Blandview High Musical

17. Showtime

Monday Morning – 7:15 am

I rushed into my Political Science class and quickly took a seat beside Jade and Caylie. Both of them looked a little confused as I tried to catch my breath. I was winded from running all the way from the auditorium to this classroom. "Are you alright?" Jade asked. "Yeah, totally fine. Just—just need to catch my breath." "Why the hell are you five minutes late and so winded?" Caylie asked. asked. "I just—" finally, I took a deep inhale of air and pushed out my exhaustion. "I was running and am late because I had costume tryouts for Friday." I said. "Oh shit! I forgot about that!" Jade hissed. "I know. Ms. Greyson was kind of agitated that you weren't there." I commented. Jade just rolled her eyes. "She's out to get me! First, my dancing wardrobe is too skimpy. Then, my moves aren't quick enough. Then, I'm late to practice, with a very real reason...I can't win with her!" I nodded my head in understanding. This was all true. Ms. Greyson had been rather difficult on Jade since she took Ms. Rod's place.

"In other news, did your costume fit okay?" Jade asked. "Oh yeah. It fit perfectly. Don't forget we have to practice tonight. The whole routine. Step by step." I reminded her. "Yeah, I know. You gonna be there, Cay?" "Ehh...I might come and watch. I know I'll be there Friday since Damien snagged a solo between musicals." She said. "We should go to the diner after the musicals!" Jade squealed. "Ugh, I think I'll be too tired." I groaned. "Don't be such a crab." She said. "I dunno, my mom says the diner's having issues right now." "Maybe we can help out." Jade offered. It sounded like a tempting idea. I wanted to run it by my mom first and see what she thought of it. Without anymore thought, I sent my mom a quick text.

M: Can we come by and try to help you guys out with the diner?

I slipped my phone back in my bag as my attention was drawn to the lesson being given.

— 9:15 am

Janet walked in through the backdoor. She switched on the light and realized that the inside of the diner was unusually quiet. She furrowed her brow and shed herself of her coat and purse, hanging both on the desired hooks. It looked like she was the first one here. She walked down the hallway, her shoes scuffling against the linoleum flooring as she moved. She rounded the corner to observe that the diner was closed. "What the hell?" She said aloud.

Suddenly, there was a soft clatter coming from the back kitchen. She furrowed her brow and looked past the serving window. Someone was back there. Slowly, she crept the to double swinging doors that led into the kitchen. She looked around for a weapon of some kind before settling on grabbing the broom and moving through the doors. She swallowed thickly as the doors swung softly, brushing against each other as she moved down the length of the kitchen. She kept the broom tight against herself and in both hands. She stayed aware of her surroundings as she inched closer to the supply closet, which seemed to be the place the noises were coming from.

A few more steps and Janet found herself standing in front of the supply closet door. Her fingers tightened around the broom handle. She released one hand, reaching for the door handle on the closet door. Her heart was slamming against her chest cavity and she felt like she was going to throw up on whoever was on the other side. Finally, without anymore hesitation, she yanked the door open, poised to attack. The white lighting from the kitchen showed Frankie, who was bound by his hands and feet with a rolled piece of material shoved in his mouth. "Oh my god! What happened?!" She shouted, tossing the broom away and kneeling down to help him up.

After a glass of water, Frankie sat at the bar. His wrists were purple from being tied with the ropes. His fingers inched over them. Janet came back with the first aid kit. Frankie's eye was black, his nose was busted and bruises littered every inch of naked flesh on his body. He sighed. "Ready to talk about it?" Janet asked. "I need the money." He said. She quirked a brow. His eyes shifted to meet hers. "The ten thousand. I need you to take it and pay off the taxes on the diner. It's about 5,500 dollars." Janet just sighed. "Are you sure—" She started, but he immediately cut her off. "If you don't give me the money, I lose the diner and they're going to kill me." "Did...did that man do this? The man who gave you his card?" She asked. "He was there. I have until Wednesday." "That means if I don't go today...we're screwed." Janet said. Frankie just nodded his head.