𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐘 ― r. bowen ¹ ✓

018

He immediately shook his head. "Nope."

"Ricky," Athena said, dragging out his name and shaking his shoulder a little. "Come on, it's your time to shine!"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Fine."

Athena got off of him and sat in his now-empty seat as he stood up. However, her eyes widened upon noticing who the other team had chosen to go. EJ. The whole room went silent. She shared a concerned look with Violetta. This could either end civil, or very, very badly.

"Oh boy," Seb muttered.

"Your challenge is to stare at your partner and do the Sharpay and Ryan warm-up thing for sixty seconds straight without laughing . . . or killing each other," Carlos instructed as Ricky and EJ sized up one another. "Okay . . . go!"

Instantly, the two boys began to do the Sharpay and Ryan voice warm-up. Athena instantly burst out laughing again and how perfectly they were doing it and how the ma's progressively got louder and more aggressive. Tears gathered in her eyes as she held onto Ashlyn's shoulder for support so she wouldn't fall off the couch.

Finally, the minute ended. Both teams got to move up spaces because neither Ricky nor EJ started laughing. Ricky walked back to his seat and squeezed next to Athena on the very little space that they had left.

"How'd I do?" Ricky asked to his girlfriend.

She let out the last of her giggles and wiped her eyes free of the tears. "You killed it."

Carlos announced that they could take a small break for a moment. Gina and Nini went up to go to the kitchen, but all of them decided that they should take a group picture. They called the two back in to the living room and Carlos took a picture of all of them.

They began to play the game again. After a couple more rounds of endless laughter and testing High School Musical knowledge, the Wildcats and Knights officially reached a tie. They all began to suggest they would do to try and break the tie until Carlos decided what to do (since it was his game, after all.)

"Okay, you guys according to the Musical Choosical Handbook of Rulesicals—" Carlos began.

"Stop it," EJ interrupted.

"The only way to resolve a tie at the end of regulation play is with a lightning speed round of Get'cha Head in the Frame trivia questions. Are you ready? Because people have been known to cry during this."

"I thought you had never actually played this," Seb voiced.

"Honey, not today of all days," Carlos responded, making Athena laugh slightly. "Okay, here we go. Name both jersey numbers Troy wears in the movie."

"Oh, uh, fourteen and ten," Big Red answered.

Ashlyn looked down at him. "How did you know that? I didn't even know that."

Athena snapped her fingers. "Go off, Red."

"Correct." Carlos moved that card to the back of the deck. "How does Gabriella describe herself when she's complaining to her mom?"

"Oh!" Ashlyn exclaimed. "As the school's freaky genius girl."

"And do people usually talk like that?"