CHAPTER 8 – Good Christmas Cheer

"So, tomorrow's the day. Are you ready?" Troy asked Michelle as they rehearsed their songs inside the music room.

"I'll be honest with you and tell you that I'm not ready yet," Michelle replied, playing with the keys of the piano.

"I can't believe that a week from now will be Christmas Eve. Time sure flies fast. I wish I could just go back in time and rehearse even more," Troy said, sitting down beside her and playing with the piano keys. "How do you do this piano thing anyway?"

"It's easy. Just look at the notes on the piece and press in the keys," Michelle joked.

"Haha, very funny, Miss Richards."

"I wasn't even seriously joking, Mister Bolton."

"Did you invite your parents to the musicale tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but they're flying in from Hawaii, so I don't really know if they'll make it."

"I'm sorry, Mitch."

"Hey, it's no problem. I told them about it just recently and I know my parents are the busiest people on earth. Besides, I really didn't want them to go since they're really not such a big fan of musicales. What about your parents?"

"Oh, they're coming. They said they wanted to see me for the last time in my high school life on stage. Of course, I haven't told them about the spring musicale. Anyway, do you wanna rehearse a few lines for now?"

"Okay. Which act do you want to rehearse?"

"I'll take the tenth act."

"That's the kissing booth scene."

"Yeah, so, you ready?"

"Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Hey, it's only acting. No harm done. So, let's begin."

As they said their lines, Gabriella, Taylor, Chad, Zeke, Kelsi, Jason, Sharpay, and Ryan were walking outside. They were going to pick up Troy for their early dinner together. The group discussed the musicale that was to happen tomorrow. Sharpay was quietly rehearsing her song number and did not bother to listen to the group's discussion.

"Where's Martha?" Kelsi asked.

"I think she went home early today. She said she needed to do some homework for her Biology class," Taylor answered.

"I wonder if Troy's done rehearsing with Mitch. I'm getting hungry," Jason commented, making everyone laugh.

Gabriella led the way for the group. When they arrived outside the music room, they peeked inside through the clear glass and saw Michelle and Troy talking. Gabriella smiled and reached for the door handle.

"Maybe I…I should kiss you right now. You know…I gave that girl my ticket…and I…waited in line…so…" Troy said, mentally browsing his mind for the correct lines to say.

"Yeah, well, it's the least I can do," Michelle said.

"So…" Troy said, slowly leaning in to Michelle.

As Gabriella opened the door, she found herself face-to-face with a shocking scene. Taylor gasped and covered her mouth. Michelle was kissing Troy. Gabriella felt her throat tie in knots. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Why you little witch!" Taylor shouted, causing Troy and Mitch to break and stand up in shock.

"Taylor? Gabriella?" Troy asked, startled at seeing his friends. "What's going on?"

"What's going on? This little witch and you were making out and we saw it clearly! You little witch! Boyfriend-stealer!" Taylor shouted, coming up to Michelle and pulling her hair.

"Ow!" Michelle cried.

"Hey! Taylor, what are you doing?! Stop that!" Troy exclaimed, pulling Michelle away from Taylor's grasps.

"Why should I? She is trying to steal you away from Gabriella! And you are obviously falling in her trap!"

"She is not trying to steal me away from Gabriella! What nonsense are you talking about?! Stop it! Don't touch her!"

"Gabriella!" Troy heard Sharpay call out as her girlfriend and Kelsi ran out of the room.

"Look what you have done, Bolton? And you, you little witch, stay away from Gabriella and stay away from us! You've already done enough damage. Don't try to pretend that you're friends with her or any of us. Just get the hell away from us!" Taylor shouted and followed Kelsi and Gabriella out.

"But I…" Michelle said, her voice broken.

"Troy," Chad called out, making Troy face him. "I thought you knew better. Guess you didn't."

"Guys," Troy called out as his friends left him and Michelle.

Troy looked at the remainder of people inside the music room. He sighed and looked back at Michelle who was silently sobbing behind him. He looked back to the door and glanced at both Sharpay and Ryan who stayed with them. He sighed even more and walked out of the door, passing Sharpay and Ryan without even bothering to look back.

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"Gabriella! Gabriella, wait up!" Kelsi and Taylor both called up to their friend.

"I don't want to talk, guys. Please, just leave me alone!" Gabriella said, but stopping just beside her locker.

"Gaby," Taylor said, finally catching up to her. "You need to let it out. Cry, girl! Cry if you must. But you have to remember that after crying, you just hang your head high and forget about it. Girl, you don't need that Troy Bolton anyway."

"You don't understand guys. I trusted Troy and Michelle. I trusted the both of them to be just friends and nothing more. And then I saw that," Gaby explained.

"Honey, we know. It's all that Michelle's fault. I told you she was no good."

"Tay, that's not it. It's just…"

"Gabriella, I think you should let Troy or Michelle explain first," Kelsi said.

"Kelsi, there's no need for explaining here. You saw what we saw too, right? And I don't think you've suddenly gone blind," Taylor said.

"Ugh! I just need some time alone, please. I'm sorry," Gabriella said, running away from them again.

"Gabriella!" they both called out.

Gabriella ran as fast as she could to the only place she knew she would feel better: Troy's secret spot. She ran up the stairs and wiped the tears away from her eyes as she got near one of the plants. She continued to sob silently and did not notice the other presence standing just a few feet away from her.

"Gaby," the voice called out, making Gabriella turn to face the person whose voice she clearly recognized.

"Troy, please. Just go away," Gabriella said so harshly, but regretted it afterwards. "I don't think I want to see you right now. Please, before I say anything harsh or wrong that I know I wouldn't want to say."

"No, Gaby, you have to let me explain first before you push me away. Let's not go through the past again when you did not let me explain before. No, Gabriella. This time, I want to have my chance to explain before you make any conclusions."

"Troy Bolton, I said I-"

"What you saw back there was indeed a kiss. And if it was that convincing then I am very proud of myself."

"If you're just here to tell me that you are da-"

"I'm proud of myself because I was able to pull out a good fake kissing scene."

"Fake? Kissing scene? What?"

"Yes, Gaby, you heard me right. It was all just acting. Didn't I tell you I was going to go practice with Mitch? What you saw back there was all just part of the act, the whole play! Gaby, I would never and could never cheat on you. You, of all people, should know that."

"Troy, I…"

"Gaby, you know Mitch means something to me. But you also know that she is just like a sister and nothing more. She's never gonna compare to you. She never will, Gabs."

"Troy, I…I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you had to see that. I'm sorry that it affected you that much, which proves that my love for you was not strong enough."

"No, Troy. My love for you was not strong enough. I was a fool for acting up over something like that. I should've used my head."

"Hey, sometimes, the smartest of girls can make mistakes too."

"I love you, Troy."

"And I love you, Gabriella. Are we peace now?"

"Yeah, yeah, we are," Gabriella said, smiling and coming closer to give him a hug.

Troy Bolton smiled at his girlfriend. He was glad everything was all cleared out before things got out of hand. Tomorrow was the opening night and he didn't need any more burden than what he already has.

"Troy, where Michelle?" Gabriella suddenly asked, pulling away from him.

"I left her inside the music room with Ryan and Sharpay. I don't know what happened after that," he replied.

"We better go find her. I want to apologize for what Taylor had done earlier."

"Yeah, but first, wash your face. I don't want to see those tear marks ever again, okay?"

Gabriella smiled. She was happy and so was Troy. They hugged once again before walking down the stairs hand-in-hand. They were East High's golden couple and nothing could ever change that.

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"Sharpay, where's Mitch?" Gabriella asked as she and Troy saw Sharpay walking down the hallway.

"I'm glad to see you two have made up," Sharpay said, giving them a half smile. "But Mitch has already left. Ryan, again, ran after her. I'm not sure where they are now."

"She went home," Ryan said, suddenly appearing behind Troy and Gabriella.

"I better go see her," Troy said, preparing to leave.

"You don't have to," Ryan said, making Troy and the other two look up at him. "I think she wants to be alone. She left this note for you and Gaby, by the way."

Ryan handed Gabriella a note with Michelle's handwriting evident on it. Troy looked at Ryan and Sharpay before looking at the note and read it with Gabriella. He read and reread it all over again before finally coming to realize what was written on it.

"She's backing out of the musicale?!" Gabriella asked in a shock tone.

"But, tomorrow's the opening night. She can't back out now," Troy said.

"I gotta go talk to her," Gabriella said, folding the note and handing it to Troy.

"You can't change her mind. Gaby, Mitch was hurt when Taylor had said those things to her. She was very scared. But not in the way you think she may be," Ryan said.

"What are you talking about?" Troy asked.

"Mitch saw Troy as her brother. Sure she loved him, oh, God, she loved him so much, but only as a brother. It was because Troy showed her the same kindness her brother used to show her," Sharpay said.

"Used to?" Gabriella mimicked in a questioning way.

"Her brother died a year ago. He was in a fight between this basketball captain guy in their old school. He was defending Mitch from him. He was thrown out into the street and got hit by a car. From then on Michelle remained distant. That's why she wanted to leave everything behind," Ryan said.

"When she moved back here and met Troy, she was touched by his kindness to her; she instantly felt the connection between him and her late brother. And so began this crazy East High drama," Sharpay said.

"Mitch grew to love Troy as she continued to see in him the brother she once lost. Troy was actually defending her, keeping her safe, making sure she was okay – even going to lengths as to arguing with his friends. That's when she got scared because she thought Troy might get the same fate as her brother because she was not strong enough to fight for herself," Ryan finished.

"That's why she always stayed away from me whenever I'm with the boys or even just you guys. She always had that hint of sadness in her eyes that never went away even after things were getting better. That's why she wanted to back out of the musicale from the very beginning. She was trying to protect me," Troy concluded in a whispered tone.

"I don't think you can change her mind anymore. I tried. We tried. She's really made up her mind," Ryan said, looking up at Troy and Gabriella's faces.

"We can try to-" Gabriella argued.

"No, don't waste your time anymore, Gabriella. Just do the show tomorrow. You be the lead and we'll find someone to take your part. You don't have to worry about it," Sharpay said.

"I can't do that to Michelle! She didn't even do anything wrong to me. I can not just take her place in the musicale."

"But she wants you to. Gabriella, think of this as an apology to Michelle. From the very beginning, she had already wanted to give up the role for you to have it, but I persuaded her to continue on with it. And now she has decided this. I can't change her mind anymore than I've already had. So, do this, Gaby. Make her thank herself for giving you the role she was supposed to do," Ryan said, seriousness evident in his eyes.

Gabriella stared into the eyes of her good pal Ryan. She saw in his eyes that he was dead serious about what he had just said. She glanced at Sharpay who gave her the same look. She looked up beside her to the face of her only loved and saw him giving him a reassuring smile.

"Okay, I'll do it…for Mitch," Gabriella said, smiling at the three of them.

Unbeknownst to the four of them, Chad and Taylor have eavesdropped on their conversation. The couple both looked at each other after hearing about Mitch's story. They sighed and thought to themselves what they could do. Suddenly, Chad whispered something to Taylor. She hugged him excitedly before pulling him away.

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"Places, people! We're on in ten minutes!" Ms. Darbus shouted at the backstage as everyone hurried on with their tasks.

"But who's going to do my part?" Gabriella asked Sharpay as she did a quick retouch on her makeup.

"Don't worry about that. Ryan has already talked to Ms. Darbus about it. Just concentrate on your lines, okay?" Sharpay assured her.

"Hey, you ready?" Troy asked, suddenly popping out of nowhere.

"I'm a little nervous," Gabriella said.

"You should feel her hand. It's shaking," Sharpay told Troy who took hold of Gaby's hand immediately.

"Just calm down. I know it's only our second time doing this. But during Twinkle Towne you were great! We're all nervous here. Nobody's thinking that you'll screw up. So even if you do, they won't really care. Just give out your best," Troy said, giving her a kiss on the cheek when Sharpay finished with her makeup.

"Is Mitch coming?" Gaby asked. "I think I'll back out."

"That's just being unprofessional," the three of them suddenly heard.

"Michelle," Troy whispered when he saw her walking up to them.

"Don't back out now," Michelle said when she got near them. "It's opening night."

"But you backed out the night before the opening itself," Gabriella argued.

"That's a different case."

"I'm glad you're here. Now you can play your part."

"No, that's your part now, Gabriella. I've already backed out, remember?"

"No, no, no! You're here now so you can do it!"

"I'm already doing another part, Gabriella. I'm sorry, but I can't do that part anymore. So, you have to do it."

"What part are you talking about?"

"The role of Olivia."

"But that's my role!"

"Not anymore. You'll be playing Viola now, Gaby. So, we got a replacement for you," Sharpay explained.

"No! She can still be Viola!" Gabriella continued to argue. "I'm Olivia!"

"Well, that's showbiz. By the way, I had a hard time memorizing your lines in just overnight so don't expect a Golden Globe performance out there," Michelle stated.

"Okay, okay, as much as I am very happy and confused right now, I just have to know. How come you're here?" Troy asked.

"Chad and Taylor came over last night. They talked to me about the real deal and apologized. They asked me to come back for the musicale tonight but I declined, saying that I've already given my part to Gabriella. But, they persuaded me to come back and play the role that Gaby had abandoned instead. They had the copy of the script that I surrendered and everything – even coffee. So, here I am."

"They did that?" Troy asked, looking up behind Mitch and finally noticing his two friends.

"You guys," Gaby said, running up to them and giving them a hug.

"It's the least we could do after what we had done to her. I mean, after what I had done to her," Taylor said.

"Places, people! Only three more minutes 'til show time!" Ms. Darbus announced.

"We better get going," Troy told Gaby. "Mitch?"

"My scene is not up until later. I'm gonna go find Ryan first, okay? And Gaby," Michelle said.

"Yeah?" Gabriella asked, walking up to her.

"You go knock 'em dead out there. A great guy told me this before: You have nothing to prove except for who you really are. If you really want to do it, then no one's stopping you. Don't think about what they say. Just do what you have to do. So pull yourself together and get on that stage and sing your heart out. "

"That great guy must be so great that you even remembered what he had told you."

"He is, Gaby, he is. Now, go and show them what you got. As of this moment, you are no longer Gabriella Montez, freaky math girl. You are now Viola Hastings, a girl with a heart full of passion. Think Viola. Feel Viola. Be Viola. You are Viola."

Gabriella and the rest smiled at Michelle's comment. Mitch smiled at all of them and motioned for a group hug. At that moment, Ryan, Zeke, Martha, Kelsi, and Jason all walked in the sight before them. They looked at each other before joining in to the group hug. They all laughed when they pulled apart.

It is safe to say that the musicale was a success. Everyone cheered and applauded the cast and crew for the wonderful outcome of the musicale. Michelle was happy that her parents were able to make it in their performance. She was finally able to introduce them to her real friends. Tomorrow was another day and the good Christmas cheer was around them. How do they celebrate?