It's Heathers, but Genderbent?- Be More Chill

Chapter Three

"Sooooooo, how was everyone's Friday night?!" It was 12:30 in the afternoon, Christine, Chloe, Jake, Jeremy, Rich, Brooke, and Jenna sat in the auditorium for their weekend practice.

Everyone ignored Christine's question, mostly because they were too tired to even want to be here. Chloe was passed out in a hazy Brooke's lap, Jeremy staring out into space, and Rich rolling around on the floor with no sense of his actions. Jenna and Jake shrugged in response to the eager girl's question, the both of them pulling out props from backstage.

"Is Michael here?" Christine surveyed the room, looking for a glimpse of the infamous red hoodie the boy always wore, but could not seem to find him. Jeremy perked up at the sound of his friends name, he too, scanning the room in search for their friend. "I don't know how to set up this thing." Christine looked down at the soundboard in front of her, as well as taking a glance towards the back, at the spotlights and lighting board.

"I saw him yesterday, he dropped me off at my place." Jenna emerged from behind the curtains as she placed some props onstage. Jeremy's breathing picked up slightly, worry catching up to him. Michael always texted him when he'd be running late.

"Relax, I'll just check Kik and see if he's online!" Chloe finally got up, making her way over to her bag to grab her phone. The absence of the girl's body heat caused Brooke to pout, but watch Chloe nonetheless as she tried to contact Michael. "It appears he's online..." Chloe typed some things on her phone, the soft ping of her phone alerting the group she had sent something.

Rich grabbed his phone as well, leaning on Jake as he checked to see if he'd gotten any texts from Michael. "He probably just slept in, guys." Rich piped in, but his tone of voice made it sound like he was convincing himself more than anyone else.

"Well, we'll practice Candy Store another day! Get the set ready for Fight For Me, while I try to figure out this damn sound-thingy." As Christine fiddled with some buttons, the rest of the cast set to work, moving props and getting into position. Jeremy walked over to sit on the bench Rich had just placed on the stage, waiting for Christine to be ready. As the rest of the cast got into position, Christine mumbled incoherent sentences to herself as she tried to operate the soundboard.

Jake was about to help her out when the speakers blasted, the music coming alive. "HOLY SHIT TURN THAT DOWN!" Chloe shoved her hands over her ears, holding her elbows over Brooke's. Rich laughed as he watched Christine frantically try to turn the volume down.

Jake ran over to her, the two of them twisting knobs and hitting buttons, ultimately making the music louder. Jenna greedily grabbed her phone, recording the whole thing. Next thing he knew, Jeremy was running over, trying to help the other two at the soundboard.

The music kept getting louder, loud enough to the point where Rich abruptly stopped laughing because his ears were hurting so bad. Everyone's frantic movements were not making the task at hand any easier. The auditorium doors swung open, but no one seemed to notice because of the panicking they were all engrossed in.

Michael stood in the doorway, he couldn't help but laugh at what he was greeted with. Christine was screaming at the top of her lungs, Jake was throwing his head back in laughter, Jeremy just looked straight up terrified, Chloe and Brooke covering their ears for dear life, Jenna recording the whole thing, and Rich running back and forth on the stage, holding his ears and screaming. Michael walked over to the lighting booth in the back of the auditorium, searching for the right plug to pull, that would ultimately bring the loud noise to an end.