High School Musical: The Musical - The Series (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Blocking - full transcript

After Nini discovers that E.J. isn't who she thinks he is, Ashlyn gets caught in the middle. Gina and E.J. team up as "wonderstudies," and Ricky gets an unexpected visitor at home.

Previously on High School
The Series...

Sure, I did a little "research"
into my girlfriend's text history.

But at least I'm not the guy
leaving her thirsty voicemails

or deliberately damaging people's faces.

Luckily, everything is chill
with me and Nini now.

It's not like she knows I took her phone.

Okay, so when Miss Jenn asked me
to be on the costume crew for HSM,

I was like, "But there aren't
any costumes in this movie."

They're just high schoolers.

But she was like,
"It's a period piece, get creative."

So, I'm digging through old costume racks,
seeing what I can repurpose.



But what did people in 2006 even wear?

I pretty much wore diapers.
But my job is to make it work.

We're a team, right?
Everybody pullin' together.

Ugh.

That's what makes theater
such a safe and loving environment.

Hey, Nini! Hey, wait up.

I don't wanna be late.

-What's up? Where were you?
-Had a costume fitting.

But why haven't you answered my texts?

-Could we not do this right now, please?
-Do what? Are you mad at me?

You're mad at me.
Look, there was no fitting at lunch.

Fine. Wanna know where I was at lunch?

I was at the computer lab,

bribing some hacker to crack into my phone



to recover a message you deleted
when you stole it.

- Wait. Why do you think that I...
- Oh, please.

Gina's not the wonderstudy
I need to worry about, is she?

-Can we talk about this over the...
-Don't.

Nini, I was spiraling, okay?

I said I loved you
and you couldn't say it back.

Hey, you said it to Ricky,

now I see the way he looks at you...

-I know you guys have more history...
-Yeah.

He'd never steal my phone.

No, I know, he just leaves
sad-face messages on it

asking if you shared a moment over a song.

- Don't make this about Ricky!
- That is what this is about.

I'm trying to hold onto
what we had over the summer.

Yeah, I was too. But you know what?

Summer's over.

Yes.

Hey, is the door locked or something?
Why can't we get in?

Oh. Natalie Bagley's missing her
emotional-support hamster. He got loose.

Carlos and Gina are helping her find her.
Him. It.

I think they found it.

Hey, shouldn't you be at rehearsal?
What're you looking for?

Scene seven. I took the page out
to memorize

and now I'm thinking
Big Red used it as a napkin.

Is that a hot wing?

Uh... I started to clean up,

but then your mom said
she wanted to meet us at the restaurant.

Straight from the airport?
Why isn't she coming home first?

I guess she figured she'd be hungry.

Um, screw it. I'll borrow a script.

You'll be done by 7:00, right?

I mean, give yourself enough time
to get to the restaurant.

The restaurant's, like,
10 minutes from school. I'll be there.

-Mom.
-Hey, you.

Oh, God, I've missed you. Come here.

Wait, is that a hot wing?

I thought we were meeting
at the restaurant.

Well, I caught an earlier flight.

But we agreed we would do this
at the restaurant.

Agreed to do what?

Sometimes a relationship needs
one person looking after the other.

It wasn't divine intervention that got you
into Marian the Librarian's costume.

What does that mean?

You were responsible for Emily Pratt

spending opening night in the toilet?

I believed in you.

-Answer the question.
-Take it down a notch.

I slipped her a bad deviled egg.

I didn't think it would actually work.

You got to play the lead, didn't you?

Was that gonna happen
if I hadn't stepped in?

I need a moment.

-Is he dead?
-No.

Now she thinks he's in her gym locker.

Why the screaming?

That was me. She stepped on my toe.

We're ready to begin, people.

Miss Jenn talked to Ricky,
he's running late.

Who cares?

Hmm. You might,
considering you're his understudy.

We're blocking the Troy, Gabriella duet.
You're on, lovers.

- Really?
- We don't know... Yeah.

No, I haven't yet.

Can we do whatever
we're doing at dinner now?

We'll have dinner here. I'll order in.

No. We can go out.

The Thai place
with spring rolls delivers.

-Not the veggie ones...
-Guys, talk to me.

Are we moving to Chicago?

No.

I am.

Sweetheart, we've decided
to legally separate.

I thought you were coming back to see
some counselor, to make things right.

-Can we sit down?
-I don't want to!

-The last thing you guys told me...
-We saw somebody...

While you were in different cities?

How is that supposed to help?

Ricky, this isn't your fault. You're...

You're the one thing
that's held your dad and I together

these past few years...

We're quoting the counselor.

You don't agree? What do you wanna say?

I don't know.
I thought I had two more hours.

You know what? I've got a rehearsal.

Honey, I'm sorry.

We'll continue at dinner.

Not sure when I get out.

It's a musical, lots of scenes,
could be tomorrow.

I'll call you.

Can you move
a little closer to each other?

Little more.

Come on, guys, we're blocking this
as a love story,

not a SARS epidemic.

I think that chair was over there.

Oh, I can move it over in the scene.

Feels awkward.

It's light.
I can lift it above my head and walk.

Sweetie, no one is walking
with furniture on their head.

This isn't The Lion King.

Strike the chair, please.

With what?

Take it away. Remove it.

Troy, once the intro begins,

cross downstage
and plant yourself at the piano.

Which should be further downstage, okay?

No, dear, that would be upstage.

Okay. Gabriella,
you slowly approach the piano

and rest an arm on it, naturally.

Can we make sure her bookbag
is off stage right?

Sure. Um...

Which way is that?

Why do these people talk in code?

"Up" means "down," "strike" means "move."

She says, "Break a leg" and I'm like,
"What did my leg ever do to you?"

I never should've joined the crew.

Okey-dokey.

Take it from,
"Wow! Now, that's really nice."

Wow. Now, that's really nice.

Hmm.

It's hard to believe
that I couldn't see

You were always there beside me

Thought I was alone with no one to hold

But you were always there beside me

This feeling's like no other

I want you to know

I've never had someone

That knows me like you do

The way you do

I've never had someone

As good for me as you

No one like you

So lonely before

I finally found

What I've been looking for

Well, this is a choice.

Okay, I have more chemistry with the woman
who definitely doesn't color my hair.

What's up with these two?

Doo doo doo

Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Woah oh oh oh

Doo doo doo

Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Woah oh oh oh

Okay, freeze.

Nini, sweetie,

this reprise comes at
a decisive moment in the story,

once your hearts have joined.

It's a love song.

Were you not getting that?

I'd like you to get to his heart
without cracking his rib cage.

Sorry I'm late.

My mom, she caught an earlier flight.

Where are we?

- Scene seven.
- Right.

I don't have it. Could I borrow...

You need your script, Ricky. And a pencil.

It's a blocking rehearsal.

Could I borrow a pencil?

- You can share mine.
- No, he can't.

When you come to rehearsal, people,
you come prepared.

Was he in your gym locker?

No, just my cherry lip balm.

But it had
Elliot's teeth marks in it.

That wouldn't hurt him.

It's sparkly.

Then it'll be easier to find him.

If he smiles.

Natalie, we feel your pain,

but I was just explaining
what a constructive rehearsal requires.

Focus. And honestly, another day like this

and I am showing up
with my emotional support coyote.

Miss. Jenn, I know the scene.

Would you wait in my office?

Thank you.

Wait, are we done?

We are, Ms. Darbus.

Take a note.

This is what
a frustrated drama teacher looks like.

Go. Scoot.

Come back when you're ready
to be punctual,

park your distractions at the door,
and take the work in here seriously.

The bottom line is you made
a commitment to be here, Ricky.

A big role comes with big responsibility.

You and Nini set the tone
for the rest of the cast.

- Understood.
- Really?

Well, unless it's a family emergency...

My parents are splitting up.

For real.

Oh. Um...

I'm so sorry to hear that.

I know exactly how you feel.

I went through the same thing.

When I was 14, my mother and father
called it quits.

Well, not my father, my stepfather.

I never knew my real dad.

He was a telephone repairman
who fell in love with long distances.

It's not my line. Tennessee Williams,
but you get my drift.

My real father sold pagers.

But Jack, my stepfather,
he was a pivotal figure who inspired me.

He was so gentle and soft-spoken...

-Miss Jenn.
-He loved poetry and music,

hated violence of any kind...

Miss Jenn, I think there's a rat
eating your protein bar.

Oh. Shoo, shoo!
Shoo, shoo, shoo.

-Hey! Hey, Miss Jenn, stop.
-Shoo, shoo, shoo.

I could just catch it and take it outside.

Take it to Natalie Bagley.
It's her hamster.

He escaped from his box.
Can you blame him?

That girl is so needy.

Wait, where did he go?

Might be under the sofa?

Can I lure him with that protein bar?

Absolutely not. That's my dinner.

I can stay here and catch him.

Ricky.

You can't stay here.

You should go home
and be with your family.

-Oh.
-Now you have a chance to be a hero.

Stay away from me.

Girls like her love a comeback.

You set me up, and then sold me out.

So if I were you, I'd cool it.

Oh, please.

Don't waste your energy hating on me.

Start thinking of the long game.

Opening night is six weeks out, dude.

Follow me, and you'll have
the part of Troy and the girl.

I hate to tell you this, but around here,
seniors don't follow sophomores.

How do people like that
live with themselves?

How do they sleep at night?

Like a shark. Eyes open.

He's always looking for his next victim.

We've been dating for, like, two months,
and I don't even know this person.

Neen, it's called a blind spot.
Everybody's got 'em.

Why do you think
I flunked my driver's test?

If he's willing to do that to somebody,
how long before he tries to poison me?

Uh. Hey! Yeah, excuse me, over here.

Yeah, I know you don't know me very well,
but guess what?

You probably know him even less.

Have you eaten today?

Oh. Is that him? Is that EJ?

Did he text you 'cause I'm not answering?

This fool is working my last nerve.

Um, just tell him I went out.
Shopping for a lie detector.

It's not EJ. It's Tonya Freeman.

-Who's that?
-This senior on costume crew.

She made herself head designer
and vetoed every one of my suggestions.

Treats me like a child.

Did you tell Miss Jenn?

I don't need Miss Jenn
to fight my battles.

If Tonya wants to trash my turtlenecks,
I'll T-bone her track pants.

Who's wearing track pants?

If it were up to Tonya, everybody.

You want me to say something?

You can't keep a senior
from acting like a senior.

This 'tude comes with the territory.

I'll just shut my mouth
and focus on make-up crew.

No, don't do that. You need to fight.

You need to demand respect.
You need to call him out.

Tonya's a her.
And I'm gonna get you some food.

Don't.

Whose tent is this?

Shiggy, the tall guy
who hangs the lights.

Oh, right. Real quiet, never speaks?

Yeah, it's called rolling electrocutions.

These are your choices.

A very sad-looking bran muffin
or some really shriveled-up carrots.

Oh...

Don't look now,
but your shark's cousin is here.

Hey.

Hey! Ashlyn! You don't have to avoid me.

No. I'm not avoiding,

I just decided to make
a half-caff mocha frappe at home.

Listen, um, no matter what happens
between me and EJ,

there's no bad blood between us.

I mean, you might have
some because you're related to him,

but that's not your fault.

Nini, I really don't wanna be
in the middle.

Wait, you're not.

It's not like you knew what he did.

Oh.

You knew what he did.

And you knew about the hot egg
and Emily Pratt?

Not till today,

but I'm not totally surprised.

Are you totally disgusted?

A little, but he's EJ.

He tends to do the wrong things
for the right reasons.

-No. You cannot possibly defend him.
-No, I'm not. I'm not.

Look, I know what he did sucks,

but he loves you...

and he's hurting right now and...

Yeah, and what?

What am I supposed
to do with that?

Find some way to forgive him?

Tell me when to stop.

Do you like it hard or soft?

Are you sure this is even a bed?

-Can you sleep on a pool toy?
-Leave it. I can just sleep on the floor.

Your parents know
you're staying over?

Are they cool with this?

I texted 'em,
but I'm not asking for permission.

-They're gonna work it out.
-No, they're not.

Okay, cool.

-Do you wanna play Fortnite?
-No.

-Watch a movie?
-Not tonight.

Great. We'll YouTube.

I found this insane video
of a girl in Delaware

who says she got rid of her psoriasis
by eating her dog's kibble.

Gross.

What is all this?

Uh, that's a C-PAP machine.
My mom got it for me for my sleep apnea.

It's loud,
but I drown it out with this.

There's a rainforest setting
that's pretty dope.

There's also raging storm.

You're not scared of thunder, are you?

Do you think you should call your mom?

At least say good night, or goodbye, or...

I don't know.

I'm sorry, dude.

Let's watch kibble girl.

Look, I know this happens.
People change, parents drift apart.

I just... I really thought they were
on the mend, you know?

And after everything
that's been goin' on with...

I guess I'm not good
at rolling with stuff

when everything feels different.

Hmm. Hey, Kourt.

Hey, just checkin'
to make sure you're okay.

Yeah, I'm fine.

You sure?

Uh, yeah.

It happened, it's over, life goes on.

Plus, I just blocked EJ's number, so...
Problem solved.

You know it's okay to be sad, too, right?

Yeah, I know.

Nini, it's okay to be sad.

Yeah.

Okay, thanks, Kourt.

Call me anytime, okay?

I will. You're the best.

Mwah. Bye-bye!

I found a boy,
told me I was a star

Held the door, held my hand in the dark

And he's perfect on paper
But he's lyin' to my face

Does he think that I'm the kinda girl
Who needs to be saved

Thanks, Carol.

Uh... Hey, Mom!

Hi, there.

Whose are those?

Ricky's.

Why are they here?

Because the rest of him is in the bathroom
changing into pajamas,

or whatever else I gave him to wear.

-Mom.
-Hold on, hold on.

There's something's going on at home.

His mom is back, but I don't think
she's gonna stay very long.

And I talked to his dad, he's fine
with him spending the night here...

Spending the night?

Mom, no, I can't deal
with any more drama today. Please...

-Nini...
-I have had the worst day ever.

Sweetie, I'm guessing not as bad as his.

Yeah.

Hey.

Well, I gotta say,
that looks better on you

than it does on me.

Uh, it's kinda comfy.

Oh, so are my Birkenstocks,
but let's draw the line here.

Yeah. Well... Sleep tight.

Hey, thanks again for letting me stay.
Thank you.

I probably should've called you

and asked how you felt
about me being here. I didn't...

It's okay. You wouldn't have reached me.
I turned my phone off.

So, what's goin' on at home?

How long is your mom staying?

I don't...

Well, if things ever get really tense,

you know you can always hang here.

I'm really scared.

I'm really scared this time.

It feels different already.

Oh. But...

I mean, that's all it is, right?

Different? I mean,
that's not necessarily bad.

It's really hard to
talk about it, you know?

Not with you,
but anyone else, it's like...

Well, you can always talk to me
about anything anytime, okay?

I know, things are kinda weird between us,
but, um, we're friends, right?

-Yep.
-You know that.

Uh, do you need another pillow?

-Or... Yeah.
-Oh, no. No, that's great.

-Yeah, thank you.
-Okay. No problem.

Good night, Ricky.

Good night.

Uh, no, I shouldn't.

-Yeah.
-Uh, yeah. Right, no. Yeah.

-I get it. Friends.
-Mmm-hmm.

You know what?
These pillows get flat.

-They're more of a placemat.
-Mmm.

So, um, I'll go get you a better one
from upstairs. Yeah.

Hey, I got your text.

Yeah, I still want her back
more than anything.

What's your plan?

You're taking me to the homecoming dance.

-What?
-Shh.

Don't ask questions.

And there's one more boy
He's from my past

We fell in love but it didn't last

'Cause the second I figure it out
He pushes me away

I won't fight for love
If you won't meet me halfway

And I say that I'm through
But this song is still for you

All I want is love that lasts

Is all I want too much to ask?

Is it something wrong with me?

All I want is a good guy

Are my expectations far too high?

Try my best but what can I say?

All I have is myself at the end of the day

But shouldn't that be enough for me?

Hey.

It's after 11:00.
I thought you were spending the night...

Yeah, that didn't work out.
Decided to come home.

Well, I'm glad. Did you have dinner?

I had some chips at Big Red's.

Well, that's not dinner.
So, I'll make you something to eat.

Hey, Mom?

Yeah?

How long are you stayin'?

I'm not sure.

But at least until the end of the week.

Good.

It's hard to believe that I couldn't see