⇢ ˗ˏˋ ❦ ࿐ྂ
"ej, you're stressing me out, and yourself out. just go with the flow dude." desiree said rubbing her head.
"why do you look so tired, are you having those sleeping problems again, desiree why wouldn't you sleep when you know corbin bleu was coming." ej said.
"maybe that's why i didn't sleep!" desiree said hitting ej's arm.
"okay. he really is coming this time." ej said sighing, rubbing his arm.
"everyone, act like you're taking this serious and warming up." ej said walking through the aisle.
"that is literally what they're doing, ej. take it down to a three. you're at a seven out of ten." desiree said.
the the doors bursted open, "corbin's on the clock. it's go-time." corbin said, his camera man following behind.
"mr. bleu, sir. we have a killer first read-through plan for today." ej said. corbinwalked passed him, making rounds through the campers.
"right. okay, yeah, you make the rounds, good." ej said. corbin stopped at kourtney, "dope outfit."
"kourtney." she said to him, then turned to ashlyn and whispered.
"keep warming up, gang. we're gonna check some sound levels." corbin said.
a few minutes later corbin came to the group, "we're rolling!" the camera man yelled.
"welcome to the first frozen read-through." ej said. "young elsa and anna are on a nature field trip, they will catch up with us tomorrow."
"i'll take it from here, rj, thank you." corbin said. "rj." desiree said snickering.
"all right! camp shallow lake! i am pumped to be back for this full day of rehearsal, figured with opening night only 10 days away-" corbin started.
"ten days away? that's a reason to celebrate. bring it in." ricky said getting up to hug corbin.
corbin chuckled, "thanks." he spoke. "look, i understand that some of you know me as a name and not a person-"
"chad danforth! i've loved you since i was born! i'm sorry." desiree said covering his face in excitement and then embarrassment.
corbin cleared his throat then continued, "but i'm just a regular guy who buys his groceries at erewhon and has a personal trainer like anybody else. all right?"
"i'm just here to capture some behind-the-scenes footage, so think of me as a fly on the wall. be yourselves. let's have some fun."
"yeah? yeah, baby! let's hug it out! bring it in, come on." ricky said trying to get a hug again.
corbin turned from ricky and to the camera, "and here you have it, folks. the very first camp read-through of frozen. let the show begin."
everyone got their scripts, indicating the beginning of the read through.
"elsa?" gina read. "anna takes a step towards elsa." val said.
"don't come near me." kourtney said. "pause. sounds like you two really felt that moment. unpack what you're channeling." corbin said.
"let me guess. real-life relationship troubles. you both like the same person and it's causing tension." the camera man said coming in front of the girls.
"maybe it's this guy." he turned the camera to carlos. "yes, it's me. the notorious womanizer of the group." carlos said bluntly.
"uh, mr. bleu, if you're looking for dirt or like, jealous in-fighting, that's just not us." ricky said.
"we're all good friends. yeah, like, really good friends. we're basically a drama-free zone." ej said as they all wrapped their arms around each other.
"great. all those emmy-winning drama-free reality shows." the camera man said.
"okay. let's just...let's move on." corbin said. "hey, my...ice." ricky said.
"kristoff picks up his bag of ice. anna and hans are oblivious." desiree read.
"i'm sorry, so sorry." gina said. "uh...that's jet's line." ricky said.
"wait, jet's not here." ej said looking around. "no wonder we had an extra script." desiree said.
"oh, gosh. i knew he wasn't real." carlos said "what's the deal with jet? is he troubled?" corbin said.
"i wouldn't say troubled. we're slowly wearing his dark soul down." ricky said. "sounds like our protagonist. everyone loves a misanthropic emo-boy to root for." the camera man said.
"jet's gonna be fine. he's probably just doing this for attention." maddox said anxiously.
"i'm sure jet is fine. maddie, val, des please track him down. as for the rest of us, let's take a ten. i will be in the canteen having a cool beverage, because i am very cool. everything is cool, mr. bleu." ej yelled, his voice cracking.
"you're yelling.." carlos said. ej sighed, leaving the barn and the camera man catching his meltdown.
-
val and desiree walked in, discussing the news they were going to tell the campers.
"so?" ej asked when they walked in. desiree sighed, "guys, we lost jet."
the people in the canteen gasped, maddox shooting up at the sound of her brothers apparent death. "what?" she said.
"oh. sorry. let me clarify. we talked to dewey and it looks like jet checked out of camp and went home." val said.
"he disappeared on to the open road. a lone minor. thumb in the wind. hair in the wind, for either fate or foe, to take him away." the camera man said recording.
"that's you." he whispered to val and desiree. "uh, yeah, not quite. an off-duty cop found him at a bus stop and his parents came and picked him up in a buick." desiree said shielding her face from the camera.
"wait, why would jet just leave without telling anybody?" ashlyn asked, and desiree turned to see maddox quietly sighing.
"so, our most interesting story's happening off-camera. guys. we really need to make this sing. 'kay? something active?" corbin said.
"in summer?" carlos suggested. "love is an open door?" ej said.
"love is an open door. that's the anna and hans song, right? and we're missing the hans part of it."
"it is, but..." "yeah, weirdly, that's the one song i know. lily made me sing it in our second date, but i'm happy to jump in and, you know..." ricky stood up.
"thanks, kid. just take a soft five." corbin said patting his shoulder. "gotta agree. stay in your lane, bowen." ej said.
"and they say they have no jealousy." desiree whispered to val. "uh... you? you look like a 1980s villain." corbin said to ej.
"ha!" ricky laughed out loud, making corbin turn to him. "sorry."
"thank you?" ej said. "you're welcome. villains equal viewers. kenny ortega taught me that when I turned down the descendants."
"you, sing the song with gia." "gina." gina corrected. "that's right."
"sing the song here? in the canteen?" ej asked. "big brother has been on the air for 23 seasons. they haven't even left the house yet." the camera man said.
"guys? let's shoot somethin'." corbin said.
"i can jump in on piano." ashlyn said. "oh, no worries. we already got the backing track. so..." val said.
"not worried. but here i am, at the piano, ready to play." ashlyn said sitting at the piano.
"i like the piano, that's humble. let the needy girl play." corbin said.
ej and gina started singing when ashlyn began, "this is gonna be cringy isn't it." desiree said to maddox. "probably. close your eyes." maddox said and desiree did exactly that when she saw ej and gina turn to each other and hold hands.