The Lounge Party (open to all!)

[Bebe Tenko]

Bebe Tenko had no idea why she'd dragged herself out of bed for this lounge party. From what she remembered of most of the Lava Springs events, they were overrun by Wildcat-Drama Club... well, drama... and nothing had been very enjoyable so far this summer. Any time she tried to meet new people, there was the issue of Sharpay trying to take away Troy. Bebe hadn't even had time to drag Sharpay aside and tell her that stealing other people's boyfriends was generally not kosher, because there was the fact that Ryan seemed to be stealing Gabriella from Troy, which, whatever, if he was into kewpie dolls, that was his thing. Then there was the whole issue with the Talent Show, which was cancelled and uncancelled so many times that Bebe didn't even get to make her usual sets for the show.

But Bebe was set on making some friends outside of Sharpay and the other Sharpettes. She needed to broaden her horizons, talk to people, maybe even meet a cute guy to crush on. So here she was, in a pale purple dress made of light chiffon and silk, wrapped around her body gracefully and tied around her neck, sitting in a chair in the music lounge, completely aware how out-of-place she looked amongst the mingling Wildcats celebrating their latest success. It wasn't even their success! It was Troy and Gabriella's!

Not that it mattered that much to Bebe. She just wanted someone to notice her. With her luck, Sharpay would come around, notice her, and demand some sort of costume or staircase or do something idiotic that would require Bebe to bring her back down to earth. What Bebe really wanted, she surmised as she sat at a table by herself, green eyes peering around the room, looking to see if anyone was looking at her with friendship in their eyes. Probably not. Bebe scared everyone except the scary pink princess, didn't she? Bebe put a hand on her cheek, listening to the piano play through the room. This was going to be a hell of a fun party.

[Emma the Loyal Sharpette]

Emma raced across the Lava Springs Resort to get to the Lounge Party being thrown tonight. Emma cursed herself as she tripped slightly in her Fendi black heels. She did not want to be late to this party, but she definitely did not want to scuff her very expensive shoes! Emma hurriedly moved along the path towards the scene of the party. She hoped the curl in her blonde hair would keep long enough for Sharpay to see. Emma breathed a sigh of relief as she finally reached her destination.

Emma tried to catch her breath as she smoothed out her strapless, sparklie, teal blue party dress. She loved this dress because of the tool underneath the bottom, which made it flare out. It always made her want to twirl in the dress. Emma laughed at her self and her cheesy thoughts of spinning around and feeling like a princess. Emma placed a big smile on her face and started walking around the party. It seemed most of the people here were Wildcats Emma really did not know too well and staff, awaiting the arrival of more guests and of course, the Evans twins-Lava Springs Royalty.

Emma spotted a girl in a beautiful light-purple dress sitting down. Emma immediately recognized her as Bebe. Emma knew Bebe since she had become almost like an unofficial fourth Sharpette. She was the one who was not afraid to tell Sharpay like it was. Emma would never dream of talking to Sharpay the way Bebe did, but there was a small part of Emma that really liked Bebe because of that. It made her...cool. Untouchable.

Emma approached the girl, feeling as if she hadn't seen the girl in years.

"Hi Bebe!" Emma grinned. "You look great! Love that dress!"

[Kelsi Nielsen]

After the success of the talent show, Kelsi knew that she had to be at the lunge party. Though she wasn't much of a party goer, or anything overtly social in general, she figured that most of the Wildcats were going to be there, so it was going to be fine. She straightened her white flowy dress that hugged her frail, petite figure, feeling self-conscious. Of all the dresses her sister could have lent her, this was the only one that fit. She wasn't used to dressing up too much-- it took hours of convincing Kelsi before the party to leave her hat behind, since "it made her look square". She suddenly raised a hand to the crown of her hair, noticing the absence of her signature hat on her head.

She sauntered around the place once she got to the venue, craning her neck slightly to look for any familiar faces. There, she spotted a girl in a pale purple dress, with hair as fiery as her personality. She immediately recognized Bebe. Though Kelsi sometimes felt scared of Bebe with her cold demeanor and sometimes-explosive anger, she figured that she liked Bebe's individuality enough and decided to approach her.

Before she could reach Bebe, a blonde in a sparkly, puffy blue dress who immediately looked like a Sharpay wannabe had gotten to Bebe first. Kelsi never really talked to Emma much since summer started since she was always around Sharpay. Kelsi felt herself tense up, her shyness getting the better of her. She couldn't handle Sharpay and her sparkly personality, let alone any of her dazzling "Sharpettes"-- as they called themselves.

After a few minutes of battling with herself internally, she decided to man up and approach them. "Hey guys", she greeted them sheepishly, as she walked towards the two girls.

[Martha Cox]

Martha flipped the pages of her magazine as she hummed and bopped her head to the music that was currently coming out of her iPod. She was trying to pass the time before she had to get ready for the Lounge Party at the Lava Springs Resort. She was so excited that she couldn't contain her excitement. She wanted to go to the party now, but she knew of course that if she went now, there wouldn't be anybody there. Everyone was probably still getting ready. If only the time would go by faster.

And it did. Or it seemed like it, anyway.

Soon enough, it was time. Martha eagerly got out of her bed and rushed her to her closet where her outfit had been sitting. She had decided to go with a black dress that had a big baby blue stripe in the middle and a baby blue jacket to go with it. After she had gotten dressed, she went over to her vanity, so she could figure out how to do her hair. Should she put it up? Half up and half down? Or should she just leave it completely down? In the end, she decided to put it up and hold it with a silver head band. All she had left was to apply her makeup. And so she did. She didn't want to go overboard, so she just applied a small amount. When she was done, she looked over herself and smiled; content with how she looked. She quickly went over to her closet once again to retrieve her heels before leaving her bedroom and house. Not before letting her parents know that she was leaving for the party, of course.

When she got to the resort, she walked around some looking for a familiar face. She frowned a little when she couldn't find any of her friends. They were coming, weren't they? They had to. She didn't see why they wouldn't, especially after the talent show. Deciding that they were just going to be a little late, she continued to walk, smiling at the guests she passed by. Just when she was about to turn around and go another way, her eyes landed on a couple of familiar people. She saw Kelsi and two other girls she recognized; Bebe and Emma, also known as the Sharpettes.

"Hey Kels!" she greeted her small friend as she walked over to the trio. She nodded and warmly smiled in greeting to the two other girls. She had never talked to them before, so she wasn't exactly sure how to greet them since they followed Sharpay and all. Maybe they weren't that bad. She would soon find out.

[Bebe Tenko]

Immediately after Bebe's doldrums set in, to her relief and surprise, a blonde teenager moved right up to her and chirped out her name. Bebe glanced up, her green eyes moving away from her perfectly manicured but stubby nails, and grinned easily. "Emma-chan," Bebe nodded, offering the seat next to her with ease. "Thank you very much... I always enjoyed purple as a color. You look stunning as usual. The dress is very fitting." Bebe's English always came off as a bit more than formal, something that no amount of living in Albuquerque with multiple native English speakers could fix. Bebe's family all spoke in that stilted style, and it rubbed off on the girl. Being fair, though, Bebe wasn't lying. The fluffy blue dress, bedazzled to its limit, was the ultimate Sharpette dress. Whereas Bebe could get away with an understated purple chiffon number, Emma's bright personality and status as a fun-loving Sharpette made that puffy blue number a match made in heaven.

Bebe folded her hands together and smiled earnestly at Emma. Truthfully, Bebe hadn't been spending very much time with Sharpay or the Sharpettes this summer. She had, but Sharpay had been so off in her own world that Bebe didn't have time to really bond with the other three women who called Sharpay their friend. At least Emma was nothing if not approachable - she didn't seem unnerved by how Bebe acted on most days. Bebe was grateful for that.

"How has Lava Springs life been for you since the talent show?" Bebe was almost afraid to ask. That talent show had been a never-ending nightmare cavalcade of humiliations for the Evans siblings, and to be honest, Bebe got the feeling that Sharpay hadn't been acting like her usual self since then. It was a suspicion that Bebe wasn't really wishing to confirm yet, though. It could be Bebe's own irritation with the event talking...

Much to Bebe's surprise, Kelsi Nielsen approached the two of them. Bebe had no problem with Kelsi - honestly, it made sense why she liked Troy and Gabriella more than Sharpay and Ryan. She shyly approached them, giving a very quiet "hey guys". Bebe could sympathize with Kelsi at that moment. The Wildcat contingent was scarier than any punishment Mr. Fulton could've dreamed up. Bebe did her best to be welcoming, and not seem like a crazy person. She was doing fine with Emma, after all... but then again, she and Emma were both part of the sycophantic mechanism known as the Sharpettes. Kelsi was likely to be less forgiving - and to run out of the room crying - at a faux pas. "Ah, Nielsen-san. ...I really like your dress. White is the perfect color for you." And Bebe meant it completely. White was definitely her color. If there was another seat near Bebe, she would've offered it, but Emma was next to the open seats now.

Even as Bebe was thinking about how to get Kelsi to sit down, they were then approached by another girl, one Bebe didn't recognize at all but who must've been a Wildcat, based on her effusive greeting to Kelsi. But her smile was warm and winning... this was what you wanted, right, Bebe? To meet new people and not totally scare them off with your mean eyes and your edgy hair? The woman with the curly hair seemed like a good start... of course, Bebe had no idea if this girl was one of Sharpay's enemies. At this point though, who cared. Sharpay wasn't here to call any shots. When she did show up to call some shots, THEN Bebe might start worrying about it.

"Hello, I don't believe we've met," Bebe said to the curly-haired girl, offering her hand for a handshake. Bebe couldn't help but be professional at all times, sadly. "I'm Bebe Tenko. I do sets for the Drama Department, among other things. If you know Nielsen-san, you must be a good person, and I'm pleased to meet you."

[Emma the Loyal Sharpette]

Emma politely smiled at Bebe and gratefully took the seat next to her. Her smile brightened as Bebe commented about her dress. Emma was not used to such compliments, especially being with Sharpay. The most she got was a 'Sharpay approval' or a not-so-nice disapproval of her outfits. Of course, Emma loved when she would get approval, but always secrely hoped for just one compliment to come from Sharpay. Emma turned her attention back to Bebe, as the girl asked her a question.

"Life has been great since the talent show!" Emma lied through her gritted teeth. "Well, I mean, not exactly great..." Emma started with not really knowing what was coming out of her mouth. "Things have been kind of rocky with me and Sharpay and with me ditching her and all at the talent show. She's basically been upset with me and rightfully so! I mean, I never should have done that, but I am kind of proud of myself for doing what I wanted to do and so..." Emma suddenly stopped realizing she was rambling and saying negative things about Sharpay.

"I mean uh...things have been, um, great." Emma smiled, slapping herself mentally. What if Bebe went and told these things to Sharpay? What if Emma lost her status as Sharpay's most loyal Sharpette? Emma could almost feel the color draining from her face.

Emma saw Kelsi Nielsen approaching and could not be more grateful for this distraction. She knew Kelsi from the many rehearsals with the Evans twins. She smiled at the girl, knowing how demanding Sharpay could be, especially to Kelsi.

"Hi Kelsi," Emma smiled, as she saw another girl approaching. She looked vaguely familiar, probably from seeing her around the resort. She obviously must have been a Wildcat too, since she knew Kelsi.

"Hi!" Emma flashed a smile, trying to look like Sharpay's dazzling one. Emma had tried rehearsing it a dozen times in the mirror, but it always seemed to come off a little more weird than dazzling. "I'm Emma! Pleased to meet you!" Emma proclaimed loudly and extended a hand, like Sharpay would always do, but it came off quite forceful, rather than graceful.

Emma cleared her throat slightly and smiled a little embarrassed at the other girls. "Let's, um, try this again." Emma took a breath and smiled a normal smile. "Hi, I'm Emma. I'm very pleased to meet you."