HATEFUL LOVE | ej caswell

new idea

Nadia ran up to EJ, who was sitting on the porch of The Barn as he sipped a coffee, pretending to fangirl over him since he broke the news to her about being the director for the musical the other night. "Oh, my gosh! Is that EJ Caswell from Disney+'s Frozen: The Musical: The Series?"

EJ laughed at her. "They would never call the show that. It's a way too long and complicated a title," he retorted before he handed her the second mug he had filled with coffee.

"Thanks. Couldn't sleep?" she asked.

"I figured I'd get a start on panicking early, you know...seeing as I am now the one who has to direct the first-ever student production of Frozen that will air in, I don't know, 63 countries," EJ said worriedly.

"Well, I am not panicking at all. You're gonna be the best director Camp Shallow Lake and those 63 countries has ever seen," she assured him.

EJ chuckled. "You literally have zero proof to back that theory up."

"I'm sorry. Can I just believe in the potential of my incredibly smart, wildly talented boyfriend?" she posed.

"You forgot handsome," EJ said.

She scoffed at him. "You managed to be extremely humble for about five seconds. It's a new record."

"Okay, I'm not gonna lie...I was kind of hoping me and EJ would get to play leads together. You know, continue the romance into the showmance," Nadia told the camera before she got an idea, her eyes lighting up. "Hold on. Maybe we can continue the romance into the showmance but, you know, in a different way..."

"Can you believe Ricky showed up?" EJ questioned.

"Oh, I know. I thought he'd be spending the whole summer with that real she-devil. At least he didn't bring her here," Nadia replied. "So when are you gonna tell everyone you're directing the show?" she inquired about, wanting to tell EJ her brilliant idea as soon as possible.

"Soon, at auditions...but will you, like, not say anything until then?" EJ said with a serious expression on his face.

"Of course. Especially because I just thought of something," she responded, which made him furrow his brows. "What if I'm, like, the co-director? We can work together on building this musical, making sure it's perfect."

"You don't want to audition?" EJ asked since he knew how talented Nadia was and he didn't want her to waste the perfect opportunity to show the world that aspect of her.

Nadia shrugged. "I mean, it would be cool to get the lead, but there are so many other people that will probably get the part. It's not like I wanna be an actress or singer anyway. I want to be able to boss people around, you know? Especially with you by my side," she explained, nudging him playfully. "We could be the...dynamic duo that led the musical to victory!" she made up.

EJ smiled, grabbing her hand lovingly. "I like the sound of that," he spoke before Maddox started playing the bugle in the middle of camp. "Hey-o! I'm so glad you're hearing the bugle."

"A what?"

"It's like the perfect start to the day."

"Rise and shine, newbies!" Maddox yelled once she was done playing. "You're on Shallow Lake time now! Whoo!" She then turned around and noticed Nadia and EJ. "Oh, hey, guys!"

"Whoo!" EJ screamed in Nadia's ear, making her wince.

"Whoo!" Maddox shouted again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I can't believe we're actually gonna be in this documentary. And to be directed by Mr. Chad Danforth himself," Ashlyn said excitedly, making Nadia swallow hard. "Okay, one could say the stakes for auditions have never been higher. And one will. I will. The stakes have never been higher."