5.

Sharpay heads my way after the presentation, weaving through the lumbering crowd of half-asleep students. It's hard to miss her. The sequins on her expensive, red top could very well spell out, 'My daddy is richer than yours' and she sticks out like an ornate Christmas tree in a field of trampled weeds. The Evans family must be thriving these days. I haven't seen a repeated outfit in months.

She falls into step beside me as we exit the room and clucks her tongue to express her disapproval. "That was a waste of time."

"I knew the answer, Shar," I sigh, "to the first question."

"Oh." She doesn't believe me. Her annoyance shows. "Then why didn't you just say it?"

"I don't know," I mumble. "I don't like taking risks."

"Then shouldn't you be happy you didn't?" Heading towards our lockers, we turn left and continue down the hall. She suddenly snaps, "I don't understand why you're being so mopey about this, a minor regret. Some people have bigger things to worry about."

Finally, I notice how tense and agitated she is. "What's wrong?"

"A disagreement with the parents, life." Sharpay rolls her eyes. Stopping at her locker, she flips her blond hair over her shoulder and spins the dial a few times. When I leave to pick up my own books, her hand reaches out to grab my arm and stops me from moving any further. I turn around to meet her mischievous expression." Actually, come with me to the pet store after school, Gabriella. I have a proposal for you."

6.

Zeke, a tall high school senior and member of the basketball team, would stereotypically look out of place at a pet store. But he's really just as sweet and cuddly as the hamsters they sell here, if not more. Sharpay adores him and his unbelievable ability to produce the best cookies, cupcakes and brownies that I've ever had. Taking care of animals is his after school job because the money used for purchasing cooking supplies has to come from somewhere. I just hope the guy washes his hands prior to baking those tasty pastries.

We enter the store and are immediately hit by the smell of animals. I wrinkle my nose. Zeke spots us from beside an indecisive customer who's considering her options for cat food, and he waves subtly, grinning. Sharpay blows him a kiss. Both of them appear that much happier simply from being in the same building.

"Are we waiting for Zeke? His shift just started, Sharpay."

"No, no." She shakes her head, her white gold hoop earrings swaying. "I need some things for my pet dog, too. Boi, remember?"

"So you want to tell me why you were so ticked off at school today? Did you forget to study for your Spanish test?"

"Spanish is, like, one of my best subjects for your information."

I'll take her word for it since I wouldn't be able to see her in action all the way from my French class. "What did you want to tell me then?"

"Okay, so hear me out. You may be skeptical at first. My parents are going away this July and August. Although they've cruelly forbidden me to join them, it's okay because, behind their backs, I've already bought two tickets for me and Zeke to go to the Caribbean. The problem is that my parents are sending me away to live with my aunt for those two months. It's sort of a punishment. It's humiliating, but they think I've been spending too much, and budget thing didn't work, so they want me to go to Albuquerque with my aunt since she and her husband aren't as rich as we are. They're average. My parents hope it'll teach me a life lesson about the less fortunate or something. So absurd. Can you believe that my parents want to send me somewhere this summer?" She's as incredulous as a vegetarian who's just been offered bacon. "They think I'm too spoiled and not down to earth. They want me to be 'frugal'. Thrifty. Cheap. A penny-pincher," she hisses.

I can't help but notice her earrings again. They're new, I'm positive. "I'm sure your spending habits won't have to change too drastically--"

"Look at me, Gabriella. Do I seem like the saving type to you? Is a trip to the Caribbean too much to ask?" she exasperatedly whines while shaking my shoulders, staring at me all wide-eyed.

"What's your proposal?"

"Gabriella, you see, I absolutely have to be with Zeke this summer! I've never wanted anything more, not even the Louis Vuitton bag that daddy didn't let my buy. I can't be refunded for the tickets, and I already promised him we'd go. It's my last summer with him. He's going, like, oversees next year for college, and I love him, and I can't crush his heart! What I'm saying is...I'm asking you to take my place."

"Um, I think Zeke will notice it's me."

She releases my shoulders from her grip. "No, I meant in Albuquerque with my aunt! A while ago, weren't you complaining that you have nothing to do when the school year ends? Well, I have two. Take one of mine. I won't charge a thing."

"Are you serious?"

"It'll be a good experience for you. You said before that you didn't take risks, and I think this'll be good to overcome your fear. You can do it. My acting skills must have rubbed off on you."

"Uh, hello?" I tug at a strand of my dark hair. I'd rather not draw Sharpay's attention to my split ends, but I'm aware that I have to get my point across as clearly as possible. "No matter how much I can act like you, I'm not blond."

She waits for me to make sense to her. Unbelievable.

"My last name's Montez; I'm Hispanic. I look nothing like your father."

"Well...tell them...your mom's Spanish. You know, they've never met my mother either. They were too busy for the wedding and eventually lost contact. It's weird. My father and his sister aren't close, but, just out of the blue, they briefly spoke a while ago and then my credit card bill and I were mentioned. I don't know what he told her, but my aunt said she'd let me stay with her this summer, thinking it'd be great to finally meet her niece and bring our families closer together. Dad thought it was a genius idea and is intent on taking her up on her offer. Obviously, we both can't be happy unless I'm in two places at once. So that's where you come in. You can totally pull this off, Gabriella."

"This seems like it's going to have a horrible, life-threatening outcome. And what about Ryan?" I refer to her twin brother.

"He'll be at some performing arts camp far away."

"Someone's bound to find out."

"No one will. Besides, it's not going to be just you and my aunt and uncle. I heard they have a kid, a boy our age. It would suck if you find him cute or anything, because you're supposed to be me, you know, his cousin. Hm, hopefully he's nice and not a jerk." She pauses in contemplation, and then continues persuading me. "But anyways, it'd be perfect. Pull the Amanda Bynes thing, where in the movie she tells her mom she's staying with her dad and tells her dad she's staying with her mom. Didn't you say they were divorced?"

"I've never visited my dad before! Ever!" I exclaim. "My parents will never believe that I want to. And if they do, I've never been on a plane either. They're scary."

"Airplanes are safe, trust me. Come on, Gabriella, a brilliant opportunity is waiting for you to answer the door! You can't be happy with such a boring life, can you?"

I flinch.

"Sorry, not boring exactly, but you're waking up each day, doing the same routine. Summer is for breaking out of that routine and doing something fun. Lying and pretending you're me will give you the adrenaline rush you need. It'll be more thrilling than a...a roller coaster."

I stare blankly at her. "I don't like roller coasters."

So, she's desperate to vacation with Zeke this summer, but does she realize how insanely irrational she sounds? And she'd be talking a huge risk herself. I can't understand how she'd do that just for a boy. I mean, I've noticed guys who are cute, but I wonder what it would feel like to be in love. Apparently, your perspective changes entirely, and consequences fail to register in your mind before you put everything on the line.

"That's not really the point. Can't you see how you could thank me for this later, when you come back after having the time of your life? People dream of this, being able to hide behind another identity and doing whatever you want."

"What if...what if you have a family reunion sometime down the road? What'll happen then?"

She scoffs, "Knowing my father, that won't occur."

I'm still unconvinced. "You told me this was to bring your families closer, so that's not able to be guaranteed."

"I promise I'll take all the blame for it if we get caught. And your mom will never know. You can have a while to ponder your final answer, too."

I grimace. This sounds tempting. Darn. Think, Gabriella. A whole new place. With people void of any maggot ridden memories and previous judgements. Appealing, isn't it? Yet everything could veer off the planned path, and I could be caught. I'd certainly mess up.

"Please, Gabi?" Composing herself, she adjusts her purse strap's position and picks up a dog toy off the shelf.

"Shar, I don't think I can. I'm sorry."

She glances in Zeke's direction, wistful. Her hot pink nails puncture the plastic packaging of the toy. Feigning interest, she says, "Oh. Well, I was going to purchase this, anyway."

I watch as her arms rapidly fill up with a variety of dog supplies. She always goes on autopilot when she shops to forget her problems. With each dollar spent, the future seems a little brighter until the next dilemma arises.

I fight feelings of guilt, not comprehending them. Assuming another person's identity is wrong, is it not? My eyes drift to a store employee who's feeding a lizard squirming mealworms. You know what mealworms remind me of? Maggots.

Glancing to the right of the store's reptile section, I see Zeke speaking to a mother and her son, who's about seven or eight, next to a large water-filled tank. If the boy were a dwarf, he'd definitely be Grumpy. His arms are defiantly crossed, and he's frowning. "I don't want pet guppies!" he moans, loudly.

His mom sympathetically says, "We don't have enough time to care for a chinchilla, honey. It's either fish or no pets at all."

"You promised me a pet for my birthday!"

"Guppies are perfectly fine pets. They're cheap and good for beginners."

"Guppies are boring. You can't cuddle with them, or take them for a walk. They don't fetch. They don't play. They do the same thing each day. They're no fun, too repetitious. They swim and swim and swim and never leave the fish tank, living a pointless life. They'll never get anywhere. I don't know why people want them."

My eavesdropping stops as the mother starts scolding her son for his insensitive words in a public place. I hate internally battling with myself all the time, trying to analyse everything that could go wrong or the potential of something good happening. I turn into freak show with only myself in the audience. And I want to stop being overly reserved. So here goes making a snap decision.

"Actually, yes, Sharpay, I'll do it." I take a deep, self-motivational breath. "I'm going to break out of the fish tank."

"Huh?" Dumbfounded, she shoots me an inquisitive look.

"I'll pretend to be you for this summer."

7.

Better make that three slaps to the face.