It was now Thursday and the gang had woken up to the smell of fresh blueberry pancakes. They washed up in time for the breakfast to be done. Right after they took their last potty break before they all gathered outside on the front porch.
"So we'll try to stop by again on our way down. Thanks again for everything Aunt Jenny." Chad said as he embraced his ant in a tight hug.
"Need to thank me, you're family! Besides, I haven't seen you since your graduation, it was the least I could've done!" She exclaimed once she pulled back and smiled as she spoke.
"Well thank you Jenny for welcoming us into your lovely home." Taylor said as she and Gabriella also hugged her.
"Thanks for the hospitality. We really appreciated it!" Gabriella said before the threesome walked towards the Explorer, which already had the suitcases inside.
"Ya'll come back now!" Jenny called out from the porch as the all got into the vehicle.
"Bye aunt Jenny…send my love to uncle Howard for me, will you?" He waved his final goodbye as his aunt nodded her head in agreement. With that Chad turned on the ignition and drove out of the driveway, making their way to the highway.
"Well, according to the map, our next state should be Virginia," stated Taylor from the passenger seat, "Chad are you sure you want to drive? You've been driving most of the road trip, Gabs and I won't mind taking the wheel for a bit…"
"Nah, its ok, really. You ladies just sit back, relax, listen to the radio, and enjoy the open road."
"Well if that case, could you turn up the radio please? I love the song playing!" Gabriella said as she squeal while Taylor turned the music up loader, noting that it was 'Keep's Getting Better' by Christina Aguilera. Both girls began to sing as Chad made a face.
"You guy's got to be kidding me! What kind of bizarre lyri-"
"Chad Danforth, don't even go there! This song has a great beat and it speaks some truth about every female not only as a individual but at the common trait we all share. Some days we are super bitches and then we can become your super girl the next. Those simple words speak a lot that men don't understand…us females wouldn't be so confusing if you guys just paid attention to the little details!" Gabriella defended while Taylor smirked on, backing Gabriella up while she nodded.
"Well excuse me, Ms. Sudden Lawyer. Didn't mean to offend you there…gosh." Chad said with a scoff.
"Hmm! Since you think this music is bizarre, what do you prefer then? Huh?" Gabriella challenged as Chad looked through the rearview mirror and stared at her for a quick second.
He narrowed his eyes as he took another look at her and said, "I'll take that challenge!"
His right hand reached out for the radio, his fingers fumbling with the buttons to find a song he would normally enjoy. He grinned when he found something that met his standards and turned the radio up even louder, the girls putting on a disgusted expression from the lyrics of 'Sexy Can I?' by Ray J.
"Chad, those lyrics are just sexual and demeaning to women. It's just about screwing her just because she looks good. Ugh…men…" Gabriella said over the music.
"Sorry Chad, but Gabbi's right. As the self proclaimed judge of this battle, Gabriella wins this round!" Taylor said as she turned the volume down.
"No fair! She just wins because she's a girl!" the young man said disbelievingly. Gabriella gloated from the backseat, boasting it in Chad's face that he was the loser.
"Get over it Danforth. I won fair and square so don't be such a sore loser!" The brunette replied, grinning from ear to ear.
"Fine then! Lets move on to round two Montez…" he said back, this time with more determination to win.
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Before Troy left for the theater, he called his wife Pamela on the phone since they wouldn't be meeting for lunch yet again.
"Yeah baby…I've barely seen you for the past few days…I know you're busy but I want tonight to be different…No, not dinner…maybe a movie and some junk food? Like old times…okay…no it's fine, I understand…I'll talk to you later…Love you too. Bye." He hung up the phone since Pam had to get back to work, contemplating what movie to rent for the evening.
'Oh well…I'll figure it out later then. Let's see, Mugsy has been walked and fed, I already ate, my keys are in my pocket, cell phone is in my hand…what else am I missing?' Troy looked around him to see if there was anything left and realized that he was prepared to head out.
"Bye Mugsy! Off to work daddy goes…" He called out before closing and locking the apartment door.
Troy strolled towards his car in the parking lot and saw a petite brunette with long wavy hair on the other side of the lot. He stared at her slender frame and couldn't help but wonder if that was a vision of the female from his past.
'Nah, that cant be her, can it? What would she be doing in New York anyway?' He questioned himself. 'Its possible that she could be here, it's a small world after all, right?'
He was about to walk in her direction to get a better view but stopped when she turned around and he got a better look at her, noting that it wasn't the one he thought it would've been. 'Get a grip Bolton!'
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Pamela sat at her desk as while Lance sat on a chair in front of her, massaging her feet.
"Why are you still with the guy, Pam? It's not like you seriously love him if you're just playing him…" Lance asked, curiosity getting the best of him.
"I do love Troy but its not enough for me to stay faithful to the guy. Its like the saying 'I love you but I'm not in love with you' except I sort of feel something but its not much. Besides, I'm in it because he's a star. He's on Broadway and we know that once the right people take a good look at him, he's going to be huge. I'm waiting for that, and then I could leave this exhausting job and stay home all day while he brings in the bacon. See where I'm going with this, Lancy-bear?"
"Ahh, I do. Smart moves Pam, smart moves…"
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"I spy with my little eyes, something…BLUE!" said Gabriella from the backseat. The gang changed their car game every so often to keep themselves entertained.
"The Corolla driving beside us?" Taylor guessed.
"Nope…Chad, what do you think it is?" Gabriella replied.
"The sign that we just passed that said 'Intersection 415'?" asked Chad.
"Nope, you both lost! I won! The answer is: The sky." She said almost sarcastically since no one could guess the easy answer.
"You're kidding me right? The sky?! How did we not guess that?" Taylor asked disbelievingly.
"We were just outsmarted by Ms. Montez, Tay." Chad said with a chuckle and shook his head. "You know something? If you guys take a nap and we rotate who drives every so often, we could be in New York by lets say, I don't know, maybe seven more hours?" Chad said as he briefly looked over at Taylor as she thought out his proposition.
"Well it's only three o'clock right now. I think you might be right since we're practically almost in Pennsylvania. Sound's like a good idea to me!" Taylor said, agreeing with Chad. "What do you think, Gabbi?"
"Sounds fine with me too. Besides, the sooner we get there, the more time we get to be tourists! I'm dying to see The Statue of Liberty!" Gabriella exclaimed.
"Not to mention that we'll get to see Bolton too. Cant wait to see that punk…boy will he be surprised when he sees us. You know, I would of thought that Sharpay or Ryan would've been the one on Broadway, not Troy." Chad thought aloud.
"Yeah, but Sharpay surprisingly eloped with her garden boy, remember? What was his name again? Sergio…Dominique…no, those weren't it…Oh! Xavier! That was it!" Taylor reminded everyone of what happened on Sharpay's behalf. "As for Ryan, didn't he become a gay porn producer?"
"Yeah, I think he did. Who didn't see that one coming?" Chad giggled from Gabriella's question.
"True. Well anyways, I suggest you ladies get napped up because in about another hour or so, one of you will be grabbing the wheel." Chad suggested with a firm tone.
"Alright Father Chad. As you wish. If you, I could actually drive now while you rest. Tay could stay awake with me so it wouldn't be so silent." Gabriella replied, showing how considerate she could be.
"Will you? That would be great actually. Let me just pull into the gas station coming up so we could fill the tank and buy some goodies since we ain't stopping." He said as they drove for another minute before reaching the gas station on the highway.
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"So yea Kels, the girl looked exactly looked Gabriella from behind, it was weird." Troy explained the event from earlier that day to Kelsi, after the first show of the day was done.
"Ironic I guess. Maybe it's a sign." She simply replied.
"A sign? What kind of sign? What could that possibly represent?" He looked over at her confused.
"I don't know, maybe it means that she's still somewhere out there for you…or that maybe she's always going to be there for you." Kelsi replied with seriousness in her voice. Troy seemed to have been thinking about her answer when he finally spoke up moments later.
"Perhaps, but fate wouldn't bring her out of the blue out of nowhere, would it? Especially now when its not like I could be with her…"
Little did Troy know, fate was doing just that.
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Gabriella drove along the highway while Taylor munched on one of the goodies they bought and while Chad slept in the backseat.
"Tay, you were right about what you said the other night. I'm still nervous about this whole thing but kind of excited. This whole experience is actually thrilling and spontaneous…Thanks for pushing me to go through with this." Gabriella said sincerely as she heard Taylor 'Awwing' at her. "Shutup Tay! I'm serious…thanks."
"No problem Gabs. It's my job as your best friend to push you to limits that you didn't think possible, and this was one of them. There really is no need to thank me, thank yourself for actually agreeing to this." The passenger replied.
"I guess so. So, we're officially in Pennsylvania. What state is after this Tay?" the driving brunette asked.
"According to the map, we just have to go through New Jersey, and then we'll be entering New York! Gosh, almost a weeks worth of driving all the way from New Mexico." Taylor said while exaggerating an exhausted sigh.
"Speak for yourself, I came from California."
"Oh yeah, cant forget that. Want some water?" Taylor asked as she pulled out a water bottle from the plastic bag on her lap.
"No thanks, I'm good for now…" Gabriella replied.
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"Alright babe…talk to you later, got to go get ready 'cause the next show is about to begin…Love you too. Bye." Troy hung up the phone on his wife as he walked towards his dressing room, contemplating a specific brunette.
'Why cant I seem to get her off my mind lately? I know she normally pops up into my head but it's never this often. Gabriella is a part of the previous years of my life, so what role does she play now? The role of a distant memory? Or is it the role of a former flame…more like first love? I'm so confused!!! UGH! Maybe it's from the how Pam has been lacking lately. Yeah, that's all it is. Since my current love hasn't been around much, I keep thinking back on my first. Why didn't I stay and try to make things work, even after I promised her that…I'm such an asshole for that one. I wonder what it would be like if we saw each other now, would she hate me? Does she forgive me? It doesn't matter now…' he thought while he got dressed in his first stage outfit.
"Mr. Bolton…The curtain will be up in ten…the stage manager wants you front and center as of now." One of the crewmembers said as he peeked his head into the doorway.
"No Problem Steve…I'll be out now."
'I guess its show time…'
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So this is the shortest chapter I have written so far...stay tuned for the next one, the gang is finally making it to New York!
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