AN: I know that people are reading this fic but I don't know if anyone is enjoying it. I'm not asking people to review, I just want to say that I have a busy schedule and although I enjoy writing this fic I'm not going to over exert myself to write a chapter every week if no one seems interested. Don't get me wrong I know that some people really are waiting for my updates and are disappointed that they are coming so far apart. I'll still update whenever I find time but if no one's asking for updates then I'll be writing only when I do have free time.
Well, we did it. My mom and I moved to a new neighborhood yesterday. Even though we're still living out of boxes I have to say it's nice to have this feeling of…permanent-ness. It's nice to know I won't be saying good bye to this home anytime soon, even if the roof does leak a little when it rains (the contractor said he'd fix it when he finished building the house two months ago but he never did, so I guess my mom will have to pay for it to be fixed). It's also nice that I won't be leaving Troy (or Taylor). However that means I won't be leaving Sharpay either (oh well, you have to take the good with the bad I guess. And I can handle Sharpay).
Before we moved into this house I never minded the piles of boxes that rose from floor to ceiling in every room of our apartment (although in this house the boxes have mostly just claimed the garage). I guess that was because no one ever came to our apartment, no one I cared about anyway. Today was different though and I could see that there were the flaws in my house. The entryway was too dark; the deep red walls that I normally loved seemed to emanate the feeling of hate. My room was too stark, true I hadn't had a chance to paint it yet (or even unpack more than one box) but did it have to look like a hospital? Or (oh God) an insane asylum?
I think I was feeling this neurotic because Troy and Kelsi were coming over to practice…ahem, rehearse the song that Troy and I would sing for the callbacks. I still wasn't quite sure why my house was chosen to practice (I'm sorry rehearse) at, Troy's house is lived in (or at least not boxed up) and I don't have a piano (good thing Kelsi just happened to have a nifty little portable keyboard). My house does have a sound proof garage though (I just had to open my mouth about that one didn't I?). As I checked out my garage's current situation (ummm space: zero, boxes: about a million) I sighed, I hated moving boxes.
And moving boxes is exactly what I was doing when the doorbell rang. Apparently I had misjudged the time I had to finish up with the boxes and take a shower before they arrived. Even though it was late September (very nearly early October) it was about seventy degrees outside and I was sweaty and panting, basically a complete mess. Sighing I crept out of the garage and into the house where I could see my mother letting Troy into the entry hall. Maybe I could sneak past Troy and at least change my clothes.
"Hey Gabriella. Sorry I'm early; I came straight here from basketball." Troy was sweaty too (at least I wasn't the only one). Although the idea of Kelsi having to practice with both of us was unappealing and slightly nauseating.
"Hey," I waved to him (trying not to cringe at being caught) and led him through the hall towards the garage door, "Sorry about the mess. I was actually cleaning up a bit when you rang the doorbell."
Mountains of boxes rose above us; it was like the Antes were in my garage. I led Troy through the claustrophobic pathway that I had created to the clearing that was just big enough to fit three people and a portable keyboard. Aware that I probably smelled I wracked my brain to find an excuse to desert Troy and take a quick shower. And then bam! I had it, the perfect excuse.
"Hey Troy, I just remembered I have a gift for you. Wait here, I'll go get it." Before he could answer me I ran out of the garage and up to my room. Grabbing a clean pair of clothes I hurried to the bathroom. I turned the shower on, threw off my clothes, and jumped in. The icy water flowed over my skin and seeped into my hair. I didn't bother to shampoo, condition, or even turn the heat up (I wouldn't be in there for long anyway) that was going to be too time consuming. Hurriedly I scrubbed my entire body with soap (Dove, the only kind I'll allow my mom to buy), washed off and toweled dry.
Now, I've never been a big multi-tasker so you can imagine how hard it was for me to get dressed and blow-dry my hair at the same time. I smacked my scalp with the blow-dryer and almost fell over when I put both of my legs in the same pant leg (all I can say is thank God that I didn't straighten my hair that day). Over all I would say the whole thing took about seven minutes. I skidded back over to my room and grabbed the package for Troy.
I had been planning to give the present to him after we found out who would be cast in the musical (as a congratulatory present if we won or as a 'loser gift' if things didn't go so well) but my personal hygiene comes before the perfect moment any day.
By the time I was back down in the basement Kelsi had already arrived and she and Troy were conversing in the basement. As Kelsi set up her keyboard she listened to Troy and laughed and it struck me that this might have been actually happy (I don't know how she even stayed sane being around Sharpay all day). They both turned to look at me as I clamored down the steps and into the little clearing.
"Did you change?" Troy asked taking in my new outfit (surprisingly normal for me, a pair of jeans and a plain red T-shirt).
"What? Me change? Psh...no...no." I waved my hand carelessly (I think he bought it) and shoved the package in his hands, "Ok, don't open this until after the call backs. Seriously Troy, I'm only giving this to you now because I'll probably lose it or something (and I really needed to take a shower, but I opted not to tell him that."
"Umm well I thought we would just start from the beginning." Kelsi started quietly. She had given us the song about a week ago and we had been practicing with her separately until today.
The rehearsal went pretty well, Troy and I are both really good (I can be smug about one thing right? Isn't that the rule, you can be smug about one thing but not more. Or was that on a fortune cookie?) and we improve every time we practice (rehearse). At least that's what Kelsi said, and if I can't trust the composer of the song that I'm singing then what's the point?
I couldn't wait to blow Sharpay and Ryan's performance away. The look on her face when Ms. Darbus said that we had gotten a callback was so priceless, it would amazing to see that again (but she'd probably kill be right after she saw the final casting list if her name wasn't on there). I guess making Sharpay angry is like a drug, it's addicting but you do it too much it can be lethal.
Moving those boxes and then singing for an hour (it's a bigger work out than you might think) really tired me out. As soon as Troy and Kelsi left I trudged up the stairs (that's the bad thing about living in a house instead of an apartment, there's no elevator) and collapsed in my bed. It was only eight thirty but I was asleep the moment I closed my eyes. I woke up the next morning just as I had fallen asleep, over my covers and fully dressed.
"Callbacks?!" Sharpay screeched just as I entered the right wing of the school building. Fearing for my life (or least my eyesight, Sharpay's nails looked especially malignant today) I hid behind another of our school's many bulletin boards.
"Sharpay, you knew that Troy and Gabriella and you and I had callbacks." Ryan tried to reason with his nearly hyperventilating sister.
"I know but seeing it on paper makes it so much more final." She responded morosely, what a drama queen. I swear I will punish my children if they ever act like that. It's annoying and (when done well) slightly unnerving.
Chad and Taylor (what were those two doing together?) walked up to the Evans twins and said something to them. They were a good distance away and when no one was yelling I couldn't understand them. Ryan gestured to the board and Taylor made a face. Chad looked like he was protesting something, but what? It couldn't be about the callbacks, he knew that Troy and I were auditioning after all. What if he didn't really think that we'd make it? What kind of a best friend would think like that? Taylor had supported me, hadn't she? Not if the face that she was making was any indication.
"Gabriella, we need to talk." Taylor had talked me into coming to her mathletes/science decathlon training club-thing. So I sat on a very uncomfortable wooden chair while the whole club gathered around me (eighty percent female, twenty percent male, one hundred percent geek. I was surrounded by my people and it felt surprisingly good). This talk Taylor kept coming back to (this was the third time she'd mentioned it) was some sort of hazing into the club, I was pretty sure of that. Man, I was so wrong.
Taylor opened a laptop and set it in front of me. She started off into some sort of speech, something about influential people and their effect on the world. I don't know I wasn't listening to her because on the laptops screen was Troy Bolton in the boy's locker room. Now under any under circumstances I would have looked away, I do have morals after all. As soon as heard what Troy was saying though I froze up. I froze up because I heard my name.
"Gabriella? What about her?" Troy was saying, "She has nothing to do with basketball or this team and if you think that this musical we're trying out for is going to affect the team then you're wrong. You know the team is more important to me than some musical. More important than some girl too. If you guys don't know that then I don't even know why you voted me to be your captain. I'll forget about the musical, about Gabriella, is that what you want?" His speech was met with cheers from his team mate and a few cries of 'Go Wildcats!' but I wasn't listening anymore.
'More important than some girl too.' So that's what Troy thought of me, I was just some girl.
"Gabriella? You see why we had to show you this right? So that you would know the truth." Taylor told me concern etched on her face. I'm sure she thought she was doing the right thing, showing me what a complete bastard my supposed friend was. So I said the only thing I could think of.
"Oh…"
I was shattered because as it turned out I had been right all along, I had never figured Troy out. I meant nothing to him and worse I didn't know the guy I had been spending most of my time with at all.
