Romeo and Juliet

c h a p t e r t w e l v e

It was two weeks later and River was sat up in her bed at five in the morning. Opening night day would officially be starting in about four hours and she couldn't tell if she was more excited or nervous. She had been waiting for this moment for so long. Her chance to finally show everyone what she was capable of was coming and she truly hoped she wasn't going to mess it up. Both of her dads and Antoine had made sure that she would reserve them seats close to the front so she could easily spot them. She had to bribe Miss Jenn with candy but had managed to pull it off with three signs labelled 'Maxwell' already being taped to seats in the third row.
As she sat there staring at the clock and then the wall, she sighed thinking of how opening nights had made her feel. She had only been to a few but they were always so chaotic and ended with her sat in her friends houses whilst they quietly sang the songs and talked about their favourite moments. The high school musical opening night would always be the one that stuck in her mind the most.

•

~ East High: HSM Opening Night ~

A fifteen year old River Maxwell walked into school that night. Her hair was shorter and had been dyed a vibrant blue after she had cut it off to defy her parents rules and had surprised her cast mates with this act of rebellion. She had pinned it up into a bun and let her fringe hang loosely in front of her eyes. She wore a pair of ripped jeans and an oversized hoodie. If she could see herself now, she wouldn't think they were the same person. She made her way through the empty halls towards her locker where she stopped and opened it, retrieving the letters she had written to everyone to thank them for creating such a loving family environment. She shut the locker again before she walked through to the dressing room where everyone was rushing about frantically. She started handing out the letters one by one, letting everyone know how good they looked until she was left with just one. Gina's. Her best friend had moved away a few weeks ago and though they had kept in contact, River was struggling without her. She was her first female best friend and she loved her with her whole heart and now she was doing the show, that caused them to meet, without her. She shook off the sad feeling and walked towards the costume rack where she found her first outfit of the night. It was a red basketball jersey with her surname plastered on the back as if she actually played the sport. She had gotten to come in later due to her first appearance being in the act one finale. They were currently awaiting the call for 'Stick to the Status Quo'. They needed less dancers for that so River tapped out for that one. She could slightly overhear Kourtney freaking out but knew Nini was calming her down and tried to tune out the conversation until she heard a name be mentioned.
"Or we could just have Gina do it!" She says happily which makes the girl snap her head up and towards the door.
And there, with a tray of cupcakes in her hands was her best friend. She yelled out to her and the girl put the cupcakes down as River raced towards her and jumped into her arms as they started to cry at being reunited. They held on for a minute before she let her go so she could get changed into her costume. Once she was sorted, the girls joined hands and made their way up to the stage where Gina went on to perform and her best friend watched proudly from the sidelines, cheering loudly when they finished.
They all ran off and she watched as her ensemble cast mates changed into their outfits as they started to make their way onto the stage. She waited for Ricky and EJ to show up, wishing them luck as the three of them made their way on with the music starting to play in the background. River dribbled the ball and danced about with the rest of the cast before her and one of the other girls raced back to catch Rickys harness and attach it to him. Once he was all done up, River patted his back and sent a thumbs up to the side of the stage as he started to be lifted into the air. She watched in awe as he sang out proudly. Until he stopped and dropped the ball making her reach out to catch it. She followed his gaze and saw his mom and another man sat together. She knew exactly what had happened. She coughed lightly to break Ricky out of his trance making him shake his head as he came back down. She unhinged him from the harness and watched as he fumbled about, messing up all the choreography and ran into her. She stopped him as they continued singing to each other, using her eyes to communicate with him. The song finished and he grabbed her hand as he raced off the stage, wanting to get as far away as possible. She stopped him when they got to the dressing room but he just couldn't cope. She sat him down and got the boy to control his breathing.
"I can't go back out there River, I can't, I need to find Nini I'm sorry" he says standing up and pushing past her.
EJ and the rest of the cast then came into the room for the end of the first act and she walked over to him giving him a hug.
"You did really good out there, I'm proud of you" she tells him.
"Thanks Riv, I'm really proud of you too"
•
Around five minutes later, the girl found herself sat up at the control board with Big Red and Mr Mazzara as she didn't have to be back on stage until the final number. Once the break was over, the lights dimmed again and River watched in shock as EJ came on to play Troy which almost threw Nini off. She knew something must have happened to Ricky and so said her goodbyes before she made her way backstage, asking everyone if they had seen Ricky. They told her he should be out in the hall and so she rushed out only to see Gina already consoling him. The pair had gotten noticeably closer and it made River happy. She knew they weren't used to opening up to new people and yet they found comfort in the other, if Nini hadn't been on his mind so much she wondered if the pair would've gotten together. They spotted her stood at the end of the hall after a few minutes and she walked towards the pair. She made sure Ricky was alright before the three of them decided to go watch EJ and Nini sing their hearts out.
•
After a quick change from EJ to Ricky and one phenomenal performance of Breaking Free later, the cast found themselves getting ready to start the last number. River and the ensemble made their way on and started dancing as the cast came forward and did their bows, everyone starting to sing along to the orchestra. She watched as one by one, her friends came through and got their standing ovations. The play had been chaotic but they still managed to pull it off. After a few minutes, everyone made they way into a line, River holding tightly onto Rico's hand who smiled at her brightly before they all raised their hands and bowed together as the applauds got louder.
She then moved to hug her friends as the song came to and end. She held both EJ and Gina close to her as the group formed a hug making the girl smile.
She was proud of putting herself out there this year and she couldn't wait to do the same next year.

•

~ BatB Opening Night Day: T Minus 30 Minutes ~

The alarm clock started to beep next to the girl and she moved her hand to turn it off. She gave herself a few minutes before she swung her legs out from under the covers and stood up slowly. She stretched her arms out and replied to her messages on her phone before she moved to pull together an outfit. After a another five minutes she decided on a pair of mom jeans and a knitted jumper. She went to the bathroom and changed into the clothes and brushed her hair before she made her way back through to her room. She walked over to the window and threw open the curtains, letting the light flood in.
"Show time"