Scarlett bolted upright as she felt something strike her cheek, her hand going up to hold the sore skin as the other held her up from the overly hot concrete beneath her. Her eyes opened to find a camera leaning over her, along with Corbin Bleu, Carlos, Valentina, Gina and Jet. Carlos cringed as the girl held her cheek. "Carlos? Wait, what happened? I thought we were done with all the slapping."
The boy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. You fell over and were sort of mumble-singing."
"It was super weird." Jet added on and she smiled sarcastically.
"Thank you for that."
He rolled his eyes, offering her a hand as Valentina did the same, hoisting the girl up from the floor, giving her a moment to steady herself before letting her go. Valentina then held a ball out towards her. "You still have the chance to be a hero, though." She handed her the ball. "For the record, the yellow team is about to win unless you make one shot from the three-point line."
"This would be very helpful for the documentary if you succeed," Corbin added and Scarlett nodded.
"No pressure, then." She turned around to look at the hoop, replaying the extremely weird 'dream' she had just had in her mind as the words Corbin had said to her moments before echoed in her ears. "It's just a different way to dance." She muttered under her breath before taking a step back.
Scarlett took a deep breath, before positioning herself onto one foot spinning once, twice and then a third time before effortlessly launching the ball into the basket, it falling through the hoop and causing an overflow of cheers from both teams as she turned around to face them all.
"Blue team wins!" Corbin Bleu exclaimed as Scarlett threw herself into the open arms of Valentina who gripped her tightly.
She let go, the girl's arms still on her biceps. "That was crazy!"
She grinned as she turned to look back at the hoop for a second as she let out a deep breath. Her eyes then scanned the crowd looking for EJ, who once again, happened to be nowhere in sight. Valentina placed an arm over her shoulder sensing her disappointment, Gina doing the same on the other side of her as they made their way down to the next game. EJ wasn't there either.
They all got into places and moments after the game he returned, but due to being late, it was an automatic disqualification from this game. Scarlett kept her eyes locked in front of her as the 'Dewey says' went on, but she was quick to be caught out, her mind somewhere other than the game.
She shook her arms awkwardly as he pointed at her. "You're out!" She wandered over to where Kourtney and Carlos stood and EJ frowned turning to Valentina who stood beside him.
"What's wrong with Scar?"
The girl looked up at him, her face showing nothing but pure shock and a slight bit of disappointment. She let out a small sigh, "I'm sure she's just upset that you missed her basketball triumph." She responded and it was technically the truth, just not the full story.
"Trying to be in like six different places this summer," EJ replied and Valentina shook her head with a slight scoff.
"Couldn't tell."
Scarlett watched as the game went on, the only person left from the blue team being Gina. "Dewey says spin in a circle." The only four left did as he said, rotating round and round until he spoke up again. "Simon says stop." Another girl from the yellow team stopped as well as Gina. "Oh! I'm Dewey, not Simon. You two, out!" He exclaimed and Scarlett was slightly annoyed but she was glad that Jet's plan was at least working. She watched as he high-fived his extremely stunned sister before jogging away.
"Dewey says get ready for the climbing wall next."
Kourtney shivered. "Did he say climbing wall?"
"Yeah." EJ nodded his head before turning on his heels. "I'll meet you guys there."
Scarlett's eyes fell to the floor.
"Dude, where are you always going?" Ricky spoke up, catching the older boy's attention.
He shrugged. "Just getting everything ready for the show."
Carlos rolled his eyes at the boy's answer. "You can't do that at night?"
"Well, Miss Jenn thinks it's better to push..." The rest of his sentence fizzles out as he looks back at all the shocked faces.
"What?!"
___
In a matter of seconds, they were all barrelling into the barn as if Miss Jenn would vanish into thin air if they were a second later. Scarlett was the first one through the door and she grinned back at the smiling face of the older woman. "Miss Jenn!"
"Scarlett! My little pianist!" She was quick to rush forward, squeezing her into a hug. "How are you, sweetie?"
She didn't have time to answer as Gina stumbled through the door, the others following and one by one they all found themselves seated in a makeshift circle. Everyone seemed to have something to say as they began to talk over each other, not one word becoming audible. "Wildcats!" Miss Jenn called out with a quick clap of her hands.
"What are you doing here?" Carlos questioned and she smiled at the boy.
"EJ asked me for a couple of directing pointers and I had already been back from my cruise for fifteen minutes, so I drove here." She answered and they all shared a slightly worried look.
Ricky furrowed his brows. "Are you tired?"
They all turned to look back at the woman who seemed frozen in place. It took a second for her to answer. "It's starting to hit me." She waved off their worries. "Tell me about you. What is happening with the show?"
Scarlett grinned at Kourtney who sat beside her, reaching out to grip her hand. "Kourt and I got Elsa and Anna!" The three let out an excited squeal as she gripped their hands tightly in excitement.
"I got Olaf!" Carlos exclaimed, his hands going up for a moment. "But there's no dressing room, so I basically spend all day in the costume."
Miss Jenn chuckled gently. "Noted."
"And I'm Kristoff, but maybe my Dad already told you," Ricky added and she nodded.
"Oh, and remind me later, he sent me with an early Birthday gift for you." She then turned to Ashlyn who sat beside her. "Oh, and who are you playing, Ashlyn? Gina?" She asked excitedly. "Are you Anna and Elsa's long-lost sisters who they discovered on ancestry.com?"
The redhead cringed slightly, her fingers playing with the laces on her Converse. "We're not allowed to add parts to this one. I checked. Several times." She put on a small smile. "We're actually in the ensemble."
"A musical is a beautiful body. The ensemble is its sturdy backbone." She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and she returned with a grateful smile.
EJ then stepped forward. "Sorry, guys. We have to get to the climbing wall or we're gonna forfeit the whole game."
"Oh, God," Kourtney mumbled and Scarlett gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
Scarlett then turned to their teacher. "Miss Jenn, do you wanna come watch?"
"Oh, I don't have my theatre glasses or athletic footwear." She replied, shaking her head at the idea but Carlos stood and held out his hand for her to take.
"Come on, Miss Jenn. Let's go to camp."
___
There were loud cheers as people waved around banners, posters and signs decorated in the colour of their team. "This is our final athletic competition before the big sing-off," Val announced as she glanced down at her clipboard. "We'll do a series of sprints mano-a-mano, and one player will prevail each time. Okay? Kourtney and Scarlett, you're up!"
Shouts of enthusiasm were directed at both of them and Scarlett happily strode up to her side of the climbing wall, pulling her t-shirt closer to her body so it wouldn't get caught when she was clipped in. Kourtney, however, chuckled nervously as she fastened her helmet. "I just remembered that Idina Menzel mentioned on a podcast that Elsa's actually afraid of heights."
"Really? She lives in a tower."
Kourtney sent Carlos a stern glare. "Not now, Carlos."
Val sent her an encouraging grin. "Come on." She begrudgingly wandered over, letting the person in charge clip her in. "Three, two, one..." The whistle was blown and Scarlett quickly reached to grip the first rock she could find, using it to pull herself up. She kept her head focused on the blue flag that was blowing in the wind and within moments she was in arms reach, ripping it off the velcro and waving it around excitedly.
Her team cheered enthusiastically and Kourtney clapped her hands. "Great! Scarlett won, we're done. We're done." Scarlett looked down to see Kourtney still on the floor, her clip being undone.
She then began to climb down after sticking the flag back to its original position and the closer she got to the floor the louder the chant of 'Kourtney' became. She shared a look with Valentina who shrugged her shoulders. "Campers!" Miss Jenn called out, quieting the entire crowd. "Mommy's talking." She shared a small word with the girl, ending it with a firm hug before she turned back to look at the rest of them, gripping her bag in her hands. "Well, I have got to get back on the road because I have a hard time being up longer than forty hours in a row." She then opened her bag, pulled out a large wrapped gift and threw it over to Ricky. "Richard! From your Dad." He caught it, barrelling over slightly from the weight of it. "Jennifer out!"
She began to walk in one direction before Scarlett called out to her. "Other way, Miss Jenn!"
"Thank you!"
___
It was down to the last competition of the day, the final decider for the colour wars and the Blues were sat on one side of the amphitheatre, the Yellows sat on the other. Val then wandered onto the stage, a mic tightly gripped in her hands. "Okay. Hi! Um, it's a tie game, so the outcome of this cheer-off determines the fate of colour wars!" The crowd cheered. "Okay, so, this year I have picked It's On from Camp Rock 2. I printed out lyric sheets, but if you don't know the words, that means something went deeply wrong in your childhood and you didn't watch this iconic sequel. Oh, and as a reminder, when I stop singing, somebody has to take over. Here we go!"
She held the mic down towards Jet and he grinned, leaning forward. "Drums!"
"A little guitar, please. One, two, three, four. I hope you're ready for the time of your life." Val sang, strutting down the aisle of the two colours, getting towards the end of the verse, and offering the mic to the blue team, specifically Ricky. They went back and forth, over and over again and Scarlett knew the second Jet and Maddox took the mic from her that they were so beat. She wasn't even mad as the song came to an end, she had enjoyed it and she was just happy that Maddox was feeling more comfortable around her brother now.
Scarlett watched as Jet was handed the Colour War paddle as he was hoisted onto a few pairs of shoulders. She turned to her teammates in blue, shrugging her shoulders with a small smile. It is what it is. Some of them didn't seem to agree as poster boards were smashed in half and disappointed shouts were made.
Quickly she turned around and wandered over to the stage where Corbin Bleu stood. She knew what could cheer up her team... at least the Wildcats of her team. "Mr Bleu! Can we do the Wildcat cheer, please?"
"Listen, Sally, I'm grateful for my time in the HSMCU." Scarlett sent him a confused look, not quite understanding what he was going on about. She only wanted a simple cheer, surely he could spare a second for that. "It's the High School Musical Cinematic Universe. But those days are in the past. You understand?" He placed a hand on her shoulder for a second as she nodded gently. He sent her one last smile before walking off leaving her to gently scuff her shoe against the floor.
"Hey," She turned around to see Valentina. "If it helps, I'm happy to do the Wildcat cheer day or night. I have no shame. Okay, I have a little shame but anything for you."
Scarlett let out a small chuckle before an idea popped into her head. "Actually, I could use your help with something."
___
It had taken them all afternoon to set up the barn, Scarlett putting up the last few touches as Valentina went to retrieve her boyfriend. A small bundle of nerves sat in her stomach as she dropped into the canoe, her mind fuzzy with excitement as she waited impatiently for him to arrive.
A few moments later, EJ was being let into the barn with Valentina next to him, her hand over his eyes. Scarlett let out a quiet laugh as she covered her mouth to stop any sound from escaping once she saw how far he was crouching down so the girl could cover his eyes.
"Okay, keep going." EJ walked into the door in front of him. "Sorry! Sorry." Valentina cringed as he let out a small chuckle.
"This better be good, Val. My knees are starting to hurt."
Valentina laughed gently. "Alright, old man, you can open your eyes now."
"Hey, Skipper." She greeted him, repeating the name he had called her earlier before she motioned to the extra seat within the canoe. "Fancy a boat trip?"
EJ grinned at the sight of her and Valentina pushed him forward. "Think she means you." She then made her quick getaway, making a beeline towards the doors so they could have their moment.
Scarlett held her hand out as he walked closer, holding it as he stepped in and took a seat. "Tight squeeze." He joked as he sat down and Scarlett chuckled as the nerves began to flow out of her. "So, what's all this?"
She smiled, squeezing his hand gently. "I was sorta hoping we'd spend the whole day together."
EJ looked down at his shoes for a brief second, a look of shame washing over his features. "I know."
"And I was kinda hoping we'd have a win after a very obscure rehearsal." EJ went to interrupt, to spout off another apology or something but she waved him off as she continued. "But, I learnt how to throw a ball today, so I'm gonna go for Hail Mary here, I guess." She grinned at the boy in front of her, asking out your boyfriend is surely a secure yes. She reached behind her, pulling out a canoe paddle that had 'canoe be my date to the prom' painted on it (thanks to Valentina). "Eej, will you be my date to the camp prom?"
"Wait, that's what this is?" He asked with a small laugh as his smile grew. She nodded quickly with a large smile. "Oh, man." She watched as his grin began to drop, her own doing the same as she watched him scratch the back of his neck. "I really wish I could, but there's a rule. No dates allowed to prom. It's a Shallow Lake tradition so nobody's feelings get hurt."
She placed the paddle down quickly, feeling like an idiot the longer she held it up. "Oh. That's..." She tried to think of a reply, maybe even one good enough so she could run off from the room altogether. "That's progressive."
He nodded gently, picking the paddle up. "Maybe we could just stay here for a second. Paddle away until the fireworks go off." He joked, imitating a rowing motion before placing it back down. "I have a few minutes before I have to go back to work."
Something seemed to click within Scarlett at that moment and she nodded, brushing off her knees as if they were dusty. "You should just get back to it now, you know. No time to waste." Scarlett stood up from her seat and took a step out as EJ reached out to her, grabbing her hand.
"Scar..."
She shook her head quickly, sending him a short smile. "It's fine." She took her hand back after giving his a small squeeze, lacing it with her own behind her back as she shrugged her shoulders. "I told Ashlyn I'd help her with her outfit for tomorrow anyways, so I should really go." She didn't wait for a reply, just turned on her heels. "Goodnight, EJ."