Chapter 2
On Friday, in the front of the school, Kelsi, Gabriella, Brittany, and Taylor met up. Gabriella was just telling them about her plan to get Ryan to tell her what he likes in a girl when Troy, Chad, Zeke, and Ryan walked over.
"Oh my gosh, there he is!" Kelsi said, turning pink.
"Relax," Brittany said, patting Kelsi on the back. "It'll be fine. Gabriella's plan is foolproof. They'll never know."
"Yeah, don't worry. I'm going to make sure there's no way Ryan and the guys could possibly figure it out. Okay?" Gabriella said looking at Kelsi. "I'm not going to blow your cover. Trust me."
"Well, okay," Kelsi sighed.
"Alright, here I go," whispered Gabriella. She walked over to Ryan and stood in front of the table he was sitting at with the guys.
"Hey guys! Hey Ryan."
"Oh, hi Gabriella," Ryan said, looking up at her. "What's up?"
"I'm doing a survey for the school newspaper," Gabriella took a pad and pencil out of her bag and held in front of her. "They're doing an article about what guys like in girls. Can you give me your opinion? The deadline's this afternoon," Gabriella held her breath, hoping she didn't drop any hints at all.
"Uh, sure I guess," Ryan said, twiddling his thumbs. "I guess I would say the girl has to be herself. I like it when they're funny, smart, talented, nice, and pretty. I like it when they have a little class in their outfits, sort of flashy, eye catching kind of stuff."
"Great, thanks Ryan! I'll be sure to give you a copy if they want to go through with the survey." Gabriella scribbled down what Ryan said on her pad and ran over to the girls.
"That was weird," Chad said.
"You said it," Zeke replied.
"Why do you think the newspaper's doing an article about stuff like that?" Ryan asked the guys.
"No idea," Troy said. "But you know, the girl in charge of the paper is boy crazy. That might be why."
"Yeah, probably," the guys mumbled.
"Hey, speaking of which, I got an idea on how to ask Kelsi what she likes in guys." Troy whispered.
"What is it?" Ryan asked eagerly.
"I figured I'll just ask her, because I really couldn't think of anything that'll not make her suspicious. I don't think she'll suspect anything really though."
"Alright, but you've got to make sure she won't know." Ryan said. He did not want anyone to find out he liked Kelsi, especially Kelsi and Sharpay.
"Don't worry, I'll ask her right after class." Troy replied. "I'm trying to help Ryan as much as I can, but what if Kelsi doesn't like him?" Troy thought. "Let's all hope she does."
Right after class, as Troy promised, he went to find Kelsi and ask her.
"Hey, Kelsi!" Troy shouted, jogging down the hall after her. Kelsi stopped and turned around.
"Oh, hi Troy!" Kelsi exclaimed, smiling. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "What's up?"
"I wanted to ask you about something," Troy said, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice. "I heard there was this guy around school who liked you and he came up to me and asked me if I'd ask you what you like in a guy yo see if he fit the profile so he could go out with you."
"Oh, well okay…I guess I like guys who are funny, smart, talented, nice, and cute. I like it when they have a little class in their outfits, like eye-catching kind of stuff. Like what Ryan wears." Kelsi said. She suddenly turned pink in her cheeks. She hoped that didn't give away anything.
"Thanks, Kels." Troy said. "I'll talk to you later." He ran off down the hall in the other direction to tell Ryan. Kelsi, meanwhile, ran off to find Gabriella. She saw Gabriella down the hall about to enter music class.
"Gabriella!" Kelsi called. "Wait a second!" Gabriella stopped and turned to face Kelsi.
"Hey, Kelsi. What's up?"
"I need to talk to you, Taylor, and Brittany today at lunch. Can you meet me over at a table near the windows?"
"Sure I'll pass it on to Taylor. I have English with her next period." Gabriella frowned in concern. What could have Kelsi so worked up?
"Thanks! See you then." Kelsi smiled at her then ran off down the hall to calculus class. Gabriella, though, was still standing in the doorway of her class. What had Kelsi so excited?
Troy met up with Ryan in his geography class. He was just about to walk over to Ryan and talk to him when the bell rang.
"Please sit down Mr. Bolton," said his geography teacher, Mr. Fisher.
"Yes sir, Mr. Fisher," Troy sighed and took a seat in front of Ryan. As soon as Mr. Fisher started lecturing and pulled down a world map and pointing to various countries, Troy ripped a piece of paper out of his notebook and scribbled a note to Ryan:
Hey, I got the results from Kelsi.
He folded the paper up and slipped it to Ryan. Ryan quickly read it and scribbled back.
What'd she say?
Troy and Ryan began scribbling back and forth, not paying attention really to the class.
She said 'I like guys who are funny, smart, talented, nice, and cute. I like it when they have a little class in their outfits, like eye-catching kind of stuff. Like what Ryan wears'.
She said she likes it when guys wear stuff what I wear?
Yeah. So you really just need something more eye-catching, that's all. Wanna go to the mall tonight? Chad and Zeke don't have any plans, I know that. We can all sit together at lunch and discuss it.
Okay. But what about Sharpay?
We'll tell her we need to talk about guy stuff. She'll get it.
Alright, she'll probably sit with her drama club friends.
Okay.
Troy ended the note there. He was thinking about Kelsi. "What if she doesn't like Ryan? He'll be crushed. And then what? There's still the big dinner with Gabby. God, that's making me nervous. Maybe I should tell the guys…or not."
At lunch, Gabriella, Kelsi, Taylor, and Brittany sat at one table at one the end of the cafeteria, and Troy, Ryan, Zeke, and Chad sat at another at the other end of the cafeteria. Sharpay was a little upset and first. But she got over it pretty soon and sat with her drama buddies that day.
Gabriella got all the girls together and sat them down.
"Okay, Kelsi, what is going on?" Gabriella sighed. "You were so worked up when I saw you before music. What's going on?"
"Troy said there was this guy in school who liked me and he asked Troy to ask me what I like in guys to see if the guy who liked me fit the profile!" Kelsi exclaimed, saying all of that in one breath.
"Did he say who the guy was?" Taylor asked, intrigued, raising an eyebrow.
"No," Kelsi said quietly. "I'm afraid I might have given something away though," Kelsi said, sounding glum. She heard a shout and saw Ryan standing up at a table with Troy, Zeke, and Chad, and his mouth was hanging open. Chad grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. Kelsi turned away and sighed. "I said something about Ryan."
"Girl, what did you say?" Brittany asked, her mouth hanging open, like Ryan's was a minute ago.
"I said I like guys who were outfits like Ryan's." Kelsi muttered.
"What?" Gabriella, Taylor, and Brittany exclaimed at the same time.
"Shhhh!" Kelsi said a finger to her lips. She looked around and then gestured for the girls to lean in. "Troy didn't seem to notice. He said goodbye right after that and ran off down the hall."
"If he did that, he probably didn't notice a thing then, Kels," Gabriella said, leaning back. "I've known Troy for a while and if does that, he didn't notice anything or see anything he didn't want to see other than what he wanted to see or hear."
"Well, if we're going to get you prepped and ready for Ryan, we need to hit the mall, tonight," Brittany said. "We've gotta see what he said so we know what we're shopping for. Can you get your pad out Gabby?" Gabriella reached inside her bag and read aloud from it.
"Funny, smart, talented, nice, and pretty. Class in their outfits, eye-catching." Gabriella smiled and closed the pad. "You think you'll find something at the mall you like sort of like that that you would wear Kelsi?" Kelsi sighed and hugged herself and rocked back and forth.
"I guess so," she said slowly. "Anything for Ryan."
"Ryan, I've never seen you more freaked than today," Troy said, plopping down at the table. "It's just a crush. Why did you freak when I said she said she liked it when guys wore stuff you wore?"
"Don't you know what that means?" Ryan said. "She might like me! Can't you see that?"
"How exactly did you ask Kelsi?" Zeke wondered aloud.
"I said there was this guy who liked her and he wanted me to ask what she liked in a guy to see if he fit the profile so he could go out with her." Troy said.
"You what?" Ryan screamed, jumping up from the table, his mouth hanging open. Chad grabbed Ryan's arm and pulled him down.
"Dude, calm down. You want to get caught?" Chad whispered, angrily staring at Ryan.
"Okay, I'll calm down," Ryan breathed. "But why did you have to ask her like that, Troy? It's so obvious who the guy is! She's probably laughing her head off with Gabriella and Taylor and Brittany right now."
"Kelsi wouldn't do that," Zeke said, shaking his head and wrinkling his nose. "I helped Kelsi with decorating the gym for dances back at East High and she'd never do something like that. She'd probably clam up and not talk about it."
"Are you sure?" Ryan questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Positive." Zeke said.
"All right, enough chit chat," Chad said, closing his eyes and waving his hand as if to brush something away. "I say we hit the mall tonight to buy Ryan some cool new threads."
"You up for it man?" Troy said, looking at Ryan. Ryan scratched his chin and rubbed his shoulder.
"Sure," he said after a moment. "Anything for Kelsi."
Sharpay was admiring herself in her locker mirror when Zeke walked up.
"Hey, Hon," Zeke exclaimed smiling at Sharpay.
"Hi Zeke!" Sharpay cried, hugging him. "Are we going to hang out tonight?" Zeke sighed and Sharpay frowned, worried. "What's wrong?"
"I can't tonight, babe," Zeke sighed, leaning against the lockers. "Troy, Chad, Ryan, and I are hitting the mall to buy Ryan some cool new threads."
"Really?" Sharpay said, a tone of surprise in her voice. She was surprised by two things: One, Zeke always hung out with her on Friday nights and never cancelled, unless it was a super important reason. And number two, Ryan hadn't told her about going to the mall with the guys, and he usually told Sharpay everything, from grades to what work teachers were giving out. "What does Ryan need new clothes for?" Sharpay knew if there was something she didn't know, she'd find it out, no matter what.
"Uh, uh, he-he just said for no-no reason," Zeke stuttered and laughed awkwardly. He was a horrible liar, especially in front of girls. "But, um, I promise you, I'll call you as soon as were done, okay?"
"Well, okay," Sharpay looked into her locker and sighed. She loved hanging out with Zeke and she loved her brother, but now they were both doing something without her? Something just didn't make sense. She was going to get to the bottom of this, no matter what. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. It was perfect. She smiled to herself and slammed her locker shut. "I'll talk to you later then. I have to go home and walk Boi. I'll see you later." She kissed Zeke on the cheek and then ran off down the hall.
Right after school, Gabriella, Taylor, Brittany, and Kelsi all got into Gabriella's car and headed over to the mall. When they got there, Kelsi took them to her favorite store.
"What about this?" Kelsi asked, holding up a lime-green turtleneck sweater.
"EW, no," Taylor said wrinkling her nose. "You want to look cute and flashy, attract attention. You don't want to look like a turtle."
"Oh, okay," Kelsi hung the sweater back up and kept looking through the clothes.
"Kelsi, I found the perfect thing for you!" Gabriella exclaimed. All the girls came over to Gabriella to see what she found. Gabriella held up a denim jumper with a short sleeved white shirt.
"Do you like it?"
"Yes!" Kelsi exclaimed. "I would wear stuff like that every day! I'm going to go try it on!" Kelsi took the outfit from Gabriella and ran to the dressing room. She tried it on and came out and modeled it from the girls.
"Kelsi, you look like a million bucks!" Brittany exclaimed, clasping her hands.
"Ryan's going to completely melt when he sees you!" cried Taylor.
"Totally!" Gabriella agreed.
"You think so?" Kelsi asked. She felt a little self-conscious. Nobody had ever asked her out before, much less looked at her like she was pretty like a super model.
"Yes!" all the girls exclaimed.
"Okay, I'll get it!" Kelsi cried. She went back in and changed and then headed over to the cash register to pay for the clothes.
"Wait!" Gabriella said, grabbing Kelsi's arm.
"What?"
"You have to get some shoes with your outfit, and a little bit of jewelry."
"Do I have to?"
"Come on Kels, you already look cute, but with that outfit and some shoes and jewelry, you'll look fabulous!"
"Okay!" Kelsi laughed. She and the girls picked out a pair of red slip on shoes and some silver jewelry to go with the outfit. After Kelsi had paid for the outfit and things, the girls went to the food court to grab a bite for dinner.
"Girls, I've never felt so happy in my entire life till I did this," Kelsi told the girls, sitting down with her chicken sandwich and soda.
"Why?" they asked.
"Well, to tell you the truth, I've always been really quiet and shy until high school last year. I was a total pushover and let everyone control me," Kelsi explained. "When I was in middle school, I met Sharpay and Ryan. I instantly fell in love with Ryan, but I was always too shy to tell him. And Sharpay controlled me day and night. But ever since I became friends with you all, I've come out of my shell a little and made my own decisions. And I don't let Sharpay control me as much anymore."
"Aw, thanks Kelsi," Brittany sighed.
"So, are you ready for school on Monday?" Taylor inquired.
"I think so," Kelsi nodded. "You honestly think I have a chance with Ryan?" Kelsi heard someone behind her gasp and she turned around. A lady with long black hair was sitting at a table with sunglasses on, reading a magazine. Kelsi shrugged and turned back around.
"For sure!" Brittany said. "You are one of the prettiest girls I know, and if Ryan doesn't fall for you, then he must be stupid." The girls laughed but Kelsi suddenly gasped.
"Oh my gosh!" There's Ryan and the guys!" They all turned to see Ryan walk into the mall with Troy, Chad, and Zeke.
"Quick this way!" Gabriella cried. They all jumped up and ran after Gabriella down the escalator and into the bathroom.
"That was close!" Taylor breathed, slumping against the wall.
"Too close!" Brittany added.
"Hey, I'll go out and see if they're gone and then come back in to tell you if they are and then we'll pick up some last minute things and leave." Gabriella told them. She left through the door and headed back upstairs. The guys were just passing the escalator when she came up.
"Hey, Gabby," Troy said, walking over and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, Mom needed me to pick up some work stuff for her at the office supplies store downstairs," Gabriella knew she shouldn't lie, but she had to keep Kelsi a secret. "What are you doing here?"
"Um, we were, um," Troy couldn't think of what to say so he didn't blow Ryan's cover.
"We're buying me some basketball stuff," Ryan jumped in. "Since I've been hanging out with Troy, Chad, and Zeke so much, I wanted to learn how to play, so we came to get me a basketball and some gym shorts and sneakers."
"That's cool," Gabriella said truthfully. "I've gotta go now. I told Taylor I'd be back by nine-thirty to study with her."
"Alright, I'll call you later," Troy said. He gave her a hug and then waved goodbye.
"Troy, you haveto get better at lying," Chad said, shaking his head.
"Yeah, you almost blew Ryan's cover," Zeke agreed.
"It's okay, I made up a lie and Gabriella believed it, so that's all that matters now, right?" Ryan asked. The guys all mumbled in agreement.
Ryan took the guys over to his favorite store and had them help him find some clothes.
"Ryan, what about this?" Chad asked. Ryan turned to see Chad holding up a black muscle t-shirt that said "Thug" on it.
"Chad, do I look like a thug to you?" Ryan asked.
"No." Chad, with a disappointed look on his face, put the shirt back on the rack. The guys all found cool things, but Ryan turned every single one down. Finally, Troy came through with an outfit.
"Ryan, this is so you!" he exclaimed. He held up a short sleeved tight fitting white shirt and a pair of jeans, with a leather jacket.
"Troy, how did you know I liked stuff that looks like it's from 'Grease'?" Ryan said, astounded.
"Lucky guess."
"Go try it on, man!" Chad smiled. Ryan went to the dressing room and tried on the clothes, which fit perfectly. Then, he got a pair of black shoes to go with his outfit and some hair gel and hairspray.
"Man, you are gonna be on fire!" Zeke cried, walking through the mall with the guys. "Kelsi won't be able to resist you!"
"Well, I am hot, aren't I?" Ryan said, acting cool. The guys laughed along with his joke. "But seriously, guys, you think Kelsi will like it? I've never had a crush on a girl like I've had a crush on Kelsi. I've liked her since we met in kindergarten."
"Whoa, back up a sec!" Chad exclaimed. "You've liked Kelsi since middle school?"
"Yeah, Sharpay was always bossing Kelsi around, even back then," Ryan reminisced. "I tried to defend her once, but Sharpay got suspicious, and I kept my mouth shut from then on. But I always feel bad now whenever Sharpay picks on Kelsi." Ryan heard someone gasp behind him. He turned around to see a lady with black hair and sunglasses bend down and pick up her purse. Ryan shrugged and turned back around.
"Dude, what's Gabby still doing here?" Chad pointed over to the girls, coming out of a perfume shop.
"Oh no! Kelsi's with them! What are we gonna do? She'll see us if we don't make a run for it!" Ryan cried. He was afraid if Kelsi saw them, she'd suspect that Ryan was crushing on her because the new clothes he bought were not basketball type.
"This way!" Troy ran and the guys followed him downstairs and around the other end to the other escalator, through the food court, out into the parking lot, and to Ryan's car.
"I think I've had enough shopping adventures for one night!" Ryan panted, wiping his forehead.
"I think you'll be good with what you've got now," Zeke ran up, still catching his breath. "Let's head on home."
"Good idea," they all said. They piled into the car and drove off.