Charlotte and Nathan

Dearby and Timothy,

It has been a while since I have heard from you two. I hope everything is okay for the moment. I would like to thank you again for taking Charlotte and Nathan under your wing; it seems I have extended my gratitude more times than I can remember. You must excuse me but I don't find Sharpay and Ryan to be very suiting names. I would've appreciated something more graceful, something more Bruleur. I apologize if I am coming off a bit rude but the reason for this letter is for you to give Charlotte and Nathan another family heirloom.

Whether they know it or not they are family and it has been passed down from generation to generation so it seems fitting. The music box is for Charlotte and the pocket watch for Nathan. At the top of the music box is an extended piece of silver, turn it and the music box springs to life. The horses around it move to the music, much like a Merry-Go-Round. The stop watch is very simple so I feel no need to explain how it works. Surely everyone knows how a stopwatch works. The music box was made for my great-great-great-grandmother on her sixth birthday and the watch for her brother alike. Surprising enough they were twins much like my two little lovelies. I must leave now, there's lots to deal with at the moment.

Give them my love,

Rosetta.

"How insulting, 'not a suiting name,' what is the matter with her? Haven't we been through this enough times already?" Dearby Evans crumpled the letter, irritated that the mother of her children still wanted to be involved with them. It was her own fault; she chose to give them up for adoption years ago.

"Dearby, calm down, you always let her letters get to you. You mustn't let h-" Timothy cut himself off as he opened the cardboard box that accompanied the letter. He stared in shock at the rubies there were in place of the silver horses' eyes and at the point where every arch touched. It looked like a miniature Merry-Go-Round, just like Rosetta had said. The silver gleamed in the sunlight that came pouring through the kitchen window. "Wow it's…beautiful."

Dearby looked at the music box and stifled a gasp. "It is," she reached into the cardboard box and eagerly took out the pocket watch. It was gold, yet thin and light. A large 'B' was carved on the front and there was a small latch at the side to open it, revealing the face of the watch; a long gold chain was attached so it could also be hung around the neck. There was a thunder coming from the stairs at the side of the kitchen. Timothy and Dearby looked at each other nervously. Dearby slipped the pocket watch over her neck and crumpled the letter smaller into her hand. Timothy looked from the music box to his wife and picked it up, looking for a place to hide it.

"…I'm telling you she's blonde! Look at her parents they're both blonde! How could she be a brunette, Ryan?" a voice traveled into the room before the owner's body was visible. She was wearing white pencil cargo pants and a pink tank top with a short pink glittery jacket over it, hiding her shoulders.

"Sharpay, how could you miss the little truffle of black hair on top of her head?" Ryan emerged in a pair a jeans and a dark blue dress shirt which was, surprisingly, not tucked inside his shirt.

"Morning mom- Oh daddy, what's that?" Sharpay squealed at the thought of owning the big silver thing with horses her father held in front of him.

"It's for you, darling," Dearby forced a smile; "Your father and I were looking through some old family junk and found this for you!" Sharpay's brown eyes widened in excitement.

"Really? Thanks daddy! You guys are the best!" Sharpay ran towards her father, grabbing the music box out of his hands, "What is it?" she asked, gazing at the silver music box before her.

"It's a music box. Here look," Timothy took the music box and turned the top just like Rosetta said to in the letter and rested it down on the kitchen counter. The horses moved around the parasol-like roof.

"So it's a Merry-Go-Round music box? Weird, but awesome!" She cocked her head to the side as she listened to the music. "That sounds-"

"So familiar…" Ryan finished.

Dearby and Timothy exchanged nervous glances before trying to pull the attention away from the silver box, finding this small task hard to do. The four sat and listened for a while, Dearby and Timothy shifted uncomfortably in their seats while the twins stood there listening intently. Sharpay's eyes were glued to the horses turning around in a circle. One horse seemed to interest her the most, it had one gemstone missing where the right eye was supposed to be and it gave her an odd feeling she couldn't really explain. Listening to the music, Ryan felt as if he had heard it a long time ago, probably when he was a baby. He knew that there were supposed to be words but he couldn't remember which exactly.

The music came to an abrupt stop and Ryan and Sharpay snapped out of their daydream to see their mother with her hand on the intricately designed silver lid. She looked uneasy and extremely tense.

"Why don't you two head on off to school now?" she forced a weak smile at the twins then glanced sharply at Timothy.

"Oh-oh yes, you two should head on out now. Don't want to be late!"

"Hey mom where'd you get that?" Ryan pointed to the thin gold pocket watch hanging down over the top of her dress, glittering in the sunlight much like the music box. "It's …awesome…," he stuttered, trying to find the right word to describe the watch. "How old is it?" he mused as Dearby unclasped the chain and reluctantly handed the pocket watch over.

"Age doesn't matter, just put it away and go to school." Timothy cut him off after nodding to his wife.

"Actually daddy, age matters completely. The older it is, the more its worth and if it was owned by someone famous or something like that, it could be worth even more." Everyone turned to look at Sharpay in shock who was still looking at the music box absent-mindedly.

"Where'd you learn that, Kitten?" Dearby asked smiling.

"The internet," she shrugged then left the room.

"Thanks guys…" Ryan turned around and followed Sharpay still musing over the old gold watch. Dearby sat back down, shaking her head and mumbling to herself, then moving to hold her head in her hands while Timothy sat beside her patting her on the back awkwardly.

"Dearby, I don't think we should keep lying to the kids about the gifts. It-it just doesn't feel right." He cleared his throat as Dearby sent him a withering glare.

"What if they look for her and find her? What if they become attached? What if they decide to move out?" Dearby shook her head violently at the thought of Rosetta gaining custody of her children. The children she adopted from the new orphanage years ago; right after she had just left them there, alone and parentless; the children she took care of for the rest of their sixteen years and one month; the children she fed, washed, loved and provided all the things a mother should for her kids. Even though they weren't her kids biologically, she loved them more than she ever had imagined she would. She taught them to love their mother even though she gave them up for adoption. The twins were hers and there was no way she was going to risk losing them to Rosetta, who had shamelessly given them away and now wanted them back.

"Well they need to meet her sooner or later. You know this is the same exact thing we talked about before we signed the papers for custody. Maybe it's time for them to-"

"No buts or maybes. They will not be meeting her and that's final." Dearby stalked out of the kitchen, leaving Timothy frustrated and irritated.

Upstairs Sharpay stood on her balcony, enjoying the sun beaming down on her skin. She listened to the birds singing their morning greetings to those who cared to notice, the shuffling of feet from her brother's room and his singing -- loud enough for her to hear but soft enough for her to strain her ears.

"We go together like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong, remembered forever as shoobop sha wadda wadda yippity boom de boom…" Ryan changed his footing so he walked in time with the song, she could hear it. Sharpay heard him doing his victory dance in his bedroom along with his so-called theme song. She was half surprised he didn't play the song and burst into her room like he always did when their parents got them something. Rolling her eyes she turned her attention back to her music box. She put it on the ledge of her balcony and stared at it intently, barely noticing two figures walking lazily on the sidewalk. One of the figures looked up at the balcony after seeing the music box glittering from the corner of his eye.

The boy slowed down a bit and looked at the silver box with unknown anticipation. He stopped walking and really looked at the music box. Where have I seen that before? Troy didn't even bother to catch up with Chad or at least call out to him and tell him he stopped. He focused on the music box, sweeping past the person holding it without a glance, not caring if it was Ryan or his mother. He knew the Evans lived here, heck everyone knew the Evans lived here. The gold plate on one of their marble pillars next to their intercom gave it away. That and the fact that it was one of the biggest houses in Civilian Broadway, maybe even the whole of Albuquerque. He backed away, trying to get a better view of the music box. He heard Chad call out of surprise and stomped back over to him.

"What are you doing, Troy?" he looked up to where Troy was looking and arched his eyebrows as his view fell upon Sharpay Evans. "Don't tell me you're looking at her." He turned back to Troy who still didn't respond to him. "Troy? TROY!" he waved his hand in front of Troy's face.

"Huh-what? Yeah Chad, what do you want?"

"I want to know why you are staring at the Ice Queen." Chad crossed his arms defiantly, the morning breeze blowing his afro to the side.

"Ice Queen I'm not staring at any Ice…" his words got lost in the wind as he saw Sharpay with her elbows propped up on the ledge of the balcony, her head cocked to the side studying the music box. "Oh…"

"Why? Why? Why? Why on earth are you staring at Sharpay Evans?!?!" On hearing her name Sharpay snapped back into reality and frowned, looking for the disturbance.

"I'm not staring at her; I was just…looking at her box!" Sharpay's jaw dropped open after locating the two shouting idiots standing outside of her house. Overhearing Troy's last sentence she stood up and tugged at the bottom of her top, something she always did when she was pissed. She grabbed her music box, sent one last glare at the two and disappeared back into her room. "Crap, I think she heard me!" Troy leaned against the Evans' tall vine-covered wall.

"If you were looking at the box, why would you care if she heard you?" Chad persisted shaking his head.

Troy frowned at how such a simple action could mislead Chad, "When did you get so smart?" Taking Chad's outstretched hand he pulled himself away from their vinery wall and dusted himself off bitterly.

"Taylor," Chad shrugged and dropped the subject, waiting for basketball practice to further question Troy about his sudden affection for Sharpay Evans and her silver box. Troy urged his past memories to come out of their hiding places and show him where he had seen the silver box before. Intrigued, he only listened to half of Chad's ramblings and took one last look at the Evans house.

"Sharpay, Ryan, time to go to school!" Dearby stood at the bottom of the stairs by the kitchen, knocking Sharpay out of her near tantrum and Ryan out of his Ry-time and waited until she heard their thudding coming down the stairs. "I'll see you two at dinner." She held out car keys for Ryan and kissed Sharpay goodbye. "Bye Ducky," she squeezed Ryan in a tight hug before she watched them disappear in Ryan's black CRV.