#gold rush

"Good. Mom and Dad want us downstairs for breakfast in thirty minutes. I suggest a shower, quick blow-dry, and a little bit of makeup." Gracie pulled open the closet doors, squinting her eyes at Rosie's clothes. "I'll have your outfit waiting for you when you get back. I can't have my sister look anything less than amazing on our first day back."

Rosie laughed, "Are you picking out Seb's too?"

"Already did." Gracie smiled.

Rosie pulled herself out of bed and dragged herself into the bathroom. There was a tube of toothpaste, half empty, on the counter; the rest was splattered all over the sink in a blue, gooey mess. Rosie rolled her eyes, Sawyer. She cursed her younger brother in her head. She loved him more than anything, but gosh, was that boy a mess.

A fist pounded on the other side of the door. "Is anyone in there?"

"Me, Sammy," Rosie yelled back.

"Are you nearly done? Mom's trying to give Summer a bath before her first day of Kindergarten, and it is not going well."

Rosie opened the door, "How long will you be? I still need to shower."

"Five minutes tops."

She let out a dramatic sigh. "Fine. But only five minutes, I mean it."

Sammy held out his pinky finger, "Promise."

Rosie looped her finger around his and stepped aside. The draft from the door blew a few strands of her curly blonde hair into her face. She blew them back, only for them to fall back into the same place. The door across the hall from her opened, and Seb walked out dressed in dark blue jeans paired with a blue and pink checkered shirt and a red sleeveless jacket on top for 'added style'. At least, that's what Gracie would call it.

Rosie smiled at him lazily. "Morning, Sebby."

"Good morning, Rosie." Seb adjusted his tortoiseshell glasses. "Are you excited for school?"

"So excited," Rosie replied genuinely. "Gracie heard from Tonya, who heard from someone else who over-heard one of the faculty members talking about a new drama teacher starting at East High."

"Ooh! Do they know what musical we're doing?"

"No." Rosie frowned, "But I think it's gonna be good.

Seb gasped, "Maybe they'll even be a brother-sister duo for us to play."

Rosie laughed. "That's the dream. Ryan and Sharpay vibes, just the other way around."

Seb laughed as the bathroom door re-opened.

"Less than five," Sammy held up his hand.

"Did you wash that?" Rosie asked.

Sammy looked at his hand and quirked an eyebrow. "You want me to be fast, or you want to be clean?"

"Ew." Seb and Rosie said together.

Sammy rolled his eyes. "Whatever, go shower. I'm driving you today, and I am not dealing with Gracie's stress all the way there alone."

"See you at breakfast," Rosie called to her brothers before shutting the door behind her once again.

A quick shower, blow dry, and brush later, Rosie's hair was finally presentable for the first day of school. As much as she was excited about the musical, she was also excited to see Ricky and Big Red again. They hadn't spent much time together during the summer;Rosie's mom had injured her back, and all the kids had to pitch in extra to help around the farm. The only times she saw the boys were when they met up at Slices or the skate park. Ricky was still trying (and failing) to teach Rosie how to skateboard. Rosie wasn't particularly interested in learning how to ride, but it helped take Ricky's mind off his 'pause' with Nini.

Rosie slipped on the outfit Gracie had laid out on her bed. It was simple and low-key: just a colourful graphic tee and jeans with lace cuffs and embroidered pockets that Gracie had stitched to get some practice over the summer. It was the exact opposite of her sister's coquette-farmgirl fusion aesthetic, but it was what she liked.

Gracie walked into their shared room, "Mom's dishing out breakfast. She made first-day waffles!"

"With choc chips and fresh fruit?" Rosie asked.

"You know it."

Rosie scooped up her backpack and linked her arm through Gracie's. They made their way down the stairs of the farmhouse. It was rustic and a little small for a thirteen-person family (though Serena and Cindy Lou were both off at college), but it was home. Rosie quickly took a seat at the table. As always, she was sandwiched between Lacey and Seb.

"Katy Perry is obviously better," Sawyer said with a mouth full of whipped cream.

"Sawyer, don't talk with your mouth full!" Their mom yelled from across the kitchen as she flipped another pancake onto the large serving plate.

"No, Taylor Swift is," Elise argued.

Sawyer looked across the table, "Rosie, who do you think is better, Taylor Swift or Katy Perry?"

Rosie thought for a moment, "I think they are both great artists and should not be compared."

"Agreed." Gracie chimed in. "Women are pitted against each other way too often in the industry. Plus, didn't they have their big makeup this year?"

"Burger and fries. Iconic duo," Seb added.

"I still think Katy Perry's music is better," Sawyer shrugged.

"Then that is your opinion. Elise can have her own." Rosie countered.

"Thank you!" Lacey exclaimed. "I have been trying to tell them that for the past thirty minutes."

"Alright, kids. Breakfast is served." Their mom placed the platter of chocolate chip pancakes in the middle of the table. "One at a time, I do not want to deal with cleaning up another food fight today."

Sammy leaned across the table and grabbed a few pancakes before turning to Summer. "How many pancakes do you want, Sum?"

"Ten!" Her little voice carried across the table.

"How about three?" Sammy said.

An adorable pout pulled on her lips. "Fine."

Rosie laughed before pulling out her phone to check her text messages.

RICKY: First day of junior year!

BIG RED: Ricky's excited for school? Is the world ending???

RICKY: School means I get to see Nini again.

ROSIE: You haven't seen her since she got back from theatre camp?

RICKY: Nope. But we'll be back to normal spoon. *soon

BIG RED: I don't know Ricky...

RICKY: What now?

ROSIE: Maybe you should text her? Make sure she even wants to see you after your talk.

RICKY: It wasn't like we broke up. Wr just took a break. Pause. Whatever. Everything will be chill you'll see.

BIG RED: So where are we meeting?

RICKY: By the entrance?

ROSIE: We could meet at my locker? Gracie needs help organising hers before first period.

RICKY: Cool

BIG RED: See you then!

"Rosie." Seb nudged her with his elbow.

She glanced up from the screen. "Hmm?"

He nodded towards the dwindling stack of pancakes, "Your turn."

She set her phone on the table, "Sorry, I was just texting Ricky and Big Red that I'll meet them by my locker."

"Is Ricky your boyfriend?" Sawyer teased his older sister.

"No. He's just a friend. You've met him." Rosie reminded him. "Remember that time I took you to Slices after your soccer game?"

"Oh, yeah." Sawyer took the tongs from Seb, "He was cool. I like him."

"Who was cool?" Their dad walked through the back door, knocking the mud from his shoes before stepping through into the dining room.

"Just a boy Rosie knows." Lacey laughed, enjoying the look of annoyance on Rosie's face.

"A boy?" Peter questioned.

Rosie rolled her eyes at her father's over-protectiveness. "Ricky, Dad."

"Oh, yeah, I like him. Good head on his shoulders." Peter sat down at the head of the table opposite his wife. "Honey, could you pass me the syrup?"

"Anyways, it's not Rosie you have to worry about getting a boyfriend," Sammy said.

"Yeah, Gracie, tell us more about your crush on E.J. Caswell," Elise sing-songed.

"I-I don't have that big of a crush on him." The blush spreading across her cheeks said otherwise.

"Kids, that's enough," Alice said, her tone firm.

"Sorry," Elise mumbled.

Breakfast went by in a blur of pancakes and whipped cream. Rosie took one last sip of her orange juice as Gracie yelled at her to hurry up.

"Rosie, come on! And don't forget your backpack."

"Alright, calm down." Rosie ran to the front door and bent over to slip on her red Converse. "Give me two seconds."

"Sorry, I have cheer try-outs right after the pep rally, and I'm a little anxious." Gracie clicked her fingers rhythmically.

"Why?" Rosie asked, "You've been on the squad since freshman year. You've got this."

"It's not just that," Grace admitted.

Rosie furrowed her brow. "What is then?"

Sammy beeped the car horn outside before Gracie got the chance to answer, "I'll tell you at school," she said before hurrying outside.

"That was a little weird." Seb appeared beside Rosie.

"Yes, it was." She agreed.

They shared a look of concern before running off towards their brother's truck, who was still loudly blaring the horn.

"Sam, knock it off. You'll scare the livestock!" Their mom yelled from her car.

The horn stopped abruptly after that.

THE BEAT-UP RED TRUCK PULLED INTO THE PARKING LOT OF EAST HIGH SCHOOL.

"Alright, before you guys head on in, Dad asked me to give you the first-day speech," Sammy announced.

The others groaned.

"Seriously?" Rosie asked.

"Can't we just skip it?" Seb added.

"No. This is very important to Dad." Sammy pulled out some flashcards from the glove box. "Ahem...Today marks-No, I'm just kidding, I'm not actually gonna read this, but what I will say is have a good year and make good choices."

"Sammy, it's our first day at East High, not some fancy boarding school where we're not gonna see each other for the entire year," Gracie reminded him.

"Yeah, we'll be back home by six." Rosie nodded.

"Still. I remember what it was like to be a high school student, and trust me, these days are some of the best you'll have." He reminisced. "So make the most of it, alright? Try out for your musical and the cheerleading squad. The wrestling team and the costume department." He listed their various after-school activities. "Make new friends and branch out. There's nothing like high school."

Rosie saw Big Red and Ricky skate past on their skateboards and knock into a blonde woman getting out of her car. She rolled her eyes at their ridiculousness.

"Wow, that was actually a little inspiring," Seb complimented him.

Sammy gave them a fond smile. "Now go and enjoy your senior, junior and sophomore years."

Gracie faced him, "You do know you don't 'try out' for the costume department, right?"

"Get out of my car." Sammy deadpanned.

Rosie laughed as she clambered out of the truck-sometimes, she hated only being 5'2" with a brother who owned the tallest car she had ever seen. She linked arms with Gracie and Seb, navigating the parking lot and finally stepping through the front doors of East High. Seb quickly split from his older sisters, turning down a different hallway to reach his locker and meet up with his girlfriend, Natalie Bagley.

Gracie and Rosie giggled once they reached their lockers, opening them for the first time in two months. Rosie looked around for Big Red and Ricky, but they were nowhere to be seen.

"So, what was the thing you wanted to talk about?" Rosie asked.

Gracie tilted her head with a laugh. "What?"

"Before we left the house. You said you were anxious about something." Rosie reminded her.

"Oh. That." Gracie bit her lip. "Well, I-"

A voice interrupted them, "Hey, Grace."

"E.J.! Hi! Uh, h-how was your summer?" Gracie stuttered out.

E.J. Caswell. Co-captain of the water polo team, senior class treasurer, and Gracie's biggest crush since first grade. Rosie had heard the story a million times. Grace, E.J., Tonya Freeman, and some other kids were playing 'Peter Pan' in class. Tonya, as Tinkerbell, got a little too into the role and knocked Gracie, who was playing Wendy, over. She was going to fall off the small ship they had crafted from thin wooden blocks, but before she could, E.J. grabbed her hand and pulled her to safety. She had been in love with him ever since.

"Great. Yeah, I went to a theatre camp and starred as The Music Man." A smile, "How about you?"

"Mostly farm-related things." Rosie jumped in. "Our mom hurt her back right before summer started, so we had to pick up the slack."

"Oh, well, you've both heard about the new drama teacher, right? Apparently, there's gonna be this big announcement at the pep rally this morning." He pointed at Gracie. "You gonna be working on costumes again this year?"

Gracie nodded quickly. "Yeah. Yes, I-I am."

"Great." Some of E.J.'s teammates shouted and motioned for him to come over. "I gotta get going, see you at rehearsals."

"B-Bye!" She shouted after him.

Rosie cringed as E.J. smiled awkwardly and walked further down the hall. "It could've been worse." She tried to comfort her blushing sister.

"It really couldn't have." Gracie's voice echoed around the metal locker she stuck her head into. "This was supposed to be my year, Ro, and I'm already screwing it up."

"Hey, it can still be your year. This year is going to be epic. I can feel it."

"Epic?" Gracie repeated, "You spend too much time with Ricky and Big Red." She took a deep breath. "But you're right. You know what, the next time I see E.J., I'm gonna march up to him and ask him on a date. Sam's right. This is my senior year. It's time to branch out."

Rosie nudged her shoulder against Gracie's. "That's my girl."

"Hey, Ro!"

Rosie looked over her shoulder to see Big Red and Ricky at the end of the hall. The sisters laughed as they both waved their arms around like lunatics.

"I gotta go," Rosie shook her head in embarrassment.

"See you at lunch?"

"Yep."

Rosie closed her locker and ran down the hallway straight into Big Red and Ricky's open arms.

"It feels like we haven't seen each other in forever," Rosie's voice was muffled by Ricky's shoulder.

Ricky pulled away from the hug, "Because we haven't."

"Yeah, you were busy, like, all summer." Big Red added.

Rosie shoved his arm. "Hey, I offered you the chance to come to the farm."

"To rake hay and clean up cow manure." Ricky shuddered. "Yeah, that was not gonna happen."

"Better than trying to teach me how to skateboard. I still have a cut on my knee that hasn't healed yet.... and it's been nearly three weeks." Ricky rolled his eyes at Rosie's dramatics. "Speaking of Nini, have you even talked to her since she got back from summer camp?"

The trio headed down a flight of stairs and towards Nini's locker.

"We texted. She sounded neutral." Ricky revealed. "Nothing about bad news or needing to have a big talk. Just, 'hey.' That's good, right?"

"It could be." Rosie tried to sound optimistic.

Big Red sighed, "Summers are no man's land, Ricky. I don't know what 'hey' means, and neither do you."

"I think it's good." Ricky sounded unsure. "Right, Ro?"

She smiled at her friend, "I certainly hope so."

They rounded the corner to find Nini and Kourtney standing by Nini's open locker.

"Yo, Nini! What good?" Ricky asked his (not yet) ex-girlfriend.

"How do you feel about right now?"

Rosie was confused by Kourtney's words.

Nini shut her locker and spun around to face them.

"Hey." Ricky awkwardly chuckled.

"Hey. Um...Can we talk?" Nini started.

This isn't gonna be good, Rosie thought to herself.

Meeting Nini and Kourtney through Ricky had been the best. She finally had friends to have sleepovers with and gossip about celebrities. Sure, she could do all those things with her sisters, but she had shared a room with Cindy Lou and Gracie all her life. It was nice to have girl friends outside of them, but since Nini and Ricky hit pause and Nini went off to summer camp, they hadn't spoken. Rosie had seen Koutney's Instagram posts the day Nini had gotten back and wondered, Why wasn't I invited? That was a week ago now, and Rosie was still in the dark.

"I met somebody else at camp." Nini continued. "I didn't plan..."

"Wait. Wait, is this a joke?" Ricky interrupted.

"Still talking here." Nini snapped.

"Oh, snap!" Kourtney mumbled.

Nini took a breath, "I met someone at camp. Uh, I didn't plan for it to happen, but it happened. He was the Music Man, I was Marian, the librarian. It's called a showmance."

"Wait, you went to librarian camp? That's a thing?" Big Red asked.

"The Music Man?" Rosie whispered under her breath. Why is that familiar?

"Please...tell me you're joking," Ricky asked.

"I'm not." Big Red and Nini answered at the same time.

"I think he was talking to Nini," Rosie mumbled in Big Red's ear.

"Come on, Ricky. You know what you did! Or what you didn't do." Nini looked upset.

Before Ricky could respond, Principal Gutierrez's voice sounded through the PA system. "Good morning, students. Please make your way to the gym for our annual back-to-school kickoff."

"I don't believe this." Ricky scoffed bitterly, "You're blowing me off for some theatre punk you met four weeks ago? At a lake?"

"You kinda dumped me!" Nini exclaimed.

"It was a break. It wasn't a break-up." Ricky tried to explain to her.

Nini shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ricky. But it's a break-up now."

"Pop off, girl!" Kourtney encouraged.

"Stay out of it, Kourtney." Big Red said.

"You stay out of it. I'm dismantling the patriarchy this year, and I'm not afraid to start with you." Kourtney threatened.

"And what about our friendship? Where do we stand?" Rosie questioned the girls. "Did you really think I wouldn't see you two hanging out all over social media without me?"

Nini and Kourtney looked guilty but said nothing. Nini pushed Kourtney forward and down the hall, wanting to get away from Ricky as fast as possible.

Rosie frowned as she watched them walk away.

"Are you okay, Ricky?" Big Red asked.

"I just...What just happened?"

Rosie was asking herself the same thing.

ROSIE SAT HIGH IN THE BLEACHERS BESIDE RICKY AND BIG RED. She could see Seb nearby with Natalie and even Gracie, now in her cheerleading uniform, sitting amongst the other girls on the squad at the bottom of the bleachers.

"And I am also pleased to announce that this year, seniors will be allowed to wear baseball hats on Fridays." Principal Gutierrez said into the podium's microphone.

"Go, seniors!" A girl yelled.

"Friday!" Another shouted sarcastically.

"And now for a special introduction. This year, East High has a new drama teacher with an announcement that she swore, in writing, would not cost too much money." Principal Gutierrez motioned for the new drama teacher to come forward.

Rosie clapped along with a few others.

Ricky sighed. "Why, Rosie, Big Red? Why do things have to change?"

"Some things never change, dude. I've been wearing the same socks for three days." Big Red replied.

Rosie wrinkled her nose and scooted a little away from the boy.

"Please hold your applause." The drama teacher bent down and grabbed a t-shirt launcher. "Go, Wildcats!" She exclaimed and fired the t-shirt into the crowd. "My name is Miss Jenn, and when I heard that the high school where High School Musical was shot had never staged a production of High School Musical, the musical. I was shocked as an actress, inspired as a director, and triggered as a millennial."

"Millennial?" Ricky whispered to Rosie.

Rosie didn't react, though. Her mind was racing. They were putting on a production of High School Musical!

Miss Jenn continued. "Auditions are tomorrow after school. This show could change your lives, and I'm saying this as a background dancer from the original movie. Third from the left, back row, red headband, and those are my real teeth. So..."

"What?" Rosie mouthed as she caught Gracie's eye.

"I know." Gracie mouthed back.

The mic feedback drew Rosie's attention back to Miss Jenn, "Oh, and meet your student choreographer, Carlos. You know him as captain of the colour guard. I know him as an unpaid, rising star."

The school bell rang, and everybody collected their bags. Rosie ran down the steps to meet Gracie. She had spent the past two years in the chorus at East High-she played the front of a cow in Gypsy, a spoon in last year's production of Beauty and the Beast, and a tree several times.

"Oh my gosh! Did you hear what I just heard?" Gracie squealed.

"Yes! High School Musical, the musical. That woman is a genius!" Rosie freaked out.

"Thank you, dear." Miss Jenn said as she walked by. "I hope to see you at the auditions."

Gracie beamed, "You and Seb are the Sharpay and Ryan dream team that this production needs."

Rosie faltered, "I don't know about that."

"Gracie, come on." Tonya, Grace's best frenemy, said.

"We will talk more about this at lunch. Believe in yourself!" Gracie blew her a kiss as Tonya dragged her away.

Rosie sighed, "I'll try."

ROSIE COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT SHE WAS SEEING.

Nini and E.J. Caswell.

She looked around the cafeteria but couldn't find Gracie anywhere. Rosie could only hope she hadn't heard anything yet. She took a bite of her apple and nearly choked when Nini leaned over to kiss E.J. She shared a look with Seb, only to see his eyes go wide, staring at the open doors behind her. Rosie glanced over her shoulder to find Gracie standing behind her, lunch tray in hand. Her once happy smile fell, replaced with a look of heartbreak Rosie had seen one too many times before.

Gracie slid her lunch tray onto their table and ran back out of the cafeteria. Nini got up and let E.J. wrap his arms around her. How could Nini do this to Gracie? Rosie wondered. How many conversations had they had about her crush on E.J. at sleepovers and theatre meetings?Rosie never thought in a million years Nini could be this cruel-was this why Nini and Kourtney didn't invite me to their hangout last week?

"Dude, are you seeing this?" Big Red asked Ricky.

"I'm seein' it, I'm hearin' it, I'm hatin' it," Ricky replied.

"I can't believe it." Big Red continued.

"Me neither." Rosie said, "She's dating E.J. Caswell."

Ricky poked at his food. "Yes. I have eyes."

"I mean, co-captain of the water polo team." Big Red listed.

"Yep."

"Senior class treasurer."

"That's correct."

"I mean, what are the odds that the guy she hooks up with at camp goes to East High?"

"Apparently, the odds are exceptionally good." Ricky snapped.

Big Red gave him a sheepish glance. "Sorry, dude."

"It's not just that," Rosie added. "Gracie has had the biggest crush on E.J. since they were kids. Nini knows all about it. We talked about it at so many sleepovers, even poked fun at her for liking someone so obsessed with himself." Rosie scoffed, "I mean, how could she do this?"

"That doesn't sound like the Nini I know. Knew." Ricky corrected himself.

Big Red turned back to Ricky, "So, what are you gonna do?"

"I don't know." Ricky glared at the new couple. "No offence, but the one person I go to for advice is currently on her honeymoon in the cafeteria."

Nini's laughter echoing across the cafeteria was enough for Ricky to leave. He grabbed his backpack and stormed across the room. Rosie wanted to go after him, but Gracie needed her more.

Rosie tore her eyes away from Ricky's retreating form. "Could you, maybe, help Ricky while I go talk to Gracie?"

"S-Sure thing, Ro. I hope she's okay." Big Red smiled sadly.

Rosie patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks, Biggie."

It didn't take Rosie long to find Gracie. She just headed to the nearest washroom and listened for crying.

Rosie opened the door and poked her head inside. "Grace?" She walked in a little further, only to find her sister on the floor in tears. "Grace? Hey."

"Hey, Ro." She spluttered out between her sobs.

"What's wrong?" Rosie cringed as she lowered herself to the washroom floor. She knew it was bad if Gracie was willingly sitting on the gross bathroom tile. "Is this about Nini and E.J.?"

"I just...I thought this would be my year, you know, I'd ask out the boy I've been crazy about since first grade, and I would work on costumes, and he would be on the show, and it would all be perfect." Gracie dug the heel of her palms into her red cheeks.

"Gracie..."

Grace laughed bitterly, "I know it was stupid."

"It wasn't stupid." Rosie rebutted. "You've liked him for as long as I can remember. It's always been E.J. this and E.J. that."

"A little annoying?" Grace sniffled and clicked her fingers together again.

"Only if you share a room with you." Rosie joked.

"What if that's it?" Gracie suddenly panicked. "What if he's freaked out because he's realised I'm borderline obsessed with him?"

"Obsessed is a strong word, Gracie." Rosie tried to calm her down.

"Still, what if he hates me and is just too nice to say anything?" Grace scoffed, "Of course, he chose a girl like Nini. She's sweet as sugar."

"You don't know. Anything could happen." Rosie tried to find the positive. "They could break up next week, and he could realise there has been an incredible girl right in front of his eyes this entire time."

"Ha, yeah, he'd confess his feelings, and I would think it was to me, but then it would turn out to be the girl next to me." Gracie wiped away the tears collecting on her chin.

"You can't go through life with that attitude, Gracie. What would Mom say?" Rosie asked.

"If you're going to mope, at least clean while you do it?"

"No, well, yes, but she would also say chin up, buttercup, you never know what tomorrow will bring."

Grace ducked her chin to try to hide her smile. "Thanks, Ro."

"You're welcome, and if E.J. Caswell doesn't realise what a catch you are, then he doesn't deserve you." Rosie used her thumbs to wipe the remaining tears from Gracie's face. "But you will find somebody who does, one day."

Gracie bumped into Rosie's shoulder, "So will you."

Rosie grimaced. "I'm not really interested in all that,"

"All what? You've been afraid of love for as long as I can remember." Gracie said.

"That's not true. I just don't like that falling feels like flying till the bone crush." Rosie explained. "Besides, I have my bakery plans, and that's all I need for now."

Rosie planned to open a bakery after graduating from college-Honeybee Bakery, where all the dairy and produce are one hundred percent locally sourced. That was the dream, anyway.

Gracie reached for her sister's hand and squeezed three times. "I love you, Ro."

Rosie squeezed back, "I love you too, Gracie."

ROSIE SAT IN THE WINDOW SEAT OVERLOOKING THE FARM. It was one of her favourite views from the farmhouse. She loved watching the sun slowly slip behind the barn, leaving pink cotton candy clouds in its wake.

Buzz, buzz.

Rosie flipped over her phone.

RICKY: Can we talk?

She sighed and dog-eared the page of her book. She would have to pick it back up later. The phone only rang once before Ricky picked up.

"Hey Ricky, what's up?"

Rosie stretched out her legs, wincing when she heard a pop from her knee.

"I need you to get to Big Red's now."

Now Rosie was worried. "Is something wrong?"

"No, yes, I don't know." Ricky sounded just as confused as she was. "I just need to talk with you both. Can you get there?"

"Let me ask." Rosie bounded down the stairs and skidded to a stop on the kitchen tile. "Hey, Mom?"

Alice looked over from washing the dishes. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Can I go to Big Red's? It's an emergency." Rosie practically begged.

Alice glanced out the window. "Oh, uh, honey, it's getting a little dark."

"I know, but please." Rosie pulled her lips into a hopefully convincing pout. "Sam could drop me off and bring me back."

"Sam, can what now?" Sam poked his head out from the dining table.

Rosie gave him a pleading look.

He groaned, "Fine, let me grab my coat."

Rosie pulled the phone back to her ear, "Okay, Ricky, I'll meet you there."

Twenty minutes later, Sammy pulled up outside Big Red's house. Rosie walked right in, Mr and Mrs Redonovich never minded; they'd known the girl since she was seven.

"Hiya, sweetie. Biggie and Ricky are downstairs." Mrs Redonovich told her.

Rosie offered a sweet smile, "Thanks, Mama Red."

Rosie opened the door to the basement and made her way down the creaky steps. Big Red had a headset on, playing some game Rosie had been forced to watch him and Ricky play before, whilst Ricky paced beside him.

"No, absolutely not." Big Red told Ricky.

Ricky looked up to see Rosie standing at the bottom of the steps. "Rosie, thank god."

She crossed her arms, looking between the boys with a slightly annoyed look. "Okay, what was so urgent that I needed to get here this fast? My mom is making chicken pie tonight."

"It's about the-" Ricky paused, "Wait, chicken pie, like the one with the sauce and the..."

"Yeah. So good, right?" Rosie agreed. "You know she got the recipe from the cooking channel?"

"Ricky wants to try out for the musical!" Big Red interrupted.

Rosie blinked. "What?"

"Okay, I know it's crazy, but she has to see me in a whole new light," Ricky explained.

"Wait, this is about Nini?" Rosie asked.

This is why she was dragged here?

Big Red took his headset off. "But we hate musicals."

"That's you two, I love musicals." Rosie corrected.

"I don't hate musicals." Ricky denied, "I just think it's weird when people, like, burst into song in the middle of the street."

Big Red gave him an exasperated look. "Dude. That's a musical."

"He's right." Rosie pulled out her phone. "The Google definition of a musical is a play or film in which singing and dancing play an essential part." Rosie read.

"Okay, look. I'm auditioning for this thing tomorrow, and nothing is gonna stop me." Ricky was adamant.

Rosie let out a heavy sigh, "Ricky, do you even know the plot of High School Musical?"

"Of course! It's about Zac Efron dancing with a basketball."

Rosie rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth to correct him, but Big Red beat her to it.

"Wrong." Big Red stated. "It's about the character, Troy, having to choose between being true to his friend, Chad, or following his heart with Gabriella."

Rosie and Ricky shared a confused look. "Why do you know so much about High School Musical?" Ricky asked.

Big Red looked away, embarrassed. "They, uh, they play it on a loop at my allergist's office. Look, the point is, you're out of your league here, man. All right? You can't pull this off."

"Hey, I believe that with a little bit of time and appropriate dance lessons, Ricky could be really good at the musical thing." Rosie defended the skater.

"Rosie, you believe anyone could be good at the musical thing." Big Red argued.

"Because they can if they just believe in themselves." She gave him a pointed look. "I bet even you could be if you tried."

"You really don't think I can pull this off?" Ricky aimed at Big Red. "Yeah?"

"Yes." Big Red said.

Ricky grabbed his skateboard and backpack and ran back up the stairs,

"And you don't have the hair for it." Big Red yelled after him.

Rosie sighed into her hands. Between Gracie and Ricky's simultaneous heartbreaks, today had not been a good day.

"PEOPLE! Make sure your audition number is clearly visible on your clothes. This isn't a game." Carlos demanded as he walked past.

Rosie tapped her foot on the dressing room floor and smoothed down the number fourteen stuck to her chest.

"Hey, are you doing okay?" Ashlyn asked.

Rosie and Ashlyn became friends during last year's production of Beauty and the Beast-they had played trees together. They also bonded over living in someone else's shadow (the one thing Rosie was sure of was that the social hierarchy of high school sucked!)

Rosie tugged on the skin of her lip. "Um, I'm a little nervous."

Ashlyn took Rosie's hands and pulled them away from her face. "You'll be great."

A shy smile worked its way across Rosie's lips. "So will you. Who are you hoping to get?"

"I don't know. Would it be weird of me to say Ms Darbus?" Ashlyn looked a little unsure.

Rosie gasped. "You would be the perfect Ms Darbus."

"What about you?" Ashlyn changed the subject, "Who are you going for?"

"Well, my brother is auditioning too, and we've been acting out Bop To The Top since we were both old enough to walk."

"Sharpay and Ryan. Of course." Ashlyn laughed, "You've so got that."

Rosie turned at the three loud knocks on the door. Miss Jenn walked in, "Okay, theatre people. Let's do this."

Rosie squealed and ran over to Seb. They made their way to the auditorium together. Rosie would never get over performing in the East High auditorium-it was too iconic.

Rosie was in the first group with Ashlyn. Carlos quickly showed them the steps and counted them in. Rosie knew she wasn't a bad dancer, but she could certainly improve. The girl in front of her, however, was amazing. Her high kicks were insane.

"Great! That's it for the warm-up." Carlos told them.

Rosie high-fived Ashlyn and went over to her bag to grab her water bottle.

"Everyone, pair up. Not with a friend." Miss Jenn said, "Theatre is a community."

"Hey, Rosie." Rosie turned around to find E.J. Caswell looking down at her. "Wanna pair up?"

"Um, sure. Why not?" She shrugged, her mind wandering to their conversation from yesterday. "Look, I wanted to apologise for earlier. I was just in a mood."

"No. You were right. You are more than just Grace's sister." E.J. offered. "I mean, we've been a part of how many of the same productions?"

"I wanna say... four?"

"The same as Nini." He connected. "Are you two friends? You're in the same year, right?"

"We were. Are?" Rosie shook her head. "It's a little complicated."

E.J. frowned. "Oh. Why do you think you're not anymore?"

"I'm still friends with Ricky, her ex, and I've been friends with him longer, and she went to summer camp, so naturally, I had to hang out with somebody, so..." Rosie trailed off.

She also started dating you behind my sister's back and didn't have the decency to tell her before going back to school. Rosie wanted to say that, but she couldn't. She was just too nice. And she also wasn't going to reveal Gracie's feelings like that.

"Right." E.J. sounded a little unsure. "Ricky isn't like a threat, right? Nini hasn't really told me much about him other than that they broke up right before she went to camp."

"They actually broke up yesterday morning." Rosie panicked a little as E.J.'s eyes widened. "I mean, before Nini left for camp, Ricky asked to take a 'pause', and Nini, kinda, you know, took that the wrong way."

E.J. scoffed. "How is somebody supposed to take that?"

"I don't know, actually. I've, I've never had a boyfriend before." Rosie awkwardly laughed, her cheeks turning pink. "I think we should go see why Miss Jenn had us break off into pairs now."

Rosie scrunched her face up as she walked back onto the stage, holding herself back from face-palming. "Stupid." She whispered to herself.

ROSIE WRUNG HER FINGERS TOGETHER AS SHE LINED UP, waiting for Miss Jenn to assign her a role to audition for.

Miss Jenn walked down the line with Carlos. "I'd love you to read for Ryan. You are giving major Taylor vibes. You're probably a Chad." Miss Jenn stepped in front of Ashlyn. "You. You're giving me uncommon depth. Ms. Darbus?"

"I'm dying. I'm deceased. Yes." Ashlyn replied.

"Oh, your application says you play piano?" Miss Jenn asked.

Ashlyn shrugged, "I dabble."

"Dabble? She's incredible." Rosie told Miss Jenn.

Miss Jenn raised an eyebrow at the girl. "You ever written a song?"

"I mean, nothing I've ever shared with anyone," Ashlyn answered.

"I always thought the drama teacher should have an Act Two power ballad. We'll sidebar." Miss Jenn then stepped in front of Rosie. "Hmm? I'm not sure. Jazz square or no jazz square."

"Jazz square, obviously," Rosie replied instantly.

Miss Jenn laughed at her answer, "Give her the Ryan sides."

Carlos handed her the script with a smile.

"Thanks," Rosie whispered to him.

"Gabriella." Miss Jenn said to the tall girl beside Rosie. Rosie recognised her as the dancer from earlier.

"You got it." She waved her hand when Carlos tried to hand her the script. "Oh, I'm good. I'm already off-book."

Rosie and Carlos shared an impressed glance.

Miss Jenn stared up at E.J., "Give him the Troy stuff. Who are we kidding?" Miss Jenn stepped in front of Nini. "And, uh, how about we have you read for... Kelsi?"

"Um...Gabriella. I wanna audition for Gabriella." Nini insisted.

"Okay." Miss Jenn moved on to Seb, "You're reading for Ryan, right?"

"I think he'd rather play Sharpay," Carlos whispered to her.

"I love that. That is so fresh." Miss Jenn went back to her chair. "Okay, it is time for the solo auditions. Would someone here be willing to play the piano for us?"

"I'll do it." Seb offered.

"Thank you," She looked down at her sheet and smiled, "Seb. Can I have Ashlyn first, please?"

While everybody moved to sit at the edge of the stage, Rosie stayed behind and squeezed Ashlyn's hand.

"You got this."

Ashlyn took a deep breath, "Thanks, Ro."

The solo auditions went by quickly. Ashlyn was first, followed by some other people Rosie had yet to meet, then E.J. and then her.

"Rosemary Matthew-Smith?"

Rosie got up and stood awkwardly in the centre of the stage whilst Miss Jenn and Carlos whispered back and forth to each other.

"What do I need to know?" Miss Jenn asked Carlos.

Carlos quickly listed everything he knew about the girl. "Rosie. The sweetest girl I've ever met. Grew up on a farm. She's the younger sister of popular cheerleader Grace Matthew-Smith, who also works in our costume department and the sister of Sebastian over there."

Miss Jenn's eyes darted between them. "A brother-sister duo, huh?"

"Our gender-bent Ryan and Sharpay?" Carlos whispered excitedly.

"Could be." Miss Jenn turned to Rosie." Whenever you're ready, Rosie."

Seb began to play.

"Livin' in my own world, didn't understand That anything can happen when you take a chance I never believed in what I couldn't see I never opened my heart to all the possibilities, oh I know that something has changed Never felt this way And right here, tonight This could be the start of something new It feels so right to be here with you, oh And now, lookin' in your eyes I feel in my heart The start of something new."

The auditorium erupted into applause.

"That was wonderful, Rosie. Thank you."

Rosie sat back down beside Ashlyn, purposefully avoiding Kourtney's proud gaze. She saw E.J. and Nini in the wings as the girl from earlier, Gina, got up for her solo audition. It turns out she wasn't just a phenomenal dancer but also a great singer.

"Next, we have Nini Salazar-Roberts?"

Nini walked across the stage and took the place where Gina had just been. E.J. came to sit beside Ashlyn, sparing a quick smile at Rosie.

"Okay, Nini! Whenever you're ready."

Before Nini could start, loud footsteps rang throughout the auditorium.

"Am I too late? Am I too late?"

Rosie looked over her shoulder to see Ricky running in with his guitar case. Rosie couldn't remember the last time she had seen him play it.

"We're all set on Troys. We're low on Chads. You can read after the Gabriella's." Miss Jenn assured him.

Rikcy looked crestfallen. "I only studied the Troy scene in the movie."

"Troy would have arrived on time," Carlos said.

Did we watch the same movies? Rosie thought.

"Thanks. Let me do the talking." Miss Jenn whispered to Carlos. She turned back to Nini. "Okay, Nini, let's try this again."

"You got this, babe! Whoo!" E.J. yelled.

Rosie jumped at the sudden noise and hit her head on the side of the table. It wobbled, and Miss Jenn's coffee slipped from her cup and all over the lighting board. There was a loud crackle of electricity, and all the lights in the auditorium went out.

"Nobody panic!" Miss Jenn exclaimed. "Nini, let's wait for the lights to come back on. I don't want this to throw you."

"I'm not thrown," Nini dismissed Miss Jenn's words.

"Livin' in my own world, didn't understand That anything can happen when you take a chance."

Ricky grabbed his phone from his pocket and turned on the flashlight, getting close enough to Nini for it to shine on her.

"I never believed in what I couldn't see I never opened my heart to all the possibilities, oh."

With a jealous expression, E.J. got up and did the same thing.

"I know that somethin' has changed Never felt this way And right here, tonight This could be the start of somethin' new It feels so right to be here with you, oh And now, lookin' in your eyes I feel in my heart The start of somethin' new I never knew that it could happen, 'til it happened to me Oh, yeah I didn't know it before, but now it's easy to see, oh It's the start of somethin' new It feels so right to be here with you, oh And now, lookin' in your eyes I feel in my heart The start of somethin' new."

As Nini finished, the electricity cracked back on. Rosie was in awe. She had never heard Nini sing like that.

"Okay. Thank you, Nini. I only needed thirty-two bars, but I appreciate your commitment." Miss Jenn spared a glance at Ricky. "You, late boy. Let's do the Chad sides."

Nini sat back beside E.J. as Ricky stepped onto the centre stage.

He clutched the Chad sides in his hand and cleared his throat. "Hey, there. I'm Ricky Bowen. I'm a junior. And, uh...Here goes." Ricky took a deep breath. "I don't get it, Troy. What kinda spell had this elevated IQ temptress-girl cast that suddenly makes you wanna be in a musical?"

Rosie cringed a little as she caught Big Red's eye.

"I don't know," Ricky continued, "Maybe it's the way Gabriella always had your back. And maybe you can't stop beating yourself up for totally blowing it with her. And look, Troy. Even if you never said the L-word to Gabriella, 'cause that's, like, not even a word your parents say to each other anymore..." Ricky sighed uncomfortably. "That doesn't mean that you don't. Maybe it just means you were waiting for the right time to say it...So that everyone could hear it." He shook his head. "No. So that she could."

Miss Jenn was intrigued. "Okay, kiddo, time to sing."

Seeing Seb preparing to play, Ricky rushed out. "Oh, no, actually, if you don't mind, I kinda prepared my own song?"

"Sure." Miss Jenn nodded.

Ricky walked over to Big Red, who had already gotten his guitar out of its case. Ricky began to strum a familiar song. Rosie recognised it from Nini's now-deleted Instagram post from six weeks ago.

"Oh, no. He is not doing this," Nini sighed. She leaned over to Rosie, "Did you know about this?"

"The audition, yes. This, no." Rosie denied any knowledge of Ricky's insane plan.

E.J. raised an eyebrow at this.

"So much has happened, think of what we've done In the time that the Earth has travelled 'round the Sun Winter, Spring, Summer, and we're back to Fall We've been together hand-in-hand through it all It's just three little words, yeah, it's not a big deal It's not like I can help feelin' all that I feel And by now, I'm sure you're thinkin' it's so obvious But just in case it's not, what I'm sayin' is this, what I'm sayin' is this... I think I kinda, you knowI think I kinda, you know Like the way that we flow Like the way that we go And I love I think I kinda, you know I think I kinda, you know, you know, you know You know how we can talk all night And not run outta things to talk about? It's rare that somethin' feels this right It feels so rightI think I kinda, you know I think I kinda, you know, you know, you know I think I kinda, you know I think I kinda, you know, you know, you know I can't help dreamin' of you Guess I'm sayin' I don't not love you You know, you know, you know."

Rosie clapped for Ricky along with everybody else (except Kourtney, Nini and E.J., of course). She was proud of him for committing to the audition and not giving up, even though Nini was glaring at him the entire time. Ricky quickly walked out with Big Red, and Rosie scrambled up to go after them.

Ricky laughed, "That happened."

Big Red shrugged, "I thought it was good."

"Good? Ricky, that was incredible. I had no idea you could sing like that." Rosie said as they exited the auditorium.

"Ha. To be honest, neither did I until last night." He admitted.

"Hey!" Nini yelled, running up to them. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm auditioning," Ricky stated.

Rosie pulled Big Red to the side.

Nini looked at him in disbelief. "You hate musicals,"

"That's a little harsh."

"We got kicked out of The Greatest Showman because you kept yelling, 'That's not realistic!' at the screen."

Rosie remembered that. She was not happy with him.

"That was the old me." Rikcy insisted. "The new me thinks musicals are awesome."

"Hmm. Okay. Well, let me tell you about the old me. All right? The old me had her heart broken. Okay? And then she went away, and she found herself. And you don't get to show up now, just to try and confuse things." Nini said.

"You think that's why I'm here?" Ricky argued. "No, no, Nini. I always believed in you. In us. Even if I sucked at showing it. That's why I'm here."

"Clear!" Carlos yelled with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Carlos is posting the cast list." Kourtney dragged Nini away from Ricky.

The cast list, already?

Rosie rushed past Ricky and ran to Seb.

"Oh, I can't look," she said with a hand over her eyes.

Seb only gasped as his eyes landed on the cast list.

"Congrats," Gina spoke bitterly.

Rosie peeked from behind her fingers to see the new girl glaring at Nini.

"Chad? She thinks I'm a Chad?" E.J. scoffed.

"It's okay." Nini tried to comfort him.

Big Red's eyes widened. "Holy crap, dude."

Rosie uncovered her eyes fully to finally see the cast list.

Troy Bolton --- Ricky Bowen Troy Understudy --- E.J. Caswell Gabriella Montez --- Nini Salazar-Roberts Gabriella Understudy --- Gina Porter Chad Danforth --- E.J. Caswell Sharpay Evans --- Seb Matthew-Smith Taylor McKessie --- Gina Porter Ryan Evans --- Rosie Matthew-Smith Ms Darbus --- Ashlyn Caswell

Rosie shared an uneasy look with Ashlyn. This was not gonna end well.