Thanks for all of the reviews! And for those of you who like Hilary Duff...
Don't worry...
I forgive you.
Disclaimer- I don't own High School Musical.
Have you ever felt so desperate, used, and hurt that any way of getting out seems possible? That even fairy tales seem like real issues? Take Cinderella for example. She was worked to the bone, bitched to by her step mother, and finally got her revenge when she stole her sisters' man away. That seems pretty real to me. But not as magical if you're in my shoes.
And they lived happily ever after. The End.
How come that can't always be the case? The prince swoops down, grabs the princess, slays the dragon, then they live happily ever after. The End. Sounds pretty simple to me. But not if the prince happens to be the hottest thing to ever wear a polo, the princess is just the girl with the stupid hat, and the dragon transforms into a rhinestone-wearing prep.
Want to hear my Cinderella Story?
"Where did we go wrong with her?" Taylor shook her head and looked in disgust across the cafeteria. Gabriella had turned into one of them. In a matter of weeks she had become insanely popular, leaving everything that truly mattered, her real friends, behind. She said we were overreacting when she one day walked right past our table and sat with new people. But you would 'overreact' too if suddenly, your best friend was too good to just sit down and eat with you. What I found unbelievable is that she could be the biggest snob in the world, and Troy still had a thing for her. Bad choice.
"Don't ask me. The only thing I did was be nice to her. And how does she repay us? By ditching." My mind wandered to the thought that maybe the old Gabriella was hiding somewhere under the rhinestones and the giant gust of pride she carried around. It's not like I was going to have an 'intervention' and attempt to 'save' Gabriella from the evils of popularity. She would figure that out for herself, and come crawling back to us on her freakishly high heels. That would be awesome.
"I believe in kharma." Ryan added. "One day she's going to get it so bad..." he narrowed his eyes. I think out of all of us, Ryan had it in the most for her. She had once gotten another popular to steal his bright, glittery clothes from the locker room, just because she could.He was stuck in there until six in the evening, and Gabriella got away with it, scratch-free. If I were Ryan, I would have already torn out a few locks of Gabriella's beautiful curls, not just sit on my ass and wait for kharma to kick in.
But really, what affect do I have? It's like I'm not even there to some people. I'm always knocked around, whether it be in school or at home by my bitchy, plastic stepmother. To her, I need to lift my butt off of my piano bench and help more around my dad's old diner. But after Reno tore it apart and redecorated it, I've always felt uneasy working there. Especially after the day Gabriella and the rest of her friends showed up. She 'accidentally' dropped her napkin container to the floor and asked me to pick it up. Next thing I knew, a cold stream of soda was on its way down my neck and soaking my hair. And her annoying words ring in my head to this day, "Whoops! You're not gonna cry, are you?"
"You've got to be kidding me, Ryan." Sharpay rolled her eyes. "There is no way that anyone would ever punish Gabriella. She's one of those people that authorities hate to see upset. If you want revenge, do it yourself." Sharpay had once told me that she admires Gabriella for becoming socially contagious so quickly. The only reason she still loathes Gabriella with a white, firey passion is because of what she did to Ryan.
I just rested my chin in my hands. Polluting out lunch area with talk of Gabriella was just a waste of time, because deep down, all of us knew there was no way of bringing her down from her fantasy world of popularity. Hopefully, one day soon she would understand. "Just drop it." I shook my head and looked down to the giant red 'E' painted in the center of our table. "She's not even our Gabriella anymore."
But what I was still stuck on, was how a dragon like her still managed to win over a prince like Troy Bolton.
I slipped into the giant mass of the student body leaving the lunchroom in time to see Gabriella dragging Troy along bythe collar of his polo. I didn't even want to know what that was all about. As my train of thought veered off of the tracks and slammed into Troy, I didn't notice the combat boot sticking out in the middle of the bee line to my locker. I stumbled over the leg and my books and sheet music scattered across the dirty floors of the hallway. Snickers floated above me as I scrambled to clean up my mess. And I always thought that when you laugh, something's supposed to be funny.
Now, if this were some cheesy modern day fairy tale, my prince charming would have crouched onto the floor with me to pick up my books. When the last text was left on the ground, we would reach for it at the same time and our hands would touch and we would end up looking headlong into each others' eyes. I glanced up just to check if my prince was on his way, but no such luck. But I did find a sticky wad of bubble gum on the cover of my science book.
I pushed my glasses up to the bridge of my nose and continued my walk to my locker. Did they seriously think that a stumble in the hallway was going to lower my self-esteem? It's happened too many times already. Because if you look up 'push-over' in the dictionary, there I am.
"Isn't that Jason over there?" Taylor pointed across the hallway as I approached my locker. How was it that if you looked good, smelled expensive, and had a nice-looking butt, that you always got the guy? I gave the mystery girl a once-over, noticing Jason's hand hidden in her back pocket. She flipped her brown hair over her shoulder and gave herself a smile in the mirror before shutting her locker. They turned toward us, and I locked gazes with Jason.
Hold on, was this the same guy who threw my favorite bowler hat in the garbage after Triple Threat Day? The same guy who almost coaxed me into getting contact lenses so it would be easier to kiss me? Looks like he's moved on. Jason held my gaze until the girl ushered him along. He smiled to her and they started down the opposite direction of the hallway. "For some strange reason, that doesn't surprise me." I slammed my locker shut.
I guess it was over.
"Oh, come on..." I groaned. Named after the really evil gremlin in the 1984 flick, my puke green gremlin convertible, Stripe, shook violently in the stream of students leaving the school. This couldn't be happening. Not here. It sputtered once, then stopped completely. I tried turning the key in the ignition. Nothing. "Come on, Stripe, please..." I whined. The stream of traffic was moving and cars behind me began honking. I slammed my forehead against the steering wheel in defeat. The wail of my horn mixed in with the rest.
"Let's move it!" The person in the car behind me shouted. I glanced into the rearview mirror to see Gabriella impatiently twisting locks of her hair around her finger. Her elbow rested on the door of her Corvette as she honked again. "Move!" she screamed.
What a perfect way to end the school day. I lost another part of my good friend, my dignity, my boyfriend, and my car! Oh, how I couldn't wait to get home, slip into some tacky pink apron, and wait on tables at my stepmother's frilly diner.
And they lived happily ever after. The End.
Yeah, Whatever.
There it is! How'd you like it? Tell me in a review, please! PLEASE?