Disclaimer: I don't own HSM whatsoever! Any characters I make-up are free for everyone to use! Please R&R! Thank you!
First day of senior year. Books, check. Book bag, check. New jacket, check. Gabriella was checking over herself and didn't even see the wide open, pink locker and smacked right into it. "Watch it!" Sharpay Evans gave no sympathy to Gabriella's quickly bruising forehead.
"Not on my list." She murmured to herself rubbing her head. She sighed and walked further down the senior hallway in hopes of finding her locker and Troy Bolton. She moved her hand from her forehead to the large sterling silver 'T' that was hanging around her neck. She found locker 112 quickly, but no sign of Troy or any of his teammates. That was usual though, they were never early any other day of the year, why should today be any different. The neat freak inside her was taking her time organizing her locker when she heard a parade behind her. She turned around to see Troy and his buddies leading most of the senior class down the hallway. She couldn't help but smile at them. Gabriella and Troy made eye contact, and she thought he would quickly greet her, but instead he brushed passed her hitting her arm like he would to one of his teammates and continued on with his band of admirers. She didn't really care though. Troy gets slightly over the top sometimes, Gabriella had gotten used to it by now. The bell let out its warning and she started to her advanced calculus class. She went through the day only bumping into Taylor because of all of their AP classes together, but she had yet to see Troy again until lunch.
Gabriella was warmly welcomed by the basketball team as she placed her tray down at the table.
"Hey stranger! How's your day been?" Troy seemed thrilled to see her.
She quietly sighed. "Not bad, but it's going to be an overwhelming year."
"You and Taylor never cease to amaze me. I still can't believe that Troy and I tried to take you two on a double date you two didn't shut up about chemistry all night." Chad complained biting into his hamburger.
"Taught you a lesson, right?" Taylor playfully swatted Chad as she sat down next to him.
"So where were you this morning? I figured you would be right behind me." Troy asked Gabriella.
"I didn't want to be late, besides I hardly even got to say hi." Gabriella was slightly annoyed that Troy would just expect her to follow him and his posse wherever they went.
"Oh." She could tell he felt bad, but he also knew she didn't like the limelight like he did.
"So are you going to the tutoring center after school or are we going to your house?" Taylor asked Gabriella. Before she could answer, high squeaks and yelps came from the cafeteria doors. 11 cheerleaders burst through the doors holding flyers and throwing them about so that they landed on each table.
"Don't they usually have tryouts in the summer?" Gabriella asked as they read the flyer announcing tryouts Thursday after school.
"Yeah but Janette Smith transferred last minute, so they need to fill a spot." Zeke answered from across the table. They all gave him an odd look. "What? I sit next to the captain in History, she couldn't stop whining about it." The group burst into laughter.
"Man, that's too bad about Janette, she was always so supportive and not fake at all." Troy said. Gabriella remembered Janette. Not the brightest girl, but certainly sweet. The jocks idealized the cheerleaders almost as much as the cheerleaders idealized them. For Troy it was hard knowing he had one less fan.
"What's the rest of your schedule like Troy?" Gabriella quickly changed the subject.
"Free Period, World History, and Drama. How about you?" He answered shoving mashed potatoes into his wide mouth.
"Free Period, Gym, and Drama." She said unenthused. She dreaded dodge ball and capture the flag.
"At least we will have each other in gym class." Taylor said sympathetically.
"Lucky! I got to follow a huge mop of blonde around the track today." Kelsi scoffed looking up from her notes. Jason gently put his arm around her.
The warning bell let out its usual screech and they all parted ways for free period. The boys headed to the gym, Kelsi to the orchestra room, and Taylor and Gabriella to the chemistry lab.
The rest of the day crawled by and falling back into the usual school year routine, the boys stayed behind for practice and the girls headed to Gabriella's house, they decided to save the tutoring center for the next week when teachers actually started to give work and tests. They hadn't been home long when her mom came home with ingredients for dinner, which they all planned on staying for.
"So girls, how was the first day of senior year?" Ms. Montez asked while seasoning the chicken.
"Fine, a lot of homework already though." Gabriella replied, pouring four glasses of ice tea.
"That's no fun. Taylor, Kelsi, how about you? Any bad Sharpay run ins?" She chuckled to herself.
"Well besides the fact that I practically had to push her down the track, she would not stop talking about how she was about to be the newest Wildcat cheerleader." Kelsi rolled her eyes.
"The cheerleaders are having tryouts?" Ms. Montez looked up and quit seasoning.
"Yeah, one of them transferred last minute, so there is a spot." Taylor told her as she helped set the table. Gabriella caught her mother's eyes and opened hers wide hoping that Ms. Montez was not about to say what she was thinking. No such wish was granted.
"Well Ella, why don't you tryout? You certainly have enough experience." She suggested lighting up.
No, Mom! Why would you say that in front of Taylor and Kelsi, the two most anti-cheerleaders in all of East High.
"Experience? What do you mean Ms. Montez?" Taylor asked even though her eyes were fixed on Gabriella.
"Oh Gabriella has been cheering since she was five. She started to do competitively around the age of twelve, but with us moving so much it was hard to commit to a team." Ms. Montez revealed and much to Gabriella's dismay she continued. "She has a great standing back tuck, and is an excellent flyer." Ms. Montez was getting very caught up in all of Gabriella's personal information.
"Mom! Stop!" Gabriella finally scolded.
"Gabriella, how come you never told us you cheered? We definitely wouldn't have bashed those airheads as much if we had known." Taylor laughed, hard to believe that the girl who spent most of her time either in the lab, library or in front of a computer could be a cutesy, ditzy, cheerleader.
"Because I didn't want to be an outcast in every group at school. If I had been a cheerleader the scholastic decathlon team wouldn't have even considered me, and vice versa. I had to pick one." Gabriella was frustrated, and didn't appreciate being placed in the particular stereotype of a cheerleader.
"Sorry Gabriella, it's dropped, promise." Kelsi assured her.
"Oh but Ella, you used to love cheerleading. I promise later on girls I'll show you her pictures." Ms. Montez whispered as she placed the chicken in the oven. Gabriella knew there was nothing she could do about her mom. She meant well, she just tended to get excited at times. As long as Taylor and Kelsi were the only ones that knew, she knew there was nothing to worry about.
By the time eight o' clock rolled around, Gabriella, Troy, Chad, Taylor, Zeke, Jason, and Kelsi had gathered in Gabriella's living room. The girls had promised Troy's dad that they would help tutor the basketball team, but since it was the first day, only Taylor and Gabriella had homework from their AP classes. Kelsi had piles of blank music sheets in front of her and every now and then she would tap her pencil against the coffee table and hum and then jot something down. The boys were watching the Cowboys game. Everyone seemed content in what they were doing until the halftime report came on and the doorbell rang. It was Chuck, Ms. Montez's new boyfriend who Gabriella was not fond of.
"Heya kiddos, how goes it?" He asked as Gabriella reluctantly let him in. The boys all high-fived him and Taylor and Kelsi were polite and said hello while Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Oh what a great game! I hurried over here as soon as I could, I just couldn't pull myself away." He shouted pointing at the TV. Great, my mom is second fiddle to some dumb football game. You are such a meathead, Chuck.
"Chuck, is that you? I'll be right down." Ms. Montez called from the top of the stairs.
"Alrighty darling!" He yelled back up to her. As if Chuck's obnoxious presence wasn't enough, Ms. Montez emerged down the stairs holding several dusty photo albums and set them on the third to last step.
"Alright kids have a good night, I'll be home around midnight Gabs, love you!"
"Night!" they all replied.
"Oh and girls I found those pictures I promised you. Enjoy!" With that Ms. Montez and Chuck were gone and Gabriella was shooting terrified looks and Kelsi and Taylor. The three raced to the staircase and seized the books, but unfortunately for them, the boys were quicker and grabbed the albums out of the girls' hands. After some playful chasing around the first floor, Troy stopped and opened the center of an album only to find a picture of Gabriella in a full stunt doing a heal stretch, decked out in an orange and blue cheerleading uniform.
"Who's this? Is this your mom?" He asked, knowing the real answer. Gabriella shook her head.
"No way Gabriella! You were a cheerleader?!" Chad screeched and Taylor elbowed him in the gut.
"C'mon guys, not a big deal. Look the game's back on." She tried distracting them, which was easy with Jason and Zeke but not Chad and especially not Troy.
"You never told me this." Troy looked slightly hurt that after all they had been through and were still trying to mend the patches in the road from the rocky summer, it was surprising that she would keep anything from him.
"Troy, that was a different me." She said calmly taking the album from him.
"But now you can take Janette's spot. We don't have to spend so much time apart our senior year and then you can come to all of my games." He said hopeful.
"Yeah right, Troy. I'm not like those girls, they would exile me." She stated. He knew there was a good chance that Gabriella was right. He also knew that if she were to become a cheerleader she would understand his world better, and they could finally have a real relationship.
"Promise me you'll think about it." Troy pleaded giving Gabriella his best puppy dog eyes.
"Okay Troy."