Free period finally rolled around and Gabriella's mind was racing. What on earth was Kelsi saying, and more importantly, why did it have the words "Bad" and "Gabriella" in it?
Taylor, Kelsi, and Gabriella walked to their lockers which were contently beside each other to put up their books.
"So where are we hanging out today?" Kelsi spoke up as she shoved her math textbook in her small red locker.
"Outside basketball courts?" Taylor offered up.
"As long as the players aren't there." Gabriella confirmed.
"No they are practicing in the inside gym today." Taylor answered.
"You seem to know a lot about the guys' basketball team." Gabriella teased.
"Yeah. Do you like Chad or something?" Kelsi joked as she and Gabriella started laughing.
Kelsi and Gabriella stopped laughing when they noticed Taylor was not joining in. "Do you like him?" Kelsi guessed. Gabriella and Kelsi both stopped laughing and turned to their dark skinned friend.
Taylor did not reply, instead, she grabbed one of Gabriella's arms and one of Kelsi's arms. Taylor walked out the double doors of the school and to the outside basket ball courts where no one else was.
"I do. But… I… just keep it quiet." Taylor said with a finger pressed to her lips.
Gabriella and Kelsi's jaws hit the green grass hard. "Huh?" they stuttered simultaneously.
"I kind of… sort of like Chad, but I know that with the whole social status quo that it is never going to happen so I just fantasize." Taylor explained slowly to Kelsi and Gabriella.
"Oh… well, we will just have to see about that." Gabriella muttered, a plan already forming in her head. She shot Kelsi a knowing glance and Kelsi shook her head in agreement.
"Shit! I forgot my math binder in my locker!" Gabriella made-up, after faking to look through her book bag. "Tay? Could you go grab it for me?"
"Oh, sure" Taylor answered before turning around to walk back in the school.
"It's the blue one!" Gabriella called after the retreating figure.
Once Taylor was out of hearing range, Gabriella turned to Kelsi. "What is this little plan you are thinking of?" Kelsi asked Gabriella.
"Mission, not plan" Gabriella corrected, "Mission…" Gabriella put her finger to her chin in thought, causing Kelsi to laugh, "Disrupt-the-status-quo-and-get-Taylor-and-Chad-together-without-having-a-nasty-run-in-with-the-asshole. Or DTSQAGTACTWHANRIWTA!" Gabriella said really fast.
"You can remember the name!" Kelsi pointed at Gabriella, "So what do I do?"
Gabriella leaned over to Kelsi and told her the little plan that she had cooked up. "So what do you think?" Gabriella asked after she finished explaining.
"If all goes well they should be together in three days, tops!" Kelsi said hushed when she noticed that Taylor was making her way back over to the pair.
"It wasn't in there." Taylor told Gabriella, referring to the math binder that she had been asked to retrieve.
"Silly me! It was in my Bag the whole damn time! Sorry for making you walk there and back Tay." Gabriella lied.
"No prob" Taylor answered. "We still hanging out here until your bro is done with his little basket ball practice?"
"Yeppers!" Gabriella said oddly, earning odd looks from the other two girls. "What?" she asked, but the one response she got was an eye roll from Taylor and a head shake from Kelsi.
&Beat Up By A Girl&
"So… What was this you were talking about in homeroom?" Gabriella asked Kelsi as they sat on the grass beside the outdoor basket ball courts.
"Yeah…that… Troy kinda stole my phone and took your cell phone number off of it before I got it back." Kelsi said really fast before burying her head in her hands, ready for Gabriella to explode.
"So you mean… the asshole... has my cell phone number?" Gabriella stuttered shocked.
Kelsi shook her head silently.
"You better be shitting me!" Gabriella almost hollered. Kelsi and Taylor both looked at the grass. "Fuck, fuck, fuck…" Gabriella repeated as she banged her head into the grass.
Taylor held out her hand to stop Gabriella right before her head collided with the grass once again. "It is not that bad…"
"That bad? That bad? Oh hell yeah this is that bad! He has my phone number! My cell phone number! He could-" Gabriella ranted on until Kelsi placed her hand over Gabriella's mouth to shut her up.
"Ew!!" Kelsi said and wiped her palm against the grass. "You licked my hand!"
Gabriella smirked. She learned that when she was five. If you want some one's hand off you mouth just lick their palm. The person will jerk away, never do it again, and cause a laughable scene.
"As I was saying… He could-" Gabriella stopped instantly when she saw the entire boys' varsity basketball team (all shirtless) running to the outside court.
Kelsi nudged Taylor in the ribs knowingly. Taylor still held her gaze on the bushy-haired basketball player.
Kelsi nodded to Gabriella and Gabriella rose to her feet. "Gawk a little less at my bro." Gabriella teased.
"Huh? Oh… I" Taylor stuttered.
Gabriella smirked. Her legs carried her over to the guys' shooting hoops. As Gabriella had planned Coach Bolton just sent the guys out here to shoot around while he did some stuff in his office.
"Chad!" Gabriella beckoned her brother.
At this Taylor let her face fall in her hands. "She better not do something concerning what I just told her." Taylor thought.
Chad chest-passed the orange sphere that he had in his hands to another black-haired player. "What up?"
"Taylor, Kels, and I are going to catch a movie after your practice. You wanna join us?" Gabriella asked.
"As long as it is not some chick flick… and it can't be a romance movie either." Chad demanded saying the word "romance" like it was a disease.
"You have no taste!" Gabriella teased, "But whatever. Make sure you shower though, otherwise you would make all the females around us suddenly become lesbians."
The basketball players were waiting for Chad to finish and were standing still in a semi-circle around them. They all chuckled at Gabriella's comment. Troy had been chatting with another player, but he even chuckled. Troy turned and watched the two.
Troy was really confusing himself. He was actually attracted to Gabriella, and that it self was scaring him. He did not do commitment, of any sort. Well, unless you count basketball… so put it this way, he didn't do commitment to people.
"Ha-ha you are so funny." Chad said sarcastically.
"Ok, and hurry. You are worse than a girl on how long it takes you to get ready." Gabriella continued on with her teasing.
"Hey! The hair has to look good!" Chad defended.
"Sure." Gabriella muttered. She thought that it was about time to actually tell Taylor that they were going to the movies so she turned around.
She found her self right in front of a shirtless Troy. God, he had muscles. And by muscles, I mean, rock hard abs and perfectly chiseled arms. He looked like a statue carved to perfection.
Yet, Gabriella pushed all this out of her mind in an instant. Troy had a victorious look on his face and she was determined to slap it right off. Gabriella already knew why he had that look. He thought that she was going to gawk at his figure (like most all of the other girls at East High) and not be able to say a coherent sentence. How wrong he was.
She didn't let her eyes stay on his for more than an instant. "Ahhhh!" Gabriella screeched, covering her eyes with her hands, "My eyes! They burn!" Gabriella shuffled backwards towards Chad. "Chad, help me! I think I just saw a transsexual!"
Chad was laughing along with the rest of the basketball team while Troy's face was an expression that was unreadable. Troy didn't look pissed, he looked…emotionless.
An idea ran over Troy like a speeding railcar. He stepped towards Gabriella and placed a hand on both sides of her waist. "Want me to prove that I am not one? I gladly would to you." Troy whispered suggestively and huskily in Gabriella's left ear.
"Oh my fucking god!" Gabriella said slowly, "Chad, a transsexual just touched me!" Gabriella yelled and jumped out of Troy's grasp. After sending a smirk unseen to anyone else to Troy, Gabriella ran back to the girls.
Troy's expression changed to more of a shocked one that the entire basketball team could read. He even muttered "What the hell?" It was so surprising to him that this girl hadn't fallen for any of his charms…yet. But after all this it was just more of a turn-on.
"I guess she doesn't like transsexuals." Chad answered Troy's incoherently muttered question. Before Troy had the chance to shoot Chad a glare, Coach Bolton arrived.
"Okay guys, hit the showers! Practice is over!" Coach Bolton ordered.
The team hustled to the locker room after a few words of praise from Coach.
Chad jumped into a shower and started the usual thirty minute routine of pampering his hair.
Troy leaned against one of the red lockers in the guys locker room with a lone white towel wrapped securely around his waist. He through a polo shirt over his head as his mind thought of a brilliant idea, what more fun than to accompany Chad, Taylor, Kelsi, and Gabriella on a trip to the movies?
Chad hurried though his shower and darted to meet the girls.
The girls were still in the same spot as before except they were leaning against the tree trunk, obviously waiting on Chad. "New World Record! Chad only took fifteen minutes to take one measly shower!" Gabriella teased as the four walked to her car to set off for the movie theater.
Troy pulled out of the parking lot after the four. This was going to be interesting.
