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Chapter 6: Very First Day
Gabriella nervously paced her room. She looked at the clock: 4:30. AM. She groaned and flopped backwards on her bed. She waited or what felt like an hour before sitting back up again. She glanced at the clock, 4:33. Letting out a huff of aggravated air. She stood up, 'I'll just take a shower.' She thought ruefully. She walked into the adjoining bathroom and turned on the taps. She let the steam rise up and fog the mirror. Content that the water was hot enough, she stripped out of her seat pants and tank top and stepped in. The hot water relaxed her tense muscles. She sighed contentedly.
Troy shot up in bed. He frowned. Where was the running water coming from? Climbing out of bed, he quietly slipped out of his room and into the long hallway. Listening intently, he passed the guest bedroom. No running water. He passed his parents' room. Silence. Gabriella's room. Bingo. He looked at the door and scratched his head. Should he go in? Suddenly he felt a presence next to him.
"You heard it too?" Troy looked up to see hi dad tiredly rubbing his brown eyes. Troy nodded his response, a million thoughts running through his head. Why had she chosen the room at the end of the hall? What was she doing up at 4:40 in the morning? Before school. "I'm going back to bed." Jack patted his on lightly on the shoulder before turning around to go back to his room.
The water stopped. Taking a deep breath, Troy decided to see if she wanted to talk. 'Fat chance of that', he thought sarcastically. He twisted the handle, 'Typical,' he shook his head, 'locked.'
Gabriella jumped. Clutching the towel around her slightly battered body. Someone was trying to get into her room. As quietly as possible, she grabbed fresh clothes and slipped into them. The knob turned again. She made her way to the balcony. She stood outside, the wind rushing past her. She watched her doorknob intently, until it was still. She sighed, he'd given up. Whoever 'he' was.
Troy shook his head in aggravation. The girl living in his house that he fucking cared about was fucking impossible. Too tired to care anymore for the moment, Troy trudged down the short path to his room. He yawned as he crawled back into bed for another two hours of sleep.
The phone rattled on her nightstand. Taylor jumped in surprise of the sound. She looked up from her book. The clock read 5:03 AM. She picked up her cell phone and smiled at the number.
"Hey El." Her greeting was full of stress and slightly worn out.
"You not sleeping too Tay?" Gabriella sounded fearful, like she was looking over her shoulder constantly.
"El? What's going on?" Taylor's voice molded form worn out to concern in a matter of seconds.
"Someone just tried to get into my room." Gabriella's voice was quiet. Like a child who was lost and searching for her mother.
"It was probably just Jack or Troy. They must've heard you up and about." Taylor tired to reassure both of them. She looked towards her own door. Getting out of bed, she double-checked the lock. The door was securely bolted from the inside. She would be safe for another two hours, give or take.
The girls talked quietly on the phone for another 20 minutes, "What are you wearing tomorrow El?" Gabriella could hear Taylor standing up and making her way to her spacious closet.
Getting up herself, Gabriella surveyed her wardrobe. "I have no idea Tay. Any suggestions?"
Taylor tapped her chin thoughtfully. She closed her brown eyes, attempting to picture her best friend's wardrobe that she knew so well. "Um, well it's supposed to be a thousand degrees…" she trailed off, "How about that green sundress from Reve?"
Gabriella dug through her closet noiselessly, "You mean the one with the braded straps?"
Taylor nodded, "Yeah that one." She thought for a second, "With the gold and brown wedges."
Gabriella laid the outfit out, "You sure?"
"El, this isn't Episcopal, no more dress code. Let's have fun and reinvent ourselves." Taylor giggled at the thought. A sound for sore ears.
"Okay, then you should wear that little jean skirt. The dark one. With those red ballet flats and that white and red top with flowers on the boarder." Gabriella looked through her jewelry for a few minutes. Pulling out a pair of gold earrings with crystal balls at the end and a gold cross, she began putting the jewelry on. She glanced at the clock, 6:47.
"Silver jewelry?" Taylor asked.
"Yeah, and I'm doing gold." Gabriella smiled.
"Perfect." Gabriella could hear Taylor rummaging around. Pulling out a pair of sliver thread earrings and a silver music note necklace. The girls talked for another 5 minutes before hanging up to get ready.
Troy's alarm went off and he hit it with a forceful bang. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes trying to adjust himself to the light seeping in. He just wanted to go back to sleep. He'd finally gotten over worrying about Gabriella for the night when that damn alarm started obnoxiously buzzing.
Sighing, he stood up and got in the shower. Coming out, he began getting dressed, when he heard a sweet voice singing down the hallway.
You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors
It's the morning of your very first day
You say hi to your friends you ain't seen in a while
Try and stay out of everybody's way
It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here
For the next four years in this town
Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say
You know I haven't seen you around, before
Cause when you're fifteen and
Somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen, feeling like
There's nothing to figure out
Well count to ten, take it in
This is life before you know
Who you're gonna be
Fifteen
Lucille Bolton closed the door to her bedroom to go downstairs to make breakfast. Her head turned slightly when she heard singing coming from Gabriella's room. She stopped to listen for a minute.
You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail
And soon enough you're best friends
Laughing at the other girls who think they're so cool
We'll be out of here as soon as we can
And then you're on your very first date
And he's got a car
And you're feeling like flying
And you're mama's waiting up and you're thinking
He's the one
And you're dancing 'round your room when the night ends
When the night ends
Lucille smiled and turned to walk away, the beautiful sound getting further and further away.
Cause when you're fifteen and
Somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
When you're fifteen and your first kiss
Makes your head spin 'round
In your life you'll do things greater than
Dating the boy on the football team
But I didn't know it at fifteen
When all you wanted was to be wanted
Wish you could go back
And tell yourself what you know now
Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams of mine
And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy
Who changed his mind
And we both cried
Cause when you're fifteen and
Somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen, don't forget to look
Before you fall
I've found time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you're supposed to be
I didn't know who I was supposed to be
At fifteen
La, la, la, la, la….
Your very first day
Take a deep breath girl
Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors
Gabriella took one final spin in the mirror before walking out the door, ready for her first day at school in Albuquerque.
Taylor shut her room door and took a deep breath.
The car ride to school between Troy and Gabriella was silent. Gabriella kept her eyes trained out the window. Troy kept looking over at her, but he didn't know quite what to say. So instead he opted for silence.
Taylor and Chad kept looking back from the road ahead to each other. Stealing a glance here and there. Neither speaking. Taylor sighed as she twisted the bottom of her shirt nervously between her slender fingers. Chad opened his mouth to speak, but shut it. He didn't know what to say.
Troy parked in the senior parking lot in front of East High School. He shut the car off. It didn't appear to register in Gabriella's mind that they were here. "We're here Brie."
Gabriella looked over towards him, "Oh." She nodded and smiled, "Okay."
Chad's car pulled swiftly into the spot next to Troy's. The guys looked at each other and nodded, it seemed like a long-standing ritual. "Welcome to East High Tay." Chad gave her a grin.
She tried to return it, but the nerves erupting in the pit of her stomach wouldn't allow her to. So instead she nodded. The four got out of the cars. They looked at each other.
Troy gently turned towards Gabriella and took her hand in his own, he cupped her cheek with his hand, "It's going to be great. You're going to be great. I promise."
Gabriella smiled and nodded, lacing their fingers together. Troy kissed her forehead and nodded at Chad. Chad held his hand out to Taylor who confidently took it. This was school. This was her thing. It'd be perfect. The two couples walked into East High. Gabriella took a deep breath as Troy went to opened the door.
Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors…
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Song: Fifteen by Taylor Swift
Mollie XOXO