02x04 - The Storm

[bunniefuu]

Previously on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series...

Valentine's Day is a made-up holiday that I choose not to recognize.

I don't need to pop out of a locker...

Or give out expensive gifts...

It's a sled!

Or write someone a special song.

- I hold you in my heart - It's you And honestly...

Chocolate gives me heartburn.

I just can't believe you're leaving again today.

Two home-cooked dinners together wasn't enough.

I know.

It was a crazy-short Valentine's weekend, right?

I wish I could be there to see you off, but, you know...

Yeah, I know.

School, rehearsals...

Amongst other things.

I literally can't find anything in this new apartment!

Let me guess, you're looking for the orange hoodie?

How'd you know?

I stole it, Ricky.

It gets cold in Denver.

Okay.

All right.

That's actually really sweet.

You know, you don't have to keep putting on a smile for me.

If this long-distance thing is getting hard, we can talk about that.

I'm smiling because I'm happy for you.

Okay?

Just promise me we'll keep Facetiming every day.

You always ask that.

Yeah, well, I've always got time for your face.

Safe travels today.

Okay?

And don't you forget about, you know, Salt Lake.

Impossible.

Okay, everyone, gather around.

We have got a two-hour window before the storm is expected to hit, and I intend to use every minute of it.

Big, splashy group numbers always succeed at the Menkie Awards.

So we need to workshop a punchy, breathtaking number that will put us in the number one spot.

As our head choreographer, I am so happy to announce that today we will, at last, begin rehearsing one of the most showstopping, iconic, and bar-raising numbers of the entire show.

Be Our Guest.

Yeah, it has to be Be Our Guest, guys.

What?

Look, I know I asked Gina to be my co-choreographer, but I kinda meant it like, "I'm the choreographer and she's the co-choreographer." Like how there's a pilot and a co-pilot.

He called me his "co-pilot"?

When I finally agreed to being a co-choreographer, I thought that meant we'd be equals.

You know, and by equal, I mean, I would choreograph most of the show and he'd, I don't know, clap.

Before we begin, I'm going to tell you a little story about hospitality.

- Maybe we should...

Okay.

- Once when I was a little girl, my mom and I heard a clatter come from the kitchen.

We thought it was a burglar.

So my mom ran over, hog-tied the man, and promptly called the police.

As we waited for the cops to come, I watched my mother place a bowl of iced tea next to his face.

"Because," she said, "until the police come and get him, he's still our guest." So, did he, like, get arrested or...

No.

Turns out, it wasn't a burglar at all, just a repairman who entered the wrong unit.

But the point remains the same.

Just like our intruder, we need to make Belle and our entire audience feel welcome.

And with that, Carlos and Gina, take it away.

Thank you, Miss Jenn, that wasn't terrifying at all.

Okay, so, my vision to make this dance really soar is to stage...

wait for it, a Cancan-style dance that features a feather-dusting spectacle.

I don't know, it'll probably go a little something like...

- Absolutely!

- Oh?

All right.

Yes, gina!

Interesting.

I had a different path that's a little more elevated and less basic.

Think.

A noir-inspired performance that Lumiere guides our audience through the entire time.

M'kay.

But I actually spent a month in France once, so I kinda know this dance inside out.

And I choreographed all three of my sister's quinceanera dances, despite not getting one for myself, so I think I know how to twirl with a salad fork, okay?

Okay!

You know what?

Let's stick a pin in Be Our Guest and brush up on Gaston.

EJ and Big Red, to the front of the room, please.

Wait, where's EJ?

Yo!

I think the feather duster brigade sounded cool.

Really-really?

Yeah.

What, do I need to send you a random box of chocolates to prove it?

Sick burn.

Yes.

Yes, I misinterpreted the whole chocolates thing.

I guess my mom decided not to send me a stuffed bear after all.

Thanks, Mom.

So yeah, I sent an embarrassing text on Valentine's Day, but Ricky and I totally cleared it up.

Obviously, I would never step on what he has with Nini.

It's all good.

It's actually kind of a running joke now between us.

It's funny.

What's this sick burn?

It's nothing.

Okay, well, if anyone sees EJ, would you please tell him that rehearsals are mandatory, even for soon-to-be college students who are obviously suffering from senioritis.

Nini!

I don't wanna interrupt.

I just needed one more group hug.

Hugs available!

I thought you'd be on the road back to YAC by now.

Well, I wanted to see the whole crew one more time, so I got a later bus.

Plus, I had to bring you this.

Okay.

Well, that should help me get through the month of March.

Oh, no.

My driver just canceled because of the snow, and the next car is minutes away.

Great.

Watch me literally not make it back to school.

Hey, I mean, you want me to drive you?

I could grab Big Red's car.

Maybe, steal a kiss for the month of April.

Nonsense, honey, we're still in the middle of rehearsal.

I can take you to the bus station and then zip back to school.

Sound good?

Yeah.

Yeah, that works.

Listen up, everyone.

I am going to step out for a little while to make sure that Nini catches her bus.

Please go back to workshopping

Be Our Guest concepts until I return, and find a path forward.

I've asked Mr.

Mazzara to pop in.

And make sure that you don't get too rowdy while I'm gone.

Thank you, Benjamin.

Miss Jenn and I are colleagues.

No, we never quite shared a slice at the pizza shop last week, but we share an understanding, and that's enough.

That's enough.

Ej?

Hey.

Everything cool?

Yeah, I'm excellent.

Okay.

Well, uh, it's nice to see you.

I didn't get into Duke.

EJ, I...

I'm really...

I'm so sorry.

I mean, I'm sure you got into a ton of other schools, though, right?

One state school.

And I'm grateful for that, I am, but my grandparents met at Duke.

My parents met at grad school there.

We're a Duke family.

I mean, I thought it was a lock.

What am I gonna tell my dad?

I get it.

If it helps, sometimes dream schools are a little overrated.

What does that mean?

Nini!

Let's roll.

Trust the outcome.

Has anyone seen EJ?

Everybody, listen up.

Great news.

Gina and I agreed to joint custody of you all.

Oh, so who gets us on weekends?

We're gonna workshop our Be Our Guest visions on you guys separately before adding the dancers.

The winning version will then be decided in an anonymous vote.

Fun and easy.

Yay.

Come on, Bernadette.

Work with me.

Don't worry, we're already halfway to the bus station.

We'll be fine.

She's prone to stalling in the cold.

But she always comes around.

Even when she's scared.

We still talking about the car?

If I don't make it back to Denver tonight, I'll miss class in the morning.

And I already missed Friday and they're, like, crazy about the attendance.

I might even get kicked out.

You are not getting kicked out of that school.

Thank you for calling Triple-A.

We are experiencing high call volume.

Don't fret.

We'll get you back where you belong.

This number was inspired by my second-oldest sister's quince.

Theme, sultry jazz.

Sebastian, you may begin.

Oh, what was that?

Maybe a power line went down.

Oh, no, you guys.

I missed an alert from my Farmer's Alman-app.

Salt Lake just got half a foot in half an hour.

My dad says the roads are completely closed.

Oh, my gosh, you guys, get out here!

This is insane!

Are we the only ones stuck at school?

Looks like every other club went home.

Should I check on Nini?

I'm checking on Nini.

I don't mind the idea of being stuck together all night.

Maybe we should hold each other for warmth?

Okay, you guys.

Listen up, folks.

We need to act fast and gather supplies in case this gets worse.

Love the commitment, Gina, but I don't think it's that serious.

Rehearsal can wait.

Follow my lead.

Contact your parents every half hour, but conserve your phone batteries.

Waters, flashlights.

Let's move, people.

See ya!

What?

How did we move back in the queue?

An ice cream truck accident?

Who is eating ice cream today, of all days?

Yeah, hello?

Hello?

Oh, come on!

- Miss Jenn, I'm so sorry if I...

- No, no, no, I'm sorry.

You need to get back so you can do fabulous things and be the star that you are.

Tell me what you'd be doing if you were back right now.

Oh, well, Mondays aren't the greatest.

Nonsense.

Well, I guess it'd almost be dinner time, so I'd be heading to the dining hall in silence.

- "Silence"?

- Yeah, uh, muted Mondays.

We're not supposed to over-exert our voices.

Our teachers say if we're too loud as ourselves, we'll drown out our characters.

Okay.

What else?

Uh, it'd probably be snowing, so I guess that's not so different.

It's sort of the only thing that makes me feel at home.

So maybe I'd drink some tea.

No hot chocolate when it snows?

Uh, no, hot chocolate is on the Y-A-C N-A-Y list.

"Never At YAC." Um, it causes inflammation and puffiness, so everyone kind of avoids it.

Then, after dinner is bedtime.

Must be like a slumber party every night.

Uh, yeah, it's actually pretty low-key.

Whispering is bad for the voice, so it's kinda very, very quiet.

I see.

And then I'll listen to Fiona Apple and try to fall asleep, so I can put on my best face in the morning.

Honey, are you okay?

Tow truck will be here in minutes.

- Oh, good.

- Is it?

It is such a bad idea.

She wants me to tell her how I feel!

Oh, Gina, perfect.

We need a girl's point of view on something.

Dude, don't!

Ricky wants to text something so dumb to Nini, and I'm telling him not to.

- Dude, it's not...

- What's the text?

- Big Red!

- He wants to tell her that he's happy she's following her dreams, but also he wishes that he was her dream, and wants her to turn around right now and come back here.

I believe the word he used was "forever." Mmm, yeah, don't ever text that.

Or say it out loud, for that matter.

Ever.

Thanks.

And sorry.

We didn't mean to suck you into a whole thing.

Nah, it's all good.

I'm honestly glad I ran into you.

I found part of a Twix bar near my locker, and I can only assume it's your latest Valentine to me.

I go big, Gina.

You know that.

Biggie, there you are.

Way to abandon the fam in a crisis!

We're coming now.

- Told you it was a bad idea.

- Whatever.

Shut up.

Hey!

What'd I miss?

Not now, please.

I'm not getting any bars.

Try a different angle!

There's only so many ways a human arm can bend.

Oh, please, you have no idea how much my human spine is bending right now.

Why are we doing this?

Because I left my flashcards at the pizza shop, and I need someone to take a picture of it and text it to me.

Kourtney doesn't fail tests.

But if it's your phone, why do I have to be the one up here?

Because you said you got struck by lightning that one time on your farm.

So that makes you a better power conductor than me.

I'm not a cell phone tower.

And I'm not a body builder.

But we're both doing our best here.

Hi.

I need everyone in the rehearsal room, pronto.

It's the closest thing we have to a b*mb shelter.

- Because it's a b*mb shelter.

- Oh, but we...

The less I know, the better.

Where are the others?

I know they're in here.

I always keep a fun-size bag for emergencies.

Miss Jenn, there's a fine line between fun and completely freaked out.

I live on that line.

It's just...

There are a million things to be grateful for.

Like so many kids would k*ll to get into a school like YAC.

My moms worked so hard to pay for it, and Ricky's proud, and my friends and everyone just...

Honey.

All of those people just want you to be happy.

Miss Jenn, when did you realize that Broadway wasn't your dream anymore?

I was at an open call for the original cast of Frozen, on Broadway.

And I was sitting next to a girl who was auditioning for Young Elsa.

Well, Young Elsa was nervous.

So, I was giving her a pep talk, and then she threw up all over my sheet music.

Yep.

But I realized in that moment that I was more worried about Young Elsa than the audition.

And I looked down, and the only words that were still visible on my music were "Let It Go." The next day, my mother texted me that East High was looking for a new drama teacher, and I found a new dream.

Our ride's here.

We're saved.

Caswell, you're not cavorting with the other show people.

Not really in a cavorting mood.

Something you wanna talk about?

No.

Do you know where the finest place in the world is to study robotics?

Stark Industries?

Caltech.

I applied four and a half times.

Never made the cut.

A half?

The point is, it was all I ever wanted, all my dad ever wanted for me too.

I guess you heard about Duke.

Yeah, I might have heard something in the counselor's office.

EJ, you are a top student from a successful family, and a three-season varsity athlete.

You check all the boxes.

That's not enough?

A lot of people check a lot of boxes these days.

I read your essay.

It was strong, but it was a little surface.

I'm not sure that Duke knew what your story was.

Apparently, neither do I.

Well, son, you are welcome to hang out in the AV club whenever you want, telling stories is all we do there.

It's up to you though.

Hey, Mister M.

Do you still think about Caltech?

Not as much anymore.

How many hours have we been here?

All of them.

Anyone wanna play Charades again?

Sounds like no.

You guys, if we eventually run out of food, I just wanna say, you can eat me first.

- Dude...

- I probably taste like pizza.

Hey, whose phone charger is this?

I'm at %.

You wanna fight me for it?

You guys, this cabin fever isn't good.

What would Miss Jenn do right now?

I wanna say hog-tie a stranger.

- Yep.

Probably.

- Where are our choreographers?

Shouldn't we be rehearsing a song?

I wanna believe they're quietly working out their differences somewhere.

Have you met Carlos?

Maybe they're already laughing about it.

I'm not yelling!

I'm saying, with passion, that the song is called Be Our Guest, not Be Babette the Feather Duster's Guest.

Why don't you just choreograph the whole show yourself, and we'll call it a day?

Stop!

That's not what I'm saying!

I need you!

Do you know how freaked out I am to be even appearing on stage this semester?

Nobody outside of my family, and Seb, and my Barbies has ever seen me sing and dance.

I'm a behind-the-scenes guy.

You wouldn't understand that, you're in the scene.

No, I'm a change-of-scene.

I'm living in a house I don't own, playing a supporting role I didn't want, and I'm still just trying to figure out who I wanna be at this school.

And I'm sorry but you wouldn't understand that.

You think I don't know what it's like to try and figure out who I'm supposed to be?

Look around you, Gina.

There's not, like, a ton of me in this school.

Do you have any idea how excited I was to meet someone who loves dance as much as I do?

And I'm already blowing it.

Carlos, I didn't mean...

Look, it's just a really confusing time, and it's not about you.

So, we can do the dance however it makes you comfortable.

I mean it.

Okay.

But who?

What?

If it's not about me, then who is it about?

I didn't say it was a who.

You didn't say it wasn't.

It doesn't matter.

Okay.

But you do matter.

Try to remember that, okay?

I'll try.

It's nice to feel quiet for a second.

Excuse me!

Any idea where Kourtney Greene might be?

Wait, do you guys smell that?

Yeah, sorry.

No, no, it's my Grandpa Noah's pizza recipe.

Dude, don't you even joke about that, okay?

I'm so hungry, I actually would eat you.

Ladies and gentlemen...

We present to you...

A miracle in the snow.

- Howie!

- Yes!

How?

How did you get here?

I will take it...

Okay, all right, all right.

One, two, three.

Yes!

I didn't think my texts were going through.

Yeah, I strapped a plow to the pizza mobile, took some backroads and, you know, I'm a lot of man.

Well, if I carried cash, I'd tip you.

I'll add it to your tab.

If not for the pizza, then maybe for these?

My cards!

By the way, the rarest natural occurring element is astatine.

I just thought maybe you could use a head start.

Hit me up if you ever need a study buddy.

Now I have a tip about your attitude.

Attitude's on the house.

- I'm gonna...

Okay.

- Yeah.

EJ, you're alive!

Technically.

Everyone!

That's was an alert from my Farmer's Alman-app.

It says that the roads are clear, and the sheep are in heat!

I should have read that last part in my head.

- Yeah.

- Let's go!

Miss Jenn just dropped Nini off at the bus terminal.

Big Red, can I borrow your car?

Thanks.

Later.

You want a ride home?

You know, 'cause you never get to see me.

Yeah, sure.

Um, so what did happen back there?

With Ricky or with Carlos?

I'll take either.

I...

Yeah, I guess I'm still figuring that out.

Do you wanna talk about...

Nini!

You're still leaving.

You're still smiling.

Are you okay?

Is there something you're not saying?

- Did you bring your snow globe?

- Of course.

Then you got everything you need.

Last bus to Denver now boarding.

Last bus to Denver now boarding.

How can something shake up every dream I hoped for?

Wakin' up to everything around me turned cold?

Don't wanna go back to second guessin' that world

But all I've left behind has got me feelin' so torn

Am I takin' it for granted

Everything that I've been granted

I keep lyin' awake with these dreams in the dead of the night

'Cause somethin' don't feel right

Will I take it all for granted

And be leaving emptyhanded?

Oh, I feel shaken

Everything's changin' within me

I let my heart lead me home 'cause I can't do this anymore

Tryin' to be somebody else

If I never left, I never know

Just how far I didn't have to go to finally feel like myself

Am I takin' it for granted

Everything that I've been granted

I keep lyin' awake with these dreams in the dead of the night

'Cause somethin' don't feel right

I won't take it all for granted

And be leavin' empty-handed

Oh, I feel shaken

Everything's changin' within me

Am I takin' it for granted

Oh, thank goodness.

I thought you were another scary ghost girl.

- What?

- Nothing.

Honey, what happened?

Did the bus get stuck in the ice?

No, um, the bus is fine, Miss Jenn.

I just, um...

I couldn't go back.

I mean, they have a fancy campus, and fancy teachers, but the one thing they don't have is...

Ricky.

You.

This.

Kourtney, and Gina, and Ashlyn, and yes, Ricky and Big Red.

And EJ, and Carlos, and Seb.

This is my home.

And, I mean, it's crazy, 'cause I used to feel trapped here, but...

Today I was really sorry I wasn't.

So...

What's the new dream?

Is it okay if I don't know yet?

Come on.

Let me give you a ride home.

Hey!

Before you say anything, I hope you're having a great trip.

But since you asked, I do wanna be honest with you.

Always.

- Ricky, I'm not...

- The truth is...

- I have to tell you something.

- I miss you so much.

And I wish you were staying home with me forever.

I'm sorry, but that's the truth.

Ricky, where are you right now?

Home, why?

Stay there.