manny chose to remain after the rehearsal for some extra guidance on her stage directions. the dimly lit auditorium accommodated her, miss jenn, and carlos.
in a sudden fit of panic, nini rushed into the room, her eyes darting around desperately as she frantically inquired, "have you seen my phone? it's kind of a eggshell champagne color, has a playbill case?"
while carlos and miss jenn were engrossed in taping the stage, manny stood absorbed in her script trying to ignore her.
"that is adorable." carlos awed. miss jenn offered her a measure of assurance, stating, "sorry, no, but we will keep a look out."
nini turned her gaze toward manny for help, who shot her a sinister glare. it was evident that even if manny had knowledge of the phone's whereabouts, she had no intention of assisting her.
"just remember there is no phones in rehearsal." miss jenn called out as the brunette exited. nini departed in haste, shouting, "i know!"
"miss jenn, i need a moment please" shortly afterward, mr. mazzara discreetly knocked on the door, seeking a moment with miss jenn. carlos inquired if he had an appointment, but miss jenn graciously took the lead, announcing that they had concluded their work for the day.
🎶
during rehearsal that day, gina performed a new rendition of "stick to the status quo," an idea that manny had suggested, with some ulterior motives in mind.
though they had a rocky start, manny genuinely believed they could become friends. when manny disclosed the true reason for joining the show, gina was taken aback and delighted to discover that manny had no interest in her role; she simply wanted nini gone. so when manny proposed the dance idea, gina was more than willing to embrace it.
towards the end of the number, nini frantically stumbled into the choir room.
"everybody hold." miss jenn announced, making her way over to the disheveled salazar-roberts girl. "nini, where were you? we've been here for an hour."
nini sighed, admitting her faults, "i am so sorry. i lost my phone and spent last night living as a hunter-gatherer which, by the way did you know there are things that are only on tv at a certain time?" she apologized, her voice reflecting her bewilderment, "okay anyway, i finally picked it up in the lost and found.. wait, did you say an hour?"
miss jenn furrowed her brows, "manny sent you and me a text asking if we could come in early so she could talk through a new idea, you didn't get it?"
nini, her tone laced with exasperation, responded, "no. because my phone was missing."
hazel leaned in, whispering in her best friend's ear, "did you text that knowing her phone was missing?"
"maybe." manny replied in a hushed tone, suppressing a mischievous grin. she couldn't resist the temptation.
"look honey, you have got to keep better track of your stuff. a real triple-threat means singing acting, and being organized." miss jenn advised.
nini, somewhat crestfallen, nodded in acknowledgment. "got it."
"well, if you had been here, you would know that gina pitched a whole new dance break for taylor and martha in the middle of status quo and she had carlos work it out with her and it is just dazzling!" miss jenn informed her with a smile.
gina chose not to reply verbally but handed over a lunch tray prop to initiate nini's dance instruction.
"you and carlos?" nini questioned plastering on a fake smile. gina didn't respond, just handing over a lunch tray prop so she could teach her the steps.
"i think it's great." manny couldn't help but wear an insidious grin, and she offered a small smile of approval to gina.
"gina, why don't you hydrate and show nini the new choreo? would you?" miss jenn instructed.
_________________________
NINI, junior
"okay is it just me, or is it possible that manny stole my phone? she schedules an early rehearsal that she knows i'll miss because she knew i didn't have my phone, and then has gina show up with a whole new dance number featuring her freakish gymnastics skills that she knows i cannot do and now i'm in the doghouse with miss jenn. is any of this an accident?"
_________________________
🎶
"hey nini, how was your night?" ricky approached nini awkwardly as she was setting down her belongings.
"um, not so hot actually, excuse me." she muttered uncomfortably, swiftly moving past him. In the background, gina, big red, ej, manny, and hazel watched with second-hand embarrassment.
"oh, okay." he mumbled awkwardly walking off.
🎶
"this is a basic triple pirouette." gina introduced doing her turns, "this is like a two count of krump and then we're into some argentinian tango, piece of cake if you've ever spent a few months overseas." gina continued dancing, "now here's where you kick your face."
gina gracefully leaned down and extended her leg in a demonstration. nini couldn't resist a sarcastic comment, asking, "hmm, can i kick yours?"
"i love your humor." gina responded with a scoff. "ok part two, ready?"
"there's not a word for this last move per se but i call it the death whack, give a gander." the girl kicked her leg into the air, almost reaching her own face, and in the process, nearly nini's as well, before ending in a dramatic split, "ta-da! so that, but you start on the left foot, ready?"
nini gulped, realizing it was going to be a demanding rehearsal. manny, on the other hand, relished every moment of it.
_________________________
MANNY, junior
"best. rehearsal. ever."
_________________________
🎶
after the rehearsal, nini restlessly paced around her bedroom, while kourtney remained seated on her bed, engrossed in her phone.
"okay, here's the deal. are you sitting down? excellent." nini began her discourse, yet kourtney barely reacted.
"it seems like gina really wants me to quit the show, and it seems like she is willing to kill me to do it." the brunette observed.
kourtney responded with a nonchalant shrug. "if only someone told you that days ago, oh wait i did!"
"but why? i haven't done anything to gina. what could she possibly have against me?" nini pondered aloud, her thoughts in disarray.
"who knows? maybe she just doesn't like you." kourtney suggested. nini squinted thoughtfully, "i think manny got to her."
the greene girl gave her a perplexed look, prompting her best friend to elaborate.
"it's obvious that she wants the lead.. and it seems like manny only joined the show to spite me. maybe she's having gina do her dirty work to make me quit?!" nini spiraled, her anxiety heightening.
"do you hear yourself?" kourtney's eyes widened in disbelief. "cause you sound crazy."
nervously, the brunette chuckled, "i thought i was.. but now she's stealing phones and inventing special new ways for me to hurt myself. so here's what i came up with."
she revealed her ipad, which displayed a PowerPoint presentation titled, "WAYS TO HANDLE THE GINA AND MANNY PROBLEM"
"are we back in fifth grade?" the girl's eyes widened further, her disbelief apparent.
"not the point. so, the way i see it, i could do one of six things." nini dismissed the critique, focusing on the options. she tapped the screen and listed them: "one; talk to miss jenn. two; magically learn the dance. three; have my moms yell and gina's mom.. or have them just yell at manny because i don't even think she has parents. four; quit the show. five; eat so much ice cream. or six; steal something back."
kourtney scoffed at the notion of theft, remarking, "well we can scratch out number six cause that's an act of war."
nini's face fell, and she unzipped her backpack to unveil a pair of gina's sneakers and manny's headphones. "too late."
"nini!" kourtney exclaimed in shock. "i thought you'd veto the ice cream!" she panicked.