Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical, Alias, or 24.


Troy was watching the news in his family room when he heard his phone ringing in his bedroom. Eagerly leaping over the back of the couch, he tore down the hallway and into his room to get to his phone. He saw Sharpay's name on the screen and had to quickly chastise himself for his excitement. Taking a deep breath, he wiped the smile from his face and opened the phone answering with a cold "Hello?"


Head-Trauma Convention Part 2

Sharpay was waiting on her front porch when Troy's beat-up, old truck reluctantly pulled into her driveway. 'How can a truck look reluctant?' Sharpay thought as she picked up her pet dog, Boi, and quickly shuffled in her high heals to the car. She had barely opened the door when Troy growled "Absolutely not!"

"I'm sorry?" She asked indignantly.

"You are not bringing that ugly mutt in my car! He'll poo all over the place!"

"Oh please, it's not like you'll be able to smell the difference."

Troy just stared at her with a hardened glare.

"Fine. Whatever." Sharpay sighed with an eye roll. She returned Boi to her house and then shuffled back to Troy's car. He silently backed out of her driveway and started to head down her street.

"So, do you know how to get there?" he asked after he'd made it onto the main road and they were directed toward the freeway.

"I'm sorry, I must not have introduced myself," Sharpay replied sarcastically. "I have amnesia."

"And that stops you from looking up directions?"

"I'm not the one driving, am I?"

"That has nothing to do with this!"

Too nervous about the convention to fully enjoy this fight, Sharpay turned the radio up and threw the newspaper clipping that had the advertisement into Troy's lap. They were stopped at a light, allowing Troy enough time to read the building name and street address from the article. It was to be held in downtown Albuquerque, which meant they didn't have too far to drive. But it started in –

"Fifteen minutes?! Why did you wait so long to call me? We're going to be late for this!" He yelled. Unfortunately, the music was still turned up and Sharpay hadn't heard any of the words he had spoken. She'd just seen the angered look on his face. She gave him a disgusted glare and then turned to look out her window, ignoring him.

Troy growled and changed the music station. He hated country.

"HEY!" Sharpay screeched. She immediately reached over and changed it back.

This prompted another glare from Troy and another station change.

"FINE!" Sharpay yelled over the music. She turned it off and then said petulantly, "We'll just have to listen to nothing."

"Fine." Troy muttered.

An icy silence fell between them with Troy repeatedly glancing over and exhaling in an annoyed manner and Sharpay crossing and re-crossing her arms. They both had callous words they wanted to say to the other, but neither wanted to be responsible for beginning the confrontation.

Unable to listen to the deathly silence any longer, Sharpay was the first to break, "Why are you acting like this, anyway?"

"Why am I acting like this?" Troy repeated her question incredulously. "You know, Copernicus called, it turns out you aren't the center of the universe!"

"I don't even know what that means." Sharpay scoffed as she crossed her arms again and looked out her window in stubborn defiance.

"Why should you?" Troy countered. "It's not like you knew what it meant before the amnesia."

Snapping her head around to glare at Troy, she vociferated in dismay "Are you calling me dumb?"

"Well, I'm sure as hell not calling you smart!"

Sharpay geared up for an intense comeback but a low flying helicopter with a man hanging from the extended ladder prevailed in distracting her. It seemed to have distracted Troy, too. He slowed down ("Wonderful, now we're going to be even later"), which turned out to be a fortunate choice because the two side-by-side semi trucks in front of them squealed to a sudden halt.

Completely enthralled with this entire scene, the oddity of it all not even registering with the twosome, they suspended their argument in order to watch the operation in front of them.

As the helicopter lowered itself near the semi's, the hanging man jumped off and landed cleanly on top of them. Pulling out a gun, he held it low and proceeded to jump off of the trucks and run towards a nearby building as he shouted to what appeared to be himself. As he was running away, the helicopter finished its decent onto the tops of the two semi trucks as if this were always where helicopters chose to land.

"Where did that guy run to?" Sharpay asked with rapt captivation like they were simply sitting in front of a television screen watching Alias.

"It looks like he ran towards – Oh my God." He quietly cut himself off. There was a deafening explosion coming from about a block away, in the direction that Troy and Sharpay were headed. In fact, it seemed to have come from the exact building to which they were headed. The air was suddenly filled with dust and large debris particles and the red glow of a hot fire could be seen coming from the building that had just one minute ago held the Head-Trauma Convention.

Troy and Sharpay gave each other stunned glances before they both jumped out of the car and ran towards the exploded building. Sharpay was closing in on the scene when she felt somebody grab her arm and yank her back. About to yell at Troy for touching her, she spun around and opened her mouth but was cut off by the man who had jumped onto the semi trucks.

"My name is Jack Bauer and I'm a federal agent," he hoarsely whispered to her intensely, standing within her personal-space bubble. "I'm normally stationed in Los Angeles, but we've tracked a man who we believe was hired to kill the tweeny-bopper pop star Ashley Tisdale. We've set up a perimeter and you are going to have to trust me. We will catch this guy. Excuse me," Jack pardoned himself as he touched his ear and shouted "Yeah, Morris, what is it?"

A little confused as to why this man had told her everything about his mission, Sharpay nodded her head and then looked toward the building where she could see armed men forming a blockade on only one corner of the decimated building.

"Ok, upload the picture to my PDA." Jack shouted, startling Sharpay and pulling her attention back to him. Jack pulled out his PDA and looked at whatever picture he had just received. After studying it for a moment, he returned Sharpays gaze with an intensely curious expression.

Feeling uncomfortable under his scrutiny, Sharpay decided to distract him with a question. "So, that's your perimeter?" She asked dubiously, referring to the one corner of random uniformed men. Looking towards the unmanned side of the building, Sharpay saw two people dressed in all black with masks covering their faces. They were running toward a black, tinted-windowed Suburban. Before the door to the Suburban had even closed, the car was screeching away, leaving tire marks on the cement. "Was that one of your operatives?" Sharpay asked after not receiving any answer to her first question.

Seeing the Suburban driving away, Jack touched his ear and started yelling to himself again as he ran toward an idled military vehicle "CTU, the hostage has breached the perimeter! I am following in pursuit. Agent Doyle, do you copy..." By this point he had gotten into the Humvee, so Sharpay could no longer hear what he was shouting. But one phrase was still resonating in her mind.

'...normally stationed in Los Angeles...'

Troy came up behind Sharpay and protectively placed his hand on her back. "Are you alright?" He asked breathless from the shock of the scene.

'...normally stationed in Los Angeles...'

"Did you find out what this is all about?" He was staring intently at Sharpay's distant expression, wondering what was going through her head. 'If she had been at that convention on time...' Troy couldn't even finish the thought.

"Who was that guy, anyways?" Troy just couldn't stop asking questions. He knew something was going on with Sharpay but he felt lost when it came to helping her. He hated that they had been fighting and that, even though it had only been a few days, he had already forgotten how to lead her through rough situations. Of course, he hadn't been anticipating this rough of a situation.

"He's normally stationed in Los Angeles." She whispered. She then swiftly turned and ran back toward Troy's car shouting over her shoulder, "My notebook is still in your car, right?"

"Wait. What?" Troy asked before he chased Sharpay back to his car.

When Sharpay arrived, she yanked open the door and immediately grabbed at anything that was lying on the car's floor. When it wasn't her notebook, she rashly threw it behind her, not caring where it landed. Finally, underneath the passenger seat, she found her notebook. She furiously flipped through the pages until she found the one she was looking for.

Wheezing from the unexpected wind-sprints, Troy finally joined Sharpay at his pile of garbage and clothing that was now lying on the street corner. "Sharpay!" He said sternly. "You have to tell me what is going on."

"Listen to this," she whispered. She then started to read from her notebook, "About two years ago, Zeke Baylor transferred to East High from L.A. He instantly liked me but I never gave him the time of day."

"Yes?" Troy was confused as to what this had to do with any of the previous events. "That's what Ryan and I told you while you were still in the hospital."

"Yes! But, that's not the point." Sharpay faltered, exasperated with herself for being unable to express herself clearly to Troy. "I remember something!"


October twelfth. Two years ago.

Sharpay was walking down a hallway in East High. Her hair was curly and flowing freely and she had gold eye-shadow to match her very gold pants. She was drawing everybody's eyes but nobody more than the new, lost looking boy, Zeke Baylor.

Stopping at her locker, Sharpay gazed into her mirror, studying her make-up. Her serenity was immediately broken by the voice of one who didn't know any better.

"Hi there!" he said enthusiastically. "You are really pretty. My name is Zeke, what's yours?"

"Apathetic," Sharpay sardonically replied as she slammed her locker and whipped around to glare Zeke in the eyes. Arms crossed, Sharpay started to lecture, "Hey, Geek, was it? This is how it's going to work. You are going to put your head down, turn around, and walk away. And we are never going to repeat this conversation, or attempt any new ones. Ever."

Zeke laughed good-naturedly. "I get it. You're playing hard to get. Ok, I can play along. I don't want you. I'm just going to talk to you until you want me. Want a cookie?"

"Oh my goodness, you're annoying!" Sharpay exclaimed, giving the cookies a disgusted squint. She threw her hands up and dramatically attempted her exit. Unfortunately, Zeke wasn't interested in finishing this conversation. Running after her, he started to talk about himself, not caring whether she was listening or not.

"So, I'm an army brat. My dad is normally stationed in Los Angeles, but apparently something big is expected to go down here. So here we are! You know, I really like your hair and make-up. You should wear it like that every day!"

"Are you sure you aren't gay?" Sharpay was a little confused as to why this new kid was telling her everything about his life. And now she could never wear this hair and make-up combination ever again.

"Anyway, my dad expects me to join the army, just like him, but I'm not sure I want to. I mean, I'd love to work for the government, or someone with a lot of money, but I don't think I want to do something that strict. You know? I'd like to get these missions done my own way. I think that would be wicked!"

"Look! Loser, leave me alone!" Sharpay finally broke.

Zeke looked at her with wide eyes and a startled expression. "Um, I have to go to class, anyway. I'll talk to you later, Apathetic."

"Whatever," Sharpay mumbled as she strutted away from Zeke and into her class.


"Troy? Why do you think I just now recalled this particular memory?" Sharpay mused. They were sitting on the hood of Troy's truck, which was still sitting in the middle of the now police barricaded street. Sharpay had just finished the story and she couldn't shake the feeling that this memory came from more than just that one phrase.

'...normally stationed in Los Angeles...'

"I don't know, Shar." Troy sighed, lying back onto the windshield and staring up at the stars. Sharpay watched him think for a moment and then lied down next to him. Troy felt her shiver and he instinctively put his arm around her shoulder for comfort. She responded by snuggling closer and placing her head in the crook of his neck.

"I just have such a bad feeling, you know?" She continued, trying to think of a rationalization for this ominous feeling. Troy nodded his head in understanding but remained silent. He could feel the augur as well, but he didn't want to worry Sharpay any more than she already was.

Not wanting to go to their respective homes just yet, they continued lying on Troy's truck, drinking in each others strength. All around them were police and fire fighters, but the pair was oblivious to their surroundings. All they could focus on was suppressing their fear and enjoying the others company. Because in the back of Sharpay's mind, she could hear a nagging voice reminding her that this moment would not follow her into subsequent moments. But for now, it was good enough.


In case you're like Sharpay (and before last semester, I definitely was), Copernicus is the guy who discovered that the Earth was not the center of the universe and he suggested that, maybe, it was the Sun.

I know it's been taking me a little longer to update. Sorry. I'm trying. That letter from, like, a month ago, has inadvertently opened up the lines of communicate between my parents and I and I'm not sure any of us are too thrilled about that. But, progress is life, is it not?

So, you may want to read the first four paragraphs of the chapter 'Re-entries' to refresh your memory on part of the significance of her memory. It's not why they have that ominous feeling, but it is why she doesn't wear that hair and make-up combination any more.

Also, my roommate and I just had a 24 marathon, which is why Jack made it into the chapter. And, for anyone who's watched 24, is the whole perimeter concept not ridiculous?!? I'm not sure perimeters have ever worked, and yet they keep making them! Why not just skip that step and let the enemy escape? It'll be less work! Or, how about you set up the perimeter BEFORE you announce to the world that you have arrived?! I mean, honestly, I could be a better federal CTU agent, and I've never even held a gun!

Anyway, I'll stop boring you with my ramblings and allow you to get to the BEST part! The REVIEW!