FREAKY FRIDAY, Pt IV
by kelbebop & phoebenpiper
The sound of the lunch bell was like music to Ryan's ears. Although he was dressed like his sister from hat to toe, his stomach was still his own, and it was growling loudly from hunger.
However, Ryan was looking forward to more than just food. He'd been sorely disappointed to discover that Sharpay shared NO classes with Troy, which meant he hadn't seen Chad since homeroom! Ryan was dying to hang out with Chad...and maybe more, if they could find someplace to be alone. He liked the way Chad looked at him in this outfit!
Ryan was getting money out of 'his' pink locker when his sister's theatrically trained voice projected down the hall: "'SHARPAY!'"
Ryan turned to see Sharpay stomping towards him, a scowl on her face.
"Yes, 'Ryan'?" he asked, wondering what he'd done wrong this time.
"Why is it I can't walk down the hall without some girl stopping to thank 'me' for 'my' wardrobe advice or the CD 'I' made her or WHATEVER? What am 'I' -- some kind of one-man Queer Eye for the Straight Girl?"
Ryan crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head at his sister's theatrics. "Well, obviously 'you' have a lot of friends. That's nothing to complain about!"
Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Oh right. I forgot." In a mocking voice, she continued, "I'm Ryan Evans. Everyone likes me. I need external validation to maintain my self-esteem."
Ryan frowned, allowing himself to break character for a moment. "Ouch, Shar. Kinda harsh, don't you think?" He put a hand on his sister's shoulder. "What's wrong…um, 'Ryan'?"
Sharpay heaved a weary sigh. "I'm sorry, 'Shar'. I just…it's been a rough morning. I just can't seem to get my bearings, what with no makeup and singing tenor and not carrying a purse. And then to have all these random girls treating me like I'm their favorite little pet or something when I've never spoken to any of them before and have NO idea who they even are! Do 'I' even have any classes with them, 'Shar'?"
Ryan laughed softly. "Some of them, yeah. Don't worry, they're all nice girls. They just need a little help. You love extracurricular projects, remember?"
Sharpay's eyes gleamed, and Ryan knew she was already scheming at how she could make over the entire female portion of the East High student body in her image. "You know…you're right, 'Shar'. I owe it to these sweet young girls to help them in any way I can."
Ryan worried about what kind of monster he might be unleashing on the poor, unsuspecting girls, so he quickly tried to change her focus. "That's very generous of you, 'Ry', but you can't help any of them NOW -- it's lunchtime, remember?"
Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Of COURSE I remember it's lunchtime! I may be DRESSED like you, but I'm not a total idiot!"
Ryan frowned, wondering if that was supposed to be a slam against his intellect before quickly deciding he didn't really care. All he cared about was getting some food...and seeing Chad!
***
Chad hurried to the cafeteria, eager to see Ryan in those high heels again. As he rushed in, he glanced up to the balcony where the theatre kids ate, hoping to see Ryan sitting at his usual table with Kelsi and Sharpay. Instead, 'Sharpay' was standing at the balcony railing, observing the students below as he stuffed carrot sticks into his mouth, while 'Ryan' and 'Kelsi' were eating at the table behind him.
Chad couldn't help but wave at his boyfriend before realizing that it was out-of-character -- Troy would NEVER wave at Sharpay! But obviously Ryan was willing to break character, too, for he broke out in a huge grin and gestured for Chad to come join him.
Chad took the stairs two at a time and was soon at Ryan's side.
"Hi," Chad said with a grin, not able to help checking out his boyfriend.
"Hi," Ryan grinned back.
"Oh puh-lease." Chad turned to see Sharpay rolling her eyes at them. "Since when does 'Troy' look at 'my sister' that way?"
"Since today," Ryan said, grabbing Chad by the arm and leading him out of earshot. "You have to help me," he whispered desperately into Chad's ear.
Chad laughed. "With what?"
"I need FOOD!" Ryan held up a baggie with only a few carrot sticks remaining. "Shar's making me eat like her today! She stole my lunch and forced these carrot sticks on me. I can't survive on carrot sticks! This Freaky Friday thing is gonna KILL me!"
Chad chuckled. "But doesn't your sister have her own special meals prepared for her by the cafeteria? French bottled water and gourmet salads and all that?"
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, usually. But she conveniently 'forgot' to make her lunch arrangements for today. So I'm stuck with this rabbit food while she's eating MY food." He shoved a carrot stick into his mouth, chewing furiously.
Chad smiled sympathetically. "Aww, poor baby."
Ryan pointed the last remaining carrot stick at Chad before taking a bite of it. "Dammit, Danforth, if you're making fun of me--"
"Hey, easy there, 'Ice Princess'!" Chad patted Ryan's shoulder soothingly. "Don't worry. East High's golden boy, Troy Bolton, is here to help." He held up the brown bag he'd been carrying around. "You can share my lunch."
Ryan arched a delicately-penciled eyebrow. "You'd share your lunch with me, 'Troy'?"
Chad grinned brightly. "Of course." He pulled out a sandwich wrapped in a plastic baggie, offering half of it to Ryan. "C'mon, let's find a place to sit where we can be alone while we eat."
Ryan grinned. "You've got a deal, 'Troy'. Oh, and 'Troy'?"
"Yeah, 'Sharpay'?"
"You can stop staring at my legs anytime."
***
"Hey, 'Gab'."
Taylor looked up in time to see her best friend setting down her lunch tray.
"Hey, 'Tay'," Taylor greeted back.
"So where's 'Troy'?" Gabriella asked, looking around the lunchroom as she sat down. "Don't you two usually eat lunch together?"
Taylor nodded -- she'd been thinking that herself. "I don't know where he is -- I haven't seen him since English." In fact, she'd really been looking forward to continuing their poetry discussion at lunch -- she'd been surprised at how insightful Chad could be when he put his mind to it.
The real Troy suddenly appeared, giving Gabriella a quick peck on the cheek as he sat down next to her.
Gabriella giggled. "Hey, 'CHAD' -- where's 'Ryan'?"
"Yeah, you better watch who you're kissing," Taylor teased. "You don't want to make 'Ryan' jealous." After the whole Back To School dance debacle, she understood how her presence complicated things between the two boys.
But Troy didn't seem to care. "Ah, to heck with 'Ryan'," he said as he started to tickle Gabriella. "Classes are one thing, but surely we can do what we want at lunchtime."
Taylor heard a beep from her purse and dug out her phone, confused as to who would be texting her at lunch.
"Who's it from?" Gabriella asked between shrieks of giggles as her boyfriend continued to tickle her.
"'Sharpay'," Taylor read off the screen.
Even Troy seemed surprised, though it didn't stop his tickling. "Why would Sharpay be texting you?"
Taylor clicked on the message and read aloud, "'Gabi, we need 2 practice. When R U free?' Huh?"
"Oh, she's texting as Ryan," Gabriella explained, her voice steady now that Troy had suddenly stopped tickling her. "He and I are doing a scene for Ms. Darbus's class next week."
Taylor nodded, wondering why Troy's face had turned so red.
***
"Who were you just texting?" Zeke asked as Sharpay flipped her phone closed with a wicked grin.
"Oh, no one, 'Kelsi'…just my acting partner."
Zeke nodded. He didn't really care who she was texting or why. He was just glad that he had an excuse to eat lunch at the same table as Sharpay! Even without makeup and with her golden tresses tucked under one of her brother's pink plaid fedoras, she looked beautiful. In fact, without makeup or bronzer, Zeke could see that Sharpay's nose and cheeks were dusted with pale freckles, just like her twin brother. These freckles made her big brown eyes stand out even more than usual, so much so that Zeke couldn't help but get lost in them.
His reverie was suddenly interrupted when the object of his affections reached across the table to point at his apple. "Ar'oo gon' eaddat?"
"Huh?"
Sharpay swallowed the food she was chewing and articulated more clearly, "Are you gonna eat that?"
Zeke looked down at the untouched Red Delicious Kelsi had packed for him. He knew that she'd meant well, but he preferred an organic Fuji, cold and crisp, straight from the fridge.
"Be my guest, 'Ryan'." The words were barely out of Zeke's mouth before the apple was already in Sharpay's.
"Easy there, Evans," Chad teased as he and Ryan returned to the table. "You're supposed to chew, THEN swallow."
Zeke couldn't understand a word of Sharpay's muffled retort, but he admired that even a mouth full of food couldn't dull her sharp tongue.
Ryan, however, didn't seem to have a problem understanding his sister. "Please, 'Ryan', watch your language!" he scolded, taking a seat next to her and smoothing down his skirt. "You're in the presence of a lady!"
Sharpay rolled her eyes as she crunched into the apple again, mumbling around her mouthful, "Don' see any yadies heah."
"That's for sure!" Chad laughed, pointedly giving Sharpay a once-over before sitting down next to her brother.
Sharpay glared at Chad as she swallowed her bite of apple. "What are you even doing here, 'Troy'? This is the Drama Club table, not Jock Junction. The other hoops monkeys are eating downstairs. Shouldn't you be with them? Or Pollyanna's probably all alone in the science lab, singing with the lab mice and waiting for her Prince Charming. Maybe you should go rescue her from a solitary life of diabetes-inducing sweetness."
Zeke smiled, sighing contentedly. He could listen to Sharpay's beautiful voice all day.
Suddenly a tray of cookies was placed in the middle of the cafeteria table. "Fresh from the fridge," Kelsi announced proudly.
"Cookies!" Sharpay exclaimed gleefully as she dove for the tray. "I'm STARVING!"
"Whoa there, Cookie Monster," Ryan teased, giving her hand a playful smack. "I think 'Zeke' made those for 'ME'."
"Actually, they're for everyone," Kelsi said, adding under her breath, "though I can't guarantee they'll be up to the usual standard."
Sensing her trepidation, Zeke quickly grabbed a cookie from the tray and took a bite, giving her an approving smile as he chewed. "Couldn't have done better myself, 'Zeke'."
Kelsi gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks," she said, adding, "Oh, and Alanna says 'hi'."
Zeke grinned, thinking about all the wonderful Sharpay news he'd have to share with his Home Ec partner during Monday's class.
END OF PART IV
