A/N: Here's Chapter Two. I hope you like it :) From a few reviews, people seemed to prefer me to upload as soon as I finish a chapter. So that is what I'm going to do.
Also, I'd like to give a HUGE shout out to hopelessromanticgurl who has been fantastic. She has answered my questions and e-mails and has helped me figure this plot out in my head. I am completely indebted to her. And I recommend reading her fic 'Camp Rock Musical'. You'll love it!
Chapter Two
After her meeting with Mr Matsui, Gabriella made her way to drama class, which was also taught by Ms Darbus. She battled her way into the classroom a second before the bell rang and she headed to an empty seat at the back. She passed by Troy and stepped over the foot he had sticking out, clearly attempting to trip her. She frowned down at him, somewhat disappointed that he couldn't think of anything better than trupping her up.
Even though she had been in the room for all of twenty seconds, she could tell from the look in Troy's eyes that he had been awarded detention for skipping the majority of homeroom in order to speak with Mr Matsui. She almost felt sorry for him. It must be so hard to have the whole school bow down to him and get everything he wants, right down to a specific parking space.
She sat down behind Taylor and smiled when Sharpay turned in her seat to wave. She brought out her notebook and a dog-eared copy of Romeo and Juliet. A plot that was somewhat overrated, but it was one of her favourite plays. She wasn't exactly going to make it public though. Troy would have a field day.
Ms Darbus rose from her throne-like chair and placed her glasses on her nose. "Now class, today we are going to start our study of the world's favourite star-cross'd lovers."
Jason raised his hand, causing a groan to emanate throughout the class.
Ms Darbus sighed. "Yes, Jason?"
"Like comets?"
Sharpay reached across and slapped the back of Jason's head. "Ms Darbus is talking about Romeo and Juliet, you big doofus!"
Ms Darbus nodded. "Of course. The Capulet's and the Montegue's are literature's greatest rivals and their children fell in love."
"Yeah, and they died because of it," Troy exclaimed.
"Isn't that romantic?"
The whole class turned around to look at Gabriella.
"Of course you would have that opinion," Troy muttered, rolling his eyes.
"They loved each other so much that they couldn't bear to be apart," she exclaimed. Sure, she broke her own rule, and now Troy knew how much she loved the play. But it was kind of fun to wind Troy up.
"So they killed themselves," he said, quirking an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little melodramatic?"
Gabriella shrugged and ran her hand through her unruly curls. "Of course it is. The whole dynamic of their relationship is melodramatic. I mean, forbidden love? Please. But who are we to comment? We're eighteen. Have you experienced that kind of passionate, unrelenting love that Romeo felt for Juliet?"
Troy shrugged uncomfortably and turned back to the front. "Ms Darbus, you were saying?"
"What a thrilling way to begin our studies! This is the kind of discussion and critical thinking I am expecting of you now that you are seniors. But, what Troy and Gabriella were saying is precisely what I want you all to think about," she said, waving the skirt of her dress around the small stage.
Chad gave a thumbs down and said, "Boo!"
"Thank you for your contribution, Mr Danforth. Continue with that attitude and you will be joining Mr Bolton in detention."
Chad quickly slouched further in his seat. "Sorry, Ms Darbus."
Ms Darbus nodded pointedly. "Your assignment for this week will be to take one key scene-yes, it will be assigned to you, Mr Danforth."
Chad lowered his hand and groaned, letting his head fall onto his desk.
"And you must make it appealing for your peers. Think of costumes, sets, music, props. Everything that makes a show unique, use it to your advantage. But, beneath all of those things, every production relies on teamwork. So you will be working in pairs. Find your co-director," Ms Darbus exclaimed, grinning at the class.
Gabriella tapped Taylor's shoulder. "Taylor, do you have a partner?"
"Sorry Gabriella. I'm going to be with my boyfriend, Chad. Someone's got to help maintain his grades." She smiled apologetically before she gathered her belongings and took a seat next to Chad.
Gabriella looked around, spotting Sharpay with an African-American, Kelsi sitting with Jason, and a room full of strangers who already knew each other. She slowly raised her hand. "Ms Darbus? I don't have a partner."
"Who else doesn't have a partner?" she called, gazing around the classroom. "Mr Bolton? I see you are sitting alone."
"Ms Darbus, I can't be partnered with her," he exclaimed.
"But you are," she said, pointing to the empty seat next to Gabriella.
Troy sulkily grabbed his backpack and moved to the vacant seat. He glared at Gabriella but she just rolled her eyes. As Ms Darbus began visiting each pair and assigning scenes, Troy and Gabriella remained silent. She occupied herself by familiarising herself with the text. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Troy tapping his desk with a pencil. She shuffled in her seat, attempting to drown it out but it became too much, so she did what any rational new student on their first day would do. She reached across to snatch the pencil from him and snapped it in half, placing the remains of his pencil in front of him.
"I think that was a bit unnecessary, don't you?" he said, bringing another pencil from his backpack and starting all over again.
She clenched her hands into fists as Ms Darbus approached. "Ms Darbus, please don't make me work with him."
"Why not?" she asked calmly.
"Because he's infuriating, that's why," Gabriella exploded. "He's self centred, conceited, and just expects everyone to kiss the ground he walks on."
"Would you like to swap partners?"
Gabriella glanced at Troy and shrugged. "I don't see how this can end well."
"It's your choice Miss Montez. But, I must explain to you that Troy is one of the most valued members of our drama club," Ms Darbus explained, nodding in the direction of Troy.
Troy merely smirked at Gabriella and continued tapping the desk.
She sighed. "Fine. What scene do we have?"
"Act I, Scene v," Ms Darbus said, moving away towards Chad and Taylor.
"We have to kiss?" Troy exclaimed.
Gabriella rolled her eyes as she grabbed her books and pushed past Troy, bumping into his shoulder. "That's what happens in the scene."
"I'm not kissing you," he protested as he followed her into the hall.
She turned around, causing him to crash into her. She stepped back and took a deep breath. "You don't have to kiss me."
"I don't?" he asked, his eyes lighting up.
"Of course not. That is, of course, if you want to fail. I've been here one day and I can tell Ms Darbus just swoons over attention to detail. And the kiss is a pretty big detail."
He groaned, rubbing his eyes. "I can't fail. This is the only class I'm good at apart from gym."
"So what are you going to do?"
A look of reluctance washed over his face. "I'll meet you in the library after school."
Without another word, Troy turned around and headed in the other direction. Gabriella headed towards her AP calculus class. She approached Taylor and smiled. "Anyone sitting here?"
Taylor shook her head. "No. Chad isn't smart enough for AP classes. I love him but he has more socks than IQ points."
Gabriella laughed and sat down. "Well, you know, you can never have too many socks."
Taylor grinned. "How'd you find drama?"
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Please don't go there. Maybe ask me in ten years after I've seen a therapist about it. Tell me, how's Mr Russo?"
"The coolest. Don't worry, there's no sing song voice, no flowy clothes. Just math, but he's really funny. You know, in a dad kind of way," she explained, aligning her notebook perfectly with the edge of the desk.
Before Gabriella could respond, the door swung open and Mr Russo, a large, balding man, wandered in, setting his briefcase on his desk. "Good morning class, let's start by warming up with some mental arithmetic. Why was six afraid of seven?"
"Seven eight nine," the class chorused in response.
Mr Russo grinned, evidently pleased that his class humoured him. He then turned to the blackboard, explaining numerous equations and calculations. He slipped a few extra jokes in around the sums but focussed on his teaching.
Gabriella scribbled in her notebook, barely looking at her textbook or the blackboard. Math made sense for her. It was easy and came naturally for her. When life confused her, she opened her math book and she saw things clearly.
She suddenly frowned and looked up at the board, tapping her pen against the desk. "That should be sixteen over pi," she mumbled.
Mr Russo turned away from the board, his gaze landing on Gabriella. "Do you have something to say," he paused to glance at some paperwork, "Miss Montez? You're our new student, right?"
Gabriella shuffled in her seat and nodded. "Yes, sir."
"And what did you say?"
"Um, shouldn't the second equation read sixteen over pi?" she asked.
"That's quite impossible," he exclaimed. However, he tapped a few buttons on his calculator and raised his eyebrow as he amended the equation. "I stand corrected. Have you met Taylor?"
"Kind of."
"Welcome aboard, Miss Montez," he said, grinning her way.
Sat in the computer section of the library, Gabriella glanced at the clock. She wasn't exactly shocked, but disappointed that Troy had bailed on her. She had actually imagined him turning up, if only because drama seemed like a really big deal for him. She thought that he'd take a group project a big more seriously. How wrong she had been.
Typical. It was her first day and she was already getting messed around by some high school primo boy. He wasn't even that big of a deal. He could make a jump shot and recite a few lines for a play and everyone adored him. She'd been at a few different schools over the years, courtesy of her father's career, and she'd seen plenty of Troy Bolton's. It just so happened that East High's was the worst.
She flicked through Romeo and Juliet, reading the passages they had been assigned. She imagined Troy on stage, playing Romeo, vowing to love Juliet for eternity, and the entire female population of East High vowing to get his face tattooed on their butts. Sadly, she feared that the only way he would ever pull off playing Romeo Montague was because of his good looks.
She dug her cell phone from the bottom of her bag and saw that she had two texts from her father, a missed call from her brother, and a text from Sharpay, who had insisted on exchanging numbers at lunch. She replied to her father, ignored Sharpay and sent a text to her brother.
When she went back to the home screen of her phone, she stared at the clock blinking up at her. Twenty minutes. It had been twenty minutes since the last class finished. And she felt like an idiot for even waiting that long.
She grabbed her bag and headed out into the hall, her thumb hovering over Sharpay's name. She knew she might regret this but Sharpay gave the vibe of being someone who knew more about other people's business than her own.
"Sharpay speaking and if this is you, Jason, get off my phone," Sharpay yelled.
Gabriella hesitantly held her phone to her ear, not even realising that she had pressed 'call'. "Hi Sharpay, don't you have caller ID?"
There was a moment of rustling. "Sorry Gabriella. Jason and I don't exactly get along and he prank calls me nonstop."
Gabriella headed towards her locker. "Sorry to bother you. I was just wondering: do you know where Troy is?"
"He should be driving home right now. Why?"
"We agreed to work on the drama project after school and he was a no show. I just wondered if you knew where he was." She opened her locker and pulled out her motorcycle helmet, tucking it under arm.
"I'm sorry, I don't," Sharpay murmured.
"It's not your fault. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Sharpay." Gabriella hung up and pushed her phone into the pocket of her jeans.
She headed towards the main entrance, passing by a few students who were evidently involved in extracurricular activities. Otherwise, the school was deserted.
She approached a classroom with the door open and halted in her tracks when she glanced in. Of course. Why hadn't she guessed that this was the outcome? She had a 4.0 GPA and had corrected Mr Russo in AP calculus. And still, she had been stupid enough to believe that Troy Bolton, East High's golden boy, cared about a grade.
She stepped closer to the door, looking in on Troy holding on to a cheerleader as if his life depended on it. The cheerleader was acting as if she was having trouble breathing and he was giving her mouth to mouth. Gabriella felt sure she was about to vomit.
She ran her hand through her hair, wondering if she should disturb them and what would happen if she did. What the hell? She wasn't exactly having a stellar day so far.
She banged her helmet against the row of lockers beside the door. The result was pretty comic and almost made up for the way Troy had acted towards her.
Troy and the cheerleader sprang apart as if they were being electrocuted. She collided with the teacher's desk, knocking a pile of papers flying. Troy, however, had attempted to jump on to one of the desks, promptly slid off, and fell to the floor. He jumped up and scratched the back of his head, trying and failing to act nonchalant. Gabriella hoped he was a better actor in the theatre.
The cheerleader smoothed her skirt and stepped towards Gabriella. "Listen, we'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone what we were doing. The school doesn't exactly approve of PDA, if you know what I mean." She winked at Gabriella. "How much will it cost to keep this our little secret?"
Gabriella quirked an eyebrow and looked the cheerleader up and down.
"Hello? Are you mute or something?" she exclaimed.
Troy suddenly clambered around the desks and skidded to a halt next to the cheerleader. "Uh, Katherine, this is Gabriella Montez. She's new here and we're project partners in drama class. Gabriella, this is Katherine."
Katherine frowned. "So what do you want?"
Gabriella looked up at Troy and just stared, wondering how long it would take him to remember. She could see Katherine out of the corner of her eye looking impatiently between the two.
Troy began shaking his head and shrugged. He opened his mouth and swiftly shut it again. "Gabriella," he began.
Without another word, Gabriella turned around and continued on her way to the parking lot.
"Wait. Gabriella, wait up," Troy called.
She heard the clatter of footsteps and a moment later, Troy was walking beside her. "I don't care, Troy."
"Let me explain," he pleaded.
"There's nothing to explain. I'm your project partner, not your girlfriend," she muttered.
"Look, I'm sorry." He grabbed her arm, forcing her to face him. "I hadn't seen Katherine all day. I completely spaced."
She shrugged. "Like I said: I don't care."
"What if we work on it now? I can come to your house. Or you can come to mine," he offered.
She sighed. "I don't really want your jerk germs in my house. And I don't want to go to yours. But we do have to make a start. Follow me to my house."