"Ok, nooshy. We are going to see how much work we need to do. Repeat after me." Rosita and Meena lead her on a series of vocal warm-ups, and to their surprise, Nooshy wasn't as bad as she made herself out to be. In fact, she was pretty good!

Seeing the looks on her friend's faces, she groaned.

"That bad?"

"No, no, it's actually really good! You have a naturally lower voice, but a wide range." Meena told her.

"You have clear vocals, and very good posture and breathing...you've sung before, haven't you?" Rosita asked.

"No!" Nooshy exclaimed suddenly. "I mean, no. No, I haven't sung before. I've never had vocal lessons ever."

It was painfully obvious she was lying, but the two decided not to pry. However, they would ask Johnny about it later.

"Ok then. Your voice is a bit out of shape, so we can start with some simple pieces."

They practiced for about 2 hours until Buster came into the room and said, "Looking good, ladies! Hate to interrupt, but Nooshy, you have acting lessons with Gunter that start in a few minutes."

"Ok thank you."

"Well, it's sounding good! Tomorrow, we'll start practicing with the songs that you have to learn for the show." Meena said.

"Thank you, guys! Welp, gotta run! See ya!" Nooshy sped out the door towards the stage. When she arrived, only Porsha was there.

"Hey, Porsha! What's up?"

"Just waiting on Gunter. He's giving me acting lessons." the wolf replied.

"Me too! I just came from vocal lessons."

"Really? Sing something."

"I'm not as good as you!"

"I don't care. I just wanna see!"

"Fine. What is your request, oh great one?" Nooshy said sarcastically, bowing.

"Baboon 5, Memories."

"Dude, how long were you waiting to say that?"

"I also workshopped a few more to ask. I've been trying to get the others to sing for me."

"Well, get ready for your ears to burn." Quietly, Nooshy began to sing a very soft version.

🎵Here's to the wish you were here

But you're not

The memories bring back memories

And the memories bring back you🎵

Porsha started to clap, and Nooshy immediately shut her mouth and felt her ears start to burn in a blush that crept into her cheeks.

"No way. No freaking way!"

'Crap.' Nooshy groaned inwardly.

It was Johnny, coming in from backstage.

"Oh, shut up! Shouldn't you be in a studio playing the piano or something?"

"I'm glad I wasn't or I would have missed this! You never told me you were a good singer!"

" 1. You never asked. 2, I am not a good singer. Rosita and Meena are miracle workers is all."

Porsha scoffed. "Miracle workers, my tail! That's all you girl!"

"All you!" snickered Johnny.

Nooshy hit his arm and said, "Get back to your studio, ya big weirdo."

"Sure thing...Nosiwe."

"SHUT UP!" she squawked. Pounding him with her fists(playfully, but still hard), she yelled every insult she could think of while he yelped in mock pain.

"I've had enough of this!" snatching her from his back, he started to tickle her.

She burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"No! Stop it!" Nooshy gasped.

"Nope!"

"What's going on?" Ash came in, bewildered by the scene.

"It's complicated..." Porsha moaned, ever the drama queen

. Instantly, Johnny stopped tickling Nooshy, who got up and pretended nothing happened.

"Hi, Ash. What can we do for ya?"

"Um, Gunter won't be here today or tomorrow. He caught a cold."

"Thanks for the update!" Johnny and Nooshy went back to squabbling, while Ash leaned over to Porsha.

"You saw that right?"

Porsha snorted. "It was a little hard to miss. I can't believe I wasn't recording that!"

"No, no. Did you see IT?" Ash whispered, subtly motioning to the two.

"Ohhh. OHHHH. Omigosh I SHIP IT!"

"Let's keep an eye on them, see where it goes. If necessary we move in. BUT ONLY WHEN NECESSARY!"

"Yes'm. Hey nooshy, we've got about 2 hours of free time. Wanna grab some lunch?"

"Sure! You two want anything?"

"Nah. I've got to go back to practicing." Ash responded.

"Same goes for me. Thanks anyway." Johnny and ash both went back to their studios.

Strolling out of the building, Porsha said, "So where are we going?"

"How do you feel about the roundabout?"

"Sure! Can we stop by Starbarks on the way back?"

"Definitely." Walking towards a little cafe about two blocks down, Porsha's phone vibrated. She pulled it out and saw it was a text message from Ash.

'Ik what ur doing.' it said. 'If ur gonna pry, don't get caught. I repeat, don't. Get. Caught!'

"who is it?" Nooshy asked.

"Oh um, it's ash. She wants a dark chocolate caramel frap from Starbarks." Porsha lied smoothly.

'Yea yea Ik Ik. You wouldn't happen to want a dark chocolate caramel frap from star barks would u?'

'Oddly specific, but ok.'

"Great, we are all set." Porsha said as she put away her phone. The friends walked into the charming little diner.

"Hello! Welcome to the roundabout!" a waitress walked up to them.

"Hi! Can we have a booth for two, please?"

"Sure thing! Right this way!" Porsha and Nooshy sat down near a small garden with a baby waterfall.

"What can I get you two ladies?"

"I'll have a strawberry lemonade." Porsha responded.

"I'd like a Dr. Pupper, please," Nooshy said.

"Sure thing!" the waitress went to the kitchen while Porsha started what she had came for.

"So, how do you feel about the show?"

"Well, I'm not hating it like I thought I was going to. I'm doin' ok with vocal lessons, and my designer is really nice."

"That's good. How do you like your role?"

"The more I hear about Cindy, the better I feel. This character sounds like my double, but it's gonna be really weird considering her romantic interest is played by my best friend."

'Oh yeah, now we're getting somewhere.' Porsha thought.

"Really? What's so weird about that?"

"He's my best friend! I'm gonna have to kiss my best friend!" Nooshy nearly screamed.

"Whoa, chill!"

"Sorry. It's just gonna be so awkward, you know?"

"I know. But you can't let it get to you."

Nooshy sighed. "I guess. Why all the questions anyhow?"

"Ummmmm...I was just curious."

the waitress came back and they ordered food. When they got back to the theater, drinks in hand, it was already time for some line memorization. Handing Ash her frappuccino, the cast gathered on one of the finished sets.

"Ok guys. I'm going to start you off." Buster said. Handing everyone who was there the script, he started.

"On the outskirts of a little city lived a rich man and his daughter..."

Thank u for all the super nice reviews! did ya catch all the stupid puns i hid in there?