Chapter Five
School on Monday was torture! It seemed like almost everything that someone said reminded him of a laugh he'd had with Sharpay the day before. He found himself constantly wanting to comment on the joke, but no one but Sharpay would understand it. Every time he saw her he wanted to say hi, wave, smile…do something! But he couldn't, for her sake. She didn't want the school to know her secret personality, and it wasn't his secret to tell.
She went back to her Ice Queen act, but he could swear that when she'd pass him in the hall her eyes would soften and she'd give him the smallest of smiles. He didn't know how she did it every single day, not being able to really smile or laugh or even enjoy herself. She seemed to do that non stop the other day, always laughing or cracking a joke. In all honesty, it was a little scary how talented an actress Sharpay was, people literally parted like the Red Sea whenever she walked past them.
Third period was the hardest one to deal with for Troy. AP English and he sat right next to Sharpay. He had to say one thing though, her acting lessons really paid off, she barely acknowledged his presence, remaining solely focused on being the Ice Queen. He managed to slip a note to her when the bell rang at the end of the class, instructing her how to get to his secret hideout. Gabriella rarely ever went there anymore; she and Taylor ate lunch with the Science Squad to go over their mistakes during the decathlon and preparing some questions to challenge each other with for the next season.
Troy glanced back as he reached the door of the classroom to see Sharpay give him the slightest of nods before continuing to pack her back pack. Troy smiled to himself as he made his way to his hideout. He'd explained to the team that he went there to be alone, and since they were all jocky guys they didn't really understand why…so they left him alone.
Troy had just sat down on the bench by the flowers when he heard the click clack of Sharpay's heels on the steps. "Hey!" he said, jumping up as she turned to face him.
She smiled softly, "Hi," she walked over to where he was standing and plopped down on the bench. "These heels were definitely not made for walking," she muttered, "Someone must have been high on something when they invented them."
"Oh come on," Troy said nudging her slightly, "They can't be that bad."
Sharpay gave him an 'oh really' look before replying, "Then why don't you try wearing them."
Troy laughed, "On second thought, I think I'll take your word for it."
Sharpay laughed at that as well, sighing softly when she finished. Troy could tell that something was up, "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing," she said.
"You know, for being an actress that could make an entire school think she's and Ice Queen, you're not very good at lying."
She looked up at him to see him giving her a look and rolled her eyes, "It's just…you don't know what I'd give to be able to come to school in something comfortable for once. I don't know, sweat pants…a t-shirt…sneakers…"
Troy smiled at her, the way she said sneakers was so dreamy that he knew she really detested wearing those heels. "Well, I'd let you wear my sneakers, but your feet are too small and you'd probably fall out of them."
His short sentence had the desired affect, a laugh from Sharpay. She nudged him again, shaking her head at his antics when he nudged her back.
"Hey Troy…" she started, waiting till he looked at her to continue, "I've been thinking a lot and…I think I might no…"
She never got to finish that sentence because the warning bell went off. They'd have to leave now or risk being late.
"Tell me later?" he asked, as they headed down. Sharpay nodded and they headed off their separate ways.
The next time Sharpay saw Troy was during her gym class 7th period. Their regular gym teacher was absent so Coach Bolton was filling in. Basically it was a period of boys shooting hoops and girls sitting on the bleachers gossiping. Troy had walked in near the end of the period to talk to his dad about something when he caught sight of Sharpay sitting near the bottom of the bleachers in the middle. No one was sitting near her and he was pretty sure one of the groups of girls on the bleachers was talking about her. He frowned watching her, she was looking longingly at the boys playing basketball…well not really the boys, but just the game itself…but Troy didn't know that…
He was in the middle of a conversation with is dad when his father suddenly blew the whistle signaling the end of the period and for the boys and girls to go get changed before the actual bell rang. Unfortunately the boys were so into the game that they whistle startled them and the ball rolled away from them…right to where Sharpay was standing off to the side by the mid court line.
Sharpay kneeled to pick the ball up, watching sourly as the boys laughed at the sight…the Ice Queen holding a basketball? What was she going to do with it? Turn it to ice with her frigid glare? One of the boys took a few steps forward making a give it hear motion with his hands for Sharpay to toss the ball to him. Sharpay merely raised an eyebrow, moving the ball to one hand in a waitress position as if to say 'you want me to throw this thing?'
That just earned another round of laughter from the boys, as well as some sneery comments. One boy, who Troy recognized from the JV B-Ball team, had the balls to say "Ohhh, watch out the Ice Queen might break a nail!" Receiving many more laughs from the boys.
Sharpay glared at them, Troy was about to go over there to get them to leave her alone when she moved the ball into both her hands. She looked down at the ball quickly before glancing at the far hoops, just near Troy. She smirked as an idea came to her. She bounced the ball a few times, and Troy could tell that she was making an act of doing so badly, before collecting the ball in her hand and shooting the ball at the basket in a perfect arch. There was a swish, followed by complete silence from the remaining boys. The gym had emptied mostly when the Coach blew the whistle.
Troy's mouth dropped open, as did the boys and his father's at Sharpay's display of skill. Not even half the guys on the Varsity team could have made that basket. Sharpay merely smirked and walked into the locker room.
"Wow…" the coach muttered staring at the closed locker room door.
"Sharpay…" Troy murmured, completely stunned.
His father turned to him, "You know her?" he asked excitedly, "Is she on the girl's team? Does she play? Do you know her number so we can invite her do dinner? I could definitely give her some pointers if she's interested in joining a team. You should consider playing one-on-one with he…"
But Troy zoned it all out…he was still in shock at what Sharpay had just done…
He was still in shock when he saw her at the meeting for play right after school. He'd gotten there early hoping to talk to her about maybe playing some basketball with him but ended up being ambushed by Gabriella, Chad, Taylor, Kelsi, and Ryan. It wasn't until moments before Ms. Darbus started her announcements that Sharpay arrived. Troy immediately knew she was troubled about something; it was just a subtle thing though.
Ms. Darbus introduced the play, starting off with a few minor exercises before starting to call the auditioners for that day. Chad and Gabriella decided to go that day, Taylor wanted to wait till Tuesday, Troy was set for Wednesday, and Ryan wanted to save the best for last and signed up for Thursday. Everyone was fully expecting Sharpay to be the first one called, even Troy, so it was a shock for everyone when someone else was called. So they all just assumed that she was going to end the auditions for the day, show everyone who went how it should be done.
They were right in that aspect, just after Chad had gone (Gabriella had gone second), Ms. Darbus called Sharpay's name.
Sharpay stood slowly, "Um…Ms. Darbus…can I speak with you privately for a minute?"
Ms. Darbus nodded and motioned for Sharpay to come on stage with her. They walked off behind the back stage curtains to talk, leaving all those in the auditorium to wonder and whisper what was going on. A few minutes later, Ms. Darbus reappeared, appearing slightly shocked as Sharpay walked…off…the stage?
"It appears…" Ms. Darbus started as if scarcely believing what she was about to say, "That Miss Evans does…not…wish to take part in our End of the Year Production of A Midsummer Night's Dream." There was a slight gasp in the audience, namely from the younger and newer members of the Drama Club who had come to admire the legendary Sharpay Evans. Ms. Darbus continued anyway, "Although I do think she would have made a lovely Helena, I must honor her wishes. We must all hope that she will return from her…sabbatical…next year and rejoin us for our future productions." She stared at the audience, "I…I guess that is all for today…" she started to walk off the stage somewhat unsteadily as if she had been dealt a hard blow. Kelsi immediately rushed on stage to help her while the rest of the group practically ran out the doors in pursuit of Ryan who had gone after his sister.
"Sharpay!" he called, running down the hall towards his sister.
"What Ryan?" she snapped turning to face him as the group caught up with them. Troy could see that she was trying not to get upset about dropping out of play. He knew how hard she had taken not getting the lead last year.
Ryan shook his head, "What the hell?!" he shouted, causing her to jump slightly.
"What?" she asked again, avoiding looking him in the eyes. She hated it when he was mad at her…although now he was border line pissed.
"What are you doing?!" he shouted again, "You don't want to do the play?!"
Sharpay took a deep breath, "No, it's not that it's just…"
"Just what?" he asked, staring at her in horror, "Huh? What?! Can't stand the thought that someone else might get the spotlight? Huh? Is that it?" Sharpay opened her mouth to answer, but Ryan cut her off, "Oh, no, or maybe it's just that your bored? Huh?"
"I'm not!" She shouted, "I just want…"
"The lead? God you're such a frigid bitch!" Taylor remarked suddenly as Sharpay turned to face her.
"Yeah I mean, first you try to sabotage the musical just because you didn't get the lead," Chad added.
"And now you're dropping out?" Gabby asked in horror. After everything Sharpay had put them through, she didn't even really care about the play?
"God!" Ryan shouted again, "Do you ever think about people other than yourself?!" Sharpay stared at him, eyes wide, "I mean, first you drag my ass into this frickin' drama crap so that you won't have to do it alone! Then you make me help you try to cheat for the lead! And now you're dropping out?! You made me give up the golf team to help you out and now you want to quit!" Sharpay opened her mouth to defend herself when Ryan said something she never thought she'd ever hear from him, "God you really are such a cold hearted bitch!"
Sharpay let out a gasp as soon as the words left his mouth. Ryan turned to look at his sister, the tears she had been trying so hard to hold back now running down her face, her mouth hanging open in speechlessness, her eyes wide in horror. Guilt immediately seized him for what he had said, he hadn't meant any of it, but he was just so pissed that she dragged him through all that stuff and now she was just going to drop it all? It wasn't fair.
"Shar…Sharpay I…" he started, reaching out a hand to apologize.
Sharpay took a step back, shaking her head at him, trying to snap herself out of it, trying to piece together her Ice Mask that he unintentionally shattered. "N…no…" she said, in what she hoped was a calm voice, "I…I get it…"
"Shar, I didn't mean…" Ryan started, but she cut him off.
"No…" she tried to be emotionless, but it wasn't working, "You did…" She turned and ran down the hall before the group could see her mask shatter again.
Troy looked at the group before him; no one besides Ryan seemed to regret what they had said. He shook his head before running after Sharpay, not caring what they thought of the action…
He managed to catch up to her as she blindly ran through the parking lot. He grabbed her from behind and spun her to face him, enveloping her in a compassionate hug. She tried to fight her way out of his embrace but he held firm, till she recognized that it was Troy and not Ryan that held her. He led her to a small alcove in the building, a cubbyhole/courtyard if you will, where the janitors would park their cars. He sat her down on the steps that led to the schools kitchen, holding her just as a sob broke out.
He knew that what Ryan had said hurt her more than all the comments she had ever received from all the students in the school. Ryan was her brother, the one who was supposed to know her better than anyone else, the one who did know her better than anyone else. He knew what she was thinking right then and there, if her own brother thought she was a bitch…then she must really be a bitch.
Troy rocked her back and forth, whispering soothing words in her ear until her sobs subsided and she drew only shuddering breaths.
"It's alright," Troy whispered, hugging her extra tightly, "He didn't mean it." he added, "He was just angry."
Sharpay sniffled, "You usually say what you really feel when you're angry," she mumbled, "I'm really a bitch."
Troy shook his head; he made a mental note to kill Ryan later for what he said. Sharpay had worked so hard for a long time to do some good to prove she wasn't a bitch to herself and all it took was a few short words from Ryan to make her doubt all she'd worked for. "No," he said firmly, "You're not."
"Yes, I am," she moaned, "If I wasn't then I wouldn't…"
Troy cut her off, "If you were a bitch, you wouldn't be volunteering at a Nursing Home, or reading stories to sick children, or working at a soup kitchen, or god knows what other places you volunteer at…"
Sharpay laughed slightly at that.
"If you were a bitch, you wouldn't care so much what other people think about you. You wouldn't let their words get to you like you do. You wouldn't let Ryan get to you."
She drew an even breath.
"You wouldn't care about sports or acting or getting hurt. You wouldn't feel bad every time you snap at people. And you wouldn't care about school."
She sat up and wiped away the last of her tears, "You really think so?" she asked weakly.
"I know so," Troy said taking her hand in his as he pulled her up, "Now, come on. Knowing you, you're about to be late for some volunteer work or lesson or something."
Sharpay laughed as she led him to her car, opening his door first to pull a tin foiled tin from the passenger's seat and putting it on the back seat. She got into the driver's seat noticing Troy giving her a look.
"Do I want to know what's in the tin?" he asked jokingly, getting a smile from her.
"If you must know, there are cookies in the tin," she said matter-of-factly pulling out of the parking lot.
"Ah…but cookies for what I wonder?"
"You'll see," she said putting her attention back on the road.
A few short minutes later, they pulled into the Four Season's Daycare Center and Troy immediately knew who the cookies were for. It turned out that Sharpay volunteered there for an hour every Monday, bringing cookies or other baked goods for the children to snack on. She mentioned as they walked in that she had made the cookies yesterday, just after Troy had left, just before she did what was left of her AP History homework.
Troy learned that her time management skills were impeccable. She'd had it all set out, revolving around the plays of course. Everyday (Mon. – Fri.) she would go to play till five, then she'd volunteer somewhere for an hour, till six. Get dinner till six thirty, then head out to a sports lesson from six thirty to seven thirty, and go to another lesson for an hour from 8 to 9. Then from 9 till when ever, she would do her homework, which was bountiful to say the least. His suspicions were confirmed, she was taking mostly AP classes. English, history, math, science, and language were all AP. The only things that weren't challenging were lunch and gym. He was surprised though, to find out that not many of the students who were taking mostly AP classes noticed that Sharpay was in the classes…most just thought that she was put there by accident and was too lazy to transfer out.
He also learned that, besides volunteering at the Nursing home, Children's hospital, soup kitchen, and daycare center, Sharpay also volunteered at the food pantry on Tuesdays, helping to make the food packages that were sent to different families, an orphaninch on Wednesdays, teaching crafts, and the Animal shelter on Thursdays, helping to groom and train the dogs. He discovered too that she didn't just take lessons in piano, singing, and acting, but also on ballet, tap, hip hop, and gymnastics…though he had to admit that he was most excited to see Sharpay perform some gymnastics…guys just wondered what positions a woman's body could…
He mentally smacked himself for even starting that thought! It wasn't very gentlemanly and he really didn't want to offend Sharpay, especially since she was really nice in reality.
They stayed at the daycare center till around 6:10 when Sharpay handed him a sandwich to eat as they headed back to the athletic center for her next lesson…one which she had hinted to Troy, he might find very interesting.
And interested he was when he realized that Sharpay could actually play basketball as well as shoot hoops. She had a coach meet her at the athletic centers on Mondays to work on her techniques, free throws, defenses. Her coach was fine by Troy, once Sharpay introduced him as the star of the high school's basketball team and the captain, he even gave Troy some pointers and let them play one on one against each other and just have fun. It turned out that the coach had been encouraging Sharpay to find someone to go one-on-one against; he said that you can't get better by yourself, you always need help.
The last event of the day was Sharpay's tap dancing lesson. This time, however, Troy wasn't permitted to sit and watch Sharpay perform, it was an actual class with other girls as well. But he was perfectly content to sit in the waiting room for Sharpay to finish. It gave him some time to finish up the last of his homework. An hour later, Sharpay emerged red faced, and slightly sweaty, but beautiful nonetheless.
"Ready to go?" he asked, picking up her duffle bag and carrying it for her.
"Yup," she said, giving him an appreciative smile as they headed off.
A/N – So…I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do for the next chapter. I'm thinking maybe Troy finds out why Sharpay decided to quit play, but the chapter after it is when Troy finds out what exactly happened while he was away at Basketball camp. But, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update though, I have an economics paper due tomorrow along with an essay about Nathanial Hawthorne and a calculus exam to study for. But I'll try to update soon!