My Lucky Charm is a Rose (HSMTMTS)

25. But, we'll need your help.

Holding the sign in my hand, I am about to jump out of my seat with the excitement that I finally get to see an old friend again after a year of missing everyone I used to know. In just under an hour, I'm going to see the person that made my life what it is. Kenny Ortega was—no, is—my mentor, who I looked up to when I wanted advice about anything. Without him, I wouldn't be where I am today.

"Honey, you can calm down. The flight isn't landing for an hour. You have time." My mom tries to calm down my racing excitement about Kenny coming to Salt Lake. "Okay, cookie time. Come on. Let's go and grab a cookie, relax, and play a card game." When I was little and I was anxiously waiting for something, my mother would call for cookie time: chocolate chip cookie and a card game.

After a calming dessert and playing a few rounds of double solitaire, it's finally time for me to drive to the airport. It's not a long drive to SLC from my house, although it feels at least twice as long as it usually would. Parking in the airport parking lot, I grab my sign—which has more than enough color and doodles on it from being bored all morning—and walk into the baggage claim area, where we agreed to meet once he got off of his plane. Out of the corner of my eyes, I notice a few people taking pictures of me, but I deal with it and move on. I'm just a normal human being like the rest of you guys. Okay, that's not entirely true, but that's the way I'd like to be treated.

"Juliette! It's good to see you again!" I can already identify Kenny's enthusiastic voice, although I'm sure he's getting bombarded with photos from the many who were interested in seeing me.

"Kenny!" Even though it only feels like a year since I last saw him, it still feels like forever. "I've missed you." Giving him a big hug, I feel his arms wrap around me to reciprocate my action.

"You, too, kiddo." My smile gets wider as we start to talk about everything that's happened since I froze.

"There are plenty of movies you probably haven't seen, but I wanted to give you more of a rundown of the show I am directing." I'm excited to hear about all of this. "It's a lot different than most of the DCOMs out there."

"How?" I haven't watched many of the new ones, but I do know what they're about.

"Well, this one involves teenagers having elemental powers." Yeah, of all the ones I can think of off the top of my head—Zombies, Freaky Friday, Upside-Down Magic, Descendants—none of them so much as touch on the idea of having elemental powers. "Basically, the plot of the story is centered around a girl who can control Water and ice who is moving to a new city with her family. She meets a guy who's a Fire she's not allowed to date, by law, and starts to fall for him, but doesn't know she can't actually date him."

"That's actually a pretty sweet idea." It's kind of a mix of a few different DCOMs, although I'm sure it has its own plot twists. "Kind of like Zombies and Descendants mixed, obviously with big changed parts?"

"A little. There are parts of Freaky Friday, High School Musical, and even Camp Rock I want you to pull from when you write the songs." Yeah, that makes sense. Between those five movies, I'm sure I'll find some inspiration for the ten to twelve songs I'm supposed to write.

"I also had an idea that I'm not sure you'll be totally on board with." If this conversation is going in the direction I think it is, I'm going to say no. "Some of the executive producers and I have been thinking that we want you to play the main part."

"I will think about it, but don't expect a yes from me." I'm sure he understands where I'm coming from, especially if he can remember what I told him last time he offered me a spot in a DCOM.

"That's more than I was expecting." I'm sure it was, but I've changed a lot in the last year. "So, does your mom still make those really good cookies?" Even after fifteen years, he still remembers. I brought some to the first meeting I was in, and everyone devoured them. And, yet, still no one knows what the secrets are to my mother's infamous cookies.