Kelsi ran down the hallway, her head still spinning from the soul searing kiss. She had to find Gabriella and Taylor, fast. Frantically, the pianist spotted the foursome and grabbed Gabbie's wrist.
"I have to get home!" Kelsi hissed in her ear, "Sharpay will kill me if I'm not done with the song by tomorrow!"
Gabriella nodded, seeing the panic in her eyes, gave Troy a peck on the cheek and they sped out the door. The girls jumped into the Toyota as fast as they could. Gabbie slammed the car door and the engine roared to life. Once they left the parking lot, Kelsi ripped the mask from her face and began to hyperventilate.
"What is it?" Gabriella asked with a look of concern, "Do you feel sick?"
"Kind of," she exhaled heavily, "I just kissed Ryan Evans."
"You WHAT?" Gabbie exclaimed loudly, slamming on the brakes.
"I was feeling uncomfortable, so I went to the music room to calm down," Kelsi explained softly, "I was playing when he walked in and he told me I was really good. At first I didn't know it was him, but then he took off his mask. After that, things just kind of happened. He asked me to dance, we talked, and then, we kissed."
"What did he say when he found out who you were?"
"He didn't say anything, because he didn't find out."
"You didn't tell him!? Why?"
"Gabriella," she started, "I am his pianist, nothing more. I'll be doing him a favor if I just disappear." Gabbie began to say something else, but remained silent for the rest of the ride home. She dropped Kelsi at her house and the petite girl made her way upstairs. She took one last glance at herself in the mirror, but then changed into pajamas and washed all the makeup from her face. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, Kelsi sat down at her piano and continued to silently work on the new piece.
While Kelsi composed, her mind wandered to Ryan. "Did he really care that much about me? Does he really want to see me again? No, he cared about Cinderella, who he thought was a perky, gorgeous popular. But what about the way he kissed me? Did he feel what I felt? I should never have gone in the first place. He will have forgotten all about me by tomorrow." She continued to argue with herself until she fell asleep on the piano.
Ryan had chased after her as fast as he could, but she fled too quickly. The girl was gone by the time he reached the gym again. The boy couldn't sleep that night, he just laid on his back, staring at the ceiling thinking, "She loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, she loves me not." She was so different from any girl he had met. Her face haunted his thoughts as his mind searched for where he might have seen her. Those green eyes, how could he have not noticed them?
He looked over at his clock and saw the number she had scrawled on his hand. "How could I have been so stupid? I could have just texted her without all of my agonizing of never seeing her again." Grabbing his phone off of the side table, Ryan hesitated as his fingers hovered above the keypad. She was probably asleep and he didn't want to wake her. The boy decided to text her first thing tomorrow morning. With his worries gone, he rolled over in my bed and fell into a deep sleep.
The loud beeping of Kelsi's phone shook her from her sleep. "Oh no, I'm going to be late!" She ran to the closet and grabbed the first outfit she saw. Hastily, the girl yanked on a pair of shoes and tucked her untidy hair into a hat. As Kelsi ran out the door, she grabbed Sharpay's song, her backpack, purse, and phone. She barely made it to class on time, with only seconds to spare. Her mind drifted off during Pre-Cal until she had passed out on the desk.
"I've never felt this way about anyone."
"Neither have I."
"You shouldn't have been afraid. I've been looking for someone like you for a long time. Someone who's down to earth, funny, sweet, and passionate about what they love. The fact that you're beautiful is just icing on the cake"
Just as he was leaning into kiss her, the earsplitting bell yanked Kelsi from the daydream. Giving a mournful sigh, she picked up her books and made her way to the lunchroom.
"Kelsi," Taylor asked, looking the exhausted girl up and down halfway through lunch, "Don't tell me, you stayed up all night finishing that song?"
"Huh?" Kelsi's head shot up from the table.
"Does that answer your question?" Gabriella sighed, "And besides, I bet she was up thinking about a certain someoneā¦"
"Who?" Taylor inquired with a mischievous grin.
"Oh, no one important," Gabbie replied dramatically, "Just, Ryan Evans. They met last night and he said he was madly in love with her. That's not all, they kissed too."
"SHUT. UP." Taylor stared at Kelsi, gaping.
"It doesn't even matter," Kelsi muttered, "He didn't even find out it was me, Taylor. He will have forgotten all about 'Cinderella' by now. All I should worry about is that I left my Physics homework on my desk this morning."
Ryan pulled out his phone for the second time in ten minutes, frowning at the empty inbox.
"Why do you keep checking you phone Ry?" Sharpay giggled, "Even I don't pull my phone out in class that much."
"I texted someone and they haven't texted me back yet," he replied as he fired off another text and slipped the cell phone back in his pocket, "No big deal."
Sharpay shrugged, flipped her platinum hair over her shoulder, and continued talking.
Kelsi's phone vibrated in her hoodie pocket and she pulled it out to check the messages. Two texts from an unknown number. Curious, she clicked the first message and it read, "Hey mystery girl, remember me? It's Ryan, I just wanted to tell you that last night was one of the most amazing nights of my life."
"Oh, he's definitely forgotten all about you," Gabbie smirked, reading over her shoulder, "Read the next one!"
"Sorry to bug you again," Kelsi read, "But I wanted to make sure you got my first text, just let me know when you can." She quickly sent a response just as the bell for 6th period rang. Shoving the phone in her pocket, the girl grabbed her books and set off to Physics.
Ryan smiled as he read the reply on the way to Physics.
"Sorry I didn't respond right away," she answered, "I was running late this morning. I'll talk to you after school's out. K?"
He sighed and laid his books on the desk, taking a seat just as the bell rang. Looking at the next row over, Ryan saw Kelsi, who had dark circles from lack of sleep, again. Halfway through the class, she began to nod off until her eyelids finally gave way.
"Miss Nielson," the teacher said sharply, shaking her out of the daze, "I would appreciate it if you would stay awakefor the remainder of class; this material will be covered on your test next week. The next time I catch you sleeping, it will be a detention."
Kelsi opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it and nodded meekly. Ryan gave her a look of sympathy, making a note to apologize for his sister's attitude before sliding his eyes back to the notebook on his desk. The tiny composer gave an inaudible sigh and slumped down in her seat.
That afternoon at Sharpay and Ryan's rehearsal, Kelsi's concentration was even worse than before. Even when she managed to keep her eyes on the sheet music, her head continued to spin every time Ryan would open his mouth to sing. When the girl chanced a look, his brilliant blue eyes met Kelsi's green ones for half a second before she forced herself to lower her gaze back to the piano. Sharpay grew more and more impatient as she continued to drop the tempo bit by bit.
"Get a grip on yourself," Sharpay snapped, "Or we'll have to find a new pianist and you'll have to find a new hobby."
"I'm sorry, I, " Kelsi murmured, "It's just that, I was up really late trying to finish the song like you wanted me to and-"
"Yeah, don't care," Sharpay interrupted coldly, "You think you're tired? Try walking in these heels all day and putting up with nobodies like you, that's tiring."
"Sharpay, it's time for us to leave anyway," Ryan cut in, pulling out his phone, "Remember? We promised Mom we would be home in time to go out for dinner at six."
"Fine," Sharpay said in a huff, slinging her pink Prada bag over her shoulder, "But she had better step it up or I'll make her step down." She turned on her heel and marched out the door, but Ryan had stopped to text his mystery girl.
"Wh-who are you texting?" Kelsi asked timidly, "I mean, Sharpay seems ready to go."
"Just this incredible girl I met at the dance last night," Ryan sighed, a goofy grin spreading over his face as he pressed send, "She's super nice and funny, she's amazingly talented and her hair smells like strawberries..."
Thankfully, he was in too much of a daze to notice Kelsi's face had gone pale as a resounding ring came from her purse. She quickly dove for her bag and grabbed the cell phone by the third ring.
"Mom," she muttered to Ryan, when she knew good and well it wasn't, "She says she's outside waiting for me." Kelsi shoved sheet music back into her messenger bag, pulled the brim of her hat down, and ran out the door as fast as she could.
