Fickle
Old Fiat
Currently Listening: "Gorgeous" and "Don't Let Me Down" by Idina Menzel from her album, I Stand.
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Chapter 11: "Sing, My Angel of Music!"
I woke up the next morning to Chad shaking me.
"Dude, get up!" he shouted in my ear, jerking me back and forth. "Come on!"
Blinking and scratching my head, I sat up. Chad was standing there in a maroon button-up shirt, khakis and black nice coat. He looked annoyed.
"Dude, I have to get to church. You can hang around the house if you want, but you have to wake up to lock the door."
"Oh, thanks," I slid out of his bed and stumbled down the stairs behind him.
"Good morning Troy," said Mrs. Danforth. She didn't seem all that surprised by my presence and she didn't really have any reason to be. Excluding the past couple of months, I usually stay over at Chad's house or he stays over at mine every night. I said that before I think. "Help yourself to anything in the kitchen and feel free to take a shower."
"Thank you, Mrs. Danforth," I said, smiling at her and trying to stay awake.
Mr. Danforth came down the stairs behind me, fixing his watch on to his wrist as he came. Sometimes I wonder if I prefer Mr. Danforth to my own dad when it comes to advice. I mean, it's weird, because he's a lawyer and sometimes has no clue what I'm talking about, but sometimes it's easier to open up to someone that doesn't feel the need to punish or praise you. Also, he has this sort of round face and round body to match so he's just so friendly looking that you just glance at him and you feel the urge to call him dad.
"Is everyone ready?" he asked, wrapping his arm around his only daughter, Prudence (known as Pru by me and Chad). "Chadwith, you took a shower this morning, right?"
And at other times, I'm so happy I don't have to call him Dad.
"Yeah…" said Chad, looking mildly annoyed.
"Good morning, Troy," he said, raising one eyebrow at the way I was rocking back and forth. "See you later. Please lock the door."
"Certainly, Mr. Danforth," I said, trying to grin and ending up with a sort of grimace-smirk.
He chuckled softly as the family filed out the door. "Bye." The door clicked behind him.
After fumbling with the lock, I ate breakfast and took a shower. Unfortunately, I had not had the foresight to bring over clothes last night (I'd borrowed a pair of Chad's pajamas for the night) and had to resort to nicking some of his jeans and a t-shirt. I knew Chad wouldn't really care. I think I still had his Spider Man action figure he'd loaned me a good ten years ago in my closet some place. Also, half of his t-shirts are actually mine because I always forget things at his house.
I was relieved to see that my nose had stopped swelling (it turned out it wasn't broken, but bruised), but unfortunately it had turned a dark, purplish color. And, I'm not a big fan of busted blood vessel purple, so I wasn't all that psyched by this.
Anyway, I basically just hung around in Chad's room until the Danforths came back. I flipped through his treasured collection of X-Men comics and the many spy and sci-fi novels when I saw a plain, leather bound notebook. There was nothing particularly special about it—sort of a dark reddish-brown color, nothing written on the cover. I opened it to the middle and saw two pages covered in Chad's loopy handwriting. As I flipped through it, I realized it was a journal. I nearly closed it, but I saw my name on the page and began to read.
Well I'm an idiot. I followed through with my plan and… I don't feel any better for it. I think I hurt Troy a lot more than I meant to. Don't feel much like writing. –C
I closed the journal and put it exactly as I'd found it. Even though I sort of had the right to read the rest of it, seeing as he read mine and showed it to everyone, but I didn't really want to. I just sort of lounged until I heard the door opening downstairs when I rushed to the stairs.
Chad looked up at me as he kicked off his shoes.
"That's my shirt!" he said, pulling off his coat as he walked towards the stairs. I could see that he was laughing slightly because he knew what I'd say.
"Are you kidding?" I asked, going along with our usual argument. "I got this when I was in California summer before-last, remember?"
Chad paused a moment. "No… Give it back."
I laughed as we walked into his room to watch Zoolander, one of our sleepover traditions.
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When auditions finally rolled around, I was about ten times happier. Best friends tend to have that effect. Anyway, I was actually late for them because I'd been chatting with Chad outside of the gym when I realized that I should've been there about ten minutes before.
I took off running and arrived a few seconds later. I'm only missed a couple of the auditions for Christine, but arrived in time to hear Gabriella's. She has a lovely voice, but I knew she didn't really want the part. I think Mrs. Darbus could tell too, because she seemed a little disappointed. My audition was okay. I mean, it wasn't the best I could've done, but it was better than anyone else's so I felt pretty good about it. Ryan and Sharpay were the only pairs audition and, of course, the most flamboyant.
Sharpay stood on the stage in a soft white dress—her blonde hair had been curled and fell around her shoulders. Before she began to sing, I thought she couldn't do it. I had looked it up and Christine is supposed to be a soprano and Sharpay is an alto.
All doubts left my mind once she began to sing.
"In sleep he sang to me," she projected, looking truly… ethereal, or something like that. "The Phantom of the Opera is there, inside my mind."
Ryan seemed almost to appear behind her. He was wearing a black turtle neck, black slacks and a white half-mask thing that each of the boys auditioning for the Phantom wore.
"Sing once again with me—our strange duet," he wrapped his arms around Sharpay and looked out on the auditorium. "My power over you grows stronger yet."
I was actually impressed by this audition, unlike the one they did for Twinkle Towne which was seriously bizarre. I was entranced as Ryan shouted, getting really into the role.
"Sing, my angel of music!" he called as Sharpay trilled higher and higher.
Mrs. Darbus burst into applause and a couple of other people did too, myself included. Ryan happily took off the mask and he and Sharpay bowed and curtsied respectively.
"You've got the part down pat," I said to Ryan as he and I walked to the chemistry lab.
"Thanks," he said, beaming. I knew he loved this musical, so I still had yet to tell him I found it way overly tacky. "You did great too."
I smiled slightly. "Not really. I slipped a bit at the end."
Ryan shrugged. "The girl Darbus chose to sing with you hit a lot of off notes, don't worry."
We walked in silence until he spoke again.
"Are you going to the Winter dance?"
"No, I don't think so," I said, putting my hands in my pockets.
"Oh… Gabriella wants you to go," he said, looking down the hallway.
"Why? Isn't someone taking her?"
"Yeah, I am, but I think she'd like to have you there too."
I thought for a second. "Maybe I will."
Ryan grinned. "Good. Two weeks. Gabriella's wearing red."
With that, he entered the lab and I followed like an idiot, not suspecting a thing.
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By the time the Winter dance came, the play was cast—I was Raoul, Ryan was The Phantom, Sharpay was Christine and Gabriella was Meg and understudy to Sharpay—and rehearsals had begun. In fact, I was actually looking forward to the dance. I'd chosen to wear my black jeans and bought a bright red t-shirt to wear under my white button up shirt so as to match Gabriella. I knew Ryan was going to be wearing a red coat, white shirt and white trousers and I had purposely tried not to have my outfit go exactly with his. Also I didn't really want to wear a suit coat so… yeah…
Anyway, I arrived outside the gymnasium few minutes before them and waited until Ryan's Woody pulled into one of the few empty parking spaces. We all entered together. The gym was covered in pale blue and white streamers and silver balloons. They had hung the ancient disco ball from the ceiling as they always did for dances. Most of the student body was packed on the dance floor and Ryan instantly dragged Gabriella into the mass, leaving me to wonder over to the snack table.
I spent most of the evening that way. I probably gained, like, five pounds in about thirty minutes as Ryan pushed and pulled Gabriella through complicated dance steps. It was really annoying to watch them. I really did feel like Napoleon Dynamite, just as I predicted. After a while, they came over, laughing hard and completely out of breath, and joined me in my lounging. I danced with Gabriella a couple of times and Chad and Taylor talked to me at the snack table.
It was so boring.
I was drinking what I swore would be my last cup of punch and preparing to go home. Chad and Taylor had just gone out on the dance floor again when I noticed that I couldn't see Ryan or Gabriella. This wasn't very surprising. They might've moved to the center of the room, but I still walked into the crowd of swaying couples. I might as well have put my hand over my heart and marched out in front of a firing squad.
I reached the center of the mass and saw a flash of scarlet. I turned and saw Ryan pull Gabriella back from the spin. They looked so cute together. Ryan was so pale—light hair, light skin, blue eyes—and Gabriella was so dark—her tanned face and brown eyes surrounded by her curly black hair. She was giggling. He was smiling.
Their lips met.
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Poor Troy! And my poor readers. I make you wait months and months and then I give you a partial cliff-hanger! MWAHAHAHA! XD
And I know the bit with The Phantom of the Opera was TOTALLY tacky and predictable. I also know that PotO is still on Broadway, so it would cost heaps to perform. I forgot then when originally writing this. ::smacks forehead.::
Please review and tell me what you thought! The ending is coming fast and I want predictions!
-OFsI