Kelsi Nielson faked a smile as her boyfriend, Jason, wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She was tired of pretending to like him. Well, he was nice and a good friend… but… that was all she thought of him as, a good friend. She just couldn't bring herself to break up with him. She was afraid of hurting him and damaging their friendship.
She sighed and said, "Hey Jason." Jason smiled at her. She was about to tell him that her mother wanted her home right after school today so she couldn't hang out with him, but then she saw Ryan Evans rush out the door, and her face lit up… until she saw the pain etched into his face. She glanced quickly at Jason. He hadn't noticed her expression when Ryan ran by.
"Jason, I gotta get home. My mom told me that I had to baby sit Marc today and I'm going to be late if I don't leave right now," She said, feeling guilty about lying to him. She wasn't completely lying, she did have to baby sit her six-year-old brother, Marc, but her mom didn't go to work for another hour, she could have spent a little time with Jason.
Kelsi thought about Ryan. She had liked him since kindergarten. He was just so much nicer than his sister, Sharpay. She remembered a time in fourth grade when she had dropped her pencil case, and the cheap plastic broke, spilling the contents all over the floor. Sharpay and her friends had all walked out of the classroom, laughing, as Kelsi scrambled to pick up all of her pencils, pens, and markers. Ryan stayed after class and helped her find everything she had dropped. He even let her borrow his extra pencil case.
She grabbed her backpack and started toward the door when she saw Sharpay and Taylor whispering to each other. Sharpay and Taylor hated each other, why were they talking? She thought about the pain she had seen on Ryan's face. Something was definitely going on, and she had to find out what it was!