High School Musical the Musical Read online

  Copyright © 2020 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

  All rights reserved. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Buena Vista Books, Inc. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

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  ISBN 978-1-368-06256-5

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter One: The Auditions

  Chapter Two: The Read-Through

  Chapter Three: The Wonderstudies

  Chapter Four: Blocking

  Chapter Five: Homecoming

  Chapter Six: What Team?

  Chapter Seven: Thanksgiving

  Chapter Eight: The Tech Rehearsal

  Chapter Nine: Opening Night

  Chapter Ten: Act Two

  Images from the Film

  Miss Jenn pulled her car into the faculty parking lot of East High. It was the first day of school, and she was excited to start her new job as the drama teacher. She took a deep breath and looked down at her phone.

  “Oh, come on!” she said, hitting the screen. The buffering interrupted the song “We’re All in This Together” from her favorite High School Musical movie. She looked up from the screen to the East High banner hanging over the school’s front doors. She had seen that red sign with white block letters so many times. And now here she was, ready to tackle the first day of school at the famous East High.

  She got out of her car just as two boys on skateboards whizzed by her. She was pressed against the car.

  “Sorry!” one called out.

  “Our bad!” the other said.

  “All good!” Miss Jenn said with a smile. “No bad!”

  As she turned to head into the school, she didn’t realize her dress was caught in the car door.

  Riiiiip.

  “Great, first costume change,” Miss Jenn muttered to herself. She shook off the mishap and joined the stream of students heading inside the school.

  Walking ahead of Miss Jenn were Ricky Bowen and his best friend, Big Red.

  “Today’s the day, Big Red,” Ricky said. He was holding his skateboard and helmet in his hands. “It’s happening.”

  “Junior year, baby,” Big Red said, grinning. “Might grow a mustache. Might do a lotta things.”

  “Dude,” Ricky said, turning to look at his redheaded friend. “I’m talking about Nini. Today’s the day we start over.”

  Inside the school, Nini Salazar-Roberts walked down the hallway with her best friend, Kourtney, sharing stories about her summer at drama camp. “Oh, wait, I want to show you a picture,” Nini said, holding her phone up. “This was my costume in act two.”

  “Flawless,” Kourtney said. “Love it.”

  “And this is the wig that almost fell off in the middle of my ballad,” Nini continued.

  Down the hall, Ricky and Big Red made their way into East High. “We texted. She sounded neutral,” Ricky told Big Red as they walked. “Nothing about bad news or needing to have a big talk. Just ‘Hey.’ That’s good, right?”

  “Summers are no-man’s-land, Ricky,” said Big Red. “I don’t know what ‘Hey’ means, and neither do you.”

  “I think it’s good,” Ricky said, trying to convince himself.

  Nini and Kourtney continued their talk in front of Nini’s locker. “And this…” Nini said.

  Kourtney took the phone from Nini’s hand. She zoomed in on the hot guy in the photo. “Oh, I know who that is, Nini,” she said, smiling.

  “Girl, I’m like point two seconds away from making that my lock screen,” Nini said with a twinkle in her eye. She turned to open her locker.

  “I can’t tell if you’re glowing or you’re sunburnt,” Kourtney said.

  Nini grinned. “Definitely glowing,” she said. “I had the best summer ever.”

  “And what does…you-know-who have to say about all this?” Kourtney asked, leaning into her locker.

  Nini took her phone back. “I’m waiting for the right time to tell him,” she said.

  “Yo! Nini!” Ricky said as he and Big Red approached the girls. “What’s good?”

  “How do you feel about right now?” Kourtney asked Nini.

  “Hey,” Ricky said.

  “Hey,” Nini replied. She took a deep breath. “Can we talk?” She didn’t wait for his response. “I met someone at camp,” she said. “I didn’t plan—”

  Ricky slumped. It had been his idea to take a summer pause, but he hadn’t thought that Nini would actually meet someone at drama camp. Sure, he had hung out with a couple of girls over the summer, but all he had done was talk about Nini the whole time.

  “Wait, is this a joke?” he said, interrupting her.

  “Still talking here,” Nini said with great confidence.

  “Oh, snap!” Kourtney exclaimed with pride.

  “I didn’t plan for it to happen. But it happened,” Nini told him. “He was the music man. I was Marian the librarian. It’s called a show-mance.”

  Big Red was trying to keep up with the conversation. “Wait, you went to librarian camp? That’s a thing?”

  “Please tell me you’re joking,” Ricky said, staring at Nini.

  “I’m not,” Nini told him. She turned to face him and looked him straight in the eye. “Come on, Ricky. You know what you did. Or what you didn’t do.”

  Unfortunately, Ricky knew exactly what she was talking about. There was no way either of them could forget that night in Nini’s room when she had played the song for him. And how he had panicked and froze.

  Under the twinkling lights strung across her room, the two had sat on Nini’s bed watching skateboarding videos on Ricky’s phone. Nini and Ricky had been dating for almost a year, and she was happy—really happy. Sophomore year at East High had been pretty great with Ricky by her side.

  Ricky looked up at her. “Do my feet stink?” he asked. He lifted his foot off the bed. “I feel like my feet stink.”

  “No,” Nini said. Then she smiled. “Sort of,” she said, shrugging and leaning in for a quick kiss. “I think it’s cute.”

  Ricky laughed. “And that is why we work!”

  Nini’s heart melted. “Check your Instagram,” she said, excited to share an anniversary message she had posted for him.

  Ricky sat up and looked at his feed. Nini’s post appeared. It was a video of her playing the ukulele and singing a song she had written for him, mixed in with a montage of photos of the two of them over the past year. She wanted to tell Ricky that she loved him and the song was the perfect way. “I think I kinda, you know…” she sang sweetly.

  Then, at the end of the video, Nini leaned closer to him.

  “I do, Ricky,” she said. “I love you.”

  Ricky stared at her. His brown eyes were wide.

  And he was silent.

  Now he was about to suffer the repercussions of that night.

  “I…I don’t believe this,” Ricky said. He shook his head. “You’re blowing me off for some theater punk you met four weeks ago? At a lake?”

  “You kinda dumped me,” Nini replied.

  “It was a break! It wasn’t a breakup,” Ricky said.

  “I’m sorry, Ricky, but it’s a breakup now,” she said.

  “Hop off, girl,” said Kourtney, clearly proud of her best friend.

  “Stay out of it, Kourtney,” said Big Red.

  “You stay ou
t of it,” Kourtney replied. “I’m dismantling the patriarchy this year, and I’m not afraid to start with you.”

  Nini turned and walked away with Kourtney by her side.

  “You crushed it,” Kourtney whispered to her. “That could not have gone better.”

  Nini smiled to herself. She felt good. She was Nini 2.0, and junior year was off to a good start—a really good start.

  The first day of a new school year at East High always began with a kickoff assembly. Principal Gutierrez stood at the podium at midcourt in the school gym. He introduced the new drama teacher, who happily took the microphone.

  “My name is Miss Jenn,” she told the students. “When I heard that the high school where High School Musical was shot had never staged a production of High School Musical, I was shocked as an actress, inspired as a director, and triggered as a millennial.”

  Nini was bouncing in her seat. “I’ve spent two years in the chorus at East High,” she whispered. “Would it be insane to think I might actually have a shot at playing Gabriella?”

  Kourtney gave her a hard look. “It would be insane for Nini 2.0 not to think that!”

  “Auditions are tomorrow after school,” Miss Jenn continued. “This show could change your lives. I’m saying this as a background dancer from the original movie. Third from the left, back row, red headband, and those are my real teeth.”

  Just then, a student ran over to Miss Jenn. She didn’t release the microphone; instead, she introduced him as Carlos, the show’s student choreographer. Carlos was the perfect person for the job. Not only was he the sophomore captain of the school color guard, but he was the official High School Musical historian at East High and had seen the movie at least thirty-seven times.

  After the assembly, Mr. Mazzara, the school’s science teacher, stopped in to Miss Jenn’s new office. Startled, Miss Jenn spilled her coffee all over her blouse. She was going to need another costume change.

  “Hey there,” Mr. Mazzara said. “I know you’re new here, but FYI, your assistant needs a hall pass if he’s gonna be late for class.”

  “Oh, lord,” Miss Jenn sighed as she mopped the coffee from her shirt. “Are hall passes still a thing? What is this, prison?”

  Mr. Mazzara shook his head. “Uh, no,” he said. “It’s a professional learning environment.”

  “Sweetie, I’m the ultimate professional,” she said.

  “For instance,” Mr. Mazzara said, scowling, “we don’t call colleagues ‘sweetie.’”

  Carlos rushed into the office past Mr. Mazzara. “Knock knock, Miss Jenn,” he said. “I just want to report that the High School Musical hashtag I started is already trending.”

  “Well, of course it is,” Miss Jenn said. “Your generation deserves to make its own mark on this classic. Watch out, world.”

  Later, in the cafeteria, Nini sat with Kourtney and E.J. Caswell, the handsome guy from her cell phone screen. It turned out the guy she met at drama camp also attended East High. “So, crazy idea,” E.J. said to Nini. “What if we went in costume to the auditions?”

  “Okay, I’m listening,” Nini said coyly.

  He showed her a photo on his phone of Gabriella wearing her iconic red dress from the movie. “For my leading lady, it is time to go full V. Hudge,” E.J. said.

  “Ooookay,” Nini said, pushing the phone down. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Obviously, you’re gonna get Troy, but I don’t wanna jinx anything!”

  Kourtney gave her a look. “That doesn’t sound very Nini 2.0 to me!”

  “We’re a package deal, babe,” E.J. said. “And all the talented senior girls graduated last year. This one is ours to lose.”

  Now a senior, E.J. had noticed Nini two years earlier when she’d played the back end of the cow in Gypsy. At drama camp, he’d seen her come out of her shell. Now she was ready to be his leading lady.

  Nini looked at E.J. and smiled. “Literally, how did we never speak until this summer?”

  Just as they kissed, E.J.’s friends from the water polo team came over to greet him.

  Nini leaned over to Kourtney. “Is he the best or is he the best?” she gushed. Kourtney was happy for her friend, but she didn’t want Nini’s heart to be crushed again.

  Across the cafeteria, Ricky sat with Big Red watching Nini.

  “I can’t believe this,” Big Red said. “Nini is dating E.J. Caswell.”

  “Yes,” Ricky said. “I have eyes.”

  “Co-captain of the water polo team, senior class treasurer,” Big Red listed. “I mean, what are the odds the guy she hooks up with at camp goes to East High?”

  “Apparently the odds are exceptionally good, Big Red,” Ricky spat. He rose from the table and headed toward the cafeteria exit. Today was not going as Ricky had imagined. And worst of all, the one person he was used to going to for advice was currently on her honeymoon in the cafeteria.

  After school, Nini visited her grandmother to tell her all about the new drama teacher and how excited—and nervous—she was about the upcoming school musical auditions. She confided that she had been having the same dream since she was a little girl: she was all alone on a big Broadway stage, and she opened her mouth to sing, but nothing came out.

  “There’s obviously something about being heard that feels off-limits to you,” her grandma said. “Do you not think you’ve earned it?”

  “I don’t know,” Nini said. “How do you stop having a dream?”

  “You live it,” her grandma responded.

  Over at Ricky’s house, his dad, Mike, was struggling with the Instant Pot and a raw, cold chicken.

  “Call Mom,” Ricky told his dad. “It’s like nine p.m. in Chicago. She can’t still be in a meeting.” When his dad didn’t move, Ricky picked up his phone.

  “She doesn’t want to hear from me right now, okay?” Mike told his son. Ricky knew his parents were having a rough patch, but it still hurt to watch them struggle.

  “This has nothing to do with you,” Ricky’s dad assured him, seeing the sadness in his son’s eyes. “It’s gonna be fine, bud.”

  Ricky didn’t know much, but he knew his dad should be doing something. Didn’t he want to fight to save his marriage? Suddenly, Ricky had an idea. He wasn’t going to let Nini go without a fight. He would win her back by auditioning for the new musical. He went over to Big Red’s to tell him about his plan.

  “Do you even know the plot of High School Musical?” Big Red asked.

  “Of course,” Ricky said. “It’s about Zac Efron dancing with a basketball.”

  Big Red shook his head. “Wrong!” he said. “It’s about the character Troy having to choose between being true to his friend Chad or following his heart with Gabriella.”

  Ricky stared at Big Red. “Why do you know so much about High School Musical?”

  “They play it on a loop at my allergist’s office,” he said. “You’re out of your league. You can’t pull this off.”

  Ricky took up the challenge. The next day, he borrowed a DVD of the film from the school library to study up before the auditions. Unfortunately, the DVD got stuck in the computer just as the end-of-the-day bell rang. Mr. Mazzara tried to help him get the DVD out, but the two struggled with the school computer. Zac Efron on repeat was Mr. Mazzara’s worst nightmare. Ricky confessed to the flustered science teacher that he had been studying for the auditions.

  “Stop wasting your time,” Mr. Mazzara said. “You don’t need to massage Miss Jenn’s bruised ego just because her lights went out on Broadway.”

  Ricky finally gave up on getting the DVD out and headed for the door. He was going to be late to auditions—not a great way to start his high school theater career.

  The auditorium was buzzing with excitement as the auditions were about to begin. Carlos clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

  E.J. stood with Nini, feeling very confident. Nini wasn’t so sure of herself, especially after she saw Carlos’s warm-up routine and the new girl who was killing the complicated d
ance number. Nini introduced herself and confessed she had never been cast as a lead before. “But this summer at drama camp, I went on for the lead when she got low-grade salmonella, so I’m ready,” she said.

  “I’ve never been to drama camp. Or been an understudy,” the girl with the incredible high kicks said. “You’ll have to tell me all about it.” She put out her hand. “Gina. Sophomore. Transfer student.”

  Nini was a little surprised by how straightforward Gina was, but she shook her hand.

  The students lined up on the stage, and Miss Jenn and Carlos moved down the row, assessing the possible cast and handing out audition packets.

  Miss Jenn stopped in front of Ashlyn, E.J.’s cousin. “You,” Miss Jenn said. “You’re giving me uncommon depth. Ms. Darbus?”

  Ashlyn beamed.

  Miss Jenn looked at Ashlyn’s application and smiled when she learned Ashlyn also played piano. “I always thought the drama teacher should have an act two power ballad. We’ll sidebar.”

  Ashlyn was thrilled.

  Next Miss Jenn marked Gina as a possible Gabriella. Gina pushed aside the audition packet. “I’m already off book,” she told Carlos.

  E.J. was next in the line. Miss Jenn took one look at the handsome senior and turned to Carlos. “Give him the Troy stuff. Who are we kidding?”

  When Miss Jenn tried to hand Nini Kelsi’s part, Nini took a deep breath. “Gabriella,” she said, mustering up her courage. “I want to audition for Gabriella.”

  Carlos handed her the packet, and Nini grinned. She was going after what she wanted!

  A wholesome-looking boy named Seb was next, and Miss Jenn asked if he would be reading for Ryan’s part.

  “I think he’d rather play Sharpay,” Carlos told her.

  “I love that,” Miss Jenn said appreciatively. “That is so fresh.”

  E.J. was the first to audition. His good looks matched his smooth singing voice. Miss Jenn and Carlos looked at each other approvingly. They were sold. Gina sang next, and her voice was just as amazing as her dance moves.

  In the wings, Nini was freaking out. She turned to E.J. for some last-minute tips.

  “Okay, you’re doing the thing,” he told her.