This Girl
Chapter Two: Chad, Maltese, and Phone Calls
Sharpay rubbed her eyes as the early morning light beat down on her sleeping form. Well, once-sleeping form.
"Dang, Jimmie and I forgot to put up my curtains. I knew I forgot something." She muttered to herself, slowly waking her body. She sat up in her bed and looked at her wall clock. 10:12 – this would be a good time to call and check in with her parents. She took her phone from her bedside table and dialed her house phone. She didn't really expect them to be home, though. Odds are their maid would answer and tell her that her parents were out. That's how it always was.
"Evans residence," Sharpay was never wrong on these things.
"Hi Katrina, it's Sharpay. Any chance my parents are around?" And now, Katrina would say Oh, I apologize Miss Evans, but your parents are out at the moment. May I take a message?
"Certainly, Miss Evans. One moment, please." Wow. That was…unexpected. Sharpay didn't even have a chance to say thank you when she heard her mother's voice on the other line.
"Hello, Pumpkin! We've been waiting for your call. How are you?"
"Oh, um, I'm good."
"You are? And you and Jimmie moved everything in okay?" her mother asked.
"Yeah, yeah, it all went great. So, where are you and Daddy?"
"We're on the plane on our way back home."
"Oh, so everything went well with Ryan yesterday?"
"It was very lovely. We met up with Kelsi's family – apparently, they will be sharing a suite together. But your father and Duckie moved in all of his belongings and then we all went out to dinner. Then we took a walk around campus and headed back to our hotel, which is quite lovely itself. And then this morning we met up with your brother for an early breakfast, said our goodbyes, and headed for the airport."
"Oh," Sharpay said, sad she could be part of all of that, "sounds great." Mrs. Evans could tell there was something upsetting Sharpay by the sound of her voice.
"I'm sure he misses you, Sharpay. I know this is the first time you and Ryan have ever been very far apart from each other. But I'm sure he'll be calling you at some point today." Mrs. Evans said, hoping that cheered her daughter up.
"Oh, um, yeah. I know we'll catch up at some point today." Well, Ryan obviously wasn't the problem. Sharpay heard her mother sigh on the other end.
"I'm sorry we weren't there for you as well, Sharpay. We tried to figure a way to work this out, but this was the only solution."
"Yeah, I know. I understand." Sharpay lied, blinking back the tears forming in her eyes.
"I wish I could have been there. But we're only forty-five minutes away. We can be there whenever you need us. And at least you had Jimmie there for you."
Sharpay smiled slightly. "Yeah. At least I had Jimmie."
"Well, I better get going…oh, your father says hi."
"Tell Daddy I say hi back."
"Will do. Well, goodbye, darling-"
"- I love you, mommy." Sharpay said quickly before her mother hung up. There was silence at the other end for a couple of moments.
"I love you too, Sharpay." she finally said. Sharpay smiled and ended the call. She wiped a few tears out of her eyes and put her phone back on her bedside table, also taking a moment to look at the few photos she had.
One was of her latest family portrait. It was taken this summer at her father's country club, right in front of the trophy case. She and Ryan each had a hand holding the star dazzle trophy they had won this year. And this time it wasn't just, as Kelsi had always put it, another "Sharpay show." Ryan had picked the song they would sing and did all of the choreography, and Sharpay made sure to credit him for it. This time, for maybe the first time, they won the award as a team.
Another picture was of her and Jimmie. Jimmie's mother had taken it at the Zara's Fourth of July party this past summer. Sharpay remembered how Jimmie didn't want to take a photo, but his mother insisted, saying it was just for her (when actually, she sent it to all of their relatives, gave a copy to Sharpay, and even posted it on her Facebook). Sharpay liked the picture, though. Jimmie's father had built a fire in the backyard to roast marshmallows and make smores. Sharpay and Jimmie were doing just that in the photo, with gooey smores in their hands and crazy smiles on their faces.
And then there was a third picture. It seemed like your average picture, but it gave Sharpay a bittersweet feeling. She hadn't even planned on being in the photo. But Troy had insisted. Troy, her new friend, just had to insist that she be in a group shot of his Wildcat buddies. She knew that deep down, not one of those people wanted her to be in the shot with them. The only people who were okay with it were Ryan and Troy himself. But the unhappiest of them all would have to be Gabriella. After the impromptu speech at graduation with Troy, she wasn't exactly Gabriella's favorite person. And the fact that Troy pulled her into the shot with his arm around Sharpay's waist didn't make her any happier. Well, at least she was never going to see Gabriella Montez or the rest of the Wildcats ever again.
"Knock knock," a voice said, pulling Sharpay out of her thoughts. She got up off her bed and opened her door, to see a very beautiful girl standing there. The girl was pretty tall – a good five inches taller than Sharpay. But she didn't seem like she just woke up out of her dorm room. She was wearing a Betsey Johnson party dress, had a Juicy Couture bracelet on, and was holding the latest Chanel purse. She had pin-straight black hair that looked like she just stepped out of the salon, and Sharpay couldn't help but ogle at her fresh manicure. Basically, she was the kind of girl Sharpay would have had to make friends with at her parents' country club growing up.
"Oh, um, hi, can I help you?" Sharpay asked politely.
"Yes, I'm looking for Sharpay Evans?" the girl asked.
"Oh yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you." Sharpay said, sticking her hand out to shake. The other girl just looked at her hand and gave a slight nod. Yup, she was defiantly Lava Springs material.
"Yes. May I come in?" the girl asked. Sharpay nodded and stepped aside, letting the girl enter her room.
"Oh, your room is very…charming." It sounded like it was hard for her to manage to say that.
"Uh, thanks," Sharpay said, not sure if it was meant to be a compliment, "Look, not trying to be rude or anything, but, who are you?
"Maltese Gavin. But of course, you should know that already." The girl said, looking at the items and photos Sharpay had on her shelves.
"Sorry, never heard of you before." Sharpay said sheepishly. Man, this girl seriously must have been born at Lava Springs. Maltese spun around with a shocked expression.
"Haven't heard of me? How have you not heard of me? I'm Maltese Gavin! Everyone here as heard of me. Well than maybe you've heard of my father? Kirk Gavin?"
"Well, I mean my father knows a Kirk Gavin, but I doubt it it's the same man as your father. I mean the Kirk Gavin I know is a very wealthy man – not to say you aren't wealthy – who owns a chain of fancy restaurants." Sharpay explained as politely as she could.
"Yes, Sharpay, that's my father. Don't you remember me?" Maltese said, spinning around, as if that was supposed to tell Sharpay. But now that Sharpay got a closer look at the girl, with her pump red lips and emerald green eyes, it hit her.
Sharpay had grown up with this girl. Maltese may have been three years older than her, but Sharpay spent every summer of her life with this girl. Maltese and her family would always spend the entire summer at Lava Springs, and Sharpay had met her at the Lava Springs daycare facility. They had been the closest two little girls you could ever imagine. Some say they were almost like sisters. How could Sharpay not remember her? Oh, right. When Sharpay was eleven and Maltese was fourteen, they both had a massive crush on a thirteen year old boy who was staying at the club. But since they both liked him and were best friends, they decided neither of them would try to snag him. It went against the best friend code. But then, after getting out of the pool, Sharpay saw an image that haunted her for a long, long time. Maltese had the boy up against the wall in the girls' locker room, and they were making out. Sharpay had never felt more betrayed in her life. That was the end of their friendship, and the last summer the Gavins ever spent at Lava Springs.
"Malti?" Sharpay couldn't believe it, "You go to the University of Albuquerque?"
"Yup – I graduate in the fall. And since my mother has connections with administration, she found out that you were in the freshman class. So I just had to find my old pal Sharpie." Maltese said sweetly.
"Oh, wow," Sharpay said, not really sure what to say, "It's good to see you. How's the family?"
"Mommy and Daddy have been in Moscow the past few months on business." Maltese stated simply. Sharpay remembered how Mr. and Mrs. Gavin were always home less than her own parents used to be.
"Oh, well, how's Brian?" Sharpay asked, referring to Maltese's younger brother.
"He's attending NYU on a baseball scholarship. He's in his sophomore year now." Maltese said flatly. Sharpay remembered how Maltese never cared too much about her younger brother.
"Oh. That's neat. Ryan's at Julliard with his girlfriend." Sharpay said. Maltese did nothing in response. This was very awkward for Sharpay. She hadn't seen Maltese in years, and she wasn't very fond of the girl the last time they were together. And now all of a sudden, here she was, looking and judging her room. Maltese judged everyone and everything automatically, and wasn't afraid to share her opinions.
"Is this your boyfriend?" Maltese asked. Sharpay looked to see she was holding on the many photos of her and Jimmie. Sharpay walked over and looked at the picture with a smile.
"Yeah, that's Jimmie."
"He looks so…young." Maltese commented.
"Well, it's not like he's ten years old. But yes, he is a couple years younger than me." Sharpay corrected.
"Exactly how old is he, Sharpay?" Maltese asked, very intrigued. Sharpay squirmed in her spot for a moment before answering.
"He's sixteen." Maltese looked at Sharpay, her emerald eyes the size of soccer balls.
"Sixteen? As in, still in high school? My my, Sharpay. I didn't know you to be interested in younger men. This is quite a surprise." Sharpay expected this reaction. Maltese loved a scandal.
"He's only two years younger than me, it's not that bad. Age is only but a number, right?"
"Yes…only but a number." Maltese repeated, a devilish smile on her face. She placed the photo back on Sharpay's bedside table and began to walk back to the door.
"Well, it was nice to see you again, Sharpay. Text me, we must hang out some time to catch up. My room is on the fourth floor, room three. Au revoir, Sharpay!" Maltese said with a smile, then walked out of Sharpay's room. Sharpay waited until she heard the door click, and then she plopped onto her bed.
"What a great way to start off my freshman year of college." Sharpay mumbled.
--
"Finally, lunch time." Sharpay sighed with relief as she entered the campus food court. She had spent her entire morning at the orientation assembly, and couldn't be more worn out. Maltese had put her in an unpleasant mood, and Sharpay still had another two hours of the assembly after lunch. Then she had to sign up for classes and find the drama department to get to a 5 o'clock meeting about this year's winter production.
Sharpay got a tray and headed over to the salad bar, where she was deciding whether to get Caesar or Garden. When she finally made her choice, she stuck her hand out to get the container, only to have her hand brush up against someone else's.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see-" Sharpay began to apologize, when she saw the other person's face and stopped mid-sentence. Because standing there was none other than Chad Danforth.