Was it real? [Ricky Bowen]

- 3 -

"Good morning love" Rosella greats her new fake boyfriend the next morning as he gets into her car. "Hey, baby" he greets her back a bit nervous. Rosella starts the car to drive to school, turning the radio back on. "Do we have to pick up Big Red? You two normally go to school together, right?", she asks him, concentrating on the road, drumming the rhythms to the song on the steering wheel. "I texted him that he doesn't have to wait." The rest of the drive is spent singing along to the songs played.

Rosella parks at a parking spot reserved for her right in front of the entrance, it's good to have a popular cousin sometimes. The new couple steps out of the car with big smiles gracing their lips. Ricky takes her hand in his and together they walk into the building, earning a lot of attention from onlookers. Multiple people great the girl while walking past. "You know a lot of people already" he comments as yet another senior wishes her a good morning. "Not really" she shrugs it off as they stop at her locker so she can put her back away while they're getting measured for their costumes, before the read-through starts.

"Hey is that the perfume you wore when we first met? What is it called again? Throb?" Rosella asks the boy standing next to her, smelling it due to him putting it all over himself. She already smelt it in the car but was too into the songs to mention it before. "Yeah" he confirms nodding. "It smells great, I like it" she tells him, pulling him in front of her by his hands, her back leaning against the now closed lockers. "Even though you may put on a bit too much" she laughs lightly, shaking her head. "You think? I put it on so Nini can smell it when we enter the room. She really loves it." "She will smell it, don't worry" Rosella laughs again, thinking how cute he is for doing this just so Nini can smell him.

"And now kiss me" she says in a whisper, laying her hands on top of his chest, leaving him with big eyes and mouth slightly agape. "On my cheek, you dork. Nini is standing at the other end of the lockers and is looking over" she explains, rolling her eyes. "Oh, okay." With a slight blush on his face he leans a bit down, due to her being a bit shorter than him — him standing at around 180cm — and kisses her cheek, lingering there for a moment before retreating, staring at the girl in front of him.

Before one of them can say anything non other than Big Red stands next to them. "Okay, what did I miss?", he asks confused. Just yesterday his best friend was still hung up on his ex and now he's kissing their new friend? Ricky decided to not tell him about his new plan to get Nini back. Not because he doesn't trust his best friend but because he knows how silly it is. He still can't believe Rosella is okay with it. She could find a real boyfriend, being the most popular girl in school already, but she chose to fake date him just so he can get back with his ex-girlfriend. Rosella is a better friend than he already thought of her.

"Ricky asks me out yesterday at the diner" Rosella answers simply, grinning up towards the two boys. "What? But I thought..." he is really confused now but let it be, seeing how happy his best friend seems at the moment.

"Okay, let's go to the theater, we already missed the measuring" Ricky says, trying to change the topic. And that's what they do, they walk towards the bombshell where all the other cast members already are standing in front. "There's Gina" Rosella exclaims as she sees the girl standing a bit off, looking kind of gloomy. Rosella kisses Ricky on the cheek before walking towards the girl.

"Gina, hey" she greets the girl with a big smile, which the other returns a bit forced. "You know, just between us two" Rosella begins as she sees at whom the girl is staring, "I think you would be a better Gabriella." "Thanks, Rosella. I've never been an understudy before. I wouldn't have a problem if I was your understudy as Gabriella, you have so much talent but her? Ms. Jenn didn't even see Gabriella in her but she still got the role" Gina grumbly says, crossing her arms in front of her.

"There's still a long time until the performance, a lot can happen, girl" Rosella nudges her new found friend. The two instantly clicked the other day due to their love for performing and being the new kids. "Yeah but why didn't you want to have the role anyway? I mean, now she is playing with Ricky and don't think I didn't see that kiss before you came over" Gina grins at her, wiggling her eyebrows at the laughing girl. "It's okay, I just didn't want to have a leading role this time but Ricky really deserves the role as Troy." "You really like him, don't you." "Of course, he's the first friend I made here" she tells her.

"Okay, what's going on? Yesterday you were still all over Nini and now you're having a girlfriend? And not anyone but Rosella?" Big Red whisper-shouts as soon as the said girl walks off. "Nini moved on, so why shouldn't I? And Ella is a really great girl, we spent a lot of time together during the last few weeks and I just realized that it won't work out between Nini and I anymore and I really like Ella, so why shouldn't I try it?", he says half lying, half telling the truth.

"Could everyone take their assigned seats please?" Ms Jenn calls out getting the cast to sit down at their assigned seats. Even Big Red gets a role due to the stage director being sick. He sits down in between Ms. Jenn and Rosella who giggles at his unpleased expression. "You probably just have to read the acts out" she tells him, seeing that he doesn't know what a stage director does.

"I realize that you all walked in her as strangers" Ms. Jenn begins but Ashlyn interrupts her, "actually, E.J.'s my cousin!" "But after today you're a family. One tribe, committed to lifting this classic film to new heights" Ms. Jenn continues, dismissing Ashlyn just to get interrupted again, this time from Carlos who decides to take a picture of him holding his sign saying, "choreographer", earning an almost silent giggle from Rosella who hides it behind her hand.

"Please take your neighbors' hands" the theater teacher exclaims, causing a lot of awkwardness, mainly between Nini, E.J. and Ricky who sits in-between the couple and Nini and Gina. Rosella takes the hands of Big Red and E.J. in hers, before Ms. Jenn continues on. "Feel each others energy. Let the silence speak volumes. In a world full of no, this is a space full of yes." "Nice, did you just come up with that?" Carlos asks the teacher in a whisper. "I did."

"We're all in this together. Once we know that we are. We're all stars" she starts singing. Trying to hide her laughers, Rosella lets E.J.'s and Big Red's hands go, bringing them towards her face, trying her best not to laugh, looking at Gina who has to hide her laughers too. Nudging her side the red head shakes his head, telling her silently to stop, having a hard time to hold his laughers in as well.

As Ms. Jenn is finally done singing, Rosella lets out a shaky breath she hold in the whole time, while Ashlyn starts clapping but stops shortly after, realizing no-one else is clapping. "Did I just join a cult?" Big Red whispers towards the girl next to him, obviously spooked out, earning a laugher from the girl to which her fake boyfriend smiles her way.

Shortly after the read-through finally begins, with Big Red reading the script out loud and not doing a really good job at it. "Sharpay heads for class, hears singing, opens the door to the biology lab. She finds Gabriella and Taylor washing their hands" he reads really monoton, without any feelings in it. "They turn to find there are no paper towels in the dispenser. They..." Ms. Jenn interrupts him, trying to, hopefully, help the awful reading stile. "Stop. Don't run it all together. Read the punctuation" she tells him.

"Sharpay comma heads for class period" he starts again, doing just what the teacher asked him about. Rosella looks at Ricky with big eyes, asking him silently what's going on. He looks just as shocked as her, silently shaking his head, not really knowing what to think.
"And they are hearing the songs in their heads period." "And that's Act One. Let's take a break" Ms. Jenn exclaims as soon as the boy is done reading.

"That was hands down, the worst experience of my life. I would take the SATs every week if I never have to do that again" is the first thing Big Red says as Ricky stands behind his new girlfriend so the three can make their way a little bit away from the others. "It wasn't that bad" Rosella tries to lighten up the mood but the two boys just look at her as if she has grown a second head. "It was bad, Ella, really bad, no offense!", Ricky tells them, taking the girls hand in his. "Non taken, dude."