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PHOEBE'S LAUGHTER STOPPED the second her eyes landed on the firefighters walking around the theater. She froze in shock as everyone gathered around, ready for the tech rehearsal. "Oh my gosh," Nini was the first one to speak out of all of them. "What happened?"
"It's okay," Miss Jenn reassured them. "Nobody was hurt. There was a small fire in the theater over the holiday and the sprinklers did their job."
"We're almost done in here," a firefighter walked over to Miss Jenn. "Just have to finish up in the faculty room next. Some circuits blew in there over the break. Unfortunately, the show cannot go on."
"What?" Phoebe breathed out the same time Miss Jenn did. All of it had been for nothing. Staying up all night to save the show and Miss Jenn meant nothing because they still weren't going to be able to preform.
"The fire ripped through half of your costumes," the lady informed them. "And the sprinklers ruined a bunch of your sets. I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to red tag the entire backstage area for a month at least."
"Did she just say costumes?" Kourtney muttered in disbelief.
"Okay," Miss Jenn turned back towards them. "Okay, listen up. Hug your neighbor, take a moment and let's reconvene in the cafeteria after school to talk about our options. Nini and Ricky, spread the word."
"Got it," Nini nodded. "Yeah, of course."
"Ricky?" Miss Jenn looked at the boy, who was busy on his phone. "Ricky?"
That caught his attention. "Sorry. After school in the cafeteria. Got it."
The rest of the day was a blur. Phoebe hadn't been able to focus in any of her classes, too upset by the fact they wouldn't get to preform. She sat in the cafeteria next to Clara at a table, anxiously bouncing her leg as worried chatter filled the air around her.
"Okay, guys!" Miss Jenn clapped her hands together to get their attention. "Wait, where's Gina?"
"I think she's going through a family thing right now," Ashlyn answered.
"Okay, prayers to our Gina," Miss Jenn replied. "I'm really not sure what to say. You've all worked so hard. I've seen all of you grow so much. But if we don't have a theater, we don't have a show."
Immediately, everyone started talking to each other, clearly upset by the news. "Come on, Miss Jenn," Carlos protested. "We've gotta do something."
"I think we. . ." Miss Jenn let out a breath. "I don't know. I guess we could consider other venues?"
"What about the old Kingston downtown?" Ashlyn suggested.
