Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue. It belongs to Disney.
A/N: Sorry for the really long delay this time. I was at a youth leadership forum on medicine in Houston and got back on Tuesday night. After that I had unpacking and other fun stuff like that to do. I wasn't really sure where I wanted to take this chapter, but here it is.
WARNING: This chapter deals with alcohol abuse.
Enjoy!
Zeke stood in front of his locker, holding his game jersey in his hands. He paused for a moment, resting his head against the cool red metal of his locker. All around him, the rest of the Wildcats basketball team was getting ready for the game in silence.
"Are you ready?" Jason asked quietly, walking up behind Zeke while pulling his own jersey over his head.
Zeke heaved a sigh, lifting his head up slowly.
"I guess I have to be," Zeke replied, shrugging into his own jersey. Each team member's jersey had Troy's number, fourteen, stitched in black on the shoulder, a tribute to their lost teammate.
"Guys, five minutes till we're out on the court!"
"I miss Coach," Jason said, shaking his head as Ms. Whitman pulled her head from inside the locker room to take her place outside the door again. Since Jack had resigned, Principal Matsui had recruited Lisa Whitman, the girls' basketball coach, to take over direction of the team for the remainder of the season.
"It isn't the same anymore," Zeke agreed, shutting his locker door and turning to face Jason.
"Nothing's the same anymore," Jason added, putting on his warm-up jacket and heading toward the door. Zeke followed suit, and the two gathered the team at the door, ready to give a pre-game speech before heading out for practice on the court.
"Alright, guys, this is a big game," Zeke said, looking around at his teammates. "This is the championship game, the last one for us seniors. It's also our first game without Coach, or Chad, or-" he broke off, looking at the floor.
"Or Troy," Jason finished for him, closing his eyes for a moment. He and Zeke stood in silence for a moment, the team around them.
"Alright, let's go!" Zeke said, brushing away the tense moment and trying to pump up the team's spirits.
"Wildcats on three!" Jason added, throwing his hand into the middle. The rest of the team followed suit, throwing up their hands and cheering on Jason's count.
Chad stood outside the gym door, the sounds of sneakers squeaking on the polished wood and the cheers of the crowd filtering through the door to his ears. He pulled his coat tighter around himself, the cold stabbing at him unrelentingly. He had contemplated attending the team's final game, the final game of his high school career, but he had made it only as far as the door.
As he stood there, he felt as though he couldn't move. He had been standing there for at least half an hour, and it was well into the first half. Steeling himself, he opened the door, stepping into the warm gym. Immediately he was assaulted by the sights, sounds, and even smells of the basketball game. One-half of the stands was filled with red-and-white clad supporters, the other with blue-and-white. The stands were so packed that there were people standing anywhere they could find a spot.
Looking at the court, Chad watched Jason take the ball down the court, passing quickly to another teammate. He watched as the ball sailed cleanly through the net, unconsciously flashing back to the last championship game they had played, when Troy had taken that same shot to win the game.
"I can't do this," Chad whispered to himself, turning on his heel and running for the door, fighting with the handle as he tried to get out as fast as he could. He was unaware of several people calling his name as he stumbled outside into the cold, leaning against the nearest wall.
Kellie sat at the kitchen table, an unopened shoe box in front of her, a sealed bottle of vodka sitting next to it. She had been sitting there for close to an hour, staring absently at the alcohol and the box. She kept thinking about the game currently going on at the school, the game that Troy should have been leading his team into.
Sighing, she leaned forward, taking the bottle and pulling it toward her. Pulling off the protective seal, she threw it over her shoulder, twisting the top off the bottle. She brought it to her lips, pausing a moment before taking a sip. The alcohol burned her throat as it went down, making her frown slightly. Taking another sip, she frowned again, but realized she was beginning to get used to the feeling. Raising the bottle a third time, she took a rather large swallow, putting the bottle down and pulling the shoe box toward her.
She flung the lid off and pulled out a stack of pictures. Picking up the first picture, she looked at it, tears springing to her eyes. As she made to put it back, she took another swig of vodka, letting her tears fall in earnest. It was Troy's senior picture, taken at the end of the previous year. She placed the picture on the table, picking up the next.
A half hour later, pictures were spread across the table, and the bottle of vodka was only half-full. Taking out another stack of pictures, she took another swig, spreading the pictures out in front of her. The tears continued to fall the whole time, staining the pictures and her sweater.
Gabriella lay down on her bed, fully clothed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She knew that the championship game was currently being played in the East High gym, and she was struggling with her feelings on that. She couldn't stop thinking about the previous year, the year that she and Troy had gotten together. It was on the day of the so-called "triple-win," the day they had aced the call-backs, won the decathlon, and won the basketball championship.
Tears filled her eyes as she thought back to that day, as she ran to Troy and he spun her in his arms. They had spent the night at the after party locked in each other's arms, oblivious to everyone around them. So much of the ensuing year had been filled with them together that people had begun to joke that they were going to get married sooner rather than later.
Gabriella herself had contemplated marriage, and she and Troy had even discussed it on a few occasions. Troy had given her his class ring, which she still wore on her left hand. They had been planning on going to college together, after which they'd think about their future.
That future had been ripped away from her in a split second, ripped away in the time it took for Drew to pull the trigger on his gun. Blinking back her tears, she fingered the ring, a sudden longing to hold Troy in her arms overcoming her. She flipped onto her stomach and buried her face in her pillow, sobbing uncontrollably into it.
Zeke and Jason stood together in front of the team, the championship trophy held between them. Everyone was smiling as a newspaper photographer took picture after picture of the winning team, the crowds celebrating and cheering behind them.
"Alright, thanks guys," the photographer said, allowing the team to break apart and accept congratulations from everyone.
"Great game, guys," Ms. Walker said, walking over to Zeke and Jason. "I know how tough this was for you, but you guys did a great job overcoming."
"The whole team did a great job," Zeke said, smiling at the temporary coach. "But Troy was up there the whole time, watching out for us."
The coach smiled, slapping each of the teens on the shoulder before joining the rest of the celebration.
"I'm going to go change," Zeke said, handing the trophy to Jason.
"Alright, I'll see you at the after party?"
"Maybe. I think I'm gonna go spend some time with Sharpay tonight."
"Alright, see you tomorrow then."
"See you."
Zeke walked toward the locker room, while Jason went over to join his teammates.
"Hey, Cross!" somebody shouted, attracting Jason's attention. A player from the other team was walking toward him, holding up a hand to stop him.
"Evans," Jason acknowledged, his smile fading as he saw the other player. He and Mark Evans had a bit of a history, having gotten into a fully-fledged fight the year before after a game. Jason had walked away with a black eye and a sprained wrist, while Mark had suffered enough of a concussion to knock him out for the rest of the season.
"Listen, man, I know we didn't exactly hit it off last year," Mark began, holding up a hand to keep Jason from walking away. "I just wanted to congratulate you."
"Thanks," Jason said warily, eyeing the other teen apprehensively.
"I heard about Bolton. I wanted to say that the whole team offers our condolences. Troy was a hell of a ball player, and we were sorry to hear about what happened."
"Thanks," Jason said again, shaking the other player's hand.
"See you around," Mark said, walking away.
"See you," Jason nodded, watching him walk away. He shook his head slightly, still amazed by the number of people Troy had impacted. Even though it had been over a month since Troy's death, people still came up to his friends to offer their condolences and sympathy.
"Jason? What's up?"
Jason shook his head, startled out of his reverie by one of his teammates.
"Huh? Oh, nothing. Nothing's up."
Jason smiled half-heartedly, turning back to join in the celebration. But this time his heart wasn't in it.
A/N: That was chapter ten. Hope you liked it. Once again, sorry for the delay. The next one should be faster. Reviews greatly appreciated, as always.
Coming in Chapter 11: Drew comes back…we check in on Sharpay and Ryan…Jack becomes suspicious of Kellie