Baby for Sale
Disclaimer: I only own this plot. I do not own High School Musical or Hello Kitty.
Chapter 3: Reality Sets In
Before Charles Niquist can react properly, she is already out the door which is still vibrating from being slammed with such force.
"This is going to be more difficult than I anticipated", Niquist mumbles.
Sharpay fumbles with the key in her apartment, her hands shaking slightly in the process. I can't believe they actually expected me to ... unngh! It's a horribly hot August day in the city and for once, Sharpay is grateful that Kelsi will have the air conditioner set to arctic conditions. Therefore, she is extremely surprised when she opens the door and a blast of hot air hits her right in the face. It must be 90 degrees in here. What's wrong with Kelsi? Is she crazy?
She slams the door shut and immediately turns around to lock the four deadbolt locks into place. This is New York City, after all. Sharpay stumbles into her apartment and immediately drops her keys and her pink Hello Kitty purse on the small table by the door. Maybe she's finally killed that ancient air conditioner. Sharpay stalks over to it and turns it on full blast. Then, she opens her arms out wide and relishes the feel of the icy air as it hits her sweat soaked face. She slowly rotates her body in order to feel the cool air on her back. As she is standing with her back to the window looking out over the not-so-great room, it suddenly occurs to her that something's wrong ... something's missing. The wall next to their tiny television is strangely bare. The piano! Kelsi's piano is gone! Kelsi's gone. How could I have forgotten that?
Quickly, she checks her watch and sees that it's almost eleven o'clock in the morning. Kelsi's flight is supposed to leave at noon. She must already be at the airport, but it's not too late to call her before the flight boards. Sharpay walks back over to the table where she sat her purse and picks it up. She sighs deeply as she remembers how Kelsi gave her the Hello Kitty purse for her birthday six months ago as a joke because Sharpay's favorite color is pink. It was really on a dare that she actually started carrying it. Flipping back Kitty's head, she starts to dig through looking for her phone.
"Hello?"
"Kels, it's me. I'm so glad I caught you before you left", Sharpay says as she flops back onto the sofa.
"Sharpay! What happened to you last night? Chad and I were dancing and then, when we came back to the table, you were gone."
"Chad? What are you talking about? Chad was with me", she says.
"No, no ... the one with the curly hair was named Chad. He brought me to the airport. The other one, ... his name was ... well, I don't remember his name. It's not important anyway."
"It's important to me! We, um, sort of spent the night together, Kels", Sharpay whispers into the phone, even though she is sitting in an empty apartment.
"You did what? You, Miss Dedicated to My Craft, No Time for Fun, Evans, spent the night with a guy? A guy, I might add, whom you don't even know and you got his name wrong. Didn't he say anything when you called him by the wrong name?"
"Uggg, this isn't helping Kelsi. And, um, we didn't exactly do a lot of talking, okay?"
"Hey, Shar. I'd really love to hear more about your evening and I'll call you when I get back home, but my plane's about to board, so I have to run. Oh, and sorry about the bills, but we spent all the money my mom sent on the booze and stuff last night. So, bye. Okay?"
"Yeah ... yeah. Bye Kelsi. I'm gonna really miss you", Sharpay stares at the picture of her best friend on her phone before slowly closing it.
Wow, this is it. I'm really and truly on my own now. She sits back and looks around the room contemplating her next move. Chad! Or whatever his name is. How am I supposed to find him now? Oh, hi. I'm looking for one of your students. He's a senior; I don't know what his major is or his name, but I know it's not Chad. ... Yeah, that'll work.
Just then, her depressing thoughts are interrupted by a loud knock at the door. Trudging over, she looks through the hazy peep-hole to see her flamboyant landlady.
Throwing open all the locks, she opens the door for Mrs. Darbus. She is standing there with a stack of envelopes, gripping them tightly with her gaudily bejeweled fingers.
"Felicia!", Sharpay exclaims to the older woman. After their recent two hour bonding session, Mrs. Darbus had insisted that Sharpay call her by her first name; although, Sharpay thinks she saw Mrs. Darbus flinch slightly when she used her given name. "Please, come in. How have you been?"
"Miss Evans ... ", Mrs. Darbus hisses as she adjusts her over-sized glasses, more for effect than anything else.
"Is there a problem, Felicia?", Sharpay asks in a falsely cheerful voice.
Mrs. Darbus walks in and looks around the room with more than a casual glance. Then, she turns to Sharpay and shoves the envelopes at her.
"The mailman gave these to me to deliver. It appears that no one has checked your mailbox in over three days and it's overflowing with bills. Most of which are marked as overdue, incidentally."
"Oh ...", Sharpay says as she accepts the envelopes. "Thanks for bringing them to me. I really appreciate it; that was so nice of you. Would you like to stay for a cup of tea?", Sharpay chirps merrily. Oh boy, I'm really laying it on thick.
"I saw the music store rental truck here earlier this morning, Miss Evans. They were loading up your roommate's piano. Then, she left a few minutes later with a curly-haired black man who was carrying her very large suitcase. Is he her new boyfriend? Has she moved in with him, Miss Evans?"
"What!?", Sharpay asks incredulously, "Oh no, he was only taking her to the airport." As soon as the words leave her mouth, she knows she's made a huge mistake.
"Oh r-e-a-l-l-y? She's taking a little vacation; I take it."
"Um ... no, not really. You see ... Kelsi's decided to move back home to Albuquerque."
"I see. Were you planning on finding another roommate to help you with the rent, Miss Evans?"
"Well, I haven't really had time to think about that, but it seems like a good idea. Do you have anyone in mind?", she asks hopefully.
"Yes, I do, actually. A young couple just put in an application this morning. They're very upscale; already working in the industry and they are prepared to move in at the end of this week."
"A couple? But this place is barely large enough for two. There's no way there's room for three adults", Sharpay says, still oblivious to what Darbus is actually saying.
"Exactly, Miss Evans. Your rent was due two weeks ago. I know I said you could have an extra week, but it doesn't look to me like you have any way of coming up with the money. Am I right?"
Sharpay just stares at her with a hopeless look on her face.
"That's what I thought", Mrs. Darbus continues smugly. "I expect you to be moved out by Friday afternoon. That's only two days, Miss Evans. Make it happen!" With that she whips one end of her long, flowing scarf back over her shoulder as she flawlessly executes a dramatic exit from the room.
"What am I going to do?"
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Troy is awkwardly trying to balance his lunch tray which is overflowing with food and a can of Jolt cola with his backpack full of books which keeps trying to fall off his shoulder. He puts the tray down at one of the few empty tables in the crowded cafeteria; then, he throws his backpack in one of the seats and flops down into the other. He's dead tired and has a headache that feels like its pounding a hole in his head. Troy really needs some caffeine. He takes a deep breath and is just about to take a sip of cola when Chad comes up behind him.
"Troy, my man! What happened to you last night?", Chad exclaims as he grabs one of the other chairs at the table and twisting it around backwards straddles it as he sits down. "Kelsi and I were dancing and when we came back to the table you and Charlene were gone."
"Charlene? I thought her name was Charlotte", he asks in confusion.
"Well, it was pretty loud in there. I could have heard wrong, I guess. Anyway, Kelsi and I ended up going to some all night diner for breakfast around five when the club closed. Then, I went with her back to her place."
Troy takes a huge bite out of his giant bacon double cheeseburger and follows it immediately with a swig of Jolt cola. He didn't realize how hungry he really was. Well, he did miss breakfast in the big rush to get back to his room and grab his books for classes.
"Really?...", Troy questions wryly as he swishes the soda around in his mouth.
Chad is definitely a player and it's not at all unusual for him to not come back to the fraternity house for days at a time. Troy has no idea how he passes his classes.
"Naw man, not like that. She was moving back to New Mexico and she needed help finishing her packing and then, I went with her to the airport to catch her flight. I came straight from there. How 'bout you? Where'd you and blondie run off to?"
"Um ... Brooklyn, actually."
"Brooklyn? Why'd you go there?", Chad asks as he reaches over to snatch a fry off Troy's plate.
"I have no earthly idea. I'm ... ah, not sure how we got there exactly. We were both pretty wasted, but we woke up together in a hotel in Brooklyn this morning. I missed my eight o'clock class", he finishes with a loud sigh.
"You? I'm shocked and appalled at such behavior, young man", Chad says sarcastically.
"Yeah, I know, man; this is the first time I've ever had a one night stand", he says solemnly.
"No, not that. I'm proud of you about that. I'm shocked that you skipped a class."
"Ha ha. But seriously, now I'm stuck. I'd like to see her again, but I forgot to get her number or even her last name. I'm really screwed, Chad."
Troy looks up to see that Chad isn't even paying attention to him anymore. Instead, he is staring at a table across the room with three girls who are having lunch together. They are all dressed in business suits and jackets --- very unusual for college students. Troy figures they are either business majors or pre-law.
Troy waves his hand in front of his friend's face. "Chad? Hey, earth to Chad. Were you even listening to me?"
"What? Oh yeah, man ... sure ... that's a great idea", Chad mumbles, having absolutely no idea what his friend just said.
One of the girls at the table rises and picks up her tray. She is attractive with full lips and shoulder length straightened black hair. Her skin tone is slightly darker than Chad's caramel colored skin and she is dressed professionally in a navy blazer and khaki skirt.
"Hey Troy, my man, I gotta get goin'. That's Taylor; I met her at the bookstore last week and I've been trying to hook up with her ever since", Chad explains as he stands up, all the while watching the girl.
"She looks a little out of your league, Chad."
"Hey, I'm not the one who likes my women a little on the trashy side", he counters back. "Besides, those smart ones know stuff, if you get my drift and they're aren't just about the whole 'how good do I look wearing this, Chad'", he finishes in a high-pitched, falsetto voice.
"Hey, I don't always like trashy women; that girl last night wasn't trashy; she was cute."
"Uh, huh. So's a mountain lion until you pet them", Chad comments as he points towards Troy's neck. "Looks like your cute girl got a little rough with you, man. You're sportin' a sizable hickey there."
Troy self-consciously reaches up to his neck. He can't actually feel anything, but he does remember something.
"You aren't going to bite me, are you?", Troy asks the tiny blonde who is currently lying on top of him and peppering little kisses on his neck.
She lifts her head up slightly to answer him. "Who me? I wouldn't do something like that. That would be so high schoolish." With that she continues her assault on his neck.
"High schoolish? Is that a real word?", Troy asks huskily.
"You talk too much, B-man."
"Well, just watch the teeth because otherwise, you'll have to be punished", Troy says teasingly.
She lifts up on her elbows to look him in the eye. "Mmmm, is that a threat ... or a promise?"
"Oh, that's definitely a promise."
She plunges back down to his pulse point and within seconds, he lets out a yelp when she nips him with her teeth.
"You've done it now!", he exclaims as he flips them over so he's on top.
Now it's Chad turn to do the hand waving. "Troy! ... Troy?"
Troy blinks quickly as he comes back to the present.
"Where were you, man?", Chad asks with concern.
"Someplace nicer than here, that's for sure."
"Well, I'm outta here. I'll see you later, back at the house, okay?"
"Sure Chad, but just one question. Business or pre-law?", Troy asks, referring to the well-dressed girl.
"Oh ... she's gonna be one of the country's top lawyers one of these days. You mark my words. ... Hey, how'd you know?"
"Just a lucky guess."
Taylor is walking out the door so without another word, Chad rushes off to catch up with her. Troy glances down at his watch and curses under his breath as he hurries to dump his tray and run out for his next class.
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The sun is trying to blast it's way through the dirty windows and Sharpay groans as she buries her head under the pillow. She tossed and turned most of the night and finally dozed off only about an hour previously. She doesn't even understand why she's awake; she certainly doesn't want to be. Slowly, she becomes aware of an insistent rapping at her door.
Oh, that explains why I'm awake. Who could possibly be here so early?
She stumbles out of bed and towards the front door. Not until she reaches it, does she look down and realize she is only wearing her over-sized sleeping shirt and her hair feels like a mess from all the tossing she's done throughout the night. Sharpay stands on her tip-toes since she's in her bare feet and doesn't have the added height of her shoes. She looks through the peep hole and sees ... her mother?
Oh God, how can my mom be here?
She quickly throws back the bolts and flings open the door. Sharpay and her mother hadn't parted on the best of terms, but that didn't mean she didn't still love her and wasn't very excited to see her. Unfortunately, the happy expression on her face quickly turns sad and then confused as she stares at the woman standing there in front of her. She is the same height as Sharpay with the same shade of brown eyes and the same skin tone. Her hair is ashe blonde (dyed, no doubt) and swept up into a elegant bun. She is wearing an expensive powder blue Carte suit with a skirt. Her matching beige Prada pumps and handbag complete the ensemble. She is classy, but understated. This isn't her mother; however, she does bare a striking resemblance to her and so Sharpay quickly realizes exactly who she is before she even says a word.
"Sharpay Evans? Hello, I'm Cynthia Vanderbilt. I think we need to talk."
TBC
Here's what I have to say about that...
Oh my, what's going to happen to poor Sharpay.? Is Mrs. Darbus going to kick her out onto the streets or can she find another solution?
What about poor Troy? Will he ever find Charlotte or Charlene or whatever the heck her name is?
And who could Chad possibly be referring to when he said 'You like your women a little on the trashy side'? I'll give you one guess --- starts with a G.
Until next time, please R & R.