Heather {RICKY BOWEN}

{five}

"the wonderstudies"

It was a quiet day for Mia, she spent the majority of it in the auditorium sorting through the supplies they had gotten in. The rest of the theater department had been working through a new dance number Gina had brought up, so Mia vowed to avoid the room at all costs. It made her upset to look at the talented group of individuals and know she could never be like them. 

She was emptying a box of paints when she got a text from Ashlyn. 

EJ never returned Nini's phone last night. 

Mia rolled her eyes, thinking of how different EJ seems now that she actually was getting to know him. 

It was quiet for another moment, but then the door burst open, Ricky almost falling through it.

"Woah, dont hurt yourself there." Mia laughs at Ricky's flushed face. 

"Oh, hi Mia." Ricky moves toward the girl surrounded by boxes. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorting through the supplies. I have to mark what goes with which set-piece before we can start building." 

Ricky moves a box, sitting next to Mia. "Sounds difficult." 

Mia laughs, pulling a marker from behind her ear to mark the top of a paint can. "Not really. It's just time-consuming." 

Ricky looked around at everything the girl had already done, "How long have you been here?" 

"I came with Ashlyn, so since rehearsal started." 

"Oh, so you were with Ashlyn last night? Is that why you didn't answer my call?" 

Mia stopped writing, looking at Ricky with a confused look on her face. "Ricky, you never called me last night." 

"I did! I left a message when you didn't answer. Are you telling me you never got that?" Ricky pulls out his phone, glancing at the number he had called last night. 

"Who did you call instead of me?"

"I think I wrote down the number Ashlyn gave me wrong. I called Nini." Ricky's eyes widen dramatically, but Mia doesn't understand why. 

"What did you have to say?" Mia was confused as to why Ricky was so tense. 

"It doesn't matter now. I have to go." 

Mia watched as the boy stood, leaving the auditorium at a sprint- almost exactly as he had entered. 

It wasn't until later when Mia was sitting alone in her room, that she realized she was worried about what Ricky had said. What was bad enough that he had to run out of the room when she asked what it was? 

She walked to the kitchen, still lost in thought. She made a bowl of ice cream before sitting at the counter. 

"Honey? It's one in the morning. What are you doing up?" 

Mia jumps as her mom walked into the kitchen. not expecting the older woman to be awake. 

"Sorry. I just cant sleep." 

Her mom sighs, grabbing the spoon from Mia's hand and stealing a bite of her ice cream. "What's on your mind?"

"I dont know. It's actually not that big of a deal, it's just stuck in my mind." 

"Well, maybe I can help." 

Mia sighs, taking a bite before answering. "What do you do when a friend won't tell you something?" 

"Well, it depends on what it is." 

"My friend, who I'm not really sure if we're that close, called the wrong number and left me a message and now he won't tell me what he was trying to say to me." Mia takes another bite, whining when her mother takes the spoon from her hand. 

"Well, I think that it might have been embarrassing to say, which is why he tried to call you and not tell you in person." She sighs, "Who is this boy anyway?"

"His name is Ricky. He's in the musical." Mia slumps her head against her hand. "Why would he have to tell me something embarrassing? We've hardly talked." 

"Does this boy have anything to do with the fact you smell like cologne and are wearing a sweater that's three sizes too big for you?" 

Mia blushes, her hand fidgeting with the hem of the sweater. "Maybe." 

"And would you be embarrassed to tell him you are wearing his shirt right now?"

"Um, yea?" 

"Then I think I know the answer to that." 

"What? Mom- please stop being cryptic and just tell me." 

"I  think this is something you have to figure out on your own. The answer might not be what you are expecting, but it'll come in time." She grabs the now-empty bowl from Mia, setting it in the sink. "Now get to bed, you have school tomorrow." 

When Mia finds her way to rehearsal a few days later, she's still confused by her mother's words. The late-night chat did nothing to help how Mia thought, and especially did nothing to help the girl with the situation with Ricky. 

It was only a small rehearsal that day, the scene only involving a few cast members, so Mia planned for the Art club to help move their other supplies into the theater so they could start building the actual sets. 

She was walking back to the theater room to get the last model when she ran into EJ, who was holding his bloody nose. 

"Woah! Why are you bleeding?" 

"Ask your boyfriend." EJ was glaring at her, the look unfamiliar to Mia. 

She blinks in surprise as EJ pushes past her and heads into the boy's bathroom. She turn to enter the room when she bumps into Ricky's chest.  

"Oh, sorry Mia." Ricky catches Mia before she stumbles, his hand on her arm. 

"Do you know what happened to EJ?" 

"I-uh, might have thrown a basketball at his face?" Ricky looks at the ground, taking his hand off of Mia's arm. 

"Well, he went into the bathroom. You need to apologize." 

"Yeah, I know." 

Mia watches him take long strides into the bathroom, his shoulders slumped. She continues her journey to the theater room, catching sight of Ms. Jenn, Carlos, and Mr. Mazzara as she gets closer. 

"You ought to spend a little less time worrying about your drama teacher and a little more time trying to make some friends under 35."

Mia shudders as she listens to Mr. Mazzara talk to Carlos. 

"Sir, with all due respect, I don't think you should speak to students that way, but for your information, Carlos has plenty of friends." She links arms with Carlos and pulls him inside. 

"Thank you, Mia." Carlos hugs the blonde tightly, "But where the heck did that fierce girl out there come from?" 

Mia blushes. "I'm not sure. I just think it's important to stand up for your friends. I know we haven't talked much since that first day, but we are friends. I really want to spend time with you, Carlos." 

Carlos gives the girl another hug, a smile breaking out on his face. "Well, of course! I really need your number so we can talk more." 

The pair exchange numbers before splitting off, Mia picking up the Model from the back of the room and Carlos turning to the group at the Piano. 

Mia watches as the group begins the song, their combined voices sounding heavenly to the girls' ears, and once again, she's reminded of how un-talented she is compared to everyone else in the room.