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PHOEBE WOKE UP early to get ready to go to East High. She had originally worn a red dress with small white polka-dots and her Doc Martens, but she was forced to change into an oversized red crewneck that said East and a black denim skirt when she got there.
She paced around on the stage set up on the school's football field, texting Dylan, her producer.
"Miss Miller," a voice called out, one she'd heard for four years straight when she was a student. Phoebe looked up from her phone and saw Principal Gutierrez walking towards her. She'd never really had a one-on-one conversation with him, so she locked her phone and gave him a small smile paired with a wave. "Glad to see you back."
"Thank you," she glanced toward the school. "It feels weird to be back while not being a student."
Just then, East High's bell rang, meaning that the bleachers would be flooded in a few minutes. "Ah, I believe that is your cue."
"Get into places!" someone shouted.
About a month ago, Phoebe's manager, Ava, had told her that a movie was filming at East High and the director wanted her to be in it. After finding out that the movie was High School Musical 4, she'd accepted.
California was a lot. Her label had said that with the attention on her from Traitor and the documentary, she needed to do something to stay relevant. They'd viewed that as an album.
She thought that with her joining the cast of HSM4, they'd let her breathe. However, just this morning she'd received 14 texts from Justin and five calls, four of which she'd ignored.
Phoebe quickly moved from the stage to hide behind balloons with Mack Alana, who was playing the male main lead in the movie. He had been in a sitcom called Mark and Spark that went on for seven seasons before it was canceled. Phoebe had never seen it, but Clara was apparently a huge fan.
Dani, who was playing the female main lead, hid on the other side behind the balloons. Dani was a new influencer, Mack's girlfriend, and, from what Phoebe could tell from the few minutes they'd spent together, a huge diva.
Bart Johnson, Coach Bolton from the High School Musical movies, gave the three of them another quick rundown of the plan as Principal Gutierrez got back on stage once students were done coming out.
