x. all you gotta do is smile that smile
and there goes all my defenses
AFTER THANKSGIVING, ANDY AND the rest of the drama club walkes into the theatre, gawking at the destroyed theatre.
"Oh my God, what happened?" Nini questioned, looking around at the mess.
"It's okay, nobody was hurt. There was a small fire in the theatre over the holiday and the sprinklers did their job," she explained with a sigh.
A firefighter walked out, looking around at the damge and then at the kids before turning to Miss Jenn.
"We're almost done in here, just have to finish up in the faculty room next," the firefighter said, handing a basketball to Miss Jenn, "Unfortunately, the show cannot go on,"
"What?" Miss Jenn asked, staring at this woman with shock as she delivered the heart breaking news.
They all stood there in silence at the realisation that their show had effectively been ruined.
"Fire ripped through half your costumes and the sprinklers ruined a bunch of your sets. I'm sorry but I'm gonna to red tag the backstage area for at least a month," she explained before walking off.
Andy stood on shock, wondering what they were going to do. Everyone else felt the same way, horrified that all their hard work had been for nothing. They waited for some solution.
"Listen up, take a moment and let's reconvene in the cafeteria after school to talk about out options," Miss Jenn announced.
Later that day, Miss Jenn walked into the cafeteria, "Wait, wheres Gina?" She asked as she realised she was missing.
"I think she's going through a family thing right now," Ashlyn said, sitting next to Andy and EJ.
They had all heard what had happened over the phone at thanksgiving, that there was a high likely hood that Gina wasn't going to be coming back.
"Okay. I'm not really sure what to say. You've all worked so hard but if we don't have a theatre, we don't have a show," Miss Jenn explained.
Everyone gasped, chatting amongst themselves about what was going to happen to the show.
"Come on Miss Jenn, we've got to do something," Carlos said desperately.
"I think we-" she paused, shaking her head, upset, "-I don't know, I guess we could consider other venues,"
Everyone nodded their heads, tryinf to think of somewhere else that they could go. They had to save the show.
"Oh, oh, what about the old Kingston downtown?" Ashlyn offered, Miss Jenn explaining that it was condemned.
"The Lucky Ducky Pupper Pavilion?" EJ suggested.
She shook her head, "I'm 92% sure that it's a massive Starbucks now," Andy stated, EJ sighing in defeat.
"How about the El Rey?" Carlos said and everyone agreed, a chorus of agreement echoing through the cafeteria.
"Any other ideas," Miss Jenn asked, everyone going quiet as they looked at the odd expression on her face.
Nobody quite understood why she had such a weird reaction the El Ray, it was perfect because it was where they screened the first film.
"Miss Jenn, I feel like you just had a weird reaction to what I just said," Carlos stated, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Sorry, what did you say?" Miss Jenn questioned.
"Carlos is asking if we can try and use the El Rey theater," Nini explained, Carlos nodding his head.
"My Uncle Ruben is the listing agent and the last thing they had in there was a fashion show like four years ago," Carlos said before walking off to call his uncle.
"I don't think we'll be able to get it in such short notice," Miss Jenn said as she saw everyone staring at the theater online.
Carlos spoke on the phone in Spanish before cheering, "We got it!" He said and everyone celebrated.
"Wildcats, lets grab anything that is still undamaged and load out," Miss Jenn said, everyone cheering as they rushed off.
Quickly afterwards, they started to unpack. Andy carried a box of props as she walked with EJ who was holding some weird red box.
Carlos stared at them, cutting their conversation off, "Maybe I should carry that," he said to EJ.
"No, I'm fine to carry it," EJ said and Carlos stopped him and Andy from moving.
"It's just a little bit sensitive," Carlos explained, staring at it.
"Are we still talking about the box?" Andy asked as she looked at him over the box she was carrying.
It was weird that he was so attached to the box and that he wanted it back but it all made sense when he explained it.
"It's actually Miss Jenns show file. Script breakdowns, set sketches, all of her audition notes," he explained.
"You mean this says why which people got which parts?" He questioned, his tone very suspicious.
Andy saw a dangerous idea jump into EJs head, his eyes going wide as she stared at the box in his hands, almost holding it closer to himself.
"No further comment, thank you," Carlos said before grabbing it from his hands and running away.
"Don't get any ideas Caswell," she said before shoving the box into his arms.
"Hey! What was that for?" He asked, realising how heavy the box she had been carrying really was.
"I was tired and you were thinking about doing something bad so you can carry it," she explained and he laughed.
There was something about his laugh that just made her face light up, the butterflies in her stomach going haywire.
"Fine, you wanna come round mine after school to practice lines before we go to the El Rey?" He questioned, looking over at Andy.
She nodded her head, "Sounds like a great idea to me Caswell," she replied.
He smiled at her, heart fluttering slightly. He had always thought Andy was cute when they were little but the way he felt now was weird and different.
Even just in a simple black graphic tee and jeans, he thought she was one of the most beautiful people he'd ever seen.
"Take a picture it might last longer," Andy said before starting to walk ahead, leaving a flustered EJ behind.
"I was lost in thought, don't let the idea inflate your ego too much," he yelled out after her, picking up speed.
"Come on, I am naturally alluring, no-one could blame you," She joked, putting the boxes down in the van.
He watched as she ran off, basically taunting EJ to follow. EJ put his box down, rolling his sleeves up.
He chased after her, avoiding the other cars in the parking lot as she weaved through them. Some of the other kids watched as the two laughed.
"Whats going on over there?" Big Red asked as he put the boxes down, watching EJ catch up to her.
He picked her up, arms around her waist to stop her from running off again.
She laughed, grabbing onto his bicep as he wrapped his arms around her middle. She threw her head back laughing, head falling onto his shoulder.
"I really don't know," Ricky said, narrowing his eyes at his best friend and the ex-boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend.
He didn't like it at all. He did not trust EJ Caswell at all and the thought of him breaking his best friends heart again made him dislike him even more.
EJ put her down, Andy panting as she realised how out of shape she was. "Good run Caswell," she said, giving him a thumbs up as she caught her breath.
She leaned over, her hands on her thighs as she caught her breath. He chuckled at the sight of her so winded.
"Well I was thinking about just letting you win but I have a reputation," he said, and she looked up at him.
"Okay, One: do you just enjoy me kicking your ass? And two: everyones watching," she said and they looked up, most of the group watching.
He looked over to them, a smile still on his face. He didn't care that everyone wad watching them, he just cared about her.
For the first time in a long time, he felt at peace and happy with himself. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Miss Jenns voice.
"Come on you two, we need EJs muscle to help pick up the boxes," Miss Jenn said, clapping her hands urgently.
She had a smirk on her face. She knew exactly what was going on between the kids and was actually encouraging it.
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