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Thousands of miles away, across the country, Troy lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Nobody was there except for him. The lights were all off and he was kinda hoping the army would call him to go out. Troy's grades had been slightly improving from the failing ones he had been on the verge of. But his thoughts weren't on his grades or if Chad was in the dorm. Above all thoughts, was of the one that would never go away. Sharpay Evans. Her face formed mentally in his head. Her beautiful golden hair, rich chocolate eyes, flawless face, nicely toned and perfectly tanned body. If only he could talk to her, or just catch a one second glance. Or a two worded letter. Or just a simple word, in her simple left handed writing.
Suddenly the door flew open and the lights turned on. Troy looked towards the door. Chad was there, looking all flustered and confused. He scanned the room until his eyes landed on Troy.
"Hey," Troy said, slightly hesitant.
"Hey, I was told you have to go to the guidance offices, like right away," Chad said with worry in his voice.
Troy sat up. "What?"
Chad shrugged and collapsed on his bed. "I was in the offices trying to fix my schedule and they asked if I could inform you that they needed you in the office."
Troy knew why instantly. He gathered some of his personal affections and stuffed them roughl into his canvas army bag.
"What about the rest of your stuff?" Chad asked.
"Um, sell it, keep the cash," Troy instructed as he put his jacket on and collected his aviators from the desk. Chad looked at what was left with the same worry that was there earlier. Troy took one last glance and headed towards the door.
"Hey man," Chad spoke up before he left. Troy turned. "Take care of yourself, I hope to see you in one piece when you get back."
Troy smiled. "Thanks man." With a final wave, he closed the door on the only good thing about his college experience.
The way to the guidance office was rough. Troy knew what was coming, and even though he wished for it, he didn't know if he was ready to handle it. He wasn't sure if he was ready to go into a new nightmare, in a new country, in a new culture. It was scary. He wasn't going to know anyone and would be alone for good. Not even Chad.
The night sky was lit up with several stars and a full moon. Was this beautiful night supposed to be a sign? A sign of what exactly? Hope? Encouragement? A full moon with fully lit stars had to means something good.
There were minimal lights on in the guidance office as Troy made his way to the main office where he laid eyes upon two guys and girl who seemed to be in the same predicament as he.
"Troy, you're here, I take it Chad got the message to you?" Ted Micheals, a top school official said.
"I wouldn't be here if he didn't," he replied sarcastically, sitting down and hearing snickers from one of the others. Troy was surprised how he knew his name.
"Right, of course..." He trailed off, not knowing what else he could say to them. No one spoke a word, or uttered a sound. Troy fidgeted with the tie on his bag. The other three college kids kinda looked at him uneasily. They all looked like they had come from one of the upper class dorms, with at least three bags to each. Feeling extremely uncomfortable with the awkward silence and the six eyes wandering around aimlessly, Troy pulled out one of the most recent letters from Kate. He opened it and just stared at the letters, not actually reading it word for word. All Troy saw was, "Dear Troy."
Maybe I should read it, he thought, or, I don't know...
Dear Troy,
Hey what's up? Sorry about the college situation, I bet it has got to suck. At least you don't have a crappy roommate, he seems to understand you. I'm surprised they haven't shipped you off yet. At least your getting a college education in right? Oh, I ran into Ryan the other day. You know Evans, when I was out at the mall with Em. He said he was sorry he never got to call you back. It turned out his old cell phone had fallen into a water fountain on campus and he didn't have your number saved on his SIM card. He told me Sharpay is doing real well, in case you were wondering. You never mention her. Dad's doing fine, I asked if he wanted to slip anything in here, but he decline, surprise, surprise. Well, I guess I'll write you later.
Keep strong big bro.
Love,
Kate
P.S. I'm going to tell you this in the easiest/simplest way I can think of... Mom and dad are getting a divorce.
The moment Troy had read that the first time, his heart had sank. Mom and dad? A divorce? It was terrible. That was probably a reason why they never kept in touch with him. Did they even know he was still at school? Or was? But that wasn't the real reason why he reread that letter over and over.
It was obvious, yes.
Sharpay's doing real well, in case you were wondering. You never mention her.
Those were the exact words Kate had used in the letter. Those were the words that replayed over and over again in his head. Of course he was wondering, he wanted to know more, know what else was up with her.
Sharpay's doing real well.
What was that supposed to mean? Most likely that her college years were much better than his own. But what made them so much better than his? Good grades? Nice friends? The dreaded "BF"? Or maybe the goals in her life. The dream of being a top editor for the New York Times or writing a novel. But what were his dreams and goals, his hopes for the future? To play pro ball, he didn't even play college ball. To be with Sharpay Evans, the one person, one matter he obsessed with over and over. That was about it. Pathetic.
"`kay," an echoing voice came from behind. The four turned and Ted Micheals looked up.
"Ahh, General Themes, you're here to take our lovely recruits?"
"Yes," he answered shortly, gruffly and while squeezing Micheals' hand firmly instead of a normal shake. Without an order to do so, the four got up, Troy just following the rest. He took a deep breath and stuffed the letter further down in his pocket, thinking about a lot of things. His parents divorce. Kate. And most of all, Sharpay Evans.
A/N: Okay, yes, this is super short again, sorry. I truly do feel bad about these short chapters, but I promise you the next chapter is going to be long because it is THE chapter. Yes, you know what I mean. Please keep reviwing, I love them soooooo much! And if you didn't vote on that petition thingy, do so. I forgot to post that link, sorry. thanks, keep REVIEWING!
