The Definition of Us

Disclaimer: I do not own HSM.

Chapter Two- Define Plan

plan (noun): A scheme, program, or method worked out beforehand for the accomplishment of an objective.


On Sunday afternoon, after a day and a half of driving, Gabriella stepped out of her mother's mini van and inhaled the fresh scent of wet pine needles and damp mulch. It had rained during the stretch of highway between the New Mexico-Colorado border, only letting up thirty minutes ago when they passed through the tiny town of Maplevine Ridge. Heavy mist still hung in the air as Gabriella made her way down the path that led to the main office building of the camp.

The main building was sided with wooden shingles and as she mounted the four steps leading to the entrance, the screen door swung open and two girls emerged carrying folders while chatting. Offering Gabriella a smile, they told her that if she was reporting to work that she could find the manager in the first office to her right. Thanking them, she entered the building and knocked on the open door that had been mentioned. A man in his late twenties sat at a desk, flipping through folders and comparing them to a list that hung on the bulletin board over his desk. At her knock, he turned and grinned at Gabriella.

"Welcome to Maplevine!" he told her, getting up and offering her a hand. "Pete West," he added.

"Gabriella Montez," she responded with a quick smile.

"Our lifeguard from New Mexico," Pete said as he sorted through the folders in his hands until he found one with her name on it. "This includes the list of girls in your cabin and a map of the area. Supper is being served in the mess hall at five so you have a few hours to get settled and learn your way around. I will cover everything else after dinner."

Gabriella nodded and quickly glanced through the folder before shutting it. Looking up she watched as Pete took a red lanyard off a hook and handed it to her, pointing out the two keys it held. One was marked with a red 'P' and the other a black number three.

"These are the keys to your cabin and the pool area. The whistle just makes it easier to let people know it's yours. Each person has a different lanyard so if you happen to lose it from around your neck, we will know who it belongs to. Some of the counsellors are already here and others will be arriving by tonight." Pete indicated the list over his desk that had x's marked next to the counsellors that had arrived. "I'll see you at dinner."

Gabriella passed two guys and a girl on their way into the office as she skipped down the steps and hurried to where her mother was pulling luggage from the rear compartment of the van. Slipping the backpack over her shoulder and pulling the handle up on her wheeled suitcase, Gabriella spent a few moments chatting with her mom and saying goodbye before kissing her cheek and heading towards her cabin. Turning around a few seconds later, she waved as her mom pulled a u-turn in the road and headed back to Albuquerque.

Following the path that her map indicated, Gabriella passed two buildings that she recognized as the mess hall and first aid building. There were also two larger buildings that her map indicated to be a theatre and an indoor gymnasium. On the opposite side of the path, she passed a soccer field looking as if it had been recently mowed that was accompanied by a track ring around the outside. Further down, where the path split into two directions, Gabriella found the pool and locker rooms. It was enclosed within a chain link fence but she could see the two lifeguard stands, the laneline buoys and a diving board at the far end. Turning away, she passed a double basketball court on her way. At the end of the path, she entered a ring of cabins that all centered around a grassy area that held a bulletin board of the weeks' events and counsellor information. Stopping at bottom of her cabin's steps, Gabriella took a quick glance around before lugging her suitcase up the stairs.

Fitting the key in the lock, she turned the handle and shoved the door open. Footsteps behind her caused her to turn. A tall, dark haired guy stood on the grass with one foot on the first step and one hand on the railing. His hair was spiked in all directions and his eyes seemed almost black to Gabriella. He smiled brightly at her before taking the three steps up to the door where she stood.

"Brett Washington," he said, introducing himself. "I'm in cabin five. Did you want a hand?" he asked, indicating the backpack she had left at the bottom of the steps, intending to come back for it, that he had picked up on his way to the door.

"Gabriella Montez and thanks," Gabriella told him, entering past the doorway and glancing around. To the left and right, three beds lined each wall with dressers and lamps alternating between them. Quilts and pillows were already on the beds and more were piled on a couch that leaned against the front wall. A low table and a few chairs were scattered around near the door.

"The counsellors have their own rooms at the back," Brett told her, breezing by and leading the way between the beds to two open doors at the rear of the building.

Poking her head inside the closest one, she saw a bathroom with a stand up shower and a towel rack. Stepping into the room that Brett had entered, she saw a single bed pushed against the wall and a dresser that looked identical to the ones outside. A desk and chair were under the single window and a closet revealed a few shelves and hangers for her things. Brett tossed her backpack on the bed and pointed to the binder that rested on the desk where Gabriella had dropped her folder as well.

"That's the camp policy and procedure manual. It mentions counsellor conduct and scheduling as well as what to do in case of any type of emergency. Pete will probably go through it tonight at the meeting," he explained.

"Thanks," Gabriella repeated. "You've been here before?"

"I've been coming since I was little. I'm from Denver and my parents used to rent a cottage in Maplevine and I would come here for the summer. Last year I started as a cabin counsellor and this year Pete bumped me up to canoeing instructor," Brett explained.

"I haven't seen the lake yet," she replied, glancing at the map and noticing a trail leading from the back of the theatre to a lake. "I applied to get away from Albuquerque for the summer but I can already tell this is going to be better than the country club back home."

"You'll like it here. Pete is a great manager and the staff is pretty decent. I was going to give Hailey, Jayme and Caleb the grand tour, if you wanted to join in?" Brett asked, watching as Gabriella unzipped her suitcase and pulled out the few books she had brought, setting them on her desk along with her day planner and cell phone charger.

"That would be great. Let me just get this out of the way and I'll meet you out front," she suggested but Brett had already taken up a position in front of the closet, taking the clothes she handed him and hanging them on hangers.

She laughed and let him help, giving him her jacket, an East High track suit and a few dresses she had brought for her days off. The rest of her clothes went into the dresser, while her toiletries went in the top drawer. Leaving her sneakers and her shoes in her suitcase she shoved it in the closet, closing the door as she finished. Grabbing a sweatshirt off the bed, she pulled it over her head and followed Brett out the door while slipping her keys around her neck and hiding them underneath the sweater. Reaching the grassy common area outside, she noticed the two girls from the office reading the bulletin board until they noticed Brett and Gabriella.

"Hey, we saw you in the office," one of the girls pointed out. She had short blond hair cut in a bob and green eyes. She was taller than Gabriella and was dressed entirely in sophisticated black. "I'm Hailey Myers, cabin six and this is my cousin, Jayme Walker. She's in cabin seven." Jayme's hair was a darker blonde and pulled back into a messy bun.

"Gabriella Montez from cabin three," Gabriella offered, pausing when she noticed a guy with blond hair walking towards them in a blue jacket. He looked vaguely familiar but she couldn't place him.

"This is Caleb Brenner from cabin eight," Brett said, introducing the newest addition and Gabriella recognized the name. "He's one of the baseball instructors."

"Come to lend some West High talent?" Gabriella joked and Caleb looked surprised until he noticed the black and red sweatshirt she wore. The front showed the school's mascot while the left sleeve labelled her as part of the drama club.

"I didn't know East's drama department came out of the theatre long enough to recognize the enemy," Caleb said with a grin. The rivalry between the two schools was renowned within the city but this girl seemed friendly enough and willing to ignore it. "What gave me away?"

"The jacket for starters," she pointed out, "plus I'm friends with Danforth. You beat him out at second base last season and he ranted about it for a week." She shook her head, remembering how even though East had won, Chad couldn't believe how Caleb had ruined his perfect homerun score.

"Danforth, hey? That's interesting. So what talents do you bring to Maplevine?" he asked as they left the cabin area and followed Brett up the path. Gabriella hurried to keep up with his longer stride, glad that he was copying her and ignoring the rivalry and trash talk that usually existed between their schools.

"I'm one of the lifeguards and I'm helping with the theatre production for the end of the summer show. I usually deal with the technical stuff for East so I thought I could help here. It beats working at Lava Springs," she added, knowing that some of the West High students worked there as well, although Sharpay's parents tended to favour their children's school when making hiring decisions.

"I would imagine. I worked there the summer after my sophomore year and only lasted a couple of days before Bolton and Danforth drove me crazy. I can only take so many well-aimed golf balls to my head before I fear for my health," he told her as followed Brett and the girls into the theatre.

Gabriella nodded as she looked around, eyeing the well built stage, existing catwalks and lighting. It was simple and wouldn't allow for anything as elaborate as one of East High's production but it could hold a decent audience and the acoustics sounded good. Peeking in a few open doors leading away from the main room, she noticed two dance studios and another room with a piano. Turning, she realized that Caleb had followed her and he had been talking. Apologizing, she asked him to repeat the question.

"I wondered how the drama hand becomes friends with the basketball captains," he told her. "I wouldn't think you have a lot in common." He watched her shake her head as they headed back outside, listening to the girls ask if Brett could show them the lake.

"You said 'captains'; I'm not friends with Bolton," she pointed out as they followed the overgrown path down to the lake. It would only take a few days of campers running back and forth to wear it back down. "Chad and I have lived next door to each other since we were little, but I went to Albuquerque Prep until my freshman year, so I didn't know anyone else at East. We're not as close now but we still hang out when our parents get together and he gives me a ride when my car is in the shop."

"What about Bolton. Aren't they attached at the hip? Take Danforth, get Bolton?" Caleb frowned when Gabriella laughed, shaking her head fiercely.

"Troy and I don't really get along. Never have. He doesn't get me and I don't worship the ground he walks on," Gabriella explained, noticing how the trees around them were thinning and the others ahead of them had stopped walking. "We tend to steer clear of one another whenever necessary so that Chad doesn't feel forced to play referee," she added just as they stepped out of the woods and onto the edge of the lake where two wharves jutted out and a dozen canoes were stacked along the shoreline.

"Sounds fair enough," Caleb replied, referring to her obvious distrust of Troy Bolton. He didn't really know the guy, only of his reputation on the basketball court which any athlete would be forced to respect. Hearing Gabriella gasp in awe at the view of the lake, he grinned. "I guess if anyone needs to find you, I should direct them here?"

"Definitely. I'm going to have to adjust my morning run to include this. It's beautiful," she sighed, closing her eyes and listening to the lapping waves and the wind with Hailey and Jayme talking quietly with Brett in the background.

"You run?" Caleb sounded surprised and she opened her eyes to grin at him. When were people going to understand that she was capable of multitasking? Nodding, she closed her eyes again and felt the stillness wash over her. Caleb's answer made her smile when he muttered, "Well, I wouldn't have expected that."


Troy lifted his head from its resting place when he felt the SUV come to a stop. Rubbing a hand across his face, he realized that they must have arrived. A quick glance towards the dashboard clock illuminated the time as just before midnight. Sighing, he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up and pushed the door open, stumbling out into the pitch black night. Blinking away sleep, he looked around and tried to sort out his surroundings despite the limited light.

They were parked in front of the main office of Maplevine Camp and as Troy watched, an upstairs light blinked on. More lights winked on downstairs before the front door was pulled open and a guy in his twenties emerged onto the veranda. The guy called out and Jack Bolton answered but Troy wasn't listening as he pulled the hatch to the trunk up and began pulling out his gear. Two duffle bags and a basketball were placed on the ground along with a set of golf clubs. Looking up, Troy noticed that tiny lamps lit the pathway leading away from the office and each of the buildings had their outside lights on. Turning back to his father, Troy approached them and waited for the conversation to pause.

"Hey, Troy," Pete offered, shaking hands with the youth. "I'm Pete West."

"Sorry about the timing," Troy replied but Pete waved it off.

"No worries, Mr. Romanavo called about twenty minutes ago to say that you were on your way up from town. I have your keys and your cabin assignments so you can crash for the night and I can fill you in on everything else tomorrow morning. The kids don't come until Wednesday so tomorrow is just a prep day to work out any kinks and do some team building." Pete handed Troy a black lanyard with a silver whistle and a bunch of keys. "The one with the number is your assigned cabin; you're in number four. The other keys are labelled for the gym, basketball courts and all the equipment rooms except those in the pool area."

"Thanks." Troy pocketed the keys and turned to his dad. "You going to head back into town and crash at the Romanavo's?" he asked, naming the family who owned the camp and who had recruited Troy to come. Mr. Romanavo had played college ball with Jack before moving north and opening his own wilderness shop and accompanying summer camp for kids. The Bolton's had stopped at their home in Maplevine Ridge for directions and dinner which meant Troy missing the orientation dinner with the rest of the staff.

"Yeah. I'll head home tomorrow. If you need anything, just call and make sure you keep up your training. I'm sure you're not the only one who knows a little bit of basketball here," Jack told his son.

"Actually, the other baseball instructor and one of the lifeguards seem fairly knowledgeable. They and some of the other staff had a game going after dinner," Pete interrupted and Troy grinned.

"Great. Well, Dad, I'll see you in a few weeks and I'm off to bed." Troy gave his dad a one-armed hug and stooped to pick up his gear. Swinging the duffle bags over his shoulder, he grabbed the golf clubs and began the very awkward trek towards the cabins.

It had only been a few moments since the headlights of his dad's SUV had cut a path across the trail while turning, that Troy heard hurried footsteps on the gravel. Turning, he saw Pete coming towards him with a flashlight. Stopping he held out an arm to help and Troy gratefully handed over his golf bag. Readjusting his burdens, Troy followed the camp manager down the pathway. When they reached the cabin area, Pete shone the flashlight in a circle so that Troy could see the layout.

"Your cabin is over there," Pete said, pointing at the cabin directly in front of them. "Sleep tonight and get settled tomorrow. The kitchen staff is serving brunch around eleven so all the employees can get a little extra sleep. You can come find me in the office after that."

"Thanks," Troy responded, stifling a yawn as he made his way up the steps and dropping all his things on the small veranda.

Pushing the key into the lock, he nudged the door open. Once all his stuff was inside, Troy waved to Pete and shut the door. Flicking on the light switch, he carried everything to his room in the back and left it in a jumbled pile. Without even bothering to undress, he turned the light off and flung himself on the bed. He didn't even have enough energy to close the window despite the slight chill.


Gabriella looked up from her hash browns and bacon when she heard her name on Monday morning. Taking a sip of her orange juice, she smiled when she saw Hailey and Jayme approaching with their own breakfast hot from the buffet line. Using her fork, she speared a hash brown and swished it around the ketchup before popping it into her mouth. Looking across the table as the two girls took a seat, she noticed Brett following their actions and taking the seat beside Hailey. There were a few moments of silence as they chewed their food before Jayme spoke up.

"So, who knows the schedule for today?" she asked as Caleb joined them with Anna, the drama instructor from cabin two. "Someone said something about a free afternoon."

"It's not really free," Brett informed her, reaching for the ketchup in front of Gabriella. "Everyone is supposed to report to their activity area and go through equipment and double check that there is enough of everything. Plus each team gets to work out their shift schedules and any programs or special exceptions."

"Well, that's not so bad. I spend the afternoon counting tennis balls and rackets," Hailey piped up. She had been hired to run the tennis aspect of the camp while Jayme would be helping with soccer and canoeing.

"I told Cheyenne and Ben that I would help them go over the pool area before checking in with the theatre girls," Gabriella told them.

"It will go pretty fast and then tonight is all about team building," Brett said, pulling out a schedule from his back pocket. "They usually make us run emergency drills so that we know where everyone will be in case something happens."

"Pete mentioned that last night," Caleb added. "He said he wanted to wait until all the staff had shown up."

Gabriella listened to the others chat while she finished off her breakfast. The mess hall was fairly quiet and most of the table empty as staff wandered in and out, taking advantage of the relaxed routines while the campers were still absent. A few tables away, two girls from cabin one and nine sat with Ben, her lifeguard partner from cabin ten. The other people in the room were not assigned to specific cabins but had rooms in either the main administration building or the first aid cabin.

"I saw the guy from cabin four this morning on my way here. He was just leaving and heading to the administration building," Anna told them, picking at her eggs. A grin spread across her face as she glanced at Gabriella. "He must have gotten in late last night or early this morning but you should see him, Ella. He's gorgeous."

Brett and Gabriella smirked at the dreamy expression on the raven haired girl's face. In a lot of ways, she reminded Gabriella of Sharpay with her flare for the dramatic and her love of gossip. The only major personality difference was where Sharpay tended to keep people out of her personal life, Anna wouldn't shut up. The group had spent the night before laughing at all the comments she had to make about their basketball game after dinner.

"Ella, here, may have to show the basketball boy a few tips after what I saw on the court," Caleb said with a grin and Gabriella elbowed him in the ribs. "If I didn't believe you before, it's obvious that Danforth has rubbed off on you during the years. Why don't you play for East?"

"I run for East, I perform for East, and I am smart in the name of East. If I did anything else for the school, I wouldn't have time to eat or sleep," Gabriella told him, picking up her plate. "I'll see you guys later. I need to go get ready and meet my team. Have fun."

The others waved before turning back to their food and conversations. Stepping out into the sunlight, Gabriella slipped her sunglasses over her eyes and began the walk back to her cabin.


Troy nodded at something Pete was saying as the two exited the administration building after their meeting. The manager had covered everything from the meeting the night before as well as any questions that he had. Pointing to the map in Troy's hand, Pete mentioned the lake and other possible running trails. Troy nodded again and glanced up, looking over Pete's shoulder towards the mess hall. Squinting behind his aviators, Troy watched as a girl emerged from the mess hall and paused to slip a pair of sunglasses over her eyes before skipping down the steps and heading down the path. With her back to him and the sun in his eyes, Troy couldn't be sure but she seemed familiar. Maybe he had seen her that morning?

"Troy?" Pete asked, turning to follow the basketball player's line of vision.

"Sorry," Troy said, shrugging his shoulders and looking back at the older guy, "she looked familiar for some reason."

"The girl? I can't tell from here but it looks like Anna or Ella. You'll get to meet the rest of the staff later this afternoon. I'll let you get going. Remember to check all the equipment rooms and if any of the balls have holes in them, let me know and I will dig some out of storage for us to pump up. Don't forget to put the nets on the rims for the court hoops and lock up all the rooms when you're not around." Troy nodded and left the stairs to head in the direction of the equipment rooms in the gym.


Gabriella made a note on her clipboard as she counted flutter boards and pool noodles in the equipment room that afternoon. Pete wanted everything counted and assessed. If it was damaged, they needed to make note of it so it could be replaced or repaired. Pushing aside the counted stacks, she began counting hockey pucks and weighted toys for diving. Marking the number on her inventory sheet, she swore under her breath when the pen refused to produce ink. Leaving the room, she pushed a stray curl off her forehead and looked for the other lifeguards.

"Cheyenne?" she called, poking her head into the tiny room they used as an office. First aid supplies and towels were stacked against the back wall while the red-headed Cheyenne counted out band-aids and ice packs. "Hey, do we have any more pens? This one just died on me."

"Um, I don't think so. I just grabbed a bunch from the administration office when I went to get the inventory lists. Can you run up and get some? We'll need some extras for in here, anyway." Gabriella nodded and set her clipboard on an empty chair, grabbing the short-sleeved sweatshirt she had been wearing over her bathing suit until the heat in the equipment closet got to her. Slipping on her sunglasses, she turned to leave before Cheyenne called her name again. "While you're up there, can you find Ben? I sent him to find a pump for the beach balls but we don't have a key so he's probably trying to find one of the athletic instructors."

"Yeah, sure I'll be back in a few."

Leaving the enclosed pool area, Gabriella jogged up the path to the main office. She waved to Caleb who was helping Jayme attach soccer nets to the goal posts. On her way back from the office, carrying an envelope full of pens, white-out, paper clips and a stapler, she ducked inside the gym to find Ben. Instead she found Hailey counting tennis balls and inspecting tennis rackets.

"You haven't seen Ben, have you?" Gabriella asked, "We seem to have lost him on his journey to find a ball pump."

"He was in here earlier, but I told him to check the equipment storage down by the basketball courts. That's where they are storing the soccer balls and basketballs," Hailey told her, making a note on her clipboard and replacing a racket on the shelf. "Brett said if you need life jackets, he has some extra ones down at the docks."

Gabriella thanked her before leaving, following the path until it led to the basketball courts. Glimpsing a flash of red on the other side of the linked fence, she called out to Ben.

"Ella?" he answered as she rounded the corner. He was surrounded by basketballs as he fit the nozzle of the pump into an orange ball and hit the switch. "What's up?"

"Cheyenne asked me to find you on my trip to the office. She thought you got lost." Gabriella heard footsteps behind her as she watched Ben fill another ball.

"No, I offered to help finish these so that we could take the pump up to the pool instead of juggling all of the balls and inner tubes up there. I'm almost finished," he explained to her. Looking up from his task, he focused on something behind her shoulder. "Oh, Ella, have you met Troy? He got in last night after the meeting."

The name barely registered before Gabriella turned to greet the new staff member but froze when the name and the face connected in her brain. He was wearing red basketball shorts with the East High mascot on one leg and a white wife beater. His hair was in its usual casual mess and the aviators were clipped to his staff lanyard. He looked slightly confused until she slid her oversized sunglasses up to rest in her hair.

"Bolton."

"Montez," he replied, letting the two soccer balls he carried drop to the ground where the rolled among the rest.

"Troy, I thought you said you hadn't met Ella yet?" Ben looked between the jock and the lifeguard, wondering why the two previously easy going people now seemed so rigid. It wasn't Troy who answered, but Gabriella.

"We go to the same high school," she told him, never breaking looking away from the startling blue eyes. "We didn't know we would both be here."

"Kind of ruins our plan for the summer, doesn't it?" Troy ground out with his characteristic smirk.

"You had plans?" Ben asked, feeling invisible. He could tell something unspoken was passing between the two but didn't know enough to put a name to it.

"Yeah, to get as far away from you as possible," Gabriella directed at Troy, keeping her voice even.

"And here I thought you had given in to my charm and decided to stalk me," Troy retorted. "Don't feel so betrayed, Brie, it was a mutual plan with mutual disappointment given the current situation."

Gabriella bit the inside of her cheek to keep her temper in check but Troy could see the color rising in her cheeks and the smirk grew. Digging her nails into her palms, she shifted the envelope of supplies under her arm and reached up to tug her sunglasses into place. Turning, she looked at Ben before leaving.

"When you're done, can you bring the pump up to the pool? By yourself, if it can be done."

Turning on her heel, she breezed past Troy without a single glance in his direction, heading back to the pool. Feeling his eyes follow her across the grass and up the path until she disappeared from sight, she waited for her temper to disparate before processing what had just happened.

Troy Bolton was here. Working. With her. All summer. What happened to perfect?


AN: To answer a few questions that I thought were clear but apparently were slightly confusing. Yes, I altered the timelime. Gabriella never moved, but transferred schools to start high school at East. She lives next door to Chad, and has most of her life. I am aware that in the movie she only works at Lava Springs for one summer, but that's not the case is this story. Anymore questions, feel free to ask.

-Savannah