It's the first day of read through and Soul's nerves were already getting to her.

She hadn't done a musical in over a year; before her split with Nini and Ricky, when sbut she knew how much Nini loved being a part of the school's musicals so Soul just decided to back away.

Soul was in the costume room getting measured by Kourtney, when Sully and his friend Carter came rushing into the room while his other friends stood at the door.

"Hey guys!" Soul said, turning her head to look at them, sending a smile and waving to the ones at the door. "What can I do for ya?"

"Hey Soul, could I get 2 dollars?" Sully asked, out of breath with a smile on his face, causing her to chuckle.

"What do you need 2 dollars for?" Soul asked, lifting her arms as Kourtney wrapped the measuring tape around her waist.

"I wanted to get something from the vending machine and none of us had money," Sully said, referring to him and his friends.

"I left my money at home, but I just saw Sam pass by and you know he always has money, so if you hurry you might catch him -" Soul started but was cut off as he was already heading out the door. "Before he gets to the gym."

"I'll catch you at the read through" Sully yelled over his shoulder, running out the door.

"B-Bye Soul," Carter said, causing Soul to smile at the boy, causing a tint of red to grow on his cheeks, the others called for him from the door before they all chased after Sully.

"They are adorable," Kourtney says as she finishes measuring the girl, causing them both to chuckle. "It seems like one had a crush on you"

"Who, Carter, yeah ever since he became friends with Sully in Kindergarten. I don't want to embarrass him so I act like I don't know it," Soul said, shrugging as they both chuckled.

"Aw, that's nice," Kourtney said. "Let it be me, it would be a different story."

"Well good thing it isn't," Soul said, causing both of them to laugh. "I'm going to head to the bunker, I'll catch you later, Kourt."

After she agreed, Soul finally made her way to the bunker, noticing that there weren't that many people, only Ricky and Big by the small stage, Ashlyn and Gina in their assigned seats, Miss. Jenn and Carlos on their phones and then some background dancers around.

Soul looked around the bunker taking it all back in, not noticing everyone started filing into the bunker looking in awe.

Soul was walking backwards, not noticing there was someone behind her, when she walked straight into them.

"I'm so-" Soul started, turning around to see Nini with Kourtney, "Um, hey Nini. Sorry about that, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"No it's totally fine! Are you checking out the bunker?" Nini questioned, causing Soul to nod, looking around the room once again.

"Yeah, it's changed alot since I was last here," Soul agreed, about to walk away when Nini stopped her as she stuck her hand out.

"Wait! I also wanted to tell you that the song you sang at the auditions was amazing!" Nini said with a big smile, causing Kourtney to nod in agreement. "Did you really write that?"

"Thanks, yeah I did. It took a little time to finish it but I feel like it's one of the best songs I've written," Soul said, nodding with a slight smile as the two stood in silence for a couple seconds. "I think I'm going to go find my seat now."

"Hey, I think you dropped this," Nini said, bending down and reaching for the book, causing Soul to notice it was her open song book.

"Um, Yeah-." Soul started, but stopped when she saw Nini was standing back up.

"To My Ex Best Friend" Nini read the title of the page, looking back at Soul. "Is that about-."

"Could everyone take their assigned seats please," Miss. Jenn announced, causing everyone to start heading towards their spots.

"Soul-," Nini started, Soul quickly grabbed her book, walking away before she could even finish.

Soul easily found her seat with the tag that said Kelsi Nielsen, sitting on the desk with Sarah sitting on one side and Ashlyn on the other side.

"What was that about?" Sarah asked in a hush voice while leaning over it to be closer to Soul. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah everything is fine, I accidentally bumped into her, not a big deal." Soul explained to her sister with a smile, causing her to nod before leaning away.

"Don't forget to silence your phones!" Miss. Jenn announces as her and Carlos finally took their seats. "I realized that you all walked in here as strangers."

"Actually, EJ's my cousin!" Ashlyn cut in and EJ gave somewhat of a smile.

"But after today, you're a family." Miss. Jenn said, ignoring the girl as she started talking again, Soul and Gina shared a smile. "One tribe, committed to lifting this classic film to new heights-"

Miss. Jenn was once again cut off but this time by the click of Carlos' camera as he took a picture with his tag that said Choreographer.

"Please take your neighbors' hands," Ms. Jenn said, causing Soul to gladly take Sarah and Ashlyn's hand. "Feel each other's energy. Let the silence speak volumes. In a world full of no, this is a space full of yes."

After Miss. Jenn's odd rendition of We're All In This Together and making the group do some weird exercises, they finally started the read through.

"Sharpay heads for class, hears singing, and opens the door to the biology lab. She finds Gabriella and Taylor washing their hands." Big Red read, as he was reading the script trying to pronounce the words out.

🎥

Soul, East High Junior

'I love Big Red and all, he's a great friend... I can't believe I'm saying this but I would rather be at home with my mom and Jeff, than go through another 20 minutes of Big Red reading.'

🎥

"They turn to find there are no paper towels in the dispenser. They -." Big Red read but was cut of by Miss. Jenn.

"Stop." Miss. Jenn said looking over at Big Red. "Don't run it all together. Read the punctuation."

"Sharpay comma heads for class period." Big Red reads and actually reads the punctuation too. "And they are hearing the songs in their heads, period."

Soul looked up to only meet eyes with the one sitting directly in front of her, they both cracked a smile at the red headed boy before Soul looked back down at her script.

"And that's Act One. Let's take a break." Miss. Jenn announces, hitting her hand on the desk as she and Carlos get up and walk away.

"That was brutal," Sarah said, turning towards Soul, laughing. "Let's hope Natalie is here for opening night."

"Hey give Big Red a break, that was his first time reading out loud since the fifth grade, Science Fair" Soul explained and started chuckling along with her sister.

Sarah then turned the other way to talk to Seb, causing Soul to get up and walk over to her bag; which was sitting on the small stage.

"Hey, Soul." Ricky said, causing the girl to turn around to see him scratching his neck, with a small smile on his face. " Can we talk.."

"Sure, I guess," Soul said, nodding, seeing a smile form on his face as they took a seat on the stage. "What do you need to talk about, is this about the Nini thing again."

"So you did get my voicemail." Ricky said, letting out an awkward laugh, turning to face the girl. "Listen Soul, I didn't realize how much I hurt you until I heard you sing your song during auditions."

"Ricky-" Soul started but he stopped her before she could say anything.

"No Soul, please hear me out." Ricky said, putting his hand on her knee, causing her to nod in response. "After hearing that song, it made me realize how horrible of a friend I was to you, back then and now. Whenever I asked you to do something for me, no matter how much you disagreed, you did it but I always blew you off. I can't imagine the pain-"

"No Ricky, you can't imagine it can you?" Soul said, looking him directly in the eyes. "Have you ever lost the three most important people in your life within the same week?"

"Listen, I'm so sorry Soul, I really am," Ricky says, meaningfully. "Can we please just go back to how we used to be, before me and the Nini thing even started. When there was me, you, and Big Red on my couch watching movies, while we ate junk food and you complained about everyone's bad acting skills. I miss those days, I miss you, I miss our friendship."

"Okay people, we're back!" Miss. Jenn announces, causing Soul to stand up.

"Soul, please," Ricky pleaded, standing up. "I need you... I need my best friend."

"Where were you when I needed my best friend?" Soul said, looking at him with a sad smile. "I don't know if I can handle anymore pain right now Ricky, I'm sorry."

Before he had a chance to say anything else, Soul quickly walked back over to her seat as 3 pairs of eyes followed her every move. Which belonged to a worried Sarah, a sad Ricky and a confused Nini.

Soul gave Sarah a 'we'll talk later look' as she nodded in understanding as they both turned to focus back to Miss. Jenn as they continued with our read through.

...

Rehearsals were finally over and Soul, Sully and Sarah made their way out of the bunker and made our way to the parking lot to meet up with Sam.

"So, what's going on with you and Ricky?" Sarah asked as they walked out of the front door. "Whatever you guys were talking about seemed pretty serious."

"Yeah, he told me he missed me and wanted to be friends again." Soul explained, causing Sarah to suddenly stop outside of Sam's car and turn to her sister. "He said he was sorry for everything he did."

"Well what did you say to him?" Sarah asked with a big smile. "Did you forgive him?"

"Did she forgive who?" Sam asked, finally coming over to his car after talking to his friends.

"Ricky and not exactly," Soul answered, turning to Sarah who had a sad face.

"Well did you say anything to him?" Sam asked as they all got into the car, causing Sarah to nod and point at him, agreeing to what he said.

"I told him that I didn't know if I could anymore pain right now." Soul explained looking around at all three of them. "You guys know how I felt after everything went down the first time, especially with dad not too long after. I don't know if I can handle anymore heartbreak."

"But Soul, you guys were best friends since the first time you three met in Kindergarten and were always inseparable," Sarah said.

"Yeah the key word, were." Soul said, looking out the window and no one said a word for a while.

"He really does care about you," Sully said in a hush tone, while putting a hand on his older sister's shoulder. "You deserve that happiness again."

"Thanks bubs," Soul said, smiling as she pulled him into a tight hug. "What would I do without you?"