Author's Note: So, this was based on Little High School Musical, written by LittleJM. I'm not good at making the gang younger than they look, but I did my best. Enjoy, and happy reading!
Chapter One: Preschool Pals
"But, mommy, I don't want to go to preschool! What if they all think I'm weird?" four-year old Kelsi Nielsen asked, and Mrs. Nielsen sighed.
"Kelsi, for the last time, you are not weird." Mrs. Nielsen protested, and Kelsi looked at her mother.
"I am too." Kelsi commented, as Mrs. Nielsen pulled into the preschool's parking lot. There were other cars in the parking lot, as well as a limo, and Kelsi pointed at it.
"Mommy, there's a limo here!" she stated, and Mrs. Nielsen looked at her daughter.
"Kelsi, don't point. It's rude." Mrs. Nielsen lightly scowled her daughter as she parked, and they both got out of the car.
As Mrs. Nielsen and Kelsi headed into the building, Kelsi became nervous again.
What if she didn't make any friends?
What if they all thought she was weird, because she liked to write music and play the piano?
"Here we are: room three-hundred."
Mrs. Nielsen opened the door to reveal a room with a play area (a sandbox filled with beads, a playground set complete with a slide, and a chest full of clothing), a kitchen area, a carpeted area with a number and letter rugs, and other parents dropping off their children, but the children didn't look like Kelsi, who was hiding shyly behind her mother.
Suddenly, a small blonde-haired boy, who looked around her age, came up to her, and smiled.
"Hey. Wanna play with me and my sister?" he asked, and while Kelsi was shaking her head no, Mrs. Nielsen smiled at the suggestion.
"Go on and play with him, Kelsi. I'll be talking to your teacher if you need me."
As soon as Mrs. Nielsen left, Kelsi was left with the boy, who grabbed her hand, and pulled her towards the chest full of clothes, where a striking look-a-like (who was a girl) to the boy was found, waiting impatiently.
"Ryan, I've been waiting! Where were you?" the girl asked, and Ryan looked pointedly at Kelsi.
"I was with her. Can she play with us, Sharpay?" Ryan asked, and the girl, now known as Sharpay to Kelsi, frowned at her.
"What's your name?" Sharpay asked, and Kelsi looked startled.
"K--Kelsi Nielsen." Kelsi replied, and Sharpay nodded.
"Well, I guess if she wants too, she can. But, the play me and Ryan were about to place on only has two parts, so--"
"Sharpay, come on. She can be in our play." Ryan commented, cutting his sister off, but Kelsi just shook her head.
"N--no, it's okay. I get stage fright anyways. I can just watch." Kelsi stammered, bur Ryan just shook his head.
"My sister can make more parts for you, Kelsi. Can you, Sharpay?" Ryan asked, and Sharpay looked over at Kelsi, and asked:
"Can I talk to my brother: alone?"
Kelsi nodded, and Sharpay dragged Ryan away, but not too far away for the young girl to hear what they were saying:
"She looks like a loser, Ryan..."
"But, she looks nice! Give her a chance!"
"No!"
Suddenly, Kelsi's eyes welled up with tears, and the only safe place that seemed like a good hiding place at the time was the fort, which was empty, and as Kelsi crawled inside of it, she let the tears break free.
She thought that maybe Sharpay would give her a chance at being her in play, but all she seemed to be was a loser in Sharpay's eyes.
Maybe she should have skipped nursery school, and just went straight ahead to kindergarten.
She was smart enough!
A rustling noise woke her out her day-dreaming, and she noticed that was Ryan, was climbing up the fort, and he gave her a smile.
"Hey...are you okay?" he asked, and Kelsi sniffled in reply.
"Maybe." Kelsi said, and Ryan's smile faded.
"I'm sorry if my sister was mean to you. She has always been that way since we entered preschool, and I don't know why....she wasn't always like this." Ryan explained, and when Kelsi dried the last of her tears, she gave him a water-y smile.
"That's okay...she would have thought I was weird anyways." Kelsi replied, and Ryan grinned at her.
"I don't think you're weird! I think you're the only person doesn't hate me around here." Ryan exclaimed, and Kelsi rose an eyebrow.
"Why would someone hate you?" she asked, and Ryan pointed in the direction of a small mini basketball court that was indoors, and Ryan nodded at the group of guys.
"They call themselves The Wildcats, because that's the high school's basketball team, and Chad Danforth thinks it will make them 'popular' of the preschool."
Ryan pointed to a small, four-year old boy who had an wild afro, and was playing keep-a-way with another four year old boy with sandy-brown locks.
"The boy he's playing with is Troy Bolton. He's generally nice to everyone, but Chad just plain hates me." Ryan commented, and Kelsi looked back at him.
"What about the rest of them?" she asked, pointing to another African-American four year old and a white boy simliar to Troy, except he had black hair.
"Zeke Baylor and Jason Cross? They just follow Chad's lead and make fun of me. Troy doesn't do that, though."
Kelsi nodded, and gave him another smile.
"I can be your friend, if you want."
Ryan looked back at her.
"Really? Why would you want to do that?"
Kelsi looked startled at his questions, but then she smiled.
"You were the only person who ever came up to me, and didn't look at me weird. Besides, I never really had a friend before. So, my mommy always says if you want to be a friend, be a friend to someone else first." Kelsi explained, and Ryan re-turned her smile.
"I'd like that. And maybe we can meet here when I want to get away from Sharpay." Ryan added, and Kelsi grinned.
"Okay. I'd like the sound of that."
Ryan nodded as he climbed down the ladder down first, and then if Kelsi needed help, he'd help her down the rope ladder, and that's when Mrs. Nielsen came over to her.
"Oh, there you are! I was looking all over for you!" Mrs. Nielsen said, and Kelsi looked at her.
"I'm sorry, mommy." she replied, and Mrs. Nielsen smiled.
"Well, I'm going to go....are you sure you are going to be okay?"
Kelsi felt Ryan's hand make contact with hers again, and she smiled up at her mother.
"Yeah, I think I will."
Mrs. Nielsen gave her daughter one, final smile before departing like the other parents, and Ryan looked back at Kelsi.
"So, did you want to play with me?" he asked, and Kelsi looked around for Sharpay, excepting the small, blonde girl version of Ryan to pop up.
"What about Sharpay?" she asked, and Ryan shrugged.
"She has other friends....besides, you're more interesting to play with than her."
For the first time that day, Kelsi burst out laughing, and Ryan joined in.
Maybe she didn't have to be so worried about making friends.
Because Ryan Evans was her very first friend, and she'd never forget that.