Chapter 10

Ryan walked quickly through the playground, trying to get back to the apartment without anyone seeing him. The last thing he needed right now was someone telling Sharpay where he had just been. As he passed the tunnel Sharpay had slept in after the pool party, he tried to picture what she would be doing at this time. He hoped she'd gone to the kitchens for more coffee like she did most evenings.

The rehearsal had gone about as well as the initial meeting had. Ryan sighed as he thought about it. Getting the show up to standard would take a lot of work.

The main issue seemed to be that everyone had their own conflicting ideas and Kelsi incorporated them all. It played havoc with the theme of the show, not that the theme was great to begin with. They needed to be a more cohesive team. He thought back to high school drama club, when they almost always had a hundred different ideas to deal with. Sharpay was always the one to pull them together.

He opened the door to their tiny apartment as quietly as he could but as soon as he entered the room it was obvious that Sharpay was in. She was perched on the sofa watching crappy TV, but she stood up when she saw him.

'Where have you been?' she demanded.

'Nowhere,' Ryan said, cringing. It wasn't convincing. And he called himself an actor!

'Are you carrying your tap shoes?' Sharpay asked.

'Erm…' Ryan looked down at his left hand, in which he was indeed clutching a pair of tap shoes. 'I was getting them fixed. By Trey.'

Sharpay shook her head. 'Give it up, Ryan. You would never let Trey touch your tap shoes.'

'It's none of your business,' Ryan said, and walked into the bedroom, hoping to end the conversation. She followed him.

'If you don't tell me where you were I'll tell Mom and Dad that it was you who backed his Range Rover into the ice sculpture at Mom's fiftieth birthday party and not Henry, even though they fired him for it!'

Ryan cringed. He didn't feel good about that, especially now he was the one washing dishes for a living. 'I was...at work?' he suggested.

Sharpay crossed her arms and tapped her foot. She just knew him too well.

'I'll count to three,' she said, taking out her phone. 'I'll ring them.'

'FINE!' Ryan huffed. 'But you're not allowed to get angry.'

Sharpay frowned but waited for him to continue.

'I was just helping Kelsi with her...thing.'

'Was her thing the show?'

'Well...yes. I just felt bad! They really need it to be good.'

'I can't believe you, Ryan! You betrayed me?!'

Sharpay threw her phone on her bed and stomped out of the room.

Ryan sighed. That actually went better than he thought it would. He re-entered the living area.

'Sharpay, they would really love it if you came and helped them.'

She pointedly looked away from him.

'You know if this fails we'll have nowhere to live.'

She said nothing. Ryan wasn't worried. Sharpay had never been very good at the silent treatment, she loved her own voice too much.

'Just think about it,' Ryan said. 'We could really use your help.'

When he set off for rehearsal the next day, Sharpay was somehow taking a bubble bath in the tiny bathtub in their apartment. He was sure she'd done that just so he couldn't try to get her to come with him. When he got there, Kelsi greeted him enthusiastically.

'I've got five new ideas,' she said. 'I think we should replace the window cleaning act, maybe with a basketball dance routine?'

'How?' said Ryan.

'And I also think that I could write a song for the finale that everyone can sing together!'

'Do you have time for that?' Ryan asked.

'Ehh, maybe?'

'Well...do you have any ideas for it?'

Kelsi lit up. 'Yes! OK so I was thinking it should start like, together, together, together everyone. And then maybe I'll rhyme everyone with fun?'

'Mmm,' Ryan said. 'That sounds, um…' He was trying to think of a word that was more encouraging than 'terrible'.

Before he could finish his sentence, the door to the rehearsal room crashed open.

'Careful!' yelled Taylor. 'Any damages will be taken out of your wages!'

Smoke billowed through the door and crept across the floor towards the group.

'Since when did we have a smoke machine?' whispered Kelsi.

Thunder crashed and a silhouette appeared in the doorway.

'I'm here to save your show!' Sharpay yelled.