Chapter 1

Tap. Tap. All heads turned towards the unusual sound on the first day of the second semester at East High. Amidst the usual chatting and slamming of locker doors, this sound stood out. The hallways grew silent as everybody saw at once the source of the strange new sound.

It was being caused by a boy. Or his cane, specifically. The boy had sandy brown hair and a splattering of freckles on his pale face. His eyes were a deep brown, but they stared straight ahead unseeing. The boy was blind. His white cane tapped along the floor, probing out obstacles and guiding the boy along.

The boy knew that people were staring at him, even though he couldn't see them. He could feel them. But he didn't let his anger and annoyance show on his face. He was, in a way, used to it by now.

In his other hand he clutched a schedule, completely in Braille. He stopped in the middle of the hallway and propped his cane up against a wall. He stopped the first person who hurried past him, averting his gaze, a tall African American boy in a basketball uniform.

"Hey." the blind boy said. The boy he was speaking to hesitated for a minute, as if he wasn't sure what to say, before responding "Hey."

"Do you know how to get to locker-" there was a pause as the boy ran his long fingers over the raised dots on his schedule. "392?" The African American boy fought to keep the curiosity out of his voice.

"Sure, just go up those two stairs and down the first hallway you come to." he said, pointing. Too late he realized that the boy couldn't see where he was pointing.

"Oh...I'm sorry, man." he stammered. "I meant...um...oh, just go up the stairs to your right and down the first hallway. Here, uh, you want me to lead you?" Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed his new classmate by the arm and started steering him towards the nearest staircase. The blind boy pulled away.

"Thanks." he said, the annoyance now clearly evident in his voice. "But I don't need to be led." His would-be leader watched as the blind boy made his way up the stairs and disappeared down the hallway.

The new student made it to his locker just fine. Sensing that someone was beside him, he tapped them on the shoulder. The girl beside him turned around at the tap.

"Excuse me," the blind boy said. "But is this locker 392?" The girl nodded, then realized, like the boy downstairs, that the new student couldn't see her.

"Yes." she said softly. She seemed nice, he decided. He smiled.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." the girl turned to go. Not seeing the boy's cane, she tripped over it. Hearing his cane crash to floor and hearing the girl shriek, he pieced together what was going on just in time to catch the girl before she hit the floor. As he helped her, the girl blushed in embarrassment.

"Thanks." she said sheepishly.

"No problem." he told her. "It was my fault anyway. I shouldn't have put my cane there."

"So, uh, what's your name?" the girl asked.

"Mark Weisel." he responded. "What's yours?"

"Gabriella Montez." she told him shyly. They shook hands awkwardly.

"Well nice meeting you, Mark. Welcome to East High."

"Nice to meet you too." And Mark walked away thinking that Gabriella Montez was the first person he'd met at East High who treated him like an actual person. Gabriella just knew she had just developed a serious crush on Mark Weisel.

A/N: OK, so I wasn't planning on starting my High School Musical fic until I'd finished at least one other fic. I have extreme writer's block with all but one of my stories in progress, so I thought I'd start this one a bit early. How do you like it? Review...and this means you!