3. The next day

When I arrived at Drama, I stopped outside the door to make sure that my phone was off. Luke gave me a lecture about it and I promised that I wouldn't do it again. "Well," Miss Darbus said when we were settling down. "I expect we all learned our homeroom manners yesterday, people, correct? If not, we have some dressing rooms that need painting. Now, a few announcements. This morning during free period will be your chance for the musicale auditions, both single and pairs. I will be in the theatre until noon for those of you bold enough to extend the wingspan of your creative spirit."

That day, we were discussing the importance of Shakespeare.

At the end of lesson, I went to the theatre and found Troy there. "Hey," I said. "So, you decided to sign up for something?"

"Uh…no. You?"

"No. Um… why are you hiding behind a mop? Your friends don't know you're here, right?"

"Right. Miss Darbus is a little…harsh."

"The Wildcat superstar's afraid?" I asked.

"No. I'm not afraid, I… I'm just…scared."

"Me too…usually," I replied.

"And for the lead roles of Minnie and Arnold we have only one couple signed up," Miss Darbus said. "Sharpay and Ryan, I think it might be useful for you to give us a sense of why we gather in this hallowed hall."

We got into some seats at the back and sat down as Sharpay and Ryan went on stage. The curtains closed for a while before their hands came out and they began to click. Soon, the curtains were gone and two people handed them microphones.

"It's hard to believe, that I couldn't see," Ryan began.

Sharpay then joined in: "You were always there beside me, thought I was alone, with no one to hold, but you were always right beside me."

Sharpay then sang: "This feeling's like no other" before Ryan joined in.

"I want you to know,

I've never had someone

That knows me like you do

The way you do

I've never had someone

As good for me as you

No one like you.

So lonely before

I finally found what I've been looking for"

On stage, Sharpay handed her microphone to Ryan and started tap dancing. I was surprised. Sharpay was a girl of many talents.

"So good to be seen," Sharpay sang. "So good to be heard"

Ryan then joined in: "Don't have to say a word"

"For so long I was lost," Ryan sang. "So good to be found."

"I'm lovin' havin' you around"

"This feeling's like no other"

"I want you to know"

"Do you think Sharpay is a good singer?" I whispered to Troy.

"I'm not sure," Troy replied.

"I've never had someone

That knows me like you do

The way you do

I've never had someone

As good for me as you

No one like you"

On stage, Sharpay bumped into Ryan, but they quickly sorted it.

"So lonely before

I finally found what I've been looking for

Doo doo doo doo

Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Whoa oh oh oh

Doo doo doo doo

Doo doo doo doo doo doo

Whoa oh oh oh"

Everyone applauded. "Well," Miss Darbus began. "Are there any last minute sign-ups?"

"Don't be discouraged," Ryan told another girl. "The theatre club needs more than singers. It needs fans too." I walked out of the door with Troy.

We looked back in.

"Any last minute sign-ups?" Miss Darbus asked again.

"We should go," Troy whispered to me.

"No?" Miss Darbus asked. "Good. Done."

As Miss Darbus came up to us, I changed my mind.

"I'd like to audition, Miss Darbus," I said.

"Timeliness means something in the world of theatre, young lady." Miss Darbus said. "The individual auditions are long over and there are simply no other pairs."

"I'll sing with her," Troy said, coming out from the doorway with him arm up.

"Troy Bolton?" Miss Darbus asked. "Where is your sports posse or whatever it's called?"

"Team," Troy replied.

"Ah."

"Well, I'm here alone. Actually, I'm here to sing with her."

"Yes, well we take these shows very seriously here at East High. I called for the pairs auditions and you didn't respond. Free period is now over." She walked away.

"She has an amazing voice," Troy argued.

"Perhaps the next musicale."

On stage, someone tripped and fell, their music sheets falling out of her hands. We ran over to help her. Troy helped pick up her music. "So, you're a composer?" he asked. "You wrote the song Sharpay and Ryan just sang? And the entire show?"

She nodded.

"Well, that's pretty cool." I said. "I can't wait to hear the rest of the show." Troy helped her up.

"So, why are you so afraid of Ryan and Sharpay?" Troy asked. "I mean, it is your show."

"Is it?"

"Isn't the composer of a show kind of like the playmaker in basketball?"

"Playmaker?" she asked.

"The one who makes everyone else look good." Troy explained. "Without you, there is no show. You're the playmaker here, Kelsi."

"I am?" Kelsi asked.

Troy nodded.

"Do you want to hear how the duet's supposed to sound?" Kelsi asked. She went to the piano and we joined her. She arranged her music and began to play.

Troy began to sing.

"It's hard to believe that I couldn't see, you were always there beside me"

I began to sing. "Thought I was alone with no one to hold" then Troy joined in and I felt a warm, happy sensation.

"But you were always right beside me

This feeling's like no other I want you to know.

That I've never had someone that knows me like you do

The way you do

And I've never had someone

As good for me as you

No one like you

So lonely before

I finally found

What I've been looking for"

"Whoo-ooooh" I was really enjoying it. And by looking into Troy's eyes, I saw that he was enjoying it too.

"Wow. That's nice," Troy said.

"It's the best music I've ever heard," I said. "No one in my family's musical, and you got a really good talent."

"Bolton, Smith- you have a call-back." Miss Darbus said. Was she listening to us the entire time? "Kelsi, give them the duet from the second act. Work on it with them."

"All right." Kelsi replied. She turned to us, handing us music sheets. "If you guys wanna rehearse, I'm usually here during free period and after school and even sometimes during biology class. You can come and rehearse any time. Or you can come to my house for breakfast. I have a piano, we can rehearse there. After school, before school- whatever works. After basketball class…" I was grinning, wondering what mum and Luke would say about that.

"Do you want to come home with me?" I asked Troy after school.

"Yeah, sure," Troy replied. Together, we linked arms and walked to the car park.

"I know it's only my second day, but I feel like I've been here longer."

"That's great," Troy said. "So, what do you do now?"

"Mum wants us to settle in and make friends, however, the aliens may return any day from now."

I saw a strange woman across the road as I walked up to my house.

"Hold on," I said. "I recognise her from Bannerman Road."

"Who?" Troy asked.

"That woman, over there," I said, pointing at her. "She certainly isn't Miss Myers. Rani shown me a picture of her. I think her name is Ruby or something." I took my phone out and took a picture of her.

"Is Rani friends with her?"

"Are you kidding? No, certainly not. She tried to kill mum."

"Too many people trying to kill your mum, huh?"

"Exactly. I don't want mum to nearly get killed again. Mind you, what we do is much more dangerous than an experiment going wrong."

I opened the door. "I'm back!" I called as Luke came through.

"Hello Sky," he said. "How was your day?"

"It was brilliant."

"Yeah, we got a call back," Troy said.

"Oh, Luke, do you remember Troy from the New Year's party?"

"Yes, of course. Hi."

"Hi. Sky told me that you come from London."

"Yes, it's a big city, and we haven't seen it all. Since Bannerman Road got blown up, we decided not to return."

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," Luke said.

"Sky thinks that one of your old enemies is over there," Troy said, pointing to the house opposite.

"Really?" Luke asked, going pale.

"Yeah," I replied, confirming what he heard.

"What's going on?" Mum asked, coming through from the kitchen.

"Hi, Miss Smith," Troy said.

"Who's this?"

"Mum, this is my friend, Troy Bolton. We need to talk about something. The thing is, Troy knows, and an enemy is back."

"He knows?" Luke cried eyes wide.

"He knows," I confirmed. Luke quickly hurried us in and closed the door.

Mum handed us cups of tea when I revealed that nearly everyone from Albuquerque seemed to know about us. Rani and Clyde were in the sitting room already, so they heard every word.

"Do you think Maria would have told?" Rani asked.

"No, she wouldn't have," Luke said. "Hold on, was the destruction of Bannerman Road on the news?"

"Yes, it was," Troy confirmed.

"That must be how they know about us," Luke said.

"Not only that, but we think that one of the aliens we fought are now living opposite us." I revealed.

"You serious?" Clyde asked.

"Do you have a picture of them?" Rani asked. I handed her my picture. She had gone pale.

"That's impossible," she breathed. She handed the phone to Clyde and Luke, who then handed it to Mum.

"How is this possible?" she whispered. "She can't be back. She can't be."

"Sorry, but who can't be back?" Troy asked.

"An old enemy we fought during the battle of Bannerman Road," Mum explained. "We managed to defeat all of them, but Bannerman Road got destroyed in the process."

"Yes, but who is it?" Troy asked.

"That," Rani said. "That is one of the meanest aliens ever."

"Yes, but what is her name?"

"Her name's Ruby," Mum finally said. It took a long time for her to be able to say it. "Ruby White."

"So, what do we do about her?" Rani asked. "Mr White's disabled."

"I got a plan," Luke said, running up the stairs. "Stay there."

Once Luke came back down carrying Mr White, he began to do something.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm upgrading Mr White," he said. "That way, we'll be able to fight her again."

"Troy, it'll be best if you go home. The Qetesh are the scariest aliens in the universe."

"I'm not missing this." There was a sudden knock at the door. Mum ran to get it.

"Sarah Jane Smith," a voice so familiar said, making us freeze in our places. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. "When I thought I saw Sky Smith here, I thought that the rest of you would be here."

"Ruby White, since when were you spying on us?"

"I wasn't spying on you-"

"A very likely story," Clyde snapped, walking to the doorway.

"Clyde, please you have to believe me."

"Why do you think that we would believe you when the last two times you tried to kill us?"

"The first time was on my own accord, yes. But then I saw how hurt you were throughout it. When the Trickster employed me, I only wanted to be free. I didn't want to fight anyone."

"How do you expect us to believe that?" Mum asked.

"Sarah Jane, please. I know that we've never been friendly or anything, but I'm trying to turn a new leaf. I don't want to be like all of the other Qetesh. Please, can you just give me a chance? I promise that I won't try to kill you."

Mum seemed to ponder on that. Finally, she said: "Come in out of the cold."

"Shall we go up to your room and practise?" Troy asked me.

"Practise for what?" Luke asked.

"We got a call-back for the Winter Musicale," Troy explained. "Sharpay wouldn't be impressed." I had to agree.

Luke decided to give up on Mr White and sat down. "That was nearly impossible," he said.

"Quick, hide it," Clyde said, but we were too late. Of course, Ruby saw.

"Were you thinking that you would have to fight me again?"

"Yes, we were thinking that," Luke admitted.

It didn't matter, for Ruby revealed that she was now on our side. We now had to wait to see how Sharpay would act to the call-back.

We went up to my room to practise. "Does your mum know about it?"

"No, she doesn't know about the call-back."

"So, when are you going to tell her?"

"I'll have to tell her soon," I told him. "I'll want her to be there. Are you going to tell your dad?"

"No. No, I'm not going to. It's just… well, I told you yesterday. It's not what he expects me to do."