ONCE EVERYONE GOES INTO REHEARSAL, CARLOS COMES IN TELLING EVERYBODY TO RUN 'Stick to the Status Quo'. Marie goes to sit at the piano, as everybody else gathers around as they start the song. Once they were done singing, Carlos announces, "I have no notes." Everybody then starts clapping and cheering for each other.

    It was the end of the day after rehearsals and Gina and Marie were in the dressing room getting ready to go home when Nini comes in.

    "Hey. Gina, Marie. Do you guys have a second?" Nini greets coming up to them. "That's all we have." Marie answered looking up to her for a second.

"I just wanna say, I don't know what happened with my phone, and I don't care anymore, and I know you guys don't like me very much. And I'm okay with that. But we have to find a way to respect each other, and I know that starts with me." Nini explains looking between the two sisters. Gina just looks up to her confused, "Okay?"

    "So, when I thought you stole my phone, I may have gone a little crazy, and then you said something mean and I may have gone extra crazy." She continues as Gina and Marie glance at each other, not having any idea what she was talking about.

    "Point is, I have come into possession of a few of you things and I would like to return them to both of you." Nini continued dumping a trash bag full of Gina and Marie's stuff onto the table.

    "Wow" She said in shock that she stole all of those things from them.

"I know, it was kind of a workout getting it all here. I don't know how you guys walk around with all of this stuff. You must be freakishly strong. Uh, but that's beside the point." Nini rambles as they just stared at her, brows raised.

"So, what is the point?" Gina questions before standing up to face Nini.

    "I'm not gonna be a doormat for you, I'm also not gonna be a klepto." Nini states looking them both in the eyes. "So we can all just stay in our lane and find out our own ways to thrive." She states before quoting the famous movie we all know a love, "Stick to the status quo."

Marie hummed in response, before Nini started again, "I hope you guys enjoy having all of randomly heavy stuff back. I'll see both at rehearsal."

Nini turns to walk away, Marie stopping her and stepping closer, "Just one thing before you go. We didn't have your phone." She stated before turning around to grab her stuff that Nini returned to them

    "Okay, what was that all about?" Marie asked Gina as soon as Nini left the room.

"I guess she thought we stole her phone and retaliated." Gina answered, walking out of the dressing room into the halls.

    "Why would she think we stole her phone?" Marie questioned again, rushing forward to catch up to her. Gina doesn't respond and just keeps walking. "Gina. Are you planning something? 'Cause it feels like your planning something." Marie

"I hate you can see right through me." Gina admits, causing Marie to smile.

    "I am your sister after all."

    Gina sighed, stopping in her tracks to face the redhead. "Well you obviously know I want to be Gabriella in the show so I have this plan I'm thinking about doing, and I think I'm going to bring E.J. into it."

Marie looked at her confused, brows furrowing, "Wait, why would E.J. be involved?"

"Because we both want the lead roles, and he doesn't want Ricky in the show." Gina explained as she slowly nodded along to her plan.

《✭✭✭✭》

IT WAS BEFORE REHEARSAL FOR THE DAY, and Natalie Bagley lost her emotional support hamster so she was in the bomb shelter looking for it, while everybody else was waiting outside, talking amongst themselves.

Then Nini and E.J. came down the stairs over where the rest of them were, "Could we not do this right now, please?" Nini states, gaining some of the other students' attention.

"Do what? Are you mad at me?" Nini only glances back to her friends and sighs while looking up at him.

"You're mad at me. Look, there was no fitting at lunch." E.J sighs, wondering where his girlfriend was.

"Fine. You wanna know where I was. I was at the computer lab, brining some hacker to crack into my phone to recover a message you deleted when you stole it." At this point everybody was full on listening to the couple fight but they still tried to make it seem like they weren't.

"Why would you think that I-" E.J stuttered.

"Oh, please. Gina and Marie aren't the wonderstudies I need to worry about, are they?" Nini exclaims, as Marie's head perks up, Ashlyn looking over to the girl.

The couple then walk slightly farther away from everyone and stops listening to them argue.

A minute later Nini then walks away from E.J. and toward the rest of us, "Hey, is the door locked or something? Why can't we get in?" Nini asks everyone. "Oh. Natalie Bagley's missing her emotional-support hamster. He got loose. Carlos and Gina are helping her find her. Him. It." Marie answering Nini's question, making it known she was there the whole time.

Right after that they could all hear a high pitched scream from inside the room, "I think they found it." Ashlyn says addressing the scream that everybody just heard.

Natalie and Carlos then come out of the room, "I need a minute." The girl sniffles, scurrying away.

   "Is he dead?" Ashlyn questions Carlos, to which he says, "No. Now she thinks he's in her gym locker."

"Why the screaming?" Marie questioned.

"That was me. She stepped on my toe. We're ready to begin, people." Carlos answered turning to face everybody at the end. Everybody then files into the room, as Marie goes over to her sister.

"Hey, how are doing?" The redhead asked, as they put their stuff down, Marie grabbing her sheet music.

      "Actually pretty good. Well besides having to try and catch Natalie Bagley's hamster." Her sister answered, sighing.

   "Well while you we're in here catching a hamster, Nini and E.J. we're not having the best time per se." Marie spoke in a hushed tone, as Gina smirked, "Hmm, trouble in paradise. This actually might be good for us."

    "Don't get your hopes up." Marie stated, she sighed, changing the subject, "What scene are we running today?"

   "Scene Seven." She answered looking up to her as Gina sat down. Marie stared down at her sheet music, starting to turn to walk away, Gina stopped her, grabbing her arm. "I think Ricky's going to be late too."

     Marie hummed in response, nodding. She then paused, realizing that E.J. and Nini would have to do the scene together. "Oh, no." She complained, pouting towards her sister, "Wish me luck."

    "Can you move a little closer to each other?" Miss Jenn directed as they were about to run the scene. Nini only moves slightly closer to him, "Little more." Miss Jenn says as E.J. slowly walks over to her.

    "Come on, guys were blocking this as a love story, not a SARS epidemic." Miss Jenn spoke, as Marie looked over to Gina to see her either sly smirk etched onto her lips.

    "I think that chair was over there." Carlos states, noticing the blocking of the scene. "Oh, I can move it over in the scene." Nini suggested, walking over to the chair ready to pick it up.

     "Feels awkward." Miss Jenn stated before Nini continues, "No, it's light. I can lift it over my head."

    "Sweetie, no one is walking with furniture on their head. This isn't The Lion King." Miss Jenn spoke firmly to Nini, before whispering to Big Red to get rid of the chair.

    "Troy once the intro begins cross downstage and plant yourself at the piano. Which should be further downstage, okay?" Miss Jenn said. Big Red then comes over to the piano to move it, but starts to push it the wrong way before Miss Jenn stops him.

    "Okay. Gabriella, you slowly approach the piano and rest an arm on it, naturally." Miss Jenn directed before talking to Big Red, "Can we make sure her book bag is off stage right?"

     Big Red just nods unsurely, "Sure um.." He then turns to Marie, "What way is that?"

     The girl just pointed over to stage right, sending him a small smile.

    "Okey-Dokey. Take it from, 'Wow that's really nice.'" Miss Jenn announced as they finally started the scene.

    Miss Jenn then points to Marie as a signal to start playing the song, as E.J. walks over and stands next to the piano.

"It's hard to believe that I couldn't see, you were always there beside me." E.J sang in a monotonous voice.

     "Thought I was alone with no one to hold, but you were always there beside me." Nini sang, looking down to the floor as she leaned her arm against the piano, unnaturally.

   "This feelings like not other, I want you to know. I've never had someone 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 . Doo doo doo.
Doo doo doo doo doo doo." The couple sang together, the tension was so high it made Marie want to curl up in a corner. They looked like they were about kill each other at any moment.

     "Woah oh oh oh. Doo doo doo. Doo doo doo doo doo doo. Woah oh oh oh. Hmmm." Nini hummed, dragging out the note way longer than it needed to be.

    Once they were done the room was in complete silence, there was so much tension between them that nobody was ready for. "Okay, freeze. Nini, sweetie, this reprise comes at a decisive moment in the story, once your hearts have joined. It's a love song." Miss Jenn tried to give criticism, "We're you not getting that?" Nini asks motioning between her and E.J.

    "I'd like you to get to his heart without craving his rib cage." Miss Jenn states blankly.  Ricky then burst into the room apologizing for being late, and says that he doesn't have his script, and this sends Miss Jenn into a whole spiel about being prepared and how they shouldn't have another day like this again. This whole ordeal caused rehearsal to end early that day.

《✭✭✭✭》

    
     GINA AND MARIE WALKED THROUGH the halls, having to walk home due to the practice ending early. Gina suddenly stopped by a poster for the upcoming homecoming dance which seems to have peaked Gina interest. She pulled out her phone, taking a quick photo of the poster. "I'm not gonna be your date again." Marie stated simply, already knowing that Gina was going to make her go, even if she didn't want to.

    Gina then pulls the girl over to E.J. who is staring at his locker as the two leaned against the lockers. "Now you have a chance to be a hero." Gina greeted and E.J. closes his locker.

    "Stay away from me." E.J. spoke in a threatening kind of tone.

   "Girls like her love a comeback." Gina stated. "You set me up and then sold me out. So if I were you I'd cool it." E.J. explains to the sisters.

   "Oh, please. Don't waste your energy hating on us." Marie appeared suddenly from behind Gina. "Start thinking of the long game. Opening night is six weeks out, dude. Follow us, and you'll have the part of Troy and the girl." Gina explains trying to get him on board.

     "I hate to tell you this, but around here, seniors don't follow sophomores." E.J. finished before walking away.

Gina only scoffs in response, while her sister sighed leaning back against the lockers. "Hate to say it G, but I think our plan is failing," Marie added looking over to Gina.

    "He'll come eventually, and I think I know just the way to get him." Gina replied, smirking.

     "I'm not even gonna ask what your thinking." Marie rolled her eyes as they started to walk away, "That's probably a good idea." Gina giggles, giving her a small smile.

    "Hey, you okay?" Gina asks as her smile dropped, "Uh...yeah. All good."  Marie lied, smiling, hoping it was enough to convince Gina to believe her.

     "Okay, I know you're not all good. So how about we go home, eat ice cream, and watch really cringey Hallmark movies." Gina explained, stopping in her tracks, turning to the redhead. "To cheer you up."

     "Yeah, that sounds great." Marie nodded, smiling at her. After hearing her response Gina just grabs her hand and starts running out of the school, and over to the store to get ice cream.

    "This is great. Thanks, G." Marie complimented as they watched bad Hallmark movies and eat ice cream. Before Gina could respond there was a knock on the door, "I'll get it." Gina said before getting up and opening the door.

   "Hey, I got your text." E.J. stated as Gina opened the door. Gina only looks back at Marie sitting on the couch before walking out on the porch to talk with E.J.

     "Yeah, I still want her back more than anything. What's your plan?" He continued fully on board with the plan.

    "You're taking Marie to the homecoming dance." Gina announced, smiling.

    "What?" E.J. questions, his brows furrowing together. "Shh. Don't ask questions." She stopped him from talking anymore, putting a finger up to her lip and shaking her head.

i speak—
hey y'all it's been a while since i've updated this book. sorry about that a lot as happened in the past two months and now i'm finally getting a chance to relax and write some more. :)