Something New
Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or anything else.
Chapter 4
When Gabriella woke up on Thursday morning, she had an unusual amount of pep in her step. She decided to dress cute, which was out of the norm for her, considering she usually wanted to blend into her high school surroundings. Gabriella gathered her favorite pair of light wash jeans, a baby blue ¾ sleeved shirt, black flats, and a necklace that her mother had given her for her 17th birthday. It was sterling silver and had three hearts on it; one for her, one for her mom, and one for her father. Gabriella hopped in the bathroom for a quick shower and did her hair. She left her curls down again because she honestly didn't feel like doing it at that point in the morning. Right as she was about to put the finishing touch on her outfit, putting her necklace on, her phone began to vibrate.
There were two unread text messages. The first one was from Taylor. She was reminding Gabriella that she would meet her outside the front doors of the school so that they could go to the library together before school actually started. The second one was from Troy. Gabriella smiled as she opened the message.
"Got the truck working again… want a ride to school? I promise it won't break down this time."
Gabriella laughed as she replied to the message. She threw her phone in her back pocket, grabbed her stuff, and headed downstairs.
Maria was eyeing Gabriella as she practically skipped down the stairs towards the kitchen.
"Good morning Mija." She said curiously. "Why so happy?"
Gabriella suddenly noticed her behavior and forcefully toned it down a little. "Am I usually unhappy?"
Maria shook her head. "No, no, no; you just aren't usually this bubbly and happy on a school morning. Do you want some fruit? I just cut it up."
"Sure!" Gabriella replied as she took a seat down at the island counter. Maria handed her the bowl of fruit and stood there observing her daughter.
"Is there something that you'd like to tell me about?"
Gabriella swallowed her strawberry and looked up at her mother. "What would I have to tell you about?"
"Well, yesterday morning you were so glum and now you're excited to go to school."
"Mom, I actually have friends at this school. Why would I not be excited to go?" Tears began to swell up in Maria's eyes. Gabriella saw this and grabbed her mom's hand. "You don't need to cry, Mom. I'm fine."
"I know," Maria said wiping her eyes. "I'm just so happy that you've finally found a school that you adore. I feel terrible about how many moves I've put you through and I'm just so grateful that this one is the last."
A beeping from outside the house interrupted their mother-daughter moment.
"Uhh, Mom I don't need a ride to school today. Troy offered to drive me, if that's okay with you." Gabriella said as she slowly got up and put her empty fruit bowl in the sink.
Maria suspiciously eyed Gabriella before responding. "That's fine, just make sure that you are abiding by all laws and regulations, and be safe."
"I know, I know. Love you Mom." Gabriella said as she opened the door. To her surprise, Troy was standing right outside the door waiting for her. He waved to Ms. Montez before Gabriella closed the front door.
She turned to Troy and smiled. "Why didn't you just wait for me in your truck?"
"I don't know, I guess I wanted to say hi to your mom."
"So you're just using me for my mom Bolton?"
Troy threw his hands up as they made their way down the front walkway. "You've caught me, your mom's cookies are to die for."
"Just wait until you try her brownies." Gabriella said as she reached for the truck door.
Troy successfully started the truck and they made their way to school. The majority of the ride consisted of laughing and joking. It was as if Troy and Gabriella had known each since Kindergarten. However, that changed when they pulled into the East High parking lot. There was a group of cheerleaders standing by the "E" fountain who looked into the truck with angry eyes. Gabriella got quiet and focused on her hands, which were placed in her lap.
Troy looked over at her, confused. "Gabriella, what's wrong?" He said as he put the truck in park and turned it off.
She should have never come to school with him. She should have just walked like yesterday.
Gabriella looked up at Troy and into his bright blue eyes. "They're all staring because you're giving me a ride."
He laughed, which made Gabriella shudder. "Who cares! They can stare all they want. We're friends Gabriella. They're just jealous that I don't want to be friends with them."
"That doesn't change the fact that they're going to hate me for no reason and I really don't want people hating me for no reason."
"Come on, let's get out of this truck." Troy said as he opened the door and walked around to Gabriella's side and opened her door. Gabriella stepped out holding her bag against her chest. "So you don't do well around crowds of people staring?"
"Not exactly." She said, taking a deep breath.
Troy placed his arm over her shoulders. "Let's go then."
Still shocked from Troy's touch, Gabriella nodded and walked in unison with her friend. After what felt like five minutes, they finally arrived at the front doors of East High, where Taylor was waiting with skeptical eyes. Gabriella looked up at Troy and smiled, a subtle thank you, then entered the building with Taylor.
The two girls walked together to Gabriella's locker, Taylor's mind bubbling with questions. Once they reached her locker Gabriella began to put some of her books away.
"So…" Taylor began as she leaned against a set of lockers, "I thought that you didn't like Bolton?" Gabriella continued to put her books away, ignoring Taylor's question, which only aggravated Taylor even more. "Gabriella, you said that you didn't like him."
Gabriella shut her locker and turned to Taylor with pleading eyes. "Can we please talk about this later?"
"Fine, but you better tell me everything." Taylor said, crossing her arms in disbelief.
~~SOMETHING~NEW~~
Once the first block bell rang, signaling that it was free period, Taylor grabbed Gabriella's arm and practically dragged her to the library. They got a table towards the back and put their stuff down.
"Taylor, when I meant later I didn't mean in the library right now." Gabriella said as she opened her AP English notebook and began writing the thesis for the paper that they were assigned.
Taylor pulled her chair closer to Gabriella and closed her notebook. "This is serious. Have you ever had a boyfriend before?"
"Uh, yeah." Gabriella said without any confidence.
Taylor shook her head. "It's alright, me neither. And I don't plan on involving myself in any relationships in high school. I don't want you to make the same mistake."
"I don't like Troy like that."
Taylor laughed. "Are you sure?"
Gabriella put her head in her hands and let out a huge sigh. "I don't know. He's too nice to me."
"Clearly." Taylor said, rolling her eyes.
"I mean, he offered to give me a ride home yesterday and then his truck wouldn't start so I steered and him and Chad pushed it in the rain. Then they dropped me off and they were soaked so I invited them in my house to dry off. Then this morning he asked me if I needed a ride and we were talking as if we've known each other since Kindergarten."
"But why was his arm around you when I saw you this morning?"
"I really hate when people stare at me and all of those cheerleaders were just—"
"Staring." Taylor interrupted.
"Why do you want to know all of this anyway?" Gabriella asked, putting her head back into her hands.
"It's weird seeing Bolton act this way around anyone. I've known him for a long time and he usually goes for the cheerleaders and dumb broads. Maybe because his last breakup was so bad he finally got smart and decided to stop going out with the girls who want him."
"Taylor, I really think that we're just friends."
"A friend who is a girl and is intelligent and isn't a dumb broad and isn't one of the basketball boys."
At just the right time, the bell sounded signaling the end of free period.
"Have fun in Physics with him." Taylor said laughing.
Shaking her head, Gabriella picked up her books and walked away from the table, yelling back to Taylor "We're just friends."
A/N: The New Year is just around the corner! Hope everyone had a happy holiday! Let me know what you thought of this chapter! I'm open to suggestions, so let me know what you want to happen!
~Meg :)