In the past twenty years, a lot has happened. Troy and Gabriella were closer than ever. They couldn't see their lives without one another. As for their children, Ben was twenty two and engaged. He had just graduated from University of Albuquerque and majored in law. His fiancée, Rachel, had also graduated from University of Albuquerque and majored in criminal justice. The couple had been dating for three years until Ben finally proposed. On the other hand, Sam was a sophomore in college and loved to party. She would go out and not come back to her dorm until the early hours of the morning, which concerned Troy and Gabriella. It was the weekend and the family was going over to Ben's for dinner to catch up with the family and also see how the wedding plans are going.
"Sam! We have to go" Gabriella called up the stairs.
"I'm coming" Sam said walking downstairs.
Troy came into the room and took his keys off the table in the family room. He looked up and saw Rachel's outfit and shook his head.
"Sam, go upstairs and change. We are not going to a college party. Wear something else" Troy said.
"Dad, I am twenty years old. You can't tell me what to do anymore" Sam challenged.
Troy looked at Sam.
"You are living under my roof, and you need to do what I say. Now go upstairs and change. We are going to be late" Troy said.
"Fine" Sam said walking upstairs.
Gabriella came into the room.
"Where's Sam?" Gabriella asked.
"I told her to change her clothes. I am not going to allow her to go out dressed in practically a sheet" Troy said.
"Babe, she's twenty" Gabriella said.
"I don't care. She isn't going out like that" Troy said.
Sam came downstairs again and was dressed in more clothes.
"That's better. Thank you" Troy said.
Sam opened the front door and went to the car. Troy sighed. Troy and Gabriella went to the car and drove to Ben's. Ten minutes later, the Bolton's walked to the front door of Ben's home and rang the doorbell. A couple minutes later, Ben opened the door and smiled.
"Hey" Ben said.
Ben hugged and kissed his parents and his sister. They all walked into the house and sat down in the living room. Rachel came into the room and smiled.
"Hi guys, how's it going?" Rachel asked.
"Fine, how are you doing? How are the weddings plans going?" Gabriella asked.
"They are going. It's just stressful but everything is starting to fall into place" Rachel said.
"Believe me I know how stressful the planning is. Troy didn't know how to help" Gabriella said.
"I helped" Troy defended.
"Yeah, with taking care of Ben" Gabriella said looking at Troy.
Troy rolled his eyes.
"How is the job hunting going?" Troy asked Ben.
"I actually just found a job yesterday. I am going to be working at a local firm" Ben said proudly.
"Honey, that's great. I am so proud of you" Gabriella said.
"Thanks. How are you Sam?" Ben asked.
Sam looked at Ben. Ben and Sam didn't have the best relationship but they tried to make it work.
"I am fine. College is great" Sam said.
"She was out every night last week, which shouldn't happen. You should be studying" Troy said.
Ben sighed and looked at Sam.
"Sam, you have to take college seriously. I know that you don't want to hear it from me, but just trust me. I met a lot of girls like you when I was in college and they all partied until they passed out. Men would sleep with them and they would get pregnant. I want you to just focus on school. You have less than two years to go" Ben said.
"Just because you were in the honors program, doesn't mean you can tell me what to do. You are not in charge of me. I am twenty and I am going to live my life in the way that I want to. Nobody can talk me out of it. Let me do what I need to do. I passed all of my classes. What more do you want?" Sam asked annoyed.
Troy sighed and looked at Gabriella. Gabriella looked at Ben and wondered what he would say to Sam's statement.
"The honors program has nothing to do with this, Sam. I am just trying to help you choose the right path" Ben said.
"Let me do what I want and you can do what you want" Sam said.
Sam stood up from the couch and walked toward the door. She opened it and walked out of the house. Meanwhile in the house, Ben sighed and rubbed his head.
"All I said was that she needs to focus on the important things" Ben said.
"We know, Ben. Sam is just in a rough patch in her life. She won't listen to anybody until something bad happens" Troy said.
That night Troy and Gabriella left their son's home and drove home. Troy unlocked the door and the couple walked in.
"Sam? Come downstairs. We need to talk" Troy called.
Sam poked her head downstairs and looked at her father.
"About what?" Sam asked.
"Just come downstairs" Troy said.
Sam walked downstairs and followed her father into the living room where Gabriella was sitting.
"Take a seat" Troy said as he sat down on the couch.
Sam sat down on the couch.
"About earlier, Ben was just trying to give you some advice. You could take it or not but you don't have to be rude to him. He did nothing wrong to you. We are all concerned about this. Your mother and I just want you to have the best life you can have. We want you to graduate college, and find a job. That's all we want" Troy said.
"You also have to understand that I have my own life to live. I am not going to listen to someone telling me what I should do or how I should act" Sam said.
"We understand that Sam but you need to get your priorities straight. What do you want to do with your life? All those people you party with are a bad influence on you. We want you to have fun in college but not get into trouble" Gabriella said.
Sam looked down at her hands. She sniffled and wiped her tears that were falling from her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I am just stressed out. I have a lot to think about and it is just piling up" Sam said.
Gabriella looked at her daughter. She smiled knowing that she and Troy had finally got through to her. Gabriella got up from her seat and hugged her daughter.
"I love you, Sam. I always will" Gabriella said kissing her cheek.
"I love you too" Sam whispered.
Troy smiled and put his arm around Gabriella.
"If you work hard, you can party. But only a little bit" Troy said kissing his daughter's head.
"I am going to bed. I'm really tired" Sam said.
"Okay, goodnight" Gabriella said.
Sam walked upstairs and went into her bedroom. She fell asleep. Sam didn't know how she was going to change but she knew that she had to do something fast. The next morning, Sam woke up and sat up in bed. She was going to put her priorities first and party later. Sam got out of bed and took a shower. She then walked downstairs and saw her father in the kitchen reading the newspaper at the table. Sam walked over to her father and planted a kiss on his cheek. Troy looked at Sam and smiled.
"You are in a good mood today" Troy said putting the paper down and looking at his daughter.
"Change of heart" Sam said.
Troy raised his eyebrow.
"I'm serious" Sam said.
"I didn't say anything. When are you going to drive back today?" Troy asked his daughter.
"In an hour" Sam said looking at the clock.
"Okay" Troy said.
Sam walked upstairs and packed her stuff. She then went downstairs.
"I'm ready to go" Sam said.
"Okay, bye Sam. I love you" Gabriella said hugging her daughter.
"Bye mom I love you too" Sam said.
Sam looked at Troy.
"Bye Sam, I love you" Troy said.
"Bye dad, I love you too" Sam said as she hugged her father.
Sam left the house and drove back to school. She hoped that she would be able to turn her life around and hopefully for the better.