A/N: Hello! This is a story that popped into my head and I've been meaning to write it for a while. I'm not really following a set storyline, so I'll just write what feels right to me at that particular moment. Feel free to suggest plot ideas!
Enjoy!
"Honey! Hurry up or you'll be late for school!"
"Coming, dad!"
17-year-old Taylor McKessie took one last look in the mirror and sighed as she put down the bottle of foundation she had been using just moments ago.
No, she was not doing her daily makeup routine - heck, it was only last month when she learnt that a 'contouring kit' was not a pack of shape moulds (much to her surprise and also - embarrassment).
But, hey - you could hardly blame her. As one of the smartest kids in her year and, not to mention, the president of East High's science club, no one really cared if she looked hot or not. Those that did (namely the jocks and cheerleaders) didn't matter to her anyway.
She poked at the spot on her cheek and frowned.
"Out of all the days to get a spot, sheesh…"
"Tay?"
Taylor snapped her hand away from her face and whipped round.
"Have you started to wear make-up?"
"Ugh, as if," Taylor sighed as she rolled her eyes at her older sister standing by her doorway, a big bag of clothes in her arms. "I'm just covering a spot on my face. Not everyone can look as good as you without makeup, Tiff."
"I agree," she replied with a giggle, "and to get a spot on picture day, too."
Taylor scoffed. ''Tell me something I don't know.''
''I didn't know you owned makeup. Did you finally take your big sister's boy advice?''
"No," she replied, "Gabriella got me this 'Maybeleese' foundation for my birthday last month."
Tiffany remained silent for a few seconds before bursting out into laughter. ''You mean 'Maybelline'?''
Taylor raised a brow. ''No, I'm definitely sure it's-'' she took a peek at the bottle and pulled a face, ''...Maybelline.''
"Makeup is so wasted on you, Tay," Tiffany said mockingly and strode over to where Taylor was standing.
''Back off, Tiff-Piff,'' Taylor giggled and stuck her tongue out.
''Alright, alright,'' she laughed and sat down on the bed. ''But really, any cute boys catch your interest lately?''
''What? Ugh, not this again, sis! I've already told you, I-''
''You're an attractive girl, Tay. High school's almost over, you might as well-''
''Exactly. High school is almost over. What's the point?''
''Don't be so boring, little sister!''
''I'm not! It's just that I'm so busy with the science club and helping out with East High's mathletes that I have no time."
Tiffany just stared at Taylor and then rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, you and I couldn't be more different if we tried."
Taylor glared at her and shrugged. "Also, I don't need a boyfriend. I can take care of myself just fine."
''Yes, Taylor,'' Tiffany rolled her eyes, ''yes, I know you can take care of yourself just fine. Anyways, that's not the reason why I'm here. This,'' she plonked a big bag of clothes down onto Taylor's bed, ''is a bag filled with my old clothes. I found it when I was clearing the loft out.''
Taylor tentatively picked something out of the bag and held it up.
''Wow...a vintage leopard print tank top...'' she slowly said, ''...please don't say you want to give these clothes to me. I have enough.''
''No, silly!'' she laughed, ''I know these aren't your style. Heck, looking back on them now makes me want to cringe as well. No, I need to you to take these to the nearest charity shop and donate them for me. It's towards a good cause and I figure it's better than just throwing them out.'' She watched as Taylor pulled out a pair of neon-orange leggings and blanched, ''...As much as I want to throw them out, believe me.''
''But can't you take them?'' Taylor asked as she held up a bright yellow top up. ''I have to do some reading in the library after school today and then I need to go to Starbucks to apply for their new vaccancy.''
Tiffany rolled her eyes. ''Really, Taylor? Reading in the library after school? You know, when I was your age, I was going to parties and-''
''Sis!'' Taylor interrupted. ''I need to get this reading done for next week!''
''Next week, Taylor? That's ages away!''
''But I have other homework to do as well-''
''Taylor. I have to go back up to university today, remember? I can't take it today.''
Taylor looked at her sister and sighed. ''Oh, yeah. Forgot your term breaks were so short.''
''Hey, hey! I'll come back and visit soon, yeah? It'll be the holidays before you know it, Tay.''
Taylor glanced back and forth between the huge bag of clothes and a pouting Tiffany before rolling her eyes and sighing loudly.
''Fine. I'll take these to the charity shop after school.''
''Thanks, Tay!'' Tiffany squealed as she hugged Taylor. "I'm going to fix some breakfast for us now. See you down in ten?"
"Yeah, I'll be down in a bit."
Taylor took one more peek in the bag and grimaced.
''Oh my lord...'' she whispered as she pulled out a camouflage-print thong.
"I looked at this question over and over again and it still doesn't make sense! You see my notes? And this is why X can't equal Y times eight plus the square root of C because-"
Gabriella stopped mid-sentence and waved a hand in front of Taylor's face.
"Hello? Earth to Taylor?"
Taylor blinked and found herself only centimetres away from bumping noses with Gabriella.
"Taylor? Can you hear me?"
"Uh, yeah, sorry."
"You okay?" Gabriella asked.
"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about what topic to discuss for the next science club debate."
Gabriella gave a knowing smile. "Taylor, relax! That's over two weeks away. You work yourself way too hard all the time."
Taylor glared at her playfully. "I don't know what you're talking about."
''Oh, Taylor!'' she laughed. ''Sometimes I think I work too hard, but it's nothing compared to you.''
Taylor flipped her hair behind her shoulders. ''Well, I'm not the head of the science club for no reason.''
Gabriella broke out into a grin and both girls giggled to themselves.
They had been standing in line to get their pictures taken for almost half an hour now, and Taylor was beginning to grow bored. She could be studying right now.
''I just need to put my math homework away,'' Gabriella mumbled and took her bag off her shoulders. ''Can you unzip it for me, please?''
''Sure,'' Taylor said and pulled the zip on Gabriella's bag.
''Thanks. Oh, in fact I want to show you my English essay. It was quite difficult to research, but I managed to-''
Taylor watched in horror as Gabriella swung the bag a little too hard off her shoulders and collided with something heavy, followed by a loud 'plop' noise.
''Oh my gosh,'' Gabriella said as she turned round and found her bag (or rather, the contents of her bag) all over the floor along with what appeared to be the contents of someone else's bag, too. ''I'm so sorry, I'm-''
Both Taylor and Gabriella looked up and found a brown-haired boy looking at the scattered books and paper on the floor in shock. Taylor immediately put her guard up when she recognised his red and white sports uniform (after all, the basketball team's faces were plastered all over the school, annoyingly enough) and prepared herself to stand up for her best friend if he was going to shout at her for not 'watching where she was going' or something.
''I-I should've watched where I was going-'' Gabriella began, her hands shaking in fear - they'd heard rumours about East High's basketball team picking on those that dared get in their way and, right now, Gabriella was in definitely his way - quite literally. ''I'm-''
''No, no, don't worry about it. It was me that wasn't watching where I was going,'' he replied with an apologetic smile.
Taylor raised a brown in surprise and watched as basketball-boy began to awkwardly sift through the papers on the floor, a shaken Gabriella watching him.
She was expecting him to be angry, aggressive and rude but...here he was, handing Gabriella back her notes like a true gentleman.
Needless to say, the kids around them watched in awe as Gabriella, a relatively unknown bookworm whose 15-minutes-of-fame included being the first person in East High to win the 'Most Promising Medicine Student in Albuquerque' award and getting tripped over by the head cheerleader during her first term, interacted with who could only be described as the most sought-after boy at East High.
Taylor saw that some colour had seeped into Gabriella's cheeks and held back a smile.
''Well then, I need to get going. Sorry again for running into you,'' he said as he swung his own backpack around his shoulders. Gabriella could only nod slowly and stayed rooted to the spot until he walked out of sight. She sighed and began to wobble around.
''Gabriella!'' Taylor gasped when she began to take a few steps back uneasily. ''You okay? Are you hurt?''
''Just...just a little shaken, that's all.''
''Do you need some water?''
The sudden sound of an annoyingly high-pitched squeal caught both Taylor's and Gabriella's attention.
''No, friggin', way! As if that just happened!''
Taylor turned to find a girl with blonde hair and green eyes glaring at them both, her hands on her hips. She immediately rolled her eyes and shot Gabriella an 'I'm-so-done' look. There was no mistaking that outfit - she was an East High cheerleader.
''Can we help you?'' Taylor said coolly as she pulled Gabriella close and checked her for any injuries. ''You okay, Gabi?''
''Y-yeah, I-I'm fine,'' she answered weakly.
Cheerleader-girl scoffed. ''You do realise who you just ran into, right?''
Taylor narrowed her eyes at her. ''Actually, he ran into her and no, we don't know who he is. Sorry!'' she giggled sarcastically.
The girl's face changed from contempt to to absolute disbelief and an audible wave of gasps were heard around them.
''They don't know Troy Bolton?''
''They must live under a rock!''
''Isn't that...the girl from the science club or something?''
''I don't know, but how could she not know Troy Bolton?''
''You don't know Troy Bolton?'' she screeched. ''THE Troy Bolton? Are you retarded or something?''
''Taylor, let's just leave it...'' Gabriella said quietly.
Taylor raised a brow. ''Oh, honey,'' she began, ''excuse me but I don't spend the majority of my time pining over our school's basket-head team. I actually study. You should try it sometime, considering your efforts of getting Troy Bilton or whatever his name is to notice you isn't really working, is it, um...'' she paused and thought for a moment, ''um...what's your name?''
She opened her mouth and scoffed loudly, followed by a series of mumurs from the people behind her.
''My name is Emily! Emily Hayton! Voted Prettiest Cheerleader at East High two years in a row? I'm also nominated for homecoming queen, thanks.''
Taylor raised her brows and murmured to herself, ''Wow, people must be blind.''
''What?''
''Nothing! Nothing.''
''Oh, and I'll have you know that Troy does know me! He even said 'hi' to me yesterday in the cafeteria!'' she announced smugly.
''Good for you,'' Taylor replied sarcastically, ''I can hear wedding bells already.''
''And, I'm not actually after Troy Bolton thank you very much. I'm actually interested in his best friend and co-team captain, Chad Danforth. You must've heard of him, right?'' she asked with a flick of her hair over her shoulders.
Everyone watched her in admiration but Taylor just simply rolled her eyes and held Gabriella even tighter.
''Nope,'' she said, popping the 'p'. ''No idea who Chad or whatever his name was, is.''
Emily let out a big sigh and shook her head. ''I didn't expect you to geeks to know anything. Chad Danforth is the school basketball team's vice-captain.''
''Okay.'' Taylor muttered. ''And?''
''And we've been talking and messaging each other for a while now, I'd say, maybe...three, four months?'' she turned round and nodded at the looks of jealousy she was receiving. ''Yeah, it's getting pretty serious, I'd say.''
Taylor and Gabriella awkwardly looked at each other.
''Why is she even telling us this?'' Gabriella whispered.
''I have no idea,'' Taylor replied. ''Maybe she needs confirmation that she's cool.''
''I'm telling you this because I don't want you two meddling with me and Chad, got it?''
Taylor stared at her incredulously. ''And why would we do that?''
''I saw the way Gabriella was ogling at Troy when he helped her pick her things up which, by the way, he was actually just trying to pick his own things up and hers happened to be the ones he picked up because she had to go and trip him up - she probably planned this to talk to Troy-''
Taylor felt anger begin to bubble inside of her - it was one thing picking on her, but picking on Gabriella was another.
''Oh, shut up!'' Taylor hissed. ''He was the one who walked into her, and ogling at your beloved Mr. Basketball is the last thing she has on her mind. No one cares if you're going to date Chad whatever-his-name is. Oh, and by the way, I think you may want to tone the makeup down a bit. The clown convention was last week.''
A series of gasps were heard, and Emily widened her eyes.
''How dare you!''
Taylor smiled. ''But, you know, if clown makeup is what you're going for then you've nailed it. Good job, honey.''
Emily was at a loss for words. ''Well, I, you're just...ugh!''
''By the way, the line behind you moved ages ago. You're gonna miss your photo slot, clown-face,'' Taylor said and pointed behind her. Emily whipped round and shot the duo a death glare before hurridley running away, the sound of her little heels going 'click-click' serving as music to Taylor's ears. The circle that had encircled them now dispersed quickly - probably to talk about the exchange that just happened.
''Talk about desperate for attention,'' Taylor muttered as a student walked past her to return to his original position, ''Right, Gabs?''
She turned to find Gabriella on the verge of tears.
''Gabs!?''
''How - how could she say that?'' Gabriella sniffled into her cardigan sleeve. ''I didn't trip Troy up on purpose - I swear!''
''I know you didn't, silly. Emily's just exaggerating because she's jealous she wasn't the one Troy was talking to.''
Gabriella nodded and wiped a tear away.
''But,'' Taylor wiggled her brows suggestively, ''I did see you go a bit red when he was helping you. A little crush, Gabriella?''
Gabriella began to panic. ''No, not a crush! But I saw him on a poster outside the gymnasium last term and thought he was kind of...well...cute?''
''Oh, Gabriella!'' Taylor laughed, ''I can't deny the boy isn't good-looking. I wasn't expecting him to be so nice, too.''
''Yeah, he was, wasn't he...''
Taylor quickly decided to change the subject - she couldn't have her best friend falling for a guy with as high as status as Troy Bolton, especially if it meant dealing with the backlash of bitter cheerleaders like Emily. After all, all he did was run into her and help her pick up her stuff. It wasn't like he was going to see - or even speak to - her ever again.
''So, you were saying? About your English essay?''
''Huh? Oh,'' Gabriella mumbled, cheeks a little red from thinking about the incident that happened only moments ago between her and Troy, ''right, right, my essay. I wanted to show you the essay I did on Oscar Wilde and the use of imagery in his poetry.''
She fumbled around in her bag for her English folder. Pulling out a bright yellow ring binder, she opened it up and flipped to the section with a bright pink sticker that said 'ESSAYS' on it. ''I found some poems that were pretty good to analyse, you know, things that included a lot of..." Gabriella trailed off.
Taylor waited patiently. ''Let's see then.''
"Wait a minute,'' she frowned, ''this isn't my homework."
Taylor took the piece of paper from her hands and quickly glanced at it. "I should hope not. Look at that awful handwriting. What does this even say? A..story of..Eggs?"
Gabriella bit her lip and moved in to read the writing. "A study of Edgar Allen Poe and 19th century gothic literature."
Taylor looked at her friend. "You never studied Poe."
Gabriella widened her eyes. "Isn't...one of the other classes in our year studying Poe?"
"Yeah, I think so. I vaguely remember Kelsi saying they was studying gothic literature in her English class."
Gabriella fumbled around some more in her folder. ''Well then where's my essay?''
Taylor scanned the piece of paper. ''Whoever this essay belongs to proably has your essay as well.''
"Oh no, this is bad," Gabriella began to panic and started sifting through her massive ring binder. "I don't even know who it belongs to. I need my essay back, I had a ton of things to change about it.''
Taylor watched in amusement as her best friend began looking on the floor in hope to retrieve the lost piece of paper.
''You know,'' Taylor began.
''What? Know what? Oh, Taylor! What do I do? That essay is really important, and-''
''I bet Troy Bolton has it.''
Gabriella blinked at Taylor. ''W-what! N-no he doesn't.''
''Think about it, Gabi. You had your English essay up until you bumped into Mr. Big-shot-basketball a few minutes ago, and now you can't find your essay. Not only that, but you have someone else's essay. I'd say there's a pretty big chance he has it. Unless...'' she nonchalantly said.
Gabriella was listening attentively, hoping that anyone but Troy had it.
''Unless what? What?''
Taylor leaned in. ''Unless you managed to write an essay about Poe and gothic literature in your sleep?''
Gabriella groaned. ''Ugh, Taylor!''
''I'm pretty sure Kelsi mentioned some of the basketball team is in her class.''
''What!'' Gabriella said. ''What should I do? Oh, no! He's going to be so angry!''
''Look, Gabi, chill. Okay? I'll come with you to find him at the end of the day, alright?''
''I-I mean, I don't want to, but - essay, I need, and-''
''Gabriella!'' Taylor reprimanded.
Gabriella went silent.''O-okay.''
Taylor smiled. ''Don't worry, he won't be angry. He seemed nice enough.''
''Do we a have Taylor McKessie? You're next in line for your photo.''
''Oh, I have to go, Gabi. See you at lunch?''
''Y-yeah, see you at lunch.''
''Kelsi, is Troy Bolton in your class?''
Kelsi stopped mid-chew and stared straight back at Taylor, who was currently doing her maths homework.
''What?''
''I asked,'' she repeated, not looking up, ''if Troy Bolton is in your class.''
''Uh, yeah, he is...'' she replied suspiciously, taking another bite of her tuna pasta. ''Why?''
''A certain someone bumped into him this morning and managed to mix their essays up, didn't they, Gabriella?''
Gabriella put her fork down and glared at Taylor. ''Taylor, shush! Not so loud!''
''You have Troy Bolton's essay?'' Kelsi asked with a gasp.
''Kelsi, shush! Not so loud!''
''Isn't he going to be really angry with her, Taylor? What if he thinks she stole it on purpose? You know how crazy fangirls can be. Oh, no, what to do...''
''Everyone chill,'' Taylor said as she put her apple down. ''Firstly, no one can hear us, Gabriella. Secondly, Troy seemed really nice. He actually apologized for bumping into Gabriella and even said that it was his fault,'' she finished with a raise of her brow and leaned over to grab her water bottle.
''Really?'' Kelsi asked in surprise. ''Phew. For a moment there, you had me worried that the basketball team were going to start picking on Gabriella. I mean, you know about Sharpay.''
Gabriella suddenly widened her eyes and looked at Taylor worriedly. ''Who's Sharpay?''
Taylor's eyes lit up. ''Oh, I've heard about her! Isn't she the overly-dramatic musical girl?''
''Yeah, she is. I have rehearsals with her all the time.''
''Who's Shar...poo?''
''No, no,'' Taylor laughed, ''Sharpay, Gabi.''
Gabriella looked at Kelsi and Taylor's laughing faces in confusion. ''Who is she?''
''She's this girl who has the biggest crush on Troy-'' Kelsi began.
''Like, even I know about it and I don't really care for gossip-'' Taylor interrupted.
''And it's just funny watching Sharpay continuously trying to win Troy over but she fails every time.''
''Yeah. The basketball team don't exactly pick on her, but they do make it clear they don't like her very much.''
Kelsi nodded. ''It's hard to like Sharpay.''
''Oh, right...'' Gabriella trailed off, poking at her cheese salad. Taylor sensed her fear and put an arm on her back.
''Don't worry, Gabi. You don't have to go find him alone, I can go with you.''
Gabriella sniffled and smiled at her. ''Thank you, Taylor. You can come with me to find him at the end of the day, right?''
''Sure! Of course I-''
''Fine. I'll take these to the charity shop after school.''
Oh, crap. How could she forget! She had to lug her sister's ugly clothes all the way to her local charity shop after school.
''Actually, Gabi,'' Taylor began to say with a grimace on her face, ''I can't go with you after school.''
''W-what!'' Gabriella gasped. ''Why not?''
''I promised my sister I'd run an errand for her.''
Best not to mention the ugly clothes, she told herself.
Gabriella smiled weakly. ''Oh, that's okay. I'm sure Kelsi can come with me instead, right, Kelsi?''
Kelsi was already looking at Gabriella apologetically and shrugged her shoulders. ''Sorry, Gabi. I have a musical rehearsal tonight with Shar...'' she giggled, ''...poo.''
Gabriella groaned and shoved a forkful of lettuce into her mouth. ''What am I going to do!''
''Honestly, Gabi, you'll be fine going by yourself.'' Kelsi placed a hand on Gabriella's arm. ''I know they seem intimidating, but they're probably not as bad as people make them out to be.''
Gabriella nodded. ''I guess so.''
Taylor was just about to take another bite out of her apple before she looked at her watch and groaned.
Kelsi looked up from her own plate. ''What's up, Tay?''
''I've got to go to the library to study now.''
''What, now? It's barely halfway through lunch!''
''I know, but since I have to run an errand for my sister after school it means I won't have time to study in the library, hence why I have to do it now.''
''Wow,'' Kelsi and Gabriella giggled to each other, ''talk about being a dedicated student.''
''Shut up you guys,'' Taylor snapped and rolled her eyes. ''See you later.''
Taylor threw the remnants of her lunch into the nearest bin and began to make her way over to the cafeteria exit. She needed to get through five chapters of her biology book before she could even think about going home if she wanted to achieve an A+ on this week's homework.
''Today's just not my day...'' she muttered to herself. Her phone started vibrating and she hastily pulled it out of her pocket.
Ping! You have received 1 new text message.
Hey Tay! It's yo sistaaaa, just a heads up you have to take another 2 bags of clothes to the charity shop after school - sorry, baby sis!
She groaned as she opened the cafeteria door. ''This is so stupid-''
Her rant was cut short when she found herself colliding with something, or rather, someone rock solid. Her eyes squeezed shut as she braced for a heavy fall but instead, found herself being held up by a pair of strong arms.
She was pressed up against their chest (and from what she could feel, it was pretty toned), and her hands were clinging onto their shirt.
This person smells so nice...
''You okay?''
She could feel the vibrations of his voice against her skin and she couldn't find the energy to talk or move.
''Uh...'' she breathed.
Sure, Taylor always voiced her absolute opposition to mingling with the opposite sex, especially after witnessing girls in her class walk in on random mornings with mascara running own their cheeks and crying about 'lost love' and whatnot. It was pitiful. She didn't have an interest in boys, and she was fine that they didn't have an interest in her either.
But she was beginning to question that now.
Her heart thumped at how firm this person's arms around her felt, not to mention he was gripping onto her very tightly, as if in some sort of protective embrace.
It was only then did she realise that she was perhaps enjoying this quick interaction a little too much. For goodness' sake, this stranger was only helping her not fall flat on her face and embarrass herself!
She was about to quickly detangle herself from the nice-smelling stranger (after all, standing in the cafeteria smelling someone you just ran into is a bit weird) when he let go of her and wordlessly walked away, leaving Taylor rooted to the spot in a daze.
She stared at the door.
Did that just happen?
A whole ten seconds had passed before she finally managed to work up the courage to turn around - but by then, her target was long gone. Instead, she was faced with a big cluster of students waiting in the dinner queue.
''Oh my gosh, Taylor. You're overreacting. You're not going to do a Gabriella,'' she muttered to herself as she remembered how Gabriella reacted to Troy Bolton earlier this morning. ''No boys, remember? Only studying.''
Pushing open the doors to the cafeteria once more (this time sans the awkward run-in with a stranger), Taylor McKessie groaned as she exited the hall, her mind once again filled with chemistry equations, biology books, and big bags of ugly clothing.
His hands were still tingling from when he let go of her arms.
''Dude, are you okay?''
Chad Danforth turned his head away from the door of the cafeteria and glanced at a concerned Zeke.
''Uh, yeah, it's nothing,'' he said as he shook his head.
''Do you think that girl just ran into you on purpose?'' Zeke laughed.
Chad shrugged. ''Who knows.''
His stomach was still fluttering with a feeling he couldn't pinpoint.
Interacting with girls wasn't anything new for Chad Danforth, vice-captain of the basketball team - in fact, it was a regular thing when you're as popular as East High's basketball team. Fangirls weren't a rare sight and Chad had experienced girls trying to kiss him out of the blue on multiple occasions. Therefore, he found it unusual that a random girl who had no intentions to try anything on with him (from the way she ran into him, you'd think she was trying to tackle him down), sparked a little something in his stomach and ignited through his body.
She had smelt...intoxicating. It was a soft scent of roses - much like the ones his mum kept in the garden when he was a little boy.
So that must be why he reacted the way he did - she smelt familiar. She smelt like home.
But that didn't explain why he liked the feeling of her innocently clinging onto his shirt.
''Yo, Chad, what's the hold-up?'' he heard Zeke call from half-way across the room.
He quickly blinked and shook his head. ''Coming!''
After two steps, he felt something hard under his shoe. Lifting his foot up, he found a small, green phone charm. This must've been from when he bumped into the girl - whilst he didn't get a look at her face, he remembered seeing a cell phone in her hand.
''Chad?''
It must've been a spur of the moment sort of thing, for Chad Danforth never pined over a stranger like this - after all, he was picking up a phone charm off the middle of the cafeteria floor for them. Sneaking a glance at Zeke and making sure he wasn't looking, Chad quickly bent down and pocketed the item.
''Wait up!'' he called and jogged over to Zeke. Together they fell into a gentle stroll towards their usual lunch table - a big table in the far corner, reserved specially for the Wildcats (and the occasional cheerleader girlfriend, of course).
''You ready for basketball practice tonight? Man, I gotta practice my hoop shooting. I can't believe I missed that last shot in the match against Westfield High last weekend. I'm still really bitter about it.''
''Yeah, dude, I am. Mrs. Darbus gave me a hard time in English today so I just need to shoot some hoops.''
''Ah, speaking of hard time,'' Zeke said, ''I heard that some geeks were arguing with Emily this morning when we were waiting for our photos.'' He paused and waited for Chad to react.
''What about?''
Zeke shrugged. ''I can't remember, but I saw Emily crying in the hallway after second period.''
Chad thought for a few moments over what he was going to say. He wasn't sure whether he felt anger or concern or just nothing at all.
''Aren't you angry?'' Zeke asked with a confused expression. ''I mean, that's your girlfriend, man.''
Chad shook his head. ''She's not my girlfriend, Zeke. We've just been hanging out for a while but I don't know if I like her like that.''
''Well, you better figure it out asap because she's walking right this way.'' Both boys turned to find an overly-smiley Emily skip over towards them. Zeke patted him on the back. ''I'm off to buy lunch now, see you, dude!''
Chad nodded at his friend before turning back round to find Emily smiling up at him.
''Chad!'' Emily said excitedly. ''Come on!'' She grabbed his hand and led him to their regular lunch table.
''Hey Chad,'' the other members of the team greeted him as he sat down.
''Hey, guys,'' he replied.
''I've been wanting to talk to you all day, Chad,'' Emily pouted, flicking her long hair over her shoulders and tapping her mannicured nails on the table.
He nodded and slid his arm around her. ''How've you been?''
''Ugh, my day could've been better,'' she grumbled and messed around with his hair.
Chad frowned. ''What happened?''
''These two girls from the school science club or something thought that they could try and make a move on Troy, but I saw through them and confronted them about it. But they got all defensive, saying that I wanted Troy when in fact, I want you, Chad!''
He paused for a moment before saying, ''I know you do, Emily.''
She giggled and snuggled closer into him. ''So apart from realising that the science club is full of weirdos, my day's been pretty good. What about you?''
He shrugged. ''It's been alright. Classes are boring, but that's nothing out of the ordinary.''
''Oh, Chad,'' she laughed, ''you're so funny!''
He remained still as she buried her head closer into his chest, the warmth of her breathing tickling his chin. Her scent - a mix of blueberries and vanilla - wafted underneath his nose and he found himself shying away from the smell.
He'd been talking to Emily ever since she practically threw herself on him at a party a couple months back, but he was still trying to work out if he liked her or not. Sure, she was pretty - admittedly, one of the prettiest girls in the school - and she could be nice and hold down a decent conversation when she was alone with him. However, she would always be excessively loud and annoying whenever they were in public together. It felt like she was putting on a show for others to marvel at her popularity, and he was only boosting it.
''Chad, did you hear me?''
Chad blinked and found Emily poking his cheek with her finger.
''Sorry, what?''
''I said, do you want to go see a move with me tomorrow?''
He was going to think about his decision for a moment to weight out the pros (popcorn!) and cons (missing basketball practice), but found that everyone on his table were staring at him.
He sighed - he couldn't let a girl down in front of everyone like this.
''Sure,'' he shrugged, ''I'd love to.''
''Great!'' she said loudly. ''It's a date.''
He almost winced, and nodded. ''Yeah.''
''Ugh, I hate you, Tiffany!'' Taylor grumbled to herself as she wiped some sweat off her face. As soon as the bell rung to signal the end of school, she made a dash for it (people probably thought she was insane, but, whatever) and now found herself panting as she saw her street name approaching.
She legged the last few minutes to her house in an admirable time and almost fell down onto the floor when she jerked the key out of the keyhole.
Quickly glancing at the clock, she realised she had exactly half an hour to lug all the bags of clothes to the nearest charity shop (which was a five-minute-walk away) and get herself ready to go to Starbucks - they recently put out an ad for a new part-time vacancy and Taylor needed the money to buy more textbooks. Sighing, she ran up the stairs and flung the bedroom door open. She almost shuddered at the sight of her sister's old clothes but instead grabbed them all and then ran downstairs, where she then kicked her school backpack aside and dragged the bags through the front door.
The bags weren't too big or heavy per say, but Taylor found herself growing increasingly tired as she walked down road after road, eyes looking out for the sign that read 'Angela's Attic'. She'd been in there a few times before to purchase science textbooks, but this was the first time she was actually going to donate anything.
''They're probably going to think these are mine...'' she muttered, glaring at a pink leg warmer sticking out of the bag.
Finally, a small shop with big fancy letters came into view.
ANGELA'S ATTIC.
She almost sighed in relief - she finally made it.
Pushing open the door to the small shop, she carefully stepped inside and made sure to drag all the bags inside with her. Much to her delight, the shop was empty - bar one old man examining an egg cup, and she quickly walked over to the counter.
''Hello,'' she said to the woman making notes at the cash register. ''I'd like to donate some things.''
The middle-aged woman looked up in surprise and smiled. ''Oh, hello.''
Taylor motioned towards the three white bags by her feet. ''My sister wanted to get rid of her old clothes and figured that it was best to donate them to charity.''
''I see,'' the woman nodded. ''Here, let me take them from you.''
Taylor nodded and lifted the bags one by one onto the counter, careful not to move the woman's notes.
''Say, you've been here before, haven't you?'' the woman asked nicely.
Taylor nodded. ''Yeah, I've bought some science books here before. I've finished reading all the ones in my school library.''
''Oh, into science?''
''Well,'' Taylor began slowly, careful not to brag, ''I'm currently the head of the science club at school.''
The woman paused for a moment and raised her brows. ''Really?''
Taylor smiled sheepishly. ''Yeah.''
The woman smiled. "Oh, I see."
"It's a lot of work running that club but I love it."
The woman remained silent for a while before saying, 'Well, you see, I have a favour to ask of you.''
Taylor looked at her and wondered how her science skills could be of any use to her. But either way, she nodded. ''Oh, um, sure.''
''I have a daughter,'' the woman started, ''and she's 11-years-old. She's been failing science at school and I've been trying to find a tutor. The only ones I can find are quite far from where we live.'' She picked up her notebook and showed Taylor the notes she had just been making, ''This person is the closest one I can find, and they're a twenty-minute drive away.''
Taylor peered at the postcode and grimaced. ''Yeah, that is far away.''
The woman continued, ''And I can pay $40 an hour for you to tutor my daughter a couple times a week.''
Taylor almost fell over. $40 dollars per hour? That definitely beat working at Starbucks for hours on end, Taylor noted. But still, did she want to be a tutor? Sure, she's taught kids science before through her role in the science club, but she wasn't sure if she'd do too good of a job teaching someone one-on-one.
''Um...''
''Here,'' the lady scribbled some numbers down onto a piece of paper and gave it to Taylor. ''If you are interested, give me a text.''
Taylor took the piece of paper and nodded. ''Thank you, uh...?''
''Ah, my name is Sue.''
''Thanks, Sue. I - I'll be in touch.''
''Okay. Oh, and thank you for the donations!''
''Oh,'' Taylor said slowly - she had completely forgotten why she was there in the first place, ''it's okay.''
Taylor left the shop feeling slightly victorious - she had not only gotten rid of the ugly clothes her sister gave her, but she also - technically, although not yet confirmed - came out with a new job! A well paid one that involved science, too.
''Perhaps today isn't so bad after all,'' she muttered to herself, crossing the road. She'd even managed to narrowly avoid the sudden downpour of rain the moment she stepped into her front porch.
When she finally got home, she flopped down onto the sofa in the living room and yawned.
''Long day, Taylor?''
She watched as her mum walked in and set down a cup of hot chocolate in front of her.
''Yeah,'' she said, reaching for it and taking a sip. ''Although something good did happen today.''
Her mum untied the apron she was wearing and raised a brow. 'Oh, what was that?''
''The woman at Angela's Attic offered me a job to tutor her daughter today.''
''Oh, really?''
''Yeah, it's good pay, too. I'm just not sure if I'm going to be a good tutor or not.''
''What subject?''
''Science.''
Her mum put a hand on her hip. ''Taylor. You're not the head of the science club for no reason.''
''I know,'' Taylor said, ''but I don't know if I'll be any good at tutoring. Plus, what if her daughter hates me?''
''Taylor,'' her mum sighed and rolled her eyes. ''She won't. And, anyways, you can't mess up tutoring the subject you're best at, and have been the best at for the last ten years.''
Taylor sighed and peered into her hot chocolate. ''Yeah, I guess you're right.''
Her mum giggled. ''Yes, of course I am - I'm your mother.''
Taylor smiled as she watched her mum leave the room, the 'click' of the door emphasising that she was alone once again. Deciding to call Gabriella to tell her the news, Taylor quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket.
''Okay, Gabrie-'' her hand hovered over the 'call' button. ''Hmmm?''
Staring at the device in her hand, she realised the phone charm her dad got her for her birthday was no where to be seen. She groaned and felt around in her pockets to see if it had fallen in a tight spot somewhere.
Nope. She had lost it.
''This day goes from bad to good to bad to good...'' she muttered as she held the phone to her ear.
Ring Ring...Ring Ring...
''Oh, sorry, I just need to take this call. Hello, Taylor?''
''Yeah, no worries.''
Taylor paused for a moment. Was that a guy in the background with Gabriella?
''Gabi?'' she asked suspiciously. ''Who's that?''
''Oh, um, that's Troy Bolton.''
Taylor creased her brows for a moment before rembering that Gabriella had to get her essay back from him after school.
''Oh, okay. How's it going?''
''Well, um, we're just in a cafe right now, and-''
''In a cafe!?''
''Shhh! Not so loud, Taylor. Yes, we are in a cafe right now.''
''Why?''
''Well, I gave him back his essay and then we said goodbye, but it turns out we walk the same way home so he suggested we go get a coffee since the rain is too heavy for walking. Then he told me that he read my essay and it's really good.''
Taylor scoffed and smiled. ''No way.''
''I know, I'm so nervous.''
Taylor shook her head and laughed. ''Well then, I'll leave you to it. Give me the details tomorrow, got it?''
''Okay,'' she heard Gabriella giggle. ''Got it.''
She giggled once more before flipping the phone shut.
No way in a million years would she believe you if you told her that East High's basketball captain would one day ask her best friend out for a coffee - granted, the insanely heavy downpour of rain may be the biggest reason for it, but still - a coffee date is still a coffee date, right?
Stretching, she yawned and put her phone down onto the table and pulled the piece of paper out the piece of paper that Sue had given her before.
Sue Danforth.
She stared at it for a few minutes, still contemplating whether she should take this job or not, before reaching for her phone. She needed a job - this was a job. She needed money - this paid good money. She loved science - this job involves science. Basically everything she wanted in a job was in this job.
Working up the courage to punch the numbers into the phone, she sat patiently on the sofa and waited for the other end to pick up.
''Oh, Taylor, it's so nice to hear from you...mmhmm, mmhmm...oh, that's brilliant news! I was hoping you'd contact me.''
Chad was sitting at the dinner table with his laptop open, tuning into his mother's conversation on the phone.
''I'll text you details of where we live and what time Alana's available after school - she does a lot of after-school activities, you see...uh-huh...okay, great. Bye now!''
Chad looked up. ''Who was that, mum?''
''Hm? Oh, that was Alana's new tutor. I met her at the charity shop today and she seems like an awfully sweet girl.''
He raised a brow. ''You met her at the charity shop?''
''Oh,'' his mum shook her head, ''she was donating some things and we got chatting. She's the head of her science club at school.''
Chad suddenly had a flashback to Emily complaining to him before during school about the girls of the science club and how rude and bitchy they were. He knew he had to take anything Emily said with a grain of salt (she loved to exaggerate), but still, he should be wary - it was his baby sister they were talking about.
''As long as she doesn't go to East High, it's fine,'' he shrugged, resuming to looking at his laptop.
His mum frowned. ''Why not, dear?''
''I heard the girls from our science club aren't very nice,'' he said as he typed.
''What do you mean?''
Chad thought for a moment. Emily had told him many things about the science club girls, but none of them were really appropriate to relay to his mother.
''They don't know who the basketball team is,'' he said matter-of-factly. When Emily told him that they didn't know who he or Troy was, he couldn't help be a little insulted - who didn't know them at East High?
''Oh, sweetie,'' his mum laughed. ''Is that it? The science club isn't too commonly linked to the basetball team, Chad.''
He wanted to retort back that everyone knew the basketball team at East High, but his mum was right - the science club didn't really have much to do with the basketball team.
''And they had an argument with one of the cheerleaders today.'' He carefully said.
''Did you witness this?'' his mum asked as she walked past him.
He paused. ''No.''
''Well then,'' she said with a shrug. ''Don't believe everything you hear.'' And with that, she left the room.
Chad sighed and returned to typing and staring at the screen.
New message from Emily.
I'm so psyched for our little cinema date tomorrow, babeeee
Oh, yeah - he promised her that he'd take her to the cinema tomorrow. Chad left the window open for a while and leaned back in his chair. He bit his lip as he thought about what to do with this whole 'Emily' situation. Whilst he'd grown accustomed to talking to her practically everyday for the past few months, as well as the rumours from everyone around school that they were dating, he just wasn't sure if he wanted to break the whole thing off. He was fond of her, admittedly - they'd been speaking too long to not have grown some sort of attatchment, but he wasn't sure whether it was genuine or not.
Same here. He typed back. I have to go now.
He shut his laptop abruptly and put his chin in his hand. If he actually did break the whole thing off with Emily, he'd have to deal with a furious, livid and possibly dangerous Emily - he'd witnessed what she'd done to people she didn't like (such as this morning, where she was telling everyone the girls of the science club had secret meetings to plan how to seduce Troy). But if he didn't break it off with her and it continued, he'd still be sitting here everyday, contemplating whether to break it off or not.
He shook the troublesome thoughts from his head and decided to not break it off with Emily - well, at least any time soon.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed, guys! :-)