High School Musical: The Musical - The Series (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - The Wonderstudies - full transcript

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

Ricky and Nini proved
opposites don't attract.

Okay, that's a five!

Ashlyn fell in love with a piano...

I already know

EJ fell in love with himself.

And I borrowed Nini's phone.

You're welcome.

But I'll be stealing the show.

Okay! Here we go!

A five, six, seven, eight!



Come on!
Get your head in the game.

Carlos, when can we take
the blindfolds off?

When you can dribble and pirouette
at the same time.

Come on. Try again.

It's important to set up
impossible situations in rehearsal.

That way, by opening night,

they've been through
every possible emergency scenario.

Someone has a heart attack?

Keep dancing.

The sound system goes out
because of a tornado?

Keep dancing.

Tornadoes come and go.

Dance is forever.

Thanks for waiting.



You okay?

She told him she loved him.

Who?

Nini.

I found an archived post on her Instagram.

EJ, you can't go snooping around
someone's phone like a stalker.

I play to win, Ash. Have we met?

Go to June first.

Security code is seven,
seven, seven, seven.

Can't help dreamin' of you

Guess I'm sayin' I don't not love you

You know, you know...

Okay.

Firstly, since when does he get a song?

It was four months ago.

But it happened.

Okay. Ancient history.

Ricky and Nini are over.

- There is no Ricky.
- Yeah.

-It's him.
-I spoke too soon.

I'm gonna take this.

Are you insane?
Do not answer that phone!

This is Nini, talk to me, me.

It's me. Your... buddy, Ricky.

Sorry to bother you.
I know we don't do voice convos,

but I saw you singing with Ashlyn today,

and I felt like we shared
a moment, or a thing.

I don't know, maybe a moment is a thing.

Why am I still talking?

Anyway, whatever.

If this voicemail is too much,
or too soon, or you're not into it,

we can just ignore this and
pretend nothing ever happened, okay?

Poof! Gone.

Bye.

Nailed it.

Crushed it.

You need to return this. Now.

I know.

-Nini could still be inside.
-I know.

For the love of God,
do not listen to that voicemail.

I will! I mean, I won't. I know.

You're gonna listen to it, aren't you?

Why don't you believe me?

Forget the ride. I'll walk home.

It's me. Your... buddy, Ricky.

Sorry to bother you.
I know we don't do voice convos,

but I saw you singing with Ashlyn today,

and I felt like we shared
a moment, or a thing.

Um, have you seen my phone?

It's kind of a eggshell champagne color,
has a Playbill case?

That's adorable.

No, but we'll keep a look out.

Just remember,
there's no phones in rehearsal.

I know!

Things were simpler when I was a teenager.

We had flip-phones and M-Three-P players.

My job is to put these kids
on airplane mode.

So they can fly.

Miss Jenn, I need a moment.

Do you have an appointment?

I've got this, Carlos.
We're done for the day.

-Hi.
-Hi!

Oh, you've never been here, have you?
This is where the magic happens.

I've been here.

This is where my robotics club
won the state title last year.

We built a working crab
on a 14-dollar budget.

Cool.

Miss Jenn, did you spend
a huge chunk of your budget

on a smartphone for this production?

If you knew anything about technology,

you would know that is a Palm Brio...

It's a Treo 600. I owned one.

It was a gift from my friend,
Vanessa Hudgens,

who I hit it off with
as a featured dancer in the film.

She wanted us to have it for good luck.
She's a giver.

A giver or a seller?

You sent this receipt
to the faculty lounge printer,

which is two floors away,

instead of the one at your desk.

So we both have technology challenges.

It says that the purchase was made
by someone named Jenn Jennifer.

Yeah, that's me. Jenn. Jennifer.

Saying it twice does not make that
your real name.

Okay, and what's your name,
Mr. Mazzara?

How is that a real name?

My first name is Benjamin.

Aren't you lucky?

Who are you?

I am a busy, actual teacher.

If you will excuse me, I need to go home

and figure out how to make my leading man
levitate with a basketball.

Everybody hold!

Nini, where were you?
We've been here for an hour.

I'm so sorry.

I lost my phone and spent last night
living as a hunter-gatherer,

which, by the way,

did you know there are things
that are only on TV at a certain time?

Anyway, I picked it up
in the lost and found...

Wait, did you say an hour?

Gina sent you and me a text
asking if we could come in early

so she could talk through a new idea.
You didn't get it?

No, my phone was missing.

You've gotta keep
better track of your stuff.

A real triple-threat means singing,
acting, and being organized.

Got it.

I saw it, too.

EJ was supposed to return that phone.

Feeling hashtag complicit.

If you had been here,

you'd know Gina pitched
a whole new dance break

for Gabriella and Taylor
in the middle of Status Quo,

and she had Carlos work it out with her,

and it is dazzling.

You and Carlos?

Gina, why don't you hydrate
and show Nini the new choreo?

Is it just me, or is it possible
Gina stole my phone?

She schedules an early rehearsal
she knows I'll miss,

and then shows up with a new dance number
featuring her freakish gymnastics skills

that she knows I can't do,

and now I'm in the doghouse
with Miss Jenn.

Is any of this an accident?

If she's willing to steal
a spotlight,

what else is she willing to steal?

Nini, how was your night?

Um, not so hot. Excuse me.

Oh, okay.

"Not so hot"?

Was that about my voicemail?

Is that her answer?

Yeah, that was her answer.

This is a basic triple pirouette.

This is a two count of krump,

and then some Argentinian tango.

Piece of cake if you've spent
a few months overseas.

Here's where you kick your face.

Hmm. Can I kick yours?

I love your humor. Part two. Ready?

There's not a word
for this last move per se,

but I call it the Death Whack.

Give a gander.

Ta-da!

So that, but you start on the left foot.

Ready?

I've seen the movie
a few hundred times.

Vanessa Hudgens walks in and stands there.

What I don't remember is
where she jumps into the splits,

and cracks her pelvis.

Oh, it's on.

Okay. Here's the deal.

Are you sitting down? Excellent.

It seems like Gina really wants my part,

and she is willing to kill me to get it.

I could have told you that.

Oh, wait, hang on. I did.

But now she's stealing phones

and inventing special ways
for me to hurt myself.

So, here's what I came up with.

- Are we in fifth grade?
- Not the point.

The way I see it,
I could do one of six things.

One, talk to Miss Jenn.

Two, magically learn the dance.

Three, have my moms yell at her mom.

Four, quit the show.

Five, eat so much ice cream.

Or six, steal something back.

We can scratch out number six,
'cause that's an act of war.

Too late.

-Nini!
-I thought you'd veto the ice cream.

This is not good.

I know.

No, this is really not good.

But it's not news, either.

You broke her heart,
you crashed her play,

you bugged her and then
you left her a sad voicemail.

You think it's time to move on?

I wouldn't, but you have that other thing.

-Pride.
-Okay, tell me what to do.

Just be yourself.

Be the bigger man.

Okay, pick one.

Definitely bigger man.

You're the lead in the play.

It's time to act like it.

You're right.

It's like that scene where
Troy tells his teammates,

"You're my guys, and this is our spam."

When does he say that?

I just realized that my allergist keeps

the sound off in the waiting room
and I can't read lips.

You stole Gina's shoes.

Wasn't that hard.

What if she retaliates?

I'll come back at her twice as hard.

I will rain down hellfire.

I am the night.

Nini, this doesn't feel like you.

I know. It didn't feel like me.

But I've stepped into the light.
I play to win now.

I thought you'd be proud.

Yeah, but stealing seems a little low.

You're better than that.

You're better than...

You're Nini.

Hmm. Maybe you're right.

And I like that you see me that way.

I always have.

You're a good person.

I don't know if
it's because you're a senior

or somebody raised you right,

but I wish I had what
you've got inside of you.

It's like confidence
mixed with morals, and abs.

Thanks for being you.

You look terrible.

Yeah, I feel guilty.

Wow. That's not an emotion I knew you had.

Sorry.

I never should've stolen her phone.

You think?

It's not the person I wanna be.

It's not the person Nini thinks I am.

You know what I should do?

Apologize?

Yes, but first, I have to come clean,

and if I'm gonna own up,
I need to do something she really hears.

Uh, what are you thinking?

Hear me out.

She wrote a song for Ricky,
so I should do that.

For her, I mean.

You wanna do what?

Write a song for Nini.

To tell her the truth, and say I'm sorry,

and just show her
how much she means to me.

EJ, respectfully,
have you ever written a song?

Have you even written a poem?

No, but you write songs,
I was hoping you could help me out.

How fast of a turnaround
are we talking?

I have an AP Psych test tomorrow.

Could you loan me one of your songs?

And I'll change the lyrics.

Please, Ash.
I'm trying to do the right thing.

I need to prove myself here.

I'll send you a track I'm playing with.

It's not really my style.
I was trying to figure out the software.

No, it's perfect!

You haven't heard it yet.

Dig deep, okay?

You can't just charm your way
out of this one.

Why do I have it out
for Miss Jenn? I don't.

I have it in for my program.

I need 12 students
in my robotics club to go to China.

Four have already dropped out
for the musical,

and I don't have the technology
to make four more.

This is war.

I've thought about what EJ said

and sometimes you just
have to stand up and do what's right.

I'm returning Gina's shoes.

When she isn't looking.

I have a few different options.

Hear me out, but I think
you should try this one on first.

Are these for the new dance break
in Status Quo?

High-key love them.
Whose is whose?

Taylor. Gabriella.

Okay, mine is everything.

For Gabriella, you may wanna put her
in a color that pops more.

She's already bland.

Not as a person,
sweetest girl in the world,

but as an actress.

I don't want her to get lost in the crowd.

Did you return the shoes?

I stole her water bottle.

-Oh, no.
-You don't have to say it.

No, I stole three scarves,
some jewelry, and her laptop.

Oh, my God.

-There's more in the front pocket.
-Kourtney!

We're goin' to jail.

I'm in the kitchen, EJ!

Uncle Dennis and Aunt Debbie
aren't home, right?

I don't want an audience for this.

Uh, thank you?

No. You know what I mean.
You ready?

I'm just impressed you wrote a song.

Yeah, it's got metaphors
and everything.

Well, I'm proud of you.
Sing from the heart.

Here goes.

Before you go
and make that face you make

When you're mad at me

So mad at me

Let me say it's not my place going through
Your voicemail and your history

And if this were a TV show
You know I'd have to go and plead insanity

'Cause the lyin' and spyin' and pryin'
Isn't really my personality

-I'm an idiot for taking your phone.
-Hey!

This is my fault, my bad
If I said a million sorrys

How about a billion sorrys

Ooh

You shine just like the stars

And I'm not even a night light

'Cause what I did wasn't so bright

I'm really sorry

Girl...

Girl, you know I was scared
that this would end

That's why I checked your DMs.

This has been so hard for me to keep
this secret from you and our friends

But given the chance
I would definitely do it again

No, wait, that's not right

I mean that I wouldn't do it again!

No!

This is my fault, my bad

If I said a million sorrys

How about a billion sorrys

Ooh

Can't we just start again

Once upon a time, I'm sorry

Nothing else to rhyme with sorry

Okay.

Ooh

Not so great at saying sorry

Hope you know I'm really sorry

Ooh!

Okay!

Did you like it?

There's a lot to admire.

It's too much.

I was hoping it would feel
a little less boy band

and a little more heartfelt.

Maybe if you tweaked
a couple of the lyrics.

There are words that rhyme with "sorry."

Not really.

"Starry"?

You know what?

I can't do this.

You're right.
This is her thing with Ricky.

She'll just see right through it.

I'm gonna find her
after rehearsal tomorrow,

tell her what happened, and apologize.

She might forgive you.

Would you?

I'm proud of you either way.

That's what I thought.

Troy and Chad. Scene 45!

Let's go.

I'm looking forward to
doing this scene today.

I'm just gonna be... Troy,

a decent guy with a lot of talent

whose only problem is
he cares too much.

I'm just gonna power through
the day, find Nini,

say what I need to,
and everything will be fine.

Just get through this Chad rehearsal
and get on with my life.

Let's take it from the top.

And remember, these two are "best bros,"

it's a sacred thing, for reasons
I will never understand. Ready?

"We had a meeting about how
we haven't been like a team, Troy.

"Us, not you. And the singing thing..."

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"We want you to know that
we're gonna be there cheering for you."

"Huh?"

"Win or lose... We're teammates.

"Even if you turn out to be
the worst singer in the world."

"And you're not gonna hear me sing,

"because Gabriella won't even talk to me,
and I don't know why."

Okay!

Okay, but it was a little stiff.

Let's loosen up,
pass some energy back and forth.

Let's use the ball and improvise.

Just say whatever?

Chad it up.

Troy, you're the best player we've got.
We're so lucky.

Wouldn't be anything without you.

The way you pretend to
play basketball is inspiring.

Thanks, Chad, and the way
you dance is totally normal

and not at all weird
for a high school kid.

You deserve everything
that's coming your way.

Back at you, dude.

Back at you times two.

Four!

Eight!

Back at you infinity plus one!

Okay, major overcorrect!

Let's take a soft ten.

EJ, honey, let's get you some ice.

Oh!

Miss Jenn, you got a second?

Sure.

It was my understanding
that the reason you got this job

was 'cause of your experience
as a featured dancer

in the original High School Musical.

Yes, sir.

And a featured dancer
is someone who dances

with the people
whose characters have names?

Where is this going?

Maybe you can explain this.

What is that?

It... Oh.

My phone has a bright flash.

Doesn't matter. This is you, 2006,

with all the extras who didn't sing,
or dance, or even have a name.

Sound familiar?

Miss Jenn, I got you
a matcha half-caf with Red Bull.

I'm sorry. What's going on here?

It's nothing.

-Are you sure?
-Yeah, it's fine.

You don't look fine.

Go inside and practice your box step.

This is a grown-up conversation.

Miss Jenn, is he bothering you?

You ought to spend less time

worrying about your drama teacher

and more time trying to
make some friends under 35.

Carlos, go run the Status Quo vocals
for a few minutes, okay?

Don't talk to my students like that again.

Oh.

Your students?
Do you have a teaching credential?

I may have fudged a thing or two
on my resumé,

but I'm here because
I believe in these kids.

Not because they're all
gonna be Broadway stars,

but because they aren't.

They're weird, and unusual and quirky,

but they come here at the end of the day,

and everything that they get
made fun of for outside that room

is what makes them shine inside it.

You may think Carlos has no friends,
but the day I posted that cast list,

he got 17 new ones.

That's sweet.

But Vanessa Hudgens is not your friend.

And the stories
you've been telling these kids

are nothing but smoke and mirrors.

It's all just a ruse.

I'm sorry, but you need to go in there

and tell these students
that nothing here is real.

Why don't you tell them what's real?

Not another sound

No, no, no, no

Stick to the stuff you know

If you wanna be cool
Follow one simple rule

Don't mess with the flow, oh, no

Stick to the status quo

No, no, no

Stick to the stuff you know

It is better by far
To keep things as they are

Don't mess with the flow, no, no

Don't you stick to the status

Stick to the status

Stick to the status quo

I have no notes.

I'm not gonna fall on my sword
and confess about the phone now.

Don't need to make Ricky
look like the good guy.

It was a one-time thing
and no one has to know.

Just gonna keep my head down
and forget about the last 48 hours.

As soon as this heals.

How's the lip?

All good.

Listen, I don't know
what happened out there.

It was an accident.

Really?

'Cause "infinity plus one"
sounded pretty real.

That's not even a number.

Do me a favor and stay away
from me and Nini, okay?

Excuse me?

Don't act like my best friend,
or her boyfriend.

Just stop acting, period.

Why can't you be real?

I'm trying to make
the best out of a bad situation...

Stop trying, Ricky.

Don't try so hard! It's embarrassing.

Dude.

I'm just trying to say I'm sorry.

You want to apologize?

You can start with that thirsty voicemail
you left for Nini.

She doesn't need to hear
from you anymore.

What did you just say?

Just go home.

Gina?

Do you have a second?

That's all I have.

I just wanna say, I don't know
what happened with my phone,

and I don't care anymore,

and I know you don't like me.

And I'm okay with that.

But we have to respect each other,

and that starts with me.

Okay.

So, when I thought you stole my phone,
I may have gone a little crazy,

and then you said something mean
and I may have gone extra crazy.

Point is, I have a few of your things

and I would like to return them to you.

Wow.

It was kind of a workout
getting it all here.

I don't know how you walk around
with all this stuff.

You must be freakishly strong.

Uh, but that's beside the point.

What is the point?

I'm not gonna be a doormat for you,

but I'm also not gonna be a klepto.

So we can all just stay in our lane
and find our own ways to thrive.

"Stick to the status quo."

Hmm.

I hope you enjoy having
all of your heavy stuff back.

I'll see you at rehearsal.

Just one thing before you go.

I didn't have your phone.

Hey! Nini!

I have to say something to you.

I know we're not a couple anymore.
I get that.

You've been very clear.

But... I thought there was
a little trust left between us.

I thought I still meant something to you.

I can't do this right now.

Fine. Okay?

But the next time I spill my guts
to you in a voicemail,

do me a favor and keep it to yourself.

I don't need to hear from EJ
that it's wrong and stupid.

What voicemail?

What do you mean?