Looking back, this reads like a kid's story, though it's about college students...kind of. It was written for the heck of it, some at summer writing camp and the rest at high school. So not all the writing is perfect. In fact, placing this in this manuscript, I uncovered at least one typo and at least one hideous instance of telling-not-showing.
Here's what happens when unwilling YouTube star Briella finds herself transported back to the school she loved so much. Can you spot Ben here? There are plenty of other references to those days throughout the story, but I won't name them. This piece helped me move on and is a testament to the power of storytelling.
I should also give some partial credit to my campmate who provided my initial starting sentence at Blue Tree camp in Bryn Mawr, PA, in the summer of 2011. You rock, wherever you are!
The full story is on morganmyerswrites.wordpress.com.
*****
After lunch, things took a different spin. The girls noticed that flyers were all over the halls for an afternoon assembly.
"Who's coming today? Another stupid storyteller?" she asked Rachel.
Rachel snorted. "I hope not. Those storytellers are bad."
Oddly enough, the group playing was a school band made of seventh and eighth grade boys who had become famous through their own YouTube videos. They had a small lineup, mostly covers of songs by pop stars like Hannah Montana and Britney Spears.
"Oh, sweet," said Rachel. "This is a riot. Didn't they perform one of these online? It was so funny."
"I think they did," Briella said, grinning. In reality, her stomach was in knots. Wasn't this how she realized that singing and dancing could be fun? If it weren't for right now, she wouldn't be doing videos in the first place. She knew what she was about to do- after all, she'd done it before. The girls started walking to the auditorium, Briella preparing for her shining moment. And maybe she'd have the chance to earn Ryan's positive attention back.
"Oops, we did it again! We played with your hearts, got lost in the gaaaaammme!" Oh, baby baby..."
The whole school was enjoying Jon, Tyler, and Adam's rendition of a popular song. The goofy choreography by their friends made up for some of the off-key notes. Rachel sat next to Briella, trying not to laugh so loudly as to disturb the audience. When Jon let out a low, flat, "Innnnoccceent!" she almost lost control and had to stuff her fist in her mouth.
"And they formed a band with this talent?" Rachel said.
Briella snickered.
She was waiting for the right moment, where she would rise to pre-stardom, and maybe the role of Ryan's girlfriend...if only it would come. It had happened the same way two years ago, except the girlfriend part.
The crowd clapped and cheered for Jon's horrible, comedic performance. Tyler then spread his arms out to silence the crown. "Good news, middle school comrades!" he said. "I have a lovely entertainment opportunity for each of you. Who of you lovely ladies and gents would like to come up here with the best and perform an unoriginal composition that is pop music? Let's show Jon that his mediocre performance leaves much to be desired!"
With that, Briella was running a top speed toward the stage and up the steps. Before she could even comprehend what was happening she was caught in the spotlight in front of a surprised looking Tyler and the rest of the school. A couple of cheers rang out from the audience, and Briella even thought she heard a "Yay, Briella!" from Rachel.
"Well, well, Miss Briella," said Tyler. "Name the song and we shall try our best to play it!" At this, Adam started "warming up" his drumsticks and Briella giggled for a second before she stopped herself, blushing.
"I think...I think I'll pick See You Again! Woo-hoo!" She did a fist pump, and the audience reacted with some laughs and a couple cheers. It was the song she had picked when she performed for real. She thought she still knew the song well. Tyler immediately cued the band, and Briella began to sing.
She thoroughly enjoyed herself. It was all her, in the spotlight, belting out a song she thought she knew well. Sometimes the boys' faulty music skills made it difficult for her to concentrate on the lyrics. At least Miley Cyrus wasn't unfamiliar to them, considering the songs they had played beforehand. She moved about the stage pumping up the audience to the beat of the music, and even stuck her hand out toward the front row, as if she were really famous. It was a confidence she never knew she had. Because of the lyrics, she decided to try her hand at some flirting techniques that Rachel had once told her about.
On the second chorus, she tried to locate Ryan and sent out a couple of winks and some smiles his way. In fact, she was so focused on flirting that she flubbed a few lines.
"The last time I creeped out, I won't redeem thyself and my cart can rest till then!" she blurted. Oops. Creeped? Cart? Thyself? Well, maybe people wouldn't notice. She faltered a bit more on the chorus, forgetting some words. But she stuck with it and before she knew it, the song was over. The crowd cheered. She had done it.
"Another marvelous performance by Jon's Jammin' Band, if I do say so myself!" Tyler said, shaking her hand. "Well done, Miss Briella. Now we'll start our next song...any High School Musical requests, anyone?"
The house lights went up so Briella could take her seat. Still grinning from an after-performance high, she began descending the steps. She looked at Ryan from the corner of her eye. Did he approve? Well, he wasn't smiling. Not the end of the world, unless..
Wait.
Next to Ryan, Brooklyn was giggling, and she could hear Ryan whisper-singing a version of See You Again. This version included the words "cart" and "thyself" and "creeped out." They were singing Briella's botched version. They thought it was awfully funny. Another one of his guy friends was winking, similar to how Briella did during the chorus. Briella's breath caught in her throat, and she felt a tightening there. When Ryan saw Briella looking at him, he didn't stop smirking. In fact, he did an exaggerated wink, and Brooklyn showed her a seductive smile, which didn't look seductive at all. Rather, her eyes were bugged out, and her teeth were showing in a wide smile. Tears welled up in Briella's eyes, and she tried to walk away without letting them know it bothered her.
"Rachel," she said, tugging her friend's arm, "I need to talk to you. Like, now."
Rachel got up and the girls quickly exited to the girls' room, where Briella broke down crying. Rachel gasped.
"Briella, what's wrong?" She patted her friend on the back. Briella explained everything. How fun performing the song had been, how annoying Adam the drummer was (Rachel giggled), her flirting techniques and how Ryan had made fun of her at the end.
"Oh," frowned Rachel. "That really sucks. But you were so talented. Maybe you can find another guy." Like just going out and finding someone else was so easy. Rachel was never good at being sympathetic.
"I thought I had it down!" Briella wailed. "I thought it might be a good way to get him to notice.."
Rachel frowned. "No offense, but..." She hesitated.
"My flirting techniques need work," Briella spit out. A drop of black mascara rolled down her cheek. She'd forgotten she liked to wear that much makeup to school. Ugh. "When Brooklyn imitated me her eyes were bugged out and Ryan acted like I was stupid. He just kept smirking at me." She wiped off the drop.
Rachel just nodded. "Do you think you should move on?"
"After all this time I liked him? Are you crazy?"
Rachel raised an eyebrow. "But you've only liked him since the beginning of the year!"
It was then that Briella remembered the un-fun side of middle school. The painful side. She was too busy focusing on the good times, talking to Rachel, and simply thinking about Ryan. Right after she was transported to her old life, she was too excited to remember how things really were. Like the fact that Ryan hated her, or the times when she was talked about behind her back. Maybe that would never change.