Chapter 17
Forgetting
Troy sat up on the floor. His neck was sore. He glanced over at the couch where Ryan was still sleeping. The clock on the end table next to the couch read 7:00. Wow, he was up early!
He looked out the sliding glass door that went to the backyard. He could make out a shape in a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt between the yellowing vertical blinds.
Troy chuckled to himself. He wondered if one of the reasons his grandpa moved out to Los Angeles was because he would have an excuse to wear more brightly colored clothes.
Troy got up and put a shirt on. He grabbed a pair of shoes and quietly opened the sliding glass door, trying not to wake Ryan.
Troy's grandfather saw him as he quietly closed the sliding glass door.
"Well, aren't you up early," Troy's grandfather said. "I thought you adolescent kids liked to sleep in past lunch."
Troy laughed. "Actually, I woke up and just couldn't get back to sleep."
"Well, you're up just in time to join me on my morning walk."
Troy's grandfather grabbed an orange off of his tree and then walked towards the front yard.
Troy shrugged his shoulders, grabbed an orange, and joined his grandfather who was already walking down the sidewalk.
"So, what's going on? Your mother calls me about 50 times last week, wondering if I knew where you were, and then you show up unannounced with a girl. And then last night, two more people you claim you met last week show up. I may not be a teenager anymore, but I know when something's up."
Troy looked down and studied the cracks on the sidewalk as they walked over them. He had been looking forward to telling his grandfather everything, but suddenly it didn't seem so easy.
"Troy, I'm not gonna force you to tell me what's up. I trust you, but I'm willing to listen if you have anything to tell me."
"Okay, well, it all started about a week and a half ago when I overheard my parents talking," Troy started, a surge of confidence washing over him. Troy told his grandfather everything, from running away from home to kissing a girl who was engaged to asking her to leave with him. He described the town of Nowhere that he had come across and how Sharpay convinced him to take her with him. He told his grandpa about how both he and Sharpay admitted to liking each other, but how neither were ready to date, and how Troy didn't realize that until she wouldn't kiss him on the beach.
Troy's grandfather stopped. "Wow. I think all of this is tiring me out. You mind if we sit down for a while?"
He sounded winded.
Troy felt worried. His grandpa was always so active, and they hadn't really been walking very fast.
They found a bench in a park nearby and sat down.
"Grandpa, everything is just so messed up. I don't even know what to do anymore."
"Well, boy, it sounds like you kind of are getting a taste of your own medicine, don't you think?"
"Huh?"
"Well, you're really angry at your parents because they broke your trust, but isn't that what you did to Gabriella, Ryan, and even Sharpay?"
"Yeah," Troy mumbled, studying his shoes. He knew that his grandpa was really wise, but he hated how right he was, too. "But what about this basketball scholarship? I can't accept it in good conscience, but playing basketball with the Red Hawks has been a dream of mine ever since I could dribble a ball."
"I think you may have already answered that question yourself. You know, people think their dreams get shattered all the time. And many of them become victims of circumstance, holding onto the past and never seeking to be anything great. You know, when your grandma died, I thought that was it for me. I just figured that I was supposed to rot until I could be with her again. Then when your mom and dad had you, I felt like my life had started all over again. You know, boy, sometimes one door closes, but there's bound to be another one that opens. And maybe it won't open right away, but it's your job to go find some doors so that maybe one can open for you."
Troy nodded. His grandpa really hadn't answered a single question that Troy had asked him, but he still felt like he had answers. His grandpa was just good like that.
Troy felt a pit of sadness well up in his stomach when he realized that he wasn't going to have that for much longer.
"Well," his grandpa said, standing up, "I think we should head back before your friends wake up."
The two slowly walked back to Troy's grandfather's house, taking several breaks along the way.
Troy tried to dismiss the thought of his grandpa dying, but things were only going to get harder. There was no denying it.
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Sharpay was wearing a pink dress covered in sequins. She was sitting on a barstool with her legs crossed. A bright spotlight was shining on her. Outside of the light was darkness.
Slow sultry music started playing from somewhere in the darkness. A faceless man walked towards her, and took her hand. Sharpay stood up and bowed her head.
Just then, the music changed into a quick dance beat. Lights went on everywhere, and she realized that she was on a stage.
She began to move her feet to the rhythm, the faceless male in step with her every move.
The music ended, and applause erupted.
As the lights on the stage dimmed and the ones in the audience brightened, she took in a sharp breath. Thousands of people were standing and clapping for her.
The curtain closed, cutting her off from the applause.
The next thing she knew, she was holding a tray with several glasses of water on it. Her pink dress was replaced with black pants and a white button up shirt.
A woman near her was snapping her fingers, attempting to get Sharpay's attention.
Sharpay hurried over to where the woman was, forgetting about the tray precariously balancing on her hand.
It crashed to the floor, and Sharpay woke up with a start.
Everything was quiet. Sunlight was streaming through the cracks in the blinds on the window.
It took Sharpay a moment to collect herself and remember where she was.
Then Sharpay thought back to the dream she just had. The music and the dancing and the applause had been incredible. It was something she could do forever!
But what had that waitress thing been all about? Sharpay sighed. Suddenly, she felt like a freeloader. She needed to get a job and then figure out what to do with her life. The only problem was that she didn't even know where to start.
She shuffled into the kitchen and found Troy sitting at the kitchen table looking sullen.
"What's up?" she asked, joining him at the table.
"Oh, it's nothing. I guess I'm just trying to figure out what to do with my life."
"Yeah. Same here. I don't even know where to start. Do I go to college? Get a job? How do I even do either of those?"
"Well, what do you want to do?"
"Honestly, I think I would like to try singing and performing."
Troy laughed. "Well, you're in the right city for that."
"Maybe, but I really don't even know where to start."
"Well, I can tell you what people are known to do."
"Okay."
"They get a job being a waiter or waitress and then perform at local clubs and stuff. The lucky ones find an agent and the really really lucky ones get a really good agent who can take them to the top."
"So become a waitress?"
"Sure. Honestly, though, it's tough. Most of those people live way below the poverty line, using their tips to buy trendy clothes and better music equipment. They usually end up going back to where they came from, broke and defeated. I think your best bet is getting into a college and majoring in some sort of music performance thing. Those people don't usually end up all over the tabloids, but they get a better shot at a decent job."
Sharpay stood up.
"Where are you going?" Troy asked.
"To get a job and find some colleges to apply to."
Sharpay was excited. If she was in college for a few years, then maybe she could have some time to start making ends meet before she had to find a place of her own.
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Ryan blinked. As he slowly adjusted to the sunlight, he noticed a musty smell mixed with cigar smoke.
He looked around and realized that he was in Troy's grandpa's house. Part of him wanted to complain about how he had been stuck sleeping in the house of one of his mortal enemies, but he knew that both Sharpay and Gabriella would chastise him for not giving Troy a chance.
He sat up and saw Troy sitting at the kitchen table. Troy looked rather miserable.
Just then, Ryan saw Troy look his way.
"Good morning," Troy said. "Can I get you anything to eat? We have fresh squeezed orange juice, and I'm sure that I could hunt down some cereal or something."
Ryan really wanted to turn down all of Troy's attempts at hospitality, but he was starving.
"Thanks," Ryan said, getting up and making his way over to the kitchen table.
Troy found the cereal, milk, and orange juice. Then he sat down and joined Ryan as he demolished his breakfast.
Ryan looked up at Troy. He could tell that Troy was debating whether or not to say something to him.
"Ryan, I am so sorry about what Gabriella and I did last week. I'm also sorry that I hadn't been man enough to stop us. I know that you probably hate me, but I hope that you can accept my apology."
Ryan studied the Captain Crunch cereal that was soaking up milk in a white cereal bowl. What Ryan really wanted to do was throw his cereal at him and tell him that he could never forgive Troy, but Gabriella wouldn't like that one bit, and neither would Sharpay.
He sighed. "I forgive you."
Troy's face lit up with relief.
"But that doesn't mean that we have to be friends," Ryan added.
"I understand," Troy said. "I just hope that someday we can put this behind us."
Ryan didn't really want to put it behind him, but he also realized that he needed Troy. Ryan was sure that Sharpay wouldn't be going home with him and Gabriella, and he needed somebody to look out for her.
"Look. I still really don't like you, and I really don't want to trust you, but would you look after my sister for me? I mean, Gabriella and I plan on returning to Nowhere soon, and she's gonna be out here alone. I just wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to her."
Ryan hated asking Troy to do that for him, but Ryan didn't exactly know very many people outside of Nowhere. In fact, he didn't know anybody outside of Nowhere except for Troy and Troy's grandfather.
Troy looked serious. "Of course I will look out for Sharpay."
Ryan let out a half-smile. "Thanks," he said.
A/N: What are you thinking? It's the biggest question on my mind right now, so please please PLEASE review! ☻
