"How are you feeling, mijita?" Jose asked, flipping a pancake onto a plate and placing it in front of his daughter.
Gabriella rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of the oversized sweatshirt she'd worn to bed. "Thanks," she yawned. "And same old, same old. A little nervous, but nothing I can't handle. Nothing I haven't handled before…"
Her dad nodded, standing across the island from her and scrutinizing her stoic face as she ate her breakfast. "Well, it's a two year contract, honey, so we're definitely here for the long haul."
"Yeah, the long haul until I graduate?"
Before he could answer, Maria walked down the stairs and into the kitchen wearing a sleek suit with her hair pulled into a neat bun. She bubbled her good mornings before walking to the Keurig to make herself a cup of coffee.
"Why are you so chipper so early this morning?" Gabriella huffed, shoving another bite of pancake into her mouth.
Marial laughed, pressing a kiss to her husband's lips before turning to her daughter. "I am excited for my first day of school, unlike some of us."
"It's not that I'm not excited," Gabriella muttered around her pancake. "It's just… lost its novelty."
"Dios mío, Jose, when did our princesita become so jaded?"
Jose laughed, walking to the fridge to get the orange juice from the shelf. "Well, remember, once again, we're staying put for the next two years, so that gets you through high school," he said, pouring her a glass.
"Yeah, yeah," she said, taking the cup from her dad. She drained the juice before standing to rinse her plate and cup in the sink and putting her dishes in the washer. She stretched before walking towards her parents. "Have a great first day, Mom, you're going to be great." She kissed her mother's cheek before walking up to her room to get ready for her first day of her junior year.
After combing through her entire closet, she settled on a pair of black distressed jeans and a white batwing sweater. She let her curls hang in a simple half-up ponytail and threw a pair of lace up black booties out of her closet and onto the rug in the middle of her room. She swiped some mascara on her lashes and spritzed herself with her favorite perfume and slipped it into her bag before walking out of her room with the booties in her hand and her bag on her shoulder. She walked down the stairs back to the kitchen and found her dad sitting at the island on his laptop with a cup of coffee. She sat next to him to put her shoes on.
"Hey, you doing okay?"
She plastered on her best smile and looked up at her father. "Never been better."
"Oh, don't bullshit me, mijita," he rolled his eyes before closing his laptop and turning to face her fully.
"Language, father," she scolded with a smile. "Really, I'll be okay. I just miss Cat and it's weird to start my second half of high school somewhere new where I don't know anybody."
"Well, if anyone can make this town her own, it's you, honey."
"Well, you're a little biased," she sighed, filling her water bottle up from the fridge.
"That doesn't mean it's not true," he laughed, standing up to wrap her arms around his only child. "Much like you told your mother this morning, you're going to be great."
"Gracias," she said, leaning into his chest. "I love you, dad. I'll see you tonight."
"Dinner with Papa y Bita tonight, okay?"
"Okay!" she called, grabbing her keys from the hook near the door before walking out to her car. She drove the short distance to her new school, East High. The parking lot was more crowded than she expected, as she pulled i nand found a spot for her little SUV. Flipping down the visor, she took a second to look at herself in the mirror. She took a deep breath, calming her body and attempting to calm her mind. "Nothing you've never done before, G," she sighed. "You're going to be fine." She closed the visor and her phone dinged as she reached for the door handle. She slung her bag over her shoulder before stepping out of the car and walking towards the front steps of the large school building.
"Good luck today, my sweet! I know you'll be just fine. Call me later and tell me all about it! Xx"
Gabriella couldn't help but smile at the text from her best friend, Cat. She shot back a quick thanks and a heart before opening the doors and walking inside. The usual hustle and bustle of a morning at school greeted her as she searched for the main office. After a few wrong turns and some pointers from friendly strangers, she walked into the office and stood waiting for the receptionist. She slipped her phone into her back and stood, rocking back and forth on her heels, spinning her ring on her finger as she waited.
"Hi, sweetie, how can I help you?"
"I'm new to the junior class, I just wanted to come in and register?"
"Well, welcome to East High! What's your name, sweetheart?"
"I'm Gabriella Montez."
The woman's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, yes, Ms. Montez! Principal Matsui wanted to see you as soon as you got in! Go on ahead into his office and I'll get your schedule and locker assignment all ready for you!"
Gabreilla sighed. She was almost sure it wasn't a normal occurrence for regular people, but she found herself in this situation more often than she'd like. She dutifully strolled towards the office and knocked on the open door. A kind looking Asian man with glasses looked up at her expectantly. "Uh, I was told you wanted to see me? I'm Gabriella Montez."
"Oh!" he jumped up, putting his glasses on the desk. "Ms. Montez, please come in!" He ushered her in, motioning for her to sit down as he sat back down at her desk. "I'm Principal Matsui, it's an honor to meet you. I just wanted to introduce myself to you before you set off on your first day and let you know we're so lucky to have you here at East High and that if you need anything, you come and let me know, okay?"
"Thanks, Principal Matsui. I'm looking forward to being here for the next few years."
"Great! Glenda should have everything ready for you in a minute. You'll be in Mrs. Darbus' homeroom - she's great, you'll be quite entertained every morning."
"Great," Gabriella smiled, waiting for the starstruck moment to pass. Glenda called out that her folder was ready and she shot another smile to the principal before walking out. "I should be going," she took the folder from Glenda, who had written her locker number and combination down on a Post-It and stuck it to her schedule.
"You have a great day, Ms. Montez! Anything you need - really! We're looking forward to having you and your family here at East High."
Yeah, me and my family, she thought to herself. More like Jose Montez, she thought as she politely smiled and ducked out to find her classroom. Mrs. Darbus' name was etched on the placard next to the door. She took a deep breath before walking into the already busy room and made a beeline to the front desk, where she introduced herself to the woman sitting at the desk.
"Hi, I'm Gabriella, I'm new and I think I'm in this homeroom," she said, handing her registration paper to her.
"Welcome, Gabriella!" Mrs. Darbus took her paper and signed in before handing it back to her. "Find any open seat you'd like, dear, we'll get started in a minute."
Gabriella smiled and turned to quickly survey the room for an empty seat. As she made her way to a chair towards the back of the room, she noticed a few of the boys from the pizza shop. She sat in a seat next to a light skinned boy with a curly afro wearing a graphic tee. She shot him a kind smile before taking out her planner and settling into her seat.
"Hey, you're new but have I seen you before?"
Gabriella turned to him. "Oh, uh, yeah. I just moved her earlier this month. I think I saw you in the pizza shop the other day?"
"Ah, yes! Welcome to East High. I'm Chad, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Chad. I'm Gabriella."
"Where're you coming from?"
"Chad, let the poor girl breathe!" A brown-skinned girl with a dark bob held secure by a headband sat in the seat in front of Gabriella. "You're Gabriella, right? I'm Taylor McKessie."
"How'd you know my name…" Gabriella trailed as Taylor whipped out her own planner out of her bag and began jotting things down.
"I'm the junior class president. Mr. Matsui made sure I knew we had someone new joining us this year! It's a pleasure to meet you, I've heard you're quite the science whiz!"
Gabriella blushed, deeply uncomfortable that so much information about her had been shared. "Uh, I guess you could say–"
"Anyway, we'd love to have you join the scholastic decathlon team if you're interested!" Taylor bubbled away, cutting Gabriella off. "We've got a meeting after school today."
"Now who's not letting the poor girl breathe?" Chad snickered under his breath, earning an icy glare from Taylor. Gabriella giggled as the two bickered back and forth and turned to observe the other members of her homeroom. A mousy brunette in a flat cap hat wearing glasses and pouring over what looked like music books. A couple of stereotypical jocks wearing letterman jackets shooting the shit. A pretty blonde in a painfully flashy outfit, a boy who looked just like her in a slightly-less-flashy outfit. It felt like a typical high school classroom.
Then, in walked the brown haired boy with the ocean blue eyes. The air caught in Gabriella's throat as he glided into the room, searching for his friends. Their eyes met as he walked to the seat in front of Chad and next to Taylor and Gabriella felt the water closing in on her as she swam in his eyes. She turned her face back towards her planner as she felt the blood rush to her face.
"Sup, hoops?" Chad nodded at his best friend, finally ending his bickering with Taylor.
"Living the dream, Chad," he said, dropping his backpack on the ground next to him. "Hi, Taylor, good summer?"
"Morning, Bolton. Summer was great, busy. How was yours?"
"Fantastic - spent a lot of time with this idiot," he said, jerking his head towards Chad before turning to face Gabriella. "I don't think we've met. I'm Troy Bolton."
"I'm Gabriella," she said, feeling oddly shy.
"It's great to see a new face, Gabriella. Nice to meet you."
Gabriella smiled back, turning to her planner once more.
"Alright, junior class!" Mrs. Darbus' voice rang out into the room, lulling the conversation and drawing everyone's attention to her.
The rest of her morning passed rather uneventfully. She kept mostly to herself through English, chemistry and biology classes before the midday bell rang. She followed the masses towards the cafeteria for the part of first days she dreaded the most: lunch. She walked through the servery slowly, gathering a salad and a plate of french fries, before turning to face the unknown of the dining room.
"Gabriella!" Taylor's voice was that of an angel in her ears. She let out a relieved breath she didn't realize she was holding and walked towards Taylor's waving hand.
"Didn't think I'd let you flounder all by yourself on your first day, did you?" Taylor smiled as Gabriella sat down at the table.
"Much appreciated," Gabriella smiled gratefully, setting her bag down at her feet.
"Have you given any thought to decathlon? Also, this is Martha and Kelsi, guys, this is Gabriella."
Gabriella smiled at the two of them as she took a bite out of her salad.
"How's your first day going?" Kelsi asked.
"On a scale of first days, this is certainly not the worst I've had."
"Have you been to a lot of new places?" Martha piped.
"A lot is a bit of an understatement," Gabriella sighed. "I've moved a lot for my dad's job."
"Ah. Is he in the service?"
"Oh.. uh, no," she said. Her lack of elaboration made the girls raise their eyebrows at each other. Gabriella continued to eat her lunch silently, waiting for them to stop looking at her expectantly.
"So," Taylor trailed, breaking the silence. "Decathlon?"
"Oh, why not? Couldn't hurt to have something to do after school, right?"
The rest of lunch passed with laughs and Gabriella learned more about the girls and the people in their grade and East High in general. By the time the final bell rang and Gabriella had finished at the decathlon meeting, she was exhausted. A small smile played on her face as she walked out of the building towards the now much less crowded parking lot.
"Hey, new girl!"
Instinctively she rolled her eyes and kept walking towards her car. "I have a name," she muttered under her breath, reaching into her bag to find her car keys.
"Hey! Gabriella!"
This time she turned around and as her breath left her body, she wished she hadn't. There was Troy Bolton, jogging towards her.