Ricky Bowen
The next school day starts like any other—students flooding the hallways, the sharp sound of locker doors slamming, and the hum of morning chatter filling the air. But for me, there's one thing weighing heavily on my mind: the pregnancy test. The auditions are over, the cast list is up, and yet, I can't shake the knot in my stomach. I need answers. My first stop is Kourtney. I find her at her locker, headphones in, scrolling through her phone. "Hey, Kourt," I say, leaning against the locker beside hers. She barely glances up. "Oh, so now you want to talk to me?" I sigh. "Look, I know I haven't exactly been super involved in Nini's life lately, but I need to ask you something." Kourtney raises an eyebrow, finally giving me her full attention. "Go on." I hesitate before pulling the plastic test from my backpack and showing it to her. "Do you know anything about this?" Her eyes widened. "Um, ew. Ricky, why are you walking around with that?" "I found it in Nini's locker. Well, kind of. It, uh, fell out." Kourtney blinks. "Okay… and why are you asking me?" "Because you're her best friend. If something was going on, she would've told you, right?" Kourtney folds her arms. "I mean, yeah. But no, she hasn't said a word about…" She gestures vaguely toward the test. "I really don't think it's hers." "Are you sure?" "One hundred percent. Look, if Nini had something that big going on, she wouldn't be hiding it. And she definitely wouldn't be hiding it from me."
That should ease my nerves, but it doesn't. I thank Kourtney and head to my next class, thoughts still spinning. If Nini's best friend doesn't believe the test is hers, then whose is it? And how did it end up in her locker? Between classes, I spot Gina walking ahead of me, weaving effortlessly through the crowd. Something about the way she carries herself—confident, like she knows something others don't—makes me pause. I remember how quickly she jumped at the chance to mess with EJ before. Could she have done the same thing here? "Gina!" I call out, picking up my pace. She turns, all bright smiles. "Oh, Ricky. What's up?" I hold up the test, lowering my voice. "Any chance you know something about this?" Gina's eyes flicker to the test, then back to me, and for a split second, there's something unreadable in her expression. But it's gone just as quickly, replaced with feigned confusion. "Uh, what am I looking at here?" "You know what it is. And I think you might know how it got in Nini's locker." Gina lets out a small laugh, shaking her head. "Wow, I didn't realize I had such a reputation. But no, Ricky, I have no idea what you're talking about." I narrow my eyes. "So you're saying you had nothing to do with this?" She places a hand over her heart. "Scouts honor. Besides, why would I do that?"
I don't have an answer for that. I study her for another moment before sighing. "Fine." "Good talk," Gina says with a smirk before walking off. I sigh, rubbing a hand over my face. I still don't have any real answers. As I head to lunch, I nearly bump into E.J. I consider just letting him pass—after all, it's not like we're friends. But something nags at me. If anyone would have a reason to know what's going on with Nini, it's him. "Hey, E.J." E.J. looks up, surprised. "Uh, hey?" I pull the test from my pocket again. "I need to ask you something." E.J.'s brows furrow, and then he sees what I am holding. "Dude. What the—?" "It fell out of Nini's locker," I explained quickly. "And I need to know if it's real. If there's a reason I should be freaking out right now." E.J. holds up his hands. "Whoa, okay, first of all—this has nothing to do with me. The most I've ever done with Nini is kiss her. That's it." I study his expression. There's no hesitation, no guilt. Just honesty. "So you don't know anything about this?" E.J. shakes his head. "No. And honestly, man, if you're worried about Nini, maybe just—I don't know—talk to her?" I exhale, nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, maybe I should."
But I know I won't. Not yet. For now, all I have are more questions. And the feeling that something isn't adding up. Meanwhile, the school day continues as normal. The halls are alive with chatter about the upcoming rehearsals, teachers are handing out assignments, and students are already counting down the days until the weekend. I drift through it all, distracted. At lunch, I sit with Big Red, who immediately picks up on my mood. "Dude. You look like you just saw a ghost." "I feel like I did," I mutter, pushing my food around my tray. Big Red raises an eyebrow. "Okay… want to talk about it?" I hesitate, then shake my head. "Not yet." Big Red doesn't push. "Fair enough." Later, in drama class, Miss Jenn is already in full director mode. "Alright, Wildcats! Now that the cast list is up, we are officially in rehearsal mode!" The energy in the room shifts. Excitement. Nerves. I glance toward Nini, who's standing with Kourtney. She looks happy—genuinely happy. For a second, I wonder if I'm overthinking everything. But then she catches my eye, and something flickers across her face. Like she knows. I look away first. Miss Jenn claps her hands. "Let's start with some blocking! Troy and Gabriella—front and center!"
Nini and I step forward, but there's an awkwardness between us. Miss Jenn doesn't seem to notice, launching into a description of their first scene together. Carlos watches from the side, whispering something to Ashlyn, who covers a small laugh. I shifted uncomfortably, feeling eyes on me. "Alright," Miss Jenn says, gesturing between us. "We're setting up the rooftop scene. Troy, you've just helped Gabriella through this big moment. There's a spark. You're looking at each other, seeing something real for the first time." I nod, but the tension between Nini and I makes the air heavy. I open my mouth to say my line but stumble over it. "Cut!" Miss Jenn calls, her hands flying up. "Ricky, take a deep breath. Let's run it again." I try, but the words still feel wrong. And I know it's not about the scene. It's everything else weighing me down. And Nini knows it, too.