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𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗦

chapter eleven:
a basketball triumph !

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VIOLETTA WAS IN deep sleep, nothing but a state of pure bliss. After all the exhaustion, hurt feelings, and confusion — especially after last night, where she had to leave the cabin because Athena and Gina were having a very intense argument — she had finally crashed.

However, the universe always seemed to mess things up, because she was snapped right out of that state by an air horn.

The sound echoed from far away, but it was still loud. Violetta's eyes snapped open and she shot up from her bed, glancing around the cabin in panic, suddenly on high alert. She could see the other girls in the Honeycomb cabin doing the same thing. An air horn definitely wasn't the mode to wake up the campers — Maddox stuck to using her bugle every morning, and she was still in her bunk. So who was interrupting her sleep?

"Rise and shine, Shallow Lake!" Corbin Bleu's voice shouted.

Oh. So that's who.

"He's out of his mind," Kourtney mumbled, getting up from her bed. She put on her slippers and walked towards the door. "He's out of his mind."

Violetta rolled her eyes in annoyance and fell backwards. She rolled over in her bunk and buried her face in her pillow, extremely upset by how she had been woken up before she needed to.

"Why can't we ever catch a break?" Athena complained.

"I'm never waking up early again for the rest of the summer," Violetta agreed, her voice muffled.

"Vi, we still have, like, three more days of camp."

"I meant after camp. You'll never see me before noon."

Kourtney came back a couple minutes later, only to tell them that they were doing something called Color War, which was a tradition at Camp Shallow Lake. It was basically a day full of sports and activities for the campers, and they all had to meet at the amphitheater at eight.

Unfortunately, Violetta hadn't gone back to sleep and had just laid in her bunk for a while. Once it was an appropriate time, Maddox started telling all of them what sort of activities they had and what to expect. And that's why Violetta asked her to come to the basketball court with her to practice basketball — after all, Maddox had the most experience.

See, here's the thing. Violetta was a natural dancer. She could turn and jump like no other, and she was always coordinated when it came to routines. However, once she would attempt to play any other sport, she would just . . . fail. Quite annoying, actually.

Violetta dribbled the ball and threw it up in the air, but just like all the other times, it bounced off of the rim. "My God, I'm hopeless." She picked up the basketball and held it in her hands. "This is impossible."

"You just need to tuck your elbow in more," Maddox replied. "Once you've got that, you're golden. You'll be completely fine, Vi."

"Hey, thanks for coming out here with me and teaching me how to do things for Color War. I really appreciate it."

Maddox crossed her arms across her chest. "You know, I honestly can't believe that you are bad at sports."

"I can land a triple pirouette but can't shoot a ball into a basket," Violetta said. "Trust me, it doesn't make sense to me either. Just different training, I guess."

"Oh, uh . . ." a familiar voice trailed off.

Violetta turned. Walking up to the court was EJ. She felt the same sting as she had the past two days, it especially fresh since she literally walked away from him last night. Violetta chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment, not really knowing what to do or what to say.

"Good morning." His eyes then focused on the basketball in Violetta's hands. "You're playing basketball? You never play basketball."

Violetta tossed the ball at him, and EJ caught it by his chest. "Hi, Elton."

EJ looked at Maddox. "Hey, do you mind if we just—"

"Yeah," Maddox agreed. "Good luck."

EJ approached Violetta, absentmindedly moving the basketball between his hands. "Hi."

"Hey," Violetta responded.

"I would ask you to start over, but I know you would have some sarcastic response to that."

She gave him a look. "Baby, we can't start over a relationship that we've had since December."

"I called someone last night," EJ revealed, and Violetta raised her eyebrows. "This show is going to be perfect. I'm taking some big steps to make sure of that."

Violetta shook her head. "None of this is about that." She then thought about it for a moment. "Well, the show definitely has something to do with this."

EJ let the ball drop from his hands and he placed his hands on her shoulders. "A perfect show is my ticket for staying in Salt Lake. It'll finally show my dad that I'm great at something so he won't send me off to Caswell Success School." He then lifted up his hands to rest on her cheeks, and Violetta felt tingles all over her body when he did. "It's how I stay with you, which is something that I want more than anything else."

She felt a soft smile appear on her face from that. "We have other times to worry about the future. Can we just, I don't know, live in the moment, for once?"

"Yeah." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I can't believe you're practicing basketball. No offense, but you're awful at basketball."

"Hey," Violetta protested, reaching up her hands and resting them on his sides. "I'm just kidding. No, you're completely right. I'm terrible. God, I hate sports." She laughed for a moment. "But I don't really care about me being bad at sports. As long as we win today, I'll be happy."

EJ pulled her face a little closer to his. "You and I will absolutely be on the same team. I'll make sure of it."

"I love you," Violetta told him.

"Hm, I love you more." EJ kissed her gently for a moment, and Violetta honestly felt like she was floating. He then pulled back and let her go, walking backwards. "I'll meet you at the amphitheater, babe." EJ stopped in his tracks. "Oh, have you been in the barn today? Was anybody waiting for me?"

She raised an eyebrow. "No, and I'm not sure. Why?" Violetta got a teasing smile on her face. "Who're you expecting, Mr. Caswell?"

"No one," EJ answered, his voice getting high-pitched. "Nope. See you at the amphitheater, Lebron James."

Violetta watched him go, a fond grin on her face. It was strange, honestly, how they could go back to normal after what had just happened to them.

(She would soon come to learn that this was not exactly the best thing.)

Violetta had showed up at the amphitheater at eight, just like requested. The whole place was decked out in blue and yellow decorations and the stage had a banner that said Color War. Violetta sat down on one of the logs next to Carlos, who honestly looked a little panicked.

"When I heard that the camp that's putting on Frozen for Disney Plus has a day that's emotionally similar to the 2006 to 2008 Disney Channel Games, I and the folks at the mouse HQ jumped at the chance to include this in our docuseries," Corbin announced, stopping all of the chatter. "Dewey, you wanna explain the rules?"

Dewey seemed startled by this, but he took a step forwards. "Uh . . . yeah. Um, every camper is required to participate in a few challenges. There's two teams—"

"And within each team are teammates." Corbin took the clipboard from Dewey, clearly having enough. "Okay, I got this. Okay. You know her, you love her. The captain of the Yellow Team is Maddox."

Violetta clapped for Maddox.

"Not sure, uh, everyone loves me, but thank you," Maddox voiced.

"Didn't say they all did," Corbin replied. "And the captain of the Blue Team, the director of the show within the show, some people call him Spaceship Man. It's EJ."

Violetta's face brightened. Oh, there was one-hundred percent confirmation she was on EJ's team now. He had to pick her . . . right?

"Yeah, EJ," Ricky encouraged.

"Let's go, Elton!" Violetta shouted.

EJ looked at her over his shoulder with a playful glare. Violetta laughed a little and blew a kiss to him.

Corbin placed a hand on EJ's shoulder. "Now, with a big smile, tell the camera which of your Frozen friends are on each team."

EJ shared a quiet conversation with Corbin for a moment before he addressed the crowd. "Okay." He cleared his throat. "Um, on my team, we have Ricky, Ashlyn, Gina, and Violetta."

Violetta's smile widened. She got up from the log and walked up to EJ, sharing a soft grin with her boyfriend. However, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that Athena wasn't on her team. A team with Violetta, EJ, Athena, and Ricky on it would practically be unstoppable.

"Guys, if you were on a deserted island and could text one person, who would it be?" Corbin asked to the camera. "Your mom? Your ex? Your life coach? Tomorrow, the winning team can text whoever they want when they get back their phones!"

Violetta blinked, sharing a wide-eyed look with Ricky. Honestly, with the whole EJ thing going on, Violetta had thought multiple times about just putting her headphones in her ears and drowning the world out, but soon realized that her phone wasn't there. Other than the music thing, she was doing fine without her phone.

"That's against Shallow Lake policy," Dewey insisted. "We are not—"

"Get your team colors from the bins," Corbin instructed. "I'm Corbin Bleu, and you're watching Disney Plus."

Violetta walked over to the blue bin. She started to shift through everything inside of it, only to notice that one specific member of her team wasn't there. Violetta looked up and saw that Athena and Ricky were face-to-face, clearly doing some sort of rivalry flirting. Disgusting, but cute at the same time. That was just the way they rolled.

"Ricky," Violetta called. The two turned to look at her, and she smirked at them, placing her hands on her hips. "Stop flirting with your girlfriend and come get your colors."

He obeyed, kissing Athena's head before walking over to the bin. Violetta continued to search through the clothes and ultimately ended up with a few cute pieces that would work for a blue outfit.

Once all the girls were back at the Honeycomb cabin, Violetta, Gina, and Ashlyn all got ready together while Athena, Kourtney, and Maddox got ready together, considering they were on the same teams. Violetta had on a blue cropped tank, a pair of jean shorts, and some blue Converse. The top portion of her hair was tied up into two small pigtails with blue hair ties. There were also two stripes of blue face paint on her cheeks, along with small hearts at the corners of her eyes.

The activities had started, and to be honest, Violetta hadn't done much. If she was being honest, she spent most of her time walking aimlessly around the camp, trying to catch sight of her boyfriend, who had apparently disappeared into a thin air. The longer she searched, the more her heart sank. EJ had said they would win together today if they were on the same team, but how could he do that if he was missing?

And then Violetta found herself back at the basketball courts, where the Blue and Yellow Teams were competing. Violetta stood at the side of the court with the yellow net with Ricky while Athena and Jet played on the other side of the court with the blue net.

"It's so weird seeing you on this court," Ricky admitted. "You suck at basketball."

Violetta scoffed. "Oh, you're one to talk. What'cha got, lover boy? Show me the ways."

"Well, you just throw the ball in the thing, and sometimes you make a face like this."

Ricky then made a strange face before completely chucking the ball at the net. As expected, it hit the backboard and bounced off. Violetta raised her eyebrows in amusement as Ricky let out a small oh and ran to get his ball.

"Wow," Violetta commented. "You're doing great. Didn't you literally play Troy Bolton?"

"That was different," Ricky protested. "I was in a harness hanging from the ceiling."

Violetta glanced to the other side of the court, where Athena was playing basketball with Jet. "I'll allow you to try again. Why don't you show your Gabriella what you've got?"

Ricky followed her gaze to his girlfriend, who was high-fiving Jet. "Hey, Attie."

She turned to him. "Yes?"

"This one's for you, my love."

Ricky did not change his form whatsoever, but this time, it hit the rim instead of the backboard. The basketball bounced off of the rim and landed on the ground.

Violetta instantly laughed loudly, unable to help herself. "Oh my God, you loser."

"Wow," Athena stated, watching the basketball bounce. "I'm so lucky. My boyfriend, the basketball star."

Ricky's face turned a light shade of red. "It was supposed to go in."

She nodded in understanding. "I know, baby."

"Well, there you have it," Violetta said.

"I don't really get why you care so much about basketball all of the sudden," Ricky revealed.

"It's 'cause I want to win." She paused for a moment. "With EJ. You know, if he wasn't missing."

Ricky then nodded his head to gesture to something. "Why don't you ask him? I'm sure he has some basketball tips for you."

Violetta turned to see what he was alluding, only for her eyes to widen. "Corbin Bleu? Chad Danforth? The guy who I've idolized for dancing since I was, like, five? Are you out of your mind?"

Corbin then walked up to them. "I heard my name."

Ricky blinked at him. "You respond to Chad?"

"Our characters never really leave us, do they? What can I do?"

"Well, if I'm being honest, I am not a baller," Violetta told him. "It's really sad, actually. I'm so coordinated when I'm on the dance floor, but when I'm on a court, I turn into a total klutz."

"You have to think of them as the same place," Corbin responded.

Violetta's eyebrows knit in thought. "How do I do that?"

"Look out!" a girl's voice then shouted.

Suddenly, something hard hit the side of Violetta's head. Everything went blurry, and black spots started to appear in her vision. Corbin and Ricky's voices immediately sounded underwater to her. Violetta stumbled to the side, trying to regain herself, but it was no use. The ringing in her ears and the blackness clouding her vision ultimately one, and the last thing Violetta felt was a pair of arms catching her before she completely blacked out.

Violetta wasn't sure how long she was out for, but the feel of a hand smacking against her cheek was enough to snap out of it. She rolled her head to the side a little bit, and she felt her senses come back to her. The concrete was cold underneath her skin, and the voices started to come back. Violetta's eyes fluttered open to see everyone kneeling over her, all looking concerned.

She reached her hand up and held onto her cheek, which was still stinging. "Ow."

"Vi," Athena let out. "Oh, thank God."

Violetta looked around at them in confusion, honestly remembering nothing. "What happened? Why did I suddenly get slapped?"

"You got hit with a basketball and got knocked out."

"But you still have a chance to be the hero," Kourtney announced.

Violetta didn't know what that meant. Athena extended her hand out to her. Violetta took it and used it to pull herself up, blinking a couple times to stabilize herself.

"For the record, the Yellow Team is about to win unless you can make one shot from the three-point line," Carlos explained. "Good luck, bestie."

"This would be very helpful for the documentary if you succeed," Corbin added.

Violetta's eyes widened and she felt her stomach twist in nerves. This was it. This was the moment where she would either win or fail. This was the moment where she could prove that she could be as good on the court as she was on the dance floor. This was the moment where she could potentially help the Blue Team win.

"Okay, hold on," Athena interrupted, placing her hands on Violetta's shoulders. The two best friends stared at each other. "Forget that we're on opposite teams right now, because I'm rooting for you. Listen, you may suck at basketball—"

"Wow, you're really boosting my morale here," Violetta replied sarcastically.

"But you know what you don't suck at? Dance. Use that passion you have when you do a calypso jump into a roll and put it into this last shot."

"Calypsos are easier than playing basketball, though."

"Yeah, maybe for you," Athena voiced. She shook Violetta's shoulders a little bit to hype her up. "You got this. I'm right behind you, like always."

Ricky held out the blue basketball to Violetta while Athena dropped her hands. Violetta let out a deep breath and took the ball from him. She turned towards the hoop, staring up at it in thought. Violetta glanced back at Athena for a moment, who gave her a reassuring nod. That boosted her confidence a tiny bit. If EJ wasn't here to give her some strength, at least Athena was.

"Give me some space," Violetta instructed.

She continued to look up at the hoop, her eyes narrowing in thought at it.

The court and the dance floor are the same thing.

Maybe she could take that literally.

Violetta positioned herself back into fourth position before she pushed off her right foot, maneuvering herself into a single pirouette. She caught herself, and while on relevé with her left leg, she did a fan kick with her right. When both feet were back on the ground, she pulled them back into sous-sous. That was her time to strike. She shot the ball, and to her surprise, it went straight through the net without bouncing off of anything.

"Blue Team wins!" Corbin shouted.

Violetta gasped excitedly. Oh my God, she had just done that! She immediately turned around to her best friend and threw her arms around Athena tightly. Athena laughed and hugged her back, the two of them rocking back and forth from the force of the hug.

"You did it!" Athena exclaimed, pulling away from her. "See, what did I tell you?"

Violetta smiled brightly. "What would I ever do without you?"

"Be really sad, probably."

She nodded in agreement. "True."

And yet, even though she had been victorious, the fact that EJ wasn't there to see it really brought her spirits down.

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my ballet knowledge really came out for this one