Chapter Text
It’s October 3rd, Mean Girls Day. This means Georgina (Call me George) Russell should be wearing pink with her nice heels to go shopping with Alex and watching the movie at whoever’s house they decided to sleep over at.
Unfortunately, Mr Wolff thought it would be nice to announce the spring musical show after class today, so the shopping plans were on hold.
She was still wearing pink, obviously. Not even Mr Wolff, with his insistence on costume black, could take this away from her.
“So, what do you think Mr Wolff picked for this year’s show?” Alex leaned against her locker while George shoved her calculus and history homework into her bag.
“Well…” George slammed her locker shut before walking in the direction of the auditorium. “I’m guessing that he doesn’t want to repeat the Little Mermaid or Newsies from the last 2 years at least."
“You know, we’re all rooting for Mamma Mia. I’m sure he won’t even have to teach us the harmonies cuz everyone knows how to sing the whole show.” Alex chirped and nudged her side playfully.
“That’s if the freshmen even know how to sing. I think the only one of them who can hold a note is that Andrea girl.” George rolled her eyes and chuckled.
Alex slapped her back while choking back her laugh. “Oh my god. That’s so mean. Please say that again in front of Lewis. I need to see how he reacts.”
George’s lips thinned to a line before uttering. “If you snitch on me to our club president about trash-talking the freshmen, I’m not helping you with your audition.”
“But George!” George ignored her best friend’s pouting and pushed open the doors to the auditorium.
Mr Wolff was already standing in front of the stage with some of the club members sitting in the first few rows of the auditorium. George and Alex hurried toward them, squeezing into the second row next to Carlos and Charles. Muffled greetings and waves were exchanged between them, trying not to earn the ire of their director.
He remembers the confusion when they first joined the club, with both Charlottes refusing to adopt nicknames until midway through tech week. Members having similar names kept happening in their club, despite its meagre size. There were 2 seniors named Nico that the club referred to by their surnames.
“So, are you adding money to the betting pool like last year? I’ve already placed my money on my guess.” Alex leaned over and mumbled in her ear.
“We’ve literally never been right about these. It’s just gonna end in Carlos and Lando arguing over who gets the money.” George sighed, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. She needed Mr Wolff to announce the show and let them leave, like yesterday. “But yes, tell the group chat that I've got five dollars on Little Shop of Horrors.”
A black backpack dropped next to her feet with a soft thud. Looking up, she found Lewis sliding into the seat next to her. She grinned up at him. “Look at who was almost late. Mr Wolff might take away your president title from you and give it to Rosberg.”
“And if you mention Rosberg again, I’ll tell Mr Toto you want to be stage manager this season instead of going through casting.” Lewis matched her smirk, nudging her in the side. George let out a soft chuckle. Mr Wolff had always allowed the seniors to call him by his first name, but it hit differently now that Lewis was saying it, a sharp reminder of this show being his last.
A sharp clap turned her attention back to the man in front of the stage. Mr Wolff narrowed his eyes at her outfit and coughed rather loudly. He did not immediately start scolding her, so she took it as a win. There will probably be another strongly worded reminder about appropriate clothing in the club group chat by the time she leaves though.
The director cleared his throat. “Has everyone arrived, Lewis? I’m sure everyone wants to leave as quickly as possible since it’s not officially club hours.”
Lewis quickly opened his mouth to respond and was cut off by a loud slam of the doors that made George jump in her seat. The latecomer seemed to barely care about her abrupt entrance and casually strolled toward the stage. Maybe George will get off easy about her attire in the group chat this time.
Mr Wolff pinched his nose and sighed. “Miss Maxine, please sit down and try to be more punctual next time.”
“Sorry, Mr Wolff.” Max’s sheepish smile indicated the opposite, but it seemed the director decided not to push it anymore and let her get away with it.
Max slid into the seat behind George. When Mr Wolff’s attention turned away from her, Max leaned over her shoulder to whisper. “Nice outfit, Georgina. You must look pretty enough in pink that the director had to overlook it today.”
George knew her face was probably flushed red, but refused to look back at Max and let her have the satisfaction of managing to rile her up. Max still let out a small chuckle despite her efforts.
What did she ever do in her past life to have to be in the same club as her in both middle school and high school?
“Shut up, Maxine. You know damn well that you could never pull off pink.” She hissed back, trying to make sure no one else could hear their petty squabble. “And this is why I never compliment you.” Max leaned back into her seat, leaving George to wonder what on earth she even meant by that.
“Now that everyone is here, I am delighted to be announcing the show we’re performing for our spring musical. Some of you may have even guessed it, like Ms Georgina.” Mr Wolff nodded his head in her direction, and almost all eyes in the auditorium turned toward her.
George narrowed her eyes. Wait, what was he even talking about? She didn’t even say anything about the show when she walked in. What could have possibly indicated she knew anything about the – oh. She really should have paid better attention to why he called them today specifically, and why he let her attire slide.
“Our spring musical that we will be performing is Mean Girls!” Mr Wolff tried to do jazz hands, but it really did not do anything for her.
This felt like a scene out of some prank show or something. George wasn’t sure if she should be vindicated or disappointed in herself for not seeing it. She could feel Alex slapping her back in shock, and hear Lewis congratulating her on definitely winning the bet among the juniors. Excited shouts were coming from all over the hall, with the loudest coming from the freshman girls. George could only let out a half-hearted “yay” and chuckle before dropping her face in her hands.
Man, everyone is gonna make so much fun of her when they find out she didn’t even know.