I don't know how to say this but I think I'm in love with you ..
By. simpleee.meee
Disclaimer. AII don't own it . x)
Chapter 11: New York and Beyond:
Sharpay's PoV:
I nervously gripped my seat belt with my clammy hands, as our family Jeep came to a stop at the Albuquerque airport car park. My hands slid down to the buckle, and weakly pushed the red 'push' button. My seatbelt snapped to the side of the car. My dad stopped the engine, pocketed his keys and walked over to my mom's side to open the doors for her. They always believed in things like showing affection to each other in front of their kids. But right now, I was just too nervous and excited yet scared to even make a face at Ryan for dad being all gentleman-ish.
"Are you ready to go Shar? I mean, can't you call it all off?" Ryan asked me, sorrow clear in his eyes as we both came out the car.
"Remember our promise?" He continued as I nodded, "Don't forget it. Ok?"
"O-ok." I croaked.
"Let's go Sweetheart." My mom took me under her arms, as dad walked to the trunk to get my two luggages out.
"I'm going to miss you!" My mom hugged me tight and set me at her arms length, and took a good look at me.
I managed a weak smile. She cooed at me for being so beautiful. I would've usually rolled my eyes or laughed, but not now. I followed the direction my mom was leading me. My dad was leading the pack, dragging one luggage, while Ryan walked next to my dad dragging my other luggage. We walked up to the entrance of the airport and waited for the Bolton's to find their way here. I nervously took my cell phone out of my pocket to see what time it was. We were to be in the airport in about 5 minutes. I wondered who would be there and if Ryan and Gabriella were ...
"Ah! You're here!" My dad beamed and clapped Mr. Bolton's back heartily.
Troy's mom was holding Troy's hand. I smiled at the sight, some of my nerves going away. Troy rolled his eyes. I stuck my tongue out at him. We all walked in to the airport. I breathed in and breathed out, smelling the crisp smell of airport. We took the escalator and got to the second floor and I saw nearly our whole school there. I recognized the majority of the faces. There were most of the Juniors, some Sophomores and a lot of Freshmen and Seniors. The eight of us were soon here and again to my dismay I only found 7 of them.
"Who's the eighth member?" I asked Troy.
"Oh it's -" Troy was about to say, but got cut off as Zeke patted him on the back.
"Mom, you can let go of me now." I said and she did.
I walked over to a crowd. Gabriella was there as well as Kelsi. I slipped beside Gabriella, linked arms with her and whisked her away. I gave her a scowl.
"Have you told him yet?" I asked.
"Ask who what?" She replied.
"You know who and what I'm talking about Gabriella." I told her in a somewhat stern voice.
"No. It's none of your business Sharpay!" She snapped.
"Yes it is, if you don't tell- I will!" I shrugged.
"Fine, fine! I'll tell him." She gave up.
I sat down on one of the seats and watched as she made her way over to Troy. I saw her take him away and for a split second I considered following her, to see if she would lie or anything. But I decided against it. But I shifted my seat a couple of times to get a better look at what they were doing. I saw Troy's face go into a shock mode, then I saw his face relax and then finally dismissal. Gabriella walked back to me and sat down next to me.
"Happy now?" She asked.
"What did you say to him?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"I said that I agreed to break up with him because I was going out with Ryan that week, when the eight lucky people were announced." Gabriella said.
"Ok. You did an ok crying job. But make it less dramatic so that it'll be easier for him to understand next time." I advised.
"What next time?" Gabriella asked, and laughed.
I joined in the laugh. Gabriella walked off to find my brother. Well it was all true. That week when we were called onto the stage, Ryan and Gabriella admitted their feelings to one another and Ryan took a big, bold step and invited her over. Ryan told me what was happening and he had asked me for help. I, of course, gave him help. He was my brother after all. Even if it meant deceiving my best friend and trust me, I had a guilty conscience ever since then. Now they were together for good. Troy didn't notice yet and that was a good thing. I guessed.
"You ready to go?" Troy came and sat down next to me.
I jumped about a mile in the air and he put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I turned to face him. I nodded slightly. The nerves had made their come back and my guilty conscience seemed to be edgy today. Why today? Why not yesterday, when we had the sleepover? I leaned back into the chair, trying to relax.
"I can't believe that this is it." I nervously breathed out.
"I know ..." Troy sighed.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing." He replied.
"Ok." I shrugged, "Let's get something to eat, I'm starving."
The lunch was more like breakfast and I hadn't eaten that much in the morning. So I got some money off my mom and dad and walked to the food court area with Troy. I went to McDonalds, ordered a small happy meal and quickly wolfed it down in huger. I also bought Troy a happy meal and he wolfed it down twice as fast as I did, and believe me, I ate super duper fast!
"Uh-oh. Everyone's probably looking for us now." Troy's face blanched.
"Why?" I asked, obviously not knowing what the time was.
"It's two." We got up from out seat, chucked the wrappers in the bin, took our toy and half walked; half ran back toward where we came from.
"Where were you Sharpay?" My mom asked, obviously too upset to let her sadness show.
"I went to eat." I simply replied.
"Weren't you aware of the time?" She asked.
"No. Sorry." I apologized.
"It's ok dear. I'm just ... very tired and I'll be missing you. My only daughter!" She said sorrowfully, "Come now. We're all preparing to greet you."
"Oh no!" I groaned.
It was time to say good-bye. I knew that I would cry. Troy, who never left my side, even when I was getting told off, was leading the way into the crowd. I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat, squeezed my eyes shut and let Troy lead me. There was some sort of a circle, Mr. Matsui and the teachers were in the middle and the lucky eight, no seven were next to Mr. Matsui. I was too nervous to be bothered about that mysterious eighth person.
"These representatives of East High will soon be off on one of the planes," Mr. Matsui swished his hands to the back where the planes were leaving.
"So make this last minute worthy by saying encouragements and good-byes to these wonderful kids." Mr. Matsui concluded.
With that people came forward trying to say bye. I was then engulfed in hugs and my own emotions. Tears were pouring down my face.
"Bye Sharpay!" With that some of them gave me notes and letters.
"Bye." I hiccupped back, accepting the letters.
I glanced over to Troy and saw his eyes glaze with tears. He was going to miss his basketball buddies. I was going to miss my brother. My family and my newly made friends here. At least I was taking Troy and Kelsi with me.
"Sharpay!" My mom hugged me tightly joined by my dad and Ryan.
"Well have fun, and remember to write! By snail mail, e-mail, whatever! We're going to miss you!" The family withdrew with tears in their eyes as my mom spoke up.
"Sharpay dear, take some of this. But know that we'll be mailing you everyday!" I smiled brightly as my dad took a wad of money out of his wallet, "As a going-away gift."
"That sounds fair enough." My mom sniffed.
"Bye Sharpay. Remember our promise." Ryan hugged me one more time.
"Thank you mom, dad and Ryan!" Fresh tears ran down my cheeks and I threw by arms around my family.
"Sorry to bother you, but we must get going Miss Evans." Miss Viola tapped me on the shoulder.
I waved one last good-bye and one last hug and allowed myself to be ushered by Miss Viola.
Troy's PoV:
"Troy, we'll see you again, next year!" Jason stubbornly remarked.
"We're gonna miss you!" Zeke quipped.
"Stay safe and don't get injured!" Stewart, another basketball player made sure.
"How about me?" Chad asked.
"What about you?" Jason asked.
"Don't I get good-byes and well wishes from you people?" He asked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Why? Where are you going?" I asked this time, confused from all this commotion.
"With you, Troy. I got accepted as well!" Chad answered joyfully.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah." He replied.
"So ... who's the temporary captain then?" I asked.
"I am." Zeke stepped forward.
"Well good luck with it!" Chad greeted him.
"Oh great! Now I'm losing two of my bestest friends!" Jason slapped himself on the head.
We gave each other a last pat on the back before I got ushered to my parents. My mom and dad were there, facing me. It was obvious that my mom was crying, and that my dad was pretty upset. Seeing my parents like this, tears fell.
"Troy, we're going to miss you. Keep practicing hard and I'll see you next year, maybe earlier." My dad remarked.
"Oh, my baby boy has grown so much!" With that the three of us gave each other a big hug.
Feeling unnerved by all this, I was glad when Mr. Ellair informed me that we must get going soon. I quickly gave my parents a last hug and a kiss and was lead my Mr. Ellair to the ticket gate. I met the rest of the crew there. Sharpay, Kelsi, Jaquelyn, Shella, Seth, Serena and Chad. A smile was brought to my face as Sharpay's eyes practically bulged out of her head, as she saw Chad standing there, with a thick paper that looked unmistakably like the plane ticket they were holding.
"You're not ..." Sharpay trailed off.
"I am." Chad raised a challenging eyebrow at her.
"Yay!" With that Sharpay gave Chad a big hug.
"Good to see everyone get along so fine!" I heard Mr. Ellair commented to Miss Viola.
"Well they must stick together if they are willing to get through New York without hassle!" Miss Viola commented back.
We got in the line of getting out tickets checked. As soon as we were in the line, it was our turn. They ladies gave us a warm smile and took our ticket. They checked it out, took our luggage to the side and let us go. We all walked as a pack, as though we were afraid of losing each other. We boarded the plane and were glad to find that we were all sitting together. In the left aisle, window side was Jaquelyn and Shella. On the right aisle, window side was Seth and Serena. In the middle were us four. Kelsi sat near the aisle seat, then Sharpay, then me, than Chad. The teachers sat in front of Sharpay and me.
"Girls and boys, turn your phones, or anything electrical off. I don't care if we did take off, I don't want an accident to happen, even before we get there!" Miss Viola told us.
"If you want to go to the bathroom or eat something or drink, just inform any one of us and we'll be at your service." Mr. Ellair said rather humbly.
We did as we were told. We turned our phones off and chattered away excitedly. Chad was leaning across the aisle towards, Seth and was talking animatedly. He was from our basketball team as well and knowing that Chad was a social one they were pretty close.
"...Yeah so you mean to say she's not?" They were talking about Serena, who had taken this spare time to go to the bathroom after telling Miss Viola.
"Yes. She's not dating me." I heard Seth reply.
"I find that hard to believe." Chad responded lightly.
"Sure." Seth dismissed the subject.
"Excuse me." Serena came back and Chad jerked his head back and leaned back on his seat.
"She's single!" Chad quietly whispered, immediately turning around to face me.
"And ...?" I asked, frowning slightly.
"Dude, you can go for it!" He slapped me on the back.
I decided to ignore him and turned towards Sharpay. She was busy talking with Kelsi. Just as Sharpay was about to talk to me, flight attendants made their way over to everyone and told them to put their seatbelts on. We all put our seatbelts on and looked towards each other with excitement shining in our eyes. We were finally going! I could feel the plane move, take off and then we were in the air.
"Can I take my seatbelt off now?" I asked Mr. Ellair, tapping him on the shoulders.
"Yes, yes. As you wish Mr. Bolton." Mr. Ellair, had his eyes shut tight and waved a dismissal hand at me.
He was scared of plane take-off's. It was obvious. I started to snicker, Chad looked at me strangely and Mr. Ellair told me to stop snickering at him. I tried to deny it, but I was caught red-handed.
"What are you laughing at?" Sharpay nudged me.
"Mr. Ellair's scared of Take-off's." I whispered.
She burst out laughing. Chad bent down low and gave her that strange look. I ignored them all. Then the flight attendants started to move about, asking people for their wants. After checking that the expenses were paid for, he took everything and anything he wanted, which the flight attendants gave. He smirked at me, and I just shook my head.
"What time is it?" Sharpay leaned over and asked.
"I don't know. I don't have a watch." I replied.
"Ok." She shrugged and relaxed in her chair.
After a few more bustling about's, the flight attendants went to the back of the plane where it seemed to be where all the food and things were. They announced that they were going to play a movie. I was glad that they were going to play a movie, I was getting so bored. The movie started. It was one of those really old films. The one's that Miss Viola and Mr. Ellair watched. Not even after 30 minutes into the movie, I felt a head drop onto my shoulder. I glanced. It was Sharpay. She had fallen asleep. She must've been tired. I decided to let her sleep. Now then, back to the movie. I would watch the movie ...if I wasn't so tired ...
3rd Person (Narrator):
"Mr. Bolton!" Mr. Ellair tried to reach and shake Troy, "Mr. Bolton! Wake up. We're landing. I suggest you put your seatbelt on."
Troy woke up, rather drowsily and went on about fumbling with the seatbelts. He glanced and saw Sharpay still sleeping peacefully. He gently shook her, not wanting to disturb her slumber but having no choice other than that to. Sharpay stirred. Troy shook her one more time. This time a bit harder. She woke up, lifted her head off Troy's shoulders and wiped her mouth. She must've been drooling.
"I must've dozed off," Sharpay mumbled, "What?"
"You have to do your seatbelt. We're landing now!" Troy said excitement back in his voice and eyes.
"Oh you serious?" With that Sharpay also did her belt.
The plane landed safely, and Mr. Ellair seemed extra happy that the plane had landed safely without anything gone wrong. Mr. Ellair and Miss Viola rounded up the High School kids and got off the plane together. They looked like some sort of a one big happy family. Troy and Sharpay were walking directly behind Mr. Ellair and Miss Viola and were pointing and talking about things they were going to get accomplished on this trip. Chad and Kelsi went next, not talking much. Jaquelyn and Shella were talking away distantly, talking in Tagalog. Seth and Serena were discussing how many times they've been here.
"I'm going to meet a celebrity before I go home!"
"I'm gonna try and not get lost in the first day of school."
"So ... how was Taylor before you left?"
"Good, I guess. How was Jason before you left?"
"Maganda ko." (I'm pretty)
"Hindi. Pangit Mo." (No. You stupid.)
"Three times. My mom took me on her business trip once before, I had to visit my cousins the other time and this is the third time."
"Well I've only been here today."
"Children! This way!" Miss Viola called.
"We're gonna be alone. I mean the whole of us here now." Sharpay nervously said.
"No. Not really." Troy replied slightly shrugging.
"What do you mean?" Sharpay asked.
"My cousins, Destiny Bolton, Nevaeh Bolton, Chris and Dante Bolton go there as well. Didn't I tell you this already?"
Sharpay shook her head. With that they got out of the airport, went to retrieve their luggage and went outside, to find themselves finally in the bustling city of New York. There was a classy mini van waiting for them, with someone with a cardboard that read, "East High School."
Author's Note: Sorry! I'm trying my bestest to complete this story !