I Ship it

“Are you sure about this?” Reyna asked, doubtful of Jason’s plan. After three weeks in tech crew together, they had grown closer than before, and now Jason was confiding everything with Reyna.
“I'm pretty sure. How else could I get the chance to talk to Piper McLean?”
Reyna rolled her eyes. “Maybe you could just go up and compliment her instead of creating an elaborate scheme that involves me,” she suggested.
Jason looked up at her, his sky blue eyes glistening under his tousled blond hair. “Please Reyna?” She heaved a sigh and nodded. How could she say no to him? She had never really spoke to Piper McLean, only heard of her and saw her in the halls. Now she was about to make a lifelong friendship with the girl, according to Jason.
Reyna confidently strolled up to Mrs. Dodds, who was grading math tests. How the woman had gotten into the theater program was beyond Reyna.
“Hi,” she tried to give a warm smile, but it felt more like a grimace. “I had the idea that maybe we should collaborate with the cast more. We could get a better idea of the show’s aesthetic. I was thinking that we should talk with the leads, like Piper.”
Mrs. Dodds barely glanced up, her gnarled hand crossing off answers in red ink. “Actually, some of the actors were requesting someone to help them out during rehearsal. Are you volunteering?”
Reyna bit her bottom lip, unsure. She would have to sacrifice an hour of tech to help out. From across the stage, Jason was giving her a thumbs up. This plan would never work. Reyna would just volunteer to help some awkward freshman while Piper would blissfully ignore her.
She heaved a sigh and nodded, “Yes. When will I start?”
“Now.”

Piper was on her last nerve. Theater and singing had always been an asylum to the constant stress of high school. Now, she was clenching her fists as Drew Tanaka tried to take charge again.
First it was just “maybe I should have a bigger part,” and then Drew kept growing more and more obnoxious. She would correct Piper’s pitch, even though she was always too flat or sharp, and flirted with every guy, even the openly gay ones in the cast. Piper wanted to strangle her.
Now Drew was upstage, negotiating something with the directors. Apparently she got her way, as she bounced back to Piper and the rest of the girls.
“Guess what ladies,” she squealed, “I just got us a personal assistant!” Typical. Drew was perfectly capable of getting A’s on all her tests, but she usually seduced someone into letting her cheat. Now some poor sap would have to grab Drew’s water bottle for her.
That reminded Piper. She had seen an article online about hydrating to keep your voice intact, and she had already emailed it to the director. I wonder if she saw my email about it. I should probably ask her about it, make sure that Ms. Mel would inform the rest of the cast.
The director, Ms. Mel, was addressing Drew and the group of girls, but Piper was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice.
“Ms. Mel? I was wondering if you-” she was interrupted.
“Oh, Piper,” Ms. Mel exclaimed, her eyes glittering. “Of course, I should have realized. Yes, Reyna will be your assistant.”
Piper’s gaze followed Ms. Mel’s hand over to one side of the room where a girl with a long brown braid was standing uncomfortably. Reyna Ramírez- Arellano. Piper’s pulse was rushing, her head reeling.

Notes

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I was just in Texas for a wedding and it's almost the end of the quarter at school so I have ton of tests tomorrow. This has been successful in helping me procrastinate, but I probably should get back to studying.

Anyways, enjoy this chapter, and sorry the ending of the chapter is a bit of a cliffhanger, but if you know "Wicked," I think you'll recognize what happens next.