Author's note: I'm really sorry for making you wait. Hope, you won't get disappointed and it was worth waiting. And thanks for you reviews. They mean a lot.
Chapter 3
The first day seemed really endless for Troy. When he studied with private teachers, he never got more than 3 hours in a row, as he simply never had that much time. Troy didn't expect it would irritate him like hell. Sitting on one place, paying attention to some boring stuff that teachers try to put in your head … Gosh, how are people doing that?
When the final bell rang, Troy jumped from his seat and almost ran to his locker hoping to leave this prison as soon as possible. Looking at other students he could tell he wasn't the only one with such emotions.
As Troy was walking in the hall he could see there was someone standing at his locker. But there were too many people moving around and it didn't allow him to see who it was. For a second he imagined it was that Sharpay girl, and just the idea, the bare possibility scared the hell out of him. You can't even imagine how relieved he felt when he saw it was just Chad.
"Hey, Alex, wanna join us, play some ball?" He asked when Troy approached him.
Troy was about to say that he didn't really play. But at that moment he noticed Gabriella. She was walking with her friends, her hair bouncing with each step. As she felt someone staring at her, the girl looked up and her eyes met with Troy's. His heart started pacing quicker when Gabriella smiled at him. He smiled back wondering whether she felt something close to what he felt.
"Alex?"
"Yeah, sure." Troy answered not completely realizing what Chad was asking him about.
He understood what he got himself into only when he was sitting in the car with Chad. But it was too late. Troy made several attempts to persuade Chad that he had never played before (in LA he mostly just made free throws, he would play with Keith when they both got time, but it happened really rarely). But it didn't seem to upset Chad, though it seemed nothing could upset the guy at all.
In about ten minutes Chad pulled the car near some court. Two other guys were already there. They also were from Troy's homeroom; one of them was Zeke Baylor, the other one- Jason Cross.
"So, Alex, what was that between you and Montez girl?" Chad asked mockingly, making the other guys look curiously at Troy.
"What do you mean? Nothing" He answered taken aback by the question.
"Don't play dumb. I saw how you looked at her." Chad said grinning, while Zeke and Jason laughed at that argument.
"What? Are you kiddin'? I know her for how long? One day. We just had a one-minute conversation."
"He certainly has a crush on her." Zeke managed to say through laughing.
"Oh, yeah, he does." Jason added.
"I thought we came here to play some ball." Troy exploded.
"Chill out, man." Zeke reassured him. "Chad's been having a crush on Taylor for a year now."
"Who's Taylor?" Troy asked with curiosity.
"Shut up, Zeke!" Chad growled. "Alex is right we came to play."
"She's a friend of Gabriella and a real brainiac."
"Are they going out?" Troy asked smiling at Chad's expression.
"Nah, Chad's afraid to ask her." Zeke chuckled.
"That's it. I'm not afraid! And look who's speaking." This time Chad turned to Troy. "Alex, do you know who Zeke likes?"
"We came here to play!" This time it was Zeke who screamed which didn't stop Chad.
"Sharpay Evans!" He exclaimed.
"Guys, guys!" Jason finally cut in when he managed to collect himself as he was laughing hysterically within the whole conversation. "We came here to play."
"Fine. Let's see what you've got, Alex." Chad said throwing the ball to Troy.
Troy caught the ball and in one movement he swung it to the basket making a hoop.
"Nice" The guys cheered.
In Gabriella's house
As usually Taylor stayed at Gabriella's house to do homework together. But right now while Gabriella was doing chemistry, Taylor was eyeing her. Finally Gabriella couldn't take it any more.
"What?" She screamed.
"Nothing" However she kept looking at her. "So do you like him?"
"Who?" Gabriella raised her eyes from the textbook in surprise not completely understanding what her friend was talking about.
"The new guy." Taylor answered as if it was obvious.
"Alex? Come on, Tay! You serious?" Gabriella was shocked, but seeing Taylor's face, she continued. "I talked with him for like one minute. I'm just being nice with the new guy. That's all. It's not that I like him."
"If you say so."
Gabriella just rolled her eyes, perfectly aware that it was pointless to argue with Taylor.
At the court
Boys played two-on-two: Chad and Troy in one team, Zeke and Jason in another. They agreed to play till 10, and at the moment the score was 9-9. Jason had the ball, he tried to come through Troy by making fake move to the right, however Troy sussed out his plan and managed to steal the ball. He made a quick pass on Chad, who swung the ball, but it hit the edge of the basket and bounced back to Troy. He caught the ball and made his throw. And in spite of Jason's resistance, it was a clear shot. Troy raised his arms victoriously.
"That was awesome, dude!" Chad exclaimed running up to Troy and giving him five. "You should join our team, Alex."
"Yeah, man, we definitely need someone like you." Zeke joined.
"You ARE a wildcat!"
These words echoed in Troy's head. "You are a wildcat." He heard these words before, but where? Then he had this flashback, as if it was put on TV. And it was so clear as if it happened just a few moments before. Troy was four and he was playing basketball with his dad on the back yard. Troy just made a basket and his father sat on his knees hear him and pulled him in a hug. "You are a wildcat, Troy."
"Alex, Alex, you ok?"
"Yeah, yeah, what?" Troy shook his had. "Everything's cool."
"You just fell out or something, anyway, dude, so what do you think about the team?" Everyone looked expectedly at Troy.
"I don't know guys." He really was shocked by the question. "I'm new and I don't really want to throw myself into something. And my uncle, I doubt he'll like the idea."
Chad was about to ask something, but Troy's cell phone rang up, so he picked it up and made several steps from his new friends, so that they couldn't hear the conversation. Troy looked at the screen, the call was from Charley.
"Hey, Charley … I'm just hanging out … No … With some guys from school … We are just playing basketball … Oh, come on! Are you kidding me? … All right … Fine … No, I'll ask guys to give me a lift. Yeah, I will be in 5 minutes … Bye."
"Everything's fine?" Chad asked worried when Troy returned to the gang.
"Yeah, it's just my uncle. I need to go home. Chad, can you give me a ride?"
"Sure, man. Let's go." Then he turned to Zeke and Jason. "I'll be back soon and I'll show you how to play." The others just laughed.
Having said goodbye to guys, Troy and Chad sat in the car and sped off. While they were riding, Chad kept talking about the team and how great the wildcats are, however Troy didn't listen to him. He nodded his head and added all these "yeah", "right", "really" words, but in fact he kept thinking about his conversation with Charley. He said he didn't want Troy to play basketball, cause he could get some trauma. It was unbelievable! No, really? Now he's not allowed to play, what's next? He won't be allowed to go outside, because he can get cold. That's totally ridiculous!
"Dude, we're here, so what do you say?"
Troy didn't even realize that they arrived. He was too deep in his thoughts, this whole conversation just really got on his nerves.
"I'll think about it, ok? Well, just thanks for a ride, man."
"No problems. Just do me a favor. Think about joining the team." With that he left.
As Chad's car disappeared behind the corner, Troy went to the house. He really didn't want to talk with Charley so he headed upstairs straight to his room. But when he was in the middle of the stairs he was called by his stepdad.
"Troy, we need to talk." Troy growled at the statement.
"Charley, can it wait? Really! I'm tired, I've got lots of homework and I don't feel like arguing."
"Troy, try to understand me. I'm not against you playing, I just worry about you. I don't want something to happen with you."
"What can possibly happen to me?" Troy exploded. "I just had some fun with my new friends, and that's all!"
"Troy, you are here for work not to make friends! Don't forget, we are leaving in less then a month, do you really think it's reasonable to make friends?" But instead of answering something Troy turned his back to Charley and continued his way to his room. "Troy, just think about it!"
Of course, there was some sense in his words, and not even some but rather much sense, but still… After all when you go to the camp for summer, you know it will last only three months, however it doesn't stop anyone from making friends. And it was just the same with this situation- it won't last long but he will have all he can.
When Troy came to his room he found some Chinese food left for him from Charley. Since Troy's mom died they never had family dinners, as they weren't really a family. Charley was a nice guy and he cared about Troy in some way, but he cared about Troy more as his agent not as his step father.
Before doing homework Troy decided to snack some food. While he was eating he drove some conclusions about the school and what he got himself into. Some part of him already hated school. School is something that you hate and like at the same time. Troy really liked Chad and the company, Gabriella and, God, he even liked Sharpay, she scared the hell out of him but still… It was so unusual to just hang out, do what you want to do and just be a normal guy not this "Oh my gosh, it's the hottest, sexiest, coolest guy in the world" as his fans usually referred to him. This screaming was really annoying, just as the whispering in the halls of school. But he really hoped it would get better, at least, it was supposed to get better. He figured that guys in school need to get used a little, and it won't take long or so he hoped.
When Troy was full up, he remembered about his nightmarish home task. It was ironical though. He escaped writing essay in LA, but it still haunted him down. He was so happy he didn't have to write it, and here it is! Surprise! Seriously, what's wrong with teachers? Do all of them love this torturing thing? Is that their dream or their mission to make students' life miserable?
It took Troy four hours to write this stupid essay. Four frigging hours and what for? He doubted he would get something higher than C! He really hated the thing! It left Troy totally exhausted. So he decided to go to bed a bit earlier, but before doing that he was to talk to Keith. They agreed to talk on web camera, as they always did when they were working in different cities. When he turned on his lap top he found his friend already waiting for him.
"How's your first day? Everything worked? Am I genius?" Keith asked grinning.
"Yeah, it worked."
"Oh, come on, tell me I'm genius."
"Fine, you are genius." Troy rolled his eyes.
"You don't look too happy? How was it?"
"I've been writing this stupid essay. I can't be happy." Troy complained. "And about school … I don't know, it's just, everyone's been discussing me, and all that stuff."
"Give them time, it'll get better." He reassured Troy. "What about other things? Are there any hot girls?" At those words a pillow collided with the back of his head. "Ouch, that hurts."
"You need it sometimes. Hey, Troy." A beautiful blonde girl with green eyes appeared on the screen.
"Hey, Allyson! You look great."
"Don't flirt with my girlfriend." Keith demanded jokingly.
Troy just smiled at that. This couple was something. They've been dating since the second year of high school. But they got separated almost every month. They loved each other a lot, but Allyson wasn't really happy with the fact that most girls in the country threw themselves on Keith. And though he never cheated on her, she still felt nervous when Keith was on some tour.
"Did you like anyone?" Allyson asked curiously, and seeing how Troy blushed she exclaimed. "You liked someone! What's her name? Come on, Troycie, tell us!"
"Don't call me Troycie, I hate that." But seeing their expression he understood they wouldn't leave him alone until he tells them something. "Her name is Gabriella." And then he was bombarded with questions and there was just one thing he could do to stop this endless interrogating and he decided to use it. Troy started shaking computer.
"Guys, what are you saying? I don't hear you!"
"Troy, don't you …" Keith started, but Troy already turned computer off.
Please, tell me what you think
