A Last Huzzah, by phoebenpiper
"So, Shar...."
Sharpay heard her brother speaking from the chaise next to her, but she didn't bother opening her eyes. After all, it was only the third day of summer vacation and she was still behind on her tan, her sleep, and her manicures -- surely Ryan wouldn't want to disrupt any of these.
"...we were discussing this summer," Ryan continued, "and we think that, instead of doing the Star Dazzle show this year, we should--"
"Wait!" Sharpay's eyes popped open, and she stuck her free hand in Ryan's face to make him stop talking. "I don't recall us discussing the Star Dazzle show."
Ryan chuckled and rolled onto his side so he could be face-to-face with his sister. "Of course you don't I didn't mean 'you and I'...'me'...whatever," he said, gesturing back and forth between the two of them, "I meant me and Kelsi."
"No!" Sharpay sat up straight. "No no no! You and Kelsi are NOT a 'we'."
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, Shar. Kelsi and I will never be THAT kind of 'we' -- you of all people know I don't like girls like that."
"Well, duh! But still, you two can't be a 'we'. You and I are a 'we'. We're THE 'we'." She gestured back and forth between them, insisting, "We! We! We!"
Mimi stopped buffing Sharpay's nails, obviously alarmed. "Excusez-moi, mademoiselle. Est-ce qu'il y a un problème?"
"Oui!" Sharpay snapped, turning to her annoying French manicurist. "Mon frère est un chien!"
Ryan sighed and sat up, insisting, "I am NOT a dog, Shar! And if you'd just let me explain, you'd see that I CARE about 'we'...I mean 'us'."
As Mimi returned to buffing the nails of her left hand, Sharpay impatiently drummed her non-manicured right nails on the arm of the chaise. "I'm listening, Ryan. But this better be good."
Her twin nodded and took a deep breath. "We--"
"Ah-ah!" Sharpay warned, raising a finger.
"KELSI and I," Ryan restated, sounding annoyed, "were discussing this summer, and we -- KELSI and I -- think that, instead of doing the Star Dazzle show this year, instead WE -- YOU and I -- should do a show together. Just the two of us. I mean, this is the last chance we're gonna have to perform together for awhile...possibly forever. So we -- KELSI and I -- thought that YOU and I should make the most of it. You know, a last hurrah for the Evans twins. Go out in style. Besides, I think the Club members are sick of Mrs. Hoffenfeifer's sock puppets and that stupid tap routine that Tina does every year…I'm sure everyone would appreciate a GOOD show for a change!"
Sharpay had heard everything her brother had said, but she'd stopped listening about halfway through. It had never occurred to her that Ryan was right -- this summer might be their last performance together. EVER!! And the thought was horrifying.
Sharpay had naturally been jealous when Ryan got the Juillard scholarship, but deep down she knew that Ryan was more talented, even if he didn't have her star quality. Besides, she rather enjoyed being a big fish in a small pond, and at U of A she had a good chance of getting starring roles her freshman year, something that would've been highly unlikely at Juillard. But she'd never made the connection that her performing on the Redhawk stage while her twin performed 2000 miles away meant that they wouldn't actually be performing TOGETHER -- and this realization shook her world.
"Shar? SHAR?!"
Sharpay was called back to reality, and she blinked a few times as she tried to focus on her soon-to-be-far-away twin brother.
"So what do you think?" he asked eagerly.
Sharpay nodded, not trusting her voice not to crack.
Ryan smiled, and Sharpay realized how much she was going to miss that goofy smile when he was gone.
"Great! Kelsi's already started working on some new music, and she's promised to write stuff just as good as her Troy/Gabi duets -- maybe even better! And I have all these choreography ideas for us -- I've even been looking into the practicality of getting harnesses."
Ryan's enthusiasm was cheering up his sister. She realized that with Kelsi's music, Ryan's choreography, and her producing skills, Lava Springs was in for the best mid-summer performance EVER!
"And while I think it should just be the two of us," Ryan said, a devilish glint in his eyes, "I was thinking we might add in some back-up dancers."
Sharpay knew exactly what Ryan had in mind. "'Think big, Roxy,'" she quoted. "'I'm gonna get me…'"
"'…a whole BUNCH of boys!'" the twins ended in unison before bursting into laughter.
"Excusez-moi, mademoiselle," Mimi meekly inquired.
"WHAT?!" Sharpay was irritated at having her moment with her brother interrupted.
"L'autre main, s'il vous plaît?"
Mimi tentatively reached for Sharpay's other hand, but the blonde girl impatiently waved the manicurist away. "Plus tard! Allez, vas-y!"
Sharpay could get her nails done later – she had more important things to work on than her manicure right now!
THE END