by Disney Books
“It’s called a blind spot,” Kourtney told her. Kourtney wondered why Nini seemed like she was on the warpath. She asked her bestie if she’d eaten anything today.
Kourtney checked her phone before she got up to get the two of them some food. There was a text from Tonya Freeman, a senior on the costume crew. She had vetoed all of Kourtney’s suggestions. “She treats me like a child,” she muttered.
“Have you told Miss Jenn?” Nini asked.
“I don’t need Miss Jenn to fight my battles,” Kourtney said. She went up to the counter, leaving Nini to watch the couple. She couldn’t help but think back to a time during camp when E.J. had been so sweet. She had really trusted him.
“Hey, don’t look now, but your shark’s cousin is here,” Kourtney said when she returned.
Ashlyn caught Nini’s eye and turned around to exit the coffeehouse.
Nini ran out the door to follow her. “Ashlyn, you don’t have to avoid me,” she said, catching up to her.
Ashlyn unlocked her bike and started to head out.
“No matter what happens between me and E.J., there’s no bad blood between us,” Nini said. “I mean, you might have some because you’re related to him, but that’s not your fault.”
Ashlyn didn’t want to be in the middle. Nini quickly surmised that Ashlyn knew all about E.J.’s summer scheming.
“E.J., he tends to do the wrong things for the right reasons,” Ashlyn said.
“You can’t possible defend him,” Nini said.
“I’m not,” Ashlyn said. “I know what he did sucks, but he loves you and he’s hurting right now and—”
“And what?” Nini asked. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Find some way to forgive him?” she asked.
Nini wasn’t sure she could do that.
Big Red blew up an air mattress in his bedroom for Ricky. He was trying to distract Ricky with a funny story about a girl he had seen on YouTube eating dog kibble, but nothing was helping. Ricky’s parents were splitting up and he was upset. He didn’t want to deal…or go home. But Ricky couldn’t fall asleep. Between Big Red’s labored breathing and the strange noises coming from his sleep sound machine, Ricky couldn’t fall asleep. He tossed and turned and finally picked himself up and left.
He wound up at Nini’s house, talking to one of her moms. Carol was always there for him, and he really appreciated the way she sprang into action. She talked to his dad and explained Ricky was going to sleep over and then she set him up in the living room. She just didn’t clear all that with Nini.
Nini heard voices downstairs and went to see what was going on. She saw the couch made up for an overnight guest. Carol told her that Ricky was going to stay the night. Nini tried to protest, but Carol stopped her short. She explained that Ricky’s mom was back, but that she wasn’t going to be staying long. And that no matter how bad Nini’s day had been, Ricky’s day had probably been a lot worse.
Ricky felt a little silly coming down the stairs in Carol’s T-shirt and pajama pants.
“I probably should have called you and asked how you felt about me being here,” he told Nini. She could tell he really needed to talk, and Nini knew she was the one person he could really open up to. He had to…he was bursting. “I’m scared, really scared this time,” he admitted. “It feels different already.”
“But that’s all it is,” Nini said. “Different. It’s not necessarily bad.”
“It’s really hard to talk about,” he said, looking at her. Being together was so comfortable and familiar. “I mean, not with you, but anyone else.”
“You can talk with me about anything at any time, Ricky,” she said. “I know things are kind of weird between us, but we’re still friends. You know that.”
They hugged, and in an awkward moment, Ricky leaned in a little more than he should have. It felt like they were going to kiss, but Nini jumped back and told him she would go get another pillow for him.
When she came back, Ricky was gone.
Ricky decided he needed to go home. His mom was still up when he arrived, packing up some boxes. She offered to make him something to eat. Ricky sank deep into the couch as she rustled around the kitchen. He slipped his earphones on to drown out the pain.
Early in the morning, “Bop to the Top” blared through the speakers in the rehearsal room as Carlos and Seb danced the Sharpay-Ryan number. No one else was there, and they were enjoying a magic moment. They were perfectly in sync.
“Dancing with you is easy,” Seb said. He admitted that dancing with the actor playing Ryan wasn’t as easy, even though he practiced in his family’s barn every night. “I need to practice with someone who actually knows how to lead.”
Carlos took a drink from his water bottle. He was about to lead with a huge question. “Are you busy tonight?” he asked. “You know, homecoming?
Seb stared at Carlos. “You mean, like, you and I…dancing together in front of all the non-theater kids?”
Carlos laughed. “As far as I know, that’s how homecoming works. This would be my first time going.” He held his breath. He knew this was a big leap.
Seb picked up his things to go and turned to Carlos. “Text me a pic of what you’re wearing,” he said as he walked out.
Carlos pumped his fist in the air. He had a date for homecoming!
Kourtney was concerned about Nini. She was in a stall in the girls’ bathroom at school trying to flush her homecoming dress down a toilet! “Nini, baby,” Kourtney said, “you need help!”
“You know what I need?” Nini said, as she took her dress out of the toilet and shoved it in the sink. “A girls’ night!”
Just as they decided to forget about the homecoming dance, the last stall door in the bathroom flew open and Miss Jenn stood in front of them. “I’m in!” she exclaimed.
Miss Jenn was all about her cast, and she knew these girls needed a little something extra. She was ready to be there for them, and she had the perfect place in mind.
Ricky was surprised to see all the curtains closed and his dad lying on the living room couch in the middle of the afternoon.
“Why aren’t you at rehearsal?” his dad asked, rubbing his eyes.
“Why aren’t you at work?” Ricky countered.
“I’m taking a mental health day,” he said.
“This is your fifth one in a row. That’s like a mental health week.” Ricky pulled the blanket away from his dad’s face. “If Mom isn’t coming back, this is the way it is now, okay?”
Ricky’s dad groaned.
“I don’t like it, either,” Ricky said. “You need to take a shower and rejoin civilization.”
His dad looked at him. “I don’t see you exactly putting yourself out there post-breakup,” he said.
Folding a blanket, Ricky grinned. “And that, good sir, is where you are wrong. I am going to homecoming tonight.”
He wished he could say his date was Nini, since she was now single. Only he hadn’t heard that from her. He had heard from Ashlyn, who heard it from Seb. But Ricky had a different kind of date. He was going with Big Red.
“We are in this together,” Ricky told his dad. “Think of this as a bro-pact.”
“Does this mean I need to make a dating profile?” Ricky’s dad asked.
“First make your bed,” Ricky joked. “Baby steps, Dad. Baby steps!”
Bonwood Bowling Alley was hopping when Nini, Kourtney, and Miss Jenn arrived. Families and tons of teens were bowling and having fun. Nini clapped her hands, excited for girls’ night out. Only she knew that Kourtney and her well-manicured fingers would not want to bowl. Miss Jenn didn’t seem so interested in bowling, either. She led the girls to the karaoke lounge in the back, where a guy was singing terribly, but proudly.
Miss Jenn grinned. “Tonight we are going to sit back and listen to some of Utah’s worst vocalists.” She wanted to boost Nini’s confidence. “Look around. These people have half your talent, and twice your confidence.”
“I am total
ly confident,” Nini said. “Aren’t I?”
“It takes time to step into the spotlight, Nini,” Miss Jenn said. “That’s why we are here tonight. Plus, I have a ten-year-old coupon for free sodas and nachos.”
Miss Jenn left the girls at the table and went to the snack bar. Ricky’s dad, Mike, was sitting at the bar and struck up a conversation. He tried to pretend he was waiting for someone, even though he wasn’t. Miss Jenn intrigued him. She seemed to be interested, too. She was coy and took the sodas she ordered and headed to the back room.
While they waited for Miss Jenn, Nini glared at Gina’s Instagram post from homecoming. Her date was E.J.! Kourtney wasn’t really listening to Nini’s rant, because across the room she saw Tonya Freeman. Even though Tonya had rejected all of Kourtney’s costume ideas for the show, Tonya was wearing one of the outfits she had vetoed. Nini told her to go over and talk to Tonya, but Kourtney wasn’t about to ruin girls’ night.
Gina wasted no time in posting a photo of her and E.J. at the homecoming dance. There was no better way to let everyone know she was at the dance with E.J. Especially Nini. The thing was, Gina didn’t really have a plan. Though she had convinced E.J. to take her to the dance, she really didn’t know what she was doing. To E.J., she acted confident. “All will be revealed,” she told him. “Just smile.”
Before they even made it the theater kids’ table, Big Red showed Ricky Gina’s post. Ricky rolled his eyes. Not only had E.J. stolen his girlfriend, but the minute they broke up, he had a new date.
Carlos and Ashlyn were at the table, too. Carlos was also checking his phone.
“He’ll show up,” Ashlyn told him. “Don’t assume Seb stood you up. Maybe he was in a farming accident.”
“Not helping,” Carlos said. He looked back at his blank screen. He wondered if Seb had chickened out.
“Can you get me some punch, babe?” Gina said to E.J.
“Sure, babe,” E.J. said, playing the part.
When E.J. left the table, Ricky leaned over to Gina. He took the opportunity to tell Gina that E.J. was bad news and she could do better.
Gina didn’t miss a beat. “You’re not exactly one to give relationship advice,” she spat.
“I sort of thought you were classier than this,” Ricky said. “But maybe you really are what people say you are.”
“And that is?” Gina asked.
Big Red’s mouth dropped open. “Dude,” he said, pulling on Ricky’s arm. It wasn’t like Ricky to be so mean. And that comment was a little out of line.
“A little too ambitious for your own good,” Ricky told her.
Ricky and Big Red got up to walk around the dance. “Was this, like, a huge mistake?” Ricky asked.
“What? Calling Gina out like that?” said Big Red. “That was mad harsh, dude. You owe her an apology.”
Ricky started to defend himself. “She showed up to the dance with my ex’s ex. What’s that about?”
Big Red shook his head. “Maybe not everything is about you. Maybe people are allowed to go out with whoever they want and be whoever they want to be.” While he sounded a bit like a daytime self-help host, Big Red did actually make Ricky think. His thoughts, however, were interrupted by some drama at the punch table.
Gina and E.J. were arguing, and the animated conversation ended with Gina throwing a glass of punch at E.J.
Ricky followed Gina outside to the coat check. Gina fumbled with her coat ticket and turned to see him.
“You do not want to clap at me right now,” she said. “I will clap back.”
“Wait, I was…gonna apologize,” Ricky said.
Gina took her coat. “Okay, go ahead,” she told him.
“Oh, that was sort of it,” he said, smiling at her. “I’m an outsider to the theater stuff, and you’re an outsider to East High. I thought we sort of got each other.”
This softened Gina, and Ricky looked a little more relaxed. “My world’s been a little…” Ricky trailed off. “At home, too.”
“You’re not the only one with home drama,” Gina told him. She looked at Ricky. “Give me a ride home and we’ll call it even.”
Carlos went over to get some punch. Mr. Mazzara was serving, and Carlos confided in him. “My date didn’t show up,” he said. “I’m the fool who thought he’d actually dance in public with me.”
Mr. Mazzara handed Carlos a glass of punch. “Well, the night’s not over,” he said. “We’ve all seen your moves. You don’t need a dance partner to dance.”
His unexpected and kind words gave Carlos the lift he needed. A new song came on, and Carlos started to tap his foot. As the song kicked into the chorus, Carlos headed out to the center of the dance floor.
E.J. whispered to Ashlyn, “I kinda feel bad for theguy.”
Ashlyn looked at E.J., then got up to join her brave friend on the dance floor. She shadowed his moves, and before long everyone on the dance floor was dancing with Carlos. At the end of the song, the crowd of dancers lifted Carlos up and spun him around. When he landed, he laid eyes on Seb.
“Looks like I missed a lot,” Seb said.
“The dance started three hours ago,” Carlos told him.
“We lost one of our cows.” Seb took a step closer to Carlos.
“You could have texted,” Carlos said.
“We have bad cell reception at the barn. I’m really sorry about being so late.”
“I’m really sorry about your cow,” Carlos offered.
Seb smiled and took Carlos’s hand. “At least our ties match.”
A slow dance began, and the two headed to the center of the dance floor.
Miss Jenn returned to the table in the karaoke lounge and could see Nini and Kourtney were in the middle of something. She put the sodas down on the table and then went back out to the snack bar for the nachos. Mike was glad to see her again. He summoned enough courage to ask her out on a date—and for her name. Miss Jenn flirted, asking him if he wanted a stage name or a real name. She finally told him, and for the first time in a long time, she felt happy.
Meanwhile, Nini was trying to get Kourtney to stick up for herself and go over to speak to Tonya.
Kourtney sat up straight. “I didn’t come here for a fight. I came to have fun.”
The announcer called for “Nay Nay” to sing the next song.
“It’s pronounced Nee Nee,” Kourtney called. She turned to Nini. “Come on, this was our jam back in the day!” “Born to Be Brave” started playing, and Kourtney began to dance.
Nini wanted no part of performing. She felt like an imposter. She was not a singer or a lead in a show. The only reason she’d gotten the lead at camp was E.J.’s scheming. Her whole mission to be Nini 2.0 was based on a lie. She was a fraud. She headed for the door.
Kourtney followed her and passed Tonya on the way out. She took a deep breath. “Nice sweater,” she said casually. Taking the high road felt empowering. She caught up with Nini outside in the alley.
“What happened to the seventh-grade Nini who used to belt out this song in the back seat of my mom’s minivan?” Kourtney asked.
“She grew up,” Nini mumbled.
Kourtney wasn’t about to let Nini off so easily. “Ever since you discovered boys, you’ve spent way too much time seeing yourself through their eyes.”
Nini got defensive, and then she paused. Maybe her friend was right.
“Miss Jenn is wrong,” Kourtney told her. “You didn’t lose your confidence. You just forgot why you loved to sing in the first place.”
The beat of the song Kourtney had chosen for Nini to sing was pulsing through the door. Kourtney began to sing and Nini gave in to the music. This was a song she loved, and the two of them sang and danced. Nini realized it was the best feeling to reclaim her voice—and have a good time with her best friend.
After the song, they went back to the karaoke room and saw Miss Jenn. She looked a little different—more made up and all happy.
“Miss Jenn,” Nini said, “did you meet someone i
n the bowling alley?”
Miss Jenn blushed. “It was a momentary flirtation,” she said. “Trust me, men come and go, but girlfriends are forever.”
They headed out to Miss Jenn’s car. She asked the girls if they’d gotten what they came for that night. Nini and Kourtney laughed, and then Nini thought for a moment. “I think I might have gotten something better,” she said.
Miss Jenn nodded and checked her phone. Principal Gutierrez had left a few messages for her. He had some information he wanted to discuss with her face to face. Miss Jenn kept her smile on and waved off Nini when she asked if everything was okay.
“Let’s call it a night,” she said, and pulled out of the lot.
“So this is where I live,” Gina told Ricky as they pulled up in front of her house. “Let me guess—you pictured a wrought-iron gate and a bunch of gargoyles.”
“You’re not that scary,” Ricky told her. Then he paused. “I kind of owe you a thank-you, actually.”
“For what?” Gina asked.
Ricky reminded Gina of the conversation they’d had at the skate park. “You’re the reason I stayed with the show. You set me straight,” he said. “It’s been a big deal for me. The Troy thing.”
Gina smiled. “Well, it suits you,” she said. She totally understood. Going to rehearsal after school had saved her, too.
“What was that big blowout with your date?” Ricky asked her.
She didn’t really want to go into the whole mess with Ricky. It was hard enough to make friends, let alone have a successful date. “I kind of forgot about it already,” she said. “I don’t really date. Try moving five schools in seven years,” she confessed.
“How is that working out for you?” Ricky asked.
Gina saw the porch lights flicker on and off. She had to go. Before she opened the door, she said, “I meant what I said at the skate park about you having your own style. I don’t even think I knew how much I meant it when I said it. Good night, Ricky.” She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
