Disclaimer: I don't own HSM. I wish I owned Corbin Bleu so I could do him whenever I so wished. Unfortunately, I don't, so I am only able to do him whenever he so wishes.

Whoever is responsible for homeroom assignments has either a seriously demented sense of humor or a substantial amount of an illegal substance in their system. I was stuck with people who are the sorts I haven't ever gotten to know. Not even one of the friends I made at orientation- and the Chem. club's first meeting- is with me. And, it's not like they put me in a science room where I could have interesting things to look at. No, I'm in the drama teacher's homeroom! The freaking drama teacher! You want to know what the worst part is? We have to keep these homerooms for our entire high school career! Four years of torture lay ahead of me.

Since it was the first day, homeroom was extended so we could go over the school's rule book, get our schedules, pay our dues, get our order forms for class pictures, and several other unpleasant things. I'm sure they killed an entire forest of trees to make enough paper for everything they handed out! If the whole giving out and receiving of papers was annoying by itself, it took a whole different turn when Mrs. Darbus decided I would help her hand out the million and a half sheets. I guess I shouldn't have been sitting off by myself while everyone else was talking in their little groups. I was practically asking for it, right? This brilliant idea of hers, which had probably been designed to get me into the midst of my peers, presented a huge problem.

I didn't know a great portion of my 'homeroomies'.

See, I'd gone to one of the Catholic schools, so I knew Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth, but they were the only ones in my homeroom who had gone to the same school as me. Everyone else had either gone to East Middle School or some hoity-toity private school. I learned everyone's names quickly, though. It took handing Martha Cox's book fee receipt to Sharpay Evans and mistaking Zeke Baylor for Jason Cross, but I eventually got it figured out. What's more important is that I figured out in that short time who was nice and who wasn't.

Sharpay Evans was a bitch if I ever saw one. The typical blonde, she wore these overly-fashionable clothes. Her outfit made me feel subconscious of my first day attire, which was probably my best outfit of the year. I bet her clothes only get flashier. She's the type who'll probably wear sparkly clothes just to get people to look at her. If I were Sharpay, I would have changed my name. Who would actually like being named after a dog? Her, obviously.

Ryan Evans, Sharpay's brother is sort of a mystery. I mean, honestly, he must be some sort of super-nice person to be able to put up with her constantly. Even in the short time I was around them, she bossed him around a lot. If I were related to her, I wouldn't have put up with that. She would have definitely been put in her place a long time ago.

Troy Bolton, judging by the state championship shirt he was wearing, was just as basketball-crazed as he was in middle school. His dad's the Varsity coach and I'm pretty sure Troy's been playing ball since he was able to walk. Probably since before then. I bet basketball was his first word. He'll probably make a big name for himself here, since he's quite a looker, and a great player. I could already see Sharpay giving him 'the look'. Something tells me Troy better watch out before she gets her claws in him.

Zeke Baylor seems nice enough. He's a basketball guy, but he doesn't seem nearly as obsessed as Troy. His buddy, the one I had thought was him (which I now realize was stupid, as they're total opposites looks-wise, even if their personalities are similar- both of them are pleasant, not too loud, but still pretty popular), is Ryan Cross and he's a basketball player, too. In my mind, they're nicknamed salt and pepper, but I'm guessing they've known each other for a while because they were talking and joking really comfortably. Or maybe they're just more outgoing than I am.

Chad Danforth, Troy's eternal best buddy, is stupid. That's really the only word to describe him. When I handed him his picture packet, he tried to make some stupid joke about how I hadn't gotten his name confused. His hair makes him rather hard to mistake for someone else. And the fact that he was sitting right in front of me had only made it more obvious that I wouldn't miss him. We've known each other since before kindergarten! We were even friends, but then he started hanging out with the guys more and now he and Troy are basically inseparable. Me and him haven't really talked since we were partners for a project in seventh grade. Of course, we had been assigned partners. I'd never pick him. One thing that hasn't changed over the years is his knack for annoying comments. He always manages to roll one off at the worst possible moment. I swear, if Sharpay isn't the end of me, Chad will be.

After the homeroom fiasco, I had a few AP courses, which were nice because they put me with people more my speed. I even got to talk with some of the friends I'd made from the Chem. club, which was basically my only way of meeting people, as pathetic as that sounds. I'm pretty sure Geometry is going to be one of my favorite class, along with Biology. I was even asked to join the Scholastic Decathlon team, which is really unheard of as a freshman! Yep, my morning was going great. Until lunch.

Whoever had set up the homeroom listing must have also set up the lunch shift schedule. Rayna, the girl I'd gotten the closest with from my classes, was in the second period lunch, and I had it the first one. Naturally, I figured I'd be able to sit with some of the other people I'd met. As long as I didn't end up near Sharpay or Chad. I'd had enough of them in homeroom.

As I was going through the lunch line, I got caught up in listening to all the people talking around me. It's quite interesting what you pick up when you're not really trying to listen.

"Did you see that boy?"

"The one with the basketball shirt?"

"Yeah! Him! Wasn't he, like, a total hottie?"

"Omigosh! Yeah! I wonder what his name is..."

At that exchange, I'd simply rolled my eyes. Yeah, let them fawn over Troy. What they didn't need to hear was that he was known for peeing his pants on the first day of elementary school because he didn't want his mom to leave. I'm sure that's a moment he probably blocked out of his memory. Readjusting my head scarf, I moved along down the line and away from the chattering girls. I, however, made a mental note of how they talked. Yep, being able to speak the obvious 'cheerleader' language would probably come in handy some day.

As I grabbed an apple from the stack, turning it over to make sure there weren't any brown spots or other blemishes on it, I set it next to the mac and cheese that I'd already grabbed. I paid for my meal and started through the cafeteria, feeling really small and totally alone. Somehow, I ended up on the balcony, the one I later found out was Sharpay's spot. I didn't know how she'd claimed it, since this was her first day of high school, too, but I figured she probably had an older sister or something. She seemed like the sort who would be 'bff's with her sister. Like those annoying Duff girls.

Anyway, when I saw her blonde locks and heard her talking (saying something rude, no doubt, as her attention looked like it was focused on some girl wearing glasses with her hair tucked up into a hat), I turned on my heel and walked the other way. I wasn't fast enough to miss hearing her last little snip, and I immediately wished I hadn't ended up going near her table, as it wasn't only an insult to the girl who I immediately felt sympathy for.

"Take that stupid hat off!" Sharpay had said to the other girl, "You're almost as fashion impaired as that girl who didn't know who I was!" Laughing, she continued, "I'm Sharpay Evans, I've starred in every musical I could possibly star in since kindergarten! And, I would never consider wearing an argyle-print sweater. They're so... five years ago!"

Suddenly self-conscious, I glanced down at the blue sweater I'd worn. Weren't these supposed to be fashionable now? It was in the junior's section at JC Penney's... it wasn't like I'd bought it at the Dress Barn or anything. Somewhere along the line, I must have set my tray down because I remember running toward the bathroom. Before I got there, I came across the other person I didn't want to see, especially in the rotten mood I was in. Chad had been spinning his basketball on his finger- he carried that thing everywhere, I swear- when someone must have hit it away or something. Anyway, his ball was bouncing across the floor and he was running after it. I really wasn't looking and I ended up crashing into him at full speed.

"Taylor!" he'd said, picking up his ball and throwing it from one hand to the other. "I know I'm irresistible, but that doesn't mean you have to go running into me!"

I hadn't even answered him. Instead, I took off for the bathroom, where I spent the remainder of the lunch period. Looking back on it now, I feel pretty stupid. I can't tell you why I got so worked up about an insult to my fashion sense, but I guess it was because I had been sure my first day outfit was adorable. My opinions must really suck, huh? The rest of the day was a little better, and I didn't have any Sharpay or Chad encounters, but I did end up snagging some homework in a few classes. I do like school, but who ever heard of getting assignments on the first day?

I hope tomorrow isn't as bad.

A/N: In case you couldn't tell, this will probably end up being a Chaylor. If I can manage to pull it off, that is. You know the drill, review, review, review!