by Disney Books
The unexpected move took Ricky by surprise, but he kinda liked it.
Principal Gutierrez paced in Miss Jenn’s office. “As you can see, this puts the administration in a very awkward position, which is why we have a process for this sort of thing,” he told her. He had explained that the school board had received information that her résumé might have some inaccurate information. They had scheduled a meeting tomorrow to discuss it. He handed her a box and suggested that she pack up a few of her things.
Carlos stuck his head in Miss Jenn’s office and asked if she was coming to the photo shoot. She knew she wasn’t. She had to leave the building and would have to wait for the verdict from the school board. But she smiled at Carlos and told him to start without her.
When Carlos returned to the auditorium, the cast was gathering onstage to take photos for the show’s program. Everyone was in costume, and Nini was shocked to see Ricky looking all Zac Efron, complete with a straight-haired wig to frame his face.
”Oh my God, Ricky,” she said, laughing. “I can’t. There’s so much to talk about.”
“What’s funny?” he said, sounding slightly offended.
Seb slipped on his silver bedazzled platform heels and slowly walked onto the stage. He adjusted his pink T-shirt, sequined vest, and cargo pants. Carlos saw him and went to check if he was okay.
“I don’t know how to say this,” Seb said, touching his pink highlights.
“Just say it,” Carlos said with concern.
A smile spread across Seb’s face. “I’m home,” he said.
Big Red was ready with his camera. He wanted everyone to jump on cue to re-create the poster from the original High School Musical. His cues, however, were not working. Everyone was springing into the air at different times. Carlos called for a break.
E.J. found Gina in the corner and went over to her. “I’m a smidge confused,” he said. “What happened to the plan? You made me take you to homecoming and then poured a drink on my head….”
“Yeah,” she said. “It was pretty complicated.”
E.J. stared at her. “If there was ever a next step, I think I missed it. I’m still the understudy, and you seem pretty happy. What changed?”
“Nothing,” Gina said, shrugging. “Everything? I don’t know.”
“I thought you wanted this as bad as I did,” E.J. said.
“I thought I did,” she said.
He looked at her. “Do you care about Ricky now?”
“What if I do?” she asked.
“Um, guys,” Carlos said, breaking up the conversation.
“Not now!” Gina and E.J. barked in unison.
Carlos shrank away and called Miss Jenn. He thought she was joking when she told him she might be out of a job in twenty-four hours, but as he turned the corner in the school hallway, he saw her carrying her box of things.
“Oh my God!” Carlos said. “What happened?”
“I may have exaggerated one or two credits on my résumé,” she said. “The important thing is you keep this train on the tracks. Hopefully everything will be cleared up when I sit before the school board tomorrow.”
Then she told him to keep rehearsal going and not tell any of the cast. “In the theater, morale is everything,” she said as she was escorted out by Principal Gutierrez. Looking back over her shoulder, she caught Carlos’s eyes. “Trust the process!” she said.
Back in the auditorium, the cast was wondering where Miss Jenn and Carlos were. As they waited, Big Red quizzed Ricky about his night with Gina, but Ricky wasn’t divulging anything. He only confessed to not being sure about what was happening.
“Should I just live vicariously through someone else?” Big Red asked.
“Okay, people!” Carlos cried when he entered the auditorium. “Let’s stage a number!” He explained that Miss Jenn had a small personal matter and wouldn’t be there.
“Is everything all right?” Nini asked.
“Everything is fine,” Carlos barked. “Why would you even ask that?”
His defensive response put everyone on edge.
Carlos continued with his idea for staging Gabriella’s song, “When There Was Me and You.” He wanted each of the male cast members to stand on a box, and Gabriella would wander through this forest of boys as she sang. This idea didn’t make sense to Nini. After all, Troy had just sold Gabriella out to his teammates. Why would she be singing to these boys or trees?
Ashlyn agreed with Nini. “She’s got a point,” she told Carlos. “What Troy did was kind of unforgivable. The last thing anyone wants in this moment is four more versions of him.”
Kourtney spoke up, too. “Maybe she’s surrounded by a forest of loving and supportive sisters!”
The cast began to take sides, and Ricky held up his hand. “Is it better if she just sings a solo acoustic version?”
Gina smiled and voted for Ricky’s idea, but Carlos snapped. “This is not a democracy!”
Carlos’s outburst was a little surprising. Nini stepped closer to him. “Are you okay? We could just wait for Miss Jenn.”
“Miss Jenn’s not here, and I don’t know if she’s ever coming back!” he exclaimed.
Now the cast was silent. Carlos explained that Miss Jenn was in trouble because she had lied on her job application and could be fired. She had to wait for the school board meeting tomorrow. The news made everyone upset and tense.
“I need a minute,” Nini said and walked out with Kourtney.
A few other cast members started to pack up their stuff, too.
“Rehearsals are officially cancelled until further notice,” Carlos said.
In the hallway, Carlos confronted Mr. Mazzara.
“Benjamin Mazzara. I assume you know what’s happening to Miss Jenn,” Carlos said.
“I may have heard a rumor in the faculty lounge,” he said.
“The real question is, who narced on Miss Jenn?” Carlos said accusatorially.
“Are you suggesting that I had something to do with this?” he responded.
“Are you admitting that you did?” Carlos responded.
“Of course not,” Mr. Mazzara told Carlos. “Look, kid, has it occurred to you that Miss Jenn is responsible for her own untimely demise?”
E.J. raced down the hallway, looking for Nini.
“Miss Jenn isn’t the only person with secrets,” he confessed when he found his ex-girlfriend. “Look, I really need to get some things off my chest.”
He began to confess his plot to steal the part of Troy from Ricky and win Nini back. Then, he went on to apologize to Nini for all he had done—though Nini wasn’t sure why. “Why are you telling me this all now?” she asked.
“It’s over, Nini,” he said. “The show. My parents used to be on the school board. If there’s a hearing tomorrow, Miss Jenn is a done deal.” He watched Nini’s face. “I’m sorry you won’t get to be Gabriella. The audience doesn’t know what they’re missing…but I do.”
His words sank in fast, and Nini was crushed. After E.J. left, she heard Ricky singing down the hall. She peeked inside the rehearsal room and saw him playing guitar and singing “When There Was Me and You.” And then she spotted Gina. She and Ricky were staring into each other’s eyes—and Nini backed away.
Ricky didn’t see Nini because he was looking at Gina as he sang and played guitar. He hoped she liked his version of the song. There was definitely some flirting happening here, and it felt good. It also felt good to be singing, which took Ricky a little by surprise. He had started to really enjoy performing.
“Should we be doing something? Like to help Miss Jenn,” he said after he finished his song.
Carlos slipped into a booth at the coffeehouse and sat across from Miss Jenn. She told her loyal assistant that everything that would be said about her at the school board hearing was true. She was a fake teacher. She pushed her red file box toward Carlos. It was her director’s files and staging ideas. “It’s for your next teacher,” she said, standing up. “I just hope she
loves you guys half as much as I do.”
Carlos was speechless and incredibly sad. He checked his phone and saw that the cast was at Big Red’s. He headed over there and found everyone sitting around the basement commiserating. Carlos broke the silence. “I’m mad at Miss Jenn,” he said.
“Because she has some skeletons in her closet?” Gina asked.
“No,” Carlos replied. “Because she’s giving up.” He looked around at the cast. “She gave me a shot, and it’s been a long time since someone gave me a shot.”
Ashlyn was thoughtful for a moment. “Does anyone here actually care if her past is a little bit sketchy?”
“I do,” Ricky said.
Everyone turned to look at him.
“What, because you’ve lived some perfect life?” Kourtney asked.
Ricky sat up straighter. “Not at all,” he said. “Because she put our show in jeopardy. And now we are here, and maybe for the last time. And for some of us, this has become…”
“A family,” Nini finished for him.
“Okay, Wildcats. So what are we doing about it?” Ashlyn asked.
Miss Jenn was sitting on a bench outside East High waiting for the school board meeting to begin when she saw Ricky’s dad, Mike. One of the cast members called out her name, and Mike was surprised to learn she was the Miss Jenn he had been hearing about. She was shocked to discover Mike was Ricky’s dad. They shared an awkward moment. “Let’s talk after, maybe?” Miss Jenn said.
The school board meeting was held in the cafeteria. Principal Gutierrez began the proceedings by asking Miss Jenn about the charges. “There is news that your résumé was exaggerated,” he said. “Your teaching credentials may have been from an obscure online university, and even your official name could be a version of your stage name. What do you say to these charges?”
As Miss Jenn was speaking, Nini and Ricky stood at the door, directing the cast to seats. Very soon, the cafeteria was filled with the whole cast.
Carlos looked over his shoulder and saw Mr. Mazzara watching from the stairway.
“I have always done my best by these kids,” Miss Jenn said.
“Excuse me,” Mike said, standing up. “Can I say something?”
The principal allowed him to have the floor.
“The real crime here would be booting a teacher who’s making a positive impact,” Mike said. “I’ve never seen my kid this invested in anything. And I don’t think that’s something we should punish.”
Principal Gutierrez began to speak, but was distracted by humming. He looked up to the cafeteria landing and saw Kourtney holding a boom box over her head. Kourtney and Nini led the song “Truth, Justice & Songs in Our Key,” and everyone in the cast took a verse. The words complimented Miss Jenn and her work on the musical—and everything she had done for her students. Soon everyone was dancing on the tables and the meeting turned into a dance party. At the end, everyone applauded.
“Do we have any further questions?” Principal Gutierrez asked. The only question was about getting tickets for opening night! “This meeting is adjourned,” the beaten-down principal said.
Ricky caught his dad and Miss Jenn sharing a moment across the room. His dad had saved her and the show with his speech, but had he known Miss Jenn before that day?
The day before Thanksgiving break, the cast was running through the song “Start of Something New.” Nini and Ricky sounded great together. Nini was really impressed by how hard Ricky had worked. He had really pulled himself together and was confident in the leading role. Though he seemed to always be looking at Gina.
“Your homework over this break is to please go on vocal rest,” Miss Jenn said. “And go over your lines, too, which is hard to do on vocal rest, but make it work.” She smiled at her students. “And may nothing ever block your doorway to happiness.”
Mr. Mazzara walked into the rehearsal room and handed Ashlyn a thick binder from the robotics club. Ashlyn was super involved in almost every club at school, but the robotics club? Big Red’s eyes widened. He had no idea. It only made him have more respect for her.
Carlos listened to Mr. Mazzara and Miss Jenn talk about their family Thanksgiving meals with peach cobbler and candied yams. He leaned over to Big Red. “My family usually has three protein courses, and then everyone is asleep by six,” he said.
Big Red nodded. “My folks start eating at dawn, and they barely make it past the Macy’s parade,” he said.
Ashlyn joined in the conversation. She told them her parents were going to a spa with E.J.’s parents. Just then, she had a great idea. “Do you guys want to come over after dinner tomorrow, like a late-night party?”
Before Big Red could ask if they should open up the invite to the whole cast or not, Carlos blurted out to the room that Ashlyn was hosting a party. Everyone seemed psyched to go.
This was the first holiday that was just Ricky and his dad—and it felt strange. His dad told him to call his mom. “She really misses you, Ricky,” he said. “She’s all alone in Chicago, and she is waiting for you to call.” Ricky wasn’t sure what to say to his mom. His dad, however, was letting him off the hook on attending the family gathering at his aunt’s house later. Ricky had told him he was planning on going to Ashlyn’s party.
“I suppose if you’re lonely, you could just randomly text my drama teacher,” Ricky joked with his dad.
“Too soon, Rick,” Mike said with a laugh.
Once his dad left, Ricky picked up the phone to call his mom. Only a man answered. Ricky quickly recovered and said, “I was trying to reach Lynne. I think I have the wrong number.”
“No, you got it right,” the man said. “Ricky, this is Todd. I have heard so much about you. Lynne is in the shower. Can I take a message?”
Ricky felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Who was Todd? And why did he know so much about him? Ricky hung up fast. His first instinct was to call Nini. But things with Nini had been kind of weird, so he rethought the impulse. A knock at the door brought him out of his trance. Gina was standing at his front door holding some cupcakes decorated like turkeys.
“Gina, hi,” he said. “Come in.”
“Thanks. I thought I could walk you to Ashlyn’s, but it’s kind of freezing out, so I made you this hat,” she said, handing him a knit cap.
Ricky was impressed.
“You spend enough time alone in the house, and you pick up all sorts of crafts on YouTube,” she told him.
“Sorry, can I meet you there?” he asked.
Gina realized something was going on with Ricky. “Is everything okay?”
“No,” Ricky confessed. “I guess my mom has a new boyfriend, and it’s just a lot. I’m sorry. I hate to be a downer.”
“Look, I get it,” Gina said.
“No offense, but I’m not sure you do,” he said.
Gina sighed. The truth was she did understand. “Let me guess: you’re mad at everyone and everything because just when you’re getting used to things changing, they change again.”
Ricky stared at Gina. How did she nail his feelings so well?
“Ricky,” Gina continued, “I’m not sure you noticed, but my family is just me and my mom. She’s at FEMA, so we basically move whenever disaster strikes. I’ve had a few feelings in my life.”
Embarrassed, Ricky realized how wrong he had been about Gina. “Of course, yeah,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Gina said. “I’m just saying, you just gotta ignore it and push through.” She smiled at him.
“Do you think I should text her ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ or something?” he asked.
Gina shrugged. “What I think we should do is go to the party and spend a few hours being drama dorks.” She laughed. “But do what makes you happy.”
Ricky took Gina’s handmade hat and put it on. And with that, they headed out the door to Ashlyn’s house.
Big Red showed up at Ashlyn’s early to help her set up for the party. Ashlyn had been wondering how he got involved w
ith the show. He didn’t really seem like a crew kind of guy. Big Red told her it was because of Ricky. He was being a good friend and giving Ricky moral support because Nini was dating E.J.
“Sorry, I forgot you guys were related,” Big Red told her.
“Well, hey, I promise not to steal your phone if you promise not to throw a basketball at my face.”
Big Red set the soda down on the table and looked over at Ashlyn. “The only thing I’d ever throw at your face is a brighter spotlight, because I like the way you sing.”
Ashlyn grinned. That was such a nice compliment it made her face flush.
Before the family sat down to Thanksgiving dinner, Nini’s grandmother was entertaining her with stories about when she had first come to America. Nini was inspired hearing her grandmother talk about when she’d been Nini’s age and had a chance to start over when her family moved to the United States. The idea of starting over somewhere new was very exciting to Nini—and it made her think.
When Nini arrived at Ashlyn’s party, most of the cast were there already. She went to the kitchen to help Ashlyn prep snacks for everyone. She really liked Ashlyn and admired her songwriting talents.
“‘Wondering’ is literally the best ballad in the show, and I’m low-key jealous that Gabriella doesn’t get to sing it,” Nini told her. “I wish I could write like that.”
Ashlyn appreciated the compliment but felt a little embarrassed by the attention. “Okay, but didn’t you write that completely adorkable song about how you don’t not love someone?” Ashlyn said.
“That was a onetime thing, and it totally backfired,” Nini said. “I highly recommend not telling someone you love them for the first time on Instagram.”
“Maybe you should write something for yourself, then,” Ashlyn said, encouraging her.
Carlos came into the living room holding a very long box. He had brought a homemade board game he’d made many years ago, High School Musical: The Choosical.
“When I was a child, I wanted to go into the movie, but the movie was on-screen, so I decided to create the next best thing: an interactive, hyperactive HSM experience that could be played by children and adults everywhere in the world,” he said.
