A/N: You guys are the best. Thanking you for all the wonderful feedback. Feedback is what keeps me writing. I hope you like this one (and you should all check out "Wicked," my favorite musical alongside Les Miserables).
The Highest Bidder – Chapter 7
It was free period and Ryan was wandering the halls, pacing in front of the sign-up sheet for the winter musical auditions. Pulling off his newsboy cap for a moment, he ran his hand through his blonde hair, frustrated with himself.
Ms. Darbus had announced in first period that the musical would indeed be Wicked. Ryan figured he would be perfect for the role of the munchkin boy but he wasn't sure if he was ready to strike out on his own yet. He knew he had promised Gabriella though, so he just needed to pace until he had built up enough courage to sign up. Putting his cap back on, he turned towards the sign-up sheet, but then hesitated again.
"Move RYAN!" shrieked a voice behind him.
Ryan stepped aside to find his twin sister glaring at him.
Sharpay leapt at the sign-up sheet and left her extravagant signature across the page.
"What part are you trying out for?" Ryan asked, ignoring her rude behavior.
"Glinda, of course!" Sharpay smirked. "Do you really think I'd let them put that green gook on my face?"
"You wouldn't want to be typecast," Taylor said, walking up to the siblings with Gabriella.
"What did you just say?" Sharpay hissed.
"Nothing," Taylor grinned. Folding her arms, she added, "I am sure the Wicked Witch is too complex a role for you. Not enough smiling and bouncing around."
Sharpay's eyes narrowed at her comments. "Well not all of us can be grumpy little shrews." Swishing her hair over her shoulder, she stomped away.
Taylor turned to Gabriella with a smile on her face. "I can't believe that's the best she can do."
"I can," Gabriella said.
Taylor giggled at Gabriella's uncharacteristically snarky response.
"Hey, Gabriella," Ryan greeted, waving at her shyly.
"Hey, Ryan," Gabriella smiled, her eyes sparkling. "So have you signed up?"
"I-I was just about to," Ryan lied. Taking out his pen, he quickly scribbled his name on the sheet.
"Which part are you trying out for?" Taylor inquired, gazing at the list of parts.
"Probably Boq, the munchkin," Ryan replied.
"Why not Fiyero?" Gabriella asked, frowning.
Ryan chuckled. "Can you really see me as the popular, rebellious, hot guy?"
Gabriella blushed, an image flashing in her mind.
"Would you rather be the little whiny dude and have to suck up to Sharpay's Glinda the whole time?" Taylor asked.
Ryan smiled, shaking his head. "It's okay. I'm used to being the underdog."
"But if you play Fiyero you'd get a chance to show off your dancing skills," Gabriella pointed out. "The munchkin doesn't really dance in this, does he?"
"I know," Ryan nodded. His arms falling at his side, he sighed. "Still, I may be a good actor, but I don't think I can transform myself into the guy that gets all the girls."
Gabriella stared at him for a moment. "I don't see why you couldn't," she argued.
Ryan shook his head. "Thanks for the encouragement, but I doubt I could get the lead. I don't mind playing a supporting role . . . I'm kind of used to it."
"Ryan!" Gabriella exclaimed unexpectedly. "You really need to believe in yourself more. I think you'd be great as Fiyero."
Taylor looked at her friend curiously. "Gabby, maybe we should let Ryan decide what part he wants to try out for," she said gently.
Ryan felt bad for upsetting Gabriella. Reaching out and placing his hand on her shoulder, he assured her, "Look, I'll just try out and let Ms. Darbus decide which part I can do, okay?"
Gabriella's expression softened. "Okay."
Handing Gabriella his pen, Ryan added, "But this means you're trying out for Elphaba, right?"
Gabriella took his pen and signed her name. "Right," she agreed hesitantly. "But if I don't get it, that's okay. I'll play her sister or something . . ."
"Now who's not believing in herself?" Ryan winked at her.
Gabriella blushed. All three looked up at the clock when the bell rang for lunch time.
"Ready to go?" Taylor asked, hooking her arm through Gabriella's.
Gabriella nodded and they both walked towards the cafeteria. Gabriella paused at the end of the hall and turned back towards Ryan. "Are you coming?"
Ryan stood there for a moment before realizing what she was asking. "Oh-oh sure!" he stammered, walking quickly to catch up to them. Feeling his stomach start to do somersaults, he frowned. Gabriella would have to stop being so nice to him. He didn't know how much harder he could fight back.
As the three entered the noisy cafeteria, they spotted Chad, Jason, Kelsi and Zeke over at the center table. Kelsi waved at them as they proceeded to join the group.
Ryan followed shyly, feeling out of place. Even though he had made friends with most of them over the summer, he had never eaten lunch with them before.
"Hey guys, look who I found," Gabriella smiled, gesturing toward Ryan.
"Hey Ryan!" Jason and Zeke greeted.
"How's the ladies' man?" Chad teased.
Ryan grinned. "Far from being a ladies' man, my friend," he answered, taking a seat next to Kelsi.
Gabriella took a seat next to Ryan and Taylor crossed over to sit next to Chad.
"Where's Troy?" Taylor asked.
Gabriella stiffened a little at the mention of her boyfriend's name. This did not go unnoticed by the friend sitting next to her.
"He's talking to Coach about re-arranging some practices," Chad informed the group.
"How come?" Gabriella asked, surprised at this news.
"To accommodate rehearsals," Chad said matter-of-factly.
"Rehearsals?" Gabriella said, bewildered.
"For the musical . . ." Chad replied, looking at her curiously. "Didn't you know?"
Taylor leaned over and whispered to Gabriella, "Maybe this is his way of making up for last night."
Gabriella couldn't help but smile. Troy could really surprise her sometimes. "I didn't know he was trying out," she explained to Chad.
"Now you two can try out together," Ryan commented.
Gabriella looked over at Ryan, noting the hollow sound in his voice. "Yeah," she nodded.
The group all took out their lunches, ripping open paper bags, pulling out sandwiches and bags of chips and sliced fruit. However, they all stopped and stared wide-eyed at one person.
"What?" Ryan asked, feeling all eyes on him and his lunch.
"What is that?" Chad asked, his nose wrinkling at the food in front of Ryan.
"It's sushi," Ryan said, gesturing to the set up in front of him. He had laid out a linen napkin, chopsticks, a Japanese plate with various pieces of sashimi and a small dish for soy sauce. "You know, raw fish?"
"That is some lunch," Kelsi commented, her eyes still wide with wonder.
Jason kept looking back and forth between his ham sandwich and Ryan's spread.
"You guys, stop staring!" Gabriella chided them, hoping Ryan wasn't feeling uncomfortable.
"You guys have never had sushi?" Ryan asked, clearly surprised.
"This is Albuquerque, not Beverly Hills," Chad pointed out.
"Want to try some?" Ryan asked, holding up a piece of raw tuna towards Chad.
Chad immediately held up his hands. "Uh, no thanks, man. I like my food cooked."
Ryan turned to the rest of the group. "Does anyone else want to try some?"
They all stared at Ryan like he was crazy. All except Gabriella who was looking at him sympathetically. She knew Ryan didn't feel like he fit in with the rest of them, and she was hoping to change that. "I've never had sushi before," Gabriella said, breaking the tension.
Ryan, who had been looking somber, suddenly lit up. "Do you want to try some tuna?"
"Sure," Gabriella nodded, smiling. Inside, she was trying to hold back the feeling of disgust at the thought of eating raw fish.
Ryan dipped the piece of fish in the soy sauce and held it up to Gabriella. He then realized that she didn't have a plate. He looked around, unsure of how to give the food to Gabriella. He went to grab his own plate, but she stopped him.
Gabriella giggled at his awkwardness. Grabbing his hand, she pulled it towards her and ate the sushi off of the chopsticks. She chewed the food and was surprised to find that the consistency actually made the fish flavor taste better. She swallowed and found all eyes staring at her. "Not bad," she announced.
"You sure you're okay?" Taylor asked her friend, her eyes filled with concern. "I mean, if you get food poisoning, you'll have to miss our practices for Decathlon and I might have to find an alternate."
Gabriella laughed. "No, it was actually good." Turning to Ryan, she added, "Thanks for letting me try some."
Ryan smiled brightly, his cheeks pink. He was still recovering from the fact that she had just eaten off his chopsticks.
"You guys should try some," Gabriella added.
The rest of them stared at her.
"No, that's okay," Jason mumbled.
"I'm good," Kelsi replied.
"I'm full from my sandwich," Chad said.
"My mom will kill me if I don't finish my lunch," Zeke answered.
"I don't think we can find two alternates," Taylor said bluntly.
"Okay, guys, I can take a hint," Gabriella laughed. She glanced at Ryan, rolling her eyes.
Ryan couldn't help laughing at her expression.
"Hi guys," a voice interrupted.
Everyone turned to find Troy standing over Gabriella and Ryan.
"Hey man," Chad greeted. "Glad you could join us."
"How'd the talk with Coach go?" Zeke asked.
Troy took a seat next to Gabriella. "Fine," he said tersely.
"Hey Troy," Gabriella smiled at him, despite feeling the tension emitting from her boyfriend.
"I saw you signed up for the musical . . . as a soloist," Troy said, pulling out his lunch.
Gabriella frowned. "I didn't know you were going to try out," she explained.
"Why not?" Troy asked. "I thought we were going to try out together."
"We still can," Gabriella replied. "I just thought that after this summer, you might not be into the whole singing thing anymore."
"You guys would make a great Elphaba and Fiyero," Kelsi commented.
"A what and a what?" Jason asked.
"It's the two lead roles in the musical," Taylor explained. "You really should get out more," she teased Jason.
"Oh, that would be awesome," Jason said. "You guys were great in the last musical."
Chad nodded. "Plus, it'd be great to see someone other than Sharpay and Ry—" Chad stopped, feeling a foot stomp on his own. Chad looked up to find Gabriella glaring at him. "Sorry," he mumbled, realizing that Ryan was sitting right there.
"It's okay," Ryan said. Turning to Troy he added, "I think you'd be perfect for the part of Fiyero."
"Thanks," Troy mumbled.
Gabriella looked over at Ryan, frowning. Was it wrong that she was rooting for someone other than her boyfriend?