"Derek! Will you pay attention?!" Casey shouted. The pair were holed up in her room trying to rehearse a scene. She thought to start him off slow, then work up to the songs. But Derek wasn't responding to her at all. He just wasn't interested.
The boy could act a little, as every credible liar could, but to perfectionist Casey he was by no way ready for a role like Danny Zuko. Casey had tried everything she could think of to motivate him, but his resentment for her coupled with his contrary nature to whatever she had a passion for, ensured that he was determined to fight her all the way.
Casey managed to rein in her temper with difficulty. Drawing in her breath through her teeth she unclenched her fingers and tried to reassemble her self control. "Derek, we have to get this. I will not be embarrassed by you on that stage. You've already done that to me once before with that terrible rap and I will not have it happening again."
"I saved that play. My rap was the best thing in it."
"If you don't pay attention and get good then the musical will flop and they'll never cast me in another one. I don't know why they cast you as Danny in the first place."
"They cast me because…because…I don't know why they cast me." Derek looked confused and a little hurt.
Casey rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed beside him. "I expect they cast you because you're a rebel, like him. You're like a chestnut burr; hard and prickly on the outside and soft and sensitive on the inside. You're also quite charismatic, and that's what a Danny Zuko needs. But he also needs to be a good actor and a great singer. And, I'm sorry to have to tell you, but you can't sing for shit."
"I appreciate you're brutal honesty, Casey. Thanks for the compliment by the way. But I'm not interested in doing this little play just for you."
"Well, you don't exactly have a choice. You got cast alongside me as the lead, and I have to get you into shape. You know me, I don't give up."
"Well, I'm probably just as stubborn as you are, you know."
Casey smirked. "Bring it on."
The next day Casey seemed to be in a very bad mood. Emily watched her carefully as she slammed their locker door.
"What's wrong?" Emily tried not to laugh.
"Derek's still not responding." Casey snapped.
"You need a strategy. You don't go in with one plan; you go in with five. Or ten."
"I need a way to get round him. We need some dirt on him." Casey mused.
"I think I can help with that. Dating his best friend has its advantages. I'll get the dirt, don't you worry."
"Thanks Em. I have to go, I have a meeting with the costume department. We need to test out the sexy Sandra outfits. Meet me there?"
"Sure thing." Emily called after her as Casey rushed off. Then she spotted Sam coming down the hall. As he past she grabbed him and pushed him into a nearby and thankfully empty classroom.
"Emmy? What the heck are you doing?" he protested.
"We need stuff on Derek. So start spilling." Emily knew he wouldn't refuse her, whenever they needed dirt on Derek they went to Sam, who was only too happy to fill in the gaps and release Derek's most embarrassing moments. It wasn't a betrayal of confidence, or at least Sam didn't think so.
"Alright. In the second grade he wore a cape to school because he thought he was superman." Sam grinned as Emily laughed.
"Great, but we need something to help Casey get through to him."
"Oh right. Well, we all know that Derek's like around hot girls like Casey. Don't look at me like that. You told me that if you were a guy you'd date her, and that actually it didn't matter what gender you were. And with Derek it didn't make any difference. The only reason he hasn't gone for it with her is because she's technically family."
"You mean he likes her?" Emily's eyes lit up.
"More than likes her. If she wants to get him motivated about the musical, all she has to do is appeal to his masculinity."
"How do you mean?"
Sam smiled. "All she has to do is act in a way that gets a reaction from him."
"Sexy Sandy. Would that work?"
"It'll work like a charm." A smirking Sam chuckled. Somehow he understood her, in a way he never could understand Casey. "One thing though, can we get Edwin to hook up a webcam or something. I want to see this."
"Why?"
"I'm in charge of the wedding video for them."
"Wedding video? They're not even together." Emily laughed.
"As soon as they met I knew it would only be a matter of time. Edwin's been in on it from the beginning since he agrees with me. He's already rigged the kitchen and the living room. We've got loads of footage."
"But what if they don't get together?" Emily asked.
"Then we have the footage to blackmail them with." Sam flashed her his most charming smile.
