Removing Paint (Emma and Bebe)

[Bebe Tenko]

"My favorite thing about Lava Springs...?" Bebe had to think about that. She watched Emma's dress swirl around in the coin-op as she pondered the question. "I guess... that would have to be... the stages. I can play my bass there without anyone caring. My dad HATES bass guitar. He's all, 'why can't you just sing like a normal girl?!' But the bass... it's MY instrument. It's powerful..."

[Emma the Loyal Sharpette]

Emma nodded thoughtfully. "That's awesome. Just a way to express yourself, without holding back. That's really cool." Emma decided she needed to find a medium to express herself in.

"So how long have you been playing for?" Emma asked, as the dress was almost finished washing.

[Bebe Tenko]

"Five years," Bebe confidently responded. "I saw Gorillaz in concert five years ago... their US tour, that is. And the bass... mesmerizing! I wanted to be able to be just as good as... as that odious cartoon character." Bebe's grin dropped as she realized her idol was a drunken cartoon. "Oh well. Oh look, it's done!" Bebe yanked the dress out of the coin-op. "And look at that! B-E-A-utiful!"

[Emma the Loyal Sharpette]

"That's a long time to stick with something. I don't think I have enough patience to do anything like that, but props to you, Bebe!" Emma smiled.

She saw Bebe pull her costume out of the machine, and Emma's smile widdened. She took the costume carefully and smelled it. It smelled heavenly fresh. Emma turned to Bebe.

"Thanks again. I never could have gotten that paint out without your help." Emma hugged Bebe again. "Now I think I'll let this thing air dry, and then it's all done! Hopefully Sharpay won't be upset that I missed rehearsal."

[Bebe Tenko]

"I don't think she'll care," Bebe admitted. "She seems really... off lately. She looks constantly constipated." Bebe snickered at her disturbing alliteration. "But I digress. She disappears for half-hours at a time... I really think she might have chronic constipation. Honestly. Stop LAUGHING, Miss Emma, I'm serious!"

[Emma the Loyal Sharpette]

Emma couldn't control her laughter. She laughed so loudly that it echoed through the hallway they were in. She clutched her sides as they began to ache.

"Oh Bebe....I haven't laughed like that in so long." Emma wiped away a few tears that made it out with the laughs. "Thanks."

"And honestly, your explanation fits perfectly. Except that Ryan must have it too, because they are always MIA at the same time. Good thing my room is FAR from their's!" Emma laughed.

[Bebe Tenko]

"No, I think Ryan is trying to sort out... new-found feelings." Bebe was laughing now too. "You know... feelings that came about after the baseball game... with Chad..." Bebe's face suddenly plummeted. "With Chad...?!"

[Emma the Loyal Sharpette]

Emma laughed slightly at what Bebe was implying with Ryan. Honestly, Emma never thought Ryan was gay. Of course, Emma had a huge crush on Ryan in junior high, so she didn't want to admit that a guy she used to like was gay.

She saw Bebe's face fall when she mentioned Chad Danforth. She didn't understand why Bebe would get so upset after making fun of Ryan and Chad's game.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked, slightly worried.

[Bebe Tenko]

"...Yeah. Sure." Bebe wasn't convincing at all, and she knew it. "No, okay, NO I'm not. If... if Ryan likes... Chad... there's... no hope for me and Chad. None."

[Emma the Loyal Sharpette]

Emma gasped. "You like CHAD!?"

Emma just stood there with her mouth open. Chad was the last person she expected Bebe to like.

"I-I don't think Ryan likes Chad. I certainly don't think Chad likes Ryan back. I'm almost certain that neither of them swing that way." Emma said, trying to help Bebe. Emma was almost positive neither one was gay.

Emma not certain of how to help Bebe, just stood there, and smiled weakly.

[Bebe Tenko]

"...Well... knowing my luck... that will be the case." Bebe sighed, sitting down on the corner of the coin-op. "When I was in eighth grade, I asked out... um... well, I asked out a guy. And he rejected me so flatly, so soundly, that I've been afraid to... to ask out any other guy I liked. So when I liked Ryan in freshman year, he never knew. And Chad... I've liked him for SO LONG, but he has no idea who I am. That thing in eighth grade... part of the reason I hate this place is because he's here. I thought I'd never see him again, since he doesn't go to East High..."

[Emma the Loyal Sharpette]

"Oh Bebe, I'm so sorry." Emma said. "Sometimes guys are just jerks, and they don't realize what kind of girls they have right in front of them, and then some guys just reject the good girls because they are just dumb!"

Emma stopped and then smiled slightly.

"You liked Ryan freshman year?" Emma laughed. "I liked Ryan in junior high! I guess we both have good taste in guys."

Emma looked at Bebe with a slight smile, but had a serious tone to her voice. "But seriously, I do hope things go well with you and Chad. Honestly, I don't know Chad all that well, but from what I have seen and heard, he's a good guy. You never know what could happen, right?" Emma suggested, trying to make Bebe feel a little better.

[Bebe Tenko]

"You... you really think I'm... good?" Bebe questioned suspiciously. She'd never really been complimented on her looks before - her musical skills, sure; her athletic skills, very much so. But her looks? "...Well, I don' t know why I liked Ryan. I think it was because he accidentally kissed me backstage, when we were doing Romeo and Juliet. He told me later that it was so dark he thought he was kissing the dummy he had been using to practice!" Bebe giggled at the silly memory. "But... Chad. I really don't know, that's the thing. I barely know him. For weeks I thought his name was Jason." Bebe made a face to show how stupid she was.

[Emma the Loyal Sharpette]

"Bebe, of course you are beautiful! Why wouldn't Chad like you? I mean, I know he has been a little sweet on Taylor McKessie, but they seem on the outs right now, so why not make a move?" Emma suggested.

"You thought his name was Jason?" Emma laughed, but quickly stopped. She placed a comforting hand on Bebe's shoulder. "It happens. We are attracted to someone, and we just don't know all the facts sometimes. But really, who cares what you thought his name was? 'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.'" Emma smiled.

"That's the only thing I remember from English class this year." she whispered.

[Bebe Tenko]

"I read PvP during English last year," Bebe smiled, feeling Emma's pain. "...I really want to tell Chad how I feel... but somehow I think that it wouldn't work out for me. I've never... told a guy how I feel. I'm a wimp. Really." Bebe knew she'd get a bizarre face, but it was true. She was a real wimp. "I swear. I'm so afraid of getting hurt. I'm still wearing a bandaid over my nose! It's barely broken!" Bebe smashed her head against the coin-op. "No-win situation, Miss Emma... and no, that didn't hurt."