In Pursuit Of Excellence
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Chapter One
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"I can't believe it's the last day of summer." Chad groaned, flopping back on his bed like a dead fish. "It so isn't fair! I spent half of my summer working for Lava Springs, and then when I finally decide that I want to stop working, I still don't have enough for a car!"
"You shouldn't have quit your job at Lava Springs, then." Taylor commented, sitting on Chad's chair in front of his desk, feeling very much like a therapist, since Chad was lying on the bed and talking about his problems. "It won't be long before you get a car, Chad. Just be patient."
"But I don't want to be patient." He whined, like a dog begging for food from the table. "School starts tomorrow, and I can't give up basketball to get a part time job. How will I get money for my car?"
"Don't ask me. And school isn't that bad, Chad. And well, if you prioritize basketball over getting a car, then that's your decision. You can't have it both ways." She sighed, checking her reflection in the dark screen of Chad's computer monitor.
Chad merely waved a hand in the air. "I hate my life." He muttered. There was a moment's pause; apparently Taylor didn't bother to dignify that last statement with an answer. "I can't believe you like school." He muttered.
"I don't like it; it's something that every person has to go through. And it'll be important later on, when we need to get jobs and such. Good grades will look impressive on a resume, and we aren't even in college yet! I need to make sure I get into an Ivy League college, or my mother will kill me."
"Whatever. I'm just going to be a famous basketball player. And people will pay me so much to be in their commercials that I will be filthy rich." Taylor giggled at that; she imagined seeing Chad's face on every single poster as she walked to her job in the distant future. "I really hope I get on a cereal box. I'd love to be on a cereal box."
"Chad, you're insane, you know that?" Taylor said, smiling nonetheless. She really did love her boyfriend. They had made their relationship official after they had both quit Lava Springs. They had decided getting a job was too exhausting, and while their jobs did improve after the talent show, they wanted to spend their summer having real fun.
"Whatever. If I'm so insane, why bother dating me?" He said, rolling over onto his stomach, propping his head up with his hands to look up at her with his adorable brown puppy gaze.
Taylor laughed, ignoring him. "Whatever. Want to go out to the park? It's such a nice day." She said wistfully. And it was, the sun was shining brightly, the sky was blue, and white clouds drifted across the sky lazily as if they knew it was the last day of summer and just wanted to relax while they could.
"Alright." Chad got up. "But we'll have to walk. Since I don't have a car."
Taylor merely rolled her eyes. "Walking and enjoying the weather was kind of the point." She admitted. "Come on, Chad! It'll be fun." She smiled warmly at her boyfriend, and helped him stand up.
"I can't believe summer's almost over."
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"And that, my dears, is why cell phones are evil. Now, just the other day I was in the theatre watching a performance when a horrible loud ring tone pierced the dramatic climax of the play…"
Chad groaned, burying his head in his arms as he listened to Ms. Darbus rant on about cell phones. Possibly the most irritating topic she could bring up. He wished her little sermon would just be over so he could escape from homeroom and go to the gym to shoot a few hoops with Troy.
"And now, onto the less important topics that do not apply to the world of theatre." She sighed, adjusting her glasses. "It has come to my attention that your grade is to be sent into the wilderness for a week. Apparently the principle thinks it would be a good…experience for you all to learn to live off the land for a while. So you'll be living in tents and doing sports in the woods. You leave Monday, so I suggest you all start packing."
"Awesome!" Chad's head shot up, his eyes bright with excitement. However, his enthusiastic statement was drowned out by a loud, piercing shriek from a blonde in the front row.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN LIVE IN A TENT?" Sharpay screamed, waving her hands dramatically. "You mean one of those small, tiny, school provided tents? I don't think so!"
Chad caught his best friend's eye and they both grinned at the scene that Sharpay was making. After what she had done to Troy this summer, they really didn't feel any sympathy for her. Sure, she had begun to change after she gave the Star Dazzle Award to her brother, but the change was slow, and she often had relapses.
"Shar." Ryan's quiet voice cut across his sister's rampage. "I'm sure the school will allow us to bring our own tent, if we wish." Ryan was the voice of reason to counter his sister's insanity. If Sharpay was a raging wildfire, he was like a candle, softly glowing; sometimes flickering up, but never getting out of control. "Isn't that right, Ms. Darbus?" He asked, turning his cool blue gaze onto their teacher.
"I believe, Mister Evans, if you wanted to bring your own tent and sleeping bags, the school would permit it." She agreed, nodding slowly. In the end, she was never able to deny her favorite student anything.
Ryan nodded his thanks to her, and turned to his hysterical twin. "See, Shar? There's nothing to worry about."
She pouted and crossed her arms, refusing to calm down so easily. Chad sometimes thought that she enjoyed being a drama queen, and that she only threw so many tantrums to gain attention for herself. After all, she got anything that she wanted in the materialistic world- though Troy kept on managing to escape her grasp. "I'd still have to live in the smelly woods and play ridiculous sport games!" She huffed.
"But Troy will be there for a week with you, won't he?" Ryan said slyly. "I mean, I'm sure you could ask him to help you with any sport activities you have trouble with. He is the star jock of the school, remember?"
Sharpay's expression brightened at this, in contrast to Troy's whose facial features had arranged themselves into a look of sheer horror once he had overheard Ryan's words. Chad couldn't help but chuckle, and Ryan caught his eye, winking at the darker boy.
'He isn't half as innocent as he seems.' Chad thought, amused. For all that Ryan was quiet, polite, and friendly, he was as much as a schemer as his sister. Chad supposed it must take a quick and cunning person to have to deal with Sharpay all the time; Ryan would've needed to come up with a few plans to keep his sister happy while getting his own way, right? And he had come up with the idea of switching songs before the talent show last year.
Troy nudged Chad in the shoulder. "Dude, I am going to kill Ryan for suggesting that." He said, sulking.
Chad couldn't help it- his customary grin was spread across his features like butter across toast. "Dude, he was just trying to comfort his sister. And it's your fault for being the 'hottie super bomb'." He said, teasing his best friend mercilessly.
Troy just flipped him off when Ms. Darbus wasn't looking. "Shut up. You're just jealous of my looks." He said, sniffing haughtily.
Chad shook his head ruefully. "Nah. I found the girl for me." He said, winking at Taylor, who giggled and blushed at this.
Troy sighed. "I found the girl for me too, but that doesn't stop them." He hinted meaningfully, gesturing at the Evan twins.
Chad chuckled. "Nothing stops them. Sharpay and Ryan are from the Evans family, and they never give up, do they?" He shrugged. "Whatever dude. This trip is going to be awesome, even if those two waste half of it trying to set you and Sharpay up together."
Troy groaned. "Whatever. As long as I keep a sharp eye out, I'll be fine." He shook his head. "I can't believe we're seniors now." He muttered slowly.
Chad paled; he didn't like thinking about the future, and he had a feeling this was where Troy's conversation was going. "Dude, it'll be fine. We won't have to apply to any colleges for a few months at least! So let's just concentrate on the now, right?"
Troy laughed at his friend's sudden panic. "Whatever you say, Chad." He nudged his friend in the ribs.
Chad rolled his eyes, his color soon returning to his face. "Troy, you know I hate talking about the future." He said, looking anywhere but at his best friend.
Troy merely sighed. "I understand. I get scared too, sometimes."
Chad sat blot upright. "I am not scared!" He announced a bit too loudly. "I just…I'm just!" He trailed off, not able to say what he was.
Troy chuckled. "It's fine, man." He assured his friend. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." He caught Gabriella's eye and winked, causing her to smile back. "So…this camping trip. Should be awesome, right?"
"You can bet on that." Chad said appreciatively, glad that Troy had changed the subject away from the dreaded topic of college and the future. "I mean, living in a tent, how sick will that be?" His grin reappeared so quickly that Troy wondered how he didn't sprain his jaw.
"Yea, should be great." Troy repeated, though he changed 'awesome' to 'great'. He was broadening his vocabulary, apparently.
"So, how many people do you think will be assigned to a tent?" He mused, biting the eraser of his pencil as he thought about what the trip would be like. If anyone had told Chad that biting the end of his pencil wasn't the healthiest, nor the smartest, thing to do, he probably wouldn't have cared. It was a nervous habit.
"I don't know." Troy shrugged. "I guess two or three." He sneaked a glance at Gabriella again. "Hey, do you think they'll allow the tents to be co ed?" He asked excitedly.
Chad snorted. "I highly doubt it, lover boy." He said, trying to zone out Ms. Darbus' lecture to concentrate on the love stuck looks that his best friend was shooting at his girlfriend. They were so soppy that it was almost comical- not that he would ever tell Troy that. But it was quite amusing to watch the two just bop their heads to imaginary beats and smile at one another like little children with crushes, instead of two teenagers who were dating. Chad was glad he didn't really have to put up with that stuff from Taylor; they both knew where they stood with one another and even though they always exchanged smiles, they were real smiles, not sugar coated honey smiles that would melt the hardest of hearts. Chad never really understood why Troy would turn into a harmless puppy when Gabriella was around; he guessed he never would. While he tried to please Taylor, his will didn't turn to peanut butter and jelly when she was around. Maybe if she'd put out more, he'd be more compliant, but she was Taylor, and she actually though and stood up for herself and her virtue.
After a while, Troy turned his attention back to the front of the room, and Chad just went off into a daze, daydreaming about what the camping trip had in store.
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A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. It was supposed to be longer, but I got wind that I'm going to be in serious trouble with my parents, and they'll probably ban me off the internet for a bit. Which is why I didn't send this in for betaing, I wanted it up before I was murdered.
I expect a LOT more Chyan by the time I get back online.
Also, this is dedicated to xIreth, StillThereForMe, and Poppyfields13.