Gabriella Montez was considered brilliant by all standards...not only had she made a perfect score on her SAT as well as a 36 on her ACT, had a 4.8 GPA, and took all AP and Honors classes that East High had to offer, as well as leading her Scholastic Decathlon team to victory, she was hardly ever confused in class, always breezing through, and being guaranteed an A, or not just an A but an A plus. She was the epitome of all things academic, the envy of students from all over countries, and she NEVER failed. So imagine her surprise when now she was actually STUMPED. Stumped by a paper that was supposed to be "easy."

Flashback to when she had walked into her AP English classroom with Taylor behind her, glancing at the chalkboard with large handwriting scrawled all over in bold white chalk letters.

WHAT SETS YOU APART THAT OTHERS MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT?

"In other words," Dr. Krane had spoken. "What makes you unique?" Her AP English teacher walked with heavy black boots with a long black trenchcoat, making her appear like she was an intimidating detective on a mission. "Everyone obviously in our world, in this narrow classroom, has different attributes, characteristics, quirks, lives, and experiences which define them. Though it is not so much as your name or how you look that just makes you different, but its the paths which you take, the people who you are, the qualities that you embody, the experiences and obstacles in which you overcome, and the people who you endure and meet and will cross over, that makes you who you are. It is true that you will never find an exact person like you in this world. This is what makes us interesting as individuals. Keep in mind that when college admissions officers look at your resumes and transcripts and applications, that they've seen thousands of SAT scores and GPA's, but also, they look for well-rounded people, interesting people who can write and are separate from the usual applicant. They want someone unique and individual, as well."

She turned and transitioned over to where Gabriella and her other row of students were sitting.

"Gabriella," she smiled kindly. "Let's use you as an example."

She motioned for everyone to look at the young scholar. "Gabriella Montez. Considered to be the brainiac of East High School, brilliant in every sense of the word, kind, reserved, with a shy disposition, and always speaks when she's spoken too. Perfect SAT scores, tutor, mentor, friend, daughter, the usual."

But she stopped her raving speech about one of her star students and looked her straight in the eye. "Gabriella is one of the most intelligent girls to grace the state of New Mexico. " She paused.
"But what makes you really different, Miss Montez?"

Gabriella stopped all thinking and her mind turned backwards. "Excuse me?"

"Applicants to Ivy League Schools and schools all across the nation have tons of students with brains like yours, perfect SAT scores, high grades, top of the class status, that's the cliched of them. But they want more, they want in-depth, well-rounded people..."

"Yeah," she spoke in a shy, meek voice. She never felt so put-on-the-spot especially with the snickers and the rolling eyes of her peers.

"Come on, don't be shy, Gabriella. Any experiences, anything really unique or different you want to share with us?"

Her shy side reflected as she shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Dr. Krane. I have no idea."

Dr. Krane nodded. "Well, then. I hope this attitude doesn't reflect in your essay tonight, Miss Montez. All of you have a written assignment tonight for homework, an essay telling me what makes you unique in the sense of the word. You can say what you are like, your style, but so much more than superficiality, I want to know what truly makes you stand out.

On cue, the bell rung and pupils rushed out of their seats, eager to meet and gather with others in the wide hallways. Gabriella quickly grabbed her purse and binder, heading frantically out the door for her next class.

She crossed her arms as she walked alone and shivered through the school's air conditioning system.

She was clearly not in a wonderful mood today...

That was, until a large, rough hand swept over her wide, chestnut colored eyes. "Hey," spoke a deeply whisper.

She turned around and found Troy's lips at her own, immediately sweeping her off her feet.

After a brief moment, she let go of his arms and sighed. "That just made my morning a whole lot better."

"I'm glad to take you on my cruise of love, Miss Montez."

She giggled softly and he wrapped his arms around her, both bodies walking towards the same direction.

"Taylor told me about Dr. Krane and how hard on you she was today. Pointing you out like that, and acting as if she knew every component of you? Man, that's got to be harsh. You only see her everyday for what, 50 minutes?"

Gabriella shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to worry about that tonight. I just want to relax right now...with you."

Her exquisite brown orbs met with his cobalt ones and they linked hands, sending sparks through the both of them.

"I better get going," he replied, regretfully. "I'll see you at lunch, though all right?" He brought his face to hers, kissing her for what seemed like a short second. "I love you."

And it was then, that her whole world stopped...again...

"And I love you too," she smiled.

Gabriella Josephine Montez NEVER struggled with homework, school work, or anything involving work or school, or both combined together. It just didn't work that way with the likes of the young prodigy. For pete's sake, she was chosen as one of Time Magazine's most promising youth of tomorrow! She was SUPPOSED to ace everything, it was how it always was, similar to yellow never being a winter color, only wearing one pattern at once and not something disastrous like polka dots and stripes combined together, and always organizing your highlighters, markers, and pencils, by color plus size. That's the way it always has been with society! The day she was born from the womb, she had always been meant to get an A.

But immediately at 2 A.M., when she stared at the blank piece of paper in front of her, and a still freshly sharpened pencil, she had doubts about getting an A this time. With the pace that she was going, she might be able to get an 85. And 85's and Gabriella Montez was like smothering peanut butter with pickle juice together on whole wheat bread. Ewww...that sounded disgusting...

What made her unique? Or rather, don't think too hard...

What makes you and your life special? Come on, use that prized brain of yours...

What defines you?

And only one word had come to mind...

Why hadn't she thought of that before? Man, she better stop getting too preoccupied worrying so much...

Dr. Krane had taught for almost 30 years in secondary education. She had received multiple awards for her efforts and work and had hundreds of students through her various phases and classes, never remembering a name so much unless it was very significant and memorable. Throughout teaching AP English for quite a bit at East High School, she found her trademark assignment usually redundant and the same, a surprising fact at such a prestigious high school in the New Mexico Area. In fact, it was very rare when someone actually came up with something BRILLIANT. And come on, it was supposed to be about what makes you unique... it wasn't like she was requesting the use of symbolism, or foreshadowing in a literary piece, though that was actually pretty simple, in her opinion...

She rolled her eyes at Taylor McKessie's work... One of her smartest students and yet she still had come up with something the same as always...

So how do I stand out? Well, my logic, independence, and work ethic are three distinguished characteristics in which make me a refined individual here in my community...

Come on, McKessie, we are talking about a possible ticket to your future, not the Miss Teen USA pageant.

She then critiqued the essay in red marks, removing it from her pile, and then taking out another single sheet of neat, organized, single spaced, and typed up piece of paper

Gabriella Montez

6,663,936,500. What does this number represent? What is so special about it? Well, it is the number of people existing on this very Earth right now. Throughout this world of 6 billion people, it is hard not to remain the same, not to be pressured by others to follow the crowd... How can you when there are that many? But rather, as you said, journeys and pathways are not parallel to one another. Name one person who has gone through every single footstep, pathway, and choice you have ever grasped and taken into your own... Can you see it? Do you know? Because frankly, I've met a lot of people in my lifetime of transportation and movement, and I do not know one who has gone through what I've gone through, in the course of my lifetime.

But specifically, what makes me unique, besides these general aspects? It may not be my brain power or ambition because of the amount of competition in Ivy League schools and colleges in society, but rather, for me, it is the personal experiences that shape me up into the bolder, wiser, and more confident person I am today...What person can say that right now?

Who can say they've got a BFF named Taylor McKessie? Who can say they've got a mother named Socorro Montez? Or who can say, they have an East High Wildcat Superstar boyfriend named Troy Bolton. Troy Bolton. The person who makes my heart stop when he declares his love, the person who would never, ever be able to say no to a bag of cheese puffs, and the Troy Bolton who captivated me the moment he seranaded me at the ski lodge. Sure, there are many fairytale stories of the charming prince out there, but Troy, Troy is different because he has so many layers beneath his rough exteriors, a complexity to which I do not think another person can uncover besides me, and vice versa. It's like I can read another person and I only met him one year ago. Who can define that power? Who can define that trust? Who can define that love? And more significantly, who can define that they've loved a Troy Bolton?

So how are we unique? Troy loves me, and I love him, and when he says it, it's like everything is frozen around us, when he holds me, its as if that moment in time could be photographed and embedded forever in our minds, and its because of it, that I know I am unique because I am the only person out of 6 billion people, to say that I will always be the one to love a Troy Bolton first, and foremost.