Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and I am not affiliated in any way, shape or form with anyone who does.
Sharpay squealed as her leg hit the floor for the third time in half an hour. She stumbled back to her feet, straightening out her dress as she snarled in Ryan's general direction, eager to let him know that she was fast becoming sick of this. They were obviously going to get the lead roles in the musical, in all the years that they had competed; nobody had ever come close to her shining standard, but she couldn't quench the niggling feeling of doubt in her gut that told her that this time would not be as easy.
She stopped the record player as Ryan looked worried. She was pleased that he was frightened of her; it helped him to perform better if he knew that he was in trouble every time that he messed up, which was the reason why she wasn't going to go easy on him.
"The song is not called Drop to the Top Ryan! Nobody ever dropped to the top! Now can you actually manage to stop knocking me over and dropping me and getting in my way while I'm dancing?"
He nodded silently, not having moved since she had fallen.
"Right, because then we might actually have a chance of winning this." She felt that it would help to scare him into a better performance. "Because, at this rate, I don't think we are going to win!"
"But we always win…"
"Not at this rate Ryan… not at this rate. Now can you actually move back into position?"
He nodded, moving as the song started again and, once more, sending her crashing onto the ground.
"Damn it," he obviously wasn't getting to grips with it and there was one more thing she could do to try and salvage the performance. "You're not lifting me up anymore, we're getting the ladder."