Chapter 6: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Bomb Shelter
Purpledolpin05: Wow I can't believe it's been half a year already. Feels like 2023 just began and now it's July. Anyways, here's this month's chapter, hope you'll like the misadventures EJ and Cress are roping Ten through in the theater world.
Disclaimer: I do not own 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series' or Ten from "Weightless". Ten and Jeonghan belong to my friend @zealous_light. I only own my original characters. Enjoy!
Once the students all entered the Bomb Shelter, they were all amazed by the setup.
There was a circle of chairs set up in the middle of the room with name cards of the cast members.
"Epic!" Cress broke into a grin. This is definitely one of the more impressive readthrough setups. Their old drama teacher wasn't all that flashy, but then again their former teacher was no Broadway star like Miss Jenn.
EJ's eyes narrowed in annoyance when he noticed 'Troy' and 'Gabriella' were seated next to each other, while 'Chad' was seated next to 'Troy'.
"Can't believe that guy is sitting between you and your girlfriend." Cress frowned.
EJ walked forward (since the Male Lead has yet to arrive) and tried to swap the name cards. But then he caught sight of Ashlyn and Ten giving a disapproving look, and gave up on that idea.
Now, call Cress a petty person (because she is Petty and Proud of it), but she's all in on EJ's idea of switching seating charts to keep his current girlfriend and her ex as far apart from each other as possible.
"Could everyone get into their assigned seats?" Miss Jenn announced, clapping her hands together.
Cress looked glad enough that she was assigned right next to Ten, alongside the other teens who were casted as 'Troy's Basketball Team'.
"Kade! Kais! Laur! Y'all made it to the team!" Cress beamed, reaching a hand out to fist-bump 3 teens sitting beside her.
"Naturally. Still can't believe you decided to join." Kaison smiled.
"And let EJ hog all the spotlight for himself? Not a chance." Cress tried to introduce Ten to the other Dancers (Steph, Lauryn, Kaison, Kaden), "Have you met my favorite best friend, Ten? He's an amazing dancer!"
"I can hear your blatant favoritism halfway across the room, Cressie!" EJ called out from the other side.
Cress made a face back in response, causing a few others to giggle.
"Is he always like this?" Steph asked with quiet amazement. Many of them are used to EJ's unapproachable Golden Boy image. It was refreshing and surprising to see EJ messing around with his best friends (and even fewer moments like these with Ten).
And honestly, very few people have the privilege to see what her two friends are like behind the mask.
"Only when I'm around. I've been told I am the life of the party." Cress retorted.
"Don't forget to silence your phones." Miss Jenn reminded everyone.
Apparently, Natalie isn't feeling so well today so Big Red (being in the wrong place at the wrong time) had to substitute in to read stage directions.
Once everyone had settled in on their seats, Miss Jenn started talking, "I realize that you all walk in as strangers,"
"Actually, EJ's my cousin!" Ashlyn informed with a smile, EJ responded with a tight smile.
Again, it's probably because of the sheer awkwardness of your girlfriend's ex literally cod-blocking you and your girlfriend.
"But after today, you walk out as a family." Miss Jenn continued her uplifting speech, "One tribe, committed to lifting this classic film to new heights."
'Ricky is the distant cousin that's been removed too many times in the family, but still shows up to each family gathering uninvited.' Cress silently declared.
"Everyone, take your neighbor's hand." The teacher announced.
Ten was seated between Ashlyn and Cress, he gave EJ a sympathetic look as Caswell had to hold his love rival's hand. On the other side, EJ was holding Big Red's hand with an awkward expression on the ginger's face.
'Note to self: give EJ some hand sanitizer so he can wash the grime off Bowen's hand.' Cress thought, giving EJ a sympathetic look as he held hands with Ricky Bowen.
She narrowed her eyes in complete disgust at the way Ricky seemed far too eager to hold his ex's hand again.
"Feel each other's energy. Let the silence speak volumes." Miss Jenn began her uplifting speech.
If silence and actions could speak louder than words, Cress would have kicked her shoes off her feet to aim at Ricky Bowen in the shins. But that would be abuse to her shoes.
"In a world full of no, this is a space full of yes." Miss Jenn continued her speech.
And then she started singing a chorus of 'We're All in This Together'...to boost morale for some reason??
Cress took a glance around everyone, noticing that Big Red in particular had the most puzzled expression on his face.
Nini had stopped holding onto Ricky's hand and had turned her gaze to her copy of the script. EJ also let go of Ricky's hand at this point.
Once Miss Jenn was done with her chorus, Ashlyn applauded the older woman.
"Sharpay heads to class, hears singing, opens the door to the biology lab. She finds Gabriella and Taylor washing their hands. They turned to find there are no paper towels in the dispenser. They-" Big Red was reading the stage instructions out loud and not even taking a pause.
"Stop. Don't read it all together. Read the punctuation." Miss Jenn cut in, causing everyone else to let out a small sigh of relief.
"Sharpay, comma, heads for class, period. And they hear the song in their heads, period." Big Red continued reading. Somehow this new method made the reading process slower.
As much as Cress already dislikes Ricky Bowen, she still considers Big Red to be a decent enough guy. So she can't help but feel sympathy for the Junior being out of his depth in a new environment.
She's had family dinners at Big Red's family pizzeria and he reminds her of Ten sometimes (a genuine sweetheart who's there for people he knows, even if their best friend may not be the best person).
"And that's it for Act One! Take a break!" Miss Jenn concluded with a forced cheery tone, before she headed off to have a discussion with Carlos.
EJ had decided to take the time to talk to Nini. Seb seems to be talking to Ten (huh, who'd thought they'd end up befriending each other? Good for them!)
Also from the corner of her eye, she could see Ricky Bowen acting all shady, he kept looking at his phone and glanced at Nini.
If that shady rat nest tried to (and succeeded) in ruining EJ's relationship, Cress can and WILL punch him. This is not a threat, it's a promise.
'Nope, angry thoughts aside. This is supposed to be a happy safe place, not a rage cage...' Cress reminded herself internally, taking a few breaths to cool herself.
Cress decided to take this moment to approach Big Red.
"Hey, it's ok to take a pause every now and then. You still need to save your breath after all." Cress flashed a polite smile at the teen, "Welcome to the theater, kid."
"I honestly have no idea what I'm doing." Big Red answered, looking bewildered. He's a bit shy, but still a nice kid.
"No worries, it happens to most of us. For what it's worth, you're doing an alright job so far. This is for you," Cress handed Big Red a small sealable bag of brownies from her bag.
"It's nut-free, gluten-free and dairy-free by the way." Cress quickly added. One can never be too careful when sharing food with others, especially when you don't know their food allergies.
"Thanks, uh..." Big Red gave a tiny grateful smile.
"Cress Kormos. See ya around, Big Red." Cress waved a little, before she returned to her seat.
She could see Ten letting Seb listen to some music on his earphones. Cress walked over to them and noticed Ten was playing a music video by some boy band called NCT.
Now, Cress isn't that big into K-pop like Ten (and EJ, from what Ten offhand mentioned) but she never stops lampshading how her best friend looks strongly similar to the celebrity.
"Are you revealing to Seb your double life?" Cress chimed from behind the Thai-American.
"For the last time Cress, I look nothing like Ten from NCT." Ten deadpans, failing to see any resemblance between himself and the celebrity.
"You're right," Cress pursed her lips, before smiling, "You're way better looking. Don't tell EJ I said that, he still thinks he's got a chance at being my Most Handsome Friend."
"Stop teasing me." Ten huffed.
"Never, teasing my best friends is part of my friendship instruction manual." Cress snickered.
"Supposed that manual existed, I had thrown it at Caswell upside the head for far too many times to read it." Ten mumbled in response.
"Who would you throw a book at EJ's head?" Seb asked.
"Because his brain cells were scarcely low when I first met him."
"Because Caswell never stopped teasing Cress about her height when we were younger, and I had to diffuse their petty fights."
Both Ten and Cress answered at the same time.
"Nice to see how good friends you are." Seb complimented, sounding very genuine and sweet.
"Thanks, we do look adorable together." Cress cheerfully grinned, resting her chin on top of Ten's head.
Also, Ten has amassed a small group of fans already. All the dancers seem to think he's cool. They're all approaching the two teens now.
"Welcome to the Basketball Team, 'Zeke Baylor' and 'Jason Cross'." Kaison grinned, before he introduced himself and his friends. "I'm Kaison and I play 'Travis Appleford', Lauryn here plays 'Sam Nedler'. Kaden is playing 'Bill Netrine', and Kenidee is 'Hap Hadden'."
"I'm Kitt, freshman. I play Coach Bolton." A young boy introduced himself.
"You don't look like a middle aged man." Seb tilted his head in confusion.
"That's because he just shaved last night." His older sister, Kenidee, made a joke.
"Nice to meet you." Ten gave a curt nod.
"I'll be honest, I'm not even surprised Marisol got a role as one of the Basketball players. She's the sportiest triplet." Lauryn commented, looking at the sporty triplet.
"Miss Jenn really casted a lot of extras to fill up the HSM extras." Cress made a remark, noticing some of the name cards included side characters like 'The Cellist Skater'.
But with so many characters running around, some of the cast have double (or more) roles to fill in the scenes. For instance, Marissa Martinez was casted as 'Cyndra' (the soprano auditionee) and 'Cheerleader 1'.
"I'm just glad to be here with my favorite classmates!" A Senior grinned, looping an arm around Marina's shoulder. Marina and her best friend Sean Seabury got casted as 'The Stoner Kids'. (aka the iconic duo and their horrifyingly monotone version of 'What I've Been Looking For')
Sean was also casted as 'Alan' (the auditionee with a nice tie and kept trying to read the lyrics off his palm) and 'The Cellist Skater'.
Cress now has a scheming grin, and that's her Party Face.
"I'm gonna make a group chat for our basketball team!" Cress eagerly suggested.
"You do know Bowen would be in that chat." Ten flatly pointed out.
"I'm good at tuning things out, I suppose I have to deal with that in my chatroom." Cress huffed a little
That evening, Ten was feeding his pet cats (and a few stray cats that sometimes linger around his neighborhood) by the yard when his phone notification rang.
Seems like Cress has created a chatroom for those casted as the fictional East High's Basketball Team.
But the moment Ten's eyes glaze over the phone, he can't decide if he wants to laugh, scream, or cry.
He decided to settle on one expression at a time.
——————
'Cress' has created "Time to Basket Your Balls!" Chat Room [13 members]
'Cress' has added 'Ten', 'EJ', 'Andres', 'Lauryn', 'Marisol', 'Kaden', 'Kaison', 'Ricky', 'Adeline', 'Kenidee', 'Kitt', and 'Percy' into the chat.
——————
[ Cress: ]
Welcome to the Ballpit!
[ Kenidee: ]
ROLF what even is this name
[ Ten: ]
...THIS is the name you picked for the group chat?!
[ Cress: ]
ngl it sounded better in my head
[ Percy: ]
Wtf Cress, I was DRINKING WATER when I read this
[ Andres: ]
im wheezing rn
[ EJ: ]
I can hear Ten screaming from next-door, C.
[ Kaison: ]
Of course only Cress would create a chat room with a name like that...
[ Kaden: ]
Remember the group chat she made for us last semester when we did Brigadoon?
[ Adeline: ]
Some of us got casted as shrubs and plants on last semester's play. Cress dubbed that chat group as 'Leaf Me Alone or Touch Some Grass'
[ EJ: ]
Uh @Cress?
Ten is all the way outside his yard. I'm in my room video-chatting with some friends from summer camp.
And I can still hear him.
So can they.
[ Cress: ]
Fine, I'll change the name and tone down any crude humor. We *do* have children in the chat
[ Kitt: ]
Stop calling me a kid! Just because I'm the only Freshman in the chat doesn't mean everyone should gang up on me like that. Kenni already babies me a lot, I don't need you do it too
[ Marisol: ]
As someone who's the youngest among my triplet sisters, I felt that
'Cress' has changed "Time to Basket Your Balls!" to "Wildcats, Get'cha Head in the Game"
[ Cress: ]
there! better?
[ Lauryn: ]
Welcome unsuspecting newbies to Cress's chatroom, get ready for lots of chaos and unwarranted meme spamming
[ Ten: ]
I can already tell this is a big mistake I am regretting
[ Ricky: ]
Just caught up with the chat and agreed
[ EJ: ]
Same
——————
Ten's eyebrows raised internally. Surprisingly, Cress's (endearingly) annoying word puns was enough to somehow temporarily unify Caswell, Bowen, and himself. Even if those two are not seeing eye to eye right now.
And that's all for July. It's been an awesome month so far, so here's to hoping the next one won't be too hectic.
Also I will be posting my Secrets of Sulphur Springs x High School Musical: The Musical: The Series fanfic"Something In The Summer Wind, A Moment to Begin Again"next week (July 29th) so keep an eye out!
Chapter Talk: -
(1.) Here in Starburst, some of the background characters (like Natalie, and the other Dance Crew) will play bigger roles. We don't know much about them in the show, so I'm mostly making up some stuff as I go along (and get emotionally attached to each of their traits and backstories) and there are way more people involved here.
(2.) Most of the Dance Crew would idolize/adore Ten because he's the cool Senior of the bunch. They would all follow behind him like baby chicks with the mother hen. Cress thinks it's adorable.
(3.) If it's not obvious enough, Cress can get along with almost anyone...except Ricky Bowen. She's even willing to extend her kindness to his best friend and not him. I found this trope 'Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones' and this 100% applies to Cress toward Ricky which describes 'I am very kind to everyone, except for this individual.'
(4.) Did you guys laugh at Cress's group chat name? I sure did. She's the friend who likes making jokes (including dirty jokes, much to Ten's need to censor her) but usually tones down for the sake of kids.
(5.) Random fact: While Cress was creating the group chat and Ten was feeding all the cats, EJ was having a video chat with the Chan twins (Evan and Jerry from my other story '#Love Is In The Air'/#LIITA) from summer camp.
East High's (Un)Official Adaptational Expanded Casting List for 'High School Musical'
Troy Bolton - Ricky Bowen (Understudy - EJ Caswell)
Gabriella Montez - Nini Salazar-Roberts (Understudy - Gina Porter)
Taylor Mckessie - Gina Porter (Unofficial Understudy - Kourtney Greene)
Chad Danforth - EJ Caswell (Unofficial Understudy - Carlos Rodriguez)
Sharpay Evans - Seb Matthew-Smith (Understudy - Marissa Martinez)
Ryan Evans - Rico Rojas
Mrs Darbus - Ashlyn Caswell
Kelsi Nielson - Lumi Song
Coach Bolton - Kitt Hudson
Zeke Baylor - Ten Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul
Jason Cross - Cressida Kormos
Marta Cox - Stephani Sosa
Ensemble - Marina Martinez, Sean Seabury, Marissa Martinez, Marisol Martinez, Kenidee Hudson, Kaison Cottons, Kaden Day, Adeline Connors, Percy Hughes, Andres Newton, Helen Brookes, Ezra Davis, Shannon Powell, Amaya Reed, Chuck Phillips
Anyways, that's all for this chapter. Feel free to leave a review and let me know your thoughts. See you next time, and have an awesome day.