Two Worlds Collide

Chapter 1

Gabriella Montez

Gabriella Montez sighed as she moved the last box into the house. She placed it at the foot of the stairs and turned around to shut the door. "I got the last box Mom," she called out, pushing her hands into her jeans pocket, waiting for a reply from her mother.

"Okay honey, dinner's about ready," her mother replied. Gabriella walked into the living room beside the stairs and walked through the large double doors into the kitchen. The smell of pasta wafted towards her and Gabriella sat down at the table beside her mother. She picked up her fork and began to eat in silence.

"So Gabi, what do you think of the house?" her mother asked. Gabriella took a sip from her glass of water before replying, "It's nice Mom. Nicer than the last one in San Diego," she said, quietly. Her mother laughed but stopped when she saw Gabriella pushing the food around on her plate.

"Are you not hungry honey?" she asked gently. Gabriella shook her head. "What's wrong?" her mother asked knowingly. Gabriella's head snapped up. She looked at her mother for a second.

In the last two years Gabriella and her mother had moved house eight times. Her mother's job required her to be transferred a lot and that meant moving house and starting over in a new city. Gabriella had been to eight different schools and had lost contact with anyone she had considered a friend. In her last three schools she didn't even have any friends. Instead she was known as 'The Freaky Math Girl' to everyone and it was seen as social suicide to even hang out with her.

Gabriella claimed she didn't care and instead of going to the movies or parties with her friends, she stayed at home and read. She could get lost in a book for hours on end and her mother would have to tell her to stop reading which always drove Gabriella nuts. She didn't understand why her mother was getting mad at her for staying at home and not getting into trouble like most other kids her age were doing.

Secretly Gabriella longed to stay in a place for longer than half a year but she never told her mother this. She always tried to support her mother and if that meant moving without making a fuss Gabriella was prepared to do it. But now the routine was wearing thin and Gabriella wanted to spend longer than six months in one place. She knew she could never tell her mother that she was unhappy because then her mother would be unhappy and that was the last thing Gabriella wanted.

Ten years ago Gabriella's parents had gotten divorced and her dad had moved to Canada. Now she saw him once in a blue moon and got a birthday card every year. She hadn't spoken to him in nine years and all she knew about him now was that he had a long term girlfriend called Cindy. She couldn't care less about her dad now. She could never forgive him for cheating on her mother.

"Gabriella what's wrong. You can tell me. Do you not like the house?" her mother asked. Gabriella snapped out of her daydream and looked at her mother. She saw how worried she looked and Gabriella immediately felt bad for being so quiet and off with her. It wasn't her mother's fault they had to move around a lot. Her mom actually hated it but since the job paid well and she liked the work it didn't matter because it paid the bills every month and the company always took care of the house for them which was a load off of her mother's mind.

"Yeah Mom, I'm fine. I m just a little tired. It was a long few days," Gabriella said. Her Mom nodded, "Yes it was but I think we're going to really like it her Gabi. Albuquerque seems really nice and I hear the school you're going to is one of the best," she said. Gabriella forced a smile and tried her best not to roll her eyes. The last thing she wanted to be reminded of was school right now. She started on Monday and had the weekend to look around the city.

Half an hour later both women had finished their meals and were drying the plates. Gabriella placed her plate in the cupboard and walked towards one of the boxes on the counter and began taking things out of it. She unwrapped a vase and placed it on a side table in the hall.

"Gabi leave those things there. Go get some sleep or go read for a while. Just relax. There's plenty of time to unpack tomorrow and Sunday okay?" her mother said. Gabriella nodded and walked over to her Mom to hug her. "Night Mom," she said as she wrapped her arms around her. "Night Gabi. Don't stay up reading too late," her mother said as Gabriella went upstairs.

Gabriella sighed and opened the door to her room. She actually liked this room. It was painted white and had a large four poster bed and a fireplace with it's own bathroom and better yet it's own balcony looking out onto the backyard. Gabriella yawned and quickly changed into her pyjamas. She walked into her bathroom and began brushing her teeth.

She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. She had sallow skin with chocolate brown eyes and dark brown hair that cascaded down her back in light, soft curls. At that moment she decided that at this school she would try to blend in more. She would try to just focus on her studies and not enter any Scholastic Decathlons or Maths Championships.

She pulled her hair back in a messy bun and turned off the light. She climbed into her new bed and pulled the covers up around her face. She lay in her bed with her eyes open for a few minutes. Tomorrow she would help her Mom unpack a bit and then she decided that she would head into town to see what it was like. Gabriella frowned as she found herself hoping that this time they would stay here. It was a bad habit of hers every time they moved house she would lie in bed the first night dreaming of what it would be like to have friends and a boyfriend and live in one place for longer than six months. Gabriella secretly hoped that she would fall in love unexpectedly one day with someone caring and even though she knew it was shallow she also hoped he would be hot. She smiled as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Dreaming about being swept off her feet by a random stranger. Little did she know what East High had in store for her.

Troy Bolton

Troy Bolton grabbed the basketball in both hands and took a deep breath before dribbling towards the hoop only to be stopped by his father and coach.

"Come on Troy. Work left! Keep working left!" his father yelled. Troy faked right and then went left and took a shot. The ball went straight through the hoop as his Dad cheered. "Now that's what I wanna see in the game Troy!" his Dad said, patting him on the back. Troy nodded and smiled, trying to get his breath back.

Troy Bolton was the captain of his school basketball. He was popular, smart, good looking but he was also a nice guy. His Dad was the team coach which meant that he pushed Troy twice as much as he pushed the rest of the team. Each evening for two hours the two would shoot hoops and work on game techniques for the upcoming championship game in six weeks time. Those two hours of practise were in addition to the one hour of team practise after school everyday.

To most it seemed that all Troy ever thought or talked about was basketball. But no one really knew that Troy was also into other things. Everyone put him on a pedestal at his school and never really bothered to get to know him. They just assumed that because he was basketball captain and the hottest player in the school that they did know him. At East High everyone was in a clique and Troy was forced into the jocks clique.

"Are you ready to practise some more?" his Dad asked. Troy glanced quickly at his watch. "Um I have some homework I have to do so maybe not. I have to keep up my grades," Troy said uneasily. Troy's Dad nodded and grabbed the basketball and headed back inside to shower up.

Troy watched him walk inside and sat down on the grass, sighing deeply. Sometimes he wished his Dad wasn't the team coach. The team was always put under pressure from his Dad and the school to do well and win every game but for Troy the pressure was twice as bad because he had to face his Dad at home as well as in school. Troy lay back on the grass and closed his eyes. He thought about what it would be like to have no worries about basketball. Sure, Troy did like basketball but he was sick of basically being told that that's all he would and could ever do in school.

Troy sighed. He was fed up of everything. He needed a change; something to distract him from everything. He was always a good student but lately his grades in math had been falling because of all the extra time his Dad made him practise. He didn't know what he was going to do. He couldn't fail math or he'd be kicked off the team. But he couldn't get a tutor either because all of the math tutors in his school were female students, most of whom nearly fainted every time they saw him.

Troy stood up off the grass and walked inside and up to his room. He had a quick shower and then sat down and decided to attempt his Math homework. He took out the book and stared at the page. Solve these equations for x. How the hell do I solve for x?

Troy moaned with frustration and slammed the book shut. Suddenly his cell phone began to ring. "Hello?" he said icily.

"Hey Troy, man. What's up?" Troy's best friend and fellow team member Chad Danforth asked. "Nothing, just doing homework," Troy replied. "Right well dude a bunch of us are going to hang out in town tomorrow. Are you coming?" Chad asked. Troy frowned. He wasn't in the mood for hanging out with his friends and all the cheerleaders who hung out of the team like groupies. "Um…I don't know," he replied. "Come on Troy. Stacey and Gwen will be there. They're like in love with you. Why don't you just ask them out?" Chad asked. Troy rolled his eyes, "Maybe because I don't like them Chad?" Troy said, stating the obvious. "Dude, you've never been interested in a girl or even gone out with one. Come on there has to be someone you like," Chad said. Troy groaned with frustration, "Chad I don't have time for this. I don't like any girls and I don't want to date ones I don't like so just drop it. They only like me because I'm captain of the team and popular. Who wants to date girls like that? I gotta go, I'll see you tomorrow. Call me whenever you're meeting up," Troy said angrily and he hung up the phone.

Troy never had a girlfriend. He had never been interested in any girls in his school. Sure he thought some of them were hot but he never felt a connection to any of them and could tell half of them just liked him for his popularity or looks. Truth is Troy was waiting for the right girl. Someone who wouldn't like him for his looks but instead for his personality. Someone who he could talk to about anything and not just basketball or sports. Someone who would listen to him and accept him for who he is. Troy sighed deeply and climbed into his bed. He turned off the light and immediately, still thinking about the girl of his dreams. Little did he know how his life would change over the next couple of weeks.

Hey guys! I've been writing this story for quite some time now and I'm really nervous about putting it up. I hope you guys like it. I'll be continuting 'Lose Your Love' soon, I'm just taking a short break and brainstorming for it. But I really hope you guys like this. Should I upload more. I have 6 chapters of this written. I'll upload the second which kind of gets the story rolling so you guys can judge. Thanks for reading. You rock!!