This is probably one of the biggest time skips I did, between chapter 8 and 9. There's potential for almost a year and a half's worth of story, but this one is Isabella's first day in London and how she met Alex, Connie and Seb.
I don't own Phineas and Ferb, Double Trouble from She-ra and the Princesses of Power who Alex is inspired by, only the idea and my OCs. I also don't own the London School of Musical Theatre and I've actually created/designed the academy in this world since I have no clue what it actually looks likes in real life.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the soft voice announced over the intercom. "The captain has turned on the seatbelt sign."
She went on to talk about stowing tray tables and retuning seats to upright positions, but all of it was lost on Isabella. She had a window seat and was gazing out over the city of London.
She was excited to be finally arriving in England after such a long flight, ready to stretch her legs and breathe in fresh air. But she was also nervous. This would be the first time she'd be living away from her family and friends for an extended time. She'd promised to video call her mom every evening although they both knew it would become less routine as time went on. Other than that, however, she wouldn't have anything to link herself to Danville. In essence, she was starting over, here in London: a prospect that scared her.
An hour and a half later, Isabella was standing outside the airport waiting for her taxi to arrive. She'd been told via letter that the school would send a car to pick her up and take her to the campus. But she'd been waiting for ages and there was no car in sight.
A moment of panic rushed over her as she checked her watch again. What if the school had forgotten her? What if she'd missed the car? What if-
"Miss Garcia-Shapiro?" A sleek black Mercedes slowed to a stop beside her. The man speaking had a trimmed goatee and was wearing suit trousers, a three-quarter sleeve shirt and a guilty smile. "Sorry I'm late. London rush hour is a killer."
"Don't worry about it," Isabella smiled kindly. "It wasn't your fault."
"I'm Paul," he said, helping her load her bags into the back. "It's great to meet a new student from overseas."
"You don't get many overseas students?"
"Not many that get accepted on a scholarship," Paul explained as the car pulled out onto the road. "Oversea applicants don't get an interview with the Chancellor like those who live more locally. If you live abroad and got in, your audition videos must have been incredible."
"I also got a great recommendation," Isabella added.
"So, in answer to your question, no not really," Paul smiled. "Now, sit back, relax and hopefully we won't get caught in that much traffic."
"Well here we are," Paul looked over at Isabella and gestured out the window. "Welcome to the main site of the London School of Musical Theatre."
"Wow!" Isabella gasped as the care pulled through the gates leading up to a massive mansion. "It's huge!"
"You'll probably be told this later, but the majority of your lessons will take place here in the buildings on either side of us now. The building at the end of the road is where the largest campus theatre is. There are also studios dotted around town that are also used but all the big performances happen here. I'll drop you in the lobby and you'll be given a tour along with the other new students. Your bags will be taken to your new room."
"Thanks, Paul," Isabella said as the car stopped outside the grand doors to the mansion. "It was nice meeting you."
"And you," he waved. "Enjoy the tour."
"Ok, Isabella," she muttered as the car turned and made its way back down the driveway. "You can do this."
Inside the lobby, there was already a group of around ten people waiting at the bottom of a marble staircase. Most of them looked to be younger than her, but two or three looked a few years older. From what she knew from researching the school, third year was when most students joined so the age of the group didn't surprise her. She only hoped she wasn't the only new student in her entire year. It would be hard enough to make friends as it was, without everyone bar her already being in their own friendship groups.
Before she had time to dwell on the matter, a curt looking woman appeared at the top of the stairs. She clapped her hands for silence and glared at them with steely grey eyes. She flicked black hair off her face before crossing her arms over the creaseless white shirt and striding down the steps, making it look easy despite the pencil skirt.
"My name is Miss Gray," she announced. "I'm the assistant headmistress of the London School of Musical Theatre and it is my pleasure to welcome you all into our community this year. I'm assuming you're all here because that is your first lesson – punctuality is expected of our students, no matter the circumstance. Show up on time or do not show up at all."
Isabella gulped. She was already starting to feel out of her depth. The show business obviously relied on their members being on time, but was it necessary to scare the students of the school at such a young age?
"As much as I would like to give you a tour myself, I'm afraid I am occupied with business I need to attend to. Therefore, let me introduce you to-"
"The name's Alex." The group spun around to see a tall boy with floppy red hair, cobalt eyes and a dashing smile doing jazz hands. "I'm in fifth year, non-binary, use they/them pronouns, specialise in both music and acting and will be your tour guide this afternoon." Isabella mentally corrected her earlier mistake.
"Alex will be showing you around campus and taking you to your accommodation blocks," Miss Gray explained.
"I'm also running for year group president so any fifth years here… please vote for me." They flipped their hair from their face and rubbed their hands together. "Now, on with the tour!"
The first stop was the theatre. There were thee tiers of seating, giving a capacity of two thousand people. Underneath the stage were the boys dressing rooms and the pit while above were the girls dressing rooms and access to the lighting rigs. Backstage was costume storage and makeup rooms, as well as sound booths, a rec room and a dance studio.
Isabella had ever seen such an amazing theatre before. Other than it being huge, the sheer amount that was inside was blowing her mind.
Next Alex walked them around the different departments. "The Design department is formed of six subsets," they explained. "Music, Lighting, Set and Props, Makeup, Costume and Choreography. Since there are so many, they have an entire block to themselves and across the way is the Acting and Directing block. Directing is split into writing and management over the other departments and their subsets. And finally, the Acting department. There's only one group but studies include practitioners, dance, ensemble work and more!"
They spread their hands and asked if there were any questions so far. When met with silence, the group left the main site and filed out onto the main road.
"The school is located in such a way that facilities such as shopping centres, sports complexes and accommodation are all very nearby. A lot of students take up sports in their free time, although it's recommended you settle in and adjust to our busy routine before you start getting involved in co-curricular activities." The group stopped outside a gym and stepped inside. "A lot of our students spend their afternoons here whether it's playing basketball, netball, tennis, handball, badminton, hockey, football, rugby… the list goes on really. There is also a swimming pool and a fitness suite which is a fancy name for a gym. Recently, some of our female basketballers formed a netball team and I think they're having their first match now so I thought we could take a look."
The group edged inside the sports hall. There were a lot of people gathered around the edge of a court with fourteen girls running around, throwing a ball between them.
"What's netball?" Isabella found herself asking.
"It's like basketball, but with some different rules," Alex told her. "Come on, we can get closer." They pushed past some people until they were standing right on the side lines.
"You don't sound British," they mentioned over the shouts, calls and whistles coming from the court.
"Yeah, I'm American," she answered. "Tri-State Area to be precise."
"Oh, you must be Isabella," they nodded. "Fifth year, right?"
"Yeah," she smiled. "Are you gong to ask me for a vote?"
"Caught me red-handed." They laughed. "So, what brought you here?"
Isabella's reply was cut off by a cry of "heads up!" seconds before a netball soared through the air and smacked her right in the face.
"Oh my gosh!" a short but stocky player sprinted over. "Oh my gosh, are you ok?"
"Isabella!" Alex gently patted her cheek. "Isabella?"
"Ow," Isabella groaned. "I'm fine."
"Time out!" the player shouted over her shoulder before turning back to Isabella and helping her sit up. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I just assaulted a newbie."
"Come on," Alex grunted, hauling Isabella to her feet. "Let's get you to your room." They gestured to the rest of group.
"I'm really sorry!" The player called.
"Don't worry about it," Isabella assured her. "Really, I'm fine."
She blinked and cleared her vison as they emerged back onto the street.
"Alright," Alex said. "We're gonna head over to our accommodation blocks. They're all located in the same place and where you're assigned is where you'll be staying for the entirety of your time at the school. Most of you will have a roommate and your rooms will be more of suite with a kitchen, living room and two bedrooms. There are some rooms that are a single bedroom with the kitchen and living room are not separated. There are eight blocks, A to H each with fifteen floors and eight rooms per floor. You will each get a key card with your block, floor and room number on it to open your dorm room. If you lose it, you'll have to pay to buy a new one, so… well don't lose it. Here are your cards, your bags should already be waiting for you. Class starts on Monday and your timetables will be posted via letter by the end of today. Any questions, I'm in block C, room six on floor seven. Feel free to come by if you wanna talk."
They arrived at the gates to the accommodation blocks. They were set out in a rectangular garden with blocks A-C on the left, D and E at the far end and F-H on the right, lush lawns and a fountain in the middle with sandstone gravel paths. Everyone checked their cards and split off.
"Hey, Isabella," Alex smiled guiltily. "How you feeling?"
"I'm fine," she said. "Alex, don't worry about it."
"Can I at least help you unpack?"
"Sure. I'm block F, room two on floor fourteen."
"Lead the way!" They declared. She laughed and they headed over to her new home.
Two hours later, Isabella was sat at her desk logging on to video chat with her mom.
"Isa!" Vivian cried as her face appeared on the screen. "How are you? I miss you already."
"Mom, it's only been a few hours."
"A mother is allowed to miss her child. Are you all settled in?"
Isabella looked around her room. It was about ten by five square metres in size, with a bed that had storage draws below it horizontally pushed up against the far wall, sandwiched in between a cabinet at the head (bearing her alarm clock, a lamp and some books) and a desk for working at the foot.
The door was in line with the writing desk and to the left of the stretch between them was a sitting area with a coffee table and two sofas. The far-left wall was hidden behind a work surface, oven, cabinets, a sink and a microwave. Beside the desk was the bathroom which was small but contained a shower, sink and toilet.
If Isabella was being honest, she was surprised at how nice her room was, especially considering she wasn't paying for it.
"As settled in as I can be," she told her mother. "It's a bit overwhelming, to tell the truth. I mean, just today the traffic made me slightly late and then I got told that I should be on time or not bother!"
"So it's more strict than you thought," Vivian reasoned. "What about friends? Have you met many people yet?"
"Well," Isabella thought for a moment. "I only talked to two people and one of them was only because she was apologising for throwing a ball in my face."
"What?"
"Which I guess did cause the other person to help me unpack by means of making it up to me. But I think he… I mean they were only being friendly because they felt guilty."
"Go back to the girl throwing a ball at you," Vivian demanded sounding shocked. "Honey, are you ok?"
"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine." Isabella slumped back in her chair. "I just feel in over my head and I don't even have my timetable yet!"
"So," Vivian folded her arms. "What do you want to happen?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you think you'll be able to settle? Or do you want to come home?"
"I-" she was cut off by a knock on her door. "I'll think about it and call you later. I love you Mom."
She closed her laptop and opened the door.
"Isabella!" She stepped back as Alex burst in. "How you doing?"
"I'm good," she laughed. "Can I help you?"
"Hey, Isabella," the netball player from earlier came inside.
"Uh, hi…?"
"Oh yeah, I'm Connie." She stuck out her hand. "Nice to formally meet you." They shook hands."
"Connie here has a question for you," Alex prompted.
"Yeah well," she rubbed the back of her neck. "I feel kinda bad about earlier and my roommate and I are meeting for coffee and since you're new and everything, I thought maybe you'd like to join us?"
Isabella blinked, "I'm sorry could you say that again?"
"She's asking if you want to join us for coffee," Alex put in helpfully.
Connie looked baffled, "Us?"
"I'm coming too," they replied. "It's also my fault she got hit."
"Ok," Connie said doubtfully. "But just a heads up, my roommate doesn't like you."
"What?" Alex gasped before laughing. "Don't you worry, darling, he just hasn't met me yet."
"Whatever," Connie turned back to Isabella. "You in?"
"Uh, sure." She agreed. "I guess it's not like I have much else to do anyway."
"Fantastic!" Alex exclaimed. "To the nearest Starbucks!"
"This is not the nearest Starbucks," Alex commented as they pushed open the door to the café.
"Yes it is," Connie replied.
"No, there one on Borough High Street. That's definitely closer."
"Ok," Connie laughed. "You're pretty annoying, you know that?"
"Annoying?" They gasped loudly. "Annoying? Never in my life have I been called annoying before!"
Connie and Isabella exchanged amused glances.
"Hey, loud mouth!" The shout came from an athletic blonde boy, sitting alone in a booth with a book open across his lap. "Could you pipe down? Some of us are trying to study."
"Study what?" Alex sounded utterly bewildered. "Term hasn't even started yet!"
"We have this year only before our next assessment play!" The blonde retorted. "Forgive me for taking my studies seriously!"
"Jeez," Alex clicked their tongue. "Talk about uptight. You really need to let loose."
"Let loose?" Blondie squawked. "Let loose? Where's the sense in that? Some of us here want to succeed."
"Woah, ok," Connie stepped out from behind Alex. "Seb, chill out. Alex has a point."
"Connie?" Seb spluttered. "You're with him?"
"Them," Alex corrected. "Please, darling, at least respect the pronouns."
"This is Isabella," Connie butted in. "I threw a ball in her face during the match and invited her to apologise and get to know her in a… more civil way."
"Hi," Isabella waved.
Seb winced. "You ok? I know from basketball that Connie can really lob a ball."
"I'm fine," she replied as Connie ushered her and Alex to sit down. "I didn't know Connie played basketball?"
"She was one of those players that transferred b-ball to netball, I told you about," Alex explained. "The first, if I recall correctly?"
"That's right," Connie confirmed, settling in beside Seb. "It was super popular at my old school but since it took forever for me to convince this school to pick it up, I joined the basketball squad in the meantime."
"That's pretty awesome," Isabella commented.
"So new girl," Seb said jokingly. "What's your story?"
"Well, I did some theatre back in Danville-"
"I thought I knew the accent," Connie cut in. "Sorry, go on."
Isabella laughed and said, "You should hear how your accents sound to me," causing laughter from the others. "Well, I guess it started with a mayoral internship I got selected for."
Alex whistled admiringly, "That's something you don't hear every day."
"You go, girl," Seb agreed.
"You're found something that these two can actually agree on," Connie grinned. "Impressive."
"What's that's supposed to mean?" Seb muttered.
"I've only just met, tall, blonde and grumpy here, but I'm sure there's tons we can agree on." Alex folded their arms behind their head.
"I'm not grumpy!"
"Seb!" Isabella blurted. "You mentioned something about an assessment play? Tell me about that."
"Years two, four, six, eight and ten spend their entire year putting together a play that is attended by all the high ups."
"I thought that only happened in final year," Isabella said.
"Well that one is the one that college scouts come to," Connie explained. "The other ones determine your grade for the year and if you're reapplying for a scholarship, its where the main assessment takes place."
"That sounds like a lot of pressure," Isabella murmured.
Seb threw his hands in the air. "Exactly! That's why I'm trying to get ahead with studying. I'm the only student in our year who specialises in lighting so if I mess up the entire play is messed up."
"Hold up, what happened to Christian?" Alex asked.
Seb looked surprised, "You knew who Christian was?"
"Of course, he and I used to hang out all the time," Alex frowned. "I don't remember him telling me about leaving though."
"Yeah, well he had family problems back at home and had to return to New Zealand."
"Ah man," Alex looked genuinely upset. "He didn't tell me."
"We spent hours in the booth together, and there's not else to do besides from waiting for cues," Seb shrugged. "He talked about you a lot though."
"Ok," Connie interjected. "Before we get crazily off topic, Isabella you have any more questions? We all know how hard it can be adjusting."
Before she could answer, all their phones chimed.
"TIMETABLES!" Alex and Seb yelled at the same time.
"Did you two just…" Connie trailed off. "Get in sync?"
"No!" Seb insisted. "My shout was one of terror and excitement."
"I just yelled," Alex admitted. "I enjoy being loud and attracting unnecessary attention."
"Hey Isabella, looks like we're in the same classes!" Connie grinned, looking at her phone. "Except Vocal Development."
"And that's fine because you have meeee!" Alex announced, in a sing-song voice.
"No way," Isabella laughed. "What are the odds?"
"Actually, pretty slim," Seb reasoned. "Considering that Alex is a double major in both music and drama the probability of his Acting lessons-"
"Stop," Alex moaned. "Please stop."
"Excuse me?"
"Seb, darling, listen to me. There's two things you can do when you get news. Either you can break down the probability or you can accept it and make the most of it!"
"I was answering Isabella's question!" Seb protested.
"And the right answer was 'the god's must be smiling upon us because this is gonna be fun'!"
"This is one of the strangest conversations I have ever been a part of," Connie sighed.
"I have to agree with you there," Isabella laughed. "Strange but kinda amazing."
"I can already tell that we," Alex gestured around the table. "are going to be great friends."
"Yeah, yeah, that's great but seriously," Seb shook his head. "Are you guys actually going to get anything? Since… y'know we're in a café?"
"Yes!" Alex declared standing up and pointing towards the till. "To the counter!"