Second to last Chapter.
This is where the truth comes out.
Checklist: only Jason left . . .
Disclaimer: I'm the person dancing in the background in HSM2! Didn't I say? You don't believe me? Fine, then! LOL
Recap
"My God!" spluttered Kelsi, and ran to the half open door that the voice was coming from.
Troy, Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, Ally, Suzy, Martha, everyone. Gathered at Gabriella's feet.
Gabriella, standing on a chair with everyone gathered at her feet.
Gabriella Montez, standing on a wooden chair with everyone gathered at her feet . . . reading from an all-too-familiar, navy, A5 book!
Kelsi sat on her bed, lifeless.
There was nothing to do. Nothing to think about . . . apart from her book.
How could she let that two-faced back-stabber slip through her fingers so easily?
Kelsi glanced at her alarm clock; it was about twenty to seven.
Sighing, she recalled how she got from Friday morning, the morning she saw Gabriella with her book, to Sunday morning, today, now.
Flashback, Friday Morning
"Where . . . where did you get this?" spluttered Kelsi. Everyone looked to her standing at the door. Gabriella looked quite surprised.
"Some boy, he didn't want it." she shrugged. 'Liar,' Kelsi thought. 'You told Mickey it was yours!'
"It got some . . . interesting things in here . . ." Gabriella flipped the pages slowly, because she knew that everyone was dying of suspense.
"Well? What else does it have in it?" said Martha.
"Well," began Gabriella, smiling,
"There's one about you, Martha, called Martha's garden. There's one about you too, Chad. And Taylor . . ."
"Who the hell is writing these? Have they written about all of us?!" frowned Chad, and Kelsi panicked.
That statement just made her lose the courage to ask Gabriella for it back.
Gabriella started reading out more story extracts. "You know . . . I think these stories are real!"
"WHAT!" roared the class, and everyone tried to grab the book from her.
"Wait, WAIT!" she shouted, and the nose died down.
"I think the person made them up!" said Kelsi loudly, not knowing what the hell else to do.
She walked up to Gabriella, then when she was off guard, snatched it from her. Flipping though the pages like she hadn't read it, Kelsi said,
"Look, if it's true, then you've been in an Asylum, Ryan's had a genie, Sharpay's had plastic surgery-"
"Excuse me?" shrieked Sharpay.
Kelsi thought she could get away with the book, but Gabriella was as good as her. When Kelsi's guard was low, she snatched it right back.
All day, Kelsi had tried to get the book back, but she didn't have the courage to snatch it. Not without someone knowing.
Sitting up, Kelsi grabbed her phone.
How coincidental that the only two people who knew about the book were not around?
She needed their help. Now.
"Hello, can I speak to Candi, please?" she asked, anxious.
"Oh, I'm sorry." came Cassie Wade's voice, "She's at a rehearsal for a school play. May I ask who is speaking?"
"It's Kelsi."
"Oh Kelsi!" said Cassie in relief. "There's me, putting on a posh voice, and it's only you! Is it urgent?"
"Oh, no, just tell her I called." said Kelsi, hanging up to call the only other person who knew.
"Ryan! Ryan is that you? Please, please-" panicked Kelsi. She was so relieved when she heard his voice."Kelsi, calm down. It's me! What's up?" came Ryan's voice, a little muffled.
So she told him.
He didn't really interrupt, except to ask questions at the right places. After she'd finished, he was silent for a while.
"Why did you just ask for it back?" asked Ryan sceptically.
"But then she'd know it was mine! everyone would know . . . And I don't think she would. Everyone angry that I had written stuff about them!" murmured Kelsi.
"So . . . go to her house and get it from her." said Ryan, as though it was the simplest thing in the world.
"I can't. Ryan, I never told you before but . . . I hate Gabriella Montez!" hissed Kelsi.
"I can't really just go round there and say, 'Hi! If you've read my book, then you'll know I hate you, but anywhoo, can I have it back, please?' Ryan, c'mon!"
"Well to be honest . . ." said Ryan awkwardly. "I would!" and he started to chuckle. There were muffles in the background.
"I have to go, now. The journey back should take a few hours, and I'll be back tonight so I'll go to school tomorrow, like I said."
"Yeah . . ." said Kelsi slowly, and she said goodbye.
The next five minutes after that, she thought about what Ryan said.
The next five minutes after that, she got ready to leave.
HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM"Troy, I'm sorry I can't come, but I have rehearsals!" pouted Gabriella. She was lying on her bed, talking on her cell.
"Troy, you know that's not true. I don't always put you second, it's just that – Troy?" Gabriella chucked her cell on the floor and roaring in frustration, left the room.
That was her cue.
As soon as the door was shut, Kelsi darted in from the balcony, and searched everywhere. Cabinets, drawers, wardrobes, everything.
She didn't know where else to look, and Gabriella was bound to come back soon . . .
"If I was a typical teenager . . ." she muttered aloud, "Where would I hide a precious book?" Kelsi gazed around, and her sight landed on Gabriella's bed.
"Of course . . ." she whispered. With one swift motion, she lifted the mattress, and there it was, Navy blue, A5, waiting there for her.
In triumph, Kelsi snatched the book, and exited the way she came . . . seconds before Gabriella came back . . . to find her room in a mess.
HSM HSM HSM HSM HSMKelsi hugged the book close to her heart. She was so glad she had it back. The showing off book thing had stopped, making Kelsi surer that she had her book.
She hadn't had a chance look at it since Sunday, and it was Tuesday today. She wanted to look in it now, to see if any pages had been torn out.
Anxious, she opened the book.
Gabriella's Diary, read the first page, and Kelsi suddenly felt angry. How dare she write on Kelsi's book and call it her diary?!
Looking further into the book, Kelsi froze, shocked.
This wasn't Kelsi's writing book.
This was Gabriella's actual Diary.
HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM"I can't believe it, Candi!" Kelsi whispered to her.
It was the first opportunity that Kelsi had to speak to her. It was Wednesday, and the first showing of the show was about to begin. Everyone was nervous as they hung around backstage.
"What . . . that was actually Gabriella's diary? Well hurry up then, what did it say?" ushered Candi, and Kelsi hesitated.
"It said stuff like 'Oh My Gosh, I really like Troy' and all this gushy stuff." Kelsi paused.
"But then it got sentimental, and she wrote, 'I'm losing all my friends and don't know what to do', and 'I have this secret that'-"
"Crocodile tears." snorted Candi. "I never trust crocodiles."
"But what if she was actually writing the truth? I don't think she meant for anyone to read her diary!"
"Well whatever. Actions speak louder than words, and her action was to read your private book the class, remember? I wasn't even in school!"
"I know." nodded Kelsi. "Now I get why she told Mickey it was hers; my Writing book and her Diary look exactly the same. She thought someone had got a hold of it somehow, and took it back."
"I wouldn't trust her at all. Listen, I have to tell you . . ." Candi stopped suddenly, listening to something.
"What?" urged Kelsi.
"Shush!"
Ms Darbus' voice rang out. "Actors! The show begins in five minutes! Please take your potions behind the curtains while I do my introductory speech!"
"I have to go," burble Candi, and rushed off, leaving Kelsi.
"Oh, fine then." said Kelsi glumly.
HSM HSM HSM HSM HSMThe Wednesday show went well. Ryan didn't show up till the last minute, so when he did, it made everyone really cheerful, and that happiness remained until the show ended.
On Thursday, Kelsi still didn't get a chance to talk to Candi or Ryan, but she talked to Suzy and Ally, and now that the worst part was over, Kelsi found out they were quite nice.
The show on Thursday was even better, as all the nervousness was gone, and the Actors got more confident.
Friday . . . was when it all happened.
HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM"Candi! Stop avoiding me, will you!" said Kelsi angrily.
"I need some water." croaked Candi.
"Are you listening to me? You said you'd tell me who broke-"
"Water . . . some bastard . . . stupid sandwich . . . WATER!" Candi opened her sandwich that she taken one or two bites of, and showed it to Kelsi.
There was loads of Chilli sauce in it.
"My . . . " gasped Kelsi. "Candi – you're going on stage soon! Your voice won't sound good if-"
Candi dragged her to the picture on the side of the stage. On the wall there was a picture of a piano, saying that it was classed as a String instrument and percussion instrument.
Candi took it off the wall and put it on the floor to stamp on it.
"What are you doing?" said Kelsi crossly. Candi wasn't making sense.
"Laya . . . Mont - her!" Candi pointed to her, and then pointed to her foot stamping the piano.
Ms Darbus' voice rang out, and Candi looked pleadingly at Kelsi before rushing away.
Kelsi stood there ten minutes after the show had started, working out what Candi meant.
On stage, a voice said, "Harry! What on earth are you doing?!"
Another voice said, "Look, just trust me, Laya!"
Laya. Kelsi gasped.
She finally knew who'd broken the piano.
HSM HSM HSM HSM HSMBecause it was the last show, afterwards, people were called up onto the stage for applause; the guy who did the costumes, lighting, Ms Darbus, and the rest of it.
When it seemed like the end, Suzy said,
"Lastly, we like to call up a sweet girl, who has helped us make this show as great as possible just using her imagination, even when times got tough. Can we please have a round of applause for KELSI NIELSEN!"
Kelsi was shocked and didn't move, so Ryan came backstage to her.
"Quick, you have to go up!" he urged, but she didn't want to budge. People were still clapping, cheering her on.
Out of the blue, Ryan leant over and gave her a kiss on the lips, and she returned it, surprised. "C'mon," he murmured, and he lead her on stage.
In the audience, Chad stood up and chanted, "Speech! Speech! Speech!" and others joined in. Kelsi took the flowers that Ally gave to her, and cleared her throat.
"Well . . . I don't know what to say. It's been . . . a really tough month. Things have changed a lot around here . . ."
Kelsi paused for a moment. "It all fell apart at one point, but we managed to put it back together, even though it was hard to trust each other."
"The hardest part was when the piano got broken," The entire drama crew that stood on stage looked at each other awkwardly.
"But I'm sure that Gabriella can provide a reasonable explanation for that." Kelsi finished.
A gasp went round the whole audience as every eye was turned to Gabriella, wearing her 'Laya' costume.
"I . . . I didn't -"
"Don't lie." croaked Candi, looking at her like she thought Gabriella was pathetic. "I told you . . . Montez did it. Laya. Sorry, but I'm not hiding anyone's secrets any more. Kel . . ." Candi turned to Kelsi.
"I was an accident, believe me!" pleaded Gabriella. "It went like this . . ."
Flashback
Monday, about four weeks ago . . .
"Sharpay!" said Gabriella in shock, as Sharpay stood on the piano.
"What? It won't break – and nobody plays it but Mousey Kelsi anyway." snorted Sharpay. "Look, I'll sit on it, and you push me."
Gabriella giggled, and they took turns in pushing the piano around. Nobody was around, it was early before school. People would show up for rehearsals in about half an hour.
"Look, because of all the props, there's not enough space to push the piano from one side of the stage to another." said Gabriella thoughtfully.
"So let's push it from back to front!" said Sharpay excitedly, and jumped off.
Gabriella was doubtful, but Sharpay was game, so she was. "I'll push it first, but don't sit on it." Gabriella suggested as Sharpay made a face.
"Wait, Gabriella wait! You're pushing it too hard!" said Sharpay anxiously.
Realising that she was, Gabriella stopped pushing and started pulling, to slow it down, but then a voice issued . . .
"Who is that?" said Candi, walking into the auditorium. "Why are you in here mucking around with the-"
Gabriella let go of the piano in shock, and it flew off the stage, and smashed loudly onto the ground.
"Sonuva . . ." Candi gasped. "What have you done?! We have a show in a few weeks!"
"I didn't mean . . . Sharpay, you saw -" stammered Gabriella.
"I have nothing to do with this." declared Sharpay, though her face was as white as a sheet. "None of us do. Gabriella – Candi – you can't say anything!"
"You guys are knee deep serious crap. Count me out." Candi shook her head and left the room, and Gabriella and Sharpay looked at each other, knowing she was right.
They quickly left the auditorium too . . .
"Gabriella – that's not the only thing you're guilty of!" said Kelsi angrily, pointing a finger at her. "What about Troy? Taylor? A lot of people are being affected by your thoughtless actions!"
"What do you mean?" retorted Gabriella.
"I mean when you kept ditching Troy for rehearsals, abandoning all your other friends, and telling Taylor and Chad that they didn't like each other to split them up. What's wrong with you?"
Gabriella's anger suddenly subsided, and she looked like she was going to cry.
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone! It's just . . . I didn't have many friends anyway. I joined the drama club to try and make more friends, like Sharpay." Gabriella drew in breath, and issued a sob.
"It started becoming like . . . an addiction. I always put rehearsals before everything else. I couldn't even see that the friends I had were drifting away from me."
"Troy stopped talking to me, for one. I thought it had something to do with you or Sharpay . . . I went to the only person left who was still truly my friend; Taylor. But then she found Chad."
Taylor and Chad exchanged worried glances, but everyone else had their eye on this shocking scene . . .
"I was scared Taylor would get together with Chad and leave me, so I told them stuff . . . well, you know already. Everything I've done has fallen to pieces . . . I'm so sorry."
"Gabi . . . don't be that way!" called Taylor fron the audience, standing up.
"All this time . . ." whispered Troy, who was onstage in his 'Harry' costume.
"Liar." croaked Candi to Kelsi, her voice still sore. "Don't . . . trust . . . crocodiles!"
"No, Candi." Said Kelsi firmly, as everyone listened, "I believe her. But why didn't you say anything?"
"I couldn't!" cried Gabriella, tears dripping down her face. "I just . . . I don't know. The only way I could feel at ease is when I was reading that book . . ."
"The one with the stories about people in it?" yelled Mickey from the audience.
"Yeah, about that . . . can I have my book back?" said Kelsi hopefully. Everyone did a double take.
"Your book?" said Gabriella in shock.
"Yeah, I . . . I wrote the stories. None of them are real," said Kelsi quickly. "And I wanted it back so bad . . . I went into your room and took . . . "
"My diary!" exclaimed Gabriella. "I thought your book was my diary, until I opened it. So you had it . . . why didn't you just say?"
"To be honest, I couldn't. See, before, I sort of . . ." Kelsi trailed off.
"Hated you," said Candi bluntly.
"Yeah," Kelsi admitted. "But now I see the truth." Kelsi sighed, and Ryan and Ryan who was grinning at her.
"What if it went like this . . ." she murmured.
"Huh?" frowned Gabriella.
"Nothing." grinned Kelsi.
"Now that that's sorted . . ." said Chad loudly from the audience, "I say we have an after-party!"
Everyone cheered, as Kelsi smiled, feeling like a whole load had been lifted off her shoulders.
She knew the truth at last.
Aww, the next Chapter is the last!
One or two of you guessed that it was Gabriella, so good going on that!
Please review and let me know what you thought! Last Chappie will be up ASAP.
Star x x x