Chapter 6: Just a Girl
A/N: Well I would say that I'm sorry for not updating in forever but I'm not. I'm more dissapointed in myself because I'm such a lazy ass that I can't write one damn chapter. I also had an acute case of writers block and I had to restart this chapter about 20 times. Hopefully it lives up to the expectations of all the readers. Not sorry, dissapointed.
The cafeteria was bustling with activity as students sat down to eat lunch and talk with their friends. The students mingled with one another with no clear seating arrangement or order at the tables. Individual conversations could not be heard, instead there was a collective buzzing in the air as everyone spoke at once. Sharpay and Ryan led Maddie to a table on the second floor of the cafeteria where their friends were already seated. Troy and Chad were locked in a heated debate over who was going to win in the upcoming college football season. Gabriella was talking to Taylor about the documentary she had watched over the weekend on the Discovery Channel. A sidelong glance from Zeke told Sharpay that he wasn't speaking to her. He sat at the next table over with Jason as he continued to sulk about his recent-yet-not-so-recent breakup with Sharpay.
"There you are, I was looking all over for you three." Kelsi said as she appeared behind them. Troy stopped his conversation with Chad as the four newcomers to the table took their seats. By some twist of fate, Maddie was situated across from Troy while Sharpay sat to his right.
"It's almost scary how alike you two look. I mean Ryan looks nothing like you." Chad started the conversation with an attempt at a joke. Sharpay sent a glare his direction while Maddie took the statement in stride.
"I guess it is weird seeing how alike we are. I just hope you don't think I'm the evil twin." Maddie said from inside her lunch bag where she produced a sandwich and some chips.
"Well of course not. We all know that Sharp-" He was cut off by Taylor as she elbowed him in the stomach. Sharpay glared at him while Maddie laughed the comment off. The conversation following the initial awkwardness was amiable as they each got to know Maddie. She talked of her life in Boston and her dealings with the Martin twins. They were all impressed with the fact that London Tipton was a very good friend of hers. London was often seen on TV or in magazines and it was nice to hear the other side of the story from the ones in the media.
"So she got locked out of her own sweet sixteen party and decided to come to mine instead. She told me that she had more fun at my simple party than at her expensive extravaganza." The table laughed at the story and they were glad to hear that everything worked out in the end.
"So Maddie, since you're from Boston, you must be a Red Sox fan." Troy started a conversation with her as everyone else had lost themselves in their meals.
"Oh, of course. I live right across the street from Fenway Park. I catch all the games from my window." She then got into a nice conversation with Troy about sports and life in general. Sharpay looked at them as jealousy rose within her. Sharpay grasped for straws trying to find something to talk about with Troy and Maddie was able to talk to him so easily. Gabriella also noticed and tried to jump into the conversation at any point possible. The problem was that Gabriella knew absolutely nothing about sports and quickly made herself look foolish in front of Maddie and Troy.
"It's ok Gabi. I didn't know what a cup was either until somebody told me what it was." He said, holding back from laughing at the absurdity of someone wearing a cup as a mask. Maddie bit back a laugh as well and tried to concentrate on finishing her lunch.
"So Gabi, I heard that you were the reason why East High won last year's scholastic decathlon. You must be really smart to be able to compete at that level." Maddie tried to make her feel better by drawing the conversation away from her ineptitude with sports.
"Oh, I had to study a lot the week before. It was a lot of hard work; this genius didn't just fall in my lap." Gabi joked. Sharpay rolled her eyes while Maddie laughed genuinely at the short bit of humor.
"Ok, fine I'll ask them." Chad said aside to Taylor as he cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.
"Taylor wants to know if you guys wanted to come over to her dad's restaurant after school." He spoke reluctantly because he was still on the fence on whether Sharpay was a friend.
"I'm not sure. We don't want to impose and your dad is probably busy and we don't want to bother him." Sharpay tried to back out of the invitation. The truth was she didn't think Taylor liked her all that much.
"Maddie, what about you? Come on, free shakes!" Taylor tried to persuade the other blonde into joining them.
"I don't know…" She mumbled while looking to Sharpay who was shaking her head no.
"I insist that you come, everyone. My dad needs the business and hopefully you guys can spread the good word." Gabi and Troy agreed to go as well as Zeke, Jason, and Kelsi. The rest of the group looked to the Evans triplets for their final answer.
"I guess I can go. If it will help your dad's business." Maddie reluctantly agreed. Sharpay groaned to herself as she and Ryan went along with it.
"Is 3:45 good for everyone?" A general yes was heard and that was the end of the conversation. The bell signaling the end of lunch rang five minutes later and the group went off in different directions to their next class.
"Maddie is so different from Sharpay. Aside from their looks, they might as well be polar opposites." Gabi and Taylor talked with each other on the way to class.
"She is so nice to everyone; it's hard to believe that they're sisters." Gabi added.
"They were separated at birth so it's not as surprising if you think of it that way. I don't want to sound mean but I think I like Maddie more than I like Sharpay and we just met." Taylor got a hesitant nod from Gabi as she agreed to her announcement. Meanwhile, Troy was having a similar conversation with Chad.
"I noticed you getting friendly with Maddie. What did she say that had you talking with her for nearly forty-five minutes?" Chad was curious about his friend's interest in the newcomer to the group.
"Nothing, we just talked about sports and other stuff. She's just so interesting. She knows about a lot of things; it makes her…worldly." Troy finished with a wistful smile.
"Whoa there cowboy. Keep talking like that and I'm going to think your going to leave Gabi for her." Chad stopped Troy in the hallway and pulled him off to the side.
"Don't be ridiculous. It's not like that. I could talk to her for hours and not get bored. She's not bad to look at either." He added aside to himself. Chad caught it though and his eyes widened as he came upon a revelation.
"You do like her! Quit dodging around it Troy, you never talk about Gabi like that." Troy threw his hands up in frustration and continued his walk to class. Chad followed behind him, not saying another word on the subject. Meanwhile, Sharpay was having a heart-to-heart with her sister in the girls bathroom.
"Why did you accept the invitation! Do you have any idea how awkward it's going to be? Of course not because it's not your problem." Sharpay was boiling over with anger as Maddie leant against the counter, watching Sharpay pace back and forth in front of her.
"I had to accept; it would have been rude not to. Plus, Troy seems interested in me and it didn't seem like he and Gabriella are going out." Sharpay stopped from her frantic pacing and whirled on Maddie, her blonde hair flying about in her fury.
"Don't you get it! Troy is the same guy that I've been trying to get! I've liked him longer so when he breaks up with Gabriella I should get to go first." Sharpay humphed and let the new information sink in.
"That's really childish Sharpay and you know it. He can make decisions for himself. That means he can choose who he wants to go out with." Maddie was getting tired of Sharpay's high and mighty attitude and decided to leave their argument at that.
On the way to the restaurant
The group had decided to meet up in the parking lot at the school so they could arrange themselves in the cars so everyone could go. The guys all wanted to ride in Ryan's M5, it being the sportiest car of the group. That left the girls to ride in Taylor's Prius; the more sensible car. Since Maddie and Sharpay were still mad at each other, Maddie rode with Ryan while Sharpay went to Taylor's car.
"Come on Ryan, push the button. You know you want to." Chad reached over the center console from the backseat, trying to reach for the 'M' button.
"No way, Chad. This is a new car and my dad would want to keep it that way." He swatted Chad's hand which was pulled back quickly. Jason, who was riding shotgun, pushed at random buttons on the ride over. Meanwhile Troy and Maddie continued their lunchtime conversation in the backseat. Not wanting to get lost, Ryan followed closely behind Taylor's car.
They arrived at the restaurant parking lot after a short fifteen minute ride into town. Taylor greeted her father at the door with a hug and then went on to introduce all of her friends to him. He brought them to a set of window booths and said he would bring out a round of shakes for the group. Conversation was light amongst the friends though there was a Berlin wall of negative emotions between the two sisters. Maddie and Sharpay sat in opposite booths, facing away from each other. No one seemed to notice except for Ryan, who of course could tell when something was wrong with his sisters.
"Hey kids, now remember to smile at the people passing by so they get the right idea about the place. I'll bring out a couple plates of my specialty chili-cheese fries."
"No dad, you don't have to do that. The shakes are fine." Taylor interrupted her father before he left.
"Nonsense, Taylor. Once they taste the food, I guarantee they'll want to come back for more." With that, he left to get the fries while Taylor rolled her eyes at her father.
"Your dad seems nice Taylor. I don't know why you always complain about him." Gabriella stated as she reached over for a vanilla shake.
"Trust me, he's crazy at home. Always trying new recipes on us and destroying our appliances." Taylor helped pass out the remaining shakes to her friends who each said a thank you.
"Ok, one chocolate shake left for…Sharpay or Maddie?" Taylor got both the girls' attention by waving the frozen treat in front of them. Reaching up, they both took a hold of it at the same time, their fingers brushing on the glass. The sudden touch made both girls pull their hands back at the same time. Sharpay turned her head to glare at Maddie who had leveled an identical glare back at her identical sister.
"You can have it Sharpay, since you're so used to having things your way." Maddie turned away from Sharpay as Taylor gave the last shake to her.
"I'll go tell my dad to bring another one out." Taylor said, turning to walk to the counter.
"No Taylor, that's okay. Maddie can share with me." Troy produced another straw and pushed it across the table to Maddie. She took it with a smile while Sharpay and Gabriella's jaws dropped.
"Ok…guess not." She sat back down next to Chad and left it at that.
"Thanks Troy. That's sweet of you." Maddie passed the shake back with a smile while Sharpay and Gabriella glared daggers into the back of Maddie's head.
A/N: I think one of my reviewers guessed that the rest of the group would like Maddie better than Sharpay. You're absolutely right and this is just the beginning of it. Also most people wanted a Maddie/Troy pairing so that's what I'm aiming for. It won't happen to soon though so just be prepared for some twists. I can't guaruntee the next chapter but I will say that it will be out in the next two weeks. I just started my new job and I won't have as much time to crank these suckas out. Peace out.