Second Chances | Rini story

Misunderstandings | Chapter VIII

Narrator's POV

Nini took Ricky to the auditorium to "force" him to meet Josh. She knew that it was worth it and that they would get along. Josh was playing the piano and continuing a song he was composing when Ricky and Nini arrived. She formally introduced them and Josh was kind and positive and ignored all the previous drama scenes he had seen part of. He put out his hand for a handshake and Ricky being polite didn't decline it but didn't do it with joy. Josh ignored the elephant in the room and broke the silence:

-So Nins wanna hear what I'm working on?- he called her Nins ever since they were little and that made Ricky more jealous.

When Josh started singing, Ricky started letting go of the jealousy and admiring Josh. Nini started singing with Josh since she had composed part of the song a long time ago via facetime, and Josh had completed it alone. They were the typical friends from childhood and had a very special bond, which wasn't of a romantic relationship, it took Ricky for them to finish the song and celebrate together to realize that, but at least he didn't leave thinking otherwise. Josh played the last note and hugged Nini so hard and with a huge smile. It was the first time he had ever played to someone. As soon as their moment finished, Ricky apologized.

- Nini, I'm sorry, I should've trusted you, I don't even know why I got so jealous, I know that you wouldn't hurt me and it was a really stupid mistake please forgive me.- he felt really bad, he knew he was wrong and was able to admit his mistake.

-Ricky, it's okay, of course, I forgive you, you got to an off start, maybe you can start over.

-I would be pleased. - Josh said.

They started over and got to a great fresh start. They spent the whole afternoon together in the auditorium singing and dancing and composing. Nini and Ricky showed Josh the song they had been working on. They made some on the spot arrangements and Josh helped them a lot. Besides, he had already written songs that got published and were well known in New York, which was huge. At about 5:30 pm, they all went home, Josh went to Nini's. By 6:30 they had both showered and were talking to Nini's mother about Josh's plans and his job, which started not the next but the following day. They had dinner at 6:45, Carol had cooked steak with sweet potatoes which were Josh's ultimate favorite meal, he was staying overnight but just for that day, then he would live in an apartment nearby, so they could hang out and he could go back home to sleep. When supper finished they went up to Nini's room and talked for a while, Josh was like the older brother she never had and always wanted. They had deep, sentimental talks until 9 pm, by that time they went to sleep, the following day they had a busy timetable.

The following day they woke up at 8 am, Nini showered again while Josh tidied up the room. After that they went to have breakfast, they had scrambled eggs with French toasts and orange juice. By 8:45 am they left to take care of some errands. They went first to a Starbucks to buy a coffee, then they grabbed a cab and went to the school to fill out some paperwork and talk with Miss Jen. She was surprised that Nini was her cousin, the first thing she did when they arrive was tell them of all the forms that Josh had to fill out, in the meantime, she asked Nini to organize some things in the auditorium for rehearsal on Monday. She had to move some heavy boxes off the stage and balance the theatrical rigging system since it had never been checked out since the hsm performance. By 10 am Josh was done with the paperwork and went to help Nini. Nini had to teach Josh how to manage the lights, although he knew about tech crew things each theatre/auditorium is different so he needed a crash course. He got a hang of it pretty quickly. At 11:10 am they finished organizing everything and took a break and would continue after lunch, Jen had gone by and seen the progress an hour ago so in two hours she would come by again, so they had to be back working.

In the break, Nini called Ricky while Josh called bought already made pasta in a seven eleven. She asked Ricky is he wanted to come by and he accepted the offer, they had to start cleaning, and meanwhile, they could have fun. Nini and Josh had a little picnic on the "secret" Gabriella and Troy garden. It was just as beautiful as in the movie. They were clearly huge fans and knew the dance of "Can I Have This Dance" so they clearly did it. By 12 pm they finished having lunch and went back to work. They listened to Josh's broadway playlist. They had to sweep the floors, vacuum it and clean it with the mop, on top of that they had to let all of the furniture with shine and no dust, on the stage they had to remark the positions with tape so that they were clearer. They swept for about half an hour until Miss Jen went by to check the progress and stayed to help them, she grabbed the mop and started cleaning the stage. They kept on cleaning and it wasn't until 2 pm that Ricky arrived with a black eye and his fists bleeding.