"All right, everyone! Attention, please! Listen up." Miss Darbus called as the group was sitting in the auditorium for rehearsal. "As some of you know, Miss Montez is no longer available to us. However, the show must indeed go on. So... Sharpay, you will do Gabriella's duet with Troy. Tiara, are you ready to step in for Sharpay?"

"Those sparkling shoes are impossible to fill, Miss Darbus." Tiara stated.

"Oh, don't worry. Kelsi will work with you." Sharpay said, glancing over the pianist as the room was silent, causing the blonde girl to huff as she rose from her chair. "Come on, people. Let's rise to the occasion. We're all pros here. Let's do it for Gabriella. K? Kelsi, Ryan Troy. To the piano.'

"All right, we have a lot of work to do." Miss Darbus spoke.

Alyvia felt a nudge on her arm, snapping her out of her daydream as her attention quickly shot to the boy beside her, sending him a smile.

"Everything okay?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Alyvia said, nodding her head.

Noticing the people around her getting up, Alyvia stood from her seat with Chad right behind her, intertwining their fingers as they followed the group to the stage as they ran through dances for the show.

After a long three hours of dancing and singing, the day was finally over.

"Hey, do you need a lift home?" Chad asked, touching the girl's arm.

"Yeah, I just have something I need to do first." Alyvia spoke, sending the boy a smile. "I'll meet you out front?"

"Okay." Chad said, knitting his eyebrows before placing a quick kiss on the girl's lips. "Don't be too long."

The Bolton girl watched the curly-haired boy disappear down the hallway before she turned and made her way to the familiar classroom.

"Hey, Miss D, do you have a moment to talk?" Alyvia spoke, causing the teacher to turn around as a smile formed on her lips.

"Ah, Miss Bolton. Yes, of course, come in." Miss Darbus said, gesturing towards the seats, causing the girl to take the one in front of her chair. "What can I do for you, dear?"

"It's about my future." Alyvia explained, causing the woman to nod. "As you know, my dream school was always NYU."

"Was?" Miss Darbus questioned.

"They rejected me." Alyvia confessed.

"I see." Miss Darbus nodded. "And now you don't know where the future stands for you."

"I mean, yeah, I didn't really see the need to apply anywhere else. NYU had been the plan ever since I was 10 years old and held my first camera. I never saw the need to make a backup plan."

"That's the thing with life; we never know what the future has in store for us." Miss Darbus spoke, sending the girl a small smile. "If I overstepped, I apologize, but let me ask you, Miss Bolton, what's the reason that you set your mind on NYU? What sets it apart from any other film school in the country?"

"It makes people into stars." Alyvia responded. "They give you a platform, and they help you with what you need to be successful in a hard industry."

"And you don't think you could do that anywhere else or on your own with your work?"

"I..."

"Because, let me tell you, I know you can. But it's not about what I think or what anyone else thinks of you. It's all about having self-assurance and trusting in yourself that you can get yourself to your end goal. NYU is just a school, dear; there are many of them out there with amazing film programs."

"You're right." Alyvia nodded, sending the woman a small smile. "I just wouldn't even know where to start; I mean, most of the college applications were due weeks ago, and I wouldn't even know where to consider."

"Nonesense. What a life in the theater has taught me is to trust one's instincts." Miss Darbus spoke. "And that takes courage, a quality you don't seem to lack."

Alyvia sent the woman a small smile before she looked down at her hands, causing the woman to smile softly.

"But..." Miss Darbus started, causing Liv's head to shoot up. "I have an old friend who is the head of the film department of her university. I'll put in a good word."

"Thank you."

"I've done nothing but my job, dear." Miss Darbus said, patting the girl's arm as she walked past her to the back of the room.
...

The sending sound rang from the girl's laptop, causing her to let out a sigh of relief as she closed her laptop, sending out a college application to Miss Darbus' friend.

"Now all we do is wait." Alyvia muttered to herself, glancing over at her side table and picking up the small picture frame that had a picture of her with her girls, causing her to smile slightly at it before she carefully placed it back down.

Alyvia heard the sound of voices coming from down the hall, causing her to stand up from her bed as she made her way out of her room.

The girl quickly stopped in her tracks outside of Troy's door as she heard the familiar sound of her boyfriend's voice, causing her to lean against the wall.

"Everybody knows you don't bring the girl with you after high school." Chad spoke. "Look, Gabriella is already one step ahead. As usual. Right now, you got to snap out of it, dude. She's off to Standford. And, look, I am right there with you. Okay, Liv's heading to NYU. And you and me are going to U of A. It's a whole new ball game."

Alyvia felt her heart break a little, and she couldn't bear to hear anymore. With one last glance toward the door, the girl turned and made her way back to the room, missing the rest of the conversation.

"Maybe I don't see my life as a ball game anymore, man." Troy said, turning around and looking at the picture of Gabriella on his bedside table.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Chad muttered, glancing down at his hands, thinking about the one person who had been on his mind for weeks—the Bolton girl.

Alyvia walked into her room, pushing the door closed behind her as she made her way over to her desk.

Sitting on top was the rejection letter, causing the girl to grab it as she let out a deep sigh.

In a moment, everything can change
Feel the wind on your shoulders
For a minute, all the world can wait
Let go of your yesterday

Liv balled the paper up before tossing it into the trash can beside her desk.

Can you hear it calling
Can you feel it in your soul
Can you trust this longing
And take control

The girl swung the doors of her balcony open, causing her hair to blow with the wind as she stepped outside.

Fly
Open up the part of you that wants to hide away
You can shine
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life
And start to try
Cause it's your time

All your worries, leave them somewhere else
Find a dream you can follow
Reach for something when there's nothing left
And the world's feeling hollow

Can you hear it calling
Can you feel it in your soul
Can you trust this longing
And take control

Fly
Open up the part of you that wants to hide away
You can shine
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life
And start to try
Cause it's your time
Time to fly

And when you're down and feel alone

In a moment, everything can change
Feel the wind on your shoulders
For a minute, all the world can wait
Let go of yesterdays
Fly
Open up the part of you that wants to hide away
You can shine
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life
And start to try
Start to
Fly
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life
And start to try, 'cause it's your time
Time to fly

Liv made her way back into her bedroom, taking a seat on the edge of her bed as she grabbed the framed picture of her and Chad.

In a moment, everything can change

Alyvia wiped her tears away before placing the picture face down on the side table before she fell backwards onto her bed.

...