Chapter 3

"Sharpay Evans", Nancy called out over the intercom. Sharpay got up and walked towards the nurse's station.

"Yes?" Sharpay asked.

"Your father's heart rate is dropping drastically. He doesn't have much time to live. You have about five more minutes with him."

"Thank you." Sharpay walked through the swinging doors and back to where her father laid on the cold bed. "I love you, daddy. I know Ryan never had a close relationship with you, but he still loves you. He really does. I just can't believe that this is happening! First mom, and now you, what am I going to do?"

"Sharpay?" she heard a familiar voice coming from the doorway behind her. She spun around and saw Ryan looking back at her.

"Ryan! You came!"

"Yeah, I thought about how much Dad meant to you and decided that I should be here with you."

"Thank you, Ryan! You don't know how much it means to me for you to be here with me." She hugged him as more tears came down her face.

"Anytime Sis! By the way, are you and Bolton going out again?"

"Yeah, but keep it on the DL. We don't want anyone to know about our relationship 'til we break the news to his parents and Gabriella."

"Why?"

"Because if Coach Bolton finds out from someone at school before we tell him, he will flip!"

"Oh, I guess you're right."

"Of course, I'm right. I'm always right."

"But, there was that one…"

"No" she interrupted, "there wasn't."

Just then Nancy came in and said "You have one minute with your father."

"Thank you, Nancy."

"No problem, honey."

Sharpay turned back to her father and just said: "Goodbye" and walked out of the room and back to the waiting room where Troy was still sitting, with Ryan at her heels. She walked up to Troy with tears streaming down her face. He embraced her in a deep hug and lightly kissed the top of her head. Meanwhile, Ryan was silently threatening him with evil glares (that he learned from his sister). Ryan was jealous that Sharpay was turning to Troy for comfort instead of himself.

"Troy, we have to go pick up our homework and I need to pick-up Kelsi."

"Are you sure you just don't want to go home and rest for a bit? I can pick up Kelsi."

"Oh, would you?"

"Actually," Ryan butted in, " I will pick her up since I know where Ms. Darbus lives and she knows me better."

"But I have to pick-up my homework anyway."

"Well, you can pick up YOUR homework and I will pick up Shar's and Kelsi."

"Dude, that doesn't make any sense."

"What doesn't make sense is the fact that after three years you and Shar are back together. And, on top of that, you're still dating another girl! That's what doesn't make sense "Dude"!" Ryan was literally screaming at the top of his lungs, but Sharpay could scream louder.

"Stop yelling! This isn't the time or place to do this! Wait, at least, until we get to the house!" The boys were shocked at the power of her voice, and were left speechless. Sharpay calmed down and finally said: "Now let's go." With that she walked out the door and got into Ryan's car, since Troy was going by Ms. Darbus'.

She heard a tap on the window and turned to see Troy standing there. "Um, Sharpay, how do you get to her house?"

"She lives like a block from where you do. 101 Bear Creak."

"Really? That's kind of scary…"

"Seriously."

"Anyway, I'll see you in like half an hour, okay?" He leaned down to kiss her but heard Ryan start the car engine, obviously on purpose.

"Bye." Sharpay called as they pulled out of the parking lot.

It had been an hour since Troy left the hospital for Ms. Darbus' house, and Sharpay was starting to get worried. But just then the door opened and in walked Troy and Kelsi, who was in awe from the big house.

"Hey, what took you so long?"

"I got there in like ten minutes, but when I got there, Ms. Darbus started asking me all these questions and then she gave me the "If you ever hurt her…" speech. You would have thought she was your mom or dad."

"Well, she is kind-of like my mom. Since I don't have one, she has always acted like a mom to me."

"Yeah, well, it kind-of scared me."

"She can be pretty intimidating."

"Tell me about it…"

All this time Kelsi had just been standing in the living room staring at all of the amazing paintings and artworks. She had never seen anything like it in her life. She came from a poor family who didn't rely on money, but family, to keep them happy. But apparently money was working pretty well for the Evans family.

"Hey Kelsi," Sharpay brought her out of her thoughts and back into the real world, "would you like something to drink?"

"Oh, um, water, I guess."

"Oh, come on! Go out on a limb! What do you really want? We have anything you want!"

"Okay, how about a virgin strawberry daiquiri?"

"Troy what do you want?"

"Just a regular Dr. Pepper, please."

"No problem." She went to the other side of the room and pushed a button on the intercom. "Rachel? Can we get a virgin strawberry daiquiri, a regular dr. pepper, and a Cosmo?"

"No problem Ms. Evans."

"Thank you."

Kelsi was looking at Sharpay with a confused look on her face. "But Sharpay, doesn't a Cosmo have alcohol in it?"

Sharpay was now walking up to her room with the two following behind her. "Yeah, why?"

"Isn't that illegal?"

"My dad said as long as I'm at home, he doesn't care. Now if I go out and drink, that's a different story."

"Wow, your parent's are really cool, Sharpay!"

"Were."

"What?"

"My parents were really cool. They're both dead now."

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't know that they had died.' They were now in her room and Kelsi was in awe once again.

"It's okay, my mom died when I was six, and my dad just died this afternoon, so you couldn't have known. Hey, do you'll want to go swimming?"

"We don't have anything to wear." Troy spoke up after quietly sitting there for a while.

"I'm sure we can find something for you. Come on Kelsi." Sharpay walked into her closet, but Kelsi was hesitant to follow, until Troy ushered her inside.

"Oh my god, Sharpay! Your closet is the size of my room, if not bigger!"

"This is actually the master suite, but my Dad let me have it since I was the girl. Here, try this on." She handed Kelsi a cute pink Dolce and Gabanna two-piece.

"Are you sure you want me to wear this? I bet it was really expensive, and it still has the tags on it."

"It's okay, and why don't you just go ahead and keep it, I have another one just like it."

"Wow, thanks, Sharpay!"

"No problem! Now you need sunglasses." She walked over to another section of her closet to a glass wall with at least forty-five pairs of sunglasses on it.

"That's a lot of sunglasses!" Kelsi said quietly.

"Oh, that's not all of them. These are just my summer sunglasses."

"There's more!"

"Of coarse," Sharpay said flatly, "why wouldn't there be."

"I guess I thought there was no need for sunglasses in the winter."

"Oh! Sorry I thought you would have known. No hard feelings."

"Of coarse not," Kelsi sang proudly.

Kelsi went back into Sharpay's bathroom and changed. Inside the bathroom was a giant princess tub and every beauty product ever made was displayed on the counter.

"What about me," Troy said curiously.

"Oh, right. Follow me."

They walk across the staircase ledge and into a smaller more empty room.

Sharpay walked into a small walk-in closet and searched the drawers. When she came out she was holding a red, Hawaiian print bathing suit that Ryan never wore.

"Thanks. Now where do I change?"

"You can change in Ryan's bathroom across the hall. Third door on your right."

"Thanks."

After a few minutes they all met out by the pool in bathing suits. Sharpay was wearing a very expensive Guess cover-up. They all knew Sharpay did not want to swim.

About an hour went by and they started to get hungry so they went inside and called for Rachel.

"What do you all want to eat?" Sharpay asked Kelsi and Troy.

"I'll have a grilled cheese sandwich with a small salad on the side."

"I'll have a burger with fries and a milkshake, please."

"And I'll have a Caesar salad with extra croutons, please"

"Your only having a salad?!" said Troy in shock.

"Yeah I'm not that hungry," Sharpay said sadly.

"Still upset about your dad," Kelsi said sympathetically.

"No. I'm worried about what is going to happen with Troy's parents."

"Let's not worry about that now. Let's just eat." Troy said.

When twenty minutes had past they had finished their food and were heading back to the pool. Sharpay took up her pink chair and Kelsi and Troy got back in the pool.

"Why don't you ever swim, Sharpay?" Kelsi asked.

"When I was six, my family and I went to Hawaii for vacation. I was out in the water, when this huge wave crashed on top of me. They kept breaking on top of me, so I couldn't come up for air. Finally, they stopped and I had gone unconscious. They rushed me to the hospital and I was there for two weeks. The doctors said that the amount of water I had taken in permanently damaged my lungs, so now I have to go every two weeks to the hospital for a check-up. That's how I know the nurses so well, Troy."

"But Sharpay, if your lungs are damaged, how are you such a great singer?"

"I don't know. The doctors said that it was a miracle that I could even sing a note."

"Wow, you've been through a lot Sharpay!"

"I know, but I like to keep an eye on the more positive things in life, instead of dwelling over the negative things. And on top of that, Troy's parents are going to be hard to break."

"How about you come over later tonight and we can talk to them. And we can drop Kelsi off on the way."

"Ok, that sounds good."