You know, I was so afraid that I was going to have to open this chapter with, "This chapter is coming to you right from my hospital bed!" But thankfully it was only a stomachache. But my arm still stings from the stupid IV they poked in my arm, so please excuse the errors found in this chapter.

Disclaimer-I don't own High School Musical, or a Cinderella Story, but that doesn't even count as a movie, considering the fact thatHilary Duff starred in it. I could think of a bunch of other blonde actresses that would have been perfect for the part.

It was almost as if you could press a 'pause' button and savor that one moment, that one expression on her face forever. It was upsetting, yet priceless at the same time. She gets everyting she wants, well, except for me, and for once, Gabriella Montez was beaten to the punch. I glanced to Chad on my right, then to Jason. They both looked as shocked as Gabriella.

"You've got to be kidding me." she cocked an eyebrow sarcastically. "Are you feeling okay, Troy?" she reached across the table and pressed her palm to my forehead. It was the small things like that, and her newly found obnoxious attitude that I hated about her. And she definitely deserved this

"You're... a bit of a handful, Gabriella." I shrugged and pulled away from her, falling back onto the leather interior of the booth. "Maybe it's time to... explore other options? I don't know, I'm not really good at breaking up with people." I explained. But truthfully, I just didn't want to see her upset. She had had me wrapped around her perfectly manicured finger since the time we were given the parts as Arnold and Minnie. It's been a year, and I'm still somewhat under her trance.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and slumped across from me. "Fine then." she sighed. "But you do know that the senior's Halloween dance is like, a week away, and everyone's already paired up. So when I have to steal Kendall Richards' boyfriend to take me, I'll make sure she blames you." she snarled. Wow. We were only two minutes into our breakup, and she was already treating me like I was one of the people she stole homework from.

"Hey, I wouldn't mind taking Kendall to the dance." I fired back. Gabriella narrowed her eyes at me. I knew I had hit a nerve. Gabriella had secretly hated Kendall but told everyone she loved her, just to be a good sport. Gabriella was acting as if the entire world was a popularity contest, and she would die if she lost. That's pretty pathetic for a girl I thought was so sweet.

"You might as well take Kelsi Neilsen over there!" Gabriella exploded, pointing behind her. Just over my ex-girlfriend's shoulder, the quiet pianist looked up from refilling napkin containers, wondering why we had been discussing her. Gabriella turned to her and smiled grimly. "Can we help you with something?" she snapped. "God, just go back to being the pathetic person you truly are!"

Ouch. I ran my hand through my hair in embarrassment. Gabriella was making a scene. Again. Customers at nearby tables nervously glanced in our direction, silently wishing they could scoot away from the shouting girl. And I didn't blame them. She rose out of her seat, pointing a finger in Kelsi's direction. "This is all your fault!"

"Right, Gabriella, just place the blame on the waitress." I rolled my eyes. "Sit down. I'm the one dumping you." I hissed. I glanced back to Kelsi. She looked back down to the piles of napkins in front of her. When Gabriella finally plopped back down, she spoke again. "Like I said, expect an angry Kendall Richards' at your door." She sneered before throwing her bag over her shoulder and standing up again. "See ya later, bastard." Gabriella barked at me one last time before storming out of the diner.

"That went well." Chad laughed. But I was too fed up to argue with him. I really, really hoped Gabriella wouldn't be a bitch and create more drama. I hoped she would just shut up, and for once, accept that she wasn't going to get her way. "Are you really going to go for Kendall? Because of you aren't, I sure will." We're not even allowed to mention Taylor McKessie around Chad anymore, or else he'll become mysteriously quiet and pissed. And I'm not sure if I'm ready to know why.

"Go for it, man." I brought out my wallet and began pulling out crisp one dollar bills. "I only said that to get Gabriella angry. You know how she is about crap like that." I sighed. Gabriella truly was too much for me to handle.

Angry e-mails flooded my Inbox.

You honsestly think that you could dump Gabriella and get away with it? God, the whole world is going to hate you, Troy!

And in the tiniest font possible, Adele, Gabriella's second-in-command, finished her e-mail with:

Call me!

So she was angry enough to predict that the whole world despised me, but not enough to go behind her best friend's back and ask me out? Why was I not surprised? The stupidest rumors were spreading through thesenior class like wildfire, and not even Chad and Jason were trying to correct them. They were just there to watch the drama unfold.

At last, I found the e-mail that I would dread the most. Gabriella's:

You should check your voice mail, you know. Kendall's pretty pissed. But you deserve it Troy, because all you think about is yourself. What about MY reputation? What about ME? Dumping me was the worst decision you will ever make. EVER.

I truly thought that my eyes were going to bleed reading this piece of shit. So, I had broken up with her, big deal. It wasn't as if I had killed her mother. I still couldn't believe how her ego had swelled to the size of a blimp in a matter of weeks. Things like popularity and reputations were at the top of her list, and it all seemed so superficial.

"Troy..." Chad elbowed me. I glanced up to see Gabriella and the rest of her company gliding past her former lunch table to another one. Her eyes were locked on me before she turned her head back forward, slapping herself with her waves of dark brown hair. She somehow knew that I was reading her e-mail. "What about me? What about my reputation?" Chad whined next to me, imitating Gabriella. The rest of the table busted into hysterics.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you..." Jason started. "Our hats finally arrived." I laughed at the memory of buying our feathered hats online in anticipation of the upcoming Halloween dance. "The Three Musketeers, right?" Jason asked. The other guys that filled our table looked on us with envy, wishing that they had come up with the idea first.

"What else would we go as? You're the one who said that chicks dig a man who carries a sword." Chad laughed. "I'm all for it." It was a done deal. We were going to the Halloween dance as the Three Musketeers, and not to mention, the talk of the century. At that point, I didn't care about the rumors. I was ready for a good time being single.

In fact, I was comfortable enough to think to myself, screw Gabriella.

Am I the only one out here that is sick of Gabriella always being pretrayed as the sweet good girl? I thought it was time for a change. PLEASE read and review, my arm's going numb!