"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time for Stick to the Status Quo," Miss Jenn announced, clapping her hands to gain our attention; so far, besides the slight tech mishaps at the beginning, everything was going perfectly. I was able to push away my thoughts about Ricky, focusing solely on tonight and my role, "this is our biggest act one showstopper, and you're all going to kill it because I love you, any questions."

"I have a couple hundred," Kourtney admitted, raising her hand; she seemed panicked, which was understandable; she'd absolutely killed it tonight considering the circumstances, Kourtney is a natural-born star, but Gina's choreography was not easy.

"Wait, how is the Taylor dance break going to work?" Sebastian piped in, "Gina's tray-ography is really complex."

"I can run to the pit and have the orchestra cut that part," Carlos offered; various people murmured in disagreement; I racked my brain for an idea, pausing when I see a familiar face standing at the doorway.

"Or we could just have Gina do it," I pointed to the girl, smiling at her excitedly; everyone's headshot towards Gina, who was bashfully standing at the door, holding a container of cupcakes.

Everyone in the room excitedly greeted her, "Hi," She waved, pulling away from the hug Kourtney pulled her into, "Wow, you guys, I don't wanna interrupt."

"How did you get here," Carlos asked, ignoring her concern of interrupting.

"A friend bought me a last-minute flight back," She explained, "I was gonna drop off these cupcakes and then hide in the gym and cheer you guys on."

"Gina, no one in the gym wants to hide more than I do right now," Kourtney informed Gina, laughing slightly, "I took over your role as Taylor, and it was nice, but now it's your turn to save my butt and do the dance," she held out the tray before seriously saying, "Please, I'm asking you."

It felt like everyone in the room was holding their breath as Gina asked Miss Jenn if it would be okay; Our teacher pretended to think about it before nodding her head, "of course! You can do the curtain call together. Let's it the halls, people!"

Kelsi wasn't in the following scenes, so I stood at the sidelines with Carlos, watching the show with him; from my view, I could see dad sitting near the front row; he looked happier than I've seen him in a long time, and I knew why I felt the same way.

Musicals were always mom's thing; besides dad and I, they were the thing that made her happiest; when mom died, I couldn't stand the thought of them; but this, this entire experience, has made me feel more connected to mom than I have in a long time. I could tell dad felt the same way watching tonight's performance; he was thinking of her.

That's why I wanted tonight to go so perfectly; obviously, I wanted that for us as a drama department; but more importantly, I wanted to make dad happy; I wanted to make mom proud.

"She'd be so proud of you," Carlos said; I swear it was like this boy could read my mind, "I am so proud of you."

"I wish she were here," I admit; I wipe at the stray tears that fall from my eyes; Kourtney would kill me if I ruined my makeup.

"Me too," Carlos wrapped his arm around my shoulder, his head laying on top of mine; we stood like this for a bit, watching Gina absolutely kill her solo, before Carlos excused himself, he needed to round up all the dancers for Getcha head in the game.

While Carlos gathered the basketball players, I watched Nini do a short scene with Sebastian; my thoughts were taken up with images of my mom. I couldn't help but imagine what it'd be like if she were here right now...

I only broke away from my thoughts when the opening notes of getcha head in the game began playing; Ricky stood in the center, nailing every piece of choreography that came his way. The song was nearly over as he was lifted in his harness; he sang the bridge beautifully, holding the basketball up in the air as he spoke his line, "should I go for it?" He was supposed to dunk the ball in the net, but instead, it slipped right out of his grasp. Ricky's expression was full of shock as he was lowered back down to the ground; it was obvious something was wrong; Ricky stammered, trying to keep up with the routine; until eventually, we decided to walk off, leaving the rest of the performers to finish without him.

Instinctively, I rushed away from my spot in the wings; hoping to find Ricky; it seemed he had the same idea because we met halfway, him instantly engulfing me into a hug.

"Are you okay?" I asked, moving back so I could see him; it all happened so quickly; one minute, he was nailing the performance, and the next, he looked on the verge of tears.

"My mom's new boyfriend decided to show up, and now I wanna punch a wall," Ricky anxiously tugged at his curls; I stepped closer; seriously, how did she think bringing him and not telling Ricky would be okay? Ricky opened his mouth to complain again, pausing when he noticed my expression, "are you okay?" He asks, tilting his head to the side, "you look like you've been crying."

"I'm fine, it's just," I pause, trying to figure out how to say what I want to say, "I just miss my mom, she would have loved all this; I just want everything to be perfect for her, you know?"

"Yeah," Ricky let out a breath; his expression was unreadable, but I could tell a lot was going on in his head, "I know exactly what you mean." Before I could reassure Ricky that everything was going to be okay; and help him shake seeing his mom and her new boyfriend together, he excused himself, saying there was something he needed to do before his next scene. I go to follow Ricky, stopping when someone calls my name.

"Eloise," Ashlyn called out, rushing over to me, "Do you mind going over Wondering with me one last time?"

I glanced back at Ricky one last time before nodding; Ricky's going to be okay Eloise, he just needs some space.
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Eloise is missing her mom, and confesses she wants the night to go perfect for her...
probably only have 1-2 more chapters and then this book will be finished!
New book coming soon! Read my updates on my page for more info❤️