Chapter 1

Odd weaved his way through the crowded cafeteria. He had a big plate, a big hairdo, and a big smile. As soon as he spotted his friends sitting at a nearby table, he hurried over and immediately began to tell them about his day.

"So guess what, guys!" Odd's smile grew bigger.

Ulrich was quick to make a guess. "You took an actual shower this morning?"

"Hey! I take showers all the time!"

"Yeah, about once a month."

Odd rolled his eyes, but he had more important things to discuss. Plopping his tray down on the table, he continued. "The cast list for the spring musical was just posted!"

His four best friends sat quietly for a while, exchanging confused glances. After a few moments passed, Yumi finally piped up. "The spring musical? Did you audition or something?"

Beginning to eat his lunch, Odd replied, "Yeah, I got a pretty good part too."

Aelita, resting her elbows on the table, leaned in closer to her friends and asked, "What musical are they doing this year, anyway?"

Odd took a large bite of his sandwich. "We're doing High School Musical," he said with his mouth full of roast beef, "and I got the part of Ryan."

"And I'm guessing Sissi is Gabriella," sighed Ulrich.

"Actually, no," Odd swallowed his food. "Sissi is Sharpay." Everyone at the table laughed.

"That role suits her so well," chuckled Yumi, "she won't even have to do much acting!"

Jeremie piped up. "Well, who's Gabriella then?"

"Some 7th grader. You guys probably don't know her," Odd said as he picked up a handful of fries.

"You could at least tell us her name."
"Okay, her name's Anna Martin."

Your name is Anna Martin. You are a 7th grade student at Kadic Junior High, and you have just received great news: you got the lead part in the spring musical! This makes you both excited and nervous because you've never had such a big role before, and all of the other lead roles were given to older students. Nevertheless, you know that you will do your best to bring Gabriella Montez to life onstage.

As you walk across the cafeteria, finished with your lunch, you notice Sissi Delmas glance over her shoulder at you with an angry expression on her face.

Or maybe that's just how her face always is. You could never tell with her.

The two of you make eye contact for a fraction of a second, and then she turns back to a discussion with her friends. It appears to be a very heated discussion. If you didn't know any better, you would probably stop and try to listen in on their conversation, but luckily you don't have a death wish so you just keep walking.

It's fairly easy for you to make an educated guess of what Sissi might be talking to her friends about, anyway. She, too, had tried out for the spring musical and, although she had gotten a leading part, it was not the part she'd wanted. The part she wanted was the part that you had gotten, the role of Gabriella, while the part she had gotten was the role of Sharpay. Personally, you didn't get what the big deal was. Sharpay probably has as many lines as Gabriella, maybe even more. Or perhaps she wanted the part because of Troy—

Your thoughts are suddenly interrupted when you nearly collide with Theo Gauthier. You got so lost in your thoughts that you forgot you were walking forward!

"Oops, sorry," you utter quietly. Giving a nervous smile, you look up at his face. He was pretty tall, even for a 9th grader, and also fairly good-looking.

"It's okay," replies Theo, "by the way, congrats on getting the part of Gabriella." He smiles politely at you.

That's kind of awkward. "Thanks, congrats on getting the part of Troy." You really just want to flee the scene as soon as possible.

"I guess we'll be getting to know each other pretty well, huh?"

That's it. You are not going to get into a conversation like this, especially not with a boy who's two years older than you. As your face quickly flushes red, you turn around and run out of the cafeteria. It doesn't matter how handsome Theo is. You still don't appreciate that kind of talk.