Pop Quiz: Gossip and Secrets…

There's Gabriella sitting in the East High cafeteria. She is smart, beautiful and sweet, making some to believe she's a Mary Sue. She isn't really. Her secret: she cannot act, which is why she had troubles in the winter musical, even though she has a lovely voice. Next to her is Taylor, as smart and chic as her best friend. It is said that she won the fashionable nerd competition three times in a row. Her secret: she almost flunked physical education last year. Then there's Kelsi: a musical talent, a sweetie and the cutest short person ever who composed the musical Twinkle Town. Her secret: she enjoys b-movies.

Somewhere in the middle is Sharpay, East High's stunning drama queen. She guards her secrets very well. Nobody knows how her favourite colour is lime green and not pink, or how she wears eye contacts. Still, everyone dies to know her number one secret, which is no other…

"C'mon, Sharpay, there must be some guy in the entire school you like!" Gabriella shrieked. "Tell us!"

"Yeah, who is it?" Taylor added to the suspense.

"I told you, I can't tell," Sharpay insisted, her beautiful face spoiled by a childish frown.

"She's too shy, it's no use." Kelsi remarked. "She won't even tell me."

"On the other hand, though," the blonde offered. "I could give you shopping advice, beauty advice, boyfriend advice or relationship advice. I'm pretty good at that!"

"Isn't she just the greatest?" Taylor clapped. "So, what's your opinion on Chad?"

"He's a great guy, funny and cute! You should ask him to take you to a dancing club. His favourite music is hip hop, pop and r'n'b, so if you go out with him a great time is guaranteed!"

"What about Jason?" Kelsi asked.

"Jason… He is sleepy but in a cute way. Sometimes he's just like a child, he likes fairytales and comedies, but I believe he's really sweet."

"And Troy, what about him?" Gabriella got in, impatiently.

"Oh, Troy…" Sharpay let a sigh. "Troy was my old crush, as you all know. He's like the greatest guy ever. He's kind and romantic and talkative… You are lucky to have him, Gabriella."

"I know!" she giggled. "Then, what do you think about Mark? I think he's got a crush on you!"

"Mark, you mean East High's vice basketball captain? I believe he's like Troy in a way, considerate and thoughtful and fairly cute! No doubt, he is almost as good as Troy in the game!"

"How do you know all this stuff about boys?" Taylor admired.

"Yeah, how do you know all this stuff?" Ryan intervened, coming out of nowhere, taking Sharpay with him. "Sorry to deprive her of you, girls but we have drama practice."

"What do you want from me?" Sharpay asked when they moved a little further, towards the corridor where their lockers were to be found. "You know perfectly well that drama practice is over for today!"

"The question remains, Shar," Ryan continued in a softer, but still imperative tone. "How do you know all this stuff? Is it maybe because you dated all these guys in the same week plus a 'secret admirer''?"

"How do you know about the secret admirer?" Sharpay mumbled.

"That's not the point! You are dating people who are not exactly single! Do you think that your behaviour to your friends, Gabriella, Kelsi, and Taylor is the right one? Don't get me wrong, Sharpay, but I believe this is immoral. You can't…"

"Oh, stop it Ryan," Sharpay started to weep, knowing that this always had an effect on her brother. "I just wanted to have some fun! Is that too bad? I didn't form a relationship with anyone and I was just my usual friendly self. I can't help it if I am a little too flirty, it's just me!"

"Shar, don't cry! I understand. Drama can be very demanding and of course you want to have some fun! How stupid of me not to see! Do you want to do something together, maybe go to a play? If you want another boy to come with us, I could ask my friend, Robert."

"No offense, Ryan, but Robert is like twelve. I understand you too have a good time together playing video games while you baby sit him, but why don't you want me have a real boyfriend?"

"It's not that I don't want you to have a boyfriend! If you like athletes so much you can have Mark Sindall, he is in the basketball team, single and he said he liked my performance!" Sharpay's twin cried, but the blonde was already far away, rushing to be in time for her next class.

"So, here we are again!" Zeke cried, when the basketball team rejoined after practice in the usual empty classroom. Chad sat altogether with Mark and Jason while Troy and his dad were standing, giving each other meaningful looks.

"How do you feel Troy, Mr. Bolton?" Chad asked, considerately.

"I'm fine," Troy said. "Most of you believe that I'm totally in love with Gabriella, my current girlfriend, but let me remind you that Sharpay has been my crush forever. I love and care about Gabriella, as a very good friend. I'm passionate about Sharpay, and I can't wait to win this competition!"

"What can I say after that…?" Coach Bolton took his turn. "I'm not expecting to win this round, especially not against Troy, who I'm proud to say has taken after me. Your little blonde friend is hot; I can definitely tell why you all like her. As I've said when we started: may the best one win! This is certainly not me: she's a sexy lass, but I'm not her age. Still, if we'd played this game like ten to fifteen years ago, you would have so eaten my dust!"

"Indeed, Mr. Bolton," Mark admitted. "Zeke, Jason, Chad and I have voted you unanimously out of this game. "Still, we need to praise you for your excellent strategy and the way you taught us to be real and proper gentlemen and compete gracefully on and off the stadium."

"Is it my idea, or is someone running for basketball captain?" Chad remarked and everyone started laughing, beating the awkward silence which followed the serious statement.

"So, I guess I'll have to choose what our next task is going to be…" Troy started. "I've never thought of this much, but I'd seem like a nice idea to try and involve her brother. What about: impress her brother?"

"Are you joking?" Jason asked, these being his first words in the meeting. "What does Ryan has to do with Sharpay, I mean apart from the fact that they are twins?"

"It's clever!" Mark said. "Sharpay admires her brother as much as anything in the world. If we impress him, we impress her. And think of that: if we impress him early and gain his respect, he could be much of an ally in the later rounds. Troy, you just proved how smart I am when I already gained his admiration in the first round. It's no problem to do this again though!"

"I don't know…" Chad blurted in. "This task sounds extremely difficult. Just remember how difficult it is to impress a stuck-up snob like Ryan and, on the other hand, he is too overprotective with his sister. What if he understands anything? We swore to keep this competition a secret, didn't we?"

"Well, I don't know. I'm in!" Jason said. "I'd do anything to get Sharpay! If you won't do this, Chad, it will just make it easier for the rest!"

"I'll do it, of course!" Chad declared.

"That's brave of you," Zeke whispered. Ryan was a great obstacle for him in the first round.

"So, I'll give you a lot of time for that!" Troy said. "See you again at the end of the week! This practically means three days!"

"Wait, before you go!" Coach Bolton shouted. "For the next round, the voting procedure should change! As less people stay in the race, we will only vote for one person…"

But who was hearing him, anyway? The five stars of East High's basketball team rushed out of the classroom, ready to enjoy what was left of their break and –why not- the chance to see Sharpay at the cafeteria…

Author's Note: That was easy! The duel was very expected, but still I'm glad Troy won. Well, I won't tell you who I support; this is going to spoil the story. Thanks once again for the reviews, the more who vote, the better the outcome. I have to say I loved jade-kwl-name-eva's review: it was hilarious! Blueeyedgir19, I really don't know who's going to win, probably Troy but then who knows? Special thanks to doodleswriter357, Stessa, Elva is watching you and chris tea xx too! Their comments are always appreciated!