It's the third Friday of the month, you know what that means? Starburst updates! Yes, this time's a bit earlier than usual but I follow my calendar (which basically means next Saturday's 'Something in the Summer Wind' update) PS, Happy (almost) Malaysia Day.
Disclaimer: I do not own 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series' or Ten from "Weightless". Ten and Jeonghan belong to my friend @zealous_light. I only own my original characters. Enjoy the chapter.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
Another day at Rehearsals
Carlos has drilled all the Dancers (including the cast members playing as Troy's teammates) to practice their basketball moves. Blindfolded.
"Carlos, if you wanted to set me up on a BLIND date, all you had to do was ask." Cress playfully teased the Mexican boy.
"Why do you gotta make things weird each time, Cress?" Ten muttered under his breath, already regretting getting up early in the morning.
So far, practice was pretty unorthodox but Carlos does pride himself in being crazy prepared at anything choreographic.
"C'mon! Get your head in the game." Carlos clapped his hands, attempting to get the dancers' focus.
"Carlos, when do we get to take the blindfolds off?" Kaden asked, removing his blinder.
"When you're able to dribble and pirouette at the same time." Carlos responded. He liked to be as possible when it comes to show business. Cress has silently dubbed him as the 'Professor Hidgens (yes, the kooky biology professor from 'The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals') of Salt Lake City'.
What? Cress is a huge fan of Starkid Musicals, the Hatchetfield series just happens to be her new favorite obsession. That, and Amphibia! Wait, we're going off-topic! Back to dance rehearsals!
"What's a pirouette? Is it short for Pirate's Roulette?" Marisol asked out loud.
"It's a good thing you're pretty, mi amor." Her girlfriend Amelia sighed softly. Marisol had invited her sisters and her girlfriend to watch the rehearsals (usually they still show up anyways to give her some support).
"Her strength and good looks are her only saving grace." Marina snorted, watching her younger sister practice choreography.
"Love is truly in the eye of the beholder." Marissa closed her compact mirror.
"I know practicing dribbling is necessary for playing the Wildcats basketball team, but why did you have to let them wear blindfolds too?" Amelia asked out loud.
"You can't be too prepared for anything. If someone in the audience faints, we keep dancing. If a tornado ruins the sound system, we keep dancing." Carlos explained.
"Tornados come and go, dance is forever." Carlos concluded with a proud smile.
It was a long practice session, and even Ten was amazed that he and Cress managed to pull things through.
"Cress, practice is over. You don't have to keep wearing the blindfold," Ten looked at his friend.
"I know, but it's comfy." Cress jokingly groaned.
"Take 20, people! Then we'll have to start preparing for 'Stick'!" Carlos announced.
"What's Stick?" Marisol asked out loud, earning a groan from her sisters.
"I believe it's short for 'Stick to the Status Quo'," Amelia explained patiently.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
An hour later...
Cress and EJ were sitting next to each other as they watched the Dancers choreograph to 'Stick to the Status Quo'. Ten was standing a bit further away today with Ashlyn behind his seat.
Right now, all eyes were on Gina's very extravagant and impressive 'trayography'.
Cress feels...confused by all that. Especially because 'Stick to the Status Quo' took place during lunch, so why would you wanna flounce around with your lunch tray and risk spilling food??
I get it's for the theatrics, but a waste of time AND food if you're on crunch time.
Ten on the other hand, held back a sigh at the complicated dance moves. Nini isn't that experienced or flexible as Gina is, so this could be more than the Junior could already handle.
So yeah, nice to see Cress and Ten sharing similar sentiments for Gina's trayography idea.
Nini arrived mid-rehearsals a few minutes later with a frantic expression.
"Everybody, hold!" Miss Jenn announced as everyone paused what they were doing. The teacher started making her way to the leading lady, "Nini, where were you for an hour?"
"I'm so sorry, I lost my phone and I had to pick up my phone from the Lost and Found." Nini started explaining herself, before realizing, "Wait did you say an hour ago?"
"Gina sent you a text last night so that we can start early," Miss Jenn stated, "You didn't get it?"
Cress's face scrunched a little at Miss Jenn's lack of understanding. Didn't Nini JUST explain that she lost her phone? Or did the teacher just not hear the last part?
"I lose my things all the time. House keys, phone numbers, EJ's nasty ex (Tatiana Martinez) at the dumpster after she dumped him for a college frat boy-" Cress muttered out loud, earning a "wait what?" expression from Ten.
But I suppose when it comes to professionalism, you have to be tactical and tougher instead of lenient to all the inconveniences.
Just ask her coolest big sister, Calix! She's a girlboss at dealing with people who lack brain cells and common sense in the entertainment industry!
"You left Tatiana by the dumpster?!" Ten whisper-yelled at her. Where was he when this accident happened?
[ Answer: Ten and his other friends (Jeonghan, Vernon and Joshua) were consoling EJ from his very recent breakup at the time. Cress's alibi was "she had to help her older brother Zale move stuff into his university dorms", Ten easily brought her excuse because Zale was the Boarding School Trio's former Dorm Big Brother. EJ and Ten were doing EVERYTHING they could to keep Jeonghan and Cress away from each other at all times. ]
"She dumped and cheated on him with a bigger jerk. Need I say more?" Cress rebutted back, raising an eyebrow. She knew she had to give Ten (and EJ) the full story eventually, but long story short, she scared and pranked both the ex and her new beau so badly that Tatiana never looked at EJ ever again.
"We are gonna talk about this." Ten eyed his friend, before focusing on Miss Jenn and Nini's conversation.
"Anyways if you were here earlier, you'd know that Gina has pitched a dance break for Taylor and Gabriella in the middle of Status Quo. And it was dazzling!" Miss Jenn spoke with a smile.
"You and Carlos?" Nini hesitatingly paused, looking at Gina who flashed a smile at the shorter girl.
What happened next was Miss Jenn assigning Nini to learn Gina's advanced tray-ography routine.
A certain rat-nest haired boy may have tried to approach Nini for a chat, but Cress didn't want to lose her temper around that kid. Instead, she turned her attention to her other friend.
Ten seemed to tense at Nini's missing phone remark, he kept shooting EJ subtle glares. She saw Ashlyn whispering something to Ten, and those subtle glares became genuine 'You Screwed Up, buddy' glares.
Whatever Ten seemed to have caught on to EJ, Cress was slowly catching up with Ten's body language.
EJ tried to look away from Ten's gaze and hide whatever guilt he had.
Ooh boy, Economic Jobless Caswell, I love you very much, but what did you do THIS time to incur Ten's wrath?
— — — — — — — — — — — —
After rehearsals,
Cress tried to pester EJ for answers, but he ran off with Ashlyn the moment rehearsals ended.
So she went for the next best thing (and more reliable source): Ten.
It wasn't easy catching him too, because he speed-walked away.
Eventually, she found the guy lounging by the stairway and Ashlyn left moments after talking with EJ.
"What happened? What did our dumbass do this time?" Cress asked (ok the better term would've been 'interrogated') Ten. They had picked out a quiet location where there would be less chances of eavesdropping.
Ten motioned her to lean in closer so he could whisper the answer. And short (like Cress herself) to say, the Afro-Greek teen was NOT pleased to hear about it.
"Wait, hold up. EJ stole Nini's phone?!" Cress scoffed in disbelief.
"You're gonna try knocking some common sense into him, aren't you?" Cress raised an eyebrow at her friend.
"You know me so well." Ten hummed lightly.
Cress's phone notification started to bling, revealing a text from EJ.
"He's invited me to help him workshop something. And specifically told me not to tell you." Cress read the message. Too late for that second half of the request.
"You're joining, aren't you?" Ten asked, even though he knew the answer.
"You know me so well." Cress hummed back in response. She just loves to watch the drama (and she's got more tea to spill with Mr. E later this Friday). She's the unapologetic drama queen.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
Cress had cycled straight to Ashlyn's place right after dinner. EJ had already arrived when she got there. She spotted Ten outside, putting a finger in front of his lips to keep it a surprise for their dumbass friend.
Fine by me, this is just gonna make the evening all the more interesting.
"Hey Caswell Cousins! The life of the party has arrived." Cress announced her arrival.
"Mama made some extra Moussaka for dinner today, so thought I brought some over to share." Cress held up a container of food.
"Sweet! Your mom makes the best Greek food!" Ashlyn beamed.
"No kidding!" EJ smiled at the mention of food.
"Uncle Dennis and Aunt Debbie aren't home, right? I don't really want an audience for this." EJ double-checked with his cousin.
"Then what am I here for?" Cress snorted.
"Moral support?" EJ offered, earning a half-shrug from her.
"Well, he should be here now." Ashlyn replied, not sparing a glance at her cousin.
Moments later, the doors burst open, revealing Ten holding one of EJ's textbooks he had borrowed from him earlier that day. (Allegedly to compare notes for their upcoming quiz)
"Ten, what are you doing here?" EJ tried to plaster a polite smile.
But it's too late, Ten had sent the textbook flying at their dumbass's head. It ended up hitting Caswell by the shoulder though.
"Nice aim, Tenny." Cress cheered, already vibing to the chaos.
"Ow! What was that for?!" EJ winced in pain.
"Seriously EJ?! I leave you alone for the summer, expecting a fresh start and now you're now snooping through phones!" Ten moved forward to whack EJ by the shoulder, "I trusted you!"
"Give me a minute to explain myself." EJ tried to defend himself from Ten's wrath.
Because usually it's Ten you should fear the most when it comes to facing the Trio's wrath. Cress is very easily angered, but it's usually the Nicest People that's scariest when they're triggered.
"Yes please do, I'm still confused by the severe lack of context." Cress raised her hand. Ashlyn at this point had reverted her attention back to her homework than to focus on the Golden Trio's banter.
And so EJ started explaining his side of the story. Apparently, Ricky Bowen sent a very thirsty/creepy voice mail to Nini.
Now Ten has his own opinions about EJ letting his insecurities get the worst of him, but Cress is siding with EJ on this one. Though that could be just Cress' pettiness/spite talking.
"I get that you were insecure over her getting back with her ex, but stealing her phone and invading her privacy-" Ten interjected.
"Ten, let him speak." Ashlyn chimed in, Ten nodded and sat on the chair next to her.
"I wrote a song for her, it's got metaphors and everything. Just listen to it, ok?" EJ stated, looking slightly proud of himself.
"As if that's gonna fix everything." Ten silently scoffed.
So back when 'Rini' was a thing, Nini confessed her love for Ricky via a song? And somehow, EJ thought writing a 'take me back' apology song is the best way to come clean? Eh, she's already had dinner, why not add something worth the chuckle? Or whatever helps digest the food faster.
"Can I hear the original track first before you start performing?" Cress asked. EJ nodded and showed them the soundtrack. After listening to it for a few minutes, Cress has reached her conclusion.
"I'm just saying a tuba cover would make the song a lot sexier!" Cress was offering her idea on how to make the 'Take Me Back' song sound more appealing.
She plays tuba for the marching band, yes it's an underrated musical instrument that deserves more love. It's shiny and loud, just like her!
"Cress, that's a tuba, not a saxophone." EJ interjected.
"Let's just see what Caswell has to sing for himself." Ten sighed, giving EJ the chance to somewhat perform his song.
And so, EJ started playing the soundtrack and sang from his heart.
Ashlyn was trying to keep an open mind about the song's lyrics.
Ten was caught off guard at EJ's attempt to bust some dance moves to impress Nini.
And Cress was already holding up her phone recording this beautiful blackmail worthy video.
After 2 painful minutes, 'A Billion Sorrys' was finished.
"Did you like it?" EJ asked for their opinions, perched against the counter. He looked so excited to hear what his loved ones had to say, like he's getting a pet puppy on Christmas Morning.
But unfortunately, his friends just happen to be Chittaphon "Ice Prince of Bluntness" Leechaiyapornkul and Cressida "Giver of No Craps" Kormos. They are all very brutal folks, so this is the reality:-
"E, I'm saying this as your close friend, I love you as platonically and bromantically as possible," Cress inhaled deeply, "but not even A Billion Sorries can erase that TRAUMATIZING song from my head. And I have a trillion regrets!"
Ten stared at EJ's performance in silence, before turning on his heels to walk away.
"Ten, where are you going?" EJ asked in a mildly hopeful tone.
"To bang my head against the wall in hopes of inducing amnesia." Ten announced.
Ashlyn slowly got up from her chair and walked in Ten's direction.
"Ash, where are you going?" EJ looked at his cousin.
"I'm joining Ten!" Ashlyn raised her hand and declared.
"Cressie, where are YOU going?" EJ spotted his other friend heading in the other direction.
"GETTING MY TUBA! I wanna see if a tuba cover can salvage the horrid song." Cress shouted.
"Cressie has a point. The tuba cover could probably be a distracting saving grace from the actual lyrics." Ten mumbled loudly from the other room.
"Oh c'mon, Tenny! Not you too." EJ grumbled at his best friend's friendly refute.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
After the three teens had finished processing their trauma, they gave EJ their honest thoughts.
"There's a lot to admire." Ashlyn plastered a polite smile.
"It's too much." EJ sighed.
"I guess I was hoping it would feel a little less boyband and a little more heartfelt. Maybe you can tweak a couple of the lyrics." Ashlyn suggested, "There are words that rhyme with sorry."
"I mean not really?" EJ frowned.
"Starry?" Ashlyn offered.
"Glory?" Ten quietly chimed in.
"Gory?" Cress offered with the best slasher smile she has. That dipped the mood instantly.
"Cress, not helping." EJ frowned.
"You texted me to be here!" Cress exclaimed.
"Ten, any remarks?" Ashlyn turned to look at Ten.
"Caswell, it was over the moment you decided to steal her phone" Ten folded his hands in front of his chest.
"You know what, I can't do this." EJ slipped off the counter and exited the kitchen, "This is her thing with Ricky, she'll just see right through it."
"Which is why you shouldn't have taken her phone in the first place. Ten refuted, drumming his fingers on the table."
"I'm gonna find her after rehearsal tomorrow, tell her what happened and apologize!" EJ announced his elaborate apology plan.
"She might forgive you," Ashlyn offered him some words of encouragement.
"Would you?" EJ asked for their honest opinions.
"I'm proud of you either way." Ashlyn nodded, trying to cheer her cousin up.
"Not a chance." Ten piped up.
"Eh considering I despise Richard Timothy Bowen with every single fiber of my body, I'm leaning towards maybe." Cress did a 'so-and-so' motion with her hands.
"Cressida!" Ten and Ashlyn frowned at the shortest teen.
"What? He is the PAIN OF MY EXISTENCE! I haven't felt this much spite in my body since Denise's crappy ex Hayden dumped her for a college freshman!" Cress exclaimed, "You're asking ME for an opinion?!"
"I'm just stating the truth, I do agree what's important is that he apologizes to her, but she doesn't have to accept it." Ten pointed out, earning a thoughtful nod from Cress.
"It's getting late, we should get back." Ten looked at the time.
"See you tomorrow," Ashlyn waved, sending the trio out.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
Once Ashlyn is out of earshot, EJ spoke to his friends.
"Do you think it'll work out?" EJ looked at his two friends.
"Honestly, I don't know..." Ten sighed. There's no way of telling how this would all end.
"The truth always hurts when you find out, but you're doing the right thing. And whatever happens, you'll always have us around." Cress chimed in, hoping to comfort her tallest friend.
"I know, you two are like the little Angel and Devil on my shoulder weighing my conscience." EJ smiled softly.
"Considering the amount of mistakes you've been making lately, Caswell? I'm going to assume Cress beats me at decision making." Ten quipped, earning a mocked offended gasp from Cress.
"Can you blame me? Cress is freakishly stronger than both of us." EJ joked back.
"Yeah I can probably bench press you too, Tenny." Cress retorted playfully, flexing her arms, "These biceps show how strong and how bi I am."
Whatever happens next (good or bad), Cress is certain she's gonna be there for her friends. No matter what.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
That's a wrap for this month! Wow, this chapter is 3k words long! Hope you've laughed and smiled at some of the parts because I've had fun writing Cress's reaction to 'A Billion Sorrys'. Ten is just as traumatized as his Weightless counterpart was at the song.
Chapter Talk: -
(1.) Marisol Martinez, Cress Kormos and Seb Matthews-Smith all share one singular brain cell. They're the Friendly Jockey Himbo and Herbos Solidary.
(2.) Cress values her friendships with Ten and EJ dearly. They don't always see eye to eye, but they look out for one another. Ten and Cress secretly dubbed EJ as "Our Dumbass"; EJ and Ten secretly called Cress "Our Gremlin"; while Cress and EJ dubbed Ten as "Our Brain Cell Keeper/Moral Compass/Common Sense/Jiminy Cricket"
(3.) And we've arrived at the Infamous "A Billion Sorrys" scene. Cress arrived before Ten for that comedic effect. This was hilarious to write about because some of the base interactions were so funny. Cress is a little Gremlin for recording the song on her phone, she won't post it online, but she keeps it around for future blackmail purposes.
(4.) Cress is a Tuba kid who plays for the Marching Band. She thinks a tuba cover is the saving grace for an apology song. (Ten just sides with her to tick EJ off) I think a Tuba rendition of 'A Billion Sorrys' could be pretty cool.
(5.) Random fact: Cress is Afro-Greek, her family is Greek so she would share baked goods and food with them when she has the chance. I like how most of EJ's friends are from different ethnicities (Ten is Thai, Jeonghan is Korean, Cress is Greek) that they all talk in mother-tongue languages and also share stuff from each other's cultures. If Cress curses in Greek and her friends can somehow understand her, it's years of practice. We stan multilingual best friends.
(6.) EJ thinks Ten, Cress (and Jeonghan to a minor extent) are like the Angel/Devil on his shoulder weighing on his consequence. That's actually something I joked with/told @zealous_light a couple of times in the past. And each time EJ makes a poor decision, you know tiny Ten loses that debate against the two Gremlins. Ten is completely baffled how tiny him could lose THAT battle, EJ refutes their two most mischievous friends somehow imaginarily ganged up in his head against Ten.
Anyways, that's all for this chapter. Feel free to leave a comment down below and let me know your thoughts. See you next month, and have an amazing day.