Our Journey

DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical or anything related to it.

Summary:

They are two different people, who come from two different worlds. One is out-going, fun, and smart, while the other, though as equally smart, is more reserved. Will they be able to survive their own journey?

Chapter 1: Gabriella Montez

San Francisco, California

She sits comfortably on her bed, her long, dark brown curls falling loosely on her petite shoulders, her back resting on her headboard, and her legs bent upwards near the chest area and on her knee sits a book. Gabriella Grace Montez has been engulfed in this newly purchased book of hers for hours. This is how a spring break should be spent, she thought.

Earlier that day, while she accompanied her mom to the mall, she briefly left her mother's side and quickly ran to the bookstore. There, she allowed herself to roam around, scan the pages of the books that might seem interesting enough to her, and finally, after many searches and thinking that her mom would be a bit furious for leaving her by herself, she finally found it. She found the book she was looking for. There, on the small reading table, lays the book called Falling In Love With Jesus. Now, Gabriella might be Catholic, considering that she's of Hispanic descent, but she was never really religious. The only times she would be able to attend church was when her grandparents would visit them and force her mom and her as well, to tag along.

Anyways, what caught her eye was not the pretty red rose or the pale teal cover of the book, even though she does love roses and prefers the color red. No, what caught her attention was the title. Falling in love…she thought that it was something that she just might need. She knew she wasn't ready for a serious relationship with a guy (despite what Taylor, her best friend, might say), so why not explore her religious side and give this kind of love a chance? She then picked up the book and carefully skimmed through the pages. After reading a paragraph or two, she knew that she needed to buy this book. Gabriella approached the counter, smiled politely at the male employee who was staring at her, paid for her book, and left the store to go find her mom.

Thankfully, her mom was still busy looking for the perfect dress for her business conference's annual gala, and she was able to hide her recent book from her mom.

So, now, here sits Gabriella, reading her book; oblivious to everything around her. She has completely tuned out the singing birds that currently sits on her balcony, the instant messages she has been receiving on her laptop remains unread, and her mother's voice, which is quiet loud, she fails to hear. This brown-eyed beauty just cannot be bothered to put her precious book down. Unfortunately for her, Glenda Montez has no intention of sounding like a broken record. From the kitchen, where she left her delicious cooking, she made a sharp left, stomped up the stair, made another left, walked to the end of the hallway, and gave a few hard knocks on her daughter's door.

"Gabriella! Did you not hear me calling your name for the past ten minutes or so?"

Gabriella's head snapped up from her book, and her eyes darted to her banging door. She quickly got up from her comfortable position and went to go and answer her door.

"Hi, mom," she said sheepishly. "What's up?"

"What's up? What do you mean 'what's up'? I've been calling your name for the past ten minutes and I get no response from you. What are you up to anyways," questioned Glenda.

Gabriella slowly looked back at her bed where she had left her book and looked back again at her mom.

"Sorry mom. I was too caught up in my book. I didn't hear you calling me," she mumbled.

"It's okay sweetie. I know you love reading, but you must remember to not get too caught up in it. Time doesn't stop and if you keep reading, you might miss something important," Glenda said as she quietly chuckled at her daughter's love for reading.

The two quietly headed down to the kitchen. And as Gabriella followed her mother downstairs, she couldn't stop dreaming about her "prince," her "knight-in-shining-armor." It's because that was what the book she was reading talked about…to have patience in finding the right man. She now has confidence that she'll meet him when the right time comes. She believes that God is molding the two of them as we speak and the He's scheming the perfect for them to meet.

Once in the kitchen, Gabriella helped her mom prepare dinner, the two ladies bonding as mother and daughter. Then, while Glenda finished cleaning up the mess that they had acquired, Gabriella was asked to set the table and to bring out their food. The two made small talk during dinner, while constantly laughing about the silliest things. Finally, when Glenda couldn't stand hiding her situation any longer, she approached her daughter.

"Gabriella, honey…I have a favor to ask of you." Glenda nervously said while looking down at her almost finished plate.

Gabriella's smile slowly faded as she looked at her mom. Glenda doesn't usually ask that many favors from her daughter and knows that this was probably important to her mom. So, Gabriella gently placed her fork down and reached out for her mother's hand.

"Mom, for you…anything." Gabriella beamed as she saw her mom release the breath that she had apparently been holding in.

"OH! Thank you, baby…but, wait a second. You don't even know what the favor is yet. How can you possibly say yes already?" Glenda geared a questioning look toward her daughter.

"Because mom, I know that whatever this favor might be, it must be really important to you." Gabriella said as she went back to eating her meal. "Speaking of which, what EXACTLY is this favor?"

"Oh…well, you know how I have that business conference in Chicago, at the end of this week?" Glenda started. "Well, they had asked us to bring our family along…and I know it would be boring for you, but you can tour the city while I'm cooped up in the meeting hall, listening to the speakers. And after, I think Saturday night, there's the gala. It'd be fun to go to, no? Getting all dressed up and dancing the night away! Then the hotel is very nice too. Someone had told me that it's one of those luxury hotels. There's a pool and a –."

Gabriella stared at her mother while she talked and talked. And finally, when she realized that her mom was rambling and trying her hardest to persuade her, she finally decided to cut her off.

"I'll go mom." Gabriella giggled as she saw the stunned expression on her mom's face. "It'll be fun."

Glenda couldn't help but smile. She wondered, after all these years, how she was blessed with the most amazing and thoughtful daughter. She is always so proud of her little angel. Gabriella had exceeded many of her expectations and is in awe of her awesome personality. She's a fun-loving girl, though you wouldn't know it on first impression. She likes to keep to herself, stay quiet, but once you get the chance to know her, she's the nicest and most caring person you'll ever meet. And her being one of the top students in her class is a plus, too. She's everything a mother could ask for.

And with that, the pair finished their dinner, threw their dishes in the dishwasher, and decided to have a movie night. They watched A Walk to Remember.

AN: The next few chapters will just be character introductions. So, sorry if its boring. And, this is my first story ever, and it would be greatly appreciated if you guys R&R.