#Rina Week 2022 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lastchancevillagegreen · 1 year ago

Text

Another Top Ten Favorite Graphic Novels Read in 2023:

#11

Monica Daniel Clowes (2023)

Daniel Clowes’ first novel in six years is a challenging read about a mother who despises motherhood and marriage and dumps her daughter with her parents and splits. Where does she go? That’s what her daughter Monica attempts to discover. In typical Clowes fashion this takes so many detours and does so in the style of a variety of old comic books (war, romance, EC Horror, etc). I did this book a tremendous disservice by not reading it in one sitting as I do 95% of all graphic novels. Had I done so, it might have appeared higher in my list.

#12

We Are On Our Own Miriam Katin (2006)

Letting It Go Miriam Katin (2013)

In We Are On Our Own, Katin tells the true story of her life between the ages of two to six as she and her mother who are forced to escape Budapest on foot (the husband is in the Hungarian army fighting the Nazis). They fake their deaths (as suicides), get fake papers and end up in the country living with a couple as a servant and her illegitimate daughter. Harrowing and heartbreaking. The biggest shock: this was Katin’s first graphic novel and she wrote, drew it and had it published at the tender age of 64. In Letting It Go, Katin leaps forward in her life to tell the story of her adult son’s decision to move to Berlin and register to become a citizen. Miriam freaks out believing that Berlin is still the same city it was during World War II. With the help of her husband Geoff, her son Ilan and his Swedish girlfriend Tinet, not to mention plenty of martinis, Miriam discovers that letting go of her anger can become a good thing.

#13

Just Another Meat-Eating Dirtbag Michael Anthony and Chai Simone (2022)

Michael is an Iraq War vet and his girlfriend Coconut is a nurse. And a vegetarian. And she has difficulty with Michael’s meat eating. Long story short: she becomes an animal activist on top of her vegetarianism, and he decides to convert to her way of thinking but only because he believes he can convert her back to eating meat via a sly method he calls the Trojan Tofu Horse methodology. This book is based on the authors own marriage and it is the funniest and most unexpected book to appear on this list. A sheer delight but it begs the question, why are boys so stupid?

#14

Who Will Make The Pancakes Megan Kelso (2022)

This is an anthology of five of Kelso’s stories for a variety of publications all in different mediums and Kelso, a self taught artist, is a master of all of them. Her story Watergate Sue about having a mother who loved watching the Watergate hearings more than she did motherhood is hilarious. But the book’s masterpiece, from 2011, is story four: Korin Voss a heartbreaking tale of a single mother of two girls, Athena and Penelope. The things this mother does to keep food on the table is heart wrenching and destructive, but ultimately it proves again just how difficult motherhood can be.

#15

Queenie Godmother of Harlem Elizabeth Colomba and Aurélie Levy (2023)

Exceptional bio-graphic novel about Stephanie St Clair, the godmother of Harlem who exerted quite a grip on Harlem as she ran her numbers racket. This all took place during the Harlem Renaissance and when prohibition ended suddenly all the big time gangsters wanted to take over St Clair’s numbers racket. Elizabeth Colomba’s artwork is simply stunning.

#16

The Man In The McIntosh Suit Rina Ayuyang

Taking place in Watsonville, California during the Depression, this novel about the Filipino experience in the US is captivating. Steeped heavily in noirish qualities and filled with gangsters, mistaken identities and plenty of circumspect happenings in the shadows, this ensures I will seek out Rina Ayuyang’s work from this point on.

#17

Sunshine Jarrett J Krosoczka (2023)

Jarrett Krosoczka spent two weeks of his life as a senior in high school attending a camp where he worked as a “counselor” (ie: a person who tends to the moods and needs of) for kids who had cancer. As a social worker who had plenty of high school kids die on my caseload because of disabling conditions I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this, dreading a schmaltzy Hallmark feel-good novel. I feared overdosing on the word “courageous” and “brave,” words which my students never appreciated because they were just living their life. But to his credit Krosoczka avoids them (he says “courageous” once) and even better he allows his counselors to get angry with the kids. Since these kids come to camp to experience a normal life situation, what better way to give them that? Even better, the author befriended many of them and kept in contact with them until Death came knocking at their door, but he kept right on being friends with the families. The best part: Krosoczka’s artwork has improved measurably (his last book Hey, Kiddo suffered because of the artwork).

#18

Lon Chaney Speaks Pat Dorian (2020)

The 30something author/artist of this book admits in an introduction that he is wildly out of step with his peers in his love for silent cinema. He then admits that Chaney, a notorious man who hated speaking about his life or with the press, was a difficult person to learn about. Dorian admits this “is not a historical document; an imagined biography is more accurate.” But this is not fan fiction (something I despise). Dorian manages to make a lot of discoveries about Chaney and it ends up being a marvelous read. What would Chaney think? Well, he would have bothered reading the book and besides, he’s dead.

#19

The Twilight Man: Rod Serling and The Birth of Television Koren Shadmi (2019)

All Tomorrow’s Parties: The Velvet Underground Story Koren Shadmi (2023)

Koren Shadmi wrote a graphic novel about Bela Lugosi that made my Top 20 a couple of years ago. Earlier this year I discovered his biography on Rod Serling in which Shadmi rightfully argues that Serling is one of the most important figures in early television. His most recent bio-graphic novel concerns the Velvet Underground. He documents how Lou Reed and John Cale got together, following the band through to their fourth album Loaded when Reed suddenly left the band. Both books are expertly drawn, incredibly researched and reveal Shadmi’s love of his subject matter.

#20 A Guest In The House Emily Bloom

Abby is newly married to a dentist. It is his second marriage. She feels slightly uncomfortable in her new guise as a bride and a mother. She is now step-mother to a preteen and struggles to relate to her. There are questions about the death of the first wife and as the novel slowly moves forward not only does Abby begin to question what her husband has told her, she also begins getting visits from the dead wife’s ghost. You think you know where this is going (I sure did) but by the end of the novel, you realize you didn’t have a clue. And you might even have to read parts of the book again to fully comprehend what happened at the end, but all the pieces of this puzzle are laid out for us to see, we just don’t recognize them.

Missing In Action spines are all seen below!

1 note · View note

emiraee · 2 years ago

Text

all my rina week drawings !! @rinaweek

day 1: secret dating

day 2: love languages

day 3: missing moment (i did the opposite lol)

day 4: nighttime adventures

day 5: oh? oh

day 6: date night

217 notes · View notes

its-musical-dinosaur · 2 years ago

Text

@rinaweek Day 2: Love Languages

#hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #gina porter #rina #ricky bowen #rina hsmtmts #ricky x gina #art #drawing #ibispaintx #rina week 2022 #ricky hsmtmts #gina hsmtmts

157 notes · View notes

asongcanmeaneverything · 2 years ago

Text

Ricky and Gina’s Weekend Getaway

Synopsis: Ricky and Gina fly out to a music festival in Chicago where she's set to perform as a backup dancer for one of Jamie’s artists. While there, Ricky and Gina help each other deal with Todd and Jamie, and unexpectedly deepen their relationship before summer ends.

5,300 words.

Characters: Ricky, Gina, their moms, Jamie, and Todd.

Author’s Note: Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to actually write it. I quit my job this week so I actually had the time. Shoutout to my little brother who acted as my editor. Hope all you Rinas enjoy.

“Mom! I can’t find my lucky dance bracelet!” Gina yelled, tearing apart every inch of her new bedroom. Her bedroom. Her very own space. Half boxed, half unboxed – and her brain in full panic mode.

Ricky quickly quipped over FaceTime.

“Easy Killer. You’re like a hurricane right now. Warning! Category Five Gina has just made landfall in Salt Lake!”

She snatched the phone and glared at Ricky with a cold icy stare…

“Don’t get me started.”

It had only been two months since camp ended, one month since their big first kiss, and only one week since she and her mom moved in to her seventh home in seven years. It was a mess, all of it, but she was learning to embrace it. Her room too was all over the place in reflection, and she needed to find her lucky dance bracelet now more than ever.

Gina’s mom gently approached her door.

“You had it earlier today at the pool baby. Remember? You handed it to Ricky.”

Ricky’s heart raced. He was frozen. He felt at his pockets and pulled out the bracelet into her view. Gina’s eye twitched imagining all the things she could do to him.

“You almost lost my—”

"Ok. Hey – I didn’t lose it.”

“Remember when you lost our tickets to the movies last week?”

“They weren’t lost. I just forgot they were in my pocket. I always forget that my pockets exist. Do we really even need pockets? Come on Gina.”

Gina tilted her head in disapproval. Ricky wiggled the bracelet like a worm, giving it a shrimpy cartoonish voice.

“Please don’t kill Ricky, Gina, he’s very sorry.”

She bit her lip down to hide a quiet giggle. Ricky always seemed to find a way make Gina smile. As expected, the attempted suppression failed and the two burst into laughter. Gina’s mom leaned against her door, perplexed that the two could laugh so hard at almost nothing at all and amazed at just how happy Gina had been lately.

It was the last weekend of summer vacation and Gina and Ricky were headed to Chicago together. Jamie was premiering a new artist at a big musical festival, but more importantly, he was able to get Gina hired as a backup dancer. With so much buzz from the documentary premiere, this was a perfect follow up for her online fans to see more of her dance skills. It was going to be her first professional gig, and it meant all the more that Jamie had gotten it for her. While the two hadn’t exactly been on great terms since he left Beauty and the Beast, life was going so well for her now that this felt like the beginning of a fresh chapter for them. The start of something new.

Gina’s mom had to work this weekend though, so Ricky begged her and his parents for permission to fly out with Gina to Chicago. And they actually agreed. But Gina would be staying with her brother, which meant Ricky would be staying with his mom and Todd. As excited as he was to spend the weekend with Gina and see his mom, spending any time with Todd hung over him like a dark cloud. But he didn’t want to tell Gina and take away from her focus from the festival, and truthfully, he was ashamed to admit he was still uncomfortable seeing his parents date other people. It had taken him a while to adjust to Ms. Jenn dating his dad, but even that was different. He saw Ms. Jenn every day at school. But Todd was the guy who got his head out of the game on opening night. Ricky was eighteen now, and knew he had to fight these feelings and he shouldn’t be so affected by change anymore. It was time to grow up, and yet, there was a little something distant and sad in his eyes, which Gina, as always, quickly caught.

“Ricky. You okay?”

He snapped out of it. “Sorry I was daydreaming about our flight tomorrow! We have so much to do.”

“On a three hour flight?”

“Of course! We’re going to finish the new season of the Great British Baking show, and eat pretzels, play games…”

She smiled. “I can’t wait to see the sights as we fly in.”

Ricky softly smiled back. He’ll just be happy to see her, he thought.

They continued to talk and pack late into the night. Ricky rambled on with joy and excitement about all their weekend plans. It was a lot, but he was making up for time lost between them. He was so busy detailing all of the places he wanted to take her, all of the things that they could do, that he hardly noticed for the better part of an hour she had quietly dozed off into a dreamy slumber. She was so peaceful when she slept, and he didn’t dare wake her. How lucky few had ever gotten to see Gina Porter sleep over FaceTime he wondered. He laid his phone down next to his pillow and turned out the lights.

“Good night, G.”

The next morning Gina placed her carry on in the overhead, while Ricky over shared with the pilots up front.

“Yeah it was unreal. So, I just grabbed her arm and said, “wait.””

Gina overhearing all this, laughed and rolled her eyes. She then checked her phone for any messages from Jamie. She had been texting him since last night to confirm the time and location of their meet, but he had yet to reply. She checked his story only to see he was out partying all night. She was really frustrated. Disappointed, her brow furrowed and she squeezed her phone into a death grip. Ricky appeared with an armful of snacks but immediately could feel something was off.

“Everything okay, G?”

She shook her head with confusion, “What are you –”

“Well, I got us pretzels, and cookies, and waters, and –”

“Ricky,” she tenderly interjected, “you’re supposed to wait for the attendants to distribute that.”

“Oh, I was just so excited. Sorry. Should I take it back?”

His arms full of stolen treasure, she giggled, and helped him to their seats. He almost looked proud. It was cute. He was cute, she thought, in a helpless puppy who thinks he’s a pit bull sort of way.

“I downloaded the finale of the Great British Bake Off for us to finish.”

She exhaled and kissed him on the cheek forgetting all about Jamie. It amazed her that no storm passed through her life, that Ricky didn’t seem to fly and glide above without even trying. The two got ready for take-off while Ricky continued to elaborate his plans for them this weekend. She listened ecstatically, but every once in a while, the sun would stream in from their window lighting the tips of his whispy brown curls, leaving her altogether beside herself. He was the only thing keeping her Jamie stress at ease. He was, she thought, the only thing.

Once they reached cruising altitude Ricky pulled out his laptop and they watched the finale.

“I knew Rahul would win!”

She turned to see Ricky had all but fallen asleep. He had stayed up all night over exciting himself, and now finally crashed.

“Ricky, are you kidding me?”

He didn’t hear a word as he nuzzled himself softly into her warm coco butter scented Afro.

“Mmmm,” her grinning, sleepy boy muttered from his dreams.

She wanted to be annoyed with him. Annoyed that he had left her alone with her festival anxieties and thoughts of Jamie, but the feeling of him sleeping so close against her in total serenity – not just safe, but happy – like not a single thing could bother him so as long as he was with her, she couldn’t be mad even if she tried. She gently rubbed his temple and slowly stroked his curls. Her nose twitched noticing that he was wearing the cologne she had mentioned liking to him after homecoming. She couldn’t believe he remembered it. She couldn’t believe any of this. Her finally having a home, her professional debut, this whole summer, and how this most unexpected romance happened between two outsiders just looking for someone to get them. It suddenly dawned on her. This was her season of abundance, her year of yes. If she got Ricky to get her, then she’d have to make the effort to have Jamie get her too. She didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but part of her began to believe for the first time in forever she wouldn’t have to compromise herself to reach her goals. With this thought, her stress had strengthened into resolve, and was only distracted now by Ricky muttering in his sleep about pink jelly.

When they arrived in Chicago Ricky’s mom was waiting to pick the two up. When Ricky saw her car pull forward, he let out a deep sigh of relief. One, he realized, he had been holding onto since he last saw his mom during spring break. Ricky raced over and gave his mom the biggest and tightest of hugs. He awkwardly stepped back a bit, as Gina giggled.

“Mom this is—”

“Gina, as in thee Gina Porter, the dancing queen?”

Ricky blushed “Okay, mom.”

“Ricky’s words, not mine.”

She gave Gina a tight hug, an image Ricky never knew how much he needed to see.

“It’s nice to meet you Ms. Lynn.”

“You too, sweetheart. You guys hungry?”

“Starving,” Ricky replied, throwing their bags into the trunk, “I didn’t get anything to eat on the plane.”

“Cause you abandoned me and slept the whole way.”

“You know, Ricky has always loved naps ever since he was a baby. One time, at Big Red’s ninth birthday party, he disappeared, and we were all freaking out trying to find him. When I finally found him, he was cuddled up in the petting zoo with a baby goat and two piglets.”

Gina exploded with laughter.

His mom excitedly continued, “It’s true I have pictures at the house.”

“Okay, that’s enough.” A mortified Ricky interjected.

“Oh I’m going to be getting all the tea in Chicago.”

“Pizza and tea!” His mom responded, taking Gina in her embrace.

“Sounds perfect.” Ricky relented opening the car door for Gina.

“Why thank you my little piglet.”

The three huddled together in an Italian pizza joint as their server sat a steaming hot pie at their table. Ricky grabbed a slice add and immediately drowned it in Parmesan. He took a bite, scorching his tongue, and quickly downed his soda to cool it off.

“So Gina, Ricky tells me you’re going to be dancing at the music festival this weekend. Are you excited?”

Ricky noticed Gina was still anxiously checking for texts back from her brother. He quickly picked up the missed cue.

“She’s a pro mom. This is just another day at work for Gina.” She looked up embarrassed, but he rubbed her shoulder assuredly. “We’re going to go to the bean. Gina found this awesome food truck on Lakeshore drive that we’re going to try, and then we’re supposed to meet her brother Jamie later at the mall.”

“Well, that is a lot. You sure you kids are going to be okay all on your own?”

“Of course! We’ll be sure text you throughout the day, and I’ll be sharing my location. It’s going to be great, and then tomorrow is the big show.”

Gina put her phone away and finally rejoined the conversation.

“You’re welcome to come to the show tomorrow. I’m sure Jamie could get you in with a plus one if you want.”

Now it was Ricky who was stuck. His mom had learned by now to handle this with great sensitivity and care, to help keep Ricky from becoming overwhelmed. She could see in Ricky’s eyes that he still wasn’t ready and that was okay.

“I do have some prior engagements tomorrow, so I’ll have to wait and see if I can, but thanks for the offer.”

She rubbed Ricky’s shoulder who exhaled another deep sigh of relief.

“I’d love to come though, if I’m able.” Ricky looked at Gina hoping to have some of her classic courage rub off on him.

Ricky took pictures and recorded TikTok’s with Gina by the bean. He was so excited to participate. It was easy helping Gina make content. They just gelled creatively. They just got each other. Ricky was a shameless madman, willing to go to wild lengths to catch Gina at all the right angles. Giving her notes and making endless attempts at the perfect shot. And yet, they almost always posted the outtakes. The mess ups. The candids. The takes that unraveled without reason and made them laugh and grab onto each other desperately trying to breathe. He had almost no memory of all the times he was forced to make content with Lily. It wasn’t that he forgot, it was more like it never even happened. Is that what love is, he quietly thought. Something or someone rearranges your life so that it’s only before, her, and after? When he looked at Gina through the phone camera lens, he wasn’t just looking at his girlfriend. He was looking at the whole world. That’s what Gina does for him. She changes how he sees everything. As he steadied the phone for another picture, he saw Gina’s smile fall into worry. Jamie still hadn’t text her back. Her neck tensed. She was watching her whole world fall apart.

Gina walked through the mall clouded by doubt. Voices in her head begging her to get it together quick. Ricky followed closely but not too closely giving her just enough space. Jamie had told her he’d confirm the time to meet them here. But he hadn’t. Maybe all this was a mistake, she wondered. Maybe Jamie regretted offering her the gig and didn’t think she was ready. No, there’s no way, she told herself. If she wasn’t sure about Jamie, how could she be sure about herself. It dawned on her that this was the real problem. But how could she address it when he was never available or even around. She’d do what she had always done.

“Just keep pushing. Just keep pushing.” She softly muttered in an almost trance like state.

“You hear from Jamie yet?” Ricky offered in softness.

“No. Not yet.” She exhaled sadly, stopping to drop her head.

“There’s still time. He’ll call soon.”

“That’d be a miracle at this point.”

Suddenly the two heard a large crowd cheer. They took a left around the corner to investigate.

Ricky and Gina stumbled into a huge Dance Dance competition. There was at least a hundred people standing by to watch as contestants competed in pairs. The goal was simple: Highest score wins. But this was a competition, so contestants weren’t playing the same version found in homes. This was an intense expert level routine designed specifically for skilled dancers. Ricky smiled in disbelief. This is exactly what Gina needed. He grabbed her hand.

“Let’s go!”

“Oh Ricky, I don’t know. We need to find Jamie.”

“La-la-la – Sorry, I can’t hear you.”

He dragged her up onto the platform and a familiar song began to play. Of course, it was “Born to Brave.” Finally, it was their turn to leave a mark on this now essential wildcat anthem. The two began, and immediately something switched in Gina. She wasn’t just nailing each move, but added extra spins, touches, and flourishes to make the choreographed moves all her own. Ricky struggled to just keep his breath, and with the dance break approaching, things weren’t looking good for him.

“Bosses and Queens stand up on your throne. Know who you are this is your kingdom. Legends at heart, Individuals. Go make your mark. Be original.”

The fast paced dance break finally broke Ricky. He collapsed into pile of sweat. Gina laughed, still dancing, and looked at him concerned. Ricky laid there immobilized, panting, and waving for her to go on without him.

“Don’t stop. You got this!” he breathlessly assured her.

The crowd laughed at Ricky and roared for Gina. She got to the section of choreography that had proved the most difficult for all the other contestants. She just had to zone in. Focus. Her feet working double time, one foot in front of the other. The crowd was amazed. Ricky still lying down, worked the crowd.

“Oh yeah, that’s the Gina Porter I know! Come on everybody. Let her hear you!”

As she finished the routine, we see that despite losing a partner she still hit the high score. The winning buzzer went off and she screamed with elation. A judge handed Ricky their winning ribbon. Gina fell down elatedly exhausted next to Ricky. The two embraced each other.

“We did it! We won!”

“We? You’ve gotta be kidding me. That was all you. You see the crowd right now. They love you. Just like they’re going to love you tomorrow. Everyone loves you.”

As he said each of those last three words, the two fell silent as each word delicately nestled its way in between them. The crowd continue to cheer and take videos and pictures, but Ricky and Gina might as well have been the only two people in the entire world right then. Gina’s heart was racing. Everyone meant everyone. Everyone meant Ricky, she thought. Did he mean to say it? Did he want to say it? She searched Ricky’s soft brown eyes, and she had this gut feeling he was about to tell her. Ricky sweetly smiled and opened his mouth to speak when suddenly Jamie appeared clapping loudly above the crowd.

“Now I’ve seen some legendary Gina Porter performances in my day. But that was top two and not two. You ready for sound check superstar?”

Later that night Gina was settling into the hotel with Jamie and FaceTiming Ricky. Ricky was in his mom’s new apartment with Todd. Gina was tired. Ricky was uneasy. The two surviving through the electronic signal passing between their phones. They had much left to discuss. Ricky went first.

“How was the rehearsal?”

“It went well. I didn’t do a bad job, but it wasn’t my best either. Whatever I had at the mall with you, I lost it on stage tonight.”

Jamie listened hesitantly. He wanted to say something reassuring, but he could tell Gina was already frustrated with him for the lack of communication. He wished she only knew that every time he didn’t say something, he always wanted to.

“Hey Gina. Sorry to interrupt. I’m going out with the talent tonight to introduce them to some industry folks and network. I might be back pretty late. Are you going to be okay here alone?”

Gina wanted to shout. She wanted to scream. Couldn’t he for once just be my big brother, she thought. Couldn’t he for once act like one? For once couldn’t he just stick around? What is it about me that makes him runaway? She sighed sadly.

“Yeah Jamie. I’ll be fine.”

Jamie was no fool. He could tell she didn’t mean it. Defeated, he nodded silently and slipped out the door. Gina grabbed her pillow and screamed into it.

She shot back up with a scary smile on her face. Ricky’s head shot back with fear.

The two stared at each other and then burst into laughter. At everything. At nothing.

“I don’t want to tell you what to do G, but…”

“But I should tell him how I feel?”

He nodded as Todd called over from the next room. Dinner was ready. The timing of the moment couldn’t have been more perfectly imperfect. Almost like a sick joke he thought. Ricky twisted his neck, eating his own words. Gina crossed her arms.

“Yeah, okay Ricky. You first.”

The next day Ricky jumped out of his uber and headed into the festival area. After getting checked off at security he entered the performance space. It was huge. Crew hoisted up huge lights as the DJ set up his table. He texted Gina to let him know she was here. He waited and looked around. He then heard a voice call from onstage.

“Ricky!”

He turned to see Gina in full make up and costume. Her hair was in a high ponytail with bits of silver streaking throughout. Glitter makeup danced around her eyes. She beamed. His heart stopped. It didn’t matter how many times he saw her in her element, it never got old. A crew member focused a light onto Gina. The light bounced off the sparkles in her costume, the glitter in her make up, and the twinkle in her eyes. Ricky legitimately couldn’t move.

She could tell. It almost brought her to tears. Sometimes he didn’t even need say the things he felt. To tell her how beautiful she was. She could see the compliment trembling in his fingers.

“Wow G. You are everything.”

What he really wanted to say was that he loved her. Maybe he would soon he thought. Those words felt all too heavy after Nini. He knew the responsibility in saying them. He respected their power. He knew that a time would come when he would tell her, and at this rate, it would be very soon.

She took him backstage and showed her the green room where everyone hung out. Ricky was beside himself when he learned all the food and snacks were free. He helped take pictures of her in costume for her socials.

“Okay champ. How are you feeling? You ready to crush it?”

“I guess. I don’t know. No? I kinda wish I hadn’t come. I thought this would be a bonding experience for me and Jamie, but somehow, I feel more distant from him now than ever.”

Jamie was down the hall pacing back and forth on his phone. Ricky looked over to him. Gina too.

“Why can’t you tell him that?”

“It’s easier to say how I feel when I’m with you.”

Ricky thought about it. “Okay. That's what we’ll do then.”

Before she knew it, Ricky had grabbed her arm and raced the two down the hallway. Gina stumbled into place as Ricky stood right around the corner giving them some semblance of privacy. Jamie stared perplexed.

“Hey Gina. Need something?”

She fumbled with her lucky dance bracelet. She smiled nervously and gulped. She opened her mouth, hoping words would just spill out, but nothing. Ricky grabbed her hand, squeezing tight like one of their opening night circle up’s. Jamie was lost.

“Is that Ric—“

“I’m upset with you Jamie. You got me this gig, and I’m beyond grateful. And you’re my big brother, and I love you. But you haven’t been communicating with me. You’ve been constantly ditching me to go out, and I don’t know, I’m at a place in my life where I don’t need anyone’s pity. I came here for the opportunity to work, but more than anything it was the chance to work with you. But we haven’t really done that. I just want to know where we stand. Okay. That’s all of it.” She glanced back over to Ricky who gave her a thumbs up. “I think.”

Jamie’s eyes watered a bit. Gina was shocked. She dropped Ricky’s hand and grabbed her brothers. Ricky walked away to give them space they needed.

“You’re a star Gina. I’ve always believed that. It’s been hard for me lately. I don’t feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be professionally, and personally. It’s no excuse, I guess I just thought by keeping you at a distance, I would spare you any more disappointment.”

She grabbed him into a long hug. “You’ve never disappointed me. I thought you didn’t really want me around.”

“I didn’t want my bad vibes to rub off on you or hold you back.”

She hugged him, and he hugged back. The two talked, and talked, and talked some more. They cried a little. Hugged. Laughed. Cried again. She smiled. He smiled too. That’s the thing with siblings, when the love is genuine, it’s never too far away.

“I wasn’t so sure about the other guy I met, but that Ricky’s a good kid.”

“He’s the best. He’s – wait, where did he go?”

After some searching, Gina found Ricky back in the green room entertaining a dozen people with a story.

“… and so then Gina asked me to play my solo acoustic guitar version of the song, and I was like, really? You want to hear it? So I pulled out my guitar and started playing.”

One of the musicians handed Ricky his guitar. Gina stood there smiling when she got an idea. She stepped out into the hall to make a phone call.

“Perfect. We’ll see you then.”

She hung up and stepped back into see Ricky getting a warm applause for his song.

“Oh hey Gina, how’d it go?”

“Good. Really good. I couldn’t have done it without you Ricky. So, I hope you don’t mind, but I took a leap and did something for you.”

“Okay?” he offered confusedly.

“I invited your mom and Todd to come.”

Ricky was shook.

“Now listen, I know you want to push past the awkwardness so you can just feel like a normal person around them. This is your chance. I’ll be onstage the whole time so if you get nervous you can just look up to me.”

“G, I don’t know.”

She thought for a minute, and then grabbed his hand. She slid down her lucky dance bracelet and placed it over his wrist. Ricky smiled.

“You were there for me with Jamie. I’ll be there for you. We’ll always do that for each other.”

He grabbed her and the two went in for a kiss. One that lingered in joy like a home. As they kissed Gina slipped a small note into his pocket. Ricky was so locked into the embrace of her love he didn’t even notice. As Ricky pulled out of their kiss, his worries grabbed back hold of him. The other dancers grabbed Gina to go and finish getting ready. Ricky called out to her as she disappeared down the hall.

“Gina! What if don’t know what to say?” Did she hear him? He turned away nervously and made his way out to the audience.

His mom was there. Todd too. Ricky was trying. He had graduated from terror and panic and was now battling intense awkwardness. If you looked at these three you would have had no idea that they were at a festival. The crowds cheered around them, but between them was tense deafening silence.

The DJ played an intro song to hype everyone up before the artist Gina performed with came out. Ricky bobbed around trying to find safety in the rhythm of the music. It started to work, and he even smiled at Todd and his mom. Todd smiled at Ricky’s mom and pulled her into a dance. Ricky didn’t know how to feel. He slowly lost the beat. He texted Gina quickly, as his mom subtly brought their dance to a halt.

“I’m ruining the vibes. I don’t know what to say.” He pressed send.

He watched as the typing bubble appeared and then dropped. His hopes dashed, and the song ended. He softly shuffled his feet and crossed his arms. The lights dimmed, and then three back up dancers ran onstage. Gina was down stage left. His attitude turned on its head when he saw her posed, ready to pounce. She was with him, like she had promised. He wasn’t alone.

This was it. Gina took a brief look offstage and her brother made a heart sign with his fingers. A smile beamed through her eyes. Right before the beat drop, she turned her gaze to Ricky. She saw his face light up. She slowly traced her finger down to her left pocket and tapped it. She raised an eyebrow subtly so Ricky would catch the hint.

From the crowd, Ricky watched her tapping her left pocket, wondering what it might mean. Instinctively, he reached down into his pocket, and like some magic trick, he found the small note Gina had secretly left there earlier. The beat dropped and the dancers ran upstage to bring on the singer. Ricky began unfolding the small piece of paper that somehow smelled of Gina. In it, there was a message written just for him.

Don’t say anything. Just fly dude <3

She hit the first steps of the combination, fiercely swinging her hair like a dragon’s tail. Ricky nodded with unfamiliar acceptance. He looked at his mom and Todd who seemed to be waiting to take his lead. He reached out to his mom and swung her into a dance. He spun her out with one hand, and then brought Todd in with the other. He passed his mom back over to Todd and three danced and boogied while Gina tore the stage in two. Gina changed everything for him.

Jamie was live-streaming Gina’s performance on her Instagram. Screaming and cheering her on in the background like any proud big brother.

“That’s my little sister! That’s my star!”

Gina faintly heard his cheers over the sounds of the crowd and the music. Some strain of electric joy zapped up and down her body. She was back at the mall doing Dance Dance with Ricky. She was back onstage in the barn with Kourtney. She was back at East High dancing in the lunchroom with her friends as they desperately tried to save Ms. Jenn’s job. At its best, this is what performing was all about for her. Sharing joy with people. During the dance break she hit her famous death whack. The crowd thundered with approval. The dancers and the singer hit the final pose. She held it while her heart pounded out of her chest. She looked down to the crowd to see Ricky standing there screaming at the top of his lungs. The two held each other’s gaze. Ricky changed everything for her.

“Everyone loves you Gina!” He yelled. She smiled and laughed, and he searched her eyes with certain seriousness before silently mouthing I love you.

Gina’s heart dropped into her stomach, and then launched out through the top of her head. It danced through her body like a revolution. The artist announced the next song and she hesitated before jumping into her next position. Even the most seasoned performer can be shaken by the power of love.

That night on the plane back to Salt Lake Gina was passed out, laying across Ricky’s lap, her legs stretched into the empty third chair beside them. They had to leave immediately from the show, so she never had time to get out of costume. Ricky gently wiped off her make up and draped a blanket over her. She stretched, readjusting to getting comfortable, before falling back into a peaceful slumber. How lucky few had ever been able to tuck Gina Porter into bed he thought to himself. He wrote her a small note and gently slid it into her pocket. He wrote it before he even realized what it said.

I love you, Gina Porter. I always will.

He put in AirPods and quietly opened his laptop to finish the finale of the Great British Bake Off. His eyes grew wide as he whispered.

“No way, Rahul won? She called it.”

@rinaweek hope I’m not too late lol

Edit: I’m sorry for blazing this post. I genuinely wanted to see what would happen and have learned my lesson lol.

#rina week 2022 #rinaedit #rina hsmtmts #rina endgame #ricky x gina #ricky bowen #gina porter #Joshua Bassett #sofia wylie #hsmtmts #high school musical #high school musical the series #hsm #hsmedit #kenny ortega #tim federle #@rinaweek #rina fic

48 notes · View notes

27emailsicantsend · 2 years ago

Text

Chapter Seven: Oh? Oh.

March

And I've still got the Converse that I wore the day we met. I'm running out of reasons not to do it all again. So, if I showed up at your doorstep, would you turn me away? Or would you care to see a stranger whose eyes are still the same? Take me or leave me I'm going home, but I'd rather be going your way, so would you love me now? Take me back to when we were young again, darling. Would you love me now? After everything would you let me in and love me now?

-”would you love me now?”, Joshua Bassett

The weather in Salt Lake pushed dreary days into March. The snow was piled high, but full of dirt and dead leaves. The air still felt cold and unwilling. Ricky was desperate for a bit of sunshine, because he wanted nothing more than to be outside on his skateboard to think. The skatepark ended up being a lot less helpful than he wished; relentlessly reminding him of the time he saw Gina there. The time she first believed in him. It was like the ghost of her faded in and out on the steps every time he tried to make another glide down the ramp. As much as he wanted to shake the thought of her for even a second, he felt powerless to her.

It had been two weeks since Ricky and Gina did their full run through of “Rewrite the Stars”, but this was another memory that took precedence in his head. He couldn’t stop thinking about Jenn clapping softly at the end, saying their performance was "beautifully tragic”, and then Gina running off the stage after. Over and over again, the ghost of Gina was everywhere Ricky went. The coffee shop, the skatepark, his house, the school, the theater- he couldn’t erase the part of his life that made him better, even when she tried to run.

Surprisingly, Gina’s “disappearing act” wasn’t very convincing. She used to be really good at making herself sparse when she was upset, but Ricky began to notice her around more and more in March. She still refused to talk to him, but she wasn’t avoiding the groups he would hang out in either.

Ricky couldn’t blame Gina for that, though. His friends were her friends and she had every right to them as he did. It took their friends a little while to catch on that things weren’t well between the two of them, but from what Ricky gathered, neither Gina nor him had called it a break up.

Not until today, when Big Red asked Ricky to come over and play video games after school.

Ricky was sitting on Red’s basement chair, sipping on a Root Beer, when Red handed him a controller and asked, “you two are really broken up then, huh?”

Ricky didn’t know why Red’s question had caught him so off guard. If he was in their position, he would probably think the same thing. But there was that line in the sand... the one that he (and possibly, Gina) seemed to be the only ones to notice wasn’t there.

“I don’t know if we are, Red,” Ricky tried correcting him as he clicked some buttons on his controller.

“It’s been nearly a month and you two still don’t talk to each other. Normally, it seems like we can’t tear you guys apart. I’m pretty sure the last time I remember you guys being happy was.... the Sweetheart’s Dance?” Big Red reminded Ricky, before clicking the TV on with a remote. He flopped down in the giant chair next to Ricky.

Impressed with Red’s memory, Ricky asked, “You remember that far back?”

“Ricky, I’m your best friend. I notice”.

Ricky was touched.

“Wow... that means a lot,” Ricky commented, shaking his head. He was secretly glad Jet wasn’t there; Ricky knew he’d be keyed up hearing this conversation.

Red smiled. “A month just seems like a long time to not talk to your girlfriend over something. When Ashlyn and I were dating, our fights didn’t last longer than a week or two”.

“Not even when she was openly flirting with Maddox?”

“That’s just the thing, she was open about it Ricky. She was honest with me that there were feelings there. Maybe she wasn’t at first, but she came around. I was upset at first, sure, but in the end I understood. Not every couple is meant to be together,” Red replied, using his controller to gesture his thoughts.

“I know that. I want more than anything to be with Gina and I’m willing to make it work, in whatever way we need. But if she just doesn’t want to be with me anymore, I wish she would just say that. Honesty- like you’re talking about”. Ricky sighed heavily, reeling on what he had just said. The words felt unnatural and difficult to say. He never, ever pictured having this conversation about Gina. The only thing he could do next was stare blankly at his lap.

“Did she ever actually say that Ricky?” Red queried.

Ricky took a minute to think back on all of their conversations. The ring. The ring that had been haunting him since the performance. Why was she still wearing that? Ricky gave his back to Gina. That still didn’t make sense to him. He couldn’t think of a single time Gina had said she didn’t want to be with him. Ever. Even before they started dating.

I wouldn’t quit on us, if I wasn’t moving away, Gina’s voice echoed in Ricky’s head.

“No,” Ricky said, his thoughts spiraling out of control. Gina became his life force and now he was struggling for air. Every second he was reminded that he couldn’t just talk to her, hold her, was another minute closer to him feeling like he was going to go ballistic. His thoughts were becoming overwhelming; he needed to think about something else for a minute so he could clear his mind.

“Can we just... play some games for a minute? I need to think about something else,” Ricky clicked open the game on the TV.

“Sure, but can I just add one more thing?” Red asked sincerely. One thing Ricky appreciated about Red- he was always willing to speak his mind, but he did so tactfully.

“Go for it,” Ricky gestured with his controller, turning his head toward Red.

“Couples that are meant to stay together, will be together. Fate or whatever you want to call it. It’s why, no matter how hard it was, I was willing to let Ashlyn go. If we’re meant to be together, she’ll come back. If not, I’ll find someone new and better”. Red paused before adding, “that’s all I wanted to say. We can play now”.

Fate. The stars. Serendipity. These words seemed to have a chokehold on Ricky. Why did he have to wait for it to happen? What if fate wanted something else for Ricky? There was no one else he wanted. He wanted Gina. Even when he was dating Nini and Lily, there was this part of him that felt attached by some invisible string to her. It felt like their hearts were tethered by something stronger than the explainable.

Ricky went about his next week still pondering on everything that happened since the day of the “Rewrite the Stars” rehearsal and hanging out with Big Red. Every time he saw Gina, she still had her ring on. She was beginning to watch him more, from inside the classroom to theater rehearsals, he noticed her staring. She even said hi casually a couple of times as she greeted the rest of the group.

But it still wasn’t enough. She was still everywhere Ricky went, even only in his thoughts. He saw her pink converse every time he left the house, he saw her ring in each passing glance, and he even once thought he saw her at the coffee shop. He wondered if she knew she had a doppelgänger.

All of this thinking and reeling and hurting was starting to become too much for Ricky. On one particularly overcast day, toward the end of March, Ricky found himself in his room with his blinds closed. All he wanted to do was empty his head into his music. Ricky grabbed his guitar, music book, and pencil- ready to write. He pushed his sharpened pencil into the paper excitedly, led bits falling at the impact, but stopped immediately because his mind ran blank. It was the first time he hadn’t thought of Gina in weeks, but it was also the first time he hadn’t thought of anything. The one time he felt inspired to do something with all of his feelings- about Gina, graduation, his dad and Jenn- he came up empty.

Angry, he tossed his notebook (his pencil came with it too) at the wall. He placed his guitar down and set his head in his hands, too sad to be angry and too angry to be sad. Ricky gritted his teeth, as he began to pace around his room. He needed something. Anything. Anything to let the emotion out. It was consuming and enraging and he was shaking and sweating and-

And that’s when it clicked.

Ricky wanted to scream.

Ricky had thought about it in the past, but had never acted on it. Maybe it was because Zac told him to do it. Maybe it’s because it felt weird. Maybe it’s because it was a song he sang last semester when he was only starting to connect to his character. But this time, this time he felt ready to try.

So Ricky walked over to the window, fully pushing it open. A cold wall hit his face from the breezy air outside. He didn’t care who heard, he didn’t care how cold it was, he didn’t care if he sounded crazy. He wanted it to reverberate off of rooftops, for every bird to stop and listen for a second, for it to break through the clouds. Filling the air in his body from to stomach to chest, he reached his body outside and let out the loudest yell he could think of. Exhilarated and wild, Ricky went to his computer at his desk and started to play the song, “Scream” from High School Musical 3. He sang openly, feeling each morsel of his being connect with the lyrics:

The day the door is closed The echoes fill your soul They won't say which way to go Just trust your heart To find what you're here for

Ricky stood up before opening the door to his bedroom and stepping over the threshold, singing:

Open another door But I'm not sure anymore

It's just so hard

Ricky paused before pulling a cushion off the couch, tearing it to pieces. He threw the contents into the already lit fireplace:

Voices in my head Tell me they know best Got me on the edge They're pushin', pushin', they're pushin'

Ricky stared emptily at a photo of Mike and Jenn on the fire place:

I know they've got a plan But the ball's in my hands This time is man-to-man I'm drivin', fightin', inside of A world that's upside down

He was now in the kitchen, throwing down chairs, slinging hand towels off the oven, throwing forks and knives at the door, breaking the plates and glasses in the cupboard:

It's spinning faster What do I do now Without you? I don't know where to go What's the right team I want my own thing So bad I'm gonna scream

I can't chose, so confused

What's it all mean I want my own dream So bad I'm gonna scream

By this point he was fully invested in the song. Not taking a thought into his destruction. He sang the rest of the song as darted around the house, jumping on the couch, knocking over chairs, knocking a lamp off the side table, pulling clothes out of the hamper and strewing them everywhere as he looked for his orange sweatshirt:

I'm kicking down the walls I gotta make them fall Just break through them all

Ricky balled up his fist and punched a hole in the wall, his hand throbbing from the pain of a power he didn’t know he had:

I'm punchin', crushin', I'm gonna Fight to find myself Me, and no one else Which way, I can't tell I'm searchin', searchin', can't find a way that I should turn I should, to right or left, it-

It's like nothing works Without you I don't know where to go What's the right team I want my own thing So bad I'm gonna scream

Ricky sang as he unraveled every piece of the apartment, not caring about Mike’s reaction. He finally felt free- like all of the pent up energy had a release. Every lyric another confirmation of how he felt on the inside until he reached the end of the song:

I want my own thing I want my own thing I can't chose, so confused What's it all mean I want my own dream So bad I'm gonna scream

Even though Ricky had sang this song several times before, it was like the music had completely enveloped him this time. When it ended, he was surprisingly caught off guard. Ricky shook his head, bringing him back into the present moment. He was sitting back at his desk, in the same position he was at when he first played the song. He peaked his head out the door to see the house in the same condition it had previously been in. The song might have been a daydream, but the rest of his life felt like a nightmare.

It was time he decided what he wanted, once and for all.

Ricky picked up his notebook and pencil from the other side of the room and drew a line down the middle. On one side, he wrote “decided” and on the other he wrote “not decided”. Anything that was still not decided, he would take the time to figure out today. He was done being confused.

On his “not decided” column, he wrote:

-college

-what I’ll do after I graduate

-where I’ll live

When Ricky got to his “decided” column, he was only able to write one thing before his mind came up blank again:

-Gina

However this time, instead of staring blankly at the page and getting frustrated over having no other decisions again, he made a new course of action. He was going to get outside and ride it out, no matter what the weather. He put on his black converse and grabbed his skateboard, bolting for the door.

However as he was running, exhilarated and ready to decide, he nearly sprained his ankle at the foot of the door. It landed awkwardly on an object that had somehow made it’s way onto the welcome mat inside the apartment. Ricky thought it must have gotten kicked over when he or Mike had come inside for the night. His foot landed awkwardly on Gina’s pink converse.

And that’s when the floodgates opened. It was like Ricky had closed them to protect him from getting hurt, by Gina, by his family, by making a choice. He refused to acknowledge what has been there the whole time. Every moment he had with Gina, even before they started dating, avalanched their way into his mind. Slowly and discreetly, before pouring in- unstoppable.

Secret dates in coffee shops.

You’re a yes.

The days dancing and baking in the kitchen.

Serendipity.

Going over to her house every night to read her to sleep. All in due time. The fair. I’m not going anywhere. Me neither... at least not without you.

The promise rings. They’re promise rings. That way we promise to always come back to each other. All of the warm feelings Ricky couldn’t explain. I wouldn’t quit on us if I wasn’t moving away. Adventures in the woods. We’re a team. Real Campers Of Shallow Lake. I don’t do anything right the first time, Ricky. The night of Homecoming. I can’t believe I let Color Wars slip through my fingers.

The thoughts raced and raced and raced. Everything made sense. Every connection, every thought, every piece of the puzzle all started to come together. Ricky looked out the window and saw the sun bursting through the dark clouds.

He made the same break through.

“Oh”.

Ricky being ok if Gina went to New York and only caring about how he would stay in contact with her. Ricky not trying to control or manipulate the situation, even if he felt frustrated. He doesn’t always do things right the first time.

It was all Ricky could say out loud before grabbing Gina’s converse and running out the door. The houses and trees worked together to seamlessly blend in his peripherals as he picked up pace. The air whipped against his body, pushing faster to make it to his end destination quicker. The end destination was a couple neighborhoods over.

Ricky was sprinting when he realized what Gina meant to him. Every crash of his foot to the pavement was another reminder of what they did for each other. For so long he didn’t understand why Gina going to New York didn’t bother him- why he felt ok with long distance. He didn’t understand why being separated from Gina was hard, but he didn’t try to control or manipulate the situation. He didn’t understand why he and Gina worked so well together, being able to finish each others sentences and know what the other person needed without even asking. Until now. This perfect, beautiful metaphor for their relationship:

When Gina tried running from her problems, Ricky steadied her. When Ricky emotions ran wild, Gina steadied him. Gina was change; Ricky was stability.

Like converse to pavement.

Ricky ran and ran, the rain beginning to drip on his face in a light and refreshing way. He could feel the worry wash off him, because for the first time in forever, he finally knew what he wanted. As sure as the invisible string tethering them together, he knew.

His heart thumped harder in his chest as his breath showed in light puffs of air outside. The closer he made it to Gina’s house, the worse the weather became, but Ricky kept pushing through.

Cold beat across his face from the light wind and now heavy rain. He didn’t care. His surroundings were nonexistent now, a black backdrop with the light of her house shining at the end. He was going to get these shoes back to Gina.

He was going to get back to Gina.

Ricky finally reached Gina’s house, the rain dumping down on him in a thousand directions. He didn’t even take a moment to catch his breath- he only slowed down his running- refusing to stop until he accomplished what he came to do. Ricky jogged up to the front door of the familiar two story house and knocked loudly.

Silence.

He wondered if Gina couldn’t hear because of the storm outside. He knocked again even harder this time. Gina needed to know he was there.

More silence.

Ricky gave a sigh. Maybe she wasn’t there. He turned around, cold and defeated. Upset and frustrated, he began to make his way down the cement stairs, opening himself back up to the long walk home.

But then he heard a latch unlock the door.

Ricky spun around to see Gina, confused and bewildered. She was in an oversized shirt and sweatpants. A large headband holding back her hair in a top knot. She shook her head several times as if she couldn’t make sense of Ricky showing up at her door.

“Ricky?! What are you doing?! It’s pouring out!” Gina exclaimed.

“Oh,” Ricky said, panting as he looked Gina over. It was all he could muster out. Her confusion began to turn into... anger? Sadness? Ricky couldn’t tell.

“Oh?” Gina said, some water filling in her eyes. Ricky suspected that she was definitely upset.

“Oh”, Ricky said, more sure this time. “As in, ‘oh, that is why I’ve been feeling this way the whole time. That is why every time I’m with you, I feel this warmth in my entire body. That is why, every time I look at you, I’m reminded of comfort and home. That is why you push me to be better and carry me through my worst’.

“Gina, I’m in love with you,” Ricky confessed.

“Oh,” Gina echoed. Ricky began to wonder if they were going to do this all day.

“Oh?” He said, his sneaky eyebrow raising up again. Maybe his eyebrow was more keen than he gave it credit for.

“Oh. As in, ‘you came back’. I always knew you’d come back,” Gina said, tears now falling down her face. She didn’t need to say anything more.

“It’s why you left the shoes,” Ricky concluded her thought, breathless. He shook the pair of pink converse in front of her, splashes of water flying out.

Ricky couldn’t help it. Watching her cry, feeling as happy and as overwhelmed as he was, realizing it’s why Gina kept on her promise ring too- he began too cry to. Big, happy, beautiful tears. They masked themselves in the rain, but released all of the pain he had been feeling. Everything finally made sense. It was truly “all in due time”.

Ricky threw the wet shoes in Gina’s house and pulled her out into the rain. He began to kiss her passionately, over and over. Gina reached her hand up, pulling her hair now soaking wet hair out of it’s bun. They continued to kiss, releasing all of the tension and build up that had been fogging their lives.

Gina pulled slightly back from the kiss, putting her hands on Ricky’s face, and with tear-soaked eyes said, “I love you too, Ricky Bowen”.

They pulled each other in again, kissing until their lungs gave out.

Ricky finally spoke again- slightly yelling over the loud rain crashing on them and her house, “Gina, everything that I have done this last year was for you. It was always for you. You have dictated every move I have made in the best way. They were always my own choices, but I made them with you as my lighthouse. I never wanted to quit on us either. I’m not going to lose you. Not because you can’t walk away from me or because I don’t want you to go to New York, but because I want to make it work. I want to make us work. Because whether we try to or not, we will work out. We come back to each other every time”.

“Ricky!” She stopped him loudly over the rain, giggling.

“What?” He asked, a confused smile glued to his face.

Gina laughed even harder, her eyes squinting with glee as she said, “You got started”.

The couple were now fully bursting out in laughter, wiping away tears and water off of their own faces. They couldn’t stop laughing, even as Gina pulled Ricky’s face in again to kiss him.

Gina understood what Ricky meant, because he had one thing wrong this whole time: Gina’s love language wasn’t gift giving, it was words of affirmation. The song she wrote, the promises she made, the writing in the rings, and even the way songs affect her- it all made sense to Ricky.

Ricky was supposed to tell her he loved her first. That’s how she would know they were going to make their relationship work after graduation. That’s how she would know that he chose her back. That’s what she was waiting for.

Gina reached into her now soaking wet pocket and pulled out a small silver band. She took Ricky’s hand and slid the ring back on his pinky.

“How long have you been carrying that around?” Ricky shouted over the torrential rain.

“Since you took it off!” Gina yelled back, letting out her last few giggles.

Ricky wrapped his arms around Gina, picking her up and spinning her as they kissed one more time. After he set her down, Gina slid her pinky finger around Ricky’s. Their rings clanked together as she led him into her house.

Once inside, Ricky kicked off his water-soaked converse next to Gina’s... where they belonged.

He was finally home.

****************************************

Epilogue

Over the next month, the weather began to let up. The sun shined more often than not, giving Ricky a lot of time to spend outside with his friends and Gina. They savored their last moments together before the select few of them graduated.

The Greatest Showman wasn’t going to be until May right before graduation, so Ricky spent a lot of time with Gina rehearsing. He even helped write a new song for the show that Jenn took to immediately. All of the time on stage, being “Little Zac”, his passion for writing music, and having previous experience on TV made Ricky realize that he might want to do something involving the arts after he graduates.

Ricky finally told his dad that he was going to move to New York with Gina to pursue his dream of writing music for TV and stage productions. He also chose the option of trying to act in some of the shows that would use his music. He ended up giving Zac a call, telling him he was sure this was what he wanted to do with his career. Zac was so ecstatic to hear from “Little Zac”, that he pulled a few strings to make sure Ricky wouldn’t start off at nothing.

Broadway was creating a new play, The Chronicles of Narnia, in September and needed actors and music producers. Zac told them he knew a guy, Ricky Bowen, who could do both. Zac even said if they were lucky enough, Ricky’s girlfriend, Gina Porter would probably be willing to choreograph for the show too. And despite some hesitation from the producers, Zac was able to convince the producers to hire a couple of soon-to-be graduates to help with the show.

Mike reminded Ricky that he would be fine if Ricky left because now he had Jenn. They were going to get married that summer in July. Ricky would spend the first half of the summer in Salt Lake with Mike and Jenn, and after their wedding spend the second half with Lynn and Todd in Chicago. After that, he would get on a train and meet Gina in New York.

One late Saturday in April, before he and Gina went to rehearsal for The Greatest Showman, Ricky ran to his room to grab his skateboard. He was hoping to ride it that day. He went to pick it up from the side of his bed when he saw a notebook peeking out from the corner. It was opened to the page that had his list of “decided” and “not decided”. Ricky thought that it must have gotten kicked under there without him realizing it.

Ricky walked over to his desk and got out a pencil. Picking up the notebook and sitting on the edge of his bed, he scribbled out the undecided column completely. After that he added one more thing under the “decided” column. It now read:

-Gina

-What I’m doing after I graduate

“Ricky? You almost ready? It’s about time we go!” Gina called to his room.

Ricky grabbed his skateboard as responded, “coming!”

Once he made it to the front door, he slid on his black converse and crouched down to tie the laces on them. Gina giggled as she tapped his leg with her foot.

“Hey, we’re matching,” she noticed, her pink shoe peeking in the corner of his eye.

Ricky finished tying his shoe and stood up, giving Gina a quick kiss on the cheek before saying, “good”.

Gina grabbed her rehearsal bag with her dance shoes in it and held her right hand out, lacing it with Ricky’s. They began to walk to rehearsal, Gina’s dance bag in her open arm and Ricky’s skateboard in his.

Ricky thought about what Gina said before the school year. About how he was never the plan, but plans change. Maybe she was right- his plans changed. Even now, none of his life was part of the plan. Maybe before he met her, he was always going to be in Salt Lake. He was going to be fighting for a girl that didn’t want him back, unhappy with his dad, and alone with no friends but Big Red.

Ricky thought about how much he used to push change away. That new things were scary and they needed to be right the first time. That he would try to fit puzzle pieces where they were never meant to fit. However, Gina came in and changed everything in the best possible way. He never knew what to expect with her, but he willingly followed. He kept up with all of her paces.

Ricky finally realized that regardless of how many changes his life brought, he knew one thing with more certainty than anything else: Gina wasn’t a maybe. Gina was a yes.

#OCAP #Of Converse and Pavement #HSMTMTS #high school musical the musical the series #hsm #high school musical #rina week 2022 #rina #ricky bowen #gina porter #ricky x gina

21 notes · View notes