High School Musical || Huke Stemmings

Auditions & Close As Strangers

The next morning, Harry sat at a station in the chemistry lab, across the table from Ariana and his sister Becca and next to Perrie. The students were wearing neat white coats and busily setting up equipment as the chemistry teacher wrote equations on the chalkboard.

Perrie gave Harry a fake smile. Ever so casually she said. "So, it seemed like you knew Luke Hemmings."

Harry glanced up briefly, but he was distracted by the teacher, who was solving the equations on the board. "Not really . . . I just asked him for directions." He said, even as he started checking the teacher's work on his scratch pad.

Perrie raised the wattage of her smile just a bit. "Luke really usually doesn't . . . interact . . . with née students."

"Why not?" Harry asked, not really listening. He looked at his equation. Hmm. His calculations was quire different from the teacher's. Should I say something? Maybe not. People didn't like it when you pointed out their mistakes.

"It's pretty much basketball 24/7 with him," Perrie said with a little laugh.

Now Harry wasn't listening to Perrie at all. He rechecked his own calculations and murmured. "Pi to the eleventh power."

He thought he had said it quietly, but apparently not quietly enough.

The chemistry teacher turned around. "Yes, Mr. Styles?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Harry said, flustered. "I was just—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the teacher was standing by her chair, looking down at her notebook. "Shouldn't the equation be Pi to the eleventh power?" He asked.

"Pi to the eleventh power?" The teacher said in surprise. "That's quite impossible." Then she whipped out a calculator and started punching in numbers. Across the table, Ariana had to calculate out as well, and was matching the teacher, keystroke for keystroke.

There was a brief, stunned pause. Then, the teacher said. "I stand corrected." She turned back to the blackboard to revise her work. Then she looked over her shoulder, smiled warmly at Harry, and added. "And welcome aboard."

Harry blushed as Ariana stared at him, impressed.

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Luke was standing through the lobby on the way to his next class, when he caught sight of the musical audition sign-up sheet. His steps slowed.

It was crazy, he knew it was crazy, but he couldn't seem to stop thinking about the musical. He stood still, almost hypnotized by the piece of paper. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Perrie's brother. Niall who was hanging out nearby with the Drama Club kids.

Niall's eyes widened suspiciously. When Luke finally moved on, Niall ran up to the sheet, just to make sure. . .

At that moment, Perrie arrived. Niall rushed up to her, breathless. "Luke Hemmings was looking at our audition list?" He reported.

Perrie stiffened, all senses suddenly alert. "Again? He was hanging around with that new boy, and they were both looking at the list." She paused a moment to think. "There's something freaky about him," Perrie decried. "Where did he say he was from?"

Moments later, Perrie and Niall were in the school library, doing an Internet search on Harry. A number of newspaper articles immediately popped up on the screen.

"Whiz Kid Leads School to Scholastic Champion," read one article.

"Sun High Marvel Aces Statewide Chemistry Competition," another headline said.