Hello everyone! Here is the next chapter and I would like to do a shout-out to Pumkingking5 for reviewing every single chapter! Thank you so much!

Now another thing, I see how many people that are actually reading this and I am a little surprised that there are a couple of hundred people reading but only Pumkingking5 that are leaving a review. So please, I would love to read what you are thinking about the story. In fact, I want to give you a little challenge, -fell free to leave a review just as a guest-
1) What do you like best about the story so far?
2) What do you dislike the most about the story?
3) If there was something you wish I had done different –or something you wish I would do- what would it be? Maybe why too?

I would love if some of you took two minutes and answered these questions or just wrote something else. Plus, because I think you all are awesome this chapter is over twice as long as normal!

Until next time!
-FreeFlyingWriter


Friday, December 14th

As Maria stepped inside the house a couple of hours later it was rather quiet. Walking into the kitchen she saw two mugs sitting in the sink, along with a couple of plates and cutlery, and she put the folder of paper on the countertop. Now hearing two voices talking quietly she followed the quiet sound and found the two teens sitting on the sofa. "I'm back," she announced and Gabriella looked up at her mother. "Mom can you take a look at Troy's hand? I think he injured himself during the snowball fight," Gabriella started explaining and Maria raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" she questioned walking closer. "It's swollen and looks bruised," Gabriella added as Maria carefully looked at his wrist. "Hm." Maria frowned. "I think we should go to the hospital to get that looked at. It doesn't look good," Maria concluded and the two teens nodded.

6:57 PM
The three people sat in the quiet waiting room of the hospital twenty minutes later. Despite it being early Friday evening the waiting room was almost empty. "Troy Bolton?" a doctor called and Troy along with Gabriella and Maria stood up following the doctor. The doctor lead them into a room where Troy sat down on the bed and the doctor introduced himself. "So what seems to be the problem?" the doctor questioned. "I was at the park having a snowball fight with some of my friends and I fell on some ice and now my wrist is swollen and bruised," Troy told showing his wrist to the doctor. "I see." He observed carefully examining it. "When you fell, did you fall on top of your wrist?" he wondered. "Yes," Troy answered immediately and the doctor nodded. "I think we need an x-ray and take it from there." Dr. Ramirez said and wrote down something on a piece of paper. "I will get you once they have an opening," he continued and walked out.

8:45 PM
Dr. Ramirez returned an hour later with the results of the x-ray pictures.

"So I have taken a look at your x-rays and by the looks of it you have broken your wrist, which explains the swelling, discolouring, pain and bruising. Now the bone here," Dr. Ramirez explained showing with a pen on Troy's arm. "is the biggest of the two bones which is the one you have broken. In order for it to heal we need to surgically insert a steel plate that will be fasten to the bone," he said. "Now what we would like to do is admit you to the hospital and to the surgery tomorrow morning. Do you have any questions?" Dr. Ramirez asked but Troy shook his head

9:30PM
"Maybe you should call your mom Troy," Gabriella said suddenly remembering that they didn't know what was happening. Troy had been admitted to the hospital and was now laying in a hospital bed dressed in a gown with an IV in his right hand. Maria had left a couple of minutes earlier, heading to the cafeteria to get some coffee.

"Yeah. It's only one thirty there," he said after thinking for a minute. "Can you give me my phone? It's in my hoodie," he asked Gabriella who nodded and gave it to him. Troy unlocked his phone and found his mother's number calling it.

Troy's POV

"Hello Troy," mom answering cheerfully. "Hey mom," I started not revealing how nervous I was.

"How are you?" she wondered. "Good good," I told her looking at Gabriella. She gave me a look and I sighed. "Um, listen mom. I'm at the hospital," I told her but she cut me off.

"What? What happened?" she asked worried.

"We had a day off from school because it has been snowing so much and we all spent the day outside. We ended by having a snowball fight and I fell on top of my wrist, which resulted in me breaking it. I went with Gabriella home afterwards and she and Maria brought me to the hospital about two hours ago," I said.

"What did you injure? Are you seriously injured?" she asked worried.

"No I'm not seriously injured. I just broke my wrist when I fell earlier," I explained trying to calm her.

"So what is happening next?" Lucille wondered and I heard she was sceptical. "They have admitted me and they are going to perform the surgery tomorrow morning. For you it will happen during the night and they are going to put in a metal plate so the bone will grow," I tried to explain to her.

"Is Gabriella still with you?" "Yes. I think she will stay for as long as she can and probably come up tomorrow if she can. Maria, her mother, is also here," I told her.

"Promise me you will call when you are done ok? No matter the time" mom told me sternly. "I promise mom," I vowed.

"You know I could fly in there if you want me to," she said to me and I smiled. "No you don't need to. I'll be home in a week anyways," I said to her and she laughed a little

"I guess you're right. We all love you Troy," she told me. "I love you all too. Bye mom." "Bye Troy," Lucille said ending the call.

"How did she take it?" Gabriella wondered after listening to our conversation.

"Good I think. She was worried though. I promised to call her after the surgery tomorrow and she asked if she should come but there really is no point since I'm going home in a week," I told my girlfriend.

"I'm worried about you too," she stated sitting on the edge of the bed beside me. She took my right hand and stroke it softly with her smooth fingers.

"It's going to be ok all right? They will do the surgery, put a cast on and everything will be fine after that," I tried to reassure her.

"I'm worried about you because I love you," she stated. "I love you too and I'm not planning on going anywhere soon," I told her.

"Oh Troy," she murmured placing a soft kiss on my lip. Just in that moment Maria walked inside the room holding a coffee cup. Maria looked at us and smiled. I broke away from the kiss and Maria sat down in the other chair in the room.

"How are you Troy?" Maria asked me bringing the styrofoam cup to her lips taking a sip of the coffee.

"Good I think," I said a little awkward after being caught by Maria. "I called my mom a couple of minutes ago so they know," I told her.

"Good," she nodded. A knock was heard before the door opened and a doctor came inside.

"Hello, I'm doctor Alexander Turner," he introduced himself. "Who do you brought with you?" Dr. Turner asked.

"My girlfriend Gabriella and her mother," I said and Dr. Turner shook hands with Maria.

"Will any of your parents come?" he asked me but I shook my head.

"No, my parents don't live in America and I'm here on an exchange year," I explained to the doctor.

"I see," he said nodding. "So as you know you need to fix your hand surgically for it to heal. Did they tell you much down in the ER?" he wondered.

"The basic I think. That there will be a metal plate screwed into place so the bone can heal," I said to him and he nodded. "That is right. I have scheduled the surgery for 8 tomorrow morning so they will begin to prep you at around six in the morning. Do anyone of you have any questions?" he asked us all but none of us said anything.

"I have never broken a bone before so how will it be for the next couple of weeks?" I asked looking at the doctor.

"Your hand will be in a cast, and depending on how the operation turns out, and after what I have seen your cast will go from your fingers almost up to your elbows. You will have the cast on for anything between six to eight weeks but we'll get back to that," he explained while showing on my arm. "You can do all the things you normally do but within those six to eight weeks you cannot participate in sports, get the cast wet and you need to be a little careful with your arm so the cast don't crack," Dr. Turner "Is there anything else?" he asked looking at the three of us.

"No I can't think of anything," I said to the doctor and Maria didn't say anything either.

"Great. I will see you in the morning," he said and walked out the door.

"You probably want to go home soon?" I asked Gabriella looking at her. "Not really," she said looking at me.

"You should. Go home and get some sleep and hopefully I will see you after surgery tomorrow," I said to her. "He's right Gabriella," Maria agreed nodding.

"What time is it anyways?" she questioned looking down at her phone. "Almost eleven," Maria said looking at her watch.

"I will see you tomorrow after the surgery?" Brie questioned and I nodded. "Defiantly," I said to her.

"Good luck," she said and gave me a hug before kissing my cheek. Before Gabriella walked out she turned and waved before closing the door behind her. I looked around the small empty hospital room and felt lonely. I used my right hand to pick up my phone that was on the nightstand beside the bed. I got onto Facebook and saw that Marcus was online.

Troy:
Hey how are you?

Marcus:
Great why do you ask?

Troy:
I had a blast today xD I wrote sending him a picture of the and IV in my arm.

Marcus:
What do you mean? he typed while the picture was being sent.
Damn! How did you manage that dude? he questioned once he had seen the picture.

Troy:
Snowball fight with some friends and fell on ice under the snow.

Marcus:
Ted couldn't keep you out of trouble this time? Hahaha!

Troy:
Really funny Marcus but no. He is about 6000 miles away along with my family.

Marcus:
Where the heck are you?! came faster than the speed of light.

Troy:
New Mexico in America.
Did you forget? I told you last summer. I reminded him.

Marcus:
That's true. Now I remember!
And they let you go alone?

Troy:
Yeah?

Marcus:
Nothing…
BTW, how is everything going over there?

Troy:
Besides the arm breaking? xD

Great! The school is awesome and no-one wear school uniform. They are just as polite to the teachers as we are. I have been camping for the first time and a couple of movie dates. I cannot believe we have gone this long without talking.

Marcus:
I know! It is crazy. Wait hold on! Did you say movie date? You are seeing someone and I only now hear about it? Tell me! Does she know?

Troy:
We meet on the first day of school and she was asked to show me around. She introduced me to a couple of her friends who almost everyone happened to be on the basketball team, and I became friends with them and joined the basketball team.

Her name is Gabriella and I asked her out in the middle of September. I told her who I was after we had been camping in early November and we broke up only to get back together about two days later, and we have been together since. I wrote to him. It took a couple of minutes before he answered as he was reading.

Marcus:
That is an interesting story dude. Is she with you now? Do you have a picture?

Troy:
No she's not here now. She and her mother brought me here around seven and left twenty minutes ago. Give me a second and I can send you a picture. I wrote and opened the photos on my phone.

I found a photo taken not too long ago. All six of us was there. Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, Ryan, Brie and me. Chad was on the right side and had his hand on Taylors shoulder. Brie had both of her hands resting on my right shoulder and both of them were smiling. Sharpay stood beside me and Ryan had set on the timer of the camera so he popped up behind me and Sharpay. Ryan had sent it to all of us in colours and black and white. My favourite was the one in black and white, so I sent it to Marcus.

Troy:
The girl with her hands on my shoulder is Gabriella. The other girl beside Gabriella is Taylor. Chad is beside her and we play basketball together on the team. On my other side is Sharpay and her brother Ryan. Both of them love the drama department at school and have been in every single musical.

Marcus:
An interesting mix that is for sure. Do you have any plans on going home before the summer? he questioned.

Troy:
Yeah. I'm coming home for Christmas. It's a shame we can't meet. I miss spending time with you

Marcus:
I know what you mean. You remember when we were six and put the tape under your grand-father's computer mouse. No one could figure out why it didn't work and were laughing all night about it. he wrote and I started laughing.

Troy:
It was also the same night we built a huge fort in the dining room. I reminded him

Marcus:
How could I forget!? They were quit shocked when they saw us the next morning!

Troy:
How is Ueta?

Marcus:
Sort of boring. I like Iwaki much more. It is warmer there. Here it has been minus degrees since October and it should be above zero in late March. That was what happened last year.

Troy:
How is school over there then? Better than before?

Marcus:
Not the best school. It is really different from all the schools we have attended. The uniform policy is loos and we are still wearing just sweaters. What I am really looking forward to is college next year. I know I am qualified to RCE and I know for a fact that you are too. You are going to RCE right?

Troy:
Yeah I am. How about we save ourselves a lot of trouble and share a dorm?

Marcus:
Done! Anyways, what time is it over there?

Troy:
Midnight. What about it?

Marcus:
When is the operation?

Troy:
Eight in the morning. I think I need to call it a night and get some sleep. Talk to you later?

Marcus:
Yes! Tell me how it went and good luck!

Troy:
Thanks!

I closed Facebook and put my phone back on the nightstand. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep.


When I woke up again I looked at the clock and saw it was five forty. With it only being twenty or so minutes left until someone came, I saw it pointless to try and get back to sleep. I closed my eyes but only for a second as a knock was on the door before it opened.

"Good morning my name is Caroline. How are you feeling?" she asked her voice was soft and caring.

"I'm feeling ok. I am nervous though," I admitted to the young woman.

"There is no need to be nervous ok? I am going to be there the whole time making sure everything is going smoothly." She reassured me and started doing some stuff. "Now I heard from Dr. Turner that you're from abroad. Where are you from love?" Caroline asked.

"Etrea," I said to her and she looked a little surprised. "That's a long way from home," she smiled and I laughed.

"I suppose it is," I said smiling a little too.

"Well, as all adult things in life there are paperwork," she said giving me a paper. "The doctors need you to sign this. It is that you have been warned about the risks of the operation," she told me.

"I don't know how much of a choice I have," I smiled and she shook her head smiling. "Thank you," she said as I handed her the signed form.

"OK now I am going to remove the drip because you can't have any fluids two hours prior to surgery. It has been more than six hours since you last ate so you are good to go," Caroline told me. "I am going to wheel you down to the post operation and you'll wait there until the doctor talk to you one last time before the operation. Is there anyone specific you want us to contact in case of an emergency?" Caroline asked taking out a pen and small notepad.

"Preferably someone living close by or my parents?" I questioned uncertainly.

"Preferably somebody living close and knowing how to eventually contact your parents," she confirmed.

"Gabriella Montez. She's my girlfriend," I told Caroline without hesitation.

"Great. That should be it." she said releasing the breaks before wheeling me out of the room and down several hallways. After a minute or so she turned right and through a set of double doors before she rolled it behind some curtains. "There," she said putting on the breaks. "Now the doctor will come and speak to you soon and he will explain things more thoroughly with you," Caroline told me.

"Thanks," I said giving her a little smile.

I was approximately half an hour after Caroline had left that Dr. Turner made an entrance and stood at the end of the bed. "Good morning," he greeted me with a smile. "Good morning," I replied with a little smile.

"Ok so what is going to happen next is…" Dr. Turner started and explained to me everything that was going to happen. "Do you have any last minute questions?" he finished and looked at me. "No I think you have explained everything," I said to him thinking if there should be any un-answered questions.

"Good then we'll see each other in the operating room." Dr. Turner finished with a smile and walked away.

Caroline and another nurse was wheeling me down towards the operating room just as the clock had turned 7:55. "Here we are," Caroline said as we stopped inside the room. "Now if you could hop onto the table here," she asked and I got onto the table. "We're going to take good care of you," Caroline assured me as the other nurse left. It was then I fully noticed how many people were in the room. Caroline must have seen my expression because she smiled at me and asked: "Tell me how did you manage to break your arm?"

"I had a snowball fight with my friends and I fell."

"Oh dear. The snow can be dangerous," she told me and chuckled. "I have to put this on now since they are un-packing the equipment," she told me putting on her face mask.

An elderly man walked up to us and he had short white curly hair, green eyes and glasses. "Ok Troy here is the anaesthesiologist," Caroline informed me, and despite him wearing a mask I could see him smile.

"Are you ready to sleep for a couple of hours?" he asked me and I nodded. "Ok now I'll place this mask on you and you'll get sleepier and sleepier," he informed me and put the mask that covered my nose and mouth. "Starting the anaesthesia now," he said pressing a button and the gas coming from the mask smelled a little funny. I could feel my eyelids getting heavier and heavier.

"Don't fight it," Caroline said and with that I was asleep.


My eyes felt heavy and everything was groggy. "Troy," I heard a distant voice say. "Troy you need to wake up now," the same voice said again. I slowly managed to open my eyes and it was then I was aware that I had a tube down my throat.

"Are you awake?" Dr. Turner asked and I nodded slightly. "Let me get this tube out. Just open your mouth," he said and I did as instructed. "Good now we're going to take you to the post op where they will observe you for a couple of hours," Dr. Turner told me.

"Ok," I managed to say. I was extremely tired and all I really wanted to do was sleep. In the daze I was in I registered that they wheeled me down the most of the same way as they had earlier. I felt my arm was different than before. My left arm was rested on top of my chest in some sort of sling but it was all covered by a blanket. They stopped and wheeled me into the post-op hooking me up to different machines also attaching a drip to my IV. The beeps of the heart rate machine were enough to lull me to sleep.


When I woke up again I was back in a normal room and someone was holding my right hand. "Hey," Gabriella said when she saw me awake. "Hi," I told her a little drowsily.

"How are you?" she asked me studying my face. "Good," I told her giving her a tired smile. "Did the doctor tell you anything?" I questioned not taking my eyes off her. "He didn't say much other than that the operation was a success. They have applied a cast but they need to change soon because your wrist is so swollen," she said to me.

"Good," I said and Gabriella gave me a sympathetic smile.

"What time is it?" I asked her and she looked down at her watch. "A little after ten. What about it?" she asked looking at me a little puzzled.

"I promised I would text my mom when I was finished," I said to her and she gave me my phone. I tried to text her but it was difficult since I was still a little out of it.

"Do you need help?" Gabriella asked as she had seen me struggle. "Yes please," I said giving her the phone. "Can you just type that the operation was a success, I am doing fine just really tired," I said and she typed.

"There. Do I just send it?" she questioned and I nodded. She put the phone on the table beside me and took my hand again and my eyes closed. "You're tired Wildcat," she stated and I opened my eyes to see her looking at me smiling.

"Yeah. I'm still a little groggy," I told her. "Just rest and sleep it off," she told me stroking her hand through my hair.


When I woke up again Gabriella was talking to someone on the phone. "We'll be back at school on Monday," she said before pausing. "No he's asleep now," a pause again. "You can talk to him later Chad. Everything is fine I promise," "Ok bye," she said hanging up.

"Hi," she said looking at me. "Was that Chad on the phone?" I asked her and she nodded. "Yeah. I called him because he didn't knew you broke your hand. I figured he would like to know," she explained to me.

"How long was I asleep?" "Only half an hour," she told me sitting in the chair beside my bed.

"Are you in any pain?" she asked me suddenly looking at my arm. "No. I think they gave me painkillers," I said gesturing to the IV in my right arm.

A knock was heard and Dr. Turner came inside. "Hello Troy. How are you feeling?" he asked me with a smile.

"Good. My wrist doesn't hurt now," I told the doctor. "Great. I wanted to have a look and see if we could replace the cast and hopefully discharge you in a couple of hours," he informed me. "Sounds great," I said and Dr. Turner examined my wrist carefully. "The swelling is almost gone so I think we could put on a new cast," Dr. Turner said.


A couple of hours later Maria was driving me home. "Thank you for taking me to the hospital yesterday Maria," I told her sincerely. "No problem Troy. I'm just glad you're better now," Maria said with a smile and stopped outside of my house. "I will see you tomorrow?" I asked Gabriella and she nodded. "Yeah," she said with a smile. "Bye.

I know a little boring at the end but in the next chapter, Christmas will come around yay! A little spoiler: Maria has a surprise for Gabriella and I dub out she will like it...