Hey!! I want to give a quick thanks to everyone who story alerted this story (there were like 9 of you) and extra special thanks goes to lilmissmonique, maurie1297, liv3.in.lov3 and naughtycate for reviewing the last chapter :-D I was going to wait until I had written another chapter of this story to post this one, but seeing as school starts tomorrow I decided to go ahead and post this. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to get another chapter out to you guys quickly... but we'll see. And if anybody is curious as to how long this story will be, right now I'm planning about 10 chapters... but if you've read any of my stuff before you know that my projected planning doesn't always work too well hahaha But this story will be more of Group Date's size rather than Against the Odds...

But anyway, read the chapter, review the chapter and if you really like it recommend it to your friends ;)

Chapter 2

Chad shook his head as he entered the locker room and found Troy changing for gym.

"We missed you in homeroom, captain."

Troy grinned sheepishly before shrugging.

"I thought you were going to break up with Sharpay."

Troy sighed and nodded. "I am, I swear."

"How many times are you going to say that before you actually do it?"

Troy watched as his best friend walked off. Chad was right, he had been saying he was going to break things off with Sharpay since before school had let out for the summer and now 4 months later, he was still with her. What Chad didn't realize was that it was impossible to get a word in when he was with Sharpay-when they were actually talked-as she dominated the conversation. He wondered what his friend would say if he knew about the girl he had met during the summer-the one he had cheated on Sharpay with.

Shaking his head, Troy headed to the gym but froze when he found his dad Coach Bolton blocking the entrance to the gym with his arms crossed.

"I know what you're going to say."

"It's the first day, Troy, and you couldn't even manage to get to homeroom?"

"Sorry, dad."

"You're the one that will be sorry when you're stuck in detention all day tomorrow."

"All day? What?"

"The school has become stricter when it comes to skipping, Troy, and it looks like you're going to be the example of what happens to students who skip."

"Great."

"Keep in mind that this team has a three detention and you're out policy when you debate whether or not to go to homeroom from now on."

The next morning, Troy reported directly to the detention room, he didn't want to give Sharpay a chance to drag him off to a janitor's closet like she had done the morning before. Not that he had objected when they were in the closet-the girl had mad skills when it came to kissing and using her tongue in general. Though, she didn't have anything over-

"Troy!"

He cringed when he heard her squeal as she came in the door. She practically skipped over to him and gave him a long drawn out kiss before sliding into the seat next to him.

"I hope we're the only ones in here today, because I heard that Miss Pratt leaves the room to go watch TV in the teachers' lounge."

Troy forced a smile on his face as he turned his attention to the door, praying that somebody else would have detention with them. His heart quickened when he saw the door open, but rolled his eyes when he saw Chad poke his head in the room.

"Hey! I was looking for you."

"You found me."

His curly haired friend studied his face before he walked over and knelt by Troy's chair.

"Do you need me to stay in here with you?"

Troy glanced at Sharpay and shook his head.

"You sure?"

Troy nodded again.

"Alright, text me if you need me. You know if things get a little-"

"Mr. Danforth, I don't see your name on the detention list, but I can add it if you'd like."

Chad and Troy looked up to see Miss Pratt standing in the doorway.

"No, your honor ma'am, I was just collecting Troy's homework, you see, so he could turn it in without getting points marked off."

Troy ripped a piece of paper out of his notebook and handed it to Chad.

"Yup, see, it's his homework. Bye."

Chad fled the room quickly and breathed a sigh of relief once the door was closed behind him. He glanced at his watch then sprinted to Ms. Darbus' class, sliding in the door just as the bell rang.

"Mr. Danforth, you are to be in your seat when the bell rings. If you're late again, it will be an automatic detention."

Chad nodded his head and slid into his seat. He gave Taylor a small smile as Ms. Darbus called role.

"Hey Ms. Darbus, where are Sharpay and Troy?"

"Probably in the janitor's closet again."

Chad shot a dirty look at the two jokesters in the back of the room and they quit laughing.

"Not that it is any of your business, Mr. Stevens, but seeing as though it is the result of a new school policy-"

Chad tuned Ms. Darbus out as she rambled on about how one unexcused absence resulted in a day of in school suspension. He doubted if she was placed in a life or death situation and she was told she could say three final words that she wouldn't be able to do it-though if she was being held captive she could probably save herself by talking her captures to death. He chuckled to himself then rubbed his arm after Taylor swatted it.

"Would you like to share with the class what you find so funny about the new detention policy?"

Chad looked up from Taylor to find Ms. Darbus staring at him expectantly. He shook his head. Then he waited for Ms. Darbus to turn her back to him before he buried his face in his hands.

--

Gabriella sighed as she followed Taylor and Chad through the lunch line. She grimaced as a lunch lady placed a greasy piece of pizza on her tray then motioned her to move along. As she followed the two love birds to a table in the center of the cafeteria, she made a mental note to start making her lunches the night before so if she woke up late-like that morning-she'd still have a good lunch to eat.

"So Gabriella, how do you like Albuquerque so far?"

Gabriella smiled as she watched Taylor unfold her paper napkin and place it on her lap while Chad took a big bite of the greasy pizza then wiped his hands on his pant leg.

"I like it so far."

It wasn't a complete lie. It was just that she hadn't been many places in town and she was hesitant to do so because she didn't want to get too attached to the city and the people there. After all, she'd spent the past 6 semesters at 5 different high schools in 5 different states.

"Hey Chad, the snack bar has the jumbo rice crispy treats again."

Gabriella's mind had barely registered that somebody had walked by them when she realized that Chad was gone. Taylor just shook her head.

"Rice crispy treats are his favorite junk food."

"I can tell."

Taylor laughed. "So what all have you done in town?"

"I've been to the mall, the hospital and Wal-mart."

"You haven't been to the library yet?"

"Not yet."

"Girl, you have to come. We have the best selection in the world, though I might be a little biased since I work there."

"You work at the library?"

"Yup, Chad's mom is the head librarian there. You know, if you're interested, I could see if there are any job openings."

Gabriella had never had a job before, but maybe the chances of her mom accepting another transfer for her job would go down if Gabriella had a job.

"I'll think about it and let you know."

Taylor smiled then rolled her eyes when she saw her boyfriend walking back with a handful of rice crispy treats. She grabbed two off the top and handed one to Gabriella before tucking one in her purse for later.

"Hey! Those are mine."

"Chad, you don't need to eat all those. Besides it would be rude for you to eat all of those in front of Gabriella and I without sharing."

He stuck his tongue out at her before sitting down. He kept his eyes on his prized rice crispy treats as he reached under the table and grabbed his backpack then shoved them in.

"So Gabriella, do you have a boyfriend?"

Gabriella froze in mid-sip of her orange juice. Did she? Normally she'd say no, she made a point to not get involved with guys, not matter how cute they were. But she had met a guy over the summer and she had forgotten about her rules.

The bell signaling the end of lunch rang before Gabriella had a chance to answer Taylor's question, but that didn't seem to faze Taylor at all.

"We'll just have to finish this conversation later."

Gabriella forced a smile on her face and made a mental note to figure out what she and Wildcat were or more accurately, had been.