"𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙽𝚒𝚗𝚒, 𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝. 𝙱𝚞𝚝, 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚎."
READ-THROUGH | 4
KINSELY STOOD IN ONE OF THE DRESSING ROOMS THE NEXT DAY, and her friends were sat in chairs nearby. Nini was obviously sad about not getting the lead, but she was happy that her friend got it. Nini stood next to Kinsely as she was being measured for her costume.
"I can't believe our very own Kinsely Williams is going to be playing Gabriella Montez!" Dawn exclaimed in happiness as she, Kourtney, and Daniela squealed in excitement.
The three girls spoke happily amongst themselves, and the girl who was measuring Kinsely's waist only moments ago walked away. Kinsely turned to Nini with a looked that screamed 'I'm sorry'.
"Hey, Nini." Kinsely said, and Nini turned to look at her with a small hum. "I'm really sorry if I took the role of Gabriella from you. I was really excited when I heard they were going to be putting on High School Musical that I didn't think that I-"
"Ken, it is totally fine." Nini said, cutting Kinsely off with a supportive smile. "I'm really happy for you. Besides, I'm really excited to play Martha for some reason. I guess I was watching the movie yesterday and I realized how alike we both could be. I mean, I wasn't even popular until I started dating EJ, and Martha wasn't popular until she became friends with Gabriella and joined the cheer squad." Nini rambled on, but Kinsely listened to her intently. "So, yeah, I'm not mad. If anything I'm happy for both of us. We both get to play amazing roles that we both love."
Kinsely smiled at her friend before pulling her into a hug, and the two pulled away. The bell rung signaling they had to go to class, but later that day would be the first Read-Through of High School Musical.
~~~
It was after her last class and many people were leaving, however, Kinsely was on her way to the read-through. She noticed EJ was walked towards her down the same hallway to she rushed up and walked around him with a smile.
"I'm trading in my East High Leopards gear to be a Wildcat starting today because it's the day of the read-through! Blessed to be playing Chad. Swipe up for a link to tickets." EJ said to his phone as he filmed a live stream for his followers.
"Hey!" Kinsely said as she started walking alongside EJ, and he put his arm around her shoulders in a friendly matter.
"Hey, say hi to my best friend and bye to my best friend because she's the bomb, peace." EJ said before saying goodbye to his viewers and turning off his phone.
"Wow, you're in a good mood." Kinsely commented, but she knew he really wasn't. EJ was her boy best friend, and the two had known each other for years because of summer camp. EJ was always there for her, and she was always there for him.
"That's just for the fans, Ken. Inside I'm a bucket of sad." EJ said, his smile falling from his face.
"You're still not over the not-getting-Troy thing?" Kinsely asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I put three years into this drama department and now I have to understudy my girlfriend's ex?" EJ questioned to no one in particular.
"You sure that's the only thing that is making you in a bad mood?" Kinsely asked, and EJ looked at her as he faked confusion.
"What are you hinting at?"
Kinsely stopped in the middle of the hallway, and EJ followed her lead as they stood face-to-face.
"EJ, I've known you since we were nine. You can talk to me." Kinsely told him sincerely.
"I just... I don't want to see you get hurt." EJ said, and Kinsely only sent him a confused look. "I saw the way Bowen looked at you during auditions, and from what you described to me, it's the exact same way he looked at Nini. Ken, you're my best friend, and I don't want you to go through another heartbreak. It hurts me every time when I have to listen to you cry and tell me what happened." EJ told her, and she looked up at him with a small smile. She was happy he cared for her so much because her brother didn't give her love like this. "You're my little sister, and I hate seeing you get hurt. So if he hurts you, then I swear I will literally beat his a-"
"Okay." Kinsely said, cutting him off as he stopped his rambling. "Okay. And by the way, thanks for caring so much about me... bro."
EJ just smiled at her before putting his arm around her shoulder again as they two continued the rest of the way to the bomb shelter were they were going to meet up for the read-through. Kinsely left EJ's side to talk to Nini and Kourtney, while EJ went towards his assigned seat.
"How are you going to get through 74 rehearsals with him?" Kourtney asked both the girls.
"I won't make eye contact." Nini simply said as she set her backpack on the counter to grab her script out of it.
"And I won't let my heart get broken." Kinsely said with a soft smile as she held her script in her hands.
"Could everyone take their assigned seats?" Miss Jenn questioned, and Kinsely offered her friends a smile before sitting down in the desk in between Ricky and Gina.
Kinsely smiled at Gina, who gave her a tight smile in return.
"Don't forget to silence your phones!" Miss Jenn called as everyone sat down. "I realize you all walked in here as strangers."
"Actually EJ's my cousin!" Ashlyn suddenly shot out from her spot in between Nini and Seb.
Everyone glanced between the two cousins, and EJ slowly leaned down in his seat as he tried to take the attention off him.
"But after today, you're a family. One tribe, committed to lifting this classic film to new heights." Miss Jenn continued, and then she held out her hands for Carlos and Daniela to take, and the two sat beside her. "Please take your neighbors' hands. Hand." Miss Jenn insisted to Carlos, as he reluctantly grabbed her hand. "Hand." Miss Jenn insisted to Daniela, and everyone else except EJ and Ricky took their hands. Miss Jenn looked to EJ and Ricky who still hadn't taken each others hands. "Hands." EJ sighed and took Ricky's hand. Ricky's other hand was already clasped in Kinsely's hand. "Feel each other's energy. Let the silence speak volumes. In a world full of no this is a space full of yes."
"Nice, did you just come up with that?" Carlos whispered over to Miss Jenn.
"I did." Miss Jenn whispered in response. Miss Jenn began to sing very highly.
Miss Jenn:
We're all in this together
Once we know that we are
We're all stars
And we see that
We're all in this together
And it shows when we stand
Hand-in-hand
Make our dreams come true
As she was singing, Kinsely noticed EJ and Nini looking at her hand clasped in Ricky's with an unsure look. Kinsely ripped her hands from Ricky and Gina's, who both sent her an odd look. Kinsely sent Gina a tight smile before going through her script and beginning to highlight her lines in in her pink highlighter. Ricky looked at her in slight sadness, but he pretended to hide it. Miss Jenn held the high note, causing her to receive many weird looks, but she didn't notice as she had her eyes closed. Miss Jenn finished singing and they began the read-through. However it became very boring as Big Red, read through the stage directions as if it was a run-on sentence.
"Sharpay head for class hears signing opens the door to the biology lab She finds Gabriella and Taylor washing their hands They turn to find there are no paper towels in the dispenser" Big Red read from the script, and Miss Jenn finally had enough as she cut him off.
"Stop, don't run it all together. Read the punctuation." Miss Jenn told him, and he nodded once before turning back to the script.
"Sharpay comma heads for class period." Big Red read, literally reading the punctuation.
Kinsely sighed as she rested her chin in her hands. She zoned out most of it, but she managed to come back to reality whenever she had to read her lines.
"And they are hearing songs in their heads period" Big Red read, finishing the first Act that took longer than expected.
And that's Act One, let's take a break, come here." Miss Jenn said as she closed her script and stood up, gesturing for Carlos to follow her.
Everyone stood from their seats, and Kinsely made her way towards EJ as Nini smiled at them from across the room before joined Kourtney and Daniela.
"If that kid's our stage manager we'll be lucky if the curtains open." EJ said sarcastically, and Kinsely chuckled.
"Oh, hey, give him a break. First time reading loud since the fifth grade Science Fair." Kinsely said, defending Big Red.
Kinsely and Big Red were never close, but they still knew each other due to Ricky and Nini being together. However, Kinsely didn't want her best friend to make fun of anyone.
"No, no, no, don't get me wrong. I like the guy. I was just hoping we would get through Act One by Christmas." EJ said, causing Kinsely to chuckle. "I was also hoping we would get to sing the songs I don't know."
At that moment, Nini walked dover and joined them with a small smile on her face.
"Guess Miss Jenn just really wants us to pay attention to the lyrics." Nini said, and she stood next to Kinsely.
"Well, yes, but, I mean... I mean she can't sing them like you guys can." EJ said, looking to Nini and winking at her causing them to giggle.
Just then, Kinsely and Nini's phone both dinged as they gasped and reached to pull their phones out.
"Oh, wait." Nini muttered, and they both looked at the message.
It was a message from one of Nini's moms in a group chat with both Nini's moms, Nini, and Kinsely. Nini's family always treated Kinsely like one of their own after what happened to her parents. The message was a fortune cookie message, and it was the 12th one that day. Nini and Kinsely both giggled at Nini's mom for continuing to send them fortune cookies.
"Who's that from?" EJ asked the two girls.
"Oh, no, it's nothing." Nini dismissed, and Kinsely nodded.
The two girls just smiled at him. Nini went to sit in Gina's seat, and Kinsely at in her seat. EJ, however, looked around and noticed Ricky staring at his best friend specifically. EJ immediately assumed Ricky had been texting Kinsely and Nini, but he pushed it aside for now and sat down in Ricky's seat, so he could talk to the girls. After a few moments, Miss Jenn told them that they were back, and everyone went back to their assigned seats.
~~~
Kinsely sat on a small bench on stage as Carlos and Miss Jenn were speaking amongst themselves. Kinsely was read a book she had packed in her backpack. It was the next day, and Miss Jenn had asked for an early start that day, so Kinsely was already in school almost 30-45 minutes before she normally was. Ricky suddenly rushed into the room, and he dropped his own bag by Kinsely's feet.
"Hi, I'm so sorry I'm late. I promise it won't happen again." Ricky told Miss Jenn and Carlos as he walked up to them, and Kinsely bookmarked her book before following Ricky and standing next to him.
"Thank you both for an early start today, let's begin." Miss Jenn said, and Kinsely's eyes furrowed in confusion.
"Wait, it's just the two of us?" Kinsely asked in confusion as she gestured between her and Ricky.
"We're diving into page 97." Miss Jenn told them, and she nodded to Kinsely as if answering her question.
"You mean the last scene?" Ricky questioned in slight confusion.
"You want to rehearse this? It's not even a scene. It's just one line." Kinsely said, gesturing to the script on the table.
"Yes, I've got one, too." Ricky reminded her, but Kinsely simply ignored him.
"And then there's the kiss." Miss Jenn added calmly, and Kinsely's eyes widened.
"There was no... I don't remember a kiss in what we read yesterday." Kinsely said nervously, and she stuttered slightly.
"It was very much there in the original film." Miss Jenn said, dismissing Kinsely's nervousness.
"I only remember a hug." Kinsely told the older woman.
"The kiss ended up being cutting room floor." Miss Jenn simply explained.
~~~
Junior, East High, Kinsely Williams
It makes no sense. Why would you start at the end of the play?
~~~
Miss Jenn had asked to talk to Kinsely in her office, so now Kinsely sat in front of Miss Jenn with a desk in between them. Kinsely leaned back in her chair, while Miss Jenn rested her elbows on the desk as she stared at Kinsely.
"Because if you don't know what Hedda Gabler does in the last scene how play her in the first?" Miss Jenn said, causing Kinsely to become slightly confused at this.
"But I do know what happens in the last scene. It's a hug, not a kiss. And who is Hedda Gabler? What musical is that?" Kinsely questioned with furrowed eyebrows.
"One that very few people would pay to see, it's very dark." Miss Jenn said, beginning to whisper at the end.
"Miss Jenn, be honest with me, did you put that kiss back in because-" Kinsely started, leaning forward in her seat.
"Sweetie, I added the kiss because our production needs it. I've also added a cow bell, a power ballad for the drama teacher, and a Wildcat cheer for the curtain call." Miss Jenn said, going off the subject that Kinsely had been focusing on.
"That all sounds great, but I..." Kinsely said, trailing off when she got a notification and it revealed her home screen which was her, EJ, and Nini when they were at camp from the summer. Kinsely looked back up at Miss Jenn. "I just can't kiss Ricky right now. Or not yet anyway. I made a promise to my best friend. He's playing Chad."
"Kinsely, trust the process. Your character only has eyes for Troy." Miss Jenn told her as she leaned forward.
Kinsely gulped as she nodded before standing up and walking out of the office with a frustrated sigh.
~~~
It was after school, and the theater club was in the bomb shelter as they rehearsed the curtain call. Kinsely walked on one side of Carlos, and Ricky was on the other side of Carlos as they walked through a small gap between the theater club.
"I'm kind of lost. If the play's over, why would we still be dancing?" Ricky asked Carlos in confusion.
"It's a curtain call. You're the last two to come out. We want to bring the audience to their feet." Carlos explained to Ricky.
"Teach them the dance." Ricky said, gesturing to the backup dancers.
"Carlos? Can we wait for Miss Jenn?" Kinsely asked, not wanting to rehearse at the moment.
"Miss Jenn is busy tracking down a prop. She's asked me to create a crescendo, people so let's stop swirling and start twirling." Carlos said, turning to the dancers who were stretching behind him, including Gina, Dawn, and Rose.
"But why are we practicing the bows when we haven't even practiced the play?" Ricky asked, still confused at the fact they haven't even practiced the play.
"Because you start with the hardest dance that takes the longest to learn. It's in The Big Book of Broadway." Carlos explained, and Gina stood up from her splits and walking behind Carlos, Kinsely, and Ricky with a smirk.
"Page 374." Carlos and Gina said in unison, and Carlos turned around and high-fived Gina as she smiled and walked away.
Carlos then turned to the rest of the theater crew.
"Okay, people, let's take it from three counts of eight right before Troy and Gabriella's entrance for the bows." Carlos instructed, walking away from Kinsely and Ricky.
Kinsely turned away from Ricky when he turned to speak to her. Ricky turned and walked to his spot as the dancers got into their positions.
"A five, six, seven, eight." Carlos called, and the dancer began to dance.
Ricky and Kinsely began to join them, but when it came to Ricky and Kinsely having to dance together, Ricky missed multiple steps causing Kinsely to begin to get frustrated.
"I can't do this. I'm sorry." Ricky said, and he stopped dancing as he stepped away from Kinsely awkwardly.
"What is he doing?" Kinsely asked Carlos, gesturing to Ricky who looked at her in confusion.
"You're talking to him? I'm here." Ricky asked in confusion as he pointed from Carlos to himself.
Nini suddenly away from her spot cuddled up with EJ, and she walked up to stand next to Kinsely in a defensive position.
"Because you're not here. Not for the right reasons." Nini explained angrily.
"What's that mean?" Ricky asked in confusion, though by his body language you could tell her was angry.
"What is said, Ricky. You hate musicals. You're doing this so we're in each other's grills." Nini explained quickly, and Carlos came up as he tried to stop the arguing.
"Back to the dance, please!" Carlos exclaimed loudly.
"Now, you're rubbing some weird cologne on you neck." Nini said completely ignoring Carlos.
"Hey, you love Throb!" Ricky exclaimed, and Kinsely continued to look between the ex-couple.
"And wasting everybody's time, specifically Ken's, by making fun of something that the rest of us take seriously!" Nini yelled as she gestured to everyone, and then pointed to Kinsely, who had stepped away from the ex-couple only a few steps.
"Okay, that's a five! On a break people! Everybody out! Get out!" Carlos yelled, and Nini looked at Ricky in anger before shaking her head and walking away with EJ as the two walked out of the bomb shelter with everyone except Kinsely and Ricky.
Kinsely walked over to her bag and pulled out her water bottle to drink, and Ricky followed her.
"No, come on." Ricky called after Nini, but she had already left, so he turned to Kinsely. "Hey, Ken-"
"It's Kinsely!" Kinsely exclaimed as she turned quickly to him before turning away.
"I take this seriously." Ricky said, gesturing to the room, and Kinsely looked at him.
"No! No you don't. You don't take anything seriously. From what Nini has told me, you just... coast. When someone asked you to make a commitment you make a joke or you... You sink into some imaginary hole in the floor." Kinsely said as she leaned her back against the piano.
"I didn't sink, Kinsely. I just wan't ready say it to Nini, then I went to that audition to show her-" Ricky started, but he should've stopped before he had said anything.
"Because she had met someone else!" Kinsely exclaimed, defending one of her best friends. "You wanted to drag her back into tenth grade like her summer never happened. But if you really cared about her, Ricky, you would let somebody who wants to play this part play it." Kinsely told him, however it broke her inside.
Kinsely couldn't tell anyone this, but after the read-through she had developed a crush on the brown-haired boy. So, telling him to leave really did hurt her.
"Like EJ?" Ricky questioned, and Kinsely tilted her head sadly.
"Can we at least try the dip?" Carlos asked the two arguing teens. Ricky however, looked sadly at Kinsely before grabbing his bag and walking out of the bomb shelter. "What just happened?" Carlos asked Kinsely, who turned around towards the piano. "Why aren't we dipping?"
Miss Jenn then walked through the door before Ricky could leave, and she carried a big smile on her face.
"Mission accomplished! A precious piece of original HSM is on its way. Where are you going, Troy?" Miss Jenn asked in confusion and Ricky sighed in anger.
"It's Ricky!" Ricky called back, copying Kinsely from earlier, and he walked out of the room.
Miss Jenn turned to Carlos with wide and worried eyes.
"Get him back, now." Miss Jenn said sternly.
Carlos esprinte out of the room, and Kinsely quickly grabbed her bag before rushing out of the room so she didn't have to speak to Miss Jenn. She ended up going home early that day, but she had to return immediately when she had soccer practice. She barely spoke at all, still upset from what had happened only a few hours before. She returned home to find her siblings sitting on the couch together watching a movie.
"Hey, Kinsely!" Her oldest brother, Andrew, called from his spot on the couch.
"Hey." Kinsely muttered before making her way up the stairs, and her siblings watched her in confusion.
Kinsely dropped her backpack down on her floor and pulled out her phone as she scrolled through her Instagram page with a blank expression on her face. About 5 minutes later, a small knock came from her door, and she looked up to see her older sister, Lilian, standing in the doorway with a small smile on her face.
"Hey. You okay?" Lilian asked as she walked in the room, closed the door behind her, and she sat on the foot of Kinsely's bed.
Kinsely shrugged as she turned her phone off and threw it next to her on the bed.
"I don't know. Lily, why do boys have to exist?" Kinsely asked seriously, and Lilian giggled with a smile.
"Trust me, I ask myself that question everyday now that I live with our brothers." Lilian said, and a small smile came to her face.
Kinsely's siblings were all 7 years older than her, and they were all through college. They had all gone to a local college, so they could still be in Kinsely's life until she doesn't need them.
"So, tell me. What's bothering you?" Lilian asked, placing a comforting hand on Kinsely's knee.
"So, I'm playing Gabriella in the High School Musical play, and Ricky Bowen, Nini's ex-boyfriend, is playing Troy Bolton. He just told me today that the only reason he was there was to try to get back with Nini, even though she is now dating EJ. He messed up the rehearsals today, and we didn't even get to finish. But, I'm wondering if I'm in the wrong because I told him that if he won't take this seriously then he should give the role to someone who will. Did I do the wrong thing?" Kinsely rambled on with a mix between a worried and sad look.
Lilian sighed as she took her hands together and stood up to sit on the side of the bed that Kinsely was closest to.
"I would say there is no one in the wrong. But that's my opinion. You should ask Andrew or Tobias about that, but I can see why Ricky would do what he did. He doesn't like musicals, I know that, but he seems very committed to Nini and will keep going after her until he gets her back. But then again, I agree with you because he should take this seriously as a lead." Lilian said, and she stood up. "Tobias has decided he is going to make cupcakes, so I will come get you when they are ready to be frosted. We need your frosting skills." Lilian stood up with a small grunt. "But, your theater thing. I would trust the process."
"You sound like Miss Jenn." Kinsely muttered, picking up her phone.
"Then you should listen to her. She sounds wise." Lilian said, opening the door and leaving.
Moments later, Kinsely received a message in a group chat between her, Dawn, Daniela, Kourtney, and Nini.
Kourtney
Me and Nini want to hang out
Everyone meet at Ken's
Daniela
K
Dawn
Be there in 10
Kinsely
Why my house?
Kourtney
Lilian just texted us saying Tobias was making cupcakes
Dawn
Y nosotros tenemos chisme (And we have gossip)
Nini
Dawn please speak English
Dawn
Sorry, not my fault you guys don't take time to learn it
Dawn was right. Eventually Kinsely's door was opened 10 minutes later to reveal the four girls.
"Daniela and Dawn filled us in. You have boy drama and we have gossip." Kourtney said, immediately moving to Kinsely's closet.
Daniela sat down where Lilian had once sat as she pulled Kinsely up by her loose arms into a sitting position. Dawn and Nini both hopped on the bed as they sat with their friends.
"So, what happened with you-know-who." Daniela said, and Kinsely shrugged.
"I'm sure the gossip me and Kourtney have will answer that question." Nini said.
Nini pulled her phone out of her hoodie pocket, and she opened her phone to her messages.
"This is from Big Red. 'Ricky just told me he's gonna quit the show. He said if he stayed on the show then Kinsely will quit and how they need kindly more than him and how he doesn't belong on stage. EJ will probably be playing Troy now. Thought I would let you know so you can tell Kinsey so she isn't surprised.'" Nini read off from the text.
Kinsely looked down in sadness.
"Okay, Big Red says Ricky's going to quit the show." Dawn summarized loud enough for Kourtney to hear them.
"About time, should've done that after they posted the cast list." Kourtney said, glancing away from Kinsely's closet before turning back.
"No, I didn't tell him off to make him quit." Kinsely said in a panicked tone.
"Sure you did."
"I should've just minded my own business, I just..." Kinsely said, trailing off with a sigh.
"Can I ask you a question?" Kourtney asked, walking over to her friends on the bed.
"Do you want to be EJ's best friend or not?" Daniela asked, reading Kourtney's mind basically.
"Why ask me that? Of course." Kinsely said in confusion.
"Because, newsflash your boy best friend just booked leading man, so you don't have to do it with Nini's ex. You should be doing right now is a cartwheel." Dawn expressed as she stood up.
"They make her dizzy." Nini pointed out, and Kinsely nodded.
"Yes, of course, I want to be EJ's best friend. I'm totally over my friendship with Ricky. I just... It's messy." Kinsely explained as she threw her hands into her lap.
"Well, if I were you I would listen to Miss Jenn and your sister. Trust the process." Kourtney told her as she moved back to the closet, and Kinsely looked down in thought.
Eventually Lilian called them down to help frost cupcakes, and the group had an amazing night together.