"Shh." Carlos shushed as everyone quickly gathered around the bunk that held the birthday boy. "Okay, I'm gonna count to three."

"On three or after three?" Kourtney said, causing Soul to shake her head.

"Not this again." Soul said.

"Happy Birthday!" Maddox started, causing everyone to exclaim with her, causing the boy to jerk awake.

"Happy Birthday, Ricky!"

"And happy opening night, to those keeping score." EJ said, looking around at the group, "Our show might be in danger, but right now our focus is Ricky."

"Guys, you shouldn't have." Ricky said, slowly sitting up in his bunk. "For real, you almost gave me a heart attack."

"You're an old man now?" Jet jokingly said.

"But wait, There's more." Carlos said.

"There is?" Ashlyn said, sounding confused.

"The one person who couldn't possibly miss your big day." Soul said, placing her elbow on Carlos' shoulder.

"Come one in. your best friend is old enough to vote." Carlos said, causing the cabin door to swing open.

"Please tell me these bunks are air-conditioned." Big Red said, emerging from behind the door with a cake in hand.

"Biggie?" Ashlyn said, happily.

"Of course you showed up." Ricky said, pulling his best friend into a hug.

"We've spent every birthday together since pre-school." Big Red said.

"Yeah, and of course you brought the lotto ticket." Ricky said.

"Brought a what now?" Big Red said, sounding confused.

"A lotto ticket?" Ricky said, looking at the group behind him before looking back to Big Red. "It's the last thing on my bucket list. That's why you're here, right?"

"You walked on the moon?" Big Red said, looking at the boy surprised.

"He actually did it all this summer." Jet explained. "I'm Jet. Who are you?"

"I am Ashlyn's boyfriend." Big Red said, opening his arms open for a hug.

"My friend first." Ricky said.

"If we're getting technical, he was actually my friend first, you missed the first day." Soul said, smirking at the boy as she patted his arm before going to greet Big Red.

"Yeah, yeah." Ricky said, playfully rolling his eyes, looking over to EJ. "We good for tonight?"

"Yeah, we're all good." EJ said, nodding his head, causing the two boys to fist bump.

"I feel like I missed so much." Big Red said, smiling at the group, causing Ashlyn to let out a nervous chuckle.

"Excuse me." Ricky said, making his way through the group as he took a seat as everyone gathered around in front of him.

"Make a wish." Jet said, turning the cake around to face him as the group smiled at him, well everyone except Gina.

...

"Half hour, call everybody!" Maddox exclaimed, making her way into the room, causing some to cheer.

"Greetings, theater children. Listen up. You see this camera?" Channing said, holding up the camera in his hand. "There are another 10 of them planted throughout the theater. It all comes down to tonight. Okay? Big new announcement. We will live-stream tonight's Frozen performance on Disney Plus in order to drum up interest in our documentary."

That caused Carlos to let out a high pitched scream as everyone looked at the camera man with shocked and scared faces.

"Save the scream for on stage." Channing said, pointing from the boy to Soul dressed as Olaf. "For when you find out your carrot's been replaced by a stick of dynamite."

Soul quickly covered her nose, causing Gina to place a hand on her shoulder.

"Dude, what are you talking about?" Ricky said, asking the question everyone was thinking.

"I may throw a few things at you guys, last minute." Channing said. "It's fun stuff to shake up the show."

"You mean, different than how we rehearsed it?" Gina questioned, causing Kourtney to gesture to the girl playing her sister.

"You guys were so great at the last rehearsal, remember?" Channing said. "We need that, but more. Okay? So just change some dialogue, slap each other. Pull some wigs off, it's fun stuff to amp up the livestream, right?"

"We can do that." EJ said, clearing his throat, causing everyone to look over at the boy.

"What?!"

"No, we will do that." EJ said.

"Excellent. Okay. Have fun, all right?" Channing said. "At each other's expenses. If you aren't tending in Brazil at midnight, you haven't done your jobs. Okay. Also we need more from you pop princess, we're betting on a bigger audience from you alone, so do something to wow the viewers. Okay. Yay!"

Channing quickly ran away causing Soul to let out a scoff as everyone quickly began speaking at once toward EJ.

"Why would you say that?" Ricky questioned.

"Elton. Even I think we shouldn't pull each other's wigs off." Carlos said, causing everyone to gesture towards Carlos as they began speaking at the boy again all at once.

"Settle down. You guys, I was acting, okay?" EJ said, causing everyone to get quiet. "To get that jerk off our backs."

"You sure?" Ricky asked.

"Channing may know what makes a good TV show, but we're theater kids." EJ said. "And we're gonna do tonight our way. Final decision."

"Okay." Everyone began to separate as they calmed down.

"Hey." EJ said, taking a seat beside Soul as she went back to finishing her makeup.

"Hey." Soul said, sending the boy a supportive smile, grabbing his hand. "Don't stress too much. Everyone is gonna be great and everything will be fine. They have a great director."

"Yeah." EJ said, sending the girl a small smile before turning to the mirror to finish getting ready.

Soul stared at him a few seconds before turning back to her mirror.

...

"You ready?" Jet asked, standing beside the girl with Ricky as he held her Olaf head.

"I guess." Soul said, keeping her eyes on the audience.

"That was a rhetorical question." Jet said, causing the girl to look toward her cousin. "You're ready, Soul Surfer and you always have been."

"You've known every line of this movie since it came out like 8 years ago. You can recite it from cover to cover." Ricky said, kneeling in front of the girl handing over the Olaf head. "Besides, the carrot does half the work for you."

"I'm definitely ready for the song. I've become a professional, Richard." Soul jokingly said, taking the head from him, causing both boy's to chuckle. "I'm just not ready for this to be over yet. I'm not ready to say goodbye to camp."

"Don't worry, camp is just a place." Jet said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "The friendships you make last forever."

"That they do." Soul said, smiling at the two boys, before looking back toward the crowd. "That they do."

...

"I'll tell you why. We need Elsa to bring back summer."

"Summer? I don't know why, but I've always loved the idea of summer, and sun and all things hot."

"I'm guessing you don't have much experience with heat."

"Nope. but sometimes, I like to close my eyes and imagine what it'll be like when summer does come."

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Bees'll buzz, kids'll blow dandelion fuzz
And I'll be doing whatever snow does in summer
A drink in my hand, my snow up against the burning sand
Prob'ly getting gorgeously tanned in summer
I'll finally see a summer breeze blow away a winter storm
And find out what happens to solid water when it gets warm!
And I can't wait to see, what my buddies all think of me
Just imagine how much cooler I'll be in summer
Dah dah, da doo, uh bah bah bah bah bah boo

The hot and the cold are both so intense
Put 'em together -- it just makes sense!

Rrr Raht da daht dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dah doo

Winter's a good time to stay in and cuddle
But put me in summer and I'll be a-happy snowman!

When life gets rough, I like to hold on to my dream
Of relaxing in the summer sun, just lettin' off steam

Oh the sky would be blue, and you guys will be there too
When I finally do what frozen things do in summer

"I'm gonna tell her."
"Don't you dare."

in summer

EJ pulled Soul all the way off the stage, right into him, causing her to fall off the board directly into him, causing her to let out a little squeal.

"I got you." EJ said, letting out a chuckle as he grabbed her before she could fall forward.

"My superhero once again." Soul said, smiling at the boy as they both chuckled.

...

Everyone gathered around the side stage as they watched Kourtney make her way onto the stage for Let It Go.

The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation
And it looks like I'm the queen
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn't keep it in, Heaven knows I tried

Don't let them in, don't let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know
Well, now they know

Let it go, let it go
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don't care what they're going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway

The lights cut out, causing everyone to let out a gasp from the side stage and in the audience.

Soul quickly turned and walked around the backstage.

Miss Jenn and Big Red pulled out their camera lights, shining it towards Kourtney causing everyone in the audience to follow their lead.

It's funny how some distance
Makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me
Can't get to me at all

It's time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me
I'm free

Let it go, let it go
I'm one with the wind and sky
Let it go, let it go

You'll never see me cry
Here I stand, and here I'll stay
Let the storm rage on...

Soul stormed toward Channing as he smiled at his phone, causing Corbin to watch the girl in confusion as she stormed past him, flipping the level, causing the power to turn back on, causing the audience to gasp and cheer.

"Don't get me started." Soul said, glaring at the man before making her way back to her friends.

My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast:
I'm never going back, the past is in the past!

Let it go, let it go
And I'll rise like the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand in the light of day
Let the storm rage on!
The cold never bothered me anyway

Everyone cheered and clapped, giving the girl a standing ovation.

"Let's go, Kourtney." Soul yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth, causing the girl on stage to look over at the side stage, smiling at the girl before looking back toward the audience.

"10 minute intermission." Maddox announced once everyone made it backstage. "And if anyone sees Channing, punch him."

"Say less." Gina said, letting out a chuckle.

"Thank you, 10." Carlos exclaimed.

Soul decided to go and take a seat at the one place she seemed to gravitate towards the whole summer.

As she made her way down the path she noticed a familiar figure sitting at the bench.

"Nini?" Soul called, causing the girl to look over her shoulder with a smile.

"Soul, hi!" Nini said, quickly standing up from the bench with a giant smile, pulling the girl into a tight hug.

"It's been too long." Soul said, pulling away from the girl with a smile.

"It felt like forever." Nini said, causing both of them to let out a laugh as they took a seat on the bench.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here." Soul said, grabbing the girl's hand. "Does Kourt know you're here?"

"Well I was trying to blend into the background but that didn't seem to work." Nini said, letting out a laugh, causing Soul to smile at the girl. "Yeah, I just saw her in the honeycomb cabin."

"Isn't she just amazing." Soul said, gushing about the girl. "I mean that performance was just to die for."

"Yeah, she's amazing." Nini said, nodding her head. "But so are you."

"As are you Ms. Nina." Soul said, smirking at the girl. "I heard you've been in LA with your mom's. How's that been?"

"Better than I could imagine." Nini said, nodding her head.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, it's been great. I actually met my donor or bio dad, whatever I call him." Nini explained. "His name's Marvin and he's actually one of my mom's old friends."

"Really? What's he like?" Soul asked.

"Yeah, he seems fun and cool." Nini said. "Um, he actually told me some interesting things about my mom's like they were in a band and had a song on the radio."

"Really? Mama C and Mama D were in a band?" Soul said, letting out a gasp, causing Nini to nod. "Now we know where your musical talents come from."

"Yeah, I guess." Nini said, looking down with a smile before looking at the girl. "Also Congratulations are in order. I mean over 1 million views. Soul, that's like bigger than huge, it's like ginormous. I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, Neens. It still doesn't seem real. You know, music has been my main focus since forever and just to know that out there, there are people playing my song over and over again... it's just a surreal feeling. I mean I haven't even told anyone for crying out loud." Soul said, looking out at the pond as Nini smiled at the girl. "I mean to hear 1 million attached to my song it's a dream."

"Do you remember in Kindergarten when you were over the moon that you wrote your first song by yourself and Ms. Smith let you perform it in class." Nini said, causing Soul to look over at her. "From that moment on you made me want to start writing music too. I have never met someone so talented and caring. You've been through and have given so much Soul, I think it's time for you to shine your light for the world. Thank you for being my inspiration. This is only the beginning for you. You deserve it all."

The sound of a bell chiming rang from the barn, causing Soul to look back seeing Maddox waving her over.

"Well the show must go on." Nini said, letting out a chuckle, standing up from the bench, causing Soul to follow her movement, causing Nini to pull the girl into a long hug.

"You okay?" Soul asked, rubbing the girl's back as she let go.

"Yeah." Nini said, nodding her head. "This summer has had me thinking alot about so much and I realized how special you all are to me."

"You are very special to everyone too, Nin." Soul said, smiling at the girl as the bell rang again. "I gotta run."

"Go, have a good rest of your show." Nini said, shooing the girl away, causing them both to chuckle. "I Love You, you little butterfly. Now go spread your colorful wings."

"I Love You, too." Soul said, letting out a chuckle , smiling at the girl before turning and making her way back to the barn as Nini turned back toward the pond, quickly wiping away the tear as it fell.

I'm a little butterfly
Spread my colorful wings
Even though I'm small and frail
I can do most
Anything

...

Soul stood beside EJ as they watched him perform his song beautifully.

"Hey, can you come with me?" EJ whispered to the girl, causing her to quickly look up at him.

"Yeah, of course." Soul said, nodding her head, causing the boy to lightly grab her hand as he led her into a cabin.

"I need to do this and I want you here for moral support." EJ said, pulling out his phone.

"Babe, you got this." Soul said, placing a hand on his cheek, sending him a soft smile as he lent into her touch.

"Okay." EJ said, letting out a breath as he stared down at his phone, causing Soul to grab it from his hands as she pressed call on the contact.

EJ locked eyes with the girl, causing her to send him a nod as she handed the phone back to him, causing him to hold it against his ear as he slowly took a seat, causing Soul to take the seat in front of him.

"Hey, dad, it's me." EJ spoke into his phone. "We're in the middle of act two right now, and... and I actually fooled myself into thinking you'd actually be here, but I know you think this is a waste of my time. And I know I took a chance tonight that put people over profits... But just once in my life, I wanna hear you say you're proud of me. Just 'I'm proud of you, EJ.' How hard is that? Dad? Hello? Did you... he hung up."

EJ dropped his head in shame, causing Soul's heart to break.

"Eej." Soul said, standing up from her spot across from him, taking the seat right beside him, wrapping her arms around him as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I just... I don't know what to do to make him proud of me." EJ said as his voice cracked, causing Soul to rub the boys back. "All my life, I've done everything to try and please him and not once has he ever said he was proud of me."

"Hey, you've done nothing wrong, you hear me." Soul said, turning the boy's face towards her. "You have done nothing wrong, EJ. You are beyond talented and dedicated and if your dad can't see that then who cares. The only thing that matters at the end of the day is if you are proud of your own accomplishments. You, my love, are putting on one of the best show's anyone has ever seen. Be proud of that. I'm so proud of you."

"I Love You." EJ said, sending the girl a small smile.

"I Love You." Soul said, wrapping her arms around the boy, letting him lay his head on her shoulder.

...

After the curtain call everyone made their way back to the dressing room to get dressed before making their way back to the stage where they knew Miss Jenn and Big Red would be waiting.

"So..." Ricky said, leading the group as everyone stood around the stage.

"My babies." Miss Jenn said, smiling at the group.

"Were we good?" Kourtney asked, approaching the drama teacher with a grin.

"No. You were incredible." Miss Jenn said, pulling the girl into a tight hug, causing Soul to smile up at EJ as he kept his arm around the girl.

"Wait. Jessica? From the first High School Musical movie?" Corbin said, approaching the group with Channing behind him, shocking the group. "It is you. Jessica."

"Close enough." Miss Jenn said, smiling as he pulled her into a hug.

"You were our favorite extra." Corbin admitted as he let her go.

"You were my favorite Corbin." Miss Jenn said.

"Should we give you space, or..." Carlos said, trailing off.

"You know what? Hold on." Channing said, shuffling through his pocket. "I wanna put a microphone on the girl. This is really good."

"Actually, Channing, why don't you take a long five? Okay?" Corbin said, turning around to face the man with the camera as he handed over his microphone. "Get lost. It's done. We're done."

"We're done? Yeah. okay." Channing said. "Well, I always have final say in the editing room."

Corbin took a step toward him, causing him to slowly turn around before he quickly left the room.

"What team?" Corbin said.

"He's doing it." Gina said, excitedly.

"Wildcats!" Ricky said.

"What team?" Corbin asked again.

"Wildcats."

"What team?"

"Wildcats!"

"Wildcats!"

"Get your head in the game!"

"That felt right." Corbin said, smiling at the group.

"Last night of camp, huh, kids?" Miss Jenn said , leading the group to the stage.

"So this is it, then?" Gina asked, looking around at the group as she took a seat beside Miss Jenn on the stage.

"Define 'it'." EJ said, looking at the girl confused.

"Just kind of feels like something is over."

Gina said, looking around at the group.

"Sometimes, the really good stuff begins only when something else ends." Miss Jenn explained.

Once in a lifetime
Means there's no second chance
So I believe that you and me
Should grab it while we can

Make it last forever
And never give it back

It's our turn and I'm lovin' where we're at

Because this moment's really all we have

Every day of our lives

Wanna find you there, wanna hold on tight

Gonna run

While we're young
And keep the faith

Every day

From right now
Gonna use our voices and scream out loud

Takе my hand

Soul smiled at the boy beside her, holding her hand out toward him, causing him to smile at her, interlocking their fingers.

Together we will cеlebrate (Celebrate)
Oh, every day

We're takin' it back, we're doin' it here together

It's better like that
And stronger now than ever

We're not gonna lose 'cause we get to choose
That's how it's gonna be
Every day (Every day; every day)
Every day (Every day; every day; every day)
Every day (Day)

Everyone was standing outside having a blast around the campfire, enjoying the last night of camp together.

"Uh, you guys?" EJ said, causing everyone to look over at the boy. "We're trending in Brazil."

"Oh dude. I forgot." Jet said before anyone had the chance to say anything else, walking toward Ricky. "You got an opening night card. Found it behind the couch."

"From Nini." Maddox said, letting out a chuckle.

"Open it." Gina said, sending the boy a supportive smile.

Yep." Ricky said, letting out a chuckle, pulling out the final item of his bucket list. "She remembered. She remembered the lottery ticket."

"Hey, I need to talk to you guys before I forget." Soul said, grabbing both of her cousins' hands.

"What's up?" Maddox said, causing Jet to nod.

"Well you know how we had free range with our phone after color wars." Soul said, causing them both to nod.

"Wait, you're the one who reminded Nini about the lotto ticket?" Jet said.

"No, I didn't need to. She knew." Soul said. "I actually talked to my mom about you."

"You talked to Aunt Stella about us?" Maddox asked, making eye contact with her brother before, looking back toward Soul as she nodded with a smile. "W-why'd you do that?"

"Well I've seen how close you've gotten with the Wildcats and you know how much we all love you guys." Soul explained, causing them both to smile. "Well my mom said if you guys are interested, there's always room in casa de Walker for you both especially now with Sarah and Sam heading to college. So what I'm trying to say is... do you guys want to come live with us and maybe transfer to East High and become a Wildcat."

...

ONE MONTH LATER

"Hey, guys. We're gonna keep this super casual, okay?" Corbin explained to the group as they sat on the stage. "Before we welcome all the audience in for the premiere, we're gonna show you the first full-length trailer for your reactions. Just be you."

"Where's Channing?" Carlos asked.

"Channing edited the doc, but we're no longer working together." Corbin explained.

"Smart man." Soul said, smiling at the man, causing everyone to chuckle.

"Okay. Here we go. Just your honest reactions. And for the record, I haven't even seen this." Corbin admitted.

"Who!" Ashlyn said as the man turned to the screen, playing the trailer.

Let's go!" Ricky said, causing everyone to clap and cheer.

They watched the trailer and it was very obvious Channing had his hands on the footage.

Chips being taken out of context and fake drama being added.

Apparently Kourtney and Gina had a rivalry going on while Gina and Ricky secretly dated.

"I didn't say... that wasn't about you." Gina said. " I swear."

"Honestly, you come to Shallow Lake one way, and you always change." EJ spoke from the screen.

"Yeah, EJ and I are in such a good place in our relationship. He's the best boyfriend you could ask for." Soul spoke, before the scene cut to the two in the barn when they first said 'I Love You', causing everyone to aww as the couple smiled at each other before the scene turned to clips of him and Val.

"Yeah, I have a lot of questions about those two." Ricky spoke, causing his and EJ's eyes to go wide. "I was talking about the characters in Frozen. I finally learned their names. You guys, Mr. Bleu?"

"I'm only focusing on one other thing this summer and that's writing my music." Soul appeared on the screen once again before cutting to a clip of her singing to Ricky in the barn alone as the boy watched her. "I've talked about this moment ever since I was a kid. He's making my dream come true."

Everyone turned to Soul as her mouth dropped.

"No! I wasn't even talking about Ricky!" Soul said, covering her face as she peaked through her fingers. "I was talking about Jamie!"

"Is everyone okay?" Corbin asked once the trailer finished.

"I'm calling Seb." Carlos said, quickly standing up from his seat as Ashlyn followed after him.

"I'm calling Big Red." Ashlyn said, quickly following the boy.

"I'm calling my agent." Kourtney said, standing up from her seat.

"Right behind you." Soul said, pointing at the girl.

"Wait. You guys have an agent?" Gina said.

"I have a momager." Soul said, shrugging her shoulders.

"That's your number one question after seeing that?" EJ asked, looking at the girl confused.

"Yeah, okay, I think we're just gonna, like..." Maddox said, standing from her seat.

"Yeah." Jet said, standing up from his seat, flowing his sister off the stage.

"Okay, guys let me explain." Soul said, standing up from her seat as the final four stood on the stage. "That clip was after I found out my song hit 1 million streams in a week and the guy I was referring to was Jamie because he's helped me come so far."

"No need to explain, Soul." Gina said, sending the girl a smile.

"EJ." Soul said, turning to look at her boyfriend.

"It's fine, really. I know everything is out of context." EJ said, sending the girl a smile as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Okay." Soul said, nodding her head before they looked at Ricky.

"Hurt her and I will real-slap you, Richard." Soul said, smiling at the boy, causing him to slowly nod before Soul and EJ turned, leaving the two to be.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" EJ said, grabbing the girl's arm lightly, causing her to stop.

"Yeah." Soul said, looking up at the boy.

"Look I know we don't know what the future holds for me right now and I don't know where I'll be in a couple weeks. I just need you to promise me one thing." EJ said, looking his girlfriend in her eyes.

"Anything." Soul said, nodding her head.

"If I do get sent away by dad will you still be here when I get back?" EJ said.

"Aw, EJ it's cute that you think you can get rid of that easily." Soul said, causing them both to chuckle as Soul smiled at the boy. "I'll be whenever you need me to be. Remember we were best friends first so we're stuck together till the end, alright?"

"Till the end." EJ said, nodding his head with a smile before pulling the girl in for a kiss.

...