Chapter Two

I stayed at the beach with the gang, and sure enough, I forgot all of their names besides Chad and Taylor. But also, Chad was right. After a couple more hours, I knew all of their names. We talked for a little bit, I made a sand castle with Jason, I played volleyball with Taylor, Chad and Zeke, and I even talked to Ryan about dancing. I found out that he was going to be a senior in high school, so he was one year older than all of us, and he was planning on attending Julliard on a dance scholarship. I danced when I was younger, but ever since my mom's company moved us a lot, I couldn't keep dancing. I hadn't really talked to Sharpay. I tried too, but she, well, shut me off. She shut us all off basically. She was just sort of there. No one seemed bothered by it, though, so I figured it was totally normal. I didn't talk to Kelsi at all. I felt bad, but I didn't want to keep her from reading her book, which she seemed so immersed in.

Hours later with the sun officially down; we were sitting by a fire. Zeke had run to his hotel room, and grabbed graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate so we could make s'mores.

Taylor walked over and sat next to me, handing me a marshmallow and a stick. Placing it onto the stick, I leaned forward so the marshmallow was near the fire. Taylor did the same, and for a minute, I just watched everyone. After one day, I had made friends already. I learned a lot about them, too. Chad was a major basketball player. It was his life. According to Taylor, he carried around a basketball 24/7. She managed to convince him to leave it in the hotel room, because there was no way you could play basketball at the beach. I learned that Jason loved film. He wanted to be a director when he grew up. He was planning on making a few short films that summer, and he already asked us if we wanted to star in it. Sharpay had immediately agreed. It was pretty much the first time that night when I saw her most ecstatic. I found out from Zeke that was apparently an aspiring Broadway star. She acted, sang, and danced. A girl of many talents, and she was pretty. I would have to keep a watch out for her. Zeke was a chef. He loved coming up with new recipes, and apparently his chocolate chip cookies were to die for. As for Kelsi, she was a pianist. She wrote their school musical's that ended up a big hit. She wrote all the songs, the scripts, she was the play-maker, as Chad put it. And as for Taylor, she was most like me. The smart, innocent girl. She was in all AP classes, and apart of the Scholastic Decathlon team at their high school. Observing them, I also found out a few other interesting things. Zeke was totally head over heels for Sharpay. I saw him wander over to where she lay more than enough times to try and convince her to participate in whatever it was they were currently doing, in which she would decline. I spotted Jason shooting Kelsi lingering looks, and Ryan would shoot Jason a death glare. Even though Kelsi was quiet and shy and kept to herself, she was already a part of a triangle without having the slightest clue. And as for Chad and Taylor, something was seriously going on. I found out that they argued like cats and dogs, but five minutes later Chad would say something and Taylor would laugh. They were complete opposites, but it's like they were meant for each other.

After all, opposites attract.

Chad looked into the fire pit, and tried containing his laughter.

"Uh, Gabriella... Your marshmallow is burning."

My eyes widened as I completely forgot about my marshmallow. I take the stick out, and grimace at the sight of my completely burnt marshmallow. Chad was on his back, breaking out into hysterics. I glare at him, sliding the melted marshmallow off the stick and throwing it at Chad. It hit him right on target; his hair. He gasped, his hand reaching upwards. He grabs the marshmallow, slowly taking it out of his crazy hair, but found that it was already melting. He groaned as he felt his hair all sticky from the remnants of the marshmallow.

"Oh, Gabriella, you're so going to regret that!"

I shriek, bolting onto my feet as Chad stood up, and we began a game of Try-And-Catch-Me. I screamed as he grabbed onto my arm, bringing me down. I ended up on his lap as he tickled me until tears were trickling down my face from the laughter.

"Ch-Chad, s-stop!"

Everyone was laughing at the sight. Taylor walked over, tugging on Chad's arms in attempt to get him to release me. He finally did, and I crawled over to Taylor's towel, wiping at my stray tears. "I'll get you back one day, Danforth." He smirked at the last-name usage.
"Bring it on, Montez." It was mind-blowing to me that I was already making friends, and so fast. I didn't know everything about them, and whenever they mentioned an inside joke, I'd instantly feel out of place, but I felt like I was welcomed, and that was appreciated.

Small talk was continued around the bonfire. I mainly listened since it was about their high school. They all attended the same one, East High, in Albuquerque, Mexico. They were talking about people I had never heard of, teachers that drove them nuts, tests soon to be coming, and sports.

"Chad, you should get the captain position on the basketball team this year. You deserve it more than... he does."

I frown. Who were they talking about now? And why were they referring to him as 'he' instead of by his real name? I was intrigued as I waited for Chad's response.

Chad shrugged, his gaze set on the fire. "He's not Voldemort or something, Tay. Just call him by his real name. Troy Bolton doesn't deserve the captain position, but you have to admit, he's the best player on the team."

Taylor rolls her eyes, smashing her marshmallow in between two graham crackers and adding bits of chocolate. "Sure, he's the best player... But he's the best player with the worst attitude. This makes you the worthiest candidate for the position."

Jason frowned, "Why are we talking about him, anyway? We just finished school... We shouldn't be talking about basketball yet. We shouldn't even be talking about anything school related. Besides, Gabi is here, and she has no clue what we're talking about. So why don't we stop talking about worthless Bolton, and include Gabriella in our conversations."

Everyone around the first is quiet. No one seemed to want to speak first, so gathering courage, Gabriella spoke.

"Who's Troy and why do you guys hate him?"

My voice sounded so small and fragile. It reminded me how I acted whenever it was my first day at a new school. I don't really know why I felt suddenly intimidated. Perhaps it was their attitude toward this mysterious Troy Bolton.

Taylor went rigid as she heard Gabriella's question, Sharpay stiffened as did Kelsi, Ryan, Zeke and Jason. Everyone seemed to turn toward Chad, waiting for his reaction. He remained stoic as he slowly turned and looked at me. Sure, I hadn't known him long, but I knew that he was fun-loving and he indeed acted like a five-year old. This side of Chad was new and slightly scary.

He shook his head twice, his eyes flickering from the fire. "He's just a guy that I hope you don't get to know, Gabi."

I frowned. I was obviously not expecting such a short response. If anything, I was expecting no response to my question, but that short one just left me hanging. I was curious now. Who was this boy and why did everyone think so harshly of him? Surely he couldn't have done something that bad.

"He's my ex-boyfriend... Just trust me when I say this, he's not someone you'd want to associate with, Gabriella," Sharpay said. She was staring at the fire, and I could have sworn I saw tears glistening in her eyes.

Jason groaned, "Obviously my speech wasn't good enough!"

Zeke stood up, brushing his swim trunks off from sitting on the sand. He cleared his throat. Everyone felt the sudden tension in the air. "Um, I'm going to be heading back inside... See you guys later?" Everyone nodded, including me. I assumed I was still welcomed... That is, if my simple question didn't ruin everything.

Taylor stood up shortly after Zeke left. "I'm going to turn in also. Gabriella, want to come with me? So you can know where my room is for tomorrow?" Despite the still noticeable tension in the air, I grinned. Taylor still liked me. I glanced at Chad who was still staring seriously at the fire. He seemed to be deep in thought. I grabbed my towel and my beach bag, and said a quick goodbye to Jason, Sharpay, Ryan, and Kelsi. Taylor's arms were around Chad's neck, and she pressed a chaste kiss to his neck before giving me a stern look. It was more like a warning... She didn't want me mentioning Troy again.

I gave a stiff nod and she softly smiled. "Bye guys," she called out. Everyone waved. I stood in front of Chad, feeling the heat of the fire on my back. "See you later, Danforth?" I asked hopefully. He looked up, and despite everything that happened minutes before, he smiled and nodded.

"See you tomorrow, Montez."

I walked up to Taylor and we began walking back to the hotel. We were quiet until we entered the elevator. Taylor was the one that broke the silence this time. To be honest, I was to scared to be the first to speak again after what happened back there.

"Sorry you had to deal with that. Jason was right; we shouldn't have been talking about that. You probably felt extremely awkward since you know nothing that's going on."

I reluctantly nod in agreement.

Taylor reached over, touching my arm softly. "We like you, Gabi. Don't think otherwise. Just because we have some... issues, doesn't mean that we don't want you hanging out with us."

I looked up, and stared at Taylor. I smiled, and couldn't resist but to wrap my petite arms around Taylor's neck. "Thank you, Taylor," I whisper. The elevator dings, and I notice that Taylor is on the seventh floor.

"What floor are you on?"

"Tenth, in room 204," I reply.

Taylor grins, "Sweet. I'll come by your room and pick you up at ten. How does that sound? Maybe wear your bathing suit underneath your clothes. But first, we're thinking of doing some shopping around here."

I nod, smiling. "Sounds fun. See you tomorrow."

We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I put the card into the slot, and it flashes green. I push the door open, and see my mom already asleep... And shocker, she's holding her Blackberry tightly to her chest. You do realize that was sarcasm, right?

I hop into the shower, feeling refreshed as I washed all the sand and salt water off of my body and hair. When I got out, I no longer smelled like fire and gross beach water. I put a big T-shirt on, and slip into the comfortable hotel bed. I turn to my side, staring out the window and at the big full moon that was hanging overhead.

My eye lids begin closing, but before I fell into unconsciousness, I made a promise to myself. I would find out who Troy Bolton was by tomorrow.

And that was a promise I was willing to fulfill.