The group of friends your son brings home every Friday has changed, and it makes you happy to discover that it is due to the inclusion of a few girls, none of them a blonde bimbo. But you soon realize that Chad shows no interest in any of them, and you don't mean it in a romantic sense - sometimes he behaves around the girls the same way he used to when there were only the basketball or baseball or track teams' boys. Yet you never get to scold him for it, as some of the other kids do it for you: Troy, whenever his sweetheart's virginal ears and eyes seem to be in danger to be tainted; or Taylor, or that well-behaved new boy.

It takes you three weeks, but you manage to talk about Sharpay Evans with Chad's closer friends. Troy answers your questions so innocently that you know his father has kept his promise. It also becomes obvious that he has no love for the girl, although he tries to be a gentleman and delivers no dirty words. Taylor, on the other hand, has no qualms, and it is because of this that you first hear about the Talent Show fiasco. It irks you so much that your son has fallen for such a harpy, that you glare darkly at him the next time he enters the kitchen. Of course, he has no clue as to your reasons for it, and you are not going to explain, so he returns to the living room with a cookie tray and no answers, and keeps glancing worriedly in your direction the whole weekend.

Troy's girlfriend surprises you, although you should have known by now that a girl who acts so sweet and naive is not going to badmouth another girl, even if said girl actively tried to steal her boyfriend - so instead of learning what you want to, you got to listen about Sharpay's good points. Thankfully, even Gabriella can't make much of it, so you end hearing about how cute and nice Ryan Evans, Sharpay's brother, is. Yes, she actually says cute, and you amused yet quietly wonder if this sweet and naive girl is cheating on her extremely popular boyfriend, or will soon be.

Zeke, who is the next in your interrogation's list, happens to actually outdo Mrs. Perfect: he is so utterly and desperately in love with Sharpay, that you glare even more openly at your son, and he spends another weekend flinching every time you two are in the same room. How can he ever think about a girl one of his good friends is so insane about? Why can't he leave the extravagant lass to the boy who is so obviously blind about the girl's faults that it doesn't matter how much extra damage she can do?

By then you are so angry that you even end talking to that quiet girl called Kelsi. She is almost a stranger in your house, and there's not much more than a passing acquaintance between your son and her, but the same can be said to rest of the group … with the exception of Jason, whom you've known for years. But the poor boy is not so bright, and this Kelsi girl seems clever despite actually being Jason's girlfriend, so you decide that if there's something for you to know from this source, it has to be through the girl.

It seems like a good plan, except for the fact that the darling is actually terrified of Sharpay, and it takes you almost five minutes to calm her down. In the end, you discover that talking about the sweet and talented Evans brother is what makes the trick. And yes, she actually says sweet and talented, while you speculate about the nature of this boy's relationship with both Kelsi and Gabriella. You get no dirt against Sharpay from this conversation, other than the fact that the aforementioned Ryan is in fact not simply the blonde girl's brother but her twin, almost her shadow - and therefore, a much more reliable source.

So when you 'happen' to hear how Sharpay is offering her place for the after-party, despite hers being a secondary role, you immediately ask, shouldn't the performance's stars be the hosts? And you secretly gloat at the Evans girl losing to Gabriella again, too. You know about Coach Bolton and Mrs. Darbus hate-hate liaison, and nobody has to tell you that a party at the Montez's does not sound like fun. So you know that your offer will be welcomed, and yes, even Chad seems happy at the prospect of a party taking place at his house.

He still glances uneasily at you now and then, though.