Chapter III

Don't you want it all!
You want it, you know that you want it
The fame and the fortune and more
You want it all, you want it, you know that you want it
You gotta have your star on the door

Sharpay rolled around in bed and picked up her phone. The name on the screen read "Troy" and she immediately answered.

"Hello?" Sharpay said in a sleepy voice, still very groggy.

"Good morning sleepy head!" said Troy on the other line with a sing-song voice.

"Troooy, it's 5 in the morning, what it your problem?" hissed Sharpay, she closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just thought we were going to spend the day together" replied Troy with a pout.

"Yes we are Troy, yes we are but not a five in the morning!" cooed Sharpay as if talking to her dog.

"Aaaw, but I thought a picnic up at Green Lake would be nice…" said Troy in a little boy voice.

Sharpay giggled and covered her mouth to stifle the sound.

"Oh well, guess I'll just go by myself, better be there early so I could see what I have in store for myself…" drawled Troy. "I'll just pull out of your driveway Sharpay, talk to you soon!" he continued.

Troy revved his car loudly and started to slowly drive away while chuckling to himself. Yet there was a tinge of sadness, maybe Sharpay won't come with him. A second after that thought, his passenger door slammed and Sharpay was seated beside him and she looked flushed.

"Way to go Bolton, I think I've just set the world record for 'fastest dress changing' ever!" said a breathless Sharpay. Troy guffawed and couldn't help but agree; she was indeed ready for a picnic and a day in the sun but only a second ago she was groggy and still in bed.

They drove to Onondaga County and arrived at Green Lake around 10 in the morning. It was a fun filled day for the couple. They talked and talked and talked and danced and played just like little children. After lunch, Troy and Sharpay lay down on their blanket and just looked at the sky. Neither of them were talking or moving. Finally Sharpay decided to break the silence.

"Troy isn't this nice?" she asked still looking at the sky.

"Yeah, it's so peaceful, I can look up at the sky forever…" he mused.

"Well, I'm just curious, why'd you pick me to look up at the sky with you?" Sharpay continued; she was getting close to the question she'd been dying to ask.

"Why not?" Troy replied, confused.

"I'm not mad or anything, actually I'm flattered you picked me but, aren't you supposed to be with Gabriella?" Sharpay asked; unaware that she was wallowing in dangerous waters.

Troy didn't reply, he just stood up and walked away leaving Sharpay to wonder what the hell has gotten into him. After a few minutes of waiting, she became impatient and started to fix up their blanket and put it in Troy's rented car wondering to herself.

Troy walked around the lake, thinking to himself. Sharpay's question brought about buried memories and the unbearable pain of losing his family. With tears in his eyes, he leaned against the tree and cried. He was in anguish, and he could see it again, as if it was happening once more.

After coming out of the hospital, his mother, Lisa came up to him and told him that she and his dad, Jack took care of his family's funeral while he was recuperating. All that was left was for him to attend.

The funeral was very solemn. The three coffins stood in the middle of the crowd who would forever miss them. Troy appreciated those who came to pay their respects. Taylor was sobbing uncontrollably into Chad's shoulder while Chad himself was crying silent tears. Their children too were sobbing; they would miss their best friends. Kelsi and Ryan were newly married at that time, yet they cancelled their honeymoon so they could attend. Sharpay was doing a show and they could not contact her then. Zeke, Jason – the whole basketball team was there.

After the funeral, nothing was the same. Troy locked himself up in his house and refused to go out. He would spend days going into each of his children's room and looking at their things. Then he would go into the master's bedroom and into the closet; he would take out Gabriella's clothes and hug them, smelling them, hoping against hope that she'd come walking through the door and laugh at his foolishness.

Everybody was worried, to avoid the pain, Troy started to drink. At first it was just a beer at night to help him sleep. Then it was a six-pack a day, then a bottle of absinthe everyday which made him pretty broke. He was nearing hopeless; he couldn't coach very well and was fired from his job. He took to spending his bank account on whatever booze he could afford. Finally, Chad had enough of it. He had to do something; he knew that he had to make Troy become interested in something, something new. And he also knew that Troy wanted to run; somewhere far away from Albuquerque. Like lightning, his idea struck him one night. Noticing that his daughter always read National Geographic, he thought that Troy could do something like the people their. A freelance writer, no, Troy hated writing, he thought. A freelance photographer! He was exuberant. He bought Troy a camera and some equipment plus a book on how to take pictures and asked everyone to pitching in to help in Troy's plight. Within a month, Troy became a miracle! He was up and going again; five years later, it landed him here.

Troy opened his eyes to take in his surroundings. His back ached and he realized he'd been leaning on a tree. Wondering what he was doing there, he looked around and spotted Sharpay sitting at the front of the car waiting for him. And with a jolt he remembered and rushed to her side.

"Took you long enough, Bolton." Sharpay snapped her anger ready to burst any second.

"Sorry, I, I was lost…" stammered Troy, staring at her. She looked so gorgeous even if she was pissed; sitting on the front of his car, her tanned legs crossed and her shorts riding up her thighs and her top hugging her curves as she sat ramrod straight and glared at him.

She shrugged and went inside the car, Troy followed after a while and drover her home.

September 10, 2027

What the hell?

It started out as a fun day; Troy woke me at five in the morning and took me for a picnic at Green Lake. We talked and talked and talked then suddenly, after staring at the clouds, he ditched me after I asked him about Gabriella. Isn't that weird or what?

He got back and I was ready to kill him when he gave me this look… I was lost for a moment, in that sea of blue and I couldn't help but feel the beat of my heart increase and butterflies were doing a salsa in my stomach! The way he looked at me, there was a kind of hunger and it made me want to kiss him.

It felt strange, incredibly strange… and he told me he was lost… what's up with that?

The ride back home was quiet, we hardly talked and he seemed scared of me. Must've been my disposition, even my kids are petrified when I get mad though I don't yell or anything… XoXo

Sharpay E.A.