If you're reading this, then you should probably know about the scene where the Scholastic Decathlon team and the basketball team were trying to break Troy and Gabriella up and they goaded Troy into saying all these awful things and made sure Gabriella was watching while it happened. Well, that scene always bugged me. Whenever I saw it, I've always wanted her to angry, to tell them off. I mean, these are people that say they care about her and then they go off and do something like that and later on they only make a half-hearted effort to apologize. They break her heart, act like it's no big deal and that is not ok on any level.
I wrote this because this is how I think that scene should have gone.
"Gabriella is not important. I'll forget about her. I'll forget the audition and we'll go out and get that championship. Everyone happy now?"
Every muscle in Gabriella's body was frozen, her breath caught in her throat. She barely registered the fact that Taylor was speaking, eyes falling to her lap.
"So Gabriella, we'd love to have you for the Scholastic Decathlon," Taylor chirped brightly, looking at her with expectant eyes as the others left the room.
She pressed her lips together in response, Troy's words still running through her head. Gabriella is not important. Gabriella is not important. Gabriella is not important. They slowly morphed and melted into the sneering taunts that still haunted and hung around in the back of her head. Freak. Genius girl. Loser. Gabriella is not important. Why would you ask her out. Freak. Loser. Gabriella is not important.
Tears ran slowly down her cheeks and for a moment, Gabriella felt like she was going to start laughing. I can't believe that I thought it would be different here. She bit the inside of her lip. Can't believe I thought he was going to be different.
"Did you want to grab some lunch?"
Gabriella let out a shuddering breath and felt something crack. The heartache that had followed her for so long made way for the sudden white-hot fury that came bubbling up from the pit of her stomach.
Genius girl. Freak. Loser. Gabriella is not important.
"How can you ask that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, jerkily swiping at the tears that spilled over. "How can you do something like that and just... go on like it was nothing?!" She glared at a shocked looking Taylor and bitterly muttered, "I thought you were my friend."
"I-" Taylor straightened. "Of course I am. Gabriella-"
"This is what friends do?" she demanded as she stood, accidentally sending the stool a few screeching feet away. "They show you something like that?"
"We were just-"
"Just what? Just trying to get me to join the Scholastic Decathlon? My feelings be damned? No, who cares about poor little Gabriella's feelings anyway? After all, as you so gracefully had Troy point out: 'Gabriella is not important.'"
"That's not-"
"And for the record, Taylor, I'm not joining the team. You are not my friend. Do not talk to me, do not bother me, I want nothing to do with someone who thinks this is how they should treat their friends." She shook her head and moved towards the door.
"Gabriella, please." Taylor's hand caught her elbow.
"Screw you and your Decathlon," she snapped, storming out.
Jerking open her locker, Gabriella took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She closed her eyes, fighting back tears and the increasing urge to scream at the unfairness of it all.
Freak. Loser. Gabriella is not important.
"Hey. How're you doing?"
Crap. Gabriella bit her lip and mechanically shoved her books into her bag, determined to ignore Troy.
"Listen, there's something I want to talk to you about."
Gabriella is not important.
"And here it is," she turned to him, allowing the fury to bubble up again. "I don't care what game you think you're playing, I'm done."
"What?" he looked confused. "Gabriella-"
"'-is not important'," she repeated bitterly. "'I'll forget about her.' Did I get that right, Troy?"
Understanding shone in Troy's eyes for a moment before panic took over. "No, Gabriella that's not-"
"Not what?!" she demanded, ignoring the sudden silence of the halls in the wake of her yell. "Not what I think it is?"
"No- Chad was railing on me, I was just-"
"Just said the first words that popped into your head-"
"Gabriella-"
"-and those words just happened to be 'Gabriella is not important'?!" Her voice rose and she let it carry across the halls, glad that the pain in her chest was weakening with every word she spoke, elated at finally being able to defend herself. "I'm use to the bullying, Troy. Genius girl. Freak. Loser. But god, I had been hoping that this place would be different. That I could just be me and have friends and maybe a-" her voice broke and she shook her head. "I hoped that you would be different." She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder before slamming her locker shut. "Thanks for proving me wrong."
"Gabriella, let me explain, please-"
"I mean I actually thought you cared about me."
"I do," Troy ducked down, trying desperately to catch her eye. "God, Gabriella, I do."
She scoffed. "'Gabriella is not important.' Yeah, you care a lot about me. God, I can't believe I was so blind."
"You don't understand-"
She turned from him, briskly making her way to the front door, ignoring the people watching her as Troy pleaded with her to wait, to listen.
"Please, Gabriella-"
"Go win your championship, Troy," she interrupted, glaring at him as he moved to block her exit. "And leave me alone."
"Gabriella-"
She rolled her eyes and pushed roughly passed him, jerking the door open, intent on going home.
"Go Wildcats," she bitterly called over her shoulder as she watched the door slam shut, trapping Troy's devastated look behind it.
Gabriella closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the whispered words in the back of her head became louder and louder.
Freak. Genius girl. Loser. Gabriella is not important.
She laughed softly, scrubbing at her eyes, and began the long walk home, feeling as though her heart had just been hollowed out and left broken and empty.
Gabriella is not important.
She supposed she would just have to get use feeling that way.