Shuffling Through High School

“Shuffling Through High School” is written along the lines of TV shows such as “Glee” and musicals like “Dear Evan Hansen”, just replace all the singing with tap-dancing. The series is about two teens, Timothy and Carly, who are both struggling to find their place in the world.

When his mom passes away from COVID-19, TIMOTHY, a young teen, moves to a new town with his father. Timothy begins his first day of sophomore year by livestreaming his thoughts on authenticity, sexuality, and tap-dancing. He gets a call from his best friend, JESSICA, who's just starting out in college, and the two chat about life and their respective problems. Timothy walks to school and gets bullied by a group of jocks. CARLY, an insecure girl who lives across the cul-de-sac from Timothy, stops to help him gather his things and finds herself immediately drawn to him. Timothy is uninterested, however, and dismisses her. The day turns out to be something of a disaster, thanks to the sports jersey Timothy dons, courtesy of his father. Timothy chats with Jessica about meeting Carly and we watch him mull over his mother's death during a previously recorded Timothy Diary Entry. The next day, Timothy drives to school in a new car, ignoring Carly along the way. Meanwhile, Carly gets bullied at school. She sends messages to Timothy that Timothy then ignores. Timothy attends "hybrid school" at home. Carly texts him again and he responds, Carly giving him some advice on how to sound like a sports fanatic when one knows nothing about sports. Later that day, Timothy tries out Carly's tips with a jock named MILES and manages to sell himself as a genuine fan. Timothy meets a girl named EMILY, an aspiring playwright, at the park, but their conversation gets interrupted by Jessica. The next day, Timothy forgets his phone and must survive an entire school day without it. He returns to the device to discover that Jessica is having a breakdown, having just failed her first college theater audition. Later, Timothy heads to a dance studio for tap lessons. There, he meets the tap instructor, PATRICK, and the two hit it off. Meanwhile, both Carly and Jessica mope about their lack of friends. The next day, Miles likes a post of Carly's and invites her to a party at his house. She invites Timothy to the party but Timothy remains uninterested. He decides to go to a theater party with Patrick instead. There, Timothy hangs with Emily, who happens to be a dancer as well. Carly goes solo to Miles' party and gets attacked. She calls Timothy for help. We end on Carly's Digital Diary as she muses about honesty, playing happy/pretend, and social media.