Cinderella

Chapter 3: Shopping

A/N: Hello, hello, how are you? I am sorry about the wait, you know, school and all. Thank-you to the reviewers who have reviewed in a nice, helpful way, not in a mean and snarky way.

Disclaimer: Nopers, I don't own HSM.

As Tonya flipped her shoulder-length brown hair, I stumbled out of the library, my stomach churning. Obviously Chad wasn't going to ask me to the dance. Tonya, it looks like, would be the lucky lady. I felt like I had forgotten something, something important, about Tonya. Oh, well. It was probably something stupid like she had stinky feet or whatever.

As I trudged down the hallway, I remembered that the day was only half over. I groaned. There was still three more hours of torture until I could leave.

I quickened my pace, nearly skidding to a halt in front of my locker. I opened my locker after about five tries. I checked my hair in my locker mirror, making sure my loose curls were still in place. I then grabbed my Science textbook and binder, and headed off to the other side of the building.

As I was nearing the Science room, I saw Troy kiss Gabriella good-bye, and head in the opposite direction. I power walked (A/N: YES! POWER WALKING!) to the classroom, and slid into my seat. The science teacher started droning on and on about cell reproduction, amoebas, unicellular and multicellular organisms. I slipped Gabriella a note saying;

Hey,

Let's go shopping after school. I have nothing to do, and I need new shoes. Please come!

-ScienceGurlOfAmerica

Gabi and I always used our MSN names as our names on notes. In that way, if one got found, they wouldn't know who it's from. Gabriella slipped me the note back, saying;

Sure, why not? You seem depressed; I need to cheer you up, girl! I'll drive, I took my mom's car today.

-BambiEyes101

I still giggled whenever I saw Gabriella's MSN name. I mean, most people would expect 'SpanishMami' or 'FreakyMathGirl.' But Gabriella knew how to surprise everyone.

I turned my full attention to the front of the class, and took notes on amoebas. Hey, even if it was a worthless topic, we still had to know it!

The end of the day couldn't come fast enough! I had more bad luck throughout the rest of the day. First, I messed up my solution in chemistry. Then, I started to open the locker next to mine instead of mine! Finally, in my rush to get out of this horrid place, I slipped in some spilled liquid as I was running down the hall. Luckily, I didn't actually fall, so my outfit was still perfect.

Gabriella was waiting for me at her car. Actually, it was her mom's car, but Gabi never mentioned that to anyone. Its shiny red paint gleamed in the hot, New Mexico sun. I sighed. Gabi's mom had the best taste in everything, and was always fair. Unlike some mothers I know.

I slipped into the passenger's side, and checked my make-up. Hey, you can never be too careful! Gabriella slid into the driver's seat about two minutes after I was in the car, because she was saying good-bye to Troy. I must admit, I was quite jealous of her. Her and Troy have been a couple ever since they started rehearsing for 'Twinkle Town,' though it didn't look like it at first.

Gabriella started the ignition, and then zoomed off. Another thing about Gabi that you wouldn't expect, she likes to drive really fast. She's even gotten several tickets. But did her mom ground her? No…..

After about 15 minutes of driving, we screeched to a stop on front of the Mall. Now, I may look sound like the kind of girl that does not like to shop, period. But I do. I love to shop. Don't get me wrong, I have never maxed out my debit or credit card. I am not a fanatic; I just like getting new things. But you can't tell all that often, because I clean the stuff I don't wear out of my closet and give it away.

Enough about my shopping habits. Back to the present. As we entered the mall, we were greeted by a blast of cold air from the high-tech air conditioner.

"OK," Gabi looked at the map of the mall. "Where should we go first? Payless Shoe Source, Mariposa, Garage, or Sears?" She suggested, ticking off the names on her fingers.

"Um, how about Mariposa?"

"Great!" Gabi exclaimed. I grinned. I knew Mariposa was Gabriella's favourite store.

"Come along then!" I held out my arm for Gabriella to take, and she accepted, giggling. "Come along, my dear"

"Taylor, you have the worst British accent of anyone I've met!" She commented, still giggling.

"Touché." I grinned.

After several minutes of skillful navigation through the malls crowded hallways, we finally got to Mariposa. As we stepped in, London Bridge by Fergie came on the radio. That got me in the mood for shopping, so I headed on over to the clearance rack, Gabi following closely behind.

"You are not going to get all the good deals this time, Taylor McKessie!" Gabriella warned me. I grinned. She was still a little mad about the time we had gone shopping, and I had gotten two bags full of clothes, and she had gotten nothing.

I started flipping through the rack, humming to the music. I pulled off a t-shirt, black jeans, and an argyle sweater. I saw Gabriella take off several dresses, each a different style and colour. I sighed. I couldn't buy a dress for the dance. I mentally shook myself. Get over it, Taylor! I then went back to searching for just the right shade of blue to go with my new shorts. Eventually, when mine and Gabi's arms were so full we could hardly hold the clothes anymore, we decided it was time to go to the fitting rooms.

When we had lugged the stuff over there, the fitting room attendant looked at us with wide, scared eyes. After a few moments, she got over her shock, and got us rooms.

Unfortunately, luck was not with me. Nothing that I tried on fit! I handed my stuff to the lady (she staggered under the weight) and waited for Gabriella to come out. Eventually she did, with two dresses slung over one arm, and the rest of her stuff on the other. She handed her stuff to the fitting room attendant (who nearly fell down) and walked over to me.

"Oh, my gosh, Taylor, check out this dress!" she fairly screamed at me. I looked. It was an aqua blue, with detailing around the edges. I had to admit, it was very nice.

I frowned. "But what's the other dress for?"

Gabriella grinned. "Well, it was too big on me, so I thought you might want to try it on!"

"Are you calling me fat?" I asked, pretending to be mad.

"No, Taylor, but you know you're a bigger size than me! Come on," she coaxed, "It's really pretty!"

"Oh, fine! If it'll shut you up!" I grabbed the dress, and went into a fitting room, without the attendant's help. I held up the dress to look at. It was red. I have to admit, I do not own a piece of red clothing that is not pajamas. Ah, what the heck? I thought, and put it on. It fit perfectly!

I stepped out, to show Gabriella. She screeched. "Oh, my gosh, you look amazing!"

I looked in the mirror. I had to admit, I did not look to shabby. Actually, I hardly looked like myself. Red was a good colour on me. Who knew?

"So?" said Gabi.

"So what?" I asked, very confused. Had she asked me a question, and I had been day dreaming to much to notice?

"So are you going to buy it?" asked Gabi, in the most obvious voice in the world, as if what else could she be talking about.

A weird, twisted-yet-brilliant plan popped into my head. "Yes, Gabi, I will buy it. I'll wear it to the Winter Dance."

"Um, Taylor?" Gabriella said, looking scared. "You are grounded, remember?"

"Gabi, let's go to Starbucks. I'll explain everything there."

"OK." Gabriella said, now just looking confused.

After ordering two Frappichinos, we sat down at a table near the back of the food court.

"OK," Gabi said, "What's this about, and is it legal?"

"Depends," I said, "Is sneaking out legal?"

A/N: Oh, cliffy! I dunno, you might be able to guess what she's gonna do, lol. Sorry for the long wait, folks, I had school and such. Anyways, this is just a filler chapter. Things get really juicy soon!

Tootles!

TheFabMax