"That was the strangest thing ever!" Gabriella thought, opening her notebook at a blank page. "I'm sure I've seen that guy before!"
She spent the rest of the period furiously searching her brain for some clue at where she'd seen the boy before.
'You'd think I'd remember his eyes!' Gabriella thought, slumping in her seat. 'They're so blue!'
The bell rang, signaling the end of first period. She stuffed her notebook in her bag and stood up to leave.
"Hey, Gabriella?" a voice said behind her.
She turned around to find Sharpay smiling. "What class are you at? Can I help you find it?"
"That would be great." Gabriella smiled back gratefully. "I'm at chemistry." She checked her timetable. "Room 203."
"That's where Troy is!" Sharpay exclaimed. "I'm at art but Troy will help you. Right, Troy?"
Troy nodded. "Sure."
The three of them left the classroom. Sharpay gave Troy a quick kiss before heading off in the opposite direction.
"So your name is Gabriella?" Troy asked, hoping to make small talk.
"Yeah." Gabriella said. "And you're Troy."
Troy nodded. "Um, where did you move from?"
"New York." Gabriella said.
"Woah, I'm jealous!" Troy smiled. "I'd love to go to New York! They have excellent basketball over there."
"They also have excellent shops!" Gabriella grinned.
'Wow, his eyes are amazing!' she thought to herself, secretly admiring him. 'But I can't like him! He's dating Sharpay.'
"This is us." Troy said, stopping outside a classroom. "You go ahead, I'm waiting for my friends."
Gabriella nodded and entered the room, sneaking one last look at Troy's piercing blue eyes.
Gabriella was relieved when the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. She hated starting a new school. She didn't like much attention and all the curious looks made her shy and nervous.
She opened her locker and took some things out.
"Gabriella." Sharpay's girly voice was unmistakable – she had heard it all day.
Gabriella shut her locker and turned to face Sharpay. "What's up?"
"I'm having a party Friday night. If you come, it might be a good place to make some friends."
Gabriella smiled at her. "Maybe. I'm not sure if I'm up for a party yet."
Sharpay nodded and scribbled something on a piece of bright pink notebook paper. "Well, here's my number. Call me anytime!" She waved goodbye and walked quickly away in her heels towards Troy who was waiting for her at the end of the hallway.
Gabriella put the piece of paper in her pocket and exited the building. She had to walk home alone, at least until she made some new friends.
Later that night, Gabriella was sitting in her room talking to her best friend from her old school on the phone.
"So, did you make any new friends?" Valerie asked.
"Kind of." Gabriella replied, kicking off her shoes. "There was this one girl who helped me find my classes and stuff."
"And, any guys?" Valerie asked. Gabriella could tell she was smiling at the other end of the phone.
"Well, that's the weird thing! There was one guy-"
"Cute?" Valerie asked, interrupting Gabriella.
"Unbelievably." Gabriella replied. "But the thing is, I've seen him somewhere before."
"Are you sure you've not seen someone who looks like him?" Valerie questioned.
"No, I'm positive it was him." Gabriella asked. "But it's driving me crazy trying to remember!"
"Keep thinking, you'll probably work it out soon." Valerie encouraged. "Keep me posted, okay?"
"I will." Gabriella promised.
Troy was also in his room, attempting to do his algebra homework but his mind kept drifting back to the brown-haired, dark-eyed girl he met today.
'What's her name again?' he thought to himself. 'Gabriella something… Gabriella Montez. I'm sure I've seen her somewhere before…'
The phone rang, making him jump a little and interrupting his thoughts. He pressed the Speaker button.
"Hello?"
"Hey Babe!" it was Sharpay, sounding cheerful.
"Hey honey." Troy said. "What's up?"
"I'm just making last-minute party plans. Can you bring some alcohol?"
"Yeah, I think I can get some." Troy said, ripping a piece of paper from his notebook.
"Yay! I'm so excited!" Sharpay giggled. "I'll see you tomorrow baby."
She hung up and Troy went back to his homework, Gabriella still on his mind.
"You need pairs for your chemistry project." Mr Ferguson, Gabriella's teacher droned. "Now to make things fair, I've put your names in a hat and I'll choose your partner by picking randomly. This means there shouldn't be any problems this time."
He put his hand in the hat and began reading out names.
Gabriella listened closely, secretly hoping for Troy so that she could look at his eyes all day.
Troy was staring out of the window, in direction of the outside basketball courts, wishing that he was there right now, running around the court, sweaty and in the zone.
"Troy Bolton…" Mr Ferguson said, interrupting his thoughts.
Troy sat up straighter, hoping for Chad as his partner. Both Chad and Jason were in his class but Jason wasn't exactly Einstein.
"And Gabriella Montez." Mr Ferguson announced.
'How lucky was that?' Gabriella thought triumphantly to herself. She turned around to glance at Troy who gave her a nod and a smile. She turned around to face the front of the class again, not letting Troy see that her cheeks were a little red.
'He's so cute!' she thought to herself. 'But I can't like him, he's dating Sharpay!'