Home Is Where the Heart Lives
Chapter I
"Savannah, we are going to be late!"
Troy Bolton called to his daughter from the first floor of their home in Los Angeles. It was the annual Bolton Thanksgiving dinner and he was flying in from Los Angeles three days before so that he could be with his family a bit longer. He could hear his daughter stomping around the room so he went up and knocked on her door.
"Honey, what is taking you so long?" he questioned. Through the wood came a terse reply.
"Dad, I don't know what to wear!" Troy chuckled to himself, typical of his teenage daughter.
"You have a wardrobe of the most fashionable designer clothes you buy with your father's hard earned money, how can you not know what to wear?" he asked and he heard her snort in reply.
"It's not working Dad. A girl's always got to look her best." Savannah cried exasperatedly. Troy could just imagine his daughter rolling her eyes at him through the door while rummaging her closet looking for something that would suit her fancy.
"Well honey, not always. What if the house catches fire and you have to get out now?" he said.
"Then I'll run out after putting on the first dress I see!" she cried and Troy sighed.
"Why a dress?" he questioned as he leaned against the frame of the door, it may take a while.
"Well Dad, it's easier to put on – wait, why are you so excited to leave already?" she asked.
"The plane will not wait for us, honey." Troy said and played with his keys.
"Oh my God! My father's plane, piloted by a good friend of his, will not wait for him?! I mean after all, my father is the Troy Bolton! Used to be star player and now coach of the Lakers?! This is news." Savannah said in an exaggeratedly shocked voice. Troy laughed and knocked once more on her door.
"Listen honey, your Uncle Abe's itching to fly my new toy. Let's give him a chance…" he pleaded with his daughter and heard her sniffle within.
"How about me Daddy, why can't you give me a chance?" he heard her voice cracking.
"A chance to what?" he asked flatly, unmoved. He knew the trick his daughter was pulling and he wasn't going to fall for her little drama queen act.
"To get dressed that would kill!" she suddenly cried to the door. Troy looked surprised.
"Who would you want to kill?" he exclaimed standing directly in front of her door.
The door burst open and out came a young woman who looked to be fifteen. She had long blonde locks that framed her beautiful face that was scrunched up in an annoyed manner. Her brown eyes were gleaming with mischievousness as she tried very hard not to laugh at her father's perplexed face below her. Troy slowly stood up and rubbed his bottom.
"That wasn't funny Savannah." Troy said in an authoritative voice and his daughter's face suddenly softened - all traces of mischief gone to be replaced by a sad and worried look.
"I'm so sorry Daddy…" she looked at him with puppy dog eyes, tears filling them and threatening to roll down her cheeks. Troy's was instantly quelled; he was a sucker for that look.
"It's alright honey, now c'mon get dressed. I'll just wait downstairs." Troy told her patiently. Savannah just grabbed a purse and went down ahead of him.
"I was already dressed before you asked me who I want to kill, but maybe I'll just go back and see if –"she was cut of by Troy taking her elbow and gently dragging her down the stairs.
"You are clearly the most beautiful chick in the entire world honey…" he cooed not wanting to go back up and wait. Savannah smirked and rolled her eyes at him. Her dad can be such a goofball when he wanted to be. Father and daughter climbed into the car and drove of to the private airport where her Uncle Abe had been waiting for them.
Abe Gardner wasn't pleased. The two were late and judging by the way Troy was hurrying around and his daughter doing nothing, it was another fashion crisis where Savannah didn't know what to wear and Troy couldn't get her to pick something fast.
"Your late." Abe growled at Troy who carried all the luggage.
"I'm sorry Abe, but you know Savannah…" he muttered and glanced at his daughter.
"The girl's got you hooked, just like her…" Abe looked quite shocked at what he just said. His friend's ex-wife was a very touchy subject. Troy glared at him.
"I'm sorry Troy, even if it's been 14 years I still can't get over it!" he quickly amended.
"That's fine." Troy replied curtly, Abe knew he wasn't completely forgiven.
Savannah Bolton sauntered up to her uncle and stood in front of him with that dazzling smile of hers. The older man was also a sucker for that look, unbeknownst to Troy.
"Hey there pretty lady, how's about giving me a hug?" he asked sweetly. Savannah squeezed the life out of him in a bear hug and giggled.
"I'm sorry we were late Uncle Abe, I didn't know what dress to wear." Savannah pouted.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, sweetie." Abe told her kindly and she kissed his cheek with a smile/smirk. Troy poked his head out of the door and called his daughter to come inside. Savannah nodded and got inside the plane.
Abe got in the pilot's cockpit and started to taxi. Troy looked out the window and was fiddling with the coat pocket of his suit. Savannah glanced at her dad and knew something was wrong. She deduced it to be her mom since her dad had that far away look in his eyes again. After the take off, when they were about 20,000 feet above sea level, she put her hand on top of his making him look at her.
"What's wrong?" she asked him. Troy sighed and shrugged.
"Nothing, I'm fine." Troy assured his daughter and cracked his knuckles. She instantly knew he was lying.
"No Dad, your not. Please tell me what's wrong…" she pleaded and lightly shook his hand.
"I said I'm fine honey…" he told her once again and Savannah pouted at him.
"If you say so…" she took her hand away from his and folded it primly on her lap also looking away from him. Troy knew he upset his daughter.
"It's about your…mom… ok?" he muttered and Savannah glanced at him and nodded. She didn't say anything more knowing that Sharpay Evans was a very touchy topic for her dad.
The plane ride all the way to Albuquerque was spent in silence. Troy was staring out the window while his daughter read a magazine. Finally Abe announced that they've arrived and that he was going to land. They arrived late afternoon and Abe helped them with the luggage. Jack and Lucille didn't really know when they're going to come and so it would be a surprise for them.
Troy put the luggage in the trunk of the little rented car and said goodbye to his friend. He and his daughter climbed in and he drove back to his first home. On the way, he stopped by the grocery to buy some wine while his daughter bought another magazine. Finally the two were on their way…
As Troy drove, he passed his old high school. His mind went into a flashback about a certain blonde who looked just like his daughter – Sharpay incarnate.
He wondered what Sharpay Evans was doing for Thanksgiving…
~***~
"Mom! What is taking you so long?"
A boy about fifteen years old moaned from the sofa in the living room of his mother's apartment in New York. He rolled his crystal blue eyes and kept tossing and catching a basketball from his position on the couch.
"Jacob, if your mom catches you playing catch she won't like it." a man with blonde hair and blue eyes scolded him. Jacob laughed at his uncle's choice of words.
"Psh! As if Uncle Ry, she's been holed up in her closet since this morning, and the flight leaves in 3 hours, we have to leave by now or else we'll miss it. We have to be in the airport at least two hours before the flight remember?" he said as his uncle sat beside him straightening his shirt.
"Yes, but you know your mother…" he tried to placate the boy.
"Uncle, you dress as good as Mom, how come it only takes you ten minutes?" Jacob whined.
"Because, I prepare the clothes beforehand…" he ruffled the boy's dark brown hair.
"Mom does the same thing. Then she has to have at least seven outfit changes before she settles on the one she picked the night before…why?!" Jacob whined, more to himself.
"I don't know…" his uncle replied and chuckled. Typical Sharpay to prepare her outfit, change into different ones and then settle on the first one.
"We are going to miss that flight…" Jacob continued moaning.
A woman came out of a room holding up two dresses. She held them in front of Ryan and Jacob, almost shoving it in their faces.
"Which one should I wear?" she asked them demandingly while tapping her foot impatiently.
"I pick the red one!" said Jacob.
"I pick the black one!" said Ryan.
They said it simultaneously and she looked at the two dresses with a furrowed eyebrow.
"Again boys…" she said.
"I still pick the black one!" said Ryan.
"I pick the one that you prepared last night." Jacob grumbled.
"Don't take that tone with me!" she hissed and Jacob hardly flinched, though Ryan did.
"Face it Mom, either you pick a really fabulous outfit which would make us late – or pick the really fabulous one you prepared last night and be done with it." Jacob said flatly. Sharpay frowned at her son – he was just like…
"Honey, I know you're impatient. Please bear with me, a woman's always got to look her best…" she explained and Jacob nodded glumly. He fell back on the couch.
"Well Ry, which will it be?" she looked at her brother imploringly.
"I think I have to agree with my nephew today, we'll be late and our mother's going to have a fit if we don't get there on time." Ryan told his sister. Sharpay nodded reluctantly and went back to her room. A few minutes later she came out with her first choice of clothing and everyone hurried to the airport.
Jacob Evans sighed peacefully as the airplane finally took off. At least they didn't miss their flight unlike last year. His Grandmother Derby was a stickler for punctuality and rattled on about it throughout dinner. His mother sat beside him reading a magazine and his uncle sat somewhere at the back and was dozing rather noisily, he could hear the snores.
The Evans family was going back to Albuquerque to spend Thanksgiving dinner with the older Evans. Jacob was excited to see his Grandfather Vance and play a mean round of golf with him. His grandfather always praised him on his talent on the course, always said that he was as good as his father, much to Sharpay's dismay. She didn't like anyone mentioning Jacob's father and it was like a taboo topic in their home.
His mother loved the theater as much as his uncle did and that was all they talked about. Jacob always felt quite left out because he was a very athletic kid and it was hard telling them how his game went play by play because he had to do it in layman's terms and that was tough. He always wished he had a father figure in the house to tell these things to and by the way his grandfather's goes on and on about him, he really wished he had one now.
Sharpay noticed the far away look on her son's face. That was how Troy looked whenever he was deep in thought. She tried to go back to the article she was reading but felt bad for Jacob.
"Are you alright Jacob?" she asked him closing her magazine. He nodded not looking at her.
"You're not mad 'coz I took too long are you?" she asked again and he shook his head, still not looking at her.
"What's the matter darling?" she asked for the third time and Jacob sighed, this time glancing at her.
"If I tell you, promise you won't get mad?" he asked her and Sharpay bit her lip.
"Is this about your father?" she asked knowingly and he nodded.
"Why don't you address him by his real name?" Jacob said flatly looking glumly at his mother. Sharpay didn't know what to say; instead she frowned at him and crossed her arms.
"I thought we talked about this a lot of times before…" she began.
"You promised you won't get mad. Forget it Mom, I won't mention it again." Jacob said and went back to his thinking. Sharpay sighed wearily…
The captain of the plane awoke its passengers to tell them that they would all be landing in Albuquerque in ten minutes. Sharpay shook her son awake and got ready as the plane started its descent. When the plane to a complete stop, they quickly got their carry-on bags and proceeded to get the rest of their luggage. After that, Sharpay spotted a limo and the Evans family driver. He helped with the bags and held the door open for Sharpay. Ryan and Jacob got in after her and the driver pulled the car out of the busy airport.
The limo was headed to the Evans mansion, passing East High along the way. Sharpay glanced at her old school and sighed. She remembered being dubbed as "The Ice Queen" and remembered how the students parted when she strutted down the halls. She recalled the theater where it was invaded by amateurs during her junior and senior year, one of them who became her husband. She started fingering the golden band on her finger. Sharpay was so used to her wedding ring she didn't have the heart to take it off.
Jacob watched his mother's actions knowing deep inside that she was thinking about his dad. He just wished he knew who he was too. Sighing he faced his uncle who was busy sleeping beside his mother. Suddenly he smiled getting a marker from his bag and started drawing on his uncle's face. His mother hardly noticed as did his uncle. Jacob laughed silently to himself…
I seem incredibly inspired to write so many stories, something I won't be able to do after my Christmas break. :)
So please review.. Please, please, please! :)
And also...
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!
2009 is upon us, and a brand new start it is! :)