a/n: I would like to apologize for how freaking long this chapter took. Exams. To hell with exams. Anyway. I finally figured out how to make it so that anonymous reviews are accepted, so, with no further ado, you may share your thoughts. Yay me!
Angie stood by the wall of a large hardware store, jabbing aimlessly at a box of Chinese takeout. She was waiting for Kelsi to finish in the washroom, now deeply regretting her choice to stay in front of a store overflowing with little kids running up and down the aisles with sharp gardening tools and dangerous electronic gadgets.
"Finally," she sighed when Kelsi arrived. "Just a word of advice – never go down aisle five of that place. I think there was a chainsaw massacre going on a few minutes ago."
The composer gave her a quizzical look. "Chainsaw massacre? That store is a box of tools with blinking lights, paint, snobby cashiers and air conditioning."
"And massacres," Angie added. "Now, who are we meeting again?"
"Sharpay, Ryan, Troy, Gabriella, Chad and Taylor."
"And where are we meeting them?"
"It looks like they're already there." Kelsi quickened her pace a little, waving a hand in the air until she caught Taylor's eye. Taylor waved back, smiling at them.
When they reached the small group, Sharpay immediately walked over and took Angie's arm. "Introduce yourself and make it quick, 'cause there is a fifty percent off sale on the second floor."
Angie scoffed. "Fifty? That's it? You know, once I went on a major shopping spree with Fergie, and prices were cut as much as ninety-five percent. I mean, it didn't make much sense, and they might as well have just given the stuff away, but seriously – ninety-five percent, who cares whether it's something you need or not?"
"Anyway," she turned to the other four. "I'm Angelese Roxanne Brierrose, you can call me Angie, and I'm Kelsi's second cousin from far, far away."
The girl furthest to the left held out a hand, which Angie shook. "Gabriella Montez. It's nice to finally meet you, Angelese."
"Likewise," Angie grinned. "And call me Angie."
"Troy Bolton," Troy shook her hand as well.
Taylor stepped forward. "I'm – "
"Spoken for," Chad interrupted, taking her by her shoulders and pulling her back to shake Angie's hand. "She's Taylor McKessie, I'm Chad Danforth, and we're both honored to meet you."
"Chad!" Taylor punched his arm playfully. "I told you, if you're going to pay me back, you'll have to give me cash, not speak for me!"
"Well, I can't afford cash," he protested.
"It was two dollars!"
"That's two dollars more than I have."
"And two dollars more than what being spoken for is worth."
"I think I'm going to give Angie the grand tour," Sharpay interrupted.
"Sounds like a good idea," Ryan agreed. "No one knows the mall better than you do."
"Oh, you come here often, Sharpay?" Angie didn't sound the least bit surprised.
"She lives here," Ryan answered for his sister. She tilted her head slightly. "At least I would if it didn't close at nine on weekdays and ten on weekends, or at eight or nine on holidays except for New Year's and Christmas eve, when they close at midnight."
"Thought so," Angie nodded. "Shall we?"
Sharpay glanced at her watch, calculating in her head for a moment. "We have eight hours, fourteen minutes and twenty-one seconds. See you guys later!" With that, she and Angie started walking towards the escalators.
Gabi reached inside her purse and fished out her cell phone, which was ringing loudly. After answering it, she let the strap of her bag slide down to her hand. Out of nowhere, a tall person in black shot past her and grabbed her purse, then took off in the opposite direction. Having barely registered what was going on, she threw her phone at Chad (who, fortunately, caught it) and ran after the thief, with Troy close behind her.
Still several feet ahead of them, he staggered sideward, slammed roughly into a wall and fell to the ground.
"What on earth...?" Gabi whispered, coming closer.
Angie, it appeared, had been the one who pushed the tall man. As he got up, dazed, she waited until he was standing to kick him, hitting him hard across the chest. He fell again, this time flat on his back.
"I think," Angie panted slightly, "That guys like you should get real jobs, you know?" She turned to Gabriella, smiling. "You want your purse back, Gabsy?"
"Here, take it!" The thief managed, quickly handing it to Gabi, who was still bewildered.
Sharpay, finally finding her voice, shook herself mentally to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "Uhm, Troy? Why don't you go call security?"
Troy nodded and strode off to find someone.
"I guess I'll have to leave it to more authorized people to take care of you," Angie said, keeping an eye on the thief, who seemed too terrified to get up. "But, believe me; if I weren't in such a good mood today, I would've broken every bone in your body for messing up my hair."
"You see, Chad, that's what some girls do when you mess up their hair." Taylor appeared with Ryan and Kelsi, who were both too shocked to speak. "You're lucky I'm so nice."
- - - - -
"So you really are a black belt?" Sharpay asked, amused.
She and Angie were looking through hangers in an enormous clothing store after security had taken the thief (still dizzy and with an aching head and back) away.
"That's right," Angie nodded. "And my parents gave me the choice to learn how to play the violin instead. Seriously, now – violin? I think not. And I don't regret my decision, come to think of it."
Sharpay laughed, pulling out a blouse on a hanger and searching the hems for labels. "Between jazz, voice and dance lessons, I didn't have much time for anything else."
"Oh, but you had time to come to the mall three times a day?"
"All in the schedule, Ange, all in the schedule."
"I get it. It's tough being a celebrity."
"That it is."
"So I never did get to meet this boyfriend of yours," Angie said, shuddering at the number on the price tag of a designer jacket.
"Zeke couldn't make it," Sharpay frowned. "I think he said something about his mom being sick."
"That's too bad." Angie hid an amused smirk from Sharpay. "I'd like to meet the boy capable of meeting the standards of a celebrity like you."
- - - - -
"D-Did that really just happen?" Taylor asked, staring after Angie.
"I think some girl just beat up a full grown man," Chad said. "Either that or I'm having really weird hallucinations."
"Angie's a black belt," Kelsi explained, still hardly able to believe it herself.
"Well, we're off." Troy took Gabi's arm, catching her by surprise.
Gabi raised an eyebrow at him. "Off?"
"Yeah, to see the wonderful Wizard of Oz."
"Where are we off to?"
"Somewhere over the rainbow," Troy grinned teasingly. "Or would you prefer somewhere beyond the sea? Somewhere out there, out where dreams come true?"
"Where are we going?"
He grinned again, covering both of her eyes with his hands. "You'll see soon enough."
With that, Troy and Gabi were "off", leaving Chad, Taylor, Ryan and Kelsi.
Taylor checked her watch. "The weather's nice. Do you guys want to eat out?"
"Actually, I just ate," Ryan muttered.
"Same here," Kelsi nodded.
Chad laughed, shaking his head. "At a huge mall like this, either you eat or you shop. And I don't know Angie that well, but I'm pretty sure she and Sharpay can do enough shopping for all of us, and then some."
"They're capable of that separately," Kelsi assured him. "Angie dragged me along with her to go shopping downtown yesterday. She can haggle to the point of getting some things for free. If I see one more 'all must go' sign, I might lose it completely. It's insane."
"Speaking of insane," Taylor piped up, "I have the sudden crazy urge for French food."
Chad pulled a face. "No way am I eating snails."
"You had the sudden crazy urge to eat snails?" Ryan asked Taylor disbelievingly.
Taylor simply rolled her eyes and grabbed Chad's hand, forcibly pulling him to the left. Ryan and Kelsi exchanged unsure glances as Chad stumbled clumsily after Taylor, and then followed her to a small place on the verandah.
Inside the tiny room, several tables were set very near to each other. Large amounts of steam came from a small window against the wall. People in the back were shouting orders back and forth in a mix of French and broken English.
"Should we sit outside?" Taylor raised her voice over the noise. Without waiting for an answer, she led them out the door, where it was much less crowded.
The four of them sat at a round table in the open air.
"You know, it's been a while since I was last here," Kelsi said, looking around. "There are a lot of new things going on. Would you mind if I took a quick walk?"
"Fine by me." Taylor smiled slightly. "Besides, you'll probably need to familiarize yourself with the area if Angie's going to be around for a while."
"I'll come," Ryan offered, surprising Kelsi, Taylor and Chad. He shrugged. "Sharpay's made a mental map of this place, and I barely know where the entrance is."
a/n: In the next chapter you will find out what happens on their walk... Advanced warnings for plants, 'cause plants are eeevil... Poodles! - - - Kat