Sonny

So with no help from any of my fellow cast mates, I had tidied up the entire prop house, and even started to decorate. It was now New Years Eve Day, and I thought I had done a spectacular job decorating. Helium balloons in silver and gold tugged their ribbons taught, and others rested on the cleared floor of the prop house. A few of the "Teen Gladiators" had helped me move the sofa and other heavy things to the sides, making room for about six bean bag chairs. Up the stairs, I had set up a folding table with snacks and decorative confetti, with a couple coolers of soda beneath it.

The rail of the staircase had sliver and red tinsel garlands wrapped up and around it, and a "Happy New Year!" banner was suspended in the center of the room, along the back of the sofa that had been pushed aside.

Right now I was balancing atop a ladder a foot from the wall, stringing one last tinsel garland along the frame of the door, staple gun in my shaky hand. Just as I punched the last staple into the wall, about to admire my hard work, the door opened, tipping the ladder wildly. I dropped the staple gun and held onto the ladder for dear life.

"Oh my gosh!" I heard Tawni shriek between my screams.

Then another voice asked, "What's going on? I was just down the hall and I heard…Sonny?!?!"

My mind didn't register the voice until I felt the ladder jolt forward and stop, flinging me at the wall with which my head collided. It pained me so just to stand up, and I saw through blurred eyes Tawni gaping in horror, and Chad Dylan Cooper, his face guilt-stricken and his hands on the ladder. I closed my eyes for a few minutes.

"Oh my Efron, Sonny's blacked out!" I heard Tawny screech. I heard two pairs of feet dash towards me and a set of hands holding me under my arms. "Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to help out?"

"I think I'll just…watch you."

"Chad…" I mumbled, fighting my heavy eyelids, "I can't believe you!" My anger invigorating me, I stood up unsteadily and tried to glare at him. "You can be so selfish somet—"

"Sonny!" I heard him gasp as I plummeted once again to the ground. This time, however, I felt an arm across my chest and hand on my shoulder, another hand wrapped around my waist, in an awkward attempt to keep me from breaking my nose. "You should sit down."

"Wh-what?" I asked, somewhat befuddled at Chad's random change of attitude. My eyes shut tight, I felt lumpy cushions beneath me and his strong arms let me go.

"C.D.C., talk to me," I heard Chad greet, evidently to his phone. "Oh, so sorry, babe. Be right there." I heard a bit of scrambling and Chad saying something under his breath, reaching between the beanbags for a moment.

I opened my eyes to find he had already left, feeling my forehead in vain for a bump. As I sat up on the bed of beanbag chairs, I turned to face Tawni. "Hey, do you think you could get me a glass of water please?"

"Well, it looks like you're coordinated enough to get it yourself now, and I just needed to find my Shimmerberry lipgloss," she explained, crossing to the other side of the room and scanning with one eye. "Well, looks like it's not here. I'll see you tonight, Sonny!"

Now fully standing and incredulous as to her audacity, I watched my cast mate shut the door behind her. "How rude! Oh, look at this mess…" I complained as I examined the scrambled beanbags and shredded garland. I sighed and set out to straighten the seats, and as I reached down between two of them to pick one up my fingers enveloped something hard and flat.

I pulled up a shiny black touch-screen phone. Chad's…I felt my back pocket. Mine was gone! How did that happen?

Well, I guess we'd trade back (assuming he had mine) at the party tonight. It was going to be great! As soon as I fixed those garlands…