Gabriella hurried down the hall, her anger boiling up inside her, this guy had to be the rudest person she had ever worked with, and she certainly wasn't going to put up with it. She quickly reached the elevators, and she frantically pushed the buttons. Once she had reached the main level, she hurried to the director's office. Shoving the door open she scrambled towards the office desk, where a short pleasant looking woman was scribbling on a paper. The woman immediately looked up with a frown when she saw Gabriella's state, and she quickly stood up and walked towards Gabriella. She placed a hand on her arm and looked at Gabriella's face, "are you quite all right Gabby?" Gabriella narrowed her eyes and she felt her anger growing once more, before she took a deep breath to calm herself.
"I'm sorry Ann, I need to switch my companion with someone else." She fidgeted as she gazed at the older woman.
"Oh no," Ann muttered as she went back round her desk and settled into her chair, "you've got Troy Bolton huh?"
"Um, yes?" Gabriella was confused, how did she know that? Sure Ann was organized, but she usually didn't memorize all the pairings at the Center. Ann sighed as she ran a hand through her thinning hair.
"My, my, my, that's the fourth one this week," she muttered worriedly, seemingly forgetting that Gabriella was standing there with a curious expression on her face.
"Fourth what?" Gabriella questioned, shifting her tote from her shoulder to the crook of her elbow. She wrinkled her brow as she watched Ann going through a file on her desk.
"You see Gabby," Ann said as she found a paper and pulled it out, "Troy's been here for a week now, without a companion. We keep matching him up with his peers, but he rejects each one. He turns them out of his room without a second thought, he seems so…" she trailed off as she gazed out the window. She paused, "Distant. You know?" Gabriella merely nodded. "We didn't give up on him quite yet, since I have this weird feeling that someone here is gonna get through to him. I just know it." She glanced at Gabriella, "Seeing as your one of our best companions, I kind of figured that that person would be you." Gabriella gaped, she shifted uncomfortably and brought her arms to cross over her chest.
"Why would you think I could get through to him?" she questioned hesitantly.
"Oh, just a feeling," Ann said sighing, "I'm afraid you're his last chance here, after you, we're gonna have to let him go back to his regular life." She shifted the paper in her fingers, "Troy's been through a lot, death, like you," she said this hesitantly and watched as pain flashed briefly in Gabriella's eyes, "and unlike you, he's also been abused. " She shook her head sadly, "His dad just gave up after his mom died, started taking his grief out on his son, now I figure he's all alone, skipping school, that type of thing." She glanced at Gabriella who was staring intently at the picture on the piece of paper in Ann's hands, a picture of Troy.
"I-I guess, I could give it another shot." Gabriella said hesitantly.
Ann smiled, "Oh would you Gabriella? I don't know what I'd do without you, just- if it doesn't work out, let me know okay?" Gabriella bobbed her head, shouldering her bag. "You can start fresh tomorrow, go home for now, Troy needs a lot of patience, he needs someone with a heart, and if I had to pick someone like that, well, I'd pick you." Gabriella smiled slightly, and reached for the file.
"Okay, thanks Ann, I'll try my best to not let you down."
"I'm sure you won't Gabby. Good bye."
Gabriella left the Center and began her walk home, stopping at her favorite coffee shop for a cool drink to calm the butterflies that had begun swarming in her stomach. She couldn't believe that the next day she'd be working with one of the biggest jerks that she had ever met.
After dinner that night, Gabriella phoned Sharpay, one of her best friends since preschool. "Hey," she said slowly into her cell as Sharpay answered the phone in a perky voice.
"Hi Gab, what's up, you sound kind of down."
"Ugh, Shar, you will not believe what happened to me at the Center today!" Gabriella grumbled as she recounted the entire visit with Troy to Sharpay.
"Hmmmm," Sharpay wondered. "Gab are you sure that you weren't overreacting a little to Troy ignoring you? I mean maybe he can't hear that well or something."
Gabriella snorted, "I highly doubt that."
"Not to mention the fact that you said you were in a terrible mood this morning." Sharpay reminded Gabriella gently. "Maybe you just need to give the guy a break and give him a second chance. You heard what his past is like, and I know you, you have got to feel some kind of empathy for this guy."
Gabriella sighed, she knew that Sharpay was right, she wasn't acting at all like herself that morning, she usually didn't snap like that when she met someone new. "I guess so," she mumbled, "I'll start fresh tomorrow."
"That's great hun," Sharpay sighed, "I guess this means we're off for the mall tomorrow?"
"Got that right Shar, but if you want me to be in the spirit of doing the right thing you'll have to hold off on your little shopping spree until next weekend."
Sharpay giggled, "I'll call you tomorrow okay? See how it goes down at the Center."
"I guess so, I can't say I'm looking forward to it."
"It'll be fine, be your usual nice happy self, it'll be great, I think Ann is right about you cracking this Troy guy."
"Huh, okay Shar, thanks. Call me."
"Sure thing, bye!"
"Bye Shar." Gabriella shut the phone and scrambled into her bed. Once she was under the comforter she sighed, tomorrow was a big day, and she had made a deal with herself already, there was no way she'd give up on Troy Bolton.