Disclaimer: Kingdomainia and I own nothing. Sad isn't it?
Chapter 3: Institution Material
"That's great, thanks so much Charlie. No I'll tell her." Ryan Evans nodded his blonde head, which was covered by a black fedora, "I'm actually walking into Hollywood Records here in Albuquerque to meet her now. No our flight is tonight at 11, so we'll be getting into LA late." Ryan sent a smile towards the pretty girl at the front desk before hitting the up button on the elevator. "I promise, I'll call you when we land, but it'll be late, now I'm getting on an elevator so I'll probably lose you, but I'll call you. Bye." He ended the phone call and stepped into the elevator, watching as the button that read 5 lit up.
"I have no idea where he is." Gabriella sighed as she looked around at the rest of her label record. She glanced at her phone, "He just can't be on time."
"Who can't be on time? You certainly aren't speaking about me, cause I'm always on time." Ryan gave the room his cheeky grin as he tossed his phone on the table, turning off his Bluetooth and taking it off his ear, "Damn thing isn't comfortable like they say it is."
"Of course you're never late, 20 minutes after the agreed time has past is early." Gabriella shrugged, "On the West Coast."
"Not the point however my love, because we have work to do, have you contacted Mr. Bolton?"
Gabriella sighed and nodded, "We're meeting later today, but don't worry I'll be at the airport at 10 like I promised."
"Good, good. Let's get to work now." Ryan clapped his hands, signaling the beginning of the meeting.
Gabriella slipped her sunglasses on as she left the Hollywood Records building. "What a meeting." She muttered, unlocking her car and sliding into the driver's side. Her head was spinning it was an honor to be able to sing at the Teen's Choice Awards, but to sing the opening and closing songs was just plain crazy.
Pulling into her driveway, she hopped out of her car, avoiding the flashing cameras as she pulled her keys out, intent on getting in her house as quickly as possible. Setting her bags down, she pulled her planner out and walked over to the fridge.
"Okay Gabs, you just dial his number and ask when he wants to meet. Simple as that. Not difficult, he's just another guy. Don't think about the fact that it's Troy Bolton." Picking up her house phone she pressed the number in carefully. Downing half a bottle of water before she pressed 'Talk', she took a breath.
Three rings later, "Troy Bolton" rang through the phone.
She hesitated only a moment, "Hi Troy, it's Gabriella Montez."
"Hey Gabriella, what's up?"
"Um, you said we needed to meet about the awards…" She paused; did he think she was some creepy stalker now?
"Oh right, um, have you had lunch?"
"Nope, do you wanna meet somewhere?" She opened the blinds slightly, "Preferably where they ban cameras."
Troy chuckled; it was a deep sound that came from the back of his throat "Got a pen?" Gabriella scribbled down the name, address, and directions of a small restaurant that she'd never heard of and ran upstairs to change.
Opening her car door, this time dressed in low riding, light blue skinny jeans, turquoise and tan wedges and a brown halter, she slid in the driver's seat and pulled out, careful to avoid an impending lawsuit by hitting someone.
30 minutes later she parked her car next to the now familiar black Audi. Getting out of her car, she was relieved to find no people with cameras permanently attached to their hands. Smiling, she made her way inside and stopped at the hostess stand.
"Hi, I'm meeting Troy Bolton."
The woman looked up at her and smirked disdainfully, "And if I let every woman who said that sit at his table I'd lose my job."
Gabriella gave the smug woman a sunny smile, "Oh well that's okay, I suppose Troy can just walk up here." Flipping through her recent calls list, Gabriella hit the number that she recognized as Troy's.
"Troy Bolton."
"Hi Troy, it's Gabriella."
A small chortle echoed through the earpiece, "You're not lost are you?"
"Haha, no I'm not lost, on the contrary, I'm standing at the hostess stand, the lovely woman up here won't let me in. Apparently there are lots of women who request to sit at your table."
"Patricia." Troy muttered, "I'll be right there."
Pressing the end call button, Gabriella gave the woman another smile, "Troy will be right here, poor man probably has to walk across the entire restaurant. I'm Gabriella Montez," she paused and looked at the nametag on the woman's blouse, "it's nice to meet you Patricia."
"You're Gabriella Montez?" The woman asked incredulously, "The singer?"
"That would be correct." Gabriella turned at the sound of footsteps.
"Hey Gabriella, sorry about that." He gave Patricia a wave, "She's with me." Patricia nodded silently and watched as Troy led Gabriella across the restaurant to a booth in the back. "Sorry about Patricia, she gets a little protective of her regulars."
"I take it you're a regular?" Gabriella smiled as she sat down.
"That I am, and you will be too, once you eat one bite of your food, I promise."
Gabriella smiled again, "I'm going to have to hold you to that."
Troy returned the smile, "I don't think I'm going to mind that."
"So what's good here?" Gabriella opened the menu up, "Hmmm, something fattening…"
Troy chuckled again, "Fattening? Not a normal Hollywood Sweetheart."
Gabriella looked up, "Well first we're not in Hollywood, we're in Albuquerque" She grinned at the face Troy made, "and second, I'm hardly Hollywood's Sweetheart."
"Not according to every website and magazine." Troy countered.
Gabriella's mouth dropped open, "I'm sorry, but what?" She paused, "Have you been checking up on me Mr. Bolton."
Troy nodded vigorously, "I had to make sure I wasn't going to be working with a crazy person, and that you were who you claimed to be."
"Ah, so I guess you got a PI to check up on me."
"If by PI you mean my best friend Sharpay, then yes."
Gabriella arched an eyebrow, "Sharpay? Is she as scary as her name is."
"Hell yes." Troy smiled, "So what'll it be?" He asked her as the waiter came up to take their orders.
"So does most of Albuquerque's elite come here?" Gabriella asked as she took a bite of her chicken.
"Yeah, the owner is a friend of mine, Jason Cross, he's really strict about who comes in. He really uses the right to refuse service to anyone quote." Troy chuckled, "Basically he doesn't let people with cameras and microphones in. "Someone tried to sue him last year and our friend Taylor McKessie defended him. The plaintiff lost."
"Taylor McKessie? I've heard of her before. Good to know she knows what she's doing. I have a feeling Zeke's going to need her for the same reason." Gabriella shook her head.
"Zeke?" Troy caught her eye; "Shar didn't say anything about a boyfriend."
Choking on her food, Gabriella took a minute to catch her breath, "Zeke is hardly my boyfriend, he's my older brother's best friend. I used to work for him, he owns a café, Baylor's Pantry."
"Chad was telling me about that place, said the food's great, but some weird people hang out there."
Gabriella scrunched her face up in thought, "I dunno, what'd the person look like."
Troy paused to think for a minute, "Actually, the one girl he really described looked a bit like you, he said she was overly dramatic gesturing and offering to help get his coffee, telling him where he could wait."
"Oh my God does your friend have dark skin? Really curly big hair?" She paused, "And carry a basketball.
"Yup that's Chad." Troy confirmed.
"That was me. I was really making fun of Zeke cause he was being," she paused, "Well he was being Zeke."
Troy stared at her for a moment, "That was you? Boy I guess Chad sure had it wrong. He basically said you were crazy."
"Well Troy you really shouldn't judge me based on one lunch, I could be crazy." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"Yeah right, you crazy."
"You'll see, I'm pretty much institution material. I guess Chad and I'll be there together though. I mean the way he was talking on the phones. Is he gay? And does he always carry that basketball around?"
It was Troy's turn to burst into a small fit of laughter, "Brie don't ever let Chad hear you ask if he's gay. It'll offend him majorly. And yeah Allan has been attached to his hand since like freshman year. Of high school."
"Allan?" Gabriella arched an eyebrow.
"He named the basketball. He swears it's got a personality. If you're institution material then Chad definitely is and I must be for having friends like him and Sharpay and Jason. I think Taylor is the only normal one. How she dates Chad is beyond me. They've been together since sophomore year of college."
"And Sharpay and Jason? Together? Significant others? Too personal of questions?" Gabriella rattled off.
"Together? No and don't ask Sharpay that she might kill you. No they're both single and nope not too personal." Troy smiled at her. "So what about your friends and you said you had a brother?"
"Oh yeah, Mike is 5 years older than me and writes for the New York Times in New York so I don't ever see him. Other than that it's me, Zeke, and Kelsi. Kels and I went to high school here in Albuquerque together. If I'm not with them I'm with Jeffery and Joel, my photographer and fashion whatever. Love them. And there's Ryan my agent." She shrugged casually.
Glancing at his watch Troy looked up, "We should get to work on our skit I gotta pack and be at the airport by 10, I've got an 11 o'clock to LA."
Gabriella smiled. "Looks like we'll be on the same flight then."