Title: Ain't It a Musical
Rating: T, because K+ may be stretching it
Genre: romance, friendship
Pairing(s): Runther, with some Tynka . But if you squint, you'd see multiple het pairings!
Summary: John Hughes High is hosting its first play of the year! Rocky is more than ecstatic, Cece is more than revolted, and the Hessenheffer twins have their eyes locked on the perfect roles. Through the hustle and bustle of auditions and rehearsals, will breaking a leg be enough, or will hearts need to be broken, too?
Notes: I've had this idea for months now, and after reading an excerpt from a future chapter I wrote a while back, I'm convinced I've gotta write. :D I hope y'all will enjoy! This is my first SIU fic, so please don't stone me when I get things wrong! Just point it out. That would be lovely.
Chapter One
The bell for lunch triggered several classroom doors to open, releasing a number of famished and oddly excited students. The subtle commotion that it created was a sharp contrast from the earlier part of that Monday morning, when everyone dragged their feet towards their class and the only motivating factor in going on was the scent—and the taste—of freshly made coffee brewed at the donut shop a block away from the bus stop. Some people made a beeline for the cafeteria, attending to the rather stern call of their stomachs. Meanwhile, a considerable number of others, mostly freshmen and sophomore girls, congregated around the bulletin board, their eyes fixated on the alternating red and white sheets stapled on it.
A big grin lit up Rocky's face when she saw the notice. She tugged at Cece's denim jacket excitedly. "Oh, look, Cece," she squealed. "They have the sign-up sheets up already!"
Cece glanced back forlornly at the small vying crowd, where she spotted hands with pens jutting out from unseen bodies. "I'd love to. Can't," she said simply.
"Why not?" Rocky frowned.
Cece sighed. "Apparently, I've got a couple of pending detentions," she explained. "Mr. Higgins thought it would be a good idea if I work it all off by helping backstage for the play."
The grin on Rocky's lips weakened. "Oh."
Cece saw her reaction. She placed a hand on her friend's arm. "It doesn't mean you shouldn't sign up, though!" she smiled. "I'd still be there with you."
Rocky appeared uncertain.
Cece scoffed. She took hold of her friend's wrist then pulled her towards the less populated board. "It's the first play of the year, and it's the first time since we got here that you don't have to be an upperclassman to audition. And it's High School Musical, for crying out loud!" she said. Rocky was still unconvinced. She sighed. "Don't tell me it's stage fright. We've been at Shake It Up, Chicago! long enough."
"Dancing is dancing," Rocky reasoned. "Singing is singing. If I croak, I'd be made fun of."
"You won't croak," Cece said. "I've heard you sing along to songs on your iPod when you're doing homework. Trust me. There's nothing you should worry about." She frowned when a though hit her. She crossed her arms. "And why do you need me anyways?"
"Well, I was thinking we could audition as a duo," Rocky muttered.
The wrinkles on Cece's features deepened. "I don't think we could get in as Troy and Gabriella that way, Rocky," she said.
Rocky chuckled as she waved off the idea. "No, no, no," she said. "I just meant, you know, maybe we could land one of the female leads. Maybe Taylor and Gabriella? It is possible."
"Maybe," Cece agreed. "If I wasn't banished backstage, we could have." She glanced back at the diminishing number of girls, calculating the force she'd have to exert on getting both her and Rocky through while she maintained the little interest building up in her friend. It was then she caught sight of Ty heading towards them. "Here's an idea! Why don't you and Ty audition together? As Ryan and Sharpay?"
"Well…"
"Negative," Ty said. "Sorry, sis, but you have to find another partner."
"What?" Cece asked. "Why?"
Ty hitched a shoulder. "Just not my thing," he said. "Now, if it's Camp Rock, I may change my mind."
"What are you doing here, then?" Rocky asked, unsure whether she was offended or relieved.
"I'm looking for Deuce," Ty said, scanning the area. "He promised to give me two tickets for the Lady Antebellum concert."
Rocky raised an eyebrow. "You don't like country music, Ty," she pointed out.
"Yeah, but Sabrina Holbrook does," Ty smiled widely.
"Something's wrong with you," Rocky commented.
Ty nodded, as if to bow. "Thank you."
Cece grinned at the siblings' small banter. "Check the music room," she said. "He mentioned something about meeting Mr. Arnold there when he texted me earlier."
"Thanks, Cece," Ty nodded at her. He smiled at his sister before vanishing at the hallway ahead.
Rocky hoped that the interruption caused Cece to forget about their last discussion. She was not particularly fond of the idea of having to go through all of it alone. However, the convincing look that her friend darted towards her told her that she may have to compromise. "What if I just work backstage with you?" she asked.
"Don't," Cece responded. "You may never get another chance like this again, Rocky. Don't throw it all out of the window because we can't go together. Plus, you don't know! You might just land yourself a cute, senior version of Troy Bolton." She nudged her twice while wiggling her brows.
Rocky pondered over it. An excited smile stretched across her lips after coming to a conclusion. "Okay," she said. She headed towards the board while rummaging through her backpack for a pen.
Looking up, her eyes were assaulted by identical, neon-colored stripe hoodies worn by a girl that was almost her height and a boy that seemed to loom over her.
"Ugh," Cece voiced her disgust while she eyed the twins. "Did you two roll over highlighters this morning?"
Tinka, after jotting down her name on the sign-up sheet, passed the pen to her brother then scanned the redhead from head to toe and back. She took in her dominantly green ensemble before asking, "Don't you have some beat-up rainbow to guard?"
"I'm standing right next to you, aren't I?" Cece retaliated with a sardonic smile.
Tinka made no reply but continued sizing her up.
Rocky's attention, on the other hand, was spent on a curiosity. "You guys are going to audition?"
"Yes," Gunther said. "We heard about the announcement to the public this morning, and Tinka and I thought we should try out. It's been a long time since we starred in a play."
"You've been on one?" Rocky asked.
"Oh, yes," Tinka beamed. "Gunther and I were six when we played Billy the Goat and Barbie the Goat."
"Let me guess," Cece chimed in. "It was a play about goats."
"No," Gunther shook his head, his brows lightly knitted. "It was actually about two sheep—"
"Oh."
"—that were actually goats," Gunther finished.
"Figures," Cece muttered sideways in annoyance.
Rocky was a bit bewildered, but having encountered the two for years made her daze-resistant from strange conversations. "Well, do you two have in mind what roles you want?" she asked instead.
"We don't," Tinka answered. She added, with a flourish of her hand, "We haven't seen this Musical High School."
"What? What kind of people hasn't seen High School Musical?" Rocky blurted out in shock. The answer stared back at her as soon as the question was asked. Her expression straightened. "Oh."
"We heard from someone in math class about the twins in the play," Gunther said. "Tinka and I think we are perfect for the role."
Cece narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, I don't doubt that," she said.
Rocky uncapped the pen on her hand. Gunther and Tinka may not be the best people she could draw encouragement from during auditions, but they were familiar and would have to do. She had seen them get laughed at when they performed. If something goes wrong during her turn, at least she could share the sting of the wound with them.
Before she could come closer to the board, she, as well as Cece and Gunther and Tinka, were shoved away by cheerleaders. "Move," they ordered.
Cece was livid, Tinka was offended, while Gunther was just overall curious. Rocky wondered why the sudden hostility emerged, and the response materialized in the form of Randy and Candy. The fake smiles on their faces made her blood boil, especially the one on the latter.
The four watched as the duo signed their names, overtaking the little spaces that were left on the sheet. When they finished, they looked at the people around them. Candy's eyes were particularly trained on Rocky while she put on a phony apologetic expression. "You weren't planning on putting your name in, were you?" she asked.
"Actually, I was—"
"Because we didn't want to waste the space," Randy continued.
"What do you think you two are doing right now?" Cece asked.
"Very funny, Cecelia," Randy said. Then, he patted her on the head. "But that's not what we meant."
Cece gritted her teeth and swatted his hand away.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure you two will be picked," Rocky nodded, posing a similarly fake smile. "They do need backup dancers."
"Great! Then there's a place for you after all," Candy clapped her hands together. "See, me and Randy already have the leads in the bag. We heard that the person that would be in charge loves theatrics, and let's face it," she tilted her head towards her partner with a smile. "Me and Randy have it."
Randy conceded with a nod.
Candy smugly placed a hand on her hip. "So, uh, unless you want to be my understudy, I'd suggest you save your ink for something else important, Rocky," she said. Then, she led the way towards the cafeteria, Randy and the two other cheerleaders in tow.
Rocky's eyes narrowed to slits.
"Now I can see why you two dislike them very much," Tinka told her. She looked back at Gunther, whose blank expression hid his annoyance well, before they started to saunter to the cafeteria.
Cece turned towards Rocky. "You won't let them get to you about auditioning, will you?" she asked.
"Not in a million years," Rocky answered sternly before writing her name on the minute space left on the sheet.
"That's my girl," Cece grinned proudly, briefly hugging her. "Oh! Before we go, I just need to get something from my locker."
Rocky nodded. "I'll wait for you here."
"Okay." Cece turned around and walked away.
Rocky stared at the notice in front of her, particularly at Candy's name sprawled across a good part of the paper. Just the swirls and curves of her handwriting made her upset. This competition between them had been going on for years. Usually, she wouldn't consider herself as overly concerned in winning, but she guessed her perception on this matter differed when it came to the cheerleader. Her foul and mocking attitude had permanently soured her view of her. She doubted it would ever change.
Yet, to be completely honest with herself, she didn't answer Cece with the entire truth. She wouldn't let her opponent trample her, yes, but she was still afraid. Her success rate always dwindled when she competes against the girl. She shouldn't, but she thought that the reason why she never won over anything was because Candy's more popular, and she was just a nobody.
And who would pay to see a nobody on stage?
High School Musical, the first red paper on the top left corner read. At the bottom of the big and bold letters continued, Do you have what it takes to be a Wild Cat? Sign-up now for a chance to be a part of John Hughes High's biggest production yet! Auditions will be held Friday, September 14, 3:30 PM at the Bell Auditorium. Be sure to bring the music sheet to your song for the piano accompanist. Take note that songs from the play are not allowed as audition pieces. Also, have a pair of comfortable shoes ready for the dance portion of the try-outs.
There will be an information meeting with Mr. Arnold at the Music Room this Wednesday, August 29, 3:00 PM for any questions. (Anyone interested in assisting backstage can sign-up at that time.)
Be there!
Rocky could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Just the thought of singing in front of people already frightened her. What if she humiliates herself? What if she was rejected? Worse, what if she did become Candy's understudy?
Her eyes anxiously scanned the endless amount of names until she reached the last five.
Tinka Hessenheffer
Gunther Hessenheffer
Candy Hodges
Randy Moore
Rocky Blue
She sighed exasperatedly. What had she gotten herself into?
to be continued. . .
