First Date

Part Three Tricks to Avoiding the Ones You Love:

Today Troy's father, Jack Bolton, was too sick to coach or play basketball with Troy. So, this left young, Troy Bolton in his room…actually doing his homework. When he finished all this homework he booted up his laptop and signed onto AIM.

Basketballdude93:Hey Troy!

Chad has just IMed him.

TroyBasketballstar1: Hey Chad!

Basketballdude93: supp?

TroyBasketballstar1: nm u?

Basketballdude93: same. How is Gab?

TroyBasketballstar1: I duno. y?

Basketballdude93: well didnt you say yes to Sharpay?

Basketballdude93: WHOAA! Wait!

TroyBasketballstar1: huh?

Basketballdude93: did Gab turn you down?

'Man!' Troy said to himself. 'Chad sure is quick today.' Troy didn't know what to type.

TroyBasketballstar1: …

Basketballdude93: well….did she?

TroyBasketballstar1: she's going with some assface in her effin English class!

Basketballdude93:0 why? Is she dating him?

TroyBasketballstar1: no she just said yes to him cuz he asked her first

Basketballdude93: that sure does fuck your chances with her

TroyBasketballstar1: not helping and shut up!

Basketballdude93: hey! I wasnt trying to help anyway

Basketballdude93: I'm guna go work out and then eat dinner

Baskteballdude93: Bye

TroyBasketballstar1: See ya on the bus tomorrow

TroyBasketballstar1: Bye

Basketballdude93 has signed off at 6:32 P.M

Troy let out a reluctant sigh, "Chad sure doesn't help when I need it."

"And, I obviously can't talk to Gabby since she's probably in an awkward position to talk to me," Troy noted mentally. He threw a small basketball into the small hoop positioned in the corner of his bedroom wall.

---Gabriella's house-----

Gabriella sat down at her dinning room table and set out the food she was about to consume. She gave a grin and looked at her perfect work, left over spaghetti with tomato sauce, garnished with cheese, a glass of water, and a slice of low fat chocolate cake.

"Yum," Gabriella muttered under her breath. The house was quiet, normally with her mom. They would both talk about each others days. "Oh well." At this time Gabriella sat at the dinning table…eating her food but, also strangely mixed in her own thoughts. Her mind normally had school work applied first, then friends which she'd think about but, not as much as she was thinking about it now.

"I wonder if I made the right choice….." she bit down on her lower lip. "I have no idea what to do…Troy probably hates me for making the choice to going with Brian. But, Brain is as sweet as Troy. Oh damn, this is so messed up."

"School…it'll be different." Oh and boy was she going to be right!

---School-----

Gabriella ditched the bus today and got a ride from her mom. She walked onto the school's beautiful campus on the bright Tuesday morning. Gabriella took an even breath of the cool air. She looked behind her…the buses were just arriving. Whether or not it was Troy's her not, she ran into the school, her black Marry Jane shoes clanging the whole way.

"Phew!" she sighed as she reached her locker. "Wow, I didn't know trying to run in shoes was hard!" She blinked and then opened her locker. She stashed her backpack and sweater in her locker. She took her black purse with her. It was still early, so Gabriella went off to the bathroom. Gabriella looked into the mirror…at herself. Today she was wearing a pretty lacey camisole dress, dark wash jeans, her Marry Jane black shoes, and a cropped eyelet jacket. Gabriella opened her bag and took out black mascara and applied it to her eyes, a light blue eye shadow, a strawberry chap stick, and but a little dab of blush on herself.

"Hmmm…," she smiled…content.

"Hey Gabby!" A voice said behind her. Gabriella jumped a little and dumped her make up in her bag and turned around.

"Hey Taylor!" Gabriella said. Taylor smiled and walked up to the sink and mirror next to Gabriella.

"Sorry I scared you. How come you missed the bus today?" Taylor asked putting on her eye liner.

"My mom said she'd drive me," Gabriella noted suggestively.

"Oh…ok, no problem," Taylor stuttered. She gave a puff of a sigh and looked happy with her job of make up. "We should head to homeroom."

"Yeah definitely, I know!" Gabriella agreed. "I'll meet you there."

"Ok," Taylor said, she grabbed her books from the floor and walked out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, I have to get some books from my locker. See ya in a second," Gabriella said waving and then smiling to her friend. Taylor smiled back and the two girls parted there own ways. Gabriella went to her locker, from a distance she saw Troy. Gabriella bit her lower lip, she was nervous. Troy started to walk towards her locker.

"Ah!" Gabriella muttered under her breath. As quickly as she could, she grabbed her books that she needed and ran to homeroom before Troy could push past the crowds of other pupils.

Gabriella ran into Mrs. Darbus's room and closed the door behind her. She set her books down on the desk next to Taylor's.

"Where's the rush?" Taylor asked when she saw Gabriella literarily storm in.

"Um…there's no rush!" Gabriella said hastily.

"Then, why were you storming in here?" Taylor asked. Gabriella took her seat.

"Because…." Gabriella stammered and then in Taylor's ear she quietly said, "I'm avoiding Troy."

"Oh…ok. Mrs. Darbus is coming. I'll talk to you on that later," Taylor said as she heard Mrs. Darbus's steps walk into the room.

"Good Morning, Class!" Mrs. Darbus said in a sing-song voice. Mrs. Darbus made her early morning homeroom announcements and then the first period bell rang. Gabriella was the first one to practically race out of the room and all the way to first period.

"Do you think she's avoiding me?" Troy asked dumbly to Taylor.

"Ummm… I don't know," lied Taylor. "Gotta go, I'll get back to you if I get any knew information. See ya!" Taylor walked hurriedly out of the room. She ran down the hall until she reached Gabriella.

"Hold it!" Taylor screamed grabbing Gabriella's wrist.

"What?" Gabriella asked rather rudely.

"Why are you ignoring Troy?" Taylor asked. Gabriella looked at her friend and tears cornered her eyes.

"What?" Taylor asked. "You're crying now?"

"Tr...Troy. I don't know what to say to him. Yesterday I turned him down because I asked Brian and now he said yes to Sharpay. I feel like I still love him even though Brian asked me first and I said yes," Gabriella blurted out. Then, she burst into more tears. Taylor patted her back, "Let's go to class, ok?"

"O…ok," stuttered Gabriella. Taylor knew that she really couldn't help her friend and Taylor wasn't so good with advice so, she just decided to comfort Gabriella. Gabriella cried into her hands and had her head bent down.

---Recess/Lunch---

Gabriella and Taylor walked outside for recess.

"Please don't tell Troy I'm avoiding him!" begged Gabriella.

"Isn't he going to notice sooner or later?" Taylor asked suggestively.

"Yeah, but still don't tell Troy," Gabriella begged again.

"Fine," Taylor said then in quiet voice she muttered, "Gabriella you can't avoid him forever."

"Taylor did you say something?" Gabriella asked thinking she heard a small voice.

"No, probably just someone else," shrugged Taylor. "Let's go eat lunch now!"

"Alright," Gabriella agreed.

---After school---

"I can't believe I said yes to Sharpay," Troy said to himself. "But, I love Gabriella." Troy sighed and walked back

"What am I going to do?" he cried. Troy leaned his back against the wall of the school building and crouched down.

"Troy is that you," a voice said searing from afar.

"Gabriella?" he hushed quietly.

----End Part Three.

Previews for Part Four:

Troy hugged her tightly and said, "I'm so sorry…"

"No Troy," she said in-between tears. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said yes to Brian."

"Gabriella…I…." stuttered Troy.