Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: I know no one in this category reads this, but I feel the need to put it here anyway. Sorry it's been so long, I was busy with my own high school musical (Footloose, in which I played Willard, if anyone cares... there's a little reference to it in this chapter). So that's why it's been almost a month since an update. But I'm back and ready to get this thing finished!

High School Drama
Based on 'High School Musical'
By Fiyero Oberon
Chapter Eleven
I Can Hear The Bells

"Hey, Sharpay! Sharpay!" Sharpay looked up to see Luna Barnes making her way toward her locker. "Hey, I was wondering if you could give me some acting tips. I so admire your work, you were absolutely brilliant in last year's fall musical! You were Ariel, right? In Footloose?"

"Yes."

"Can I ask you some stuff?"

"Listen, shortie, I'm really not in the mood. Make like the Phantom of the Opera and disappear mysteriously. Please."

Luna wrinkled her nose. "Please, Louise! You just had to say no. Dang. You'd think after all that, she'd at least be grateful…"

The musical had had another sabotage. Another sabotage. This time someone had gotten a hold of a can of spray paint and attacked the Munchkinland set with the words "B. Ben Aaron J. H. Runs Slow." No one knew what it meant. Troy had suggested that it was an acronym for the name of the attacker, but as far as anyone could figure out, no one had a name quite that long.

Sharpay opened her locker and pressed the tacky yellow button to turn the stereo on. "–TRUTH THAT HE LEARNED, OR IN TIMES THAT HE CRIED, IN BRIDGES HE BURNED, OR THE WAY THAT SHE DIED!" The "RENT" soundtrack came blasting through the speakers, making more than one passerby jump.

"Loud enough, Sharpay?" Chad asked, popping out of nowhere and leaning against the lockers beside Sharpay's.

"Not quite," she said simply, "I can still hear your voice."

"Funny," Chad said, smirking. "Listen, I've got a deal for you. Zeke says that he knows who is attacking the play –"

"Musical."

"Huh?"

"It's a musical. A play has no music, it's all spoken dialogue. A musical has spoken dialogue and songs. An opera is fully music. The tricky part is when you come to the definition of an operetta, which some think is just another fancy name for a musical but actually –"

"Listen. Sharpay. I don't really care." Sharpay tossed her hair and Chad continued: "Zeke says that he knows who is attacking the musical and if you'll go out on one date with him, he'll tell you who it is and how to expose them, you'll be back in the show, and everything will be hanky-panky, howdy-doo-dee, zip-a-dee-doo-dah again."

Sharpay's eyes narrowed. "What's in it for you?"

Chad grinned. "Zeke's convincing Taylor to go on a date with me."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "How very typical."

"So? What do you say?"

"Tell him that when he tells me who's sabotaging the show, I'll go on a date with him."

Chad shakes his head, making his hair bounce. "He says he'll tell you after the date. He promises homemade cookies and made even a cake if you'll go."

It didn't seem very Zeke-like to bribe Sharpay to a date with information about the attacker and cookies and cake. But who cares? Three ducks in one bullet… or something like that.

"All right, deal's on."

"Good. Friday night at eight, can you meet him at the Life Café?"

"Can do. Tell him I can't wait." She winked at Chad, who rolled his eyes in return. "Tootles, Chad-ee."

"Bye, Sharpay-ee."

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