Disclaimer: Clearly I do not own the High School Musical franchise.

Chapter Nine: Grand Gestures

A grand gesture. Troy leaned back against his freshman locker. A grand gesture. He ran his hand through his shaggy brown hair. I need a haircut and a grand gesture.

"Fuck!" The loud curse and the smashing of glass brought Troy out of his thoughts. He turned around to see his best friend gaping open-mouthed. Troy's eyes swiveled up to the clock on the wall. Fucking Lucille. Shit. He turned back around and looked at the shattered glass case. Chad was screwed. Everyone knew he threw that damn basketball every morning. Troy had just never missed before. He'd never been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he forgot to pay attention to the time.

Gabriella glanced over from her spot where she stood talking to Mandy about her date with Jason on Friday night. Her eyes moved from the shattered wall display to Chad. The hallway was dead silent.

"Chad Danforth!" Mr. Matusi, the school principal, screamed his name down the hall. Gabriella threw her hand over her mouth to cover up the giggles that were about to explode. Chad was so screwed. And even if it sucked to be him, this sure as hell was funny.

"Oh my God, Chad is so dead." Mandy whispered to Gabriella, "I wonder why Troy missed the ball."

Sharpay sauntered over to them at that moment with Zeke and her freshman trailing behind her. "Oh honey isn't it obvious?" She went to answer Mandy's questions. "He was thinking about winning Brie over."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Whatever Pay. Look I'm going to head to homeroom. Let me know how screwed Chad is." She waved to the girls and walked past Troy without a glance. What on earth did I ever see in him? I mean yeah he's good looking and good at basketball, but outside of that what is there to him? He's an ass who plays games with people for fun. What kind of person does that? And why would I ever even consider getting involved with that? I may not want friends and I may be guarded, but I certainly don't screw with people's hearts or their emotions. That's just cruel.

Opening the door to Mrs. Darbus's classroom, Gabriella took her seat near the back. No one was there yet. Everyone was probably crowding around the principal's office trying to hear what punishment Chad was going to receive for breaking the display case.

"Why Miss Montez, I didn't expect to see you here so early." Gabriella looked up from her doodling at Mrs. Darbus's voice.

"Morning Mrs. Darbus. And yeah I didn't want to stay and see Chad get punished for breaking the display case."

Mrs. Darbus's eyebrow rose, "Mr. Danforth did what and how?"

Gabriella giggled, "He broke the display case that had the baseball trophies in it. Every morning he throws that basketball of his at Troy and Troy forgot or something today and the ball went flying past him and into the case." She shrugged, "Danforth's in trouble. Mr. Matusi did not look pleased."

Mrs. Darbus sat on the corner of the desk in front of Gabriella, "Oh I'm sure he'll get off just fine. Mr. Matusi certainly likes them all enough."

"Them?"

"The basketboys or whatever they are." Mrs. Darbus waved her hand, "Mr. Matusi loves them, he won't be in any trouble."

Gabriella cocked her head to the side. I know the student body worships them and hands the group whatever they want, but the school faculty and administration? "I know Troy has the student body petrified, but the faculty?"

"Mhm," Mrs. Darbus wrapped her shawl more securely around her shoulders, "Mr. Matusi isn't so much scared as he is in love with basketball here at East High. And Mr. Danforth throws that hockey puck around everywhere he goes." Gabriella held back a grin at Mrs. Darbus's temper tantrum over the special treatment it was clear Troy's group received.

"Well at least you can put them in their place in here. They really do need a good slap in the face." Gabriella muttered the last part.

Mrs. Darbus grinned, "Or do you mean Mr. Bolton needs a good slap in the face?"

Gabriella's head shot up and her eyes met her homeroom teacher's. "He is one of them." Gabriella pointed out feebly.

"It's my understanding that he wanted to start a game with you Miss Montez."

Gabriella stared at the woman, "You know about his games with the female population here?" Mrs. Darbus nodded, "Does the entire faculty?" Again the teacher nodded, "And no one tries to stop him from destroying the girls here? No one steps in and tells him that he's full of shit and needs someone to teach him a lesson?"

Mrs. Darbus leaned back slightly at Gabriella's condescending tone. "The only people who openly defy Mr. Bolton are Mr. Danforth and Miss Evans. Personally, I think most students are more afraid of Miss Evans."

"Pay is harmless." Gabriella waved her off.

"Still, the faculty does nothing. I do send them to detention rather often though." She smiled smugly, as if she were proud of this.

Gabriella's eyebrow rose, "I take it you're the only one who does this." Mrs. Darbus nodded in confirmation.

Both sets of eyes roved over to the door as it opened. The conversation ended abruptly as Mrs. Darbus went to sit in her overstuffed chair on the stage at the front of the classroom. Students began filing in, discussing how amazing it was Chad was able to talk himself out of detention, suspension or expulsion after breaking the baseball trophy case. Mrs. Darbus caught Gabriella's gaze and nodded her head as if to say, 'see, whatever they want they get.'

Just as the bell rang the door opened for again and Troy, Zeke, Jason, Ryan, Sharpay, and Kelsi came in.

"And where is Mr. Danforth?" Mrs. Darbus asked counting off heads, "And Miss McKessie?" As if right on cue the door opened one more time, revealing Chad with his arm slung over Taylor's shoulder and Lucille tucked under the other. Gabriella and Mrs. Darbus rolled their eyes in unison, "So nice of you two to join us." She looked back down at her roll, "Oh and Mr. Danforth, the hockey puck will stay up here with me until the end of homeroom. We wouldn't want you to break something in my chapel of the arts." Gabriella snickered behind her hand at her eccentric homeroom teacher.

Chad just shrugged and placed Lucille at Mrs. Darbus's feet. Mrs. Darbus nodded and gestured for him to take his seat. Once everyone was settled she faced the group of students, "Now let us begin our morning by discussing the evils of cell phones." Half of the students groaned and she smiled, pushing her glasses further up her nose.

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The entire day the only topic of conversation was how Troy had missed the morning ball and Chad had broken the baseball trophy case. Lucky for him he was on the baseball team and was the cause of most of those trophies so the team didn't seem to care. Gabriella laid her head on the lunch table, "How do I ignore him if he's the only thing anyone talks about?" She whined. Mandy and Sharpay, who was oddly sitting with them today, just stared at her.

"Maybe it's a sign that you're not supposed to ignore him?" Mandy suggested. She glanced over at the table and smiled at Jason, "I mean why would you?"

Gabriella lifted her head and followed Mandy's eyes, "I think you mean why would you ignore Jason. Not why would I ignore Troy."

Sharpay glared at her, "Seriously Gabriella. Do you not listen to a word I say? You and Troy want each other. Why don't you just go do it in the locker room and get it over with."

Gabriella flinched. She hadn't been in the locker room except for P.E. since the incident. Greene, Goff and Diston hadn't been back at school since then, but she didn't want to be alone and away from any classrooms that may hear her screaming, "I don't want to do it with anyone in the locker room, let alone Troy." She shot back.

Mandy reached over and clasped her hand, "Gabi, sweetie, why don't you just try asking him out on a normal date. I know the school doesn't realize he's made you miserable, but we do."

"You're part of the school."

"We're your friends." Sharpay took Gabriella's other hand, "Look just try."

"I already did. He ignored me. Game over. Remember?" She glanced back over at Troy's table and watched as he leaned his head closer to Ryan and Kelsi, talking quickly to them. It looked like Ryan asked a question as his eyes shot up and connected with her brown ones.

"Wait, you want to do what?" Ryan asked. He made eye contact with Gabriella before dropping his head again.

"I want to ask her out in like a grand gesture. I was thinking at the big pep rally." He scratched the back of his head.

"What about the game?" He had to lean closer to her to hear her quiet voice.

Troy shrugged, "I don't think she's going to play. At least play my way."

"So you're just going to give up the game?" Ryan stared at him. "You only do that if it's someone scary like Sharpay or your best friend, Chad. What's so special about her?"

Troy put his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair he tried to block out the emotions, but he couldn't, "I don't know. She makes me not want to play the game. I just, I don't know." He looked over at Chad and Taylor and then at Kelsi and Ryan, whose hands were intertwined on the table, "I want to hold her hand. I want everyone to know she's mine."

Ryan and Kelsi sat back. Kelsi was having trouble sitting still. This was it. This was what she'd been hoping for, what she knew would come. "We'll help." She spoke for Ryan and herself.

Troy's eyes brightened, "Really?"

"Of course man. Anything you need." Ryan nodded his head.

He leaned forward and motioned for them to join him, whispering, he said, "Okay, this is going to sound so cheesy, but I think I want to sing to her."

Ryan and Kelsi grinned, "I think we can help with that."

Gabriella watched as Ryan and Kelsi interacted with Troy. She watched as he went from reluctant, to frustrated to almost happy in a matter of seconds. He's seriously like a middle school girl with all of his emotions. Then she watched as Ryan picked Kelsi's hand that was intertwined with his own up and kiss the back of it. Now why can't Troy and I have that? She frowned and put her head in her hands. She really needed to get over him, It's not like he's going to give up his ways for any grand gesture to try to win my heart any time soon anyhow. She sighed and picked up a grape, popping it into her mouth, resolved to try to move on. This had been by far the worst move yet.

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MAS