AMAEHSMT (The Menkies)

North vs. East

They had made it to the Alan Menken Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater. The Menkies had finally arrived and the students of East High couldn't believe it. It felt like a dream. After being nominated in three categories — Best Group Song (for "Be Our Guest"), Best Leading Man (Ricky), and Best Overall Performance — they had worked so hard to be prepared for the awards show. Miss Jenn had worked them nearly to the bone, but they had everything perfect now.

They'd heard from Howie that North High had been nominated for four categories: Best Solo Song (for "If I Can't Love Her"), Best Leading Lady (Lily), Best Costumes, and Best Overall Performance. Kourtney had seen their show herself and knew that they would beat them in the Best Overall Performance category without even trying. But, if they didn't have a good group performance and solo performance, both being with the performer(s) of their choice, they didn't have a chance at either of their other two awards. They just wanted to prove to North High that East High was just as good as they were.

"We're here! I know you are all probably very tired after this ten-hour drive, but I wanted to show you all where we will be performing this weekend. Soak in all the history and magic." The awards show was at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Disney also funded the huge scholarship, along with providing transportation for the high schools which had been nominated for awards. The bus groaned as the kids all piled towards the side closest to the studios, hoping for a peek of the campus.

"Oh my." Kourtney breathed. Everyone was in complete awe of the campus that sat just on the other side of the metal gate.

"It's amazing." There were still a few lights on in the building because of a few employees who preferred working late. Because of people's schedules and preferences, there were people at the studios working around the clock.

"I can't believe we're here," Ricky breathed, his awe quickly turning into panic as he realized what that place meant. He would be performing a solo for thousands of people to hear. It felt so different from what he was used to, which was playing a part for a crowd of a couple hundred people. It wasn't just any solo, though. He was singing his own song, "Let You Go," for the whole world to hear. Ricky hadn't even played it for Nini yet. It had been modified to reflect more closely the journey of the Beast when he let Belle go to save her father (since the only way they could use an original song was if it was inspired by the musical), but the heart of it hadn't changed at all.

"Kids, we need to get to the hotel and check in." That was their cue to sit back down in the seats they had been in since nine AM Salt Lake City time. The bus driver took them to their hotel, where another bus was waiting for the last of its passengers to get off. It wasn't much of a coincidence that it was none other than their biggest rivals, North High. Most of the schools going to the Menkies were in a cluster of hotels that were no more than a ten-minute walk from the studios, thanks to none other than Disney. They all, gratefully, had breakfast included in the price of the rooms.

"Guys, there's a pool." Nini smiled at her friends, walking off the bus with her backpack in hand. She wasn't performing at all during the awards show, but she wanted to support her friends. (Kourtney also begged her to go.)

"We totally need to take a swim at some point this weekend," Ashlyn said, and a chorus of agreements chimed from the rest of their group.

"I'm going to head inside and get us checked in. You all need to get your luggage from underneath the bus and find who you're rooming with." Miss Jenn walked inside as the bus driver opened up the side panels to reveal all their luggage. Instead of making it organized and easy, they all went for the luggage, pulling it out of the underside of the bus like ravenous wolves and making it impossible for anyone to know what was going on.