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You got a fast car
And I got a plan to get us out of here
I been working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
We won't have to drive too far
Just 'cross the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
And finally see what it means to be living
'Fast Car' Tracy Chapman
---
Gabriella stood with her back pressed against the wall as her arms wrapped their way around her male occupant's neck. Her red cup was on the verge of falling out of her hand as she focused her attention on the male in front of her. His hands softly brushed against her cheek as his lips moved against hers in an agonizing good way. Her hands ran threw his soft locks as she felt an arm brush against her hipbone.
While completely enwrapped with the male in front of her, she felt something vibrate inside her pocket. She managed to break their contact as she flipped her phone only to roll her eyes. She stuffed the item back in her pocket and turned to face the man in front of her, "I have to go. Nice to see you," she felt the statement opened as she searched her mind for his name.
"Troy," he added helpfully with a small smirk.
"Right," Gabriella blushed slightly. "Bye Troy," she said as she quickly turned around on her way to the door.
"You going to call me sometime," he called after the pretty brunette. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his faded jeans as he gave her a small smile.
Gabriella stopped suddenly as she heard his voice. There was something in that voice that she didn't like. She heard hopefulness. "Bye Troy," Gabriella repeated as she quickly made her way through the throngs of people. She didn't know how that just happened. They were talking, drinking, he was very attractive, and did she mention she was drinking? The brunette shook her head, she was allowed a totally no-strings attached hook-up with a complete stranger, right?
---
"Hey G," Sharpay popped into Gabriella's line of vision as she linked her arms through hers.
"Hey Shar," Gabriella replied as she snuck one last look at the house. Whoever Troy Bolton was, he was in the past.
"Didn't see you for awhile," Sharpay said as the two made their way home. She flipped her hair back as she gave her an amused look. "Find a guy already?"
Gabriella scoffed, "Yeah, I found the love of my life in there. I knew it would last forever from the very moment our eyes locked amidst a beer-pong tournament," she joked to her friend as she placed a hand over her heart.
"Ha, ha," Sharpay gave her a small shove. "Seriously though, did you meet anyone?"
"No, nothing caught my eye," Gabriella replied while keeping her eyes forward. If there was on thing she was bad at, it was lying. Especially to her best friends.
"Uh-huh," Sharpay nodded not fully believing her.
Today was the first day of classes and everyone was anxious. Many students saw the first day as a culture shock, not knowing the challenges or expectations college life was. College was a chance to restart your life, become a new person, change into someone completely different. A fresh start.
---
Sharpay stood in front of her mirror with her new college wardrobe. She felted pleased with her modest dark pink tank top paired with fitted black slacks. She wanted a change, a new start. A chance to show the world she wasn't some airheaded, theater-obsessed, pinked and sparkled out girl. She wanted to be someone who proved people wrong while looking completely fabulous. She wanted to be the kind of person little girls look up to. She wanted to BE someone.
She was never proud of the things she had done in high school, telling lies, spreading rumors, betraying people she loved. She wished she could take it back, relive her life, change her karma. She was ready for college; she was ready for a change.
Sharpay never liked the stereotype she was giving in high school, the dumb blonde. She wasn't stupid. That didn't mean she was a genius but she did have some commonsense. She knew how to survive in life considering she had been pretty much living alone since she was fifteen. She was good at reading people which ultimately helped in choosing who to trust and who not to. Sharpay Evans wasn't stupid. She just had her moments.
---
Gabriella Montez was one of those girls who surprisingly didn't like change. She was terrified of being in a completely new environment full of unfamiliar faces. She disliked the idea of having to start over and change. She liked things familiar and simple.
She didn't change much from high school. She kept her naturally curly, dark chocolate brown locks but adapted a shorter style. She kept her style in tact, the all-American girl with a sweetheart twist. She felt like the same person as she did in high school. She felt rather boring in her dark blue, thin-strapped sundress and her hair curled with a matching blue headband. She still felt like Gabriella Montez.
Gabriella was most popular in high school. She was not only the school's varsity girls' soccer captain but also prom queen. She was the head of the math department and had boys asking her out left from right. She was somebody in high school. She had a purpose and she full-filled it. She knew what to do and she did it. She was important. Now, Gabriella was learning that the real world didn't care if you were the prom queen or voted 'Best All Around.' She was learning that the person you were in high school doesn't translate into the person you are in the real world. Gabriella was learning how to grow up.
---
Taylor loved the first day of school. She picked out her outfit weeks in advance for this day, a pair of fitted cream-colored slacks with a pale yellow colored short-sleeved blouse. She loved the smell of freshly sharpened pencils and brand-new textbooks. She color coordinated her notes and kept her notebooks in condescending and alphabetized order. Some would say Taylor was a freak but she said she was just being Taylor.
Taylor couldn't wait to go to college. She prepped herself for weeks for college interviews. She memorized the campus of Harvard and Yale. She researched the science departments of all the high-scaled colleges she applied to. She was ready for college until she got the rejection letters from her top picks. She didn't have enough school activities according to Brown. She needed to broaden her horizons replied Yale. She needed more diversity said Harvard. Taylor McKessie's college dream died that day.
Taylor would never admit it but she didn't really wanted to go to UCLA. Sure it was a great school with a good chemistry department but it wasn't the school. It didn't give her goosebumps when she first stepped onto the green campus. The chemistry lab didn't give her chills. She didn't spend hours researching the history of the school to amaze the admission office. UCLA wasn't her dream school; it was just the one who accepted her.
---
Kelsi slid on her white flats and turned to look into the mirror. She straightened her outfit, a dark blue and white pinstriped, sleeveless dress that fell to her knees and a pair of white leggings. She took a deep breath as she thought about her first day. She tried to calm her nerves but was doing a horrible job.
Kelsi didn't like crowds in generally. She wasn't one who would go out, drink like a fish, and hook-up with random guys. She didn't like hanging out with people she barely knew. It wasn't that she didn't like going out, she just liked it in moderation. That was not the case in college.
Kelsi was nervous about changing her style. It took a lot of guts for her to give up her glasses. She didn't like becoming a different person. She felt like it was a Halloween costume that you couldn't get out of.
Kelsi was frightened about the possibility of selecting what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She was scared of making mistakes and never being able to take them back. Kelsi Nielson had one fear, the unknown. Well, that and snakes. Snakes really freaked her out.
Gabriella slumped down against the door as she heard the screaming words wafting through the house. Her dark brown hair was pulled in a messy bun on top of her head as she wore her favorite plaid pajama bottoms. She hugged her knees to her body as she waited from the voices to commence. She didn't know how at sixteen years old she could still feel like a small six-year-old girl, a frightened and alone.
Gabriella knew she should phone Taylor or Sharpay and ask them if she could spend the night. She knew that their parents would welcome her with open arms with no questions asked. She just wanted to wait. Wait for the voices to stop screaming at each other. She wanted to hear loving words not word full of hatred. But wanted that was like asking to become a princess. Her small wish was that impossible.
"Gabby," a small voice called over the door. A voice that belonged to a young three-year-old child.
Gabriella quickly got up and opened to the door. She leaned down to pick up the small child who was holding her stuffed teddy bear tightly in her small hand. Gabriella smiled at the girl, "What are you doing up, Angie?"
"Couldn't sleep," the young girl responded as she tired to block the noise coming from downstairs. "Why momma and Nina so loud," she asked in her broken three-year-old language.
Gabriella glared down at the stairs leading to the arguing voices. "Good question," she mumbled as she walked the young girl back to her room. She placed the girl on top of her white bed, "You are up way too late young lady. Time for bed," she told the girl when placing a blanket over her while avoiding the question the young girl asked.
"Night Gabby," Angie responded while snuggling to her worn out bear. She looked up to the girl with deep brown eyes, "Does momma and Nina hate each other?"
Gabriella smiled sadly at the young girl and gave her a light peck on the forehead. "Course not," she said softly while fingering the lamp switch. "We will all be okay," she reassured more to herself than to the young girl.
"I love you, Gabby," Angie yawned to the girl while drifting off.
"I love you too," Gabriella said quietly as she switched off the lamp. She securely closed the door so the voices wouldn't come through the door and disturb the young girl.
Gabriella wished she could shut the door on all her problems.
Sharpay walked around the campus in a complete lost. She didn't realize that a school could be so big. Everywhere she looked, she was unfamiliar faces staring at the lost freshman. She felt ridiculous. Embarrassed.
She glanced down at her classes and saw that she had Fashion Design in fifteen minutes. She felt a jolt of excitement in her system at the words. If there was one thing that Sharpay knew it was fashion.
Being stylish wasn't just a taste in clothes for Sharpay, it was a lifestyle. She loved being able to find the exact outfit that fit a person so perfectly that it seemed like it was made for them. She was good at fashion and design. She for once in her life had a calling that she could succeed in.
---
Taylor felt in her element as she walked around the chemistry lab found in the UCLA science building. She was in a place where she belonged and she knew it. Chemistry was a place where Taylor could be a nerd and have acceptance.
She never really knew where she would fit in the world. She didn't feel as pretty as Gabriella or as funny as Sharpay or as delicate as Kelsi. Taylor knew that she was smart and that was all.
---
Kelsi smiled to herself as she scribbled down the expectations her professor wanted from her. Her day was going surprisingly well, no falls, no saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, no getting lost. Her day was going great and Kelsi couldn't be anymore happier.
As the professor dismissed the class, Kelsi quickly closed her laptop computer and slid it into her black colored tote bag. For once in her life, Kelsi had her head held high. There was something new to the way Kelsi walked, there was confidence.
---
Gabriella scanned the rows of the UCLA library. If there was one place where Gabriella could get lost, it was books. The pages came to life for her and she allowed herself to get lost in the pages. If she was ever feeling stressed or upset, a good novel was always the cure for her.
As she ran her finger across the various, colorful books, she felt her mind wander. She was quite successful with her first day of classes. She didn't get lost or show up to class late. For someone who thought today was going to be a disaster, Gabriella did quite well.
As she made her way down the rows, Gabriella absently mindedly walked still in her own world. She found herself suddenly slamming into an unknown stranger.
"I am so sorry," Gabriella said as she immediately bent down to pick up the various books that fell onto the floor. "I wasn't paying attention and I had no idea that," her sentence stopped short as she saw who the stranger was. From the minute she saw the dark brown locks and crystal blue eyes, she knew she was in trouble.
"Hey stranger," his soft voice said to her jokily. He gave her a slightly embarrassed, smile.
"Hey Troy," Gabriella managed to get out while still staring at the young man.
So much for a simple hook-up.
A/N:
Sorry for the long wait and the fact it's a little shorter than I was usually write. I hope this turns out okay! I'm currently running around so I just wanted to post this chapter up quickly. Thank you guys for the reviews! I enjoy reading what you guys think and I hope to read more. REVIEW.