Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Okay, everyone, gather around," Miss Jenn smiled at the theater kids as they began rehearsal. "We have got a two-hour window before the storm is expected to hit, and I intend to use every minute of it. Big splashy group numbers always succeed at the Menkie Awards. So we need to workshop a punchy, breathtaking number that will put us in the number one spot."
"As our head choreographer," Carlos stepped up next to Miss Jenn, "I am so happy to announce that today we will, at last, begin rehearsing one of the most showstopping, iconic, and bar-raising numbers of the entire show."
"Be Our Guest," Gina finished as she walked up to Carlos's side. "Yeah, it's Be Our Guest, guys." She looked at Carlos who seemed stunned to silence. "What?"
"Before we begin," Miss Jenn changed the subject, feeling the awkward tension between the two, "I'm going to tell you a little story about hospitality."
Carlos tried to talk to her quietly, but she ended up ignoring him and continuing her speech.
"Once when I was a little girl," she began, "my mom and I heard a clatter come from the kitchen. We thought it was a burglar. So my mom ran over, hog-tied the man, and promptly called the police. As we waited for the cops to come, I watched my mother place a bowl of iced tea next to his face. 'Because,' she said, 'until the police come and get him, he's still our guest.'"
"Are you sure you're not from the more southern regions of the US?" Gracie asked, gaining a scolding from her teacher. However Ricky, who sat behind her, laughed at her joke, making her face turn a light shade of pink.
"So, did he, like, get arrested or..." Kourtney trailed off, wanting to know the end of the story.
"No. Turns out, it wasn't a burglar at all," Miss Jenn explained quickly, "just a repairman who entered the wrong unit. But the point remains the same. Just like our intruder, we need to make Belle and our entire audience feel welcome. And with that, Carlos and Gina, take it away."
As Carlos and Gina readied themselves, Ashlyn clapped for Miss Jenn, making the woman smile gratefully.
"Thank you, Miss Jenn, that wasn't terrifying at all," Gina joked, turning to the group of students waiting to figure out the dance number. "Okay, so, my vision to make this dance really soar is to stage...wait for it, a Cancan-style dance that features a feather-dusting spectacle. I don't know, it'll probably go a little something like..."
Gina then showed off her choreography doing a kick line that got the other students excited to do. As she struck her ending pose the students clapped for her as Carlos gritted his teeth.
"Interesting," he commented, not looking to pleased with the idea. "I had a different path that's a little more elevated and less basic. Think. A noir-inspired performance that Lumiere guides our audience through the entire time."
"M'kay," Gina gave a force chuckle. "But I actually spent a month in France once, so I kinda know this dance inside out."
"And I choreographed all three of my sister's quinceanera dances," Carlos snapped, "despite not getting one for myself, so I think I know how to twirl with a salad fork, okay?"
