It's five years after High School Musical was put on at East High. Nini decided to go to the music conservatory. Now, she's making it big in the acting industry. What will happen when Ricky, now singer/songwriter, and Nini reconnect?
I don't really remember much from last night. I have a vague memory of crying in Ricky's arms. The next thing I know, it's eight a.m. and I'm in the guest bedroom.
My eyes are swollen and puffy from crying so much last night. I touch them gingerly as I prop myself up. My phone was sitting on the nightstand, charging.
I grab it and scroll through Instagram for a little bit. I had gained a few followers, one of them being Zach. Why the hell would he follow me? I think. He literally treated me like sh*t.
I take a deep breath and try to let it go. I go off of Instagram and choose to find cute pins on Pinterest instead. After a few minutes, there's a knock at the door. "Come in." I say. Ricky opens the door and peeks his head around the doorframe. "Hey, good morning. I made breakfast." He says. I smile. "Thanks, what'd you make?" I ask. "I made waffles, eggs, bacon, and there's some fruit." He responds. "Dang." I say, getting up from the bed. I fixed the sheets and the duvet and set the pillows in place.
I walked into the kitchen, and Ricky handed me a plate. We both fix ourselves our plate and sit down. "You did a really good job decorating." I say, looking around the apartment. "Thank you." Ricky replies, stabbing a strawberry with his fork. I nod. "Oh, and guess what?" I ask, remembering what had just happened this morning.
"What?" He replies. "Zach followed me on Instagram." I say. Ricky's eyebrows raise in disbelief. "That ...." He starts, but doesn't finish. "Are you gonna block him?" He asks finally.
"I don't know. I don't want him to know that it still bugs me. I want to finally feel free from him." I respond. He tilts his head and I can tell his thinking. "Yeah, I understand that. Just do what feels right to you. Don't worry about what that bastard thinks." He says.
"You're right." I reply. We finish eating. "Thank you for breakfast. It was delicious." I say. "I should probably get going back to my apartment. I think my air mattress should be here today."
"You're sure? I don't mind you staying here for a little bit until your furniture gets here." Ricky replies. While that's a really sweet offer, I think I need to be alone to process everything. And Ricky has been so supportive, and I don't need him worrying about me and taking care of me. "It's okay." I say. "Could you drive me, though?" I ask after a pause. He nods right away.
I get my stuff together as Ricky grabs his keys. The drive is short with little traffic, which is surprising. He parks in front of my little townhouse. "Thank you." I say, my eyes lingering on his. "Of course, Nini. I'm here for you." Ricky replies. I don't know how to respond to his overwhelming kindness, so I just smile. I get out of the car and wave as he drives off. I grab my key from my purse and grab the packages from my doorstep as I walk inside. My air mattress was delivered along with some other essentials.
A few days pass and I barely do anything. I just don't have much motivation. But I have to start to get into a routine, because I have a meeting with Rebecca tomorrow morning. I get up off of my air mattress. My furniture is supposed to be here in a few days, so that's exciting.
I did go shopping for groceries yesterday, though, so that's something. I make a quick brunch and turn on some TV. As I'm eating, I decide to go on Instagram. I realize that I have a few unanswered DMs, so I go open them. Are you kidding me? I think as I see the most recent one. Why the hell are you dming me, Zach?
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I'm not about to respond. I don't feel the least bit guilty for leaving him on seen. He deserves it. He probably just realized that I'm actually successful now and that I proved him wrong.
I screenshot the message and send it to Ricky and then shut off my phone. Then, there was a knock on the door. I guess a package has been delivered.
That's weird. I think. I wasn't expecting anything today.
I get up, set my plate in the sink, and then go to check if there's a package. I open the door and there's not a delivery truck in sight. I look down, and it's a large brown package with a card on top. I take it inside.
Damn, this is heavy. I think.
I open the card first.
"Dear Nini,
I'm sorry that you have had to go through so much lately. I hope this can maybe take your mind off of it, even if only for a little bit. I'm always here if you need me.
- Ricky"
I read in my head. I can't believe him. What did he get me? I get a kitchen knife and open the package. I can't believe my eyes when I see the box. It was a Roland keyboard. I immediately open the cardboard box and pull it out.
"He didn't!" I say aloud in shock. Why is he actually the sweetest person ever? He must've remembered how much music relieves my anxiety.
I immediately set it up in my room and start playing around with it. I can't wait to get back into writing songs.
And it works. While I'm playing, all of my thoughts wrapped around the notes. Not around Zach or his stupid dm. Not around Carter. Not even around the looming auditions that I'm nervous for.
