Starburst

Chapter 1: First Day of School

"Wow, not even the first period yet and you two are already judging my choices." EJ sighed a bit, used to his friends messing with him. But then again, he tends to do the same to Ten sometimes.

"That's what best friends do." Cress hummed.

"Well, you'll get to meet Nini later." EJ stated, before muttering to himself, "although it might as well be a decision I will regret."

"Come on, the assembly's about to start." Ten reminded them, as the 3 high school seniors made their way to the gym.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

It was time for the back-to-school morning assembly, and EJ was sandwiched between Cress and Ten.

Not that he minded, the three of them have become inseparable friends since their 7th grade museum field trip.

Everyone was already bored out of their minds while listening to the principal's announcements. He mentioned something about how seniors can now wear baseball caps on Fridays.

"Go seniors!" Someone sitting in the back cheered.

"Fridays!" Cress chimed back in response at the announcement.

Suddenly, Principal Gutierrez introduced the newest Drama teacher as a blonde lady marched forward to take the stage. Behind her was Carlos Rodriguez, a sophomore who was also in the same theater club as EJ and Cress were.

And then the teacher grabbed a shirt launcher and aimed it at one of the kids sitting behind, cheering "Go Wildcats!"

Well, that was one way to get the students' attention.

'Note to self, use a T-shirt launcher next time I introduce myself to new people.' Cress made a mental reminder, impressed by the drama teacher's enthusiasm.

"My name is Miss Jenn," the new teacher introduced herself, "and when I heard that the high school where 'High School Musical' was shot never had never staged a production of 'High School Musical' the musical,"

Oh boy, EJ now looks intrigued, you can tell from the way his eyes lit up.

"I was shocked as an actress, inspired as a director, and triggered as a millennial." Miss Jenn continued, "Auditions are tomorrow after school. This show could change your lives."

Everyone else looked interested now, whispering to one another.

"And I am saying this as a backup dancer from the original movie." Miss Jenn clarified, "Third to the left, backrow, red headband. And yes, those are my real teeth."

Carlos stepped forward, before Miss Jenn introduced the younger teen.

"And meet your student choreographer, Carlos. You may know him as Captain of the Color Guard. I know him as an unpaid rising star." Miss Jenn introduced, before her voice went soft, "But seriously, I have no budget."

The school bell rang, marking the end of the assembly.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

And there you have it, Cress's debut. Hope you've liked her character so far, because she's gonna be so much fun to write.

Chapter Notes: 

1) Ten belongs to my friend, @zealous_light and he's from "Weightless". (Seriously, check out her stories, they're amazing) While in Weightless! Ten has a more composed and calm manner who carries the functional braincells for his friends, Starburst! Ten has a more snarky and mischievous side. He still carries the braincells and moral compass for the friendship though. 

2) Cress has a fun friendship with Ten and EJ, she's a force to be reckoned with and is fiercely loyal to the ones she love. She's loud, she's proud, she's unapologetically chaotic alignment energy. If you are to compare Ten, EJ and Cress (plus Jeonghan but he will appear later on), this is their dynamic in a nutshell

      Ten: No/Low Energy

      EJ: Calm (for the most part)

      Cress and Jeonghan: Too Much Energy

3) I know EJ's full name isn't revealed until season 3 but much like Ten's, Cress has only ever known her two friends through their nicknames. So she makes wild guesses to what EJ is short for (when she was 13, her first guess was Eggs Jelly. Now, it's Economic Jobless. 'Job' as a nod to how EJ idolizes Steve Jobs)

4) Also we never got to know much of EJ's family life save for his relationship with Ashlyn (his cousin) and Cash (his father), so I'm pulling in my interpretation of EJ's mom. Her name's Penny (short for Penelope) and she's where EJ got his good looks from and his theater kid side. That way Cress can make a passing joke of "Cash was penniless (Penny-less) before he got married". She won't appear much but gets passing mentions every now and then.

That's all for now, thank you so much for reading. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think so far. Have a nice day.