while Ashlyn placed a hand over Big Red to protect him.

The door then opened and everyone looked towards it when Gina had started to speak, "Ladies and gentlemen..."

"We present to you...a miracle in the snow," Carlos finished for her, shining his flashlight on one of the workers at Slices.

"Howie!" Big Red exclaimed as he got up and ran over to him.

"Yes!" Ashlyn shouted.

"Thank, God," Nadia said, immediately walking over towards the pizza like everyone else.

"One, two, three!" some people counted down before they open the pizza box, showing the delicious looking pizza pie. Ashlyn started to vocalize at the sight and Marcus clapped excitedly.

"I can probably eat all of these pies, oh, my gosh," Nadia said, grabbing a slice and practically shoving it down her throat.

"Same. Sorry for wanting to eat you," Ricky apologized to Big Red and they all laughed.

Nadia then looked over at Kourtney and Howie, who were talking to one another. He then handed her her study cards and Kourtney's eyes immediately lit up. Nadia smiled at the exchange.

"EJ, you're alive!" Ashlyn shouted and Nadia followed her gaze to see EJ walk into the room, with his hands in his pockets.

"Technically," EJ responded flatly.

Seb's phone then mooed. "Everyone! That was an alert from my Farmer's Alman-app. It says the roads are clear, and the sheep's are in heat!" he said and everyone gave him a weird look. "I should have read that last part in my head."

The lights then went back on and everyone cheered happily.

"Ms. Jenn just dropped Nini off at the bus terminal," Ricky said, looking at his phone before he turned to Big Red. "Big Red, can I borrow your car?" he asked and Big Red bent down and grabbed his keys, tossing it to Ricky. "Thanks. Later."

"I'll text Mom and Dad that we're gonna leaving soon since the roads are cleared," Marcus told Nadia before he walked away.

"Hey. You want a ride home?" Nadia heard Ashlyn ask Gina, so she waited to follow her brother. "You know, 'cause you never get to see me."

"Yeah, sure," Gina replied.

"Um, so what did happen back there?" Ashlyn asked slowly and quietly since Big Red was right there. Nadia decided it would be a good idea to get closer, and Gina glanced between the two girls.

"With Ricky or with Carlos?" Gina asked.

"We'll take either," Ashlyn said, looking at Nadia for her confirmation. Nadia nodded, giving Gina a comforting look, but she seemed to get even sadder.

"Yeah, I guess I'm still figuring that out," Gina told the both of them before she walked away.

"Do you wanna talk about..." Ashlyn trailed off since Gina wasn't stopping any time soon.

"I hope she's okay," Nadia said to Ashlyn.

"Me, too," Ashlyn agreed. "I'll text you if she says anything to me about it," Ashlyn told Nadia, and Nadia nodded before Ashlyn followed Gina out.

Nadia sighed and began to gather her things before she saw EJ just sort of...lingering in the room sadly. Everyone seemed to be sad today. "Hey...everything okay?" Nadia asked him and turned to her, a kind of shocked look on his face. "I'm just asking since you didn't show up to rehearsal and that's usually not like you so..." she trailed off, glancing away awkwardly.

All of their interactions just seemed to be a little awkward lately. It was like they weren't used to being nice to one another without there being an ulterior motive behind it.

EJ sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't get into Duke," he told her and Nadia's eyes widened, taking a step closer to him.

"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," she said. Nadia had applied to a bunch of colleges, but she didn't really have her heart set on one which was really out of character for her. Maybe because when she would be at college, she would be away from her parents and didn't have to worry about coming home and seeing the disappointed looks on her faces. But she still did want to see which ones she got into.

He shook his head. "It's fine."

"I don't think it's fine. You're obviously upset about it," Nadia pointed out, but it was more in a comforting way.

"It's just..." he trailed off. "You probably don't want to hear this. Or maybe you do so you can laugh at me."

"EJ," Nadia started, walking closer to him. "I really am sorry and I promise you, I won't laugh at you. I know things have been weird between us since we aren't really used to being nice to each other, but I promise you...I'm being 100% real. No more lies. No more diabolical plans," she said, laughing slightly which made him smile in the tiniest bit. "No more being a 'she-devil'," she finished.

He sighed after a moment of thinking. "My family is a Duke family, and I've always wanted to go to Duke to follow the tradition. But now that I haven't been accepted...I don't know what to do. I don't know who I am," he told her, sitting down.

She sat down next to him, but not too close. "I know this is going to sound kind of harsh because of what you're feeling right now, but it's the truth," she started, making him furrow his brows as he looked over at her. "You don't need to define yourself based on what college you go to. You still are the EJ Caswell, even if you go to Duke or not. And besides, Duke is stupid to not accept you."

"I don't know. According to my college essay, I have no story. So, am I really 'the EJ Caswell' if I don't have a really story?" he questioned, using air quotations to mimic what Nadia said before.

"Maybe you're still finding yourself and that's not a bad thing," Nadia told him. "Trust me, I'm still trying to find myself," she admitted, inching closer to him.

He laughed. "You don't have to lie to make me feel better."

"I told you, no more lies," she reminded him and he furrowed his brows again. "I went from 'East High's very own she-devil' to joining a musical and actually enjoying it so much that I auditioned for the next musical overnight. Well, maybe not overnight, but you get the point," she said, making him chuckle softly. "What I'm trying to say is, that whole 'she-devil' thing, was just an act. I had to show that I didn't mess around because I wanted people to know that I wasn't second-best. I had to adapt when I first came here, and that's how I adapted when I realized that someone was better me. And, well, that someone was you."

He scoffed quietly, not knowing what to say as he looked down at his hands.

"All I'm saying is, you may think you're one person now, but maybe you're wrong and you still have to find yourself," she finished, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, thank you, Nadia, really. You're probably the last person I would expect to say all of this to me," he admitted, looking up at her.

"Really? Because we've been having some deep conversations lately," she joked, making the both of them laugh.

"Seriously, thank you. I just hope I get over this soon. I don't want to ruin the musical by being a sad Gaston," he said.

"Don't worry, you're too professional to let everyone down," she said, smiling at him before she realized how close they were. She didn't even realize that she had been inching closer to him the whole time they were talking.

"Hey, Nadia, you coming? Oh." Nadia immediately looked over and saw her brother standing in the doorway, a confused look on his face. "I'll j—"

"No, I'm coming," she told him, standing up. She then turned towards EJ, who was taking his time getting up. "Do you need a ride home?" she asked after a moment.

"Oh, no, I'm good. Thanks, Nadia," he said and she nodded before she began to walk over to Marcus.

"Uhh..." Marcus said in confusion as she reached him.

"We were just talking since he was upset, it's fine," she told him, not wanting him to think she was planning something again.

Or maybe for a other reason she didn't want to think about.

Sorry this is so long omg, I just felt like it would be stupid to split this episode up into different parts. Anyway, remember to vote and comment!! And thank you for over 1k reads!