Why, yes, chapter eight WAS unusually and unhealthfully SHORT.
I can't guarantee that this chapter will be any different, but we'll see.
Thanks for the reviews, even though this part of the story runs a little dry. It WILL get better.
"Has anybody told you that you're a pathetic human being?"
"You mean as much as people tell you how conceited and air-headed you are?"
"Ugh! I am not and will never be air-headed!"
"Yeah? I'm Bridgett Oliver and I think my shoes are the most important things in the world!"
"And I'm Sharpay Evans and I stuff socks down my shirt!"
It was completely beyond me how Chad found their constant fighting entertaining. "All of this over some stupid fundraiser." he laughed and turned back around to face the rest of our lunch table. "But I think part of it has to do with you, Troy."
I winced, knowing that Chad was right. Their bickering, the tension that was cast over the air, the fact that Jason hated me, my fake relationship with Bridgett Oliver, my screwed up childhood all boiled down to yours truly. But was a really prepared to face the music? Especially music that was that loud? "What are you talking about?" I denied Chad's statement. "They're fighting about the theme of the fundraiser. How could I possibly tie into that?" I let the potential drama roll off of my shoulders.
"Oh, you don't tie in at all... besides the fact that you already have a girlfriend, however, one of the hottest girls in school has a crush on you." Chad's confident, laid-back words annoyed me for once. When did he become so smart?
"She does not!" Discussing Sharpay would remind me of how curious I was, which would remind me of how desperate I became to kill said curiosity, which would remind me of how I crawled to Jason only to have him explode in my face, and this was the very reason he was situated across the cafeteria, as far away from me and the rest of the team as he could get. He hated me, only because of the friendship he had formed with Sharpay that he didn't want anyone to get in the way of.
Including me.
And even though I stayed up some nights, thinking of how my dating Sharpay could possibly ruin their friendship, even though that same stinging image of Bridgett Oliver's smile was injected into my mind, a constant, nagging thought tickled me:
Why was I thinking of dating Sharpay?
"If we don't go with my idea, Bridgett Oliver, I swear, I'll quit!"
Simple. There were plenty of reasons to want to date Sharpay. She was beautiful. She wasn't pretty, like Bridgett Oliver. And by the way she was arguing, the fire inside of her was obvious. If that wasn't a turn on, then there was most definitely something wrong with the world.
"Are you kidding me, Evans? Carnivals are so seventh grade! And the principal is going to suspend you if you quit! That's why my idea is obviously better. A school dance would be an opportunity to..."
With that, my thoughts were offically knotted, jumbled, and scrambled. Not matter how conceited, air-headed, pretty, or perfect she was, Bridgett Oliver was still my girlfriend, and nobody, not even girls that thought shoes were the most important things in the world, deserved to be a victim to my mixed feelings. I buried my face into my hands, my teammates conversations pulsating around me, my own emotions swimming inside of me. I suddenly understood why my parents always said they were glad they weren't teenagers anymore. It was a confusing, pressured time. And I couldn't wait for it to be over...
"What? This is so ridiculous. And not to mention... biased!"
I didn't know if it was my own imagination, but Sharpay and Bridgett Oliver's voices seemed to drift behind me. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder, forcing me out of my thoughts. I looked up, only to be up close and personal with Bridgett Oliver. "Hi." was all she had to say to make me straighten up. I glanced to the guys for support, but the only looks that played out on their faces were looks of anticipation to see what was going to happen next. "We're sorta discussing what a better theme for the school's fundraiser should be. And we were sorta hoping you could give us an opinion?" She smiled playfully waiting for a response, and behind her, Sharpay sank to one hip, waiting for the dreadful moment to be over.
Bridgett Oliver squeezed my shoulder and I squeezed out a, "Sure" hoping she would loosen her grip.
"Okay!" she clasped her hands together and shot a confident look over her shoulder to her partner. Sharpay rolled her eyes, and for the tiniest millisecond, we locked gazes. My stomach plummeted. "Which sounds better? A carnival?" she tossed in a convincing eye roll. "Or my idea of a school dance?" Bridgett Oliver cocked her pretty head to the side while waiting for a biased response. Of course she wanted me to go with her idea. Of course she expected me to just smile and say, "School dances crush carnivals anyday." the matter which they were fighting over was stupid anyways. But it was the look of defeat that cast across Sharpay's face that made my opinion neutral.
I had nothing to say.
So instead, I looked to my girlfriend, looked to my teammates, looked to the girl I could never have...
...jumped up, and ran.
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I really had no idea in what direction I was going. I let my feet, and most definitely my thoughts guide me in some random directions. A few right turns here, a few left turns there, past the band room, beyond the gymnasium. I was somewhere, and nowhere at the same time.
I thought about what my friends were thinking at that very moment. I wondered how the girls had reacted to my sudden disappearance. But I asked myself why I was driven to do such odd things?
Oh, yeah, it was that blonde girl that was messing with my mind.
I sighed and came to a halt, pressing all of my weight against two double doors outside of the gym. I passed these same doors everyday, but never thought of what was behind them. Probably another hallway or a storage room or a janitor's closet... but opening the doors, I found something unexpected.
A set of stairs stared back at me, begging to be stepped on, to expose what was just beyond them. And who could turn down such temtpation? Some sort of bright light radiated off of the face of the stairs, and with each progressing step upward, this light turned into what was the sun. And of course, my thoughts took over, and at the slightest reminder of the sun, I thought back to her golden blonde hair... hair that wasn't Bridgett Oliver's...
Finally, at the top of the stairs, an open extension of cement and emptiness stared back. The area was blank, with only an iron bar bordering its edges, a barrier that kept me from toppling over the side of the school. I proceeded to look over the view I had from the school's balcony, overlooking the football field and East High School not too far away. I hoped that there was a secret like this on top of East High. A secret that would signify some sort of new beginning.
Because, let's face it.
Who am I trying to kid?
I had fallen for Sharpay Evans.
I really had.
NOTE TO SELF:
Use the bathroom BEFORE sitting down to write a chapter for Flipped.
I have to go now.
Really, I DO.
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