Chapter 8-

Gabriella sighed and fell back onto her bed. After an hour of pacing back and forth across her room, she still had no answers to her dilemma. She knew if she told Troy she was scared to sing with him, he would talk her into doing it anyways. But she could never get back up on a stage and face the utter humiliation she had faced today.

She wanted to believe that what other people thought didn't matter, but she wasn't strong enough to show her face when everyone around her was whispering…about her.

She groaned and rolled onto her stomach. Outside the sky was dark and silvery stars twinkled in the sky. They were not aware of the hardship she faced.

Her cell phone rang, breaking into her tumultuous thoughts. She snatched it from the bedside table and answered it. It was Troy.

"Hi, Gabby," Troy said with a smile. "How are you?"

She sighed. "Tired."

"Are you still upset about today?" he asked hesitantly.

She bit her lip. "Yeah." She replied slowly.

"Don't worry, everyone will forget about it when we do a great job at the callbacks," he assured.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm not going to do the callbacks, Troy," she whispered.

For a moment silence was the only reply she had. Then Troy spoke.

"You're going to let Sharpay manipulate you?" he asked incredulously.

"She's not manipulating me, Troy," she argued. "I decided to not do the callbacks."

"You don't think that was her plan?" he ground out angrily.

"I can't get up onstage and be humiliated again," she cried. "I'm not going to do that."

"You're playing right in her hands, Gabriella!" He replied bitterly. "I thought you were better than this."

"You weren't the one up onstage today, Troy, you aren't the one that everyone thinks was lip-synching," she hissed. "If you were in my position you'd not want to show your face in school. Let alone sing in front of the entire school."

"If I was in your position," Troy said quietly. "I wouldn't be letting my friends down, like you are now."

The line went dead and a single tear fell from Gabriella's weary eyes.

……………………………..

Kelsi was waiting for Troy in the music room when he arrived the next morning.

"Hi, Kelsi," he said tiredly.

She smiled. Then she saw his face. "What's wrong, Troy?" she asked.

"Gabriella's not going to do the callbacks," he admitted painfully.

Kelsi dropped down onto the piano bench. "But Ms. Darbus….and we worked….." she set her pencil down.

Troy swallowed hard. "I'm sorry, Kelsi."

She sighed. "It's not your fault, Troy." She stared at the sheets of music spread out around her. "Maybe she'll change her mind."

Troy slung his bag over his shoulder. "I don't think she will."

Kelsi shrugged. "Let's give her a few days."

Troy nodded and headed towards his first class.

…………………….

Sharpay was quick to duck out of sight when Troy exited the music room. She couldn't stop the smile that was painted across her face. She couldn't believe her plans were coming together so well. Without Gabriella, Troy would never audition, and after yesterday, Gabriella would never agree.

She couldn't help congratulating herself on her brilliance. Then she too headed to her first class.

I know it's been FOREVER since I updated...lol...sorry about that. I just 'couldn't' write this story for a while. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this marvelous chapter! Please Review:)