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𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗦

chapter three:
a blonde girl !

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VIOLETTA WOKE UP a little early the next morning, which was strange, because she was never an early riser in the summer. She yawned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she pushed herself to sit up. Honestly, the bed was more comfortable than she thought, and even in a cabin with no air conditioning during the summer, she slept pretty well.

Nobody else was awake besides Gina, who was sitting on one of the chairs in the center of the room reading a book. Violetta stood up from her bed, making Gina look up.

"Morning," Gina said quietly as Violetta walked over to the sink, careful not to wake any of the girls up. "I went outside earlier and saw EJ. He said to meet him at the barn if you woke up early."

Violetta smiled slightly to herself. She adjusted the t-shirt that she had worn to bed — it was EJ's, and was just plain gray with EAST HIGH WATER POLO in a red font. Violetta brushed her teeth and tied her curly hair up into a bun, deciding to deal with it later when she had more time.

She slipped on a pair of shoes and left the Honeycomb cabin, quietly shutting the door behind her. Camp was still unsurprisingly because it was still early. There was a slight chill in the air, making Violetta's arms raise with goosebumps, but she knew it would go away. The sun was rising higher and higher into the sky, making the grass sparkle with its morning dew.

Sure enough, EJ was sitting on one of the benches at the barn, sipping on a mug. Violetta grinned at the sight of him and walked up to the barn, ignoring the way the wet grass was sticking to the sides of her sneakers. She walked up the steps, and EJ's eyes set on her. He smiled as bright as the sun at her, making her heart beat against her chest

"Good morning, Eej," Violetta greeted. "Or, should I say, director from Disney Plus' Frozen: The Musical: The Series."

"That's a ridiculous name, and you know it," EJ replied. He held up another mug as Violetta approached him. "I know how you can't function without your coffee, so I made you one."

Violetta took the mug from him and sat down, pressing herself into his side and tucking her knees into her chest. "You know me too well." She took a sip, the warmth rushing through her. "Okay, I don't know why I'm up early, so don't ask. But why are you?"

EJ sighed. "Might as well panic early. I mean, I'm the one who has to direct the first-ever student production of Frozen that will air in approximately sixty-three countries."

"Well, at least I'll be the calm one in this situation," Violetta stated. "I already know you're going to be an amazing director. In fact, in the history of Camp Shallow Lake, and in the history of those sixty-three countries."

"There is absolutely no proof of that."

Violetta squinted at him. "Oh, I'm sorry for having faith in you." She reached her hand over and patted his thigh comfortingly. "Come on, EJ, you're incredibly talented."

"I think you forgot to add and handsome at the end of that," EJ responded.

Violetta blinked at him before shaking her head. "Wow. Five seconds of being humble. I never thought we would reach a new record. Congrats, babe, you did it!"

"Okay, okay, I get it." EJ put his arm around Violetta's shoulders, tucking her in closer to his side. "I still can't believe I won that bet of when Ricky and Athena would show up. Also, I had no idea that she was going to dye her hair pink."

Violetta shrugged. "She's been wanting to do it ever since she cut her hair." She then tilted her head in thought. "If I were to dye my hair, what color do you think I would look good in?"

"Any," EJ answered. "You always look good."

She felt her cheeks heat up and she nudged his side with her elbow. "Shut up."

"What? You do!"

"Enough," Violetta insisted with a small laugh. "Hey, when are you going to tell the others you're directing? They're still under the impression Corbin is."

EJ's face fell a little. "Soon. I'm thinking at auditions . . . but can you do me a favor and not tell anyone about it until then?"

Violetta took another sip of her coffee. "Even Athena?"

"Even Athena," EJ confirmed.

She gave him a knowing look, but nevertheless, she leaned her head up and kissed his jaw. "Your secret's safe with me."

Suddenly, a bugle sounded. Violetta's eyes widened and she turned to see Maddox standing in the center of camp with her wagon, playing a bugle.

"Hey-o!" EJ exclaimed, shaking her a little bit with the arm still around her. "I'm so glad you're hearing the bugle."

Violetta blinked in shock. "Where am I right now?"

"It's like the perfect start to the day."

"Rise and shine, newbies!" Maddox shouted once she stopped playing. She sounded quite energetic for it being so early in the morning. "You're on Shallow Lake time now. Whoo!" She then turned and noticed the couple sitting at the barn and waved. "Oh, hey, guys."

EJ raised his fist in the air. "Whoo!"

"Whoo!"

Violetta let out a small laugh that just sounded confused. "Oh my God." She looked back at EJ. "I should go get ready for auditions. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," EJ said. He leaned her and kissed her for a moment — and although it was quick, it was still extremely sweet nonetheless. "I love you."

"I love you more," Violetta voiced as she stood up.

"Hm, not possible."

"Yeah, I think it is." Violetta glanced over her shoulder when she walked down the steps. "Thanks for the coffee!"

She headed back to the Honeycomb cabin, only to see that the other girls who were still sleeping when she left were awake, presumably from the bugle. Violetta walked up to her bunk, where Athena was making her own bed. She bumped their hips together in greeting as she sat down on the edge of her bed, pulling her covers up to her pillows. Athena smiled back at her.

"I can't believe we're actually gonna be in this documentary," Ashlyn admitted, sitting on her top bunk. "And to be directed by Mr. Chad Danforth himself. Okay, one could say the stakes for auditions have never been higher. And one will." She lifted her hand up in the air. "I will. The stakes have never been higher."

"I think I'm having withdrawals," Kourtney revealed while doing her makeup, clearly still reeling from the effects of not having her phone. "I mean, this is the first day I haven't had a headache in my entire life."

"But that should be a good thing," Violetta said, her eyebrows knitting in confusion. "Unless it's not."

"No, I don't know who I am without screens!"

"I'm just gonna let it be known that I'm going for gold at auditions today," Gina stated. "I'm finally ready to play the lead. No apologies, no prisoners."

"Sounds like you brought Gina one-point-oh to camp," Ashlyn replied, and Violetta raised her eyebrow at that.

Gina laughed in response. "No. Look, okay, I loved auditioning with you guys last year, and we're still a tercet, but I just feel like I need to stand on my own this summer, you know? Especially with the whole documentary thing. Like, that could literally be our future."

"Okay." Ashlyn tossed her body pillow down to Gina, who caught it in her arms. "One-point-oh."

"She's not Gina one-point-oh," Athena cut in. "She's just being confident. There's nothing wrong with that." She gave Gina a smile. "I admire it."

"What are you going for, 'Thena?" Ashlyn asked.

"No clue," Athena answered as she went over to her suitcase, but Violetta knew her better than that. "Honestly, I'm just going to do what I normally do."

Kourtney stared at her blankly. "Which is . . ."

"Wing it. I mean, would I like it if Ricky and I played the leads again? Yes. But the chances of that are kind of unlikely. I'd be good with any role."

"You want Anna, don't you?" Violetta questioned.

Athena narrowed her eyes at her. "You know me too well."

Violetta giggled at her. She then went over to her own bag, picking out an outfit for the day. Violetta grabbed a purple short-sleeved shirt, light denim short overalls, and her white Converse. She waited for Athena to get out of the bathroom before she went in, getting changed into her clothes. Violetta went back over to her bed, setting her pajamas down on it and grabbing her hair things.

Gina was the first one to leave the cabin, who had gotten ready in record time. Athena wasn't long after since Gina called that Ricky was asking for her. Violetta then stood in front of the mirror, taming her hair back into a low ponytail with two pieces framing her face. Once she finished getting ready, she packed a small bag of things she might need for auditions, the most important being her water bottle.

Violetta, Kourtney, and Ashlyn all left the cabin together, considering they finished getting ready for the day at about the same time. They walked to the cafeteria for breakfast, settling themselves down at the table with all of their friends. It definitely did feel a little strange not having Big Red and Seb there, and Violetta felt even more out of place when EJ didn't join them. But she got it — he had a big day ahead of him.

Once all of them finished breakfast, they walked to the barn together for auditions. Despite sitting on the bench earlier, Violetta hadn't thought to look inside to see what the barn was really about. When she walked through the door next to Athena, she gazed around in slight impressment. EJ and Maddox were helping each other move a table, and there were rows of folding chairs. Banners hung from the ceiling from past musicals, and there was a small stage at the front of the room.

"Okay, I will say, for a barn, wow," Kourtney commented.

"Everyone should start warming up," Maddox instructed.

Violetta's eyes stayed on the banners as she placed her bag down on a folding chair. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The Music Man. Into the Woods. There was absolutely no doubt that EJ was in most of them — well, at least she could say so for The Music Man, because that was his and Nini's summer showmance.

It was kind of strange to think how far they had gotten. EJ had seemed so hung-up on Nini to the point where he had asked Violetta to steal his phone from her, all to keep Nini away from Ricky. But now Nini was out living her dream, Ricky was hopelessly in love with Athena, and Violetta had somehow managed to score dating EJ. If only all of them knew last summer how much their lives would change.

Violetta blinked, bringing herself out of her thoughts. Her eyes lowered from the banners, only to set on something else. EJ was wrapped up in a hug with a girl with blonde hair, his usual bright smile on his face. Violetta paused for a moment, a slight pang in her chest and a small frown forming on her lips. EJ didn't mention anything to her about a blonde girl. After seeing what Athena and Ricky went through because of Lily, Violetta didn't really want her own version of a blonde girl situation.

She turned to Maddox, who was unfolding more chairs. Maddox seemed to notice her staring at EJ and blondie.

"That's Val," Maddox explained. "Eight-time Shallow Lake camper and current Shallow Lake CIT. Yeah, she and EJ go way back."

Violetta watched carefully as EJ and Val talked easily to each other. "Yeah. They seem to be . . . close."

"Oh, yeah. They were Gretl and Kurt together in The Sound of Music way back in the day. That kind of bond is forever."

She nodded once. "I guess so."

Val then walked up onto the stage. "Hey, everyone. I'm Val, and not too long ago, I was just like you, waiting in the wings for my chance at stardom. Then I went to college and my dreams of Broadway were instantly dashed by my Intro-To-Movement professor, who said I wasn't convincing as a human being."

Ashlyn let out a loud laugh at that. "Wow."

"But now I'm a psych major, and I'm also your choreographer. The director will kick off the auditions in just a moment."

"Corbin Bleu! Whoo!"

Violetta's eyes slid over to EJ. He was moving two chairs behind the table that him and Maddox had just moved. Violetta crossed her arms across her chest and walked up to him.

"Hi, my love," EJ greeted. "What's up?"

Violetta punched his shoulder.

"Ow. You know, considering how much you do that, I should be used to it by now."

She gave him a knowing look. "EJ, you said you would tell everyone that you're directing the show. Ashlyn keeps talking about how she's going to gaze into Corbin Bleu's beautiful brown eyes while singing." EJ raised an eyebrow at that. "Hey, her words, not mine."

"I'm going to tell them," EJ insisted. "In a second."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "One."

"Make it two seconds."

She shook her head as he walked away from her. Oh boy.

This was the third audition of Violetta's life, and yet, the same thing seemed to happen every time. Violetta would stand there with a bored expression, Athena would be freaking out, and Ricky would be totally missing, not there to comfort her. She watched as Athena paced back and forth, wiping her palms and fidgeting figures on her jean shorts. Violetta sighed and placed her hands on her hips.

"I've seen us in this situation before," Violetta announced. "And how many times has it been fine? All of them."

"This one's different," Athena responded. "It's a celebrity and a documentary. I'm going to be sick."

"No you won't, you're scared of throw up."

"Why'd you have to mention throw up?"

"You said it first, not me," Violetta argued. She reached out and grabbed Athena's arm to stop her from pacing because she was getting dizzy watching her. "You're going to do amazing. Stop worrying."

Athena shook her head at her. "I think that's impossible."

"Yo, we are ready!" Val stated, walking out of a back room with EJ trailing after her. "It is time to introduce you to your director . . ." They both paused, standing in front of the stage. "Rocket Man himself, EJ Caswell."

Violetta said nothing and merely stared at EJ. Okay, maybe now the secret was it, but she wasn't particularly thrilled that EJ didn't announce himself and instead had Val do it. He had told her that he would tell all of them, and he didn't.

(Future Violetta would like to interrupt for a moment and say that this could be considered as strike one.)

"Circle up," EJ told them, his voice cracking a little from nerves, which made Violetta soften a little. Violetta

Violetta felt Athena grab her hand. She held on tightly as they walked up to the stage. Violetta took Ashlyn's hand in her free ones. Instantly, they all closed their eyes. This seemed oddly familiar.

Suddenly, EJ began to sing a very high rendition of Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?, like Miss Jenn would. Violetta couldn't help herself and quiet laughs started to spill past her lips. She tried to keep it in, but that only made her body start to shake. Violetta heard Athena start to laugh besides her, too, and her forehead fell onto Violetta's shoulder. The two nearly doubled over from how much they were laughing while trying to stay quiet, which honestly was only making them laugh harder.

The door then swung open. Violetta's eyes opened and she looked over, only to laugh harder when Ricky entered the barn wearing a snow suit. As per usual, he was late for auditions.

"Frozen time!" Ricky exclaimed. "Let's go."

Carlos pointed at Ricky. "Now that's tradition."

"Where's Mr. Bleu?"

"Ricky," Athena said between her laughter. "Honey, why are you wearing a snow suit? Why did you even bring it? We're in California."

"You never know what the weather's going to be like," Ricky protested.

Violetta had no clue what was happening today, if she was being honest. Camp Shallow Lake was truly . . . an interesting place.

All of them spread around the barn. Violetta stood behind the chair that had her bag on it, feeling a sense of calm as the stage lights turned on. She couldn't wait to dance, even though she did wish that Kaden, Steph, Lauryn, and the other dancers from school were here.

"Okay, everyone," Val began. "Let's take some grounding breaths. And we're off!"

"For those of you who I technically know, today, you're not Wildcats," EJ added. "Today, you're a bunch of blank canvases, strangers to me. Today, we've never met."

"Maybe don't talk."

Violetta frowned at that. Blank canvases? Strangers? Never met? Sure, it was a general message to all of them, but EJ knew she was in that crowd.

(Future Violetta would like to interrupt for a moment and say that this could be considered as strike two — two strikes in a matter of minutes . . . yikes.)

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