Okay, here's the third chapter, it gets more Troypay towards the end. Again, I'm just kinda filling the blanks until I can get started with the fun stuff :D Thanks so much to you reviewers! You make writing this fun :D:D hope you enjoy this, let me know what you think!
"Okay, now that you're all here…I trust by the looks on your faces that you've had enough fun for the day, so, it's time to start the hard work!"
A request such as this could only be met with groans from the senior class. Miss Darbus had gathered the students in a private room within the hotel; most of them still wet and dripping from the pool, wrapped in towels and only half listening.
"Now now," she added, bemused at their lack of enthusiasm, "settle down! The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can dismiss you to your…rooms for the evening." She repressed a shudder, remembering that on this occasion the students had been encouraged to book their own rooms, due to lack of school funds. The upside was that it meant each person was able to attend the trip. Unfortunately for the faculty, it also meant that the school had to turn a blind eye when the students booked mixed-gender suites. The flustered drama teacher put the thought out of her head, there was nothing she could do about the situation - so ignorance was bliss.
"Right, first I'm going to start handing around everybody's timetables, Sharpay and Ryan, you can help me - take half between you, but please people! Don't start reading them until I've finished speaking."
Sharpay and her brother stood up from the cushioned armchairs they had sunken into, trying to fake eagerness, but both already missing their seats. Miss Darbus caught the fall in Sharpay's brow and Ryan's stifled yawn however, and she scowled, turning to Jack Bolton, whispering,
"I don't understand why they're so uninterested! You would expect a trip to Hawaii to put a bounce in their step, I mean, for mercy's sake!"
"I think you stepped on their bounce when you chose to use the words 'hard work' Maureen," winked Jack, with a smile on his face that Maureen only saw as a mocking smirk. She scowled again.
"Miss…?" called a small voice from the middle of the crowd of students.
"Yes… erm," she looked for the speaker's face, "Kelsie, there you are, yes, what is it?"
"What do the bits shaded in blue mean?"
At this, Coach Bolton rose from the desk he had sat on, wide grin forming. This was his cue.
"Those 'bits' Kelsie, signify sports leisure time," his grin was matched then by the Wildcats, and only Sharpay mirrored Miss Darbus' roll of the eyes.
"Each day, for a two hour slot, the school board recommended that we charge your bodies, instead of just your minds, and for that period, I've arranged a different sporting activity each day," he paused for effect while watching the twinkle in the basket-ball team's eyes, " and the first slot will be devoted to basket-ball."
The groans and cheers which followed sounded equally divided, but in reality Sharpay's voice just rang out far louder than the team's.
"The second day," he added quickly, staring pointedly at Sharpay and Ryan, "we will try our hands at golf."
There he paused again, and only silence filled the room, small smiles emanating only from the Evans twins… and the basketball captain. However, when the coach mentioned the third sport he had lined up, the whole student body erupted into excitement. White-water rafting.
"That enough 'bounce' for you?" Jack smiled at Miss Darbus again, but she remained as petulant as before. Sports weren't going to be the only interesting aspect of the trip, and she was determined to believe it so. Little did she realise how right she was.
"Troy!" Jack Bolton called; Miss Darbus was again attempting to silence the class, but it was taking longer than usual. Troy sighed a little and shut his mouth - this was the first problem with a parental chaperone, one of his dad's eyes was always on the other students, but the other eye was permanently on him. The second problem with a parental chaperone arose when Gabriella started to stroke the back of Troy's hand with her fingers; he caught his dad's stare and uncomfortably shook Gabby off.
"Sorry," he mouthed, nudging his head in his father's direction, but not waiting for a reply before he turned to finally give Miss Darbus his attention. And then his view was blocked by a flash of hot pink quickly covered with a towel.
"Timetable," Sharpay said quietly, smiling but not looking at him in the eye. She held out the piece of paper; Troy followed her manicured hand along a bronze arm and over the smooth curve of her shoulder. There were three red lines on her neck, where he assumed she had been scratching; a small bite, probably mosquito, rested just above her collar bone. He smiled in return, not trusting himself to speak. Why did I have to open that bedroom door??
He took the timetable, and accidentally brushed her fingers with his own. The contact only lasted a second, but a lifetime of thoughts swirled around his head at that moment, though he couldn't even concentrate on one.
"Sorry," he whispered, as Miss Darbus looked over at the two of them, evidently eager for the timetables to be done with.
"It's fine," Sharpay mumbled, followed by something Troy couldn't quite hear. She turned quickly and stepped away with one last sheet to give out, then her face moved through a slit of light between the curtains and Troy blinked. Was she blushing…?? He almost smiled to himself, but then dismissed the idea. Sharpay never blushed, she was cool as ice. She hadn't even faltered when supposedly "chasing" him at Lava Springs. But then, Troy had never believed that she had actually liked him. It had been summer and she must have been bored. No, he thought, she definately hadn't been blushing.
"Now that you've all had a chance to look at your timetables, I'm going to put you in your groups of six."
Ryan held his sister's hand, confident, but not completely sure that they would be working together, and while his sister crossed her fingers with him, she also hoped that a certain someone would not be in her group. Or did that feeling at the bottom of her stomach mean she did want him to be with her? Before she could decide, the names were being read out.
"Okay, in the Blue group, we have… Martha, James, Chad, Taylor, Kelsie and Jason." These students smiled and the girls hugged each other cheerfully.
"In the Pink group…" Ryan felt Sharpay's hand clench beneath his - the Pink group? Come on, that's got to be us, he could sense her think.
"Sharpay, Ryan," they both squealed, "…Gabriella," the hand that had clutched Ryan's with anticipation now clutched it with something else, "Zeke, Jessie, and Troy."
It was then that Ryan jerked away his hand, if you could still call it that, though it now resembled a squashed claw. He nursed the blood back into his fingers and stared at Sharpay with one raised eyebrow and a half smile he couldn't hold.
"Erm… OW!" he cried. She composed herself and side stared, first at him, then over her shoulder at the couple sitting oh-so-closely together. Gabriella was brimming with giggles, and Troy was clearly so giddy he could barely look at his girlfriend - he just stared at the floor, every now and again smiling whenever Gabby nudged him.
Sharpay sighed inwardly, and looked again at Ryan. At least I'm with my brother, she thought, giving optimism a try. If only she had waited a second longer before turning to face the teachers again; she may have had a lot more to be optimistic about...
It wasn't a big gesture - but it was significant; in a moment of glee, Gabriella had smiled at Troy, lips pursed and ready, after checking that Coach Bolton was occupied elsewhere (which he was), then she had leant towards him, only for her lips to meet with his cheek as he had turned away at the last second. And then his eyes would have met with Sharpay's.
But she had turned back, so his stare met only with her silky blonde hair.