The next day, their homeroom was in the gym for free period as their grade coordinator explained what they would be doing for the hour. "Everyone here is in Ms Darbus's homeroom, correct?" He continued when the students nodded in response. "Fantastic. Alright, you'll split off into pairs and complete the sequence of activities assigned to you to avoid crowding at the activities. So the teachers supervising are myself, Coach Bolton, Ms Darbus, Mr Peters, Mr Gillson, Mrs Fuller, Dr Mathers and Miss Andrews. Each teacher has chosen their own activity for you all to complete so I'll let you get into your pairs and come collect your list of activities."
Troy and Gabriella looked at each other, smiling before getting their list, relieved to see that they wouldn't have to deal with Coach Bolton first. They walked to their first activity with Dr Mathers which they completed before moving onto Mr Peters, Miss Andrews and Mrs Fuller's before they reached Jack's name.
As they walked to the gym, Troy gripped her hand a little tighter. "I'm kinda hesitant for you to be around him."
"It'll be alright."
He pulled her around the corner out of view. "Please don't take this the wrong way but he can't know about us or that we have anything to do with each other, and you know that it's not because I'm in any way ashamed of you or that I want to hide what we have, quite the opposite actually. It's just that I can't let you get hurt and I can't take the risk of anything happening to you if he knows that we're close let alone together."
She looked down, smiling slightly, intertwining their fingers. "I get it Baby and I think it would be a smarter idea to be more careful around the school because I don't want him to hurt you because of me, I can't stand the thought of that. We'll still have the rooftop where we can be together freely but if us hiding our relationship is gonna protect you from him, than I'll do anything to make it easier for you." He lifted one of their joined hands and kissed the back of hers making her smile. "Alright we should probably get to the gym so your dad doesn't get suspicious but it'll be ok."
He nodded and they walked to the gym, facing the man. "Alright, pretty simple, all you gotta do is shoot 10 hoops as fast as you can but time will be added if you miss. Bolton, I expect you to get them all, you'll have extra in practice if you don't." He turned to Gabriella. "And I don't know you so I don't have much expectation."
Troy inwardly narrowed his eyes at the comment to his girlfriend but he couldn't say anything. He turned his attention to the hoop and shot all 10 shots perfectly before it was Gabriella's turn. He noticed that she was a little anxious and shaky being in his father's presence so he went up next to her and placed his hand on the small of her back, whispering to her. "I know you're uncomfortable so I reckon we try and get out of here as quickly as possible." She nodded looking up at the hoop. "I know you're more than capable of getting these shots in but in the interest of getting out of here, can I give you a few tips to get them in every time and quickly." She nodded and he adjusted her position slightly and told her a few things to help and she was able to get all 10 shots without missing the net once.
Jack rolled his eyes. "You've been the fastest pair to get through so far, onto the next activity."
They walked outside and immediately let out a breath neither of them knew they were holding. Troy turned to Gabriella, lifting her up around the waist and spinning her, making her giggle to take some of the edge off from the previous situation. When he placed her back on the ground, they just held each other for a few seconds before completing the rest of their activities to finish the free period.