Ok so here we have the next chapter. I'm still hoping to get this story done before the end of the week because I have an idea for another HSM fic and yes, it will be C&T. It's random, actually, because during my economics class, I think it was on Friday, I was taking notes and I randomy think in my head, 'Oh man, I have a new idea for a story!'. Does that ever happen, when you're thinking about something else and then bam, it just hits you? That's what happened. I practically even wrote the first half of the first chapter during my break that day. So if you want, I can put a preview of that and other ideas i have at the end of this story and you'll know what's up ahead.
But we have to stick to the story at hand because it has to get finished and there's bound to be more suspense. And yet again, I do not own HSM.
Chad grinned as he stepped into his house the next morning. He had just taken Dylan to school and, much like yesterday, Chad didn't go into work. Really, how much longer could he take running a bowling alley? He wanted something else. He wanted a change. And he thinks he was finally getting one. All Chad had to do was sell the alley and find another job. It shouldn't be too hard.
"Hey Tay." he greeted, seeing Taylor sitting at the couch with her laptop at hand. "Whatchya doin?"
"Looking for good houses to buy here or at least within the area I'm most familiar with." Taylor replied, eyes never moving from the screen. "I already left a message with real estate about wanting to sell my place."
"You know, you don't necessarily have to find a new place." Chad said casually, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, very funny." Taylor said sarcastically. "Really, how does one live somewhere when they have no place to live? I'm not going to raise Dylan on the streets."
Chad couldn't help but chuckle. "Wow, you're really taking to this mother thing."
"I could say the same thing with you and the father thing." Taylor replied.
"Point taken." Chad nodded. He sat down beside Taylor on the couch. "C'mon Tay, really."
"Chad, I'm going back home next month. I think I need to find something soon." Taylor replied.
"Next month?" Chad blinked. "But you practically just got here."
"A couple of weeks ago." Taylor corrected. "You know..."
"You have a life back with the college, I know." Chad sighed. "Weren't you planning on moving here?"
"Well I kind of need to go back to sell my place, you know. And inform my boss I'll be quitting." she answered.
"So are you gonna be back for Sharpay's and Zeke's big day?" he wondered.
"Of course I'll come back for it. I just don't know if I'll be back by then." Taylor said.
This wasn't going where Chad wanted it to. He had to get through to her somehow. Did he really have to be straight forward about it? He sighed; apparently so.
"You know you don't have to move." he finally said.
Taylor stopped typing for a brief moment. What was he talking about? Of course she'd have to move. She shook her head and resumed typing. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Actually I do." Chad replied. He took a deep breath, "I was hoping maybe you could move in with me."
Taylor sat there wide-eyed. She stopped what she was doing and spun to face Chad. "What?"
Chad blinked, not getting the response that he was hoping for. He gulped and repeated the question. "Move in with me?"
~HSM~HSM~HSM~
"What do you mean we can't do anything after we officially graduate?" Stella gasped at East High. "We had everything planned. We've been practicing for a while now."
"Stella you don't get it." Sharpay shook her head. "Things have changed since I was a senior here. You can't just burst into song after the principal announces you've graduated."
"But Mrs. Baylor..." Stella started.
"No buts, Stella. You can't do anything and that's final. You're going to follow graduation procedures. Understood?" Sharpay asked.
"I'm afraid I don't understand." she shook her head. "Your Chorus students, the ones you have been training for practically four years now, have worked hard on this. We were going to sing about how high school affected us and what it meant for each of us. We were going to show you what it meant to all of us, how well all of our voices work not just together but also in duets and alone. Why won't you let us showcase that for you on one of the most important days of our lives?"
"Ms. Montez," Sharpay's voice became stern, "you are not going to talk back to me. Now remember that this is also a very stressful week and you have too many other things on your plate to handle. You graduate a week from Saturday. Don't mess it up before then."
"But Mrs. Baylor..." she tried again.
"And another thing, you are not to address me as that until I'm officially married. I am still Ms. Evans and that will remain true for the remainder of the school year. Do I make myself clear?"
Stella tried to hold her ground. She knew Sharpay could have a temper, she really did. She just never expected to actually see it in school. During school hours. At school. Why was she making a big deal out of this? Was it nerves? Was it because of all the papers she was grading right then? Did something happen in her family? Was it just a bad time? Was she having mood swings?
"Now leave this classroom and get to your next class." Sharpay finished. "I have papers to finish grading and I believe you have a History review to get to."
"AP Government review, actually." she politely and quietly corrected.
"Whatever." Sharpay rolled her eyes and shook her head. She removed her gaze from Stella and returned to the papers.
Stella sighed and left the drama classroom defeated. She could see her five peers in the hallway, waiting on her expecting an answer.
"So what'd she say?" Johnny asked eagerly. "Do we have a song?"
"We have nothing, Johnny. Mrs. Baylor didn't approve it." Stella sighed.
"What?" Sharon gasped. "After we work our fu-"
"Sharon." Stella warned, folding her arms and cocking an eyebrow.
Sharon sighed heavily. "Are we work our firetruckin butts off to get those dance moves right and hit the keys on the song perfectly, especially all day yesterday, the answer to our request is no?"
"Well what choice do we have?" Charlotte wondered. "She's our teacher and we can't go against her wishes. That could also be disrespecting her."
"So where's your perkiness today?" Sharon asked sarcastically.
Charlotte shrugged. "Maybe she's just in a bad mood and will come to us when she changes her mind."
"I don't think that's very likely." Robby stated. "While it is wishful thinking, there is a lot of doubt that it isn't going to happen."
"But what about Mr. Ryan, too?" Stella asked. "He approved it, why not his own sister?"
"She is a lot harder on us than Mr. Ryan is." Johnny stated. "She didn't almost start cursing at me to put my camera away. Mr. Ryan at least gave me a warning first."
"Or maybe it's not even his fault." Charlotte suggested. "Maybe there was a change in rules he wasn't aware of."
"So we're just gonna sit back and let them boss us around for one more week?" Sharon questioned.
"Two weeks, if you count finals week." the blond corrected.
"Oh sure, now your happy-go-luckiness shows up." Sharon muttered sarcastically.
"Guys why do we even try to fight this?" Marco asked. "It's the last week of school, we can't go getting into trouble."
"So what do you suggest?" Stella wondered. "There has to be a way we can still go through with this."
"Well if we can't do it at graduation itself then maybe we can do it another time that day. When everyone will be there." he proposed.
"Like when? Afterparty at your cousin's coffee shop?" Johnny asked.
"There's no afterparty at her coffee shop." Marco replied.
"But Troy did suggest a celebration as part of the grand opening of the community theater he'd been working on for so long." Stella said with a smile.
"And you're going where with this, exactly?" Robby inquired. "That we actually perform right in there with some of our classmates and their families there?"
"Well Mrs. Baylor is sure to be there. We know Mr. Ryan will be. Troy's going to be there, Gabriella's going to be there, our families are going to be there..." Stella explained.
"Oh cool, devilish master plan!" Johnny exclaimed. "Does that mean I can sneak into the girl's bathroom and record what it's really like in there?"
The five looked at him. Their looks with either confused or disgusted.
"Sick much, man?" Robby asked.
"I'm just suggesting." Johnny said defensively.
"I'll save you the trouble of lookin." Sharon said. "They're small, they're cramped, they smell like too much perfume or some kind of dirty laundry, and in really fancy places they can have a couch or chair inside. Happy?"
"You get a couch in your bathroom?" Johnny gasped. "Dang, the boy's room never had one of those!"
Sharon hit her head and Marco moved some bangs out of his face, trying not to seem frustrated. "Stel, can you please move on with your suggestion before we lose our breakfast?" he begged.
"Why don't we just perform for everyone then?" Stella asked.
"Because performing as much as we had to already is enough for half a lifetime?" Sharon shrugged.
"No, because then Mrs. Baylor can't stop us. She'll have to watch us." Stella replied.
"I'm still a bit skeptical." Robby admitted. "It's not exactly what we had planned."
"So we'll improvise." Charlotte jumped in. "Come on, we have nothing to lose. We've all been looking forward to this. And if they can improvise in a live show then why can't we? We've been a team practically since freshmen, if not, sophomore year. Don't you think we're in this together?"
"It's our final stand before leaving East High forever." Stella added. "so what do you guys say? Are you in or not?" She and Charlotte glanced at the four. Each of the other students exchanged glances, wondering if they could work it out. But they all had to agree.
Marco was the first to speak up. "I'm in." he agreed. "We're doing this to sum up our years at East High and really make it special not just for us, but for the people who helped us make it special. They had our backs the whole time. So now we can really thank them for that, whether they hear it in the song or not."
Robby nodded as he followed through. "I have to admit, I still have my doubts about the plan." he stated. "But we can't completely make it a graduation party without our own beat to it. And it's not just us who are gonna be there. Mr. Ryan and Ms. Evans went to school here, not to mention Troy, Chad, and Gabriella. And I think we owe it to them to show how far East High has come along since they graduated. The school may be changing for next year and they may have already started working on a small portion of the area, but why can't we be the last ones to leave their legacy behind for future classes?"
"Well said Robby." Stella nodded with a smile.
"Two down, two to go." Charlotte added. "Sharon, Johnny? How about it guys?"
"I don't know, I'd really rather not get my head bitten off by my drama teacher." Johnny shook his head. He saw the looks on his friends' faces. "But you know something? We're already outnumbered so I don't think that gives us much of a choice. We might as well go for it and leave our senior year cheering."
Sharon just folded her arms, still looking doubtful.
"Come on, Sharon." Stella said. "Five against one. You know you wanna be in with us. We're a team remember? All of us. We stick together."
Sharon remained silent. Even though mainly her profile was facing the others, she appeared deep in some kind of thought. She tapped her fingers against her folded arms and her tongue was clicking in her mouth as though it were mocking the sound of a clock. Finally, she turned her head towards them slightly with a miniature grin. "What team?" she asked.
They exchanged confused glances before turning back to her.
Sharon shook her head and turned to face the group fully. "Guys, what team?"
And they knew exactly what she was talking about. "Wildcats." they replied in unison.
"Oh is that all you guys got?" Sharon sighed. "What team?"
"Wildcats!" they repeated much louder. The six placed their hands on top of one another. "Wildcats!" they repeated with huge grins.
"Now let's get our heads in the game." Sharon finished.
They ran off, making their way to their respective classes. What they didn't know was that Ryan was listening in the whole time. He smiled as he appeared from around the corner, leaning up against the wall and folding his arms contently.
About a minute later, Sharpay walked out of her classroom and her eyes fell on her brother. "Ryan what was going on out here?" she asked, thinking she had heard something.
"Let's just graduation for our kids is really gonna be a day to remember." he answered with a grin.
Not much excitement in this chapter, but it was the only idea i had for the moment. Besides, I thought it would raise tension a bit. So you're probably seeing a resemblance between the new Wildcats and the older ones, right? Good. Wait until you see what song they're gonna sing. And when the graduation chapter comes along, you'll find out what the deal is with Troy and Gabriella for sure. So who does that leave? Well we already know Sharpay and Zeke. And we're bound to see Kelsi and Ryan soon. 0=) Finally, we're at a cliffhanger with Chad and Taylor. How does she respond to Chad;s suggestion? And are there any more surprises coming our way? We'll find out shortly! I'll try and get in one more chapter tonight and see where that goes, so hopefully it'll be longer, more eventful, and more entertaining than this one. XD