OLD NOTE: Sudden burst of realization. 16andUp as a whole consists of 10 characters. The main characters would be 7. I need to put in the musical scene AND type out what each home looks like. There is NO WAY I can squish all of that into one chapter and still have your full attention. So we resort to blocking and adding a chapter!
Next one: Martha, Jason, Zeke, Kelsi, The twins Next Chapter After that: Troy, Gabi, Chad, Taylor
Got it? Supporting characters first, (save for drama squad), main characters next! Bring it on!
Sharpay quickly walked through the mall, looking for a place away from those she called her friends. She kept walking, breathing heavy. She didn't want to cry, at least not in front of anyone, and she realized that there obviously wasn't a good place to be alone at the mall. However, there had a fountain behind the mall with sculptures and a nice field. Sharpay looked to the other side of the mall, leading downstairs and took a deep breath. Gabriella's words rang in her head.
"It's true! She's not a bad person she's just kind of mean sometimes!" She protested, slowly leaning back into the booth, whispering quietly. "Sometimes...most of the time...all the time."
"Hey!" Sharpay exclaimed "I'm nice!" she pointed to herself. "I can be nice!" she nearly growled.
"Then why are you saying it with almost subtle rage?" Martha said softly. Chad smirked.
Sharpay blew a lock of hair from her face. What about those times with Zeke? What about the end of the basketball game? "We're all in this together"? Yeah right. She groaned in annoyance.
So what if she wasn't nice? At least she was trying. But no one saw that, now did they?
(Masterpiece)
"'So much pressure, why so loud?'" Sharpay sang, imitating the lot she called her friends. "If you don't like my sound, you can turn it down. I gotta road...And I walk it alone..." She narrowed her eyes, boarding the escalator going down.
"Uphill battle, I look good when I climb.I'm ferocious- precocious- I get braggadocios I'm not gonna stop...I like the view from the top…" Sharpay shrugged, thinking of times in her life when she wasn't exactly perfect.
It was the school play, 8th grade. Cinderella to be exact.
Sharpay wanted the part of Cinderella- of course- it was the top role. Duh. However, she was going to have to go against a girl named Olive. She wasn't even blonde. How she got the part, Sharpay would never understand. She'd even gone as far to memorize all of Cinderella's lines! She told everyone she would be Cinderella. She thought the part was as good as hers.
Apparently not.
She was cast as a wicked stepsister instead.
So...Sharpay may have gone overboard by getting some of her other friends to help talk about how bad Olive's acting was in front of her and pretend not to notice. Back then, Olive was sensitive. She fled the cafeteria in tears that day. Sharpay got the part, and Olive hated her for it.
Sharpay glanced down the escalator and saw her. Olive was even more gorgeous now, but she became tougher since that day. She gave up acting completely, and became a jock (soccer team).She was one of those people who didn't believe in statuses mixing.
"Probably because she doesn't want the preps/drama teens interacting with the jocks. Or 'me' interacting with the jocks really." Sharpay thought. Olive met eyes with her before turning to her friends and whispering, they soon all laughed and tried to make discreet glances. They were not discreet. Sharpay's eyes narrowed.
"You talk that blah blah that la la, that rah rah sh-and I'm so done, I'm so over it!" She sang as she watched the girl. She couldn't help it. Her attention was now focused.
Olive batted her eyelashes and flipped her dark hair. Her mouth movements clearly looked like she was mocking someone. Sharpay's blood boiled as the crowded escalator ride began to come to it's end.
"Sometimes I mess up, I eff up, I hit and miss. But I'm okay, I'm cool with it." Sharpay passed them like she didn't even see. She heard Olive's snort of disbelief though.
She stopped in front of the kiddie zone, watching them play happily. They didn't have status quos yet. They didn't even have much homework. One kid made her smile though. She was a bubbly, dirty blonde with a pink tutu. Yet, she hung out alone. How did Sharpay notice her? She fell flat on her face in front of them all.
"Oh Emma!" An employee cooed, picking her up and soothing her.
Sharpay averted her eyes to make it a little better for Emma at least. Her eyes caught sight of coloring pages on the door. They had a lot of...messy drawings. Sharpay smiled, relating to the kids in another way.
"I still fall on my face sometimes and I- can't color inside the lines 'cause, I'm perfectly incomplete, I'm still working on my masterpiece and I-" Her eyes widened as she saw a drawing of a log cabin by a lake. It looked as if it were drawn by an adult, and then she saw a name in kid writing. Emma Hunt. Emma's drawing. It was...incredible. She couldn't even draw like that.
Sharpay smiled. Those kids saw a clumsy nobody, but she was clearly much more. Just like Sharpay. Besides y'know...the nobody part. She was an actress. One day, her name would be on billboards."I wanna hang with the greats gotta- way to go, but it's worth the wait, no." She turned back to Olive and her crew. "You haven't seen the best of me. I'm still working on my masterpiece and I-"
(Oh oh, oh ah)
"What the heck was that look?" Ariana, one of the soccer girls, blinked.
"Who cares. She was always off in the first place." Olive grumbled, watching Sharpay go outside. "Why would she change now?"
(Oh oh, oh ah)
Sharpay looked past the parking lot to see Gabi and Troy waiting for the bus, hand in hand. She narrowed her eyes, Gabi's words in her head. "Those who mind, don't matter. Those who matter, don't mind. If you don't catch what I'm throwing then I'll leave you behind- gone in a flash...And I ain't living like that..." Sharpay sang, walking on, heading to the mall fountain. If they were really her friends, why did they treat her differently?
"They talk that Blah blah that la la,"
"I'm actually surprised Ice Queen came." Gabi muttered as she helped Martha set up a tent in her living room for a sleepover. "Someone guard me. Who knows what she's planning."
"It could be nothing." Kelsi sang.
"Kels, you don't hit on your friend's boyfriend and act like you hate her, then show up to her house for a sleepover." Taylor pointed out, putting her hair in a bun.
"Yeah...that's true." Kelsi sighed. "Maybe someone should guard her."
Gabi laughed. "TOLD YOU!" The girls burst into laughter, coming up with devious things Sharpay might do. The worst idea was that she could cut Gabi's hair while she was asleep to perform voodoo or something.
"That rah rah-"
"Sh!" Martha hissed as Sharpay entered the room, and everyone was silent.
"Go with the punches, and take the hits. Sometimes I mess up, I eff up, I swing and miss."
They acted like nothing happened that night, no matter how many times Sharpay asked. What they didn't know is that she was behind the wall the entire time.
Sharpay exhaled, sitting on the edge of the fountain. "But it's okay, I'm cool with it." No she wasn't. "I still fall on my face sometimes and I can't color inside the lines 'cause, I'm perfectly incomplete. I'm still working on my masterpiece and I-I wanna hang with the greats gotta way to go, but it's worth the wait, no-"
Gabriella sighed to herself as she stood at the bus stop with Troy. Sharpay could be sensitive, but she'd never stormed out at something so...small? Or was it small to her? Maybe she had feelings about it before and Gabi was her breaking point! She wanted to bury her head in her arms at the very thought! Shame! Shame on her! Gabriella though about the times when Sharpay was nice to her….
They were at this clothing store, Delores one day. Gabriella saw the prettiest purple dress. It was short and somewhat casual.
Sharpay had caught where she was looking and smiled. "Why don't you try it on Gabi? It might look great."
"Yeah...but the pet shop has been closed lately due to my Uncle's broken leg. I don't know why mom couldn't handle it but, currently that means I don't have the money for it. If I try it on, I just know my mood will be wrecked if I like it..." Gabriella sighed
Sharpay looked at her with sympathy. "I wanted to see you in it too, but I understand." she sighed. Suddenly she lifted her head. An idea. "Unless..."
"Unless?" Gabi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Okay, this may sound really dumb, but what if we tried on clothes just for fun? Like playing dress up." Gabi smiled with bright eyes.
"It isn't the smartest concept for our hearts and wallets, but I like the way you think! Setting my mind to 'just dress up'... I'm up for it if you are!" Gabriella giggled.
"Good!" Sharpay smiled, picking a dress of her own.
You haven't seen the best of me
They were in that dressing room, talking and laughing while making up play situations for half an hour at least.
"Ready?" Sharpay asked with a gentle smile, holding up the purple dress. Gabriella inhaled before nodding. She slipped into it.
"Well?" She asked nervously, facing Sharpay whose eyes were wide.
Sharpay gently turned her around to the mirror. Gabriella gasped. It looked beautiful...
"It fits." Sharpay said softly.
Gabriella observed it from all angles, taking her time. "Yeah..." she said after a moment. "It doesn't fit my price range right now though." she sighed. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up Shar..." Sharpay nodded, fully dressed.
"I'm gonna put these back." She said, picking the remaining clothes up. "See you in a bit?" Gabi nodded. I'm still working on my masterpiece and I-"
When Gabriella walked out with the dress (she had to admit she was being a little slow), the last thing she expected to see was Sharpay smiling with her debit card attached to a receipt.
"What is it?" Gabriella asked quietly, confused.
"Gabi, that dress looks perfect on you. I just had to buy it." She smiled. Gabi's jaw dropped. Sharpay suddenly looked nervous. "I'm sorry, it's not that I didn't think you could buy it for yourself before it went out or something...i-it was just so fabulo-OH!" Gabriella almost knocked her over in a hug.
"Thank you!" She said. "Oh Shar, this has to be the nicest thing you've ever done for me!" Sharpay's smile dropped and formed into a confused pout. "Nnooo...I don't think so." "Hm, yeah. Definitely." Gabi smiled, eyes closed in happiness.
"No..."
"Yeah." Gabi poked Sharpay's nose before skipping out the store. Sharpay sighed and chuckled. (Oh oh, oh ah)
She felt awful but she wasn't gonna show it. Troy would worry.
Troy and Gabriella stood quietly at the bus stop, hand in hand.
...
"You feel bad don't you?" Troy asked after a moment. He didn't need to look at her to be able to tell.
Gabriella nodded quietly. "I didn't mean to make Sharpay run away...I was-"
"You were just trying to be honest but you forgot how to word it? Or something?" Troy finished
Gabriella nodded again. "But- I don't get it. How else could I have worded it?"
Troy blinked. "The only flaw I saw was the muttering at the end, other than that...I don't know."
"Yeah..." Gabi sighed. "I'll call her later and apologize."
(Oh oh, oh ah)
"Oh not today. Whenever she's upset like this she doesn't talk much." A honk was heard. Troy looked in it's direction. "Now come on beautiful, the bus is here." Gabriella smiled as the boarded the bus.
Sharpay turned to look at her reflection in the water. What were other people seeing that she couldn't? "I still fall on my face sometimes and I-can't color inside the lines 'cause-" That's when she realized what she was saying. "I'm perfectly incomplete. I'm still working on my masterpiece. Masterpiece, masterpiece..."
I still fall on my face sometimes and I
Can't color inside the lines 'cause
I'm perfectly incomplete
I'm still working on my masterpiece and I
Zeke walked around downstairs, asking people if they'd seen a blonde girl dressed in pink pants. Every answer was no. Then he saw a fellow jock. Different sports, but same status.
"Olive!" He called.
She turned around. "Zeke!" Olive smiled, fist bumping and hugging him. "What's up?"
"You know Sharpay? The drama club le-" He began.
Olive scoffed. "Oh. You mean ice queen? Yeah, what is it?"
Zeke raised a brow. "Um...look, she ran off from the group and I need to know if you've seen her...please." Olive blinked her dark eyes at him. "Oh Zeke. Please don't tell me you still have a crush on dramacakes."
Zeke was starting to lose his patience. Every second Sharpay could move around, making it harder to find her. "So what if I do? Right now, I'm not looking for her or worried about her because I like her. I'm doing that because I'm her friend."
Olive blinked. Her expression got a little darker. "You wanna know where she is?" she asked, knowing the answer. "She went outside. Before you go, about being her friend? I wanted to be her friend once. But she showed me she wasn't capable of being a friend to people who weren't like her. So don't blame me in the long run if you get burned." Olive's voice shook. She turned on her heel. "Later Zeke."
Zeke sadly looked after her before shaking his head. "Hey Olive!"
"I wanna hang with the greats gotta
Way to go, but it's worth the wait, no
You haven't seen the best of me
I'm still working on my masterpiece and I
Olive turned around. "Yeah?"
"One day, who knows." He smiled. "She might surprise you."
Olive sighed, rolling her eyes and walking away. "I seriously doubt it Zeke."
(Oh oh, oh ah)
Zeke looked after her once more before quickly going to the doors that led to the fountain area.
(Oh oh, oh ah)
Sharpay looked at her reflection one more time before looking into the sky, it seemed a little clearer now. (still, workin' on, still workin' on)
"I'm still workin' on my masterpiece..." Sharpay finished, exhaling.
"SHARPAY!" She heard someone call, quickly looking up.
That was that my dudes, 2 more chapters and we're all caught up!