No cars had passed her yet, luckily. There had been a heavy rainstorm late the night before and puddles lay on the edges of the sidewalk-lined streets.
Gabriella's flip-flops thwacked the wet pavement with each step she took, shooting drops of water up the back of her bare legs. "At least I haven't gotten completely soaked by some idiot driving by," she thought wryly.
As she approached the Bolton's house, she bypassed the walkway leading to the front door, instead, choosing the path leading around the side of the house to the backyard basketball court. She knew Troy was out there at 9 a.m. sharp every Saturday morning and she quickly checked the clock on her Blackberry to confirm he would be outside in exactly four minutes.
Kicking off her shoes at the edge of the cement, she grinned slightly at the feeling of the still-damp pavement under her bare feet. Flip flops weren't at all practical for a game of basketball, but she couldn't allow herself to wear sneakers with her simple-but-cute outfit of jean shorts and white peasant-style blouse. Hence, the necessity of bare feet.
Gabriella picked up the somewhat-dry basketball abandoned in the center of the court, tossed it into the air as high and hard as she could and allowed it to slam onto the court, a trick she had seen Troy perform the week before.
"Shakes the water off," he had explained with a heart-melting wink.
Catching the now slightly drier ball on its next bounce, Gabriella dribbled it toward the nearest hoop and shot. Swish She grinned with satisfaction, but didn't get to retrieve the ball. The sound of a sliding glass door opening came from her left and she whipped her head around to see a sleepy-looking Troy Bolton approaching the court in his ever present white tee shirt and red silk basketball shorts.
"You're early," she teased, by way of greeting.
"You're here," he returned with a smile.
"Well," she said as he bent down to pick up the basketball, "I'm leaving soon and didn't really get to say 'goodbye' last night when we were with the gang."
"Yeah, they were a bit demanding," he agreed as he lined up a shot from the foul line and made a perfect basket. Turning toward her, he met her gaze, "So, I'm glad you came by."
Mentally, Gabriella swooned, "God, those eyes!" Out loud, she merely said, "Couldn't leave for a week without saying "bye" to my best friend!" before passing him the ball.
He passed it back, running a few steps to his right, beginning a drill Gabriella had run with him countless times. "Don't most people go to, like, Cancun or something for Spring Break, not their grandmother's?" he teased as they ran back and forth across the court, passing the ball every few steps.
She rolled her eyes before passing back with a bit more force than necessary. "Who ever said I was normal?" she joked. "I may come back a totally different person; you wouldn't even recognize me."
Now Troy rolled his eyes, just after making a flawless three-pointer. "Like that could ever happen. I'd always recognize my Gabi." He quickly blushed, realizing what he'd let slip.
To his embarrassed relief, she didn't comment on the "my Gabi" part of his statement. But she grew thoughtful for a minute and stood still. Troy stopped running, too, and looked at her. "In that case, Mr. Bolton, I take that as a challenge."
"Okay..." he drew out, confused, with an arched eyebrow, but didn't question her.
They resumed their drills, not speaking for the next few minutes, before winding up close together near the net, where Gabriella couldn't resist teasing, "And just who said I was "your" Gabi, anyway?"
Troy's mouth dropped open in embarrassed shock. "Uh, well...um..." he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, before Gabriella burst out laughing.
"Oh," she choked out between giggles, "the look...on your face! Honestly, Troy...I'm just kidding!"
A devilish grin crept onto Troy's face as he watched Gabriella laugh, dropping the baksetball, he lunged at her and picked her up, bridal style.
The ground suddenly disappearing beneath her bare feet shut up Gabriella's laughter. "What are you doing?" she demanded, as Troy carried her across the grassy back yard.
Wicked grin still in place, he responded calmly, "Throwing you in a puddle."
Gabriella's arms were suddenly locked tight around Troy's neck. "No! Troy! Oh, my gosh, NO! Put me down! Seriously! Please! TROY!" her tone grew louder and shriller as they approached said puddle.
Ignoring her protests the entire trip, Troy now stopped just at the edge of the large, muddy puddle at the far corner of his yard.
Gabriella's voice was now pleading, "Troy, please don't. Come on, it'll ruin my shirt and I'll probably stink. Please! I won't call you the whole time I'm gone if you do it!" she threatened, now really getting his attention.
"Would you really?" he asked seriously, just now realizing how close together their faces were. Their moods had shifted noticably.
"No," she said softly, with a completely straight face.
"I couldn't last that long without hearing your voice," he admitted.
They looked into each other's eyes for a few silent moments...
Then the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" theme came blaring out of Gabriella's back pocket. She shut her eyes in silent frustration.
Disappointed, Troy took a few steps away from the puddle before setting Gabriella back on her feet.
"Mom's waiting for me out front," she informed him after quickly reading the new text and slipping her phone back into her pocket.
"Oh," he didn't bother to hide the disappointment in his voice, and she didn't miss it. "So you're leaving now, then."
"Yeah," she sighed. They stood in silence, not looking at each other for a moment before Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's torso and buried her face in his chest.
His arms automatically wrapped around her small frame and he pressed his face into her long, dark hair.
"I'll miss you, Wildcat," she said softly as she pulled away slightly to look him in the eyes.
"I'll miss you more," he replied, only half joking. She smiled and quickly gathered the courage to reach up and give him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Blushing at her own boldness, Gabriella turned and bolted from the yard, around front, and into her mother's waiting car.
With a happy, goofy grin, Troy turned and made his way back to the court in a daze, noticing that Gabriella had, yet again, left her shoes behind. "Typical Gabi," he muttered with an even bigger grin.
--
Later that evening, as he sat alone in his room watching a game on TV, Troy recieved a text from his best friend.
Got 2 Santa Fe ok. Dnt wear my shoes while im gone! Miss you, my Wildcat! -Gabi
Grinning from ear to ear, he quickly typed and sent his response.
2 late bout shoes. haha jk! Miss u 2, my Gabi. Come home soon. -Troy
A few moments later, he got another message.
U better b kiddin! I'll b home asap. But u wnt recgnze me, 'member? Nite! -Gabi