Disclaimer: You should have read the first one but. . . I don't own HSM but if someone else does, I envy you!!!!

Chapter 2

After Gaby greeted Taylor, she went to her things. As soon as she opened the door, she saw the picture of her and Troy from Junior Prom. She suddenly slipped into a daydream, where Troy was her night in shining armor. He was the most innocent, loving, sweet, charming Troy she always knew . . .

She was suddenly hit with a wave of guilt. Troy didn't know what happened in Bermuda with the "un-mentionable," and he would hopefully never find out. She shook from the nightmare and went to class.

All of a sudden the crowd of people drifting along the hallways parted as Sharpay Evans strutted to her locker which was next to Gaby's. (A/N: In case you forgot Sharpay's locker is the pink one . . .with the gold star on it.) "Hey Gaby!!!" She squealed. "OMG!!! How was Bermuda! I wish I could have gone with you but Troy was trying to teach me how to be nicer and not as antisocial to people who aren't Ryan! I even worked at a soup kitchen!"

"Good," mumbled Gaby. Troy was going to be crushed! No worse, betrayed then crushed! And then totally and completely heartbroken. He didn't deserve that. "Bermuda was lonely. I missed everyone."

"Cool! Also, in case Troy didn't tell you, we are organizing the Pep Rally this year. We want to turn it into a fund raiser to build schools in Africa!!" 'Wow Sharpay is so different, but she's not the only one I guess . . .'

She reached up to close her locker and gazed at the bracelet on her wrist. Her eyes glazed over as she thought of those last three days and nights in Bermuda.

"Ohhh cute bracelet. Did Troy buy it for you?" Sharpay asked as she noticed Gabriella staring at it.

"Uhh . . . no." Gabriella answered after some thought.

"Oh. I like it. Where'd you get it? In Bermuda?"

"Yeah," she answered, still lost in thought. That answer was at least truth enough.

Gaby strolled into drama, afraid of what was coming. She felt guilty all over again, seeing Troy laughing and smiling. He patted the seat next to him, gave his signature toothy smile, and went back to talking basketball with Chad. She sat down and shook her mind, hoping senior year would be what she always imagined. Her dream didn't involve Ms. Darbus, but there she was, as crazy as ever, announcing the drama assignment for this session.

"Students the theater holds promise, which you have been brought here to fulfill. Now open your souls to the illusion of romance which you will be presenting. However before I give out partners, I think we should explore what love truly means to you. I would like each of you to come up with a list of words you associate with love." Everyone groaned except for Sharpay, of course, and surprisingly, Troy. He just smiled. Sharpay looked at him. Gabriella could tell she was thinking about something, but then she just turned back and began writing her list.

Gaby looked at her page and realized that she couldn't write anything. She hadn't ever really been in love.

Or maybe she had, and just hadn't realized it yet. She thought she had been in love with Troy, but now she wasn't so sure. She chewed on her pencil and stared at the bracelet again.

Suddenly she felt her cell phone vibrating in her purse. Making sure Ms. Darbus wasn't looking, flipped it open and looked at the message:

You've been tagged! Pass it b4 Darbus notices!

- Ryan E.

She did as it said, then texted Ryan back, saying:

We're still playing this game? P

They texted back and forth until Ms. Darbus turned around five minutes later. Gabriella still hadn't written anything down.

"Would anyone like to share? Yes, Mr. Bolton?"

"Oh . . . umm . . . 'I had down feeling of affection'."

Gabriella looked over at his paper. He had no such thing. All he had was her name with a heart next to it. She saw Ryan looking over his shoulder too.

After a few minutes of droning, Ms. Darbus started announcing groups for the project. "Mr. Danforth, Ms. Neilson - group one; Ms. Cox, Jason - group two; Mr. Bolton, Ms. Evans - group three, and finally, Ms. Montez and Mr. Evans - group four." Everyone felt a bit awkward, although not uncomfortable, with their groupings.

"I will give you your scene assignments tomorrow- but right now I would like you to discuss romantic scenes with your partner. You have five minutes."

Gabriella moved over towards Ryan. After a few minutes of talking about their summers after the country club, they talked about romantic scenes. She was amazed how easy it was to talk to Ryan.

"So what did you write on your list?" She asked him.

He looked at her strangely, then said, "The same thing as Troy." Then the bell rang and he ran out of class.