I forgot to do this last time but –

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the dialogue


Hey Hat Boy

Once again, Troy found himself in the Lovelace Medical Center parking lot. He'd never been a huge fan of hospitals but within weeks he'd grown to loath this building with such strength, it was beginning to scare him. Or was that sense of loathing misdirected from the task currently ahead of him? He was beginning to feel as though spending time with Sharpay was more of an obligation and less of an expression of his remorse. At that thought, his increasingly recurrent sense of guilt set in, forcing him to push the notion aside. 'It's just the building I loath' he assured himself.

When it had dawned on both he and Ryan that Sharpay was not waking up any time soon, they developed a rotational visiting schedule. The purpose of this schedule was so that (a) Sharpay would never be alone and (b) the boys could still live their lives. It is basketball season, after all. The schedule was agreed upon as follows:

6:00 AM – 3:00 PM Mrs. Evans

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM Ryan Evans

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM Troy Bolton

9:00 PM – 6:00 AM Mr. Evans

Mrs. Evans was assigned school hours, because the boys are obviously unavailable. Ryan took the hours directly after school so that Troy could attend basketball practices. Unfortunately, this left Troy with the evening hours. And finally, because he had to be on Beijing time for business anyway, Mr. Evans volunteered to take the night shift.

On his way to Sharpays room, Troy was sure to grab a cup of coffee from the nurses station ("Don't think I forgot about those chocolate brownies you promised me, Carla"). This was bound to be a long evening.

"Hey Ryan," Troy greeted as he walked through the door, blowing on the steaming coffee in a lame attempt to cool the burning hot liquid. Troy glanced over at Sharpay and felt a pang of bitterness which he hastened to quell. He hated being stuck in this hospital room so much.

"Hey man," Ryan replied, standing up and stretching his arms high above his head. "This just gets harder every day, huh?" he said, misinterpreting the resentful look on Troy's face for grief.

"Sure does," Troy responded honestly as he replaced Ryan in the plastic hospital chair.

"Well, I have to get going. You know, homework and such," Ryan said in an attempt to lighten the dark atmosphere that seemed to have settled in the room. Before he opened the door to leave, he gave Sharpay one last look and sighed. Troy followed his gaze, unable to look away even after the door clicked shut. 'Why won't you just wake up?'

Troy sat there for a long time with only his thoughts to occupy him. When he had first committed to spending his evenings with Sharpay, he'd still been feeling as though it was his duty. He'd also thought Sharpay would wake within the week. 'Wrong on both accounts' he thought. His sense of attachment had swiftly dissipated, leaving him with overwhelming resentment. Three weeks past excruciatingly slowly and Sharpay had yet to stir. That was just damn annoying.

Troy looked through the glass divider and saw that nurse Amber just arrived. Returning his eyes to Sharpay, he reasoned with himself 'She won't care if I step out for a little bit'. It took a couple more minutes for him to almost convince himself that this sort of rationalization wasn't completely immoral. Still fighting with himself, he looked up to see Amber give Troy a small smile. Ah, the argument that tipped the scale. Returning the smile, Troy stood up and started to walk towards the door when –

"Ugh, what is this?" an angry and slightly hoarse voice demanded.

With this Troy's mind flashed through a series of emotions with abrupt rapidity. His thoughts went something like this:

Damn, I was so close

Did Sharpay say that?

Seriously, what are the odds that I'd be on duty when she woke?

Nurse Amber is pretty

Stop it Troy! You have a girlfriend

Hold up. Did Sharpay say that?!

Troy turned around and saw what had only been visible in his mind's eye for the past three weeks – his release from this hell! Ok, maybe that isn't fair. It was more like his liberation represented in human form! Wait, stop it, he saw, quite literally, a frail Sharpay, finally conscious.

"Do they get to pay you less because you're mute? I asked you a question! What is this?"

"Huh? I don't work here. And what's what?" Troy realized he sounded like an idiot, but his mind wasn't working fast enough for him to fix that problem.

"The meaning of life," she barked out sarcastically, "what do you think I mean? Where am I? Why am I here? Where did I come from? But first, who are you and why are you bothering me?"

"Wow, three weeks of beauty sleep didn't do much for you, did it? You were in a car accident, you are in the hospital and what do you mean who am I?"

But before Sharpay could respond with what was sure to be a witty and biting counter attack, Ryan breezed into the room. "Sometimes I don't know where my head is," he said, much cheerier than Troy last saw him. "I drove all the way home before I remembered that I left my hat here and holy mother of mercy, you're awake," He finished, facing Sharpay. The keys in his hand fell to the floor but he didn't seem to notice. He just stared at his twin expectantly.

Sharpay returned the look. Troy looked back and forth between the two, waiting for someone to say something. But neither did. A few more seconds passed with Troy feeling increasingly awkward. He couldn't take it anymore, he cleared his throat in an attempt to break the oppressive silence, but all that resulted was a strangled noise coming out of him and all four eyes of the Evans twins now focused on him. Ryan sent a pleading look his way, obviously aware of the discomfort permeating the room. Sharpay, on the other hand, fixed him with a wide-eyed, almost frightened expression. An expression that Troy had never seen on the Ice-Queen before. It was unsettling.

The silence continued. 'just say something, Troy. Anything. Just get those looks off of you!' he told himself.

"So, uh, Sharpay! She...uh...well, she's awake" he said brightly. 'Good job there captain obvious'

But it actually seemed to do the trick. Ryan started to laugh. He looked back at Sharpay and continued to laugh even harder. Sharpay gave him an amused look but didn't join in. In fact, unless Troy was mistaken, she didn't look like she understood the joke. Of course, he wasn't quite sure what Ryan found so funny, either.

It wasn't until Ryan's laughter died down that Sharpay attempted to speak in front of him for the first time.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to put a damper on the festivities here, but can you two tell me who you are before we continue?"

Ryan's jubilant smile instantly fell from his face. He and Troy exchanged incredulous glances and then he motioned for Troy to follow him into the hallway. They left without ever giving Sharpay her answer.


Scene: The hallway just outside of Sharpay's hospital room. Sharpay is visibly screaming for somebody's attention but the boys don't seem to notice.

Doctor: It appears as though Sharpay has developed amnesia. This is not rare when it comes to head injuries.

Ryan: Amnesia? As in she doesn't remember anything? Anything at all?

Sharpay: EXCUSE ME??

Troy: Yes, that is the definition of Amnesia, genius.

Ryan: Shut it.

Sharpay: WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS?!?!

Doctor: She will remember some things simply through instinct. For example, she can still control her bodily functions –

Ryan: Thank God

Doctor: – and she remembers how to speak –

Troy: Obviously

Doctor: – It is more difficult for us to predict the exact extent of her loss, but it will be safe to assume that all memories have been erased.

Troy: Almost like that movie, Eternal sunshi

Ryan: Is there anything we can do to recover her memory?

Doctor: The only thing I can suggest is immersion back into her normal daily routine. This will provide her with everyday stimulants that will hopefully be familiar to her. You can also try showing her some photos or listening to songs that would elicit a strong emotional response had she her memory.

Sharpay: HEY, HAT BOY, GET BACK IN HERE!

Ryan: Strong emotions, you say? I think she's had a couple of those in her day.

Troy snorts with laughter.


"Alright Sharpy, its time," Mrs. Evans said lovingly. Ryan rolled his eyes. His mother, always the actress. Ryan can't even remember the last time his mother expressed a loving tone in her voice while addressing the children.

Sharpay smiled up at the woman, 'What a loving woman' she thought.

Troy was also with the family. He had spent so much time in the Hospital; he figured one more farewell visit wouldn't hurt. Plus, he wanted to get Nurse Amber's phone number before he left. You know, just in case.

Sharpay's dad grabbed the box full of items that had accumulated over the weeks and they all headed out. Ryan and Troy had spent some time with Sharpay the previous night to explain as much about her life as they could. It wasn't until they started the task that they realized just how daunting it was. Sharpay dutifully took notes, but seventeen years contains a lot of information.

They stepped through the final set of doors, reaching the cool evening air. Everyone headed forward except for Sharpay. She remained fixed just outside the Hospital doors watching the others walk away.

Troy was the only one who noticed that she had stopped. He walked back and stood next to her, shoulder to shoulder. They both silently looked at the parking lot and the vast landscape beyond it.

"I don't even know which car is ours," Sharpay said softly.

"Oh, that's easy. Just look for the biggest, most expensive car," he replied, speaking a degree too loudly.

Sharpay didn't respond.

Troy sighed and said "Don't worry, Sharpay. It'll all come back soon."

Again she didn't respond. The rest of the Evans had reached the car and were now watching Troy and Sharpay curiously. Not wanting to hold up the family any longer, Troy started to take a step towards them.

"Troy?"

He turned around one more time to see a vulnerable Sharpay with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday. I was just – " but she choked up before she could finish the sentence.

Troy stared into her eyes. "I know" he whispered giving her a reassuring smile.

Sharpay smiled back and took his hand, finally ready to move forward.


Wouldn't it be great if I could keep posting at this pace? Haha, I wish I had that kind of stamina. But I figured I better get the first chapter up soon so that a) the real story can begin and b) readers can get a taste of the actual tone of my piece. Although, I ended this a little more melancholic than I had intended. Its amazing where these character take you when you let them. But if that doesn't work for you, let me know! Also, if you think I'm being too descriptive I can thin it out because I had definitely planned on so much more happening and the next thing I know its five pages later.

I'd also like to thank EVERYBODY who reviewed. The one good thing about being a new writer is that I don't have high expectations. So when I got reviews it was pretty much amazing :) please keep it up!