Tiara sighed as she stared at Terrence dreamily across the cafeteria as her "friends" Kaitlin and Tiffany droned on and on about Tiffany's new manicure.
Tiffany was the one who "recruited" Tiara on her first day and obviously the destined leader of their group—not to mention Queen of the Eighth Grade as she put it. At first, Tiara was psyched to be instantly popular with all the guys wanting her and with all the girls wanting to be her. But, she's getting tired of Tiffany running everything. She thinks the world revolves around her and that she's better than everyone. Kaitlin's been following her around and wagging her tail behind Tiffany for years. She doesn't even care how horrible Tiffany treats her. If she does, poor thing doesn't have the guts to stand up to her. But, Tiara isn't the type to be bossed around and Tiffany found that out on the second day of school. The only reason she wasn't dropped from her little clique was Tiffany sees her as a major threat—as the saying goes: "keep your friends close and you're enemies closer."
"So I told my mom," Tiffany said. "Of course I want a decoration, whether it cost more or not." Tiffany flipped her long, blonde hair and admired her manicure once more. "We should all get matching manicures," she gasped, "and matching pedicures! Wouldn't that be ador-able?"
Kaitlin smiled and shook her head. "Totally." Not the worst thing she's ever made me do, she thought.
Kill me now! "Sure, Tiffany." Tiara sighed and continued to gaze at Terrence. She didn't talk to him all weekend and he's been avoiding her all day. She's even heard rumors about him liking some other—
"I heard he likes me now," Tiffany said matter-of-factly with a smile. "Did you guys break-up?" She caught Terrence's attention and waved at him with a smile on her face.
Tiara's world collapsed when he nodded back with a smirk. "No, we did not break-up! Keep your waves to yourself!" Tiara grabbed Tiffany's hand and put it down. "I bet you started that rumor, didn't you," Tiara said angrily.
"Oh, calm down, Tiara." Tiffany shrugged. "It's not like you guys were serious. You knew him for like, a week." Sarah giggled and turned to Kaitlin. "Hey, do you want to catch a movie this weekend? You could sleepover, too!" Kaitlin beamed. "My mom wouldn't care at all." She faced Tiara, "you can come too, you know, if you're not busy drooling over Terrence." She laughed and flipped her hair.
Tiara stood up and shook her head. "It's one thing to set me up with Terrence just so you can take him away from me," Tiara scoffed, "but it's another to tease me about liking him when you've been drooling over him for four years! So, thanks for the invitation, but I'll pass." Tiara sent her a fake smile and walked away from their table.
"Dude," Derek said, "I think they're fighting over you." He pointed to the table where Tiara and Tiffany were.
"Yea," Terrence said, "I got these girls lining up." He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I find it funny that neither of them even knows about Kaitlin. She has a thing for me now." Terrence lied through his teeth. His whole group of friends is easily impressed and he gets them to believe anything he says without even trying most of the time.
"Awesome! I mean, what girl wouldn't want you?" Derek, Terrence's awkward cousin, said. He's dark, has short hair, a bit on the chubby side, wears glasses, and looks way smarter than he actually is. He wears khaki pants and Polo shirts most of the time. Friend wise; he tries to be funny, and does whatever he can to be considered "cool," but it doesn't always work out for him.
"Shut up, Derek," Terrence said.
"Okay."
Then there's Tony, the skater. He's light-skinned, wears dark jeans and graphic tees, and is Terrence's best friend. He doesn't ever believe a thing that comes out of his mouth unless it's just the two of them, but he doesn't ever negate his statements most of the time. "Gee, I wonder who you're going to choose since they all are just waiting in line for you to ask them out," he said sarcastically. He scoffed and shook his long, dark shaggy hair so it wouldn't cover his naturally sleepy eyes.
"Says the guy who's been pining over Tiffany for like four years," Terrence whispered so only Tony would hear.
"Shut up! Don't talk about it," Tony said as he nudged Terrence's shoulder.
Then there are the twins (identical): James and Jayden. They're two completely different people; James is fun, smart, and outgoing. Jayden's really calm, quiet, and a bit of an ass when you first meet him. However, they both are tall, tan, with curly dark brown hair, and amazingly gorgeous. They'd probably be more popular if they didn't seem genuinely disinterested in every girl in school.
"And you guys wonder why you have D averages," Jayden said as he shook his head.
"Hey, just because you're an honors student-,"
"Can we talk about something else?" James interrupted. "Hey, our dad just installed a new home theater!"
"Cool!" Derek said. "Say, can we play video games over at your place?"
"Sure," Jayden said hesitantly. "I'll let you guys know when to come over."
"Don't let him know," Jayden whispered to him.
"Wasn't going to." James smirked and bumped fists with his twin. The bell rang and they got up and left, to their dismay, with Derek following enthusiastically behind.
Tony held Terrence back. "You're so full of shit," he said as they walked to class together.
"I am not!" Terrence gasped melodramatically. "I find that very offensive."
"Sure you do." Tony frowned. "I told you to lay off Kaitlin. No matter how much I think Tiara's hot, I've never even talked to her because of you."
"I hear you," Terrence said. "I was just-,"
"I don't care. Lay off my sister."
"Ok!" Terrence held up his hands. "I heard you the first time."
"Good."
Tony's mom remarried to Kaitlin's dad about five years ago. Ever since, Tony's been very protective of her. She's very fragile and he does his best to make sure no guy tries to take advantage of her. However, he hasn't paid attention to the girls. He thinks her relationship with Tiffany keeps her protected from insults and what not, when Tiffany's the main one picking on her. He would've stripped her away years ago if Tiffany didn't have him fooled. He still doesn't know Tiffany got her drunk enough to admit losing her virginity to Terrence one night.
"So what happened between you and Tiara last weekend anyway?" Tony asked.
"Well I went over her house and we were making out and stuff." Tony nodded his head and Terrence continued. "Then she went into the bathroom and put on this really sexy lingerie, and tells me we're not going to have sex!"
"So?"
"So, I was pissed! Who does that?" Terrence shook his head. "I left, she said she'd call me, and I told her not to. End of story. I haven't talked to her since."
"What is your problem?" Tony asked in disbelief. "Have you even considered that maybe she isn't ready for sex? That she's a virgin? That you're being an ass?"
"Hey, Terrence Chase isn't made a fool of." He shrugged his shoulders. "She learned that sooner rather than later."
Tony shook his head. "This is why I tell you to stay away from my sister. Girls should be treating you like the Plague." Tony and Terrence sat down at their desks next to each other and lowered their voices so they weren't overheard. "You should try being like James or Jayden sometimes. It might do you some good, be healthy even."
"I can't help it if the ladies want me," he said with a cocky grin.
"Oh, look," Tony said as he pointed across the room. "Stephanie and Stacy are about to ask Jayden and James out again."
Stephanie and Stacy are identical twin sisters who've been crushing on James and Jayden since they moved from Idaho a year ago. They are tall, thin, and athletic. Stephanie's the star of the girls' soccer team and Stacy's the star of the girls' basketball team. They are forever convinced that the four of them belong together no matter how many times James and Jayden turn them down.
"So?"
"You should watch. You might learn something."
"Hey, James," Stephanie said softly while biting her lip and twisting her light brown hair around her index finger.
"Hey, Jayden," Stacy said energetically with a smile on her face.
Jayden looked up from the book he was reading as James looked up from doodling in his notebook.
"Hey, Stephanie," James said with a friendly smile. "What's up?"
"Hey, Stacy," Jayden said with a sigh.
"We were wondering if you guys wanted to-," Stephanie started shyly.
"See a movie with us this weekend?" Stacy finished excitedly.
James and Jayden shared a thoughtful look. They looked back at the two girls who waited anxiously for them to reply.
"Sure," Jayden said with a shrug.
"Why not?" James said with a smile.
"What?" Stephanie said with a shocked expression on her face.
"Really?" Stacy said hopefully.
"What?" Tony and Terrence blurted out from across the room in disbelief.
"Yea, why not," James and Jayden said at the same time.
"Cool!" Stacy grabbed Stephanie's arm and started walking away with a smile on her face. "We'll text you."
"Bye, guys," Stephanie said happily.
James and Jayden smirked at each other and bumped fists.
"What the hell just happened?" Tony asked.
"No idea," Terrence said. He patted Tony's back. "But, I did learn something." Tony looked at him. "The J twins got game."
Tony shook his head with a laugh and shoved Terrence playfully.
Troy threw his backpack onto the bed of his pickup truck frustrated, but stopped as soon as he heard a cry of pain.
"Ow," Gabriella said groggily as she rubbed her head and slowly sat up straighter. She then tried to comb out her snarled hair from sleeping with her fingers. She looked at Troy with a tired expression as she attempted to get rid of any dried tear stains.
"Ok," Troy said with a sigh. "First thing, what the hell are you doing in the back of my truck?"
"I skipped," she said with a lazy shrug of her shoulders.
"Ok, second thing, why do you look like a drunken hobo?"
"Shut up," Gabriella said offensively. "I do not."
Troy smiled and held out his hand to help Gabriella up. "Come on."
After Gabriella stopped staring at it reluctantly, she took it, stood up and hopped over the side of the truck with Troy holding her waist.
Troy pulled her closer and went in for a kiss on her lips and caught contact with her cheek. "What's that about?"
"Can you just take me home?" Gabriella removed his hands and got into the passenger seat of his car.
Troy got in and slammed the door. "What the hell is your problem?"
Gabriella frowned. "What the hell is your problem? Don't yell at me! I've had the worst day ever and I'm not going to let you make it worse for me!" She pulled her iPod out and untangled her headphones. "Well, go!" She pointed towards the ignition. "Start the car! Take me home!"
"Give me what I want first." Troy stared at her firmly.
"What?" Troy grabbed her neck aggressively and tried to kiss her with a scary look in his eyes Gabriella had never seen before. "No, Troy!" She pushed him away with all her might. "Stop!"
Troy went in again stronger and feverishly and crawled on top of her.
"No! Stop!" By this time, Gabriella was in tears. As soon as she got the chance she kneed him in the groin, unlocked the doors, climbed out from under him and slapped him hard. She ran as fast as she could towards home.
"Hey, Dad," Tiara asked calmly as she took a break from her homework. "Have you seen Gabi?"
"No, sweetie," Mr. Montez yelled out of his study to his youngest daughter.
"Oh," she said in disappointment. "My math homework is killing me and Gabi's better at it so I was hoping she was here so she could-,"
"Yea, that's great, honey!"
Tiara peeked into her dad's study and saw he was on the phone.
"I don't care how long it takes, just do it!" Mr. Montez yelled into the phone.
She smirked. "Hey, Dad, I think I'm pregnant!"
"What?" Mrs. Montez dropped her stuff down at the door and ran over to Tiara. "When did this happen? Who did this to you?"
"What's all the fuss about? I'm trying to have a-," Mr. Montez walked out of his study and smiled brightly when he saw his wife. "Hello, darling." He kissed her on the lips and gave her a warm hug. "Let me get those for you." He pointed with his hand at her bags by the door and proceeded to take them to their master bedroom.
"What's this about you being pregnant?" She said while cradling Tiara's face in her hands.
"Calm down, Ma." Tiara paused. "I'm not pregnant; I was just trying to get Dad's attention."
Mrs. Montez dropped her hands. "Yea, well, when I tried that too much I actually ended up pregnant, so never lie about that again. You hear me?"
"Yes, Ma," Tiara said lazily. "Do you know where Gabriella is?"
"How should I know, I just got home?" Mrs. Montez said dismissively. "Hey, you haven't seen pictures of your new baby cousin yet. Come along." She waved her hand in a beckoning manner. "They're in my suitcase upstairs."
"Ok," Tiara sighed. "Did you get my phone upgraded yet?"
"Oh, yea." Mrs. Montez pulled it out of her pocket and tossed it to her swiftly. "Come along now."
"Hold on, let me call, Gabi." She held up a finger and dialed.
"I don't have all day, Tiara!" Mrs. Montez headed to her room without her.
Gabriella sniffed and wrapped her arms around herself as she answered her phone. She'd been walking for about an hour and could see her house down the street. "Hello?"
"Gabi, where are you?" Tiara said frantically. "I need your help with my math homework."
"I'm almost home, I'll be there soon." As she said that a car pulled up next to her. The window rolled down and she smiled. "Actually, give me an hour and I'll help you with whatever you need. Bye!"
Tiara hung up and went upstairs to see the baby pictures.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Gabriella said excitedly.
"Well, nice to see you too, Ella," Sharpay said with a smile. "Come on, get in!"
"Oh my God!" Gabriella hopped in and checked out the car. "This is really nice! Someone got their license." She put on her seatbelt.
"I know, my car's bitchin'," Sharpay smiled. "And," she pulled out her license, "I did get my license! I would've brought Taylor out with me, but she had a curfew and this was a ten hour drive. You're so lucky I love you!"
"Hey, I didn't tell you to drive down here, but I love that you love me enough to do this!"
"Well, I didn't just drive down here to see you and show off my new car and license." She pulled off and started driving around the block.
Gabriella stared at her expectantly. "Well didn't I feel special?" She giggled. "What's going on?"
"My dipshit parents are getting a divorce."
"What? Wait, haven't you been waiting for them to separate since, like ever?" She giggled.
"Yea, their constant fighting always annoyed me, but on a good note I've been able to get away with stuff, for example, driving ten hours to see you on a school night." She smiled.
"Why didn't you just call me?"
"Because I needed to get out and away from everything and," she sighed, "I miss you. Taylor's gotten so busy with her new boyfriend, she's forgotten about me. And my boyfriend is too busy playing football and probably banging some cheerleader."
"Aw, sweetie."
"I know! I'm breaking up with him, but how else am I going to spend my free time?"
"Driving down to see me as an excuse to escape your problems?" Gabriella said sarcastically with a smile. "Look, Shar, I miss you too, but don't do this again. At least, not on a school night. And call first! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"I know!" Sharpay pouted. "I love you!" She reached over to hug her.
"Sharpay, the road!"
"Oh, right." She grabbed the wheel. "Sorry."
"God, how did you drive down here without getting in an accident?"
"I didn't have anybody distracting me," she teased. "But, I did get about three speeding tickets."
"What? Oh my God, who's going to pay for that?"
"I don't know. I'll pass them off to my dad; get him to pay for them. Hey, do you think I could stay over your place tonight?"
"What about school?"
"We're out tomorrow; budget cuts or something." She waved her hand carelessly.
"Ok, well I have school tomorrow," Gabriella said matter-of-factly.
"I'll go with you!"
Gabriella looked at her with a blank stare.
"Ok, fine. I'll hang out at your place until you get back from school and I'll drive back after dinner."
"How about before dinner, and before my parents get home?"
"Ok, but I'll drop you off and pick you up from school. Oh, and I'm coming back this weekend."
"Alright, I won't stop you. Hey, my house is right here."
Sharpay pulled over in front of her house and parked. "Oh la la, nice house. What an upgrade, huh?"
"Yea, there's an outdoor pool, Jacuzzi, and home theater in the basement, but you're not leaving my room."
"Aw, come on. Your mom usually leaves the house sometime during the day, can I wonder around then, in one of your bikinis?" she smiled hopefully.
"Fine, why not?"
"Yay! I love you!" Sharpay and Gabriella got out of the car and hugged each other tightly. "Come on, I'll sneak you in."
"Ooh, fun!" Sharpay squealed, causing Gabriella to giggle.
