Well, I dunno about you, but I'm getting a real high from writing these stories, I'm turning into Kelsi herself!

Recap

"Wow, you have a real talent for writing, that was hilarious! I loved the bit where the wine glass spilled all over you, that was too much. Do you usually write stories like that?"

"Yeah. Just something to do, really. I've never had someone to look at my work and say 'that's great!' or 'needs more work', so I'm never sure of how good these are . . ." Mumbled Kelsi, and Candi gazed thoughtfully at her.

"I know who you can go to!" said Candi excitedly. "Come!" she led Kelsi over to where Sharpay, Ryan, and Gabriella were and for a moment Kelsi thought there were going to stop there. But then they did stop there and Candi whispered excitedly,

"Hey, Ryan, I found you a new writing buddy!"

"For god's sake! Where the heck is Nielsen now?" screamed Ms Darbus, almost ripping out her hair from frustration.

"Oh . . . I think she went to the toilet." lied Candi quickly. But of course, you couldn't trust Sharpay Evans to keep her lipstick-painted mouth shut.

"No she didn't!" accusing Candi, while examining her nails. "She went off with Ryan. I always knew something was going on with those two."

"You stupid dyke! I bet you've always had a thing for her haven't you Shar?" smirked Candi, and everyone stared at her, shocked. Ms Darbus wasn't having any of it.

"Excuse me, I will not have you-"

"You're one sick freak, you know that? How dare you suggest I'm a lesbian . . . !" spat Sharpay, standing up.

"Oh sorry, I got the wrong one!" enticed Candi, deliberately aggravating the blonde headed girl. She didn't mean any of it, and knew Kelsi and ryan wouldn't mind when she told them.

"It's always been Ryan you've had a soft spot for . . . "

Sharpay got her things and left Candi giggling in the auditorium. Ms Darbus helpless watched her leave, then rounded on Candi.

"Candi Wade," she began, "I don't even want to have to tell you-"

"I know Mrs D." And she also left.

"That's Ms Darbus to you young lady!" Ms Darbus bawled after her.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

Kelsi walked to a table in the cafeteria. It wasn't Lunch break yet, but it soon would be, and then the masses of East high would start pouring in. She sat down, and so did Ryan Evans, who was with her.

"So . . . how long have you been writing?" he asked. Taking out some bits and bobs.

"I dunno . . . well, today's Monday, so, about a week?" she shrugged.

"And can you just write them on the spot, or do you have to be in the right frame of mind? For example, could you write a short story now?"

Kelsi looked at him, smiling a little. She wasn't used to Ryan being so inquisitive, but obviously he enjoyed being in charge for once.

"Yeah, I guess so." Ryan got out a thick notepad, and handed her a few pages he had ripped out the back.

"Fire away."

Kelsi tapped the pen on her forehead as she tried to get some ideas. Nothing.

Frowning, she thought harder, but she got no inspiration at all. Ryan was playing with his hat, and not really paying attention.

Then she caught sight of a bright and bold superman motif on the front of somebody T-shirt. Getting a inkling of a brainwave, she grabbed the idea and instantly started to expand it.

Troy Bolton meets his match

Troy had always been 'The Star'. The one who took your breath away, the one who stole the show. No wonder he choose to go out with Sharpay Evans; she was his female equivalent, and so full of it.

His passion was the Performing Arts as his father was an Actor, but when he tried basketball, it was an instant triumph. He was running for Basketball Captain, and no one would stop him from achieving his goal.

No one.

"Hey babe!" said Sharpay, as she delicately kissed him on the cheek. They were at her house, and she'd just finished getting ready. "We'd better hurry if we're gonna get to the party in time!"

"Is that gay brother of yours coming?" sneered Troy, and Sharpay frowned.

"I prefer you not talking about my brother like that," said Sharpay disapprovingly, but Troy ignored her. They got in his car and drove to the party.

X X X

There were many things to notice at this party.

The first thing, was that the house was huge. The second thing was that there were loads of people there. And the third thing was that most of those people were crowded round something/someone that Sharpay and Troy couldn't see.

"What's going on?" He asked Candi, who was an Art Student. She did photography with a group of people that loved art forms, and most of them wore French hats. (A.N. I think they're called that . . .)

"New kid," she said shortly, studying the ruby-red wine in her glass.

Troy pushed his way to the centre of the crowd, to get a look at this new kid.

His skin was a rich colour, and he was wearing a casual shirt as well as black jeans. He had a cheerful face, and was well built. Lots of girls were lingering around, of course, wanting to get a look at him. Taking a good look at the guy, Troy held his hand out.

"Troy Bolton," He said proudly, his eyes finally resting on the boy's hair, which was wild and puffy, a cool afro-style.

"Chad Danforth." replied the boy, holding out his own hand, which Troy shook.

"I bet you've heard of me," Troy smiled. Chad frowned and said,

"I don't think I have, no," and Troy's smile disappeared. "But I know Jack Bolton, he-"

"Yeah, he's my Dad," Troy cut across smoothly, and Chad gave a little smile, and started talking to another girl who Candi hung around with. He suspected her name was Kelsi, but didn't really care.

Troy went to talk to his friends, but they were too interested in Chad. Troy wasn't used to being ignored. He tried to gain back Chad's attention.

"I take after my Dad really," raved Troy, "I like to act, you see."

"People say the same about me and my Dad," said Chad casually, "I love to act too, but Dad didn't make a living from that."

"Well . . ." Troy went on desperately "I'm brilliant at basketball too!"

"I'm not to bad either," smiled Chad, "I get it from Dad."

"Wow, I know who you are now!" said Sharpay excitedly, "Your Dad is so and so Danforth! The famous b-ball player, you're his son!"

(Sorry, I don't know Chad's dad's first name)

Suddenly, everyone wanted autographs from Chad's dad, and Troy got irritated. He's no better than my dad, he though grumpily.

"Okay then Danforth! If you're so great, let's have a game. You're the Captain of your team, I'm the Captain of mine."

"Okay," Chad shrugged, "Where's the game gonna be played?"

"East High gym," smirked Troy, "Best place to do it. And that's not all . . ."

Everyone waited for troy to finish what he was saying.

"Whoever wins gets to be East high's basketball Captain." Everyone was silent. Troy made his way out, and as he did, he called back,

"The match is this time next week. You have that long to get your team into shape."

X X X

Troy had a hard time getting his team.

So many people wanted to be on Chad's team, even after all the positions were filled. Troy's temper meant that all rational thought became irrational and unreasonable.

Troy managed to get his team practice in the spacious gym, but even though Chad and his team disappeared to an unknown place, they seemed to be getting along fine.

Troy had a feeling of doom in the pit of his stomach, and it wasn't going away. He wanted to make Chad look the fool, and he realised now, that putting the title of Captain into the bargain was stupid.

But that wouldn't change the fact that he was going to win tomorrow. He had to.

X X X

Chad was having a breeze. He loved basketball more than anything else, and his Dad helped him out with getting a place to practice. He even introduced his team to a few friends and had matches against them! It was difficult, but unbelievably fun.

It seemed they were all set for the game tomorrow. Well, Chad was. And if Chad was, that was all the hope they needed to win.

"Are you done? We'd better get back to the auditorium to rehearse the Second Act of the show. Lunch break has started." Ryan's informative voice drifted into her head, and Kelsi finished the sentence and stopped writing.

"Yeah, we'd better go," Kelsi said, standing up. "You okay?"

"No, I forgot my hat!" Ryan moaned, raising a hand to his forehead. "It's the one I'm using in the next scene . . . I left it in the boys changing rooms . . ."

"You go then, I'll get it." Kelsi said, and Ryan gave a little laugh.

"But it's in the boys changing rooms!" he said incredulously. Kelsi put her notepad away and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"And . . . ?" she grinned, leaving the now packed cafeteria, and Ryan grinned back. She walked down the hallway, dodging people here and there, and wondering if anyone would be in there. When she got to the changing rooms, she quickly looked around, before darting into the boys changing room.

It was empty and clean, but then as strange as it is, sometimes boys are cleaner than girls. Or maybe the female cleaners just like them better.

She wasn't sure where Ryan's gym locker was . . .

(A.N. I don't know if Americans have gym lockers, but in 'Bring it on' and 'John Tucker Must Die' they do, so sorry for stereotyping, but I wanted the story to be realistic. In my school, they just have benches.)

. . . so she just looked around. On the bench farthest from the door, she spotted a red and white striped cap, which, by the way, looked hideous, and didn't suit Ryan at all, but then, acting is acting!

Of course, at that time, the Basketball players came in to change for their Lunch break practice, and Kelsi quickly hid behind some lockers.

" . . . pretty hot. Okay, okay she not that great, but . . ."

Kelsi couldn't figure out who was speaking, but she hoped he wasn't talking badly about her. She peeked round the last locker . . . and saw that Troy himself was talking! He sounds different when he's with his cool friends . . . Kelsi thought.

"Okay, forget her. What about . . . Kelsi?" asked Zeke eagerly, and Troy was in thought for a while, as everyone took a seat on the benches. Kelsi shook her head, finding it convenient that they would just 'happen' to be talking about her while she was around.

"Yeah, she's cute. But she's too good a friend to be anything else."

Kelsi stomach lurched. Troy said she was cute! But even so, she was glad he thought of her as a friend; she didn't want to ruin their friendship, and neither did he apparently.

"Gabriella?" ventured Zeke slyly, and Troy said she was really nice, blushing a little as he did so. None of the other guys picked up on it though; they were too busy saying how hot Gabriella was.

Kelsi wrinkled her nose in disgust. None of the boys knew the real Gabriella.

"What about you Chad? You've been quiet! What do you think of Gabi?" joked Troy. Chad shrugged.

"Got nothing to say about her."

"Go on!" urged Zeke.

"Well . . . to be honest, I think . . ." Chad bent down to tie the laces on his right basketball trainer. "She's a witch. I hate her."

It was said so casually, that the other b-ball boys looked at Chad in shock, and Kelsi covered her mouth with her hand in surprise. Chad also hated Gabriella?

Troy was in shock for a full minute, then it rapidly switched to rage.

"Take that back," he said, angry. The others just watched. Chad finished his right foot, and looked at Troy for a second, before moving onto his left.

"No. Why? It's true. Anyone decent would know it's true."

"Actually . . . I thought she was pretty hot," said Zeke nervously. Jason patted his back and whispered,

"Dude, I don't think now is the time . . ."

"Actually, now's a perfect time." Chad went on coolly. "Let's have it all out, shall we? Everyone tell me what you know about Gabriella Montez, and then I'll tell you what the hell I know. She-is-a-backstabber." Chad finished the other foot, and stood up, now also angry.

Troy glared at him, fists clenched, then his whole body relaxed and he just gazed sadly at his best friend.

"Chad . . . why? You know how I feel about her . . ."

"And now you know I feel." Finished Chad, with a tone that meant the conversation was over, and he made his way to the door. However, Troy wouldn't let it go.

"You're hiding something from me." Troy said blankly. "Tell me what you're hiding." Chad ignored him, and put his hand on the doorknob.

"TELL ME!" Troy roared, and Kelsi jumped, now feeling a little scared. She wished she wasn't here, of all the places she could have been. She should be in the auditorium right now!

Clutching Ryan's cap, she peeked round the locker again. Troy's face was pained, Chad had his back to everyone and his hand on the doorknob, and the boy's faces were stunned.

"If I did, you wouldn't believe me or understand." Said Chad quietly. "You have to see to understand. I can't make you see, Troy. You have to want to see."

"You're just like Kelsi," Troy spat, resentment and loathing in his voice. Chad shook his head and left. The silence lingered in the changing rooms.

Just like Kelsi . . . Those words cut Kelsi so deep, for a few seconds she felt like she couldn't breathe. Clutching at her chest, she leaned against the lockers and slid down to the floor.

Suddenly, Kelsi felt she needed to leave immediately, to catch up with Chad. She had to talk to him. She wasn't going to wait for everyone to leave so that she could. She was going now.

Scrambling up, and rushing out from her hiding place, she raced to the door. The boys snapped back to reality. They yelled in shock and surprise, and some of them shrieked like girls, clutching clothes to their bare upper half. Kelsi was just glad none of them had bare lower half's!

Kelsi reached the door and wrenched it open, but not before he heard an anguished cry.

"Kelsi!"

Troy. She shook her head, not wanted to hear anything else from him.

When she got outside, Chad was a little way away from the door, breathing slowly. Kelsi looked at him. He did realise she was there, even though she was only about a meter away from him. She slowly walked up to him, and as he looked up she hugged him.

"What's this for?" He said in surprise. She didn't answer his question, but said,

"When Troy said you're like me, it's because I told him I didn't like Gabriella either. It's because you understand. I'm sorry for being so mean to you on Friday." She let go of him, and looked into his eyes deeply. "Thanks for understanding." And Chad smiled.

He was sad, she knew, and he hated fighting with his best friend, especially over a girl. Linking arms, they slowly walked to the auditorium.

They didn't speak, not because they had nothing to say, but because first the first time, Chad and Kelsi knew just what the other wanted to say.

It was good to have someone like that.

Troy put on his jacket, and started waling down the hallway. He'd had enough. He was going. Now, everyone thought he was-

"Hey!" Troy spun around. It was Chad.

"Good game," he smiled, and Troy scowled at him.

"Well, yeah, obviously it would be for you, because you won!"

Chad smile faded at he took a step closer. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"Because you already have everything I've worked my whole life for," said Troy bitterly. "And even my friends are drifting away from me. It's bad enough that my Dad is never around and never has time for me, but without my friends . . ."

"You're nothing." Finished Chad, and Troy nodded. "Troy . . . do you think I got what I wanted just like that? I had to work to earn my status as well, no matter who my dad is. What I don't understand is . . . why we can't be friends. It sounds to me that we could use each other as a friend."

Troy turned around to face him, giving Chad a smile. "Yeah . . . I guess so."

Can you guess what happened next? You think Troy and Chad skipped off into the horizon and lived happily ever after? Not quite.

That very evening, they spent five hours talking about basketball and acting, and got into mega trouble. Not to mention the amount of arguments they had in the years of their friendship. Troy always got jealous of chad once in a while, and Chad always got pissed with troy for stealing his girlfriends because he was jealous.

But it was a good friendship. Everything was fine, especially for Mr Bolton and Mr Danforth. It was their idea to get the boys to go to the same party! Of course, no one could have predicted whether they would become friends or not, but they did in the end.

All was good.

"Kelsi Nielsen!" shrieked Ms Darbus. Everyone was hanging around, but the moment Kelsi came in, they got up. They knew something big was going to happen.

"I have had enough of your ignorant attitude young lady! I understand there may not be much to do, but I do know you have a life! I would not summon you here for no reason!"

Kelsi didn't know what to say. She was unprepared, and aware that she'd gone a bit too far. This could be the end of her career. She glanced at Chad for support, but he was as surprised and anxious as she was.

"This is the last straw. I have no choice be to-"

"If you're gonna kick me out, let me save you the trouble." Said Kelsi sadly.

"I quit. I'll just leave and save everyone the trouble of putting up with Kelsi Nielsen shall I?" she rambled, wanted to scream in frustration and burst into tears at the same time. She didn't want to be told to leave; she'd rather do it on her own account.

With that, Kelsi turned on her heel, and trailed back the way she came, with Chad's arm round her shoulders in comfort. She knew everyone was looking at her whispering, wondering why.

She loved the performing acts, and she loved acting. But more than those, she loved playing the piano, but now that love had gone and been replaced by a love for writing.

Because of that, she'd managed to ruin everything, but it was the broken piano that had started it all.

Wiping a lone tear from her eye, she made a mental note. An urgent mental note.

She had to talk to Sharpay.

So! What do you think will happen next? Possible Chelsi, or probable Ryelsi? Only time will tell.

Did you guess that someone else also dislikes Gabriella? I hope you don't think I'm making her the 'baddie', I'm really not. She just has a few faults!

I also hoped you liked the mini story. When I was doing ASTDPJTR, I had loads of ideas, but the moment I started this chapter, they all went out of my head. That's why it had a cheesy ending!

Next Chapter should be up by . . . next week, I think.

Mzdarkstar x x x

P.S. The part where it said that 'I don't know what Chad's Dad's name is', is Kelsi's note, not mine. My notes are in bold, and tagged with A.N. (meaning Author's Note), just so you know.