People Watching - EJ Caswell ¹

"Bye!"

Scarlett sat at the piano, playing the beat for 'bop to the top' repeating the first few lines as she anxiously waited for Seb to finally step out from backstage which he had yet to do, which was seriously freaking the girl out. She couldn't play the same few notes forever.

Suddenly, the crowd began to cheer excitedly and that gave her the signal that the boy had finally stepped on stage, and Scarlett went onto the next stave of music as he began to sing.

"I believe in dreamin', shooting for the stars. Baby, to be number one, you've got to raise the bar. Kicking and scratching, grinding out my best."

Seb continued to sing and Scarlett's fingers effortlessly glided across the keys, the orchestra backing her up and soon enough she was playing her last note, to her last song of the night. She took in the applause before quickly walking off stage and out back, meeting Gina and Ricky walking toward her. The girl pulled Scarlett into a quick, warm hug.

"You were amazing!"

The brunette laughed. "All I did was play the piano." She responded but Gina shook her head.

"And you played it amazingly." She grabbed the girl's wrist, dragging her out of the back of the auditorium and through the hall toward the large metal doors that entered the side of the gym so they would have a better view of the next scene. "Come on, we're gonna go watch EJ sweep himself off his feet."

'Breaking free' started to play throughout the gym as the lighting began to dim, a spotlight finding Nini and EJ centre stage. The three stood and watched, the two girl's noticing Ricky's slight look of regret.

"We're soarin', flying. There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach. If we're tryin'. So we're breakin' free."

"I can't do it, Troy. Not with all these people staring at me." Nini recited her words and EJ bent down more to her height, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Look at me, Gabby. Right at me. Like the first time, we sang together. Like kindergarten, remember?" Nini looked toward Ricky and EJ's eyes followed, catching a glimpse of the three who stood watching. He sighed. "Remember kindergarten? There's nothing like the friends you made back then. And they never really leave, do they?"

Scarlett shared a confused look with Gina, both of them not remembering seeing that in the script. "What are you doing?" Nini asked, also confused.

"Something right, I hope. I'm gonna play to lose." He paused for a moment. "I'm not the Troy you want." He began to walk off stage and Scarlett and Gina slightly pushed Ricky forward encouragingly, starting to understand what EJ was doing.

Nini took a deep breath, striding forward toward Ricky with a new surge of confidence. "I know the world can see us, in a way that's different than who we are. Creating space between us, till we're separate hearts." She sang, grabbing her phone and putting on the flashlight, just as he had done in auditions. Nini nodded toward the orchestra and they began to play again, and the two began to harmonize their smiles growing wider as they danced through the crowd, the music flowing between them.

Scarlett turned once she heard the metal doors open behind her, watching EJ walk in, a small smile on his face. She grinned, grabbing his arm and pulling him closer. "You smashed your five brief minutes of Troy. But, I think you did the right thing." She complimented, looking over toward Ricky and Nini before back to him.

"You think?" He asked and she nodded.

"Definitely."

EJ gently pulled his arm out of her grip and wrapped it tightly around her shoulder, her arm going around his waist, tucking herself into his side as he looked over at Gina. "Some wonder studies we are, huh?"