This story was created during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the hard work of SAG-AFTRA, as well as the work of the WGA who, as of September 27th, 2023 have reached a deal with the AMPTP, the world of High School Musical The Musical The Series wouldn't exist. For more information about how you can help with the SAG-AFTRA strike, please refer to the link you can find on my profile.
Two parents, looking their daughter dead in the eyes, with a look of proudness, yet regret. After building the courage to finally tell them, the daughter came out as lesbian to her parents. By all accounts, she was hoping for a nice and peaceful conversation, where her parents would accept her for who she is, and who she wants to be. Instead, that is not what happens. They write her a check for twenty-five thousand dollars, and they say for her to take that, load on to her account or whatever she wants to do with it, pack up her belongings, and be on her way. They said they would not support her, which broke the daughter's heart so much. She then quickly packed up her belongings, and called for a friend to drive her. She doesn't know what to think. She doesn't know what to do. The only thing she does know is that there's one place, and one person, that she can think of, based on what she's heard from the news, that would be able to understand entirely what she's going through, or at the very least, would be able to support her while she's going through what she's going through. With that, her friend drives her up to the entrance of Seabrook, a community in inclusiveness and belonging.
Now, who was this girl that you've been hearing so much about? That would be me. Hi. I'm Emma Johnson. I'm a two-time individual cheer champion, and a five-time regional team cheer champion. Some call me one of the best cheerleaders to ever exist, though I have never been able to really say for sure if that is the case or not. However, I now perhaps have my chance to find that out for myself. Going into my junior year of high school, with my parents pushing me out for being a lesbian, I decided to make a change, and so, with the money I have, here I am in Seabrook. The home of the championship cheer squad, and the home of a diversity-centric community. Humans, zombies, werewolves. It's just all really awesome. I just hope that I'll be able to fit in too, wherever it is I end up living here.
Just like that, I'm right outside of Zombietown. I motion for my friend to drop me off here, and that I'd walk on my own for the rest of the way. As I walk in here, I see it all. Humans, zombies, and even werewolves, traversing with one another. I gotta say, I am so impressed with how far this community has come, and perhaps one day I'll be able to contribute to the story of this incredibly awesome and diverse community.
As I walk towards the center of Zombietown, I can a tug on the skirt of my dress.
It's the little zombie girl Zoey, that she saw at the last cheer championship.
"Are you seven-time champion Emma Johnson?" Zoey asks in excitement.
"I am." I replied.
"Nice to meet you." Zoey says.
"Nice to meet you too Zoey." I said in response.
"You know who I am?" Zoey asks, curiously.
"Of course. My team was at the last cheer championship, so we all got to see you and Seabrook do your thing, and it was something special. I've never seen anything quite like it." I remarked.
"We were good, weren't we?" Zoey asks.
"Absolutely! You guys had every right to win that title. You were incredible." I stated.
Then, right in front of her, I can see another zombie that looks all too familiar. It's the rebellious zombie girl herself, Eliza, who walks up and shares a fist bump with me.
"No way…" Eliza says in amazement and surprise.
"Nice to finally meet you as well Eliza." I said.
"Addison is going to freak out when she knows you're here in Seabrook." Eliza remarks.
"Ah yes. Cheer Captain Addison. One of the cheer stars I look up to the most, and by far my cheer idol. Sure her cousin's great too, but Addison in more ways than one is such an awesome person." I stated.
"Definitely. Now, I have to ask the question. You're human, and while humans are certainly welcomed here, they don't exactly have living space here. Why start here?" Eliza asks.
"Wanted to see where the "monster" side of Seabrook started, per say. I use that term extremely lightly since I know that you guys aren't monsters, and are quite fashionable too, might I add." I remarked.
"Thank You." Eliza says.
"I think you should meet Zed." Zoey states.
"Is that so?" I asked, curiously.
"Oh absolutely. He'll love to meet you." Eliza replies.
"Yo Eliza, Zoey." Zed calls out to them.
Approaching the three of us is Zed. Football star, ran for class president against Bucky, helped to bring change and equality to Seabrook. After a few fist bumps with Zoey & Eliza, he does the same with me, upon realizing who I am.
"Welcome Ms. Johnson. I'm Zed." Zed says.
"Pleased to finally meet you Zed." I said in response.
"Heard you were at the last cheer championship. How'd we do?" Zed asks.
"You all did great, like I was just telling Zoey. It was impromptu in a way from the looks of it, and in my eyes, you guys were very much deserving of the championship." I remarked.
"We did our best. Now what's a beauitful human girl like you doing in our neck of the woods?" Zed asks.
"Honestly, I just wanted to see what life was like for you guys, and maybe do it like the zombies do." I replied with a wink & a smirk.
"You came to the right place." Zed states.
Music then begins, as Zed sings a portion of Like The Zombies Do, from Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2.
"Zed (singing): Brush your fangs when you wake up"
"Me: (Don't have any)"
"Zed (singing): Comb your hair, do your make up"
"Me: (That I can do)"
"Zed (singing): Sleep at night, don't stay up"
"Zed (singing): Do it like the zombies do"
"Zed (singing): Don't stand out when you're fittin' in"
"Zed (singing): When in doubt, do the opposite"
"Zoey (singing): Don't listen to him"
"Eliza (singing): He's a hypocrite"
"Zed (singing): Do it like the zombies do"
While busting out my own dance moves, I then sing the last few lines of the same song.
"Me (singing): All I gotta do is give an inch then you gonna take me to the top"
"Me (singing): Do it like the zombies do, don't stop"
"Me (singing): Do it like the zombies do"
As I stop, Zed, Eliza, & Zoey all look very impressed with my singing, and with my dance moves. I can't say that I blame them, because I'm known for my flexibility and moves as a cheerleader. I'm not known for being a dancer, or even a singer for that matter.
"Those were some sick dance moves." Zed remarks.
"Thanks. It was nothing really. I've been practicing dance on the side for years." I told him in response.
"If you're that flexible, the cheer squad will be right for you." Eliza remarks.
"Speaking of the cheer squad, Zed, where might I find your girl?" I asked.
"At home. Her parents are out for the night. I can take you there though." Zed replies.
"Perfect." I said in response.
Zed then drives me right to Addison's house.
"This is it." Zed says.
"Thanks Zed." I said.
"Of course." Zed says in response.
I then walk up to the door and knock. I don't know how good of an idea this actually is, but then yet again, I don't know who else I can trust. The only thing that I know for sure right now is that Addison is someone who understands unity and acceptance more so than anything else. Perhaps she will be of help in regards to my current situation.
After about 45 seconds of waiting, and a 2nd knock on the door, it opens, and out steps Addison, the cheer rockstar I had heard oh so much about, and much to my surprise, Addison has heard a lot about me as well.
"Emma Johnson?" Addison says in surprise and amazement.
"Addison, pleased to finally meet you. It's an honor to get to meet another cheer rockstar, and someone I look up to regularly, like a lot of my idols." I revealed.
"Aw, that's sweet. If we're being honest, I look up to you too. You're such a talented multi-champion cheer star. There's few that can compare to you." Addison says.
"I don't know about that." I stated.
"By the way, you can come inside." Addison says.
"Thanks." I said in response.
"So what brings you to Seabrook?" Addison asks.
"Needed a place to stay." I replied.
"So how long are you staying for? A couple days? A week? A month?" Addison asks.
"Permanently I'm hoping, if all goes how I hope it will." I replied.
"Wait really? You're leaving your team and community just like that? Why?" Addison asks, shocked that I would do something like that.
I then reach into the small pocket of my backpack, and I get out and hold out to Addison a pride flag pin, which tells her exactly what the situation is.
"I take it you can see what the problem is now." I remarked.
"Yeah, I can tell. Now who wasn't accepting of you? Your friends? Your parents? Your community?" Addison asks.
"It was my parents. I came out to them, and they were like, here's some money and everything, but we are not going to support you if this is who you're going to be." I replied, with a great deal of sadness.
"Wow, that must be tough for you." Addison states.
"It really is, especially when most of my friends and other people I know within my community were supportive when I told them, but if my parents aren't going to, then there's no point in staying." I revealed.
"Well, you've certainly come to the best place. Here in Seabrook, all kinds of people are welcome, no matter who they are, or who they love." Addison states.
"That's incredible for me to hear Addison, truly." I gratefully remarked, surprised by the incredible generosity of one of the greatest cheer rock stars of our generation.
"I would hope so, and on top of that, maybe I could make room for you to come live with me and/or I'll find you the best place I can for you to stay." Addison states, with a great deal of confidence.
"Seriously? This is the nicest anyone's been since I came out. I've had supportive people since coming out, but nothing on this scale." I revealed.
"Well from what I've learned Emma. If you extend that olive branch, that goes a long way to helping out everyone around you. Besides, someone like you, a 7-time cheer champion who knows her ins and outs, could really help boost the Mighty Shrimp into the future, both as a member of the cheer squad, and as a member of the Seabrook community." Addison states.
"You mean it?" I asked.
"Of course!" Addison exclaims.
Then, music can be heard. As it goes on for a little bit, Addison begins to sing the song Stand from the 1st Zombies movie.
"Addison (singing): You wanna scream, top of your lungs"
"Addison (singing): Not sitting back, won't hold your tongue"
"Addison (singing): No, some things are different than we thought"
"Addison (singing): There's more to life than what we're taught"
"Addison (singing): You're speaking up, 'cause enough's enough"
"Me (singing): Cause I can't go on this way"
"Me (singing): Gotta wake up and be brave"
"Me (singing): But I know I'll face the fire if I say"
"Me (singing): I'm gonna stand strong"
"Me (singing): Nothing stopping me"
"Me (singing): I'll be loud, they'll hear me now"
"Me (singing): I'm gonna stand tall"
"Me (singing): Take it to the top, I'll be free"
"Me (singing): Can't bring me down"
"Me (singing): So you'll rise, won't turn back"
"Me (singing): I won't hide who I am"
"Me & Addison (singing): We're gonna stand"
I then looked directly in Addison's eyes, and tears started building up within me. Somehow through that, she could tell that she's helping me, an accomplished cheer champion, out in a big way.
"Me (singing): Done living life inside the lines"
"Me (singing): Following the rules and playing nice, yeah"
"Me (singing): I'm stepping up with all my strength"
"Me (singing): Even if they think it's a mistake
"Me (singing): Won't turn my back, won't close my eyes
"Addison (singing): On the edge you'll risk it all"
"Me (singing): It's worth the chance that I might fall"
"Me (singing): So I'm not backing down, believe when I say"
"Me (singing): I'm gonna stand strong"
"Me (singing): Nothing stopping me"
"Me (singing): I'll be loud, they'll hear me now"
"Me (singing): I'm gonna stand tall"
"Me (singing): Take it to the top, I'll be free"
"Me (singing): Can't bring me down"
"Addison (singing): So you'll rise, won't turn back"
"Me (singing): I won't hide who I am"
"Me & Addison (singing): We're gonna stand, yeah"
"Me & Addison (singing): We're gonna stand, oh"
Then, I briefly looked away from Addison, almost in embarrassment, and then I turned back to her, with a renowned sense of pride in my eyes.
"Me (singing): But how can I just forget"
"Me (singing): All the things in my head"
"Addison (singing): Just stand"
"Addison (singing): You just stand"
"Me (singing): And if I stand, will I fall"
"Me (singing): Trying to knock down these walls"
"Me (singing): What if I don't know where I stand"
"Addison (singing): You stand!"
"Me & Addison (singing): You're gonna stand strong"
"Me & Addison (singing): Nothing stopping you"
"Me (singing): I'll be loud, you'll hear me now"
"Me & Addison (singing): We're gonna stand tall"
"Me (singing): Take it to the top, I'll be free"
"Me (singing): Can't bring me down"
"Addison (singing): So you'll rise"
"Me (singing): Won't turn back"
"Me & Addison (singing): I won't hide who I am"
"Me & Addison (singing): We're gonna stand, yeah"
"Me & Addison (singing): We're gonna stand, yeah"
"Me & Addison (singing): We're gonna stand, yeah"
"Me & Addison (singing): We're gonna stand"
We then look at each other. With pride. With happiness. With a renowned sense of determination. Allison could tell that what happened with my parents really scared me (which is true), and she knows that this would mean a lot to me to turn things around, in a welcoming and inclusive society, where everyone from every walk of life here would be open and accepting of me. It's one of the greatest feelings in the world.
"Addison, do you have any idea how much this means to me?" I asked her.
"No, I probably don't, but I do understand that you want to make a difference in your new home, away from that pain. You want to rise up, now is your chance to do it." Addison replies.
"And I'll do what is necessary to do exactly that." I stated, bluntly.
And that is that. I'm in a new situation, in a new place. Now it's all about making sense of my new situation, and seeing just how far I will be able to go, with the backing and support of one of the most inclusive people the world has ever known.