Starburst

Chapter 10: Rehearsals and Rogue Rodents

"I'm in desperate need to blow off some steam today. Who's up for a jog around the neighborhood this evening?" Cress looked her friend in the eye.

"Why not?" Ten agreed, before casting a glance at EJ.

Meanwhile, EJ STILL hasn't apologized or admitted to Nini that he took her phone, or the fact that her ex had sent her a voicemail.

Hopefully this will not come back and bite him in the rear end.

— — — — — — — — — —

The Next Day...

While EJ and Nini were having their ugly confrontation in the hallways, Ten was just tuning out all the fighting with his headphones.

Meantime, Cress and a few others were helping Natalie Bagly find her missing emotional support pet hamster in the Rehearsals Room.

"So tell me again what your hamster looks like?" Gina asked.

"His name's Elliot with gold fur and a white underbelly," Natalie shakily explained what her hamster looks like, while searching through different places to find her pet.

"Elliot? Like Sebby's oldest brother, Elliott. The same Elio who's dating my sister Christine?" Cress mused. She's heard Natalie talk about her emotional support hamster before, but this is the first time she found out the hamster shares the same name as Seb's brother.

"You named your pet hamster after my brother?" Seb can't help but ask his friend (pseudo Secret Girlfriend) this important question.

"I was 12 and he was my first crush," Natalie sighed wistfully.

"Elliot is a good name." Gina muttered, earning a nod from Carlos too.

"Eww, seriously. My brother." Seb jokingly wrinkled his nose in mild disgust.

"I know, but still, he's very easy on the eyes." Natalie half-shrugged, earning a horrified groan from the blond boy.

"Seriously, my brother!" Seb half-grumbled, looking at the Senior, "Cress, stop laughing!"

Cress was wheezing and laughing inelegantly.

— — — —

A Few Minutes Later

— — — —

"I need a moment." Natalie burst through the doors and walked past the rest of the students outside, clutching a shoebox in her hands.

"Is her hamster...?" Ashlyn asked cautiously, her gaze fixed on the shoebox.

"No, she thinks he's hiding in her locker." Carlos answered.

"Then who was screaming?" Kitt (the boy playing Coach Bolton) wondered.

"Carlos. Nattie stepped on his foot." Cress replied. "We thought we saw a hamster, but it turns out it's an old wig collecting far too much dust."

Cress held up a very dusty looking wig and grinned, "But hey, this wig is giving me great ideas for a Halloween prank!"

Carlos went up to brief EJ and Nini about their upcoming blocking.

"So what happened again?" Ten removed his headphones to talk to his friend. Anything is more interesting than watching EJ and Nini's relationship drama.

"Ok we lost track of Natalie's emotional support hamster Elliot. But we uncovered the fact Nattie had a crush on Sebby's brother who happens to be my sister's boyfriend. Which...fair, he is a charming guy." Cress explained.