Based on the animatics by SoapTears on YouTube. Seriously, look them up if you haven't already.
I know this has been done before—specifically on Wattpad. However, here's the thing about Wattpad's search/filter system: it's the shittiest on any fanfiction site I've been on. Fanfiction's is better, and AO3 has a pretty decent one.
Enough about my hatred of Wattpad—let's get on with the story.
Important changes made from the source material:
Max (Zack) is the victim of a father who only cares if Max's grades slip or he goes outside of what the dad considers a good use of time. His mom ignores him just as much.
Nikki (Tomika) is struggling to get used to the rigidness of Campbell Prep (Horace Green) and acts out as a result, earning her the title of 'Class Troublemaker'.
Neil (Lawrence) loves science and only takes piano to make his mom happy.
David (Dewey) lives with one roommate, Gwen, who works as a substitute teacher.
Preston (Summer) only wants to get his break on Broadway.
Like I said, these are the big, important changes. More will be made apparent, as well as the fact that Preston is splitting the role of Summer with my OC, Rosemary Campbell (Mr. Campbell's daughter). It has been a really long time since I've seen this movie, so forgive me.
Let's do this!
How do you know when someone else's life is spinning out of control?
That was the thought going through Gwen Mullins's head as she leaned in the doorway of her roommate's bedroom. David was sprawled on his bed, snoring. He'd been dragged in by his bandmates late the night before after a performance. They'd told her that they were going to find a new guitarist and that David was on his own.
Poor guy.
"Hey, David," she called.
"Huh?" he mumbled, sitting up in bed.
"Good. You're awake."
"Hey, Gwen!" he greeted her. "What time is it?"
"It's eight AM."
"Oh! Good!" He got out of bed and grabbed his guitar. "Plenty of time to warm up before practice."
"Uh, David…?"
"Yes, Gwen?"
"Your… your bandmates told me to tell you that you're on your own."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, they said it's not working out and that they're going to find a new guitarist."
David's happy grin fell.
"O-oh…"
"Look, I've gotta go. I got called in to work a couple shifts at the diner on the corner, so please don't destroy the apartment in your depression like you did last time."
"Okay." David moved to the couch as Gwen left the apartment.
Even if I'm sad, I need breakfast.
The washed-up guitarist dug some cereal out of the pantry and sat down to eat it dry. Suddenly, the phone went off and he rushed to answer it.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Yes, hello. This is Cameron Campbell, the headmaster down at Campbell Prep. I'm calling to see if Mullins is available."
"Um…"
"You see, one of our beloved teachers—Miss Priss—has been… indisposed. She'll be out for a month, so we need a sub to cover her class. It's about seventeen children, all of whom are very intelligent and well-behaved."
David mulled it over in his head. He'd been living with Gwen since she graduated college, when she'd taken pity on him and allowed him to live with her while he worked on his music. He hadn't contributed anything but doing laundry and the dishes. Maybe it was time to give up on being a rock star and just go get a real job.
And subbing was a great way to start. He loved kids—he and Gwen had only even met because they both worked as counselors at a summer camp! And a month with intelligent, well-behaved children? What a dream!
"Yes, I'm interested!" he said.
Besides, he didn't have band practice anymore, so it was either get a job or lie on the couch.
"Good! You'll start tomorrow. See you then!"
David smiled.
He had a job.
He'd miss music, but the world wasn't going to let him have that dream, was it?
"Maximillian."
Max sighed as his full first name was used. He hated his full name, but it was the only one either of his parents would call him. He turned to face his father.
"Yes, sir?"
"Stay out of trouble, you hear me?"
"Yes, sir."
"Your school said you'd have a sub for the next month. Don't give them grief the way you give it to me and your mother."
How about you fuck off?
"Yes, sir."
"Bye, son." His father drove off.
"Love you, too!" Max called after the car, cupping his hands around his mouth before shaking his head.
"Hey, Max!" he heard Space Kid calling. His real name was Neil, but everyone called him Space Kid because of his obsession with… well, space.
"Hey, Space Kid," he sighed. "How was your weekend?"
"I went to the planetarium. Again."
"Great. Hey, did you hear we're having a sub for the next month?"
"Yeah. Mommy said Miss Priss overdid it on the booze."
"Not that I'm surprised. With our class, I'm shocked they got anybody to even take the job."
They headed into the school building. The hallways were filled with students chatting as they headed to class, and the two were no exception. Max spotted Nikki Morrison, the new girl in their class, talking the class nerd's ear off. He knew they were stepsiblings and that was the only reason Nikki was even able to attend Campbell Prep. The Indian boy shook his head and headed into the classroom.
"Hey, Max," a very obnoxious voice sneered behind him.
"Morning, Nurf. How are you going to beat kids up today?"
"I was thinking I'd take it easy on the sub today. You know, lull them into a false sense of security."
"Good plan."
Right before the bell rang, a tall man with red hair dashed into the classroom and crashed into the desk. The whole class started laughing and the man picked himself up.
"Well, that's one way to start a subbing period," he laughed. "Hello, kids! My name is David Mullins, but you can all just call me Mr. Mullins!" He wrote 'Mr. Mullins' on the board. "Now, I'm going to take roll and learn your names! That shouldn't be too hard! Please let me know if there's something else you prefer to be called."
"Yeah, right," muttered Max.
"Maximillian A-A-char-ya?"
"It's Acharya, genius. And it's just Max."
"Well, good! Thank you for clearing that up."
There is no way someone as happy as you exists.
"Neil Armstrong? Am I reading that right?"
"Here!" called Space Kid. "But everyone calls me Space Kid!"
"Good! Nerris Buchanan?"
"Here," Nerris spoke up.
"Rosemary Campbell?"
No answer.
"She's absent today. Good to note."
"Thank God," Max sighed.
"Preston Goodplay?"
"I am here, good sir!"
"Sasha Harris?"
"Like, here."
"Dolph Houston?"
"I am here!"
"Neil Kamensky?"
"Here, sir."
"Meredith Miller?"
"Call me Ered."
"Nicolette Morrison?"
"It's just Nikki."
"Tabitha Nichols?"
"It's Tabii, with two 'i's."
"William Niksslip?"
"Call me Snake."
"Gaylord Nurfington?"
"It's 'Nurf'."
"Stephen Petrol?"
A grunt could be heard.
"Edward Pikeman?"
"Here, sir."
"Erin Roberts?"
"Whatever."
"Harrison Thomas?"
"I am here!" A clap could be heard from that direction.
"Well, good! With the exception of Miss Campbell, you're all here! Now let's get to learning!"
Class was a disaster. None of the kids respected him as a teacher, and to make things worse, they weren't the 'intelligent, well-behaved students' that he'd been told he'd have. They were more like the campers he'd dealt with as a counselor—only worse, because he knew they considered him 'fresh meat'.
How could he reach them?
He walked down the hall on the second day, feeling depressed that he hadn't managed to connect with the students the way he wanted. That's when he heard a beautiful sound—a song that seemed familiar. He peeked through the window of a nearby classroom and saw his students playing instruments with a young woman conducting them.
"Perfecto!" she complimented. "Max, play a little louder, please."
The boy who had caused him more trouble than anyone else was playing guitar.
"Ered, lengthen your notes! Neil, beautiful on the piano! Nurf, this isn't a solo."
David gasped and checked his watch. He had forty-five minutes until his students were done with this class. That was enough time to run home, right? He dashed out of the school and to his station wagon before tearing off for his apartment. Once inside, he grabbed a few instruments and put them in the trunk, praying the kids would understand and go with his idea. Thankfully, he had just enough time to set everything up before the bell rang, at which point he could hear his class in the hall.
"Everyone in!" he called, motioning. "Come on, come on! Hurry!"
"What's going on, Mr. Mullins?" Nikki asked.
"You wanna know what's going on? How come none of you told me you could play music?"
The chatter stopped and Neil stood up.
"What difference does it make?" he asked.
"I thought you were all little snobs who hated me, but now I know you're soul brothers and soul sisters. Max!"
Said boy's head snapped up.
"Come here, please." The kid rolled his eyes and stood next to David. "Have you ever played electric guitar before?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because my dad won't let me. He says it's a waste of time."
"Well, then, let's waste that time together." He handed Max a guitar and put his own on. "Play after me." He played a short riff and Max copied it, willing to play along for now. "Loosen up, Max. When you're stiff, your playing suffers and you don't sound as good. Try again, with the loose shoulders."
Max shrugged and took a deep breath before playing the riff again, perfectly.
"Yes, Max!" David cheered. He continued playing short melodies, which Max copied perfectly. "Whoo! That's right! We've got our guitarist!"
The whole class was paying attention now, intrigued.
"Ered! Your turn!" David called. She went up and he handed her a bass guitar. "It's like cello, only sideways and for rock music. Can you give me a G?"
Ered smiled and strummed the note.
"Give me a little riff, too." She obeyed, sounding fantastic!
"Okay, so we have a guitarist and a bass player… how about… piano?"
Neil stiffened in his seat.
"Neil, come on."
"I-I only play classical, Mr. Mullins!"
"Well, today you're going to try something a little different." He set a music book on the stand near the keyboard. "Go ahead and play this."
Hesitantly, Neil hit each of the keys, liking the way they sounded and speeding up.
"Holy guacamole!" David gasped. "You're a natural! But there's something missing… do we have a drummer?"
"I play percussion!" Nurf spoke up.
"Because you're too stupid to play anything else," chuckled Preston.
"Shut up!" Nurf snapped.
"Shut up," David agreed. "Now, Nurf, give me a beat." Nurf tapped out a simple rhythm. "Pretty good, but try and speed it up. Go crazy."
Nurf banged out a rhythm and Max picked it up, plucking out chords that Ered merged with. Neil added his own touch.
"You're all doing great! We might actually have some kind of band here!" An idea popped into David's head and he looked over the rest of the class. "What do you say? You wanna be a band?"
"Yeah!" they cheered.
"Sasha, Erin, Tabii—you're our roadies. You handle equipment and you dance backup. Space Kid, how do you feel about running tech?"
"Yes, sir!" he agreed, saluting.
"Edward, Stephen, and Snake—you're on security. Nikki and Nerris, you're our backup singers. Harrison, you're on special effects with Space Kid!"
"Mr. Mullins!" Dolph called. "Can I be ze stylist?!"
"Sure!"
"Yes!"
"Mr. Mullins, I still don't have a job!" Preston called out.
"How about… manager? You think you can handle that?"
"I will not let you down!"
"Then… we've got a band! Let's celebrate with a little jam session!"
Max picked it up first, playing a few chords that Ered echoed. Nurf whacked out a beat with Neil providing some colorful background noise. Nikki and Nerris vocalized to the music while the other kids clapped along.
However, one member of the class had yet to arrive, and they all dreaded her return. She could bring the whole thing crashing down in an instant.
Chapter one is a little rushed, but this isn't going to be a long story.
Essentially, nobody trusts Rosemary because she's the headmaster's daughter. They see her as a possible liability.
So long and thanks for all the fish!