Disclaimer: I do not own anything....
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Troy stood up and faced Travis Parker. Everyone was at the edge of their toes trying to see what would happen next. Troy without warning punched Travis Parker making him fall to the ground. Everyone clapped and cheered. Gabriella clenched her fists. How can people be encouraging something so hurtful? As Travis tried to get up again Troy punched him in the head making Travis fall to the ground once again. Travis groaned clutching his head. He curled up in a little ball trying to make the pain dissapear. The crowd oohed and ahhed as they clapped. Troy laughed and circled Travis.
"Tiny wimp who can't even stand up for yourself!" Troy spat. Ryan stood up from his seat and walked past Troy and Travis. The crowd parted as Ryan walked through. Chad and Zeke looked at each other before looking at Troy.
Gabriella stared at Ryan wondering why he was leaving during F4's little 'game'. Ryan looked up and glanced at Gabriella before walking away from the cafeteria. Gabriella heard a whimper which made her look back to Troy beating up Travis. Troy kicked him in his stomach smirking.
"What's the point?" Troy said looking up. "You're not even fighting back. It's a waste of time!" Troy shoved his hands in his pockets. Chad stood up.
"Game over!" Chad announced. Zeke stood up.
"It was boring." Zeke said.
"Choose better next time Troy." Chad piped in. Troy rolled his eyes and snarled a bit. He walked out of the cafeteria with Chad and Zeke following. The crowd clapped and cheered for them. Gabriella rolled her eyes. Venetreul looked down. Gabriella turned to Venetreul.
"Let's go back to class." Gabriella said. Venetreul smiled a little and they tried to squeeze their way past the crowd.
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Gabriella ran through the hallways. After dropping Venetreul at their class, she wanted to release her anger. The only way she could do that was to go to her special place. She stopped at a door and opened it slowly. It was the fire escape stairwell for the school. Closing the door behind her, she marched down the stairs to a little balcony used as a turning point for the stairs. She looked from the balcony her head boiling with anger.
"Idiots! All of them!" Gabriella whispered in fury. She started pacing back and forth. "What's so freakin' great about F4? Don't get so happy and proud just because of a disgracing game. Stupid little bitches." Gabriella clenched her fists. "How is it fun to see your own classmate get beat up? This...is... soo" Gabriella sucked in a deep breath. "UNBELIEVABLE." Gabriella yelled at the top of her lungs. She let out a sigh of relief. Gabriella walked up the stairs. What she didn't know is that a pair of eyes were following her.
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Just a year and a half to go. Just a year and a half to endure this school and F4. I will keep quiet and try not to stand out. Please god, that's my only wish.Gabriella thought to herself in class. She looked up to the teacher discussing the topic which she didn't know what was. She looked down at her table and closed her eyes. She heard a couple of snickers from the back of the classroom. She peeked behind her to see three girls giggling at her. Their names were Lea, Mia and Tia. They were the brats of the juniors and like to tease Gabriella about her poorness. Gabriella sighed. She looked down at her schoolwork and started copying down the board.
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"Are you serious? Somone got a red notice again?" Sharpay asked in shock. Gabriella looked down at her uniform of pink mini-skirt and white apron. She nodded and looked up to meet Sharpay's brown eyes. Sharpay was the owner of the cake shop Sharpay's Sweet Suprises. She had let Gabriella have a job and acted like a sister figure to her. She was also her best friend and childhood friend. Sharpay shook her head and started wiping down the little round tables. Gabriella sat down and Sharpay gave her a piece of Strawberry Shortcake to eat during her break. Sharpay started wiping down the glass counter showcasing all of the sweet delicacies.
"So what did this Travis do?" Sharpay asked curiously.
"At the cafetieria, Travis bit into an orange and the juice squirted out." Gabriella answered. Sharpay's jaw dropped in shock.
"Just for that?" Sharpay asked.
"No of course not." Gabriella said giggling. "The juice landed into Troy Bolton's eyes." Sharpay shook her head. "F4 means flower four. Damn, it's so shameless. They're made of boogers!" Gabriella said fuming as Sharpay burst out laughing.
"Boogers?" Sharpay said giggling. "If you classmates at Johnson School heard you say that they would take you down!" Gabriella nodded.
"Hey can I take the cake home that's in the freezer?" Gabriella asked. Sharpay stopped to look up at Gabriella.
"That cake already expired." Sharpay said raising one eyebrow.
"No it's okay. I've only had a stomachache once!" Gabriella said.
"Fine." Sharpay said reluctantly. Gabriella jumped up and went to the freezer to retrieve the cake. Sharpay chucked to herself. Gabriella came back with a box in her hand and stuffed it into her bag.
"You are amazing." Sharpay said.
"It's just one cake!" Gabriella protested.
"Not that!" Sharpay said. "It's how you can deal with the F4. You always looked out for our friends and I. Even if you were five years younger. You had a lot of spunk. Remember that time when I was in sixth grade and you were in first! That guy stole my hat and threw it in the boy's bathroom. So you punched him square in the face! And that's not the only time." Sharpay sighed and looked up to the sky. "The students at Johnson don't know that protecting caring Gabriella."
"I wish that I could just punch them and make them leave Johnson School!" Gabriella said defensively. She sighed and looked up. "But then..." Sharpay just smiled and dissappeared into the baking room.
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"Mother, why are there eggs in the soup?" Gabriella asked wondering if her mother had finally snapped. Maria Montez just laughed. Maria Montez is Gabriella's mom. She cares for her daughter a lot. Bobby Montez, Gabriella's father was sitting in the dining room with Gabriella's little brother Matt Montez.
"If I boiled them seperately I would waste electricity!" Maria said. She took some mashed potatoes and handed it to Bobby. She turned around to the kitchen and instantly her face lit up. "Oh Gabriella I have news! Starting tomorrow, I'll put your lunch in this!" She took out an old lunch box with vintage designs.
"WHAT?" Gabriella asked in suprise.
"I found it while cleaning the closet!" Maria said proudly.
"But maybe such a grand lunch box would be too much for school." Gabriella said.
"When I got married to your father, my grandmother gave me this lunch box." Maria said completely ignoring what Gabriella said. "Isn't it nice?"
"Oh that is nice!" Bobby said.
"See!" Maria exclaimed. "Most importantly, I'll put you favorite chicken salad sandwich with the right amount of seasoning, your favorite rice pudding, an omlette and some string beans." Maria was into grand lunchboxes.
"I don't need something so fancy!" Gabriella protested. Maria not hearing what Gabriella said took the food to the dining table/living room. Matt waited excitedly for dinner. For an 8th grader he acted like a five year old boy. Voice and all. Bobby filled up his usual glass of beer and handed it to his wife.
"I think this is it for now Maria. Maybe I can save the bottle for 3 more days!" Bobby said. Maria took the 2 liter bottle and sighed.
"Bobby I told you that a bottle a week is fine." Maria said.
"Well I want set a record!" Bobby said stubbornly. "I will save this bottle of beer for 10 days." Maria and Matt applauded while Gabriella shook her head. If there was an award for most embarassing family, the Montez's will win the gold.
"Well I should challenge myself too!" Matt said in his high voice. "I want to go to a high school with the cheapest fees around."
"Do your best!" Maria and Bobby said while applauding. Gabriella looked down trying to dissapear.
"Look guys, if you're having so much trouble trying to pay the fee for Johnson School, I can just quit you know." Gabriella said hoping that her method will work.
"Don't take it seriously Gabriella! It's just a joke about being cheap!" Maria said. From the bottom of their hearts, Gabriella's family was happy about Gabriella going to Johnson School. Mostly because they get to brag about it. They were saving up money for Gabriella's sake so she can attend Johnson School. They encourage her with their smiles. That was the reason why Gabriella couldn't bring herself to say such things like 'I want to quit Johnson School.' Gabriella put down her fork and stood up.
"I need to go to the bathroom." Gabriella strode away to the tiny bathroom. She locked the door and sat down on the closed toilet seat. She sighed. "I never should have gone to Johnson's in the first place." Instantly, Gabriella remembered the first time she went to Johnson School's orientation.
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"Hello my name is Sharon Cooper and I graduated in 2000." Sharon Cooper said. Gabriella looked in awe with her fabulous features and tall figure. She looked like a model. Gabriella looked at her guide and saw that she is Cooper Company's president's daughter and studies abroad at a school in France. "Welcome to Johnson School."
"What a great girl!" Maria said squealing.
"Shhh!" Gabriella whispered. She looked up to see Sharon staring right at her. Sharon smiled and turned back to continue with her speech infront of the rest of the potential Johnson students.
"I'd like to say something to those that are deciding on what path to take. Be true to yourself. If you do that you will have a year at Johnson School you will never regret or forget."
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Gabriella had gone to Johnson School wanting to be like this wonderful person. "I thought I would have a more wonderful school life." Gabriella whispered to herself. "I hate Johnson School!" Gabriella whispered in fury F4 in her mind. "I HATE THE ARROGANT F4! I hate my cruel classmates!" But I hate myself because I can't say anything. Gabriella thought. Gabriella groaned and hit her head on the wall multiple times.
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"Unbelievable." Gabriella said to herself. She looked at the gourmet food on the rest of her classmate's plates as she looked at her lunch. Way too mediocre compared to the rest of the people in the cafeteria. She looked at her lunch and shook her head. "This is pretty unbelievable too." Gabriella looked up and saw a bunch of boys cornering a girl.
"Hey you're the new girl Venetreul right?" The boy asked. "You want to sit with us?" Venetreul struggled to speak.
"C'mon! Let's go!" Another boy said. Gabriella stood up and walked over to the boys.
"Hey Venetreul come sit with me." Gabriella took Venetreul's hand and led her to the table Gabriella was sitting at. Ventreul sat down across Gabriella and smiled.
"You don't have to call me Ventreul, my name is Cherry." Cherry said. Gabriella smiled.
"Gabriella." Gabriella said and Cherry smiled also.
"I'm very bad with guys. I also don't think I can get used to the people of this school either." Cherry said.
"By any chance, are you a commoner like me?" Gabriella said excitedly. Cherry tilted her head in confusion and looked at Gabriella's sandwich. She screamed slightly.
"Is that a rotten fish?" Cherry said pointing to the sandwich.
"It's a chicken salad sandwich." Gabriella said. Cherry still looked confused. "You're a rich girl after all." Gabriella sighed. A rich girl wouldn't understand what a chicken salad sandwich was. Gabriella having two sandwiches gave one to Cherry. "Try it Cherry." Cherry nervously took a bite. Her eyes lit up and she squealed.
"This is very good." Cherry said excitedly. Gabriella smiled.
"Eat more." Gabriella said motioning her to keep going. Cherry took another bite and grinned.
"So Cherry huh?" Gabriella sighed. "What a good name."
"Why?" Cherry said. "Gabriella is a good name too. It sounds exotic."
"I'd rather have a sweet name like Cherry!" Gabriella said. Cherry picked up her plate to give to the kitchen when she bumped into a tall figure. Making a loud crash the things flew everywhere and had orange juice landing on the figure. The figure looked down at his now dirty shirt and looked at Cherry with angry blue eyes. Yes you have it. Cherry just bumped into and dirtied Troy Bolton's shirt.