YEAH! UPDATE!
"I'm sorry Mr. Williams. But I have to suspend you from Albuquerque Academy for the next month." Dean Warrens said while folding his hands over his desk. The boy sitting in front of him stood up enraged, knocking over the chair he had been sitting in just seconds before.
"Suspend me? Why?" The dean furrowed his eyebrows.
"You nearly assaulted a teacher. That alone is enough for expulsion! You're lucky that suspension is all you're getting. Your father is on his way here and your teachers will prepare your missed work at the end of every week and one of your parents can come get them. While you are away, I am suggesting that you take some or a lot of anger management classes." The teen slammed his hands down on the desk, causing the objects on top to rattle.
"But I don't have any anger issues! Your staff is nothing but a bunch of conniving liars who keep trying to get me in trouble!"
"You have no anger problems?" The dean asked in a calm voice. The teen shook his head.
"None!" Dean Warrens leaned back in his chair.
"Then why are your nails currently creating dents in my desk?" The male boy looked down at the nails in question and realized that the man in front of him was right. He loosened his grip and backed away from the table and saw ten small indents in the craved and polished wood. He looked at Dean Warrens and sheepishly grinned as he picked up the chair on the floor and sat in it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Dean, I know what I did to Mr. Aston was wrong and I'm sorry I really am, but I can't be suspended. The big football game against Jefferson Prep is next week and I'm on the starting line-up. I-"
"My hands are tied." Dean Warrens said rubbing his temples. "You should have thought about that before you went after your teacher with a baseball bat." Just then a voice came over the intercom.
"Dean Warrens, Samson's father is here." Dean Warrens nodded and turned to look at the boy in front of him. He shrugged.
"I think that's your cue. I'll see you in a month." The boy sighed as he picked up his backpack and dragged his feet to the door. When the door closed behind him, the Dean leaned back in his chair and sighed. "How many more days of school are there left?"
"255." Dean Warrens jumped at the sound of the voice and looked towards his door. Standing in it and looking sheepishly, was Chad. The dean rolled his eyes.
"Ah, Chad. Come in." Dean Warrens said motioning the young teacher forward. Chad nodded and closed the door behind him. "Would you like to sit?" Chad shook his head.
"Actually, I still have a lot of papers to grade before Monday so I was wondering if we could make this quick." Dean Warrens nodded.
"Sure. First of all how well are you adjusting?" Chad nodded.
"It's been pretty good. The paperwork's a bit more than I was expecting, but I'm handling it. Who needs to sleep anyway?" Dean Warrens chuckled and nodded.
"Right you are. And Taylor?" Chad's eyes widened.
"Wha-wha-what about her?" Chad stuttered. The dean arched an eyebrow.
"Has she been helping to show you around? Helping you get adjusted?" Chad blinked and nodded.
"Yeah. She's been a real help. Was that what you wanted to talk to me about, sir?" Dean Warrens shook his head and cleared his throat.
"Of course not. Did you plan on attending tonight's Welcome Back dance?" Chad instantly stiffened and his insides twisted into knots. His heart sped up as he tried to keep a calm and cool façade. He shrugged nonchalantly.
"I planned on dropping by. See what all the fuss was about. Why?" Dean Warrens stood up from his desk and stood in front of Chad.
"Would you mind chaperoning? Mrs. Gallstone was supposed to chaperone but she's at home nursing the flu and there is no other teacher who can do it. I know its last minute and all, but I really need you to do this. And I'm completely willing to pay you overtime for your troubles. And you wouldn't even really have to do anything. Just walk around and make sure no one's dead. That's all. Besides the students actually seem to like you. They would probably love to have you there. Please, Chad. I'm begging."
Chad smiled. "An excuse for why I'm at the dance, and as I'm" leaving" I'll go and meet Taylor. It's perfect." He thought. "Exactly how long would I have to stay?"
"Well the dance is from seven to midnight, but Mrs. Gallstone's period was from nine to eleven."
Chad grinned. "This can't possibly get any easier."
"Can I take your smile as a yes?" Chad broke out of his thoughts and looked at the man in front who looked like he was at his wits end.
Chad shrugged. "Sure Dean. I'll chaperone."
Dean Warrens breathed out a sigh of relief. "You're a life saver, Chad. Thanks." Chad simply nodded and reached for the door handle.
"Don't mention it sir. Glad to help."
"Taylor, you've got to eat something." Gabriella said looking at her roommate, who was on the floor, doing crunches. It was Saturday afternoon, and the two were in their dorm room taking a break from all the chaos that was going on around the school on account of the dance that night. Taylor shook her head.
"No can do. Have to look perfect in my dress tonight. Which means that I can't be pudgy by adding unnecessary weight that I could have avoided. No food till after the dance starts." Gabriella rolled her eyes.
"I think Sharpay is rubbing off on you. And not in a good way either." Taylor glared at her friend.
"Speaking of the pink she-devil, where is she?" Taylor asked. Gabriella shook her head.
"I don't know. She's probably out finding a date. Do you know she still doesn't have one?" Taylor stopped her crunches to stare at the brunette.
"You know that's how Shar is. To her, this is all just a game to see how long she can hold out and still find someone to go with her. And you know she will." Just then Sharpay walked in, dropped her purse, kicked off her shoes and plopped down on her bed with a loud sigh.
"Well good morning to you too." Gabriella said staring at the blonde. "And where have you been all day?" Sharpay rolled her eyes at the question as she searched her bedside drawer for a nail file.
"Helping Taylor's date get ready for tonight." Taylor, who had changed from doing crunches to push ups, fell as all the strength left her arms.
"Chad?" Sharpay glared at her friend.
"No, dummy. Seb. We have to make it convincing that you two are a couple and one of the ways to do that is if your outfits match."Taylor rolled eyes.
"It doesn't matter how good we look together, if he didn't convince Chad to forgive me." Taylor reminded her but the blonde either didn't hear the comment or chose to ignore it.
"I've been so busy trying to help you," Sharpay continued, "That I forgot to find a date for myself. I hope you're happy." Taylor scoffed and got up from the floor.
"Whatever. You say this as if there aren't a thousand guys breaking their necks to go with you." Sharpay huffed and crossed her arms.
"Yeah, well none of them are the right guy." Gabriella and Taylor shared a look.
"And the right guy is…"
"Tall, smart, athletic, talented, gorgeous-"
"So a male you?" Gabriella interjected. Sharpay shrugged.
"Well, yeah. I mean I'm not looking for a lot. I just want someone perfect. Is that too much to ask?" Taylor was about to respond when there was a loud rapping on the door.
"Who is it?" Gabriella asked. There was no response. She got up and opened the door to reveal no one there, but a dozen red roses. Gabriella picked them up and closed the door. "Someone got a present!" She said in a sing-song voice. Both girls looked up and Sharpay smirked.
"Looks like Mr. Chad has forgiven you, Tay." Gabriella shook her head.
"Nope. This is addressed to you Shar." The blonde almost snapped her nail file in half as she and Taylor rushed to the brunette's side.
"What?" They asked breathlessly.
"To Ms. Sharpay Evans." Gabriella read from the card. "You are prettier than the finest flower, smell sweeter than the best perfume, and gentler than the spring breeze." Sharpay's jaw dropped as Gabriella continued to read. "I only wish my courage matched my passion for you, because then I would not be afraid to reveal my true person. But alas, a jewel like yourself needs someone to help you shine even brighter, so until the time comes where I have proven myself, I am fully content to wait in the background and gaze at you from afar. Love always, Rocketman." Taylor nearly laughed at hearing who it was from and Sharpay dramatically collapsed in the computer chair, placing her hand on her forehead.
"That…was…beautiful." She whispered.
Gabriella nodded. "It was really sweet." Sharpay glared at her roommate.
"Sweet? Gabs, god himself couldn't have written a more perfect note." Sharpay sighed and smelled the roses. "But who could it be?" Taylor scoffed but quickly turned it into a cough.
"Well I don't know, but I'm happy for you, Shar. And I hope you and…Rocketman will be very happy together." With that she got up, grabbing her iPod and walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Sharpay asked, her eyes glued to her note, trying to decipher the handwriting.
"The gym. I'll be back before the dance." She said as she closed the door behind her. Gabriella watched her leave, and turned to see the blonde staring at her.
"What?" Gabriella asked hesitantly.
"We need to find you a date for the dance that's what." Gabriella shook her head.
"No we don't. I already have one. Ryan asked me yesterday." Sharpay frowned.
"So I'm the only one of us without a date?" Gabriella shrugged.
"It's not like you haven't been asked. You turned everyone down." Sharpay didn't meet her friend's eyes and instead busied herself with finding water for her flowers.
"Well that's because none of them are what I'm looking for. None of them are like him." Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows.
"Who's him?" Sharpay grinned as she stared off into space.
"Zeke Baylor." Gabriella arched an eyebrow.
"The guy from the club? From this summer? Really? You knew him for like 5 hours at most." Sharpay rolled her eyes.
"So? The amount of time we spent together is irrelevant. The connection we had was deep-"
"Yeah, as deep as a kiddy pool." Sharpay threw a pillow at her roommate and huffed.
"Whatever. I want him, none of the boys here are him, so therefore I don't want to date any of them." Gabriella playfully rolled her eyes.
"How are you gonna find him, anyway?" Sharpay shrugged nonchalantly as she finally found the right vase for her roses.
"I'm gonna get his number out of Chad's phone which I'm gonna get by sneaking into his office and taking it. Oh my gosh! What if Zeke is Rocketman?" Gabriella turned to stare at her friend.
"I'm sorry," She said, standing and walking over to stand next to the blonde. "What was that part about breaking and entering?"
I'm putting in homework
(Till I get to know you)
I'm putting in homework
(I'll study your every move)
I'm putting in homework
Till I know everything you like
I'm gonna push, gonna mash, gonna grind
I'm on the grind till I know it
I'm putting in homework
Taylor looked down at her phone to see that it was Sebastian who was calling her. She slowed down her treadmill to a slow walk and hit the answer button.
"Hello?" She said breathlessly. On the other line Sebastian chuckled.
"Eager to see me, Tay?" Taylor rolled her eyes and took a drink from her bottle.
"Don't flatter yourself. I'm at the gym so I'm out of breath."
"Really?" Sebastian questioned. "Me too. Where are you?"
"On the treadmill."
"Okay. I'll come there. See ya in a few."
"See ya." Taylor responded before shutting her phone and turning off her machine. She stepped off of it and pulled a towel from her bag wiping away the sweat from her arms and face. While she was doing this, she glanced up to see Chad across the way on the pull up bars, staring at her. She pretended not to notice him and continued to towel off. When she was done, she bent down to pick up her gym bag, making sure to give him a view of her toned behind.
"Well, looks like I walked in on a show." Taylor jolted up and smirked when she saw who was standing there.
"You say it like you don't enjoy it." Sebastian chuckled as he stepped closer.
"Actually, I didn't. Gay remember?" Taylor rolled her eyes as she reached down to get her gym bag and put it on her shoulder. When she stood back up again, she quickly glanced to see if Chad was watching but he was gone. Taylor sighed, causing Sebastian to glance in the same direction.
"Let me guess. Chad?" Sebastian asked. Taylor nodded before her eyes widened.
"Your plan! Did it work? Is he still mad at me, what happened?" Sebastian rolled his eyes and placed an arm around her shoulder, leading her towards the exit.
"Yes it worked, no he's not still mad at you, and do you want the long version or short version?"
"Short version. Please."
"I tricked him into going to the library where he walked in on me and Ryan getting intimate." Taylor stopped walking.
"You and Ryan? Why Ryan?" Sebastian arched an eyebrow.
"Well he is kinda my boyfriend." Taylor's jaw dropped and Sebastian laughed at her expression.
"Boyfriend? Since when? For how long?" Sebastian rolled his eyes playfully and tugged her gently to get her to start walking again.
"Yes, the Ryan Evans, Sharpay's brother and Gabriella's date to the dance is my boyfriend. We've been dating since this summer and in one minute it will be exactly…"Two months, one week, two days, six hours and 24 seconds."
"Aww." Taylor said. "You remember the exact time?" Sebastian rolled his eyes but grinned all the same.
"Shut up." He said blushing. He paused for a second. "I know right? Isn't it great?"
"Well I'm very happy for you two." Taylor said. "And he's okay with the whole you pretending to date me thing?"
"After I explained everything yesterday, he is. So it was a win win. You get your boyfriend and I get mine. And no one knows the difference." Taylor arched an eyebrow.
"I think you've been spending a little too much time with Sharpay. You're beginning to sound just as devious as her." Sebastian shrugged.
"She's like a fatal disease. Once you've got her, you're stuck with her."
"We are so getting expelled for this!" Gabriella harshly whispered to Sharpay. The two were currently standing outside Chad's classroom, Sharpay on the ground with a pick trying to break the lock. Sharpay rolled her eyes and blew a strand of hair out of her face.
"We can only get expelled if someone finds out what we're doing. And the only way someone will find out what we're doing is if someone hears us. And the only way someone will hear us, is if you don't shut up!" Gabriella glared at the blonde but didn't say anything else. "Damn it. I can't get it."
"Do you want some help?" The two girls jumped at the voice and Sharpay stood. Both girls turned to see a boy standing behind them. He was wearing skinny jeans, a loose fitted T, a hoodie and sneakers. On his head was a gray beanie, which only succeeded in making his already long brown hair fall into his eyes even more. The teen held up his hands in a sign of surrender. Sharpay crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow at the boy.
"What was that?" She asked. The boy shrugged.
"Well, clearly you two are trying to break into that classroom and I was just wondering if you wanted some help." Gabriella and Sharpay shared a look.
"State your name, grade and age." Sharpay said forcefully.
"Jimmie Zara, 9th grade, and I'm however old you want me to be." He said while eyeing Sharpay up and down and sending her a wink. Gabriella began to laugh but quickly turned it into a cough when Sharpay sent a glare her way.
"Jimmie Zara?" Gabriella asked. Jimmie nodded. "The one being tutored by Taylor and Kelsi?" Jimmie nodded again.
"Well then that means you must be Gabriella and you are of course the lovely Sharpay." Sharpay rolled her eyes and waved her hand as if dismissing the fact that he knew who she was.
"You can open the door?" She asked suspiciously. Jimmie nodded again, this time causing more of his hair to drop into his eyes. He brushed it back before walking up to the door. He pulled out his wallet and from within it pulled out a credit card. Jimmie then kneeled on the ground and began working at opening the door. Sharpay rolled her eyes and looked at her friend and roommate. "Well," Sharpay whispered. "We're gonna be here forever. He probably can't even-"
"Done." Jimmie said as he stood from the ground and wiped his hands on the jeans. Sharpay turned and looked the freshman up and down.
"What?" Both she and Gabriella asked bewildered. Jimmie shrugged.
"Yeah. It wasn't that hard. Well, see ya." Sharpay stared him up and down and Jimmie turned to go.
"Wait. Don't you even wanna know why we were trying to break into the classroom?" Jimmie paused for a second as he thought before shaking his head.
"Nope. Not really." Sharpay looked at Gabriella who shrugged.
"And you of course know that you never saw us here." Sharpay stated. "And this whole thing never happened. Right?" The freshman nodded.
"Of course it didn't. Because if it did, then I would get in more trouble than the two of you considering the fact that while you guys were only trying to get in the room, I actually successfully unlocked the door." Sharpay and Gabriella shared a look.
"He's got a point." Gabriella whispered. Sharpay then stepped forward.
"Well…um…thank you…uh…"
"Jimmie." The boy answered eagerly. Sharpay nodded.
"Yes." Sharpay answered as she reached for Gabriella's arm and began to drag her into the classroom. "Jimmie. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you. We'll be seeing you." Gabriella nodded in amusement.
"Yes. It was very nice to meet you Jimmie." Gabriella said smiling. "I hope we cross paths again soon." Jimmie smirked as he turned to walk down the hall.
"Oh, don't worry. I can guarantee we will." He said before turning and walking down the hall. The girls watched him go before closing the door behind them.
"I think he likes you." Gabriella said, clearly amused. Sharpay glared at the brunette.
"Just shut up and help me look for Chad's phone." Gabriella rolled her eyes before doing as her friend said.
"How do we even know it's in here? How do we know it's not in his room? Or on him? Where it's supposed to be?" Sharpay ignored her friend and walked towards the desk at the front of the room. When she couldn't find it on his desk, she reached for one of the drawers to open it, when she was stopped when Gabriella grabbed her arm.
"What are you doing? We already broke in the room. We can't go through his stuff!"
"And why not? We're already in trouble if we get caught we might as well make it worthwhile." And with that being said she shook Gabriella's hand off and opened the drawer. "Ha!" She said. Gabriella, who had covered her eyes with her hands, peeked through them.
"What?" Sharpay rolled her eyes and removed her friend's hands from her face.
"Grow up. And look what I got!" Sharpay help up the Iphone she had pulled out of the desk in triumph. She turned it on and was met with the password screen. "Dammit."
"Did you honestly think it was gonna be that easy?" Gabriella asked. "Besides why don't you let it go? I mean he was just one guy-"
"Hey!" Sharpay interjected. "He was not just one guy. He was the guy. And Sharpay Anneliese Evans does not let anything go." Gabriella rolled her eyes and sat down on top of Chad's desk.
"Well regardless of that you don't have the password." Sharpay arched an eyebrow.
"Like that's stopped me before." With that being said, she began to press keys.
"You're not gonna get it." Gabriella said. "So we might as well stop while we're ahead and just leave-"
"Got it."
"What?" Gabriella's jaw dropped in shock. "How?" Sharpay rolled her eyes.
"His password was 1, 2, 3, 4. Some people are so simple." Gabriella crossed her arms.
"Well find the number so we can leave before he comes back." Sharpay nodded and began searching through contact when she stopped and smiled. "Did you find it?" Gabriella asked. Sharpay shook her head.
"Not yet but I found something else. Troy Zachary Bolton."
"Troy's number? Let me see it!" Gabriella said reaching for the phone but Sharpay pulled it out of her reach.
"I thought you said breaking and entering was wrong." Gabriella stuck her tongue out at the blonde. "Do you want the number or not?" Sharpay asked. Gabriella hesitated.
"…No?"
"Which means yes." Sharpay said turning back to the phone and mentally storing Troy's number and making a mental note to later put it in Gabriella's phone. Tired of scrolling, Sharpay hit the Z button and frowned. "It's not there. Hang on let me go back..." Sharpay started scrolling again and squealed at her results.
"Did you get it?" The room's other occupant asked, trying to see over Sharpay's shoulder. The girl nodded.
"Yep. Ezekiel "Zeke" Lawrence Baylor. Hmm…Sharpay Baylor. It has a nice ring to it."
"Yeah, yeah it sounds beautiful, Shar. Just please hurry up so we can leave." Sharpay glared at her friend but did as she was asked, quickly typing the number in her own phone, and carefully placing her teacher's phone back in the desk.
"Done. Let's go." Gabriella nodded and the two girls left the classroom, locking it behind them. Unbeknownst to them, someone had watched the girls struggle to open the door, interact with Jimmie, enter and leave the classroom. And that someone did not intend on keeping it to themselves.
"Hello?"
"Is this Tina from the gossip column for Albuquerque Magazine?"
"Yes, this is she. How can I help you?"
"Well, I think this is more about me helping you."
"Really? How so?"
"Well I hear that local citizen Chad Danforth is being drafted into the NBA."
"Yes, I know this and I've known this forever, but sadly he moved over the summer and we have not been able to locate him to set up an interview."
"Well, what would you say if I said that I knew where he was?"
"Well, then I'd say I owed you a big favor."
"Well then start saving up for that favor Tina, because I guarantee it's gonna cost ya."