Esme was sitting on the ledge in front of the seats beside Ashlyn with her sketchbook, trying to come up with a different design.

"Okay, we just need to nail down our lighting and our sound, and, ta-da, we've got a show." Miss Jenn explained. "I need some bodies for the rooftop scene."

"I can do Troy." EJ quickly volunteered.

"Fine." Miss Jenn nodded. "Anyone for Gabriella. Anyone?"

She glanced around the room before her eyes landed on the Ortiz girl.

"Esme!" Miss Jenn called, causing the girl's head to shoot up. "Will you stand in for Gabriella?"

"Uh, sure." Esme hesitated, quickly getting down as she made her way up the stage, grabbing the extra script from Carlos.

"Do we have a working light board? Do we have a working light switch?"

"Found it!" Big Red shouted from somewhere he couldn't be seen.

Suddenly the light turned blue, causing the trio on stage to glance around confused.

Both Carlos and EJ let out a scream when they noticed the mannequins standing not too far behind.

"Calm down; they're just mannequins." Esme chuckled.

"Right." Carlos muttered. "Sorry, everyone. My uncle Ruben said there was going to be some leftover stuff from the fashion show. I guess the theme was '80's rave'?"

"In a nuclear reactor?" Ashlyn asked, causing everyone to laugh.

"Big Red, do we have anything more flattering?" Miss Jenn called the boy.

"Uh, working on it!"

Suddenly the blue light went off and the normal light came back on.

"Okay, Troy, basketball studd, Gabriella, math stuff, nobody doesn't cry, and we end up here center stage. Gabriella, give us your cue."

Esme nervously glanced down at the script in her hand before she turned slightly to face the Cawell boy.

"Remember in kindergarten, you'd meet a kid, know nothing about them, and then ten seconds later, you were best friends?"

"Yeah." EJ spoke in a deep voice.

"Singing with you felt like that."

EJ took a few steps closer to the Ortiz girl, causing her to raise her eyebrow in confusion as he made his voice sound different.

"Look, I never thought about singing, that's for sure. Until you. And now... I don't wanna stop. Ever."

"I'm sorry. But why are you talking like that?" Esme asked. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, I'm just emoting, E. Feel free to join me."

"You do know this is tech rehearsal, right?" Esme stated, confused. "And it's not an emotional scene at all."

"Okay, let's not wait for the lights. Just stand on your marks and gimme your cue again."

"Yeah, okay." Esme muttered, taking a step back, before she glanced up at the Caswell boy.

"I never thought about singing, that's for sure." He began to fake cry. "Until you. And now, I don't ever want to stop. Ever."

"Okay." Esme trailed off, moving the boy's hand away from her face.

"EJ." Miss Jenn called, causing the boy to walk over to her, leaving the Ortiz girl to stand there feeling out of place.

Suddenly a ladder fell on the stage right in front of the girl, nearly hitting her, causing her to quickly jump back.

"Big Red, did you do that?" Miss Jenn asked.

"No." Big Red appeared beside the drama teacher, causing her to let out a scream as she jumped in her seat. "I... Esme, dear, are you alright?"

"Never better."

⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Esme had found herself sitting on the stage with pieces of costume around her, trying to fix what was damaged with the help of her two best friends.

"Ouch." Zay cried, causing Esme to look up at the boy.

"Again, Zay?" Esme asked, causing the boy to send her a small smile, making her let out a small sigh.

"Just don't bleed on the costumes, okay. I'd hate to have to make them a third time."

"Okay, let's pretend we've figured out the lighting. If we've got a sound system, we've got a show." Miss Jenn spoke as she made her way from backstage. "I need someone to sing for microphone levels. Who's not doing anything?"

"Kourtney is an amazing singer." Stephanie, one of the dancers, said, pushing the girl toward the drama teacher.

"I'm a singer, not an actor." Kourtney nervously laughed. "This voice is for church."

"Thank you for volunteering." Miss Jenn pulled the girl to the center of the stage. "Just sing anything from the show. Doesn't matter what. No judgement. This is a safe space."

Kourtney nervously glanced over at the Ortiz girl, who gave her a supportive smile, causing the girl to let out a breath as she lifted the microphone up to her lips.

i believe in dreamin'
shootin' for the stars
baby to be number one
you've got to raise the bar

yeah, we're gonna
bop, bop, bop
bop to the top

slip and slide and ride that rhythm
jump and hop, hop 'til we drop
and start again

zip zap zop
pop like a mop
scoot around the corner
move it to the groove
'til the music stops

As the girl finished, a loud screeching sound rang through the room, causing Esme to quickly cover her ears.

When the sound stopped, everyone began clapping and cheering for the girl.

"Kourtney, honey. That was a wow!" Miss Jenn declared.

"That was more than wow. That was..." Lilly trailed off. "I don't know, but she was incredible."

"Yeah, Kourt!" Esme exclaimed.

"Unfourtantely, it seems we have now broken the sound system, the lights, and possibly me. Carlos, could you please clear the theater right now?"

"Okay, everyone, um, follow me. We are going to take a long five." Carlos trailed off before he led everyone off stage.

Lilly and Zay quickly glanced over at the Ortiz girl, who let her head drop back.

"Pack it." Esme instructed, causing the trio to quickly gather the material they were using before heading out of the theater after the others.

Esme glanced around the crowded hall for a space to work when she noticed a sad Caswell, drowning his feelings in popcorn.

"How about over there?" Lilly said, pointing to a big rectangle table.

"Yeah, hey, I'll be right there." Esme stated, causing them to nod before they went their separate ways.

"Everything, okay?" Esme asked, stopping in front of the Caswell boy.

"I guess you could say I did a stupid thing." EJ admitted, causing the girl to raise her eyebrow as she took a seat beside him, causing him to let out a sigh as he looked over at her.

"Another one? What happened to your resurgence?" Esme questioned, causing the boy to give her a look. "Sorry, not the time. What did you do?"

"You looked in audition files, didn't you?" Carlos questioned, rushing over to the duo, gaining their attention.

"And never mind." Esme muttered.

"Oh, boy." EJ groaned.

"I tried to warn you. Those were for Miss Jenn's eyes only." Carlos declared.

"Not a problem." EJ said, pushing himself off the ground, causing Esme to rise as well. "'Cause apparently, I don't have emotions."

"Sometimes you do have a way of performing that doesn't exactly feel authentic." Carlos admitted, causing the Caswell boy to quickly turn away from the popcorn machine.

"Then what was I just doing on stage?"

"That's what that was?" Esme questioned, pointing toward the auditorium. "I thought you were having a stroke or like an allergic reaction. I was very concerned."

"Okay, so what's authentic to you? A forest full of human beings?"

"That concept may need a little bit of time." Carlos gasped, sounding hurt.

"And so do I." EJ said, pushing the popcorn box into the boy's chest before he walked away.

"Well, that went well." Esme sarcastically stated, patting the boy's arm before she made her way over to Zay and Lilly.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰

The trio quietly worked in silence when the sound of Lilly's phone went off.

"Hey, it's Gina." Lilly said, pulling out her phone. "She said. "Sorry, drama with my mom's job. I think we have to leave a day early." I feel so bad for her."

"I couldn't even imagine." Zay shook his head. "After all the work she put into the show and making friends, she just ups and leaves."

"It's understandable though." Esme stated, glancing over at her friends. "I mean moving someone new. It's a really big deal. Like when my mom tried to get me to move with her to Milan."

"Your mom tried to get you to move to Milan?" Zay repeated, causing the girl to nod.

"Has she lost her marbles, or...?" Lilly trailed off.

"Apparently." Esme chuckled, nodding her head. "But that's what I mean. It's hard moving to a new place, especially if you've already made your mark somewhere. You know, found your home. So I understand."

"Maybe you could reach out to Gina." Lilly suggested. "She could really use a friend right now who just understands."

"Yeah. Yeah, of course." Esme nodded. "I'll call tonight."

"Hey, guys." Big Red spoke, causing the trio to turn their attention to the boy. "We're going to order some pizza while Miss Jenn has her midlife crisis... thing? Uh, are you guys good with pepperoni and soy cheese?"

"Yeah, sounds good." Zay said as the girls nodded.

"Cool."

"Uh, quick question? What's with the flashlight?" Lilly asked, pointing at the object in the boy's hand.

"Oh, this. I was going to go ask Ricky and Nini, and the halls are kind of dark." Big Red explained.

"Right."

"Well see ya." Big Red waved awkwardly before walking away from the group.

"See ya." Esme mumbled, turning her attention back to the costumes.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Everyone was informed by the Rodriguez boy that the El Rey was officially off the table and production was moving back to East High.

Esme was in the lobby of the theater re-racking all of her costumes when she noticed Ricky quickly walking down the hallway with Big Red.

"Hey." Esme smiled.

"Hey." Ricky said, quickly walking past the girl, causing her to raise her eyebrow as she watched the boy whisper with his best friend.

Esme watched the Bowen boy as he stopped down the hall to grab a bin, locking eyes with Nini before turning his attention to the Ortiz girl before disappearing down the hallway.

"What was that all about?" Zay asked.

"No clue." Esme replied.

"Wanna talk about it?" Lilly asked, causing Esme to send her friends a smile.

"There's nothing to talk about." Esme said. "Now, let's get these to the car."

Esme sent her friends a fake smile before pushing the rack down the hall.