Authour's Note: Hello everyone! I'd like to thank those of you who've read and reviewed so far. Not too much in this chapter, but expect a cute homecoming dance chapter on Monday. ;)
Troy lay on his bed going though moves in his mind. He had just finished practicing for the homecoming game with his dad and Chad. A breeze caused ember coloured leaves to tap against his bedroom window. As September started to die, so did the leaves. Chad successfully got Amanda as a date, even though he called her the wrong name twice while asking her.
Chad said, "Ashley... Aubrey... I mean, Amanda. You're Amanda, of course you are are. How about you go to the dance with me?" The red haired girl thought his fumble was cute and said yes. Troy almost couldn't believe it. He was surprised that Chad hadn't called her Sharpay. The real Sharpay was handling her detention, and any possible rumours that went with it, well. Well enough as a diva could, anyway. Troy also helped Chad with his poster, since Sharpay wouldn't do any of it, and he couldn't just let his best friend work alone. Ryan and Troy ended up getting an A+ on their poster, which made Chad wonder what kind of voodoo went on in the library.
The brunette thought more about homecoming. 'It won't be the end of the world if I don't have a date... But what kind of team captain can't get a date to homecoming?' He thought. He sighed deeply and ran his hands through his moppy hair. His biceps gleamed with sweat, so he decided to continue thinking in the shower. He had never had a girlfriend before, and no one could figure out why. He was always on the sports teams, and had good grades, and a great face. He had just never really thought about dating or girls before. He was afraid of getting some girl's hopes up and then being someone completely different than who everyone thought he was. Or maybe he just hadn't met the right girl yet, he tried to reassure himself. Wildcat superstars couldn't be afraid.
It was the middle of spirit week, the school's football team already had their first game, and won. The basketball team would be playing against the North High Royals that Friday. Troy and his father had been working out the plays they thought would help them succeed. The young boy understood why the practice and preparation was necessary, but with schoolwork and homecoming on the way, it was just added stress. But Troy couldn't let his dad, or his team down. Not right after he was voted team captain. He would do everything he could to make it work.
He decided that the school library was a good place to stay after school to work on assignments, and if he wanted to practice basketball in the school gym, it wasn't that far. Troy noticed that he wasn't the only busy student, and saw Ryan Evans also in the library a few times that week. He remembered that Ryan was in the drama club, probably vice president or something like that, and created the choreography for the musicals. Once, he almost approached the blond boy to ask him about drama club, but didn't want to be rude. Troy walked up to Ryan from behind, and stopped just as his hand was centimeters from the other boy's shoulder. The brunette hesitated for a moment and casually walked back to his table. Ryan was oblivious of his advancer, stuck in his own world. Music flooded his ears at high volumes, as it helped him concentrate whenever he was working, especially with choreography. Ryan was able to get Andre's songs for the musical on his MP3 player, coming up with dances for the songs would be easier that way. As he scribbled down the last step, he got out of his chair and put his things away. He panicked for a moment, until he realized that he hadn't yet gotten a replacement mobile phone and wasn't actually missing anything. The Evans boy walked out of the library to go to the auditorium and practice the footwork. Ms. Darbus and Andre would be happy that Ryan had worked on it so much already.
The sensation of hot water brought Troy back to actuality. He rinsed shampoo out of his hair and used a towel to dry off. A grey cotton sweater freshly concealed his toned body. He padded back to his bed and thought about texting Chad about homecoming. However, he was unable to do so. As it turns out, Troy really worked himself hard. He hadn't even realized how tired he was until he had lain down. Black slits slipped into his field of vision, eyelids becoming heavy. His breathing became slower and his subconscious agreed to the inevitable slumber.
—
Crowds of students and staff cheered at the moving line of floats in the homecoming parade. The marching band lead the large group, followed by cheerleaders and floats for every sports team and club. The captain and a select few members of each team were to man each float, smile and wave, and just generally look happy and heroic. This meant Troy and Chad mumbling detest through their best fake smiles and braved the late September wind. Because they were representing the basketball team, they were only wearing their team jerseys and shorts. Troy, however, got away with also wearing his favourite watch. Not only did it look good, but it let the duo know how much longer they were to stand out in the cold.
"Only twenty more minutes, man. We can do this." Troy said through the side of his mouth to Chad, as the float they were standing on slowly passed a herd of overexcited moms.
A few floats behind, the co-presidents of the drama club were soaking up the applause as plants did sunshine.
"Oh, Ryan, don't you just love admirers?" Sharpay asked her brother. She waved, as a princess would, to the crowd. Her lip gloss coated smile was identical to the glittery pink of the drama club float. A trim of white feathers ruffled around her neck, fastened to a fashionably white coat. Ryan stood next to her, waving to the crowd on his side of the float. Though, a bit less like a princess.
"Almost as much as you do." he replied with a genuine smile. Sunlight reflected off of the large sunglasses both twins were wearing. While most of the other floats in the parade tossed small pieces of candy to the onlookers, Ryan and Sharpay went with a different tactic. A large tub of sliver and pink glitter sat between the two blonds. Ryan tossed a large handful onto a group of boys who didn't really want to be there. The boys shielded their eyes and coughed at the surprise.
Sharpay remarked "Fabulous." with a smirk, letting her sunglasses slide down the bridge of her nose and carefully pushing them back up with a well manicured finger.
The show carried down the town streets, sidewalks flooded with onlooking pedestrians, before finally coming to a halt at the school. The participants were congratulated by coaches and friends as they dismantled their floats. Troy and Chad's dad's had just left to talk to one another and the other coaches as Zeke showed up.
"Hey guys! You looked really awesome up there. And cold." he paused, and pulled out a baggie from one of his coat pockets. "I brought you some brownies... That my mom made." Troy and Chad happily accepted the treats.
"Woah, Zeke, these are delicious. Thank you so much." Troy proclaimed as he bit into one of the soft squares.
Chad chimed in "Yeah, tell your mom to never stop baking." Zeke was secretly filled with pride.
"Sure guys, no problem." He said with a smile. The drama club float could be seen a few meters away. "I gotta get going. See you at the game later." Zeke waved goodbye to his friends and walked quickly towards a group of drama kids.
"Sharpay, hi!" Zeke said, waving briefly to get her attention, then shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Do I know you?" She asked, snobbishly, a hand on her hip. Other drama kids, including Ryan, were taking apart the float behind her.
"Well, uh, kinda. See, I was wondering if maybe... I would really like it if you went to the homecoming dance with me." Zeke rushed. Sharpay hardly gave it a second thought.
"No." She dismissed him with a flick of her hand and turned to walk away.
"Hey, Shar, were do you want me to put this-" she bumped right into Ryan, who had been holding the tub of glitter. Ryan accidentally let go of the tub, and it went flying...right onto Zeke. Ryan's jaw dropped, and Zeke coughed and immediately began brushing himself off. Sharpay looked innocently at the two boys.
"There's fine. Tootles!" The blonde smirked and walked off to the remains of the float. Ryan was still partially in shock. Zeke thought he heard Chad laughing from behind him.
"I...am so sorry." Ryan reached weakly at Zeke to help him, only to be shrugged off.
"...It's no big deal. It was an accident, it happens."
—
"I'm by no means judging you, Troy, and I'm glad you feel comfortable to come down here and talk about it with me. But you seem really close to your dad. Did you think to mention it to him?" the school counselor, Ms. Meeker, asked Troy in her office earlier that week.
"Well yeah, we are. And I did try to bring it up a few times to him. He just... Didn't get it. He always thinks everything is linked to basketball, or it's not a big deal." Troy sighed. He was really stressing about everything that was going on- schoolwork, homecoming, basketball. And he would be playing on the golf team in the state championships the next month. But that wasn't what this talk about was about, not really.
Ms. Meeker shifted in her seat. "Is that why you don't date?" She heard Troy sigh. He was leaning back in his chair, with his arms holding the back of his head as he watched the ceiling.
"Yes. I don't know. Maybe it is. Maybe I just haven't found the right girl yet." He sat up straight, but he still did not face her.
"Your shoes are pretty interesting, huh?" the counselor gently asked. The boy across from her chuckled. "And you know, Troy, it's okay. I know it seems like life is happening fast, but you still have the rest of your life to find out who you are and build who you want to be." Troy finally looked at her, processing and understanding her words. He was grateful for her advice.
"Thanks for listening to me, and helping me figure all this stuff out. I mean, I know it's your job and you have to, but..." He wheeled his hands in the air in front of him, searching for the right words. Ms. Meeker gave him a kind smile.
"You're welcome, Troy. It's my pleasure. I'd do this even if I didn't get paid for it." She pulled out a small baggie from under her desk. It opened with a 'zip' "Grape?" She offered to her student, pulling one out for herself.
Troy glanced at his watch. "Oh, no thanks. I gotta head off to practice."
"Alright, have a good time. Hey, tell me how your golf game goes, okay?" She asked, pulling a few more of the light green berries out of the bag.
"Sure. See ya, and thanks again!" The boy said gleefully before heading out of the door.
Since he left for practice early, Troy had time to run a lap or two on the track around the school's football field. He enjoyed it because it was easy to drift off in his thoughts and still get exercise. His friend Chad enjoyed it more though, and was on the Track and Field team.
A harsh wind blew golden leaves onto the track, which crunched under the athlete's feet. They went unnoticed as he denied his desire to talk to Ryan Evans about the homecoming dance.
—
Troy's knees trembled. He exchanged a determined glare with the opposing player. Suddenly, sneakers squeaked as all team members moved around. The referee played the ball at the sound of his whistle. Kike, the North High Royals player hit the ball first, but he didn't get a good hold on it. The basketball bounced behind Troy, Zeke dribbled it it up and over to Troy, who passed it to Chad. A Royal blocked Chad from behind, and two more were at Chad's front. Troy ran to get in front of Chad, and Zeke followed. The forth Royals player blocked Troy. Henry Brown, a Wildcat, sprinted passed the three point line and caught the ball just in time. The ball went back up into the air just as fast and balanced on the rim of the hoop. It teetered for what seemed like eons on the metal orange ring, before finally going into the basket. Two points.
The ball bounced and landed into the hands of the fourth royals player that was next to Brown, Larh. The tall boy dribbled in front of the three point line, and passed the ball to Kike. Danforth knocked the ball out of the shorter boy's hand. Boys ran and jumped and grabbed to get the orange sphere. One of the players who previously blocked Danforth, Everett, got possession of the ball and sprinted to the opposite end of the court. Wildcats ran to stop him, doing their best to block or steal the ball. The audience boo'd and cheered simultaneously as Everett successfully executed a slam dunk, and scored one point for his team.
Near the end of the first half, it was tied seven to seven. Cheerleaders could be heard encouraging their teams, as well as members of the audience. The Wildcats were carefully surrounding their basket. Turner, one of the five Royals on the court was given a foul shot. Everyone could tell that he was tired by the way he dribbled the ball. He dribbled twice, and then a third time, lightly jumping up and propelling the ball forward. It hit the backboard with a light 'smack' before messily going through the hoop. The gym was then filled with a breath that no one knew they were holding. The Royals were ahead by one point.
Bolton caught the ball when it was passed to him by his fellow teamate, Tom Dombo. The brunette dribbled across court, tailed by Kike. Wildcats and Royals stayed a safe distance, ready to catch the ball. Kike had his arms stretched out wide, and would shift more to the right or left depending on how his opponent would move. The young Wildcat quickly spun around and faked a left turn. He sprinted a sharp right and dribbled, intending to pass the ball to Baylor. However, during his right turn, he momentarily lost his balance and fumbled the ball. On his third dribble he slipped and crashed down to the floor. The crowd let out a disappointed 'oh'. Larh had the ball, passed it to Everett, who then made a jump shot that was deflected by Dombo. On the other side of the court, Chad helped Troy up.
"You okay?" Chad asked, wiping sweat off off his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Yeah, man, thanks. Let's do this." Troy replied between deep breaths. The two teammates ran off towards the action. Royals were blocking Dombo, and the remaining two East High players could not stop Everett from doing a slam dunk and gaining yet another point.
Baylor hit the ball out of the hands of a Royal, shoes squeaking on the floor as he headed towards mid court. Danforth backtracked so that he was behind Bolton, who caught the ball. Their rivals were gaining on them. The ball was then passed to Danforth, he excitedly ran towards the basket and let the ball fly with a flick of his wrist. Bolton and Baylor guarded him and the ball. Unfortunately, Danforth miscalculated and did not throw the basketball properly. It ricocheted off of the basket's rim. Players scrambled and shoved for the ball, which slipped from hand to hand.
Turner dribbled the ball to the Wildcat's basket, only to be caught off guard by Bolton, who ran back to the other side of the court. A stampeding cluster of red and purple followed him as both teams wanted the ball. He ran and dribbled as fast as he could, there were only seven seconds left before the break, and number fourteen wanted to get his team ahead. His first idea was to make it to the three point line, more guaranteed to make the basket, but the clock was getting closer to zero. Just then, he brought up every ounce of strength and courage, and hurdled the ball as hard and accurately as possible. And it paid off. Bolton scored three points just in time. East high was ahead by one. The score was ten to nine. The referee blew his whistle, the worn out teams gathered on opposite sidelines.
"Great game so far, guys, I know we can win this. Troy, awesome shot you just did there." said coach Bolton as his team gathered on the sideline. He grabbed two boys by the shoulder. "Dombo, Brown- you've played a good game today. Get me Cross and Hall."
"Yes, sir." They both replied, catching their breaths. The drinking fountains on either of the gym's sides were busy and overcrowded. Athletes who were not near the drinking areas were stretching. Talk about the first half of the game echoed throughout the gymnasium, mixed with shoe squeaks, coughing, and the soft buzzing of the electric scoreboard. Red jerseys shimmered under the hanging florescent lights as East High's basketball team huddled in a tight circle.
Coach Bolton waited for his teammate to rehydrate and stretch before going over the final gameplay. "Alright guys, we are ahead by one. And we need to keep it that way if we want to move on and make it to the championships this year. That means I need you to work as a team." he watched the athletes nodded in understanding. "Your moves are great, don't get me wrong. But you guys gotta look out for each other. Back each other up, don't be afraid to pass the ball, and let each other know when you're open. Okay? You guys got this."
"Break!" shouted the team, collectively, while placing their hands on top of one another in the middle of the circle. They raised their arms in unision to break the circle. Coach Bolton gave a signal to the referee, who had also received a similar signal from the rival coach. The greying referee blew his whistle, requesting that the players take their places on the court. He tossed the ball to Bolton and blew his whistle again for the game to commence.
The Wildcats took the advice of their coach, working harder and looking out for each other. They had better defense this way, and scored more points. Kike was still playing for the Royals, and at one point shoved Bolton down to the ground, so hard that he skidded past the sidelines. This awarded Bolton a foul shot. Danforth struggled in the restraints of Baylor and Cross, wanting to get back at the boy for pushing his friend. The ball was dribbled by number fourteen in front of North High's basket. The sound of rubber hitting hardwood echoed just as much as heartbeats and close calls. A point was scored successfully before the away team gained possession of the ball once again. Everett shot the ball up towards East High's basket when he made it to the three point line, but he was deflected by Baylor who then dribbled it away.
"Hey, I'm open!" Cross shouted from behind a purple sea of Royals. Baylor faked a shot to his left, and made a clean shot to his teammate. Soon the Wildcats were ahead by four and starting to lose energy. The ball slowly went back and forth between the two teams against its will. The crowd cheered and boo'd, and cheerleaders could be heard encouraging their teams from either ends of the gym. The score was thirteen to eleven, and East High was still in the lead. Red numbers declined in value on the score board, tension was high. Three and a half minutes remained.
Danforth caught the ball from a Royal, making them miss a point, and passed it to Bolton. He only had five seconds to hold the ball, or the other team would get a foul shot. The boy spun around and shot the ball between his legs to Cross. Royals rushed over to the stocky Wildcat, pushing their way through tall and defensive players. The ball was suddenly out of Cross' grip, but not because he threw it. A Royal took it from behind, and was sprinting across the court. Cheerleaders dressed in purple and white cheered him on. The ball was passed to North High's tallest player, number five, who easily scored a baskest past the three point line. Not even Baylor was tall enough to block him. The Wildcats and their supporters groaned.
It was as if the Royals were just waiting for the last possible second to score, and that for the time being they were trying to keep the ball away from the Wildcats. They passed it from teammate to teammate, all over the court. It took a second for the opposing team to realize what they were doing. Bolton signaled for his team to spread out, and keep an eye on their area of the gym instead of everyone running back and forth. They were now behind by one, so they had to score at least two points to win. Two minutes remained.
Baylor ran from his corner of the gym, intercepting a pass by Turner and instead passed the ball to Danforth. Everything got indefinitely louder. The bushy haired boy dribbled and sprinted across the gym, backed up by his teammates, and dunked the ball directly into the basket. The ball fell through the net, directly into the hands of his teammate, Cross. He began to dribble so that he could shoot, but the ball was knocked out of his hands. He stole the ball back, but instead of throwing the ball towards the basket, he shot it straight up into the air. This caught everyone off guard. Boys scrambled for the ball they couldn't see. No one was even sure when Cross caught it again. When he did, he ducked low to the ground, spun, and retraced his steps.
The ball smacked against the backboard with force and sat on the outer edge of the rim. Baylor and Danforth jumped up and tried to hit it into the basket. With thirty seconds left on the clock, it worked. Energy was high and everyone was cheering and shouting. Michael Hall, the Wildcat who switched with Henry Brown during half time, smacked the ball out of the hands of a Royal. Everyone was determined to win, and wanted to be the one who shot the winning ball. The pale boy took the ball to midcourt, panicking when royals swarmed around him. He couldn't get a clear view of any of his teammates, but then he saw Bolton to his left. He spun around, so that he was facing the large clock on the score board. If anyone was close enough, they would see a red eighteen reflecting in his caramel coloured eyes. With the ball in his hands, he jolted forward as if to break the human wall around him. The royals tensed, preparing not to separate for their foe.
Rather than running forward with the ball, Hall preformed a beneficial little trick. His arms spread out, to act as a ramp, and he lightly tossed the ball up with his left hand. He quickly flipped his left hand, allowing the ball to land on top. It slid down his left arm and behind his head, continuing down his right arm. In a matter of seconds it was in and out of his right hand, and in the hands of Bolton. The tan boy could feel his heart beating rapidly as he ran powerfully towards the basket, dribbling as he went. The slow pace of the clock and encouragement from the audience and his coach vibrated through him. Every practice and game he had gone to led up to this moment. Exhaling through his mouth, he jumped up and launched the ball forward, scoring two points. Everyone in the gymnasium roared, the clock buzzed with quadruple zeros. Troy swore his heart had stopped, but he was really just feeling the pressure from all of his teammates giving him a group hug. The final score was seventeen to fourteen.
"Yes!", " Yeah, we won!", and "Whoo!" were exclaimed by the winners, lifting up the player who made the winning shot over their shoulders. Each of the boys were grinning and sweating, basking in the applause. The two coaches shook hands and called it a good game. Royals began to shuffle into the locker rooms to change so that they could board the bus back to their school. Kike was stopped by a tap on his shoulder.
"Good game." Troy Bolton commented, offering a handshake. Jonas Kike firmly took his hand and shook it, with a small smile on his face. Thick strands of hair stuck to his forehead, which glistened under the yellowish gym lights.
"Yeah, you, too. You guys were really good." Jonas replied. A light purple tint reflected off the two boys as other Royals walked around them to get to the locker room. Voices of athletes and audience members still bounced off of the gym's walls.
"So were you. You know, I almost didn't think we would win." said Troy playfully. Creases formed around the other boy's eyes and mouth as he chuckled at the remark. Troy turned around at the sharp sound of his dad's whistle.
"Hey, I gotta go. You work on your free throw, and maybe we can play one-on-one sometime." Troy promised to Jonas.
"Yeah, totally. See ya." Jonas confirmed before joining the rest of his team in the locker room. Troy jogged up to the wildcats, who were high on adrenaline. A few other wildcats skirted the bleachers, receiving hugs and praises for winning. Coach Bolton patted his son on the back, pushing him further into the mass of his friends.
"Alright! I am so proud of each and every one if you. I knew when I chose you for the team, you were all gonna be winners. Now let's bring this kind of game to the championship!" The coach loudly congratulated the players, then joined in with excited whoops and hollers.
"What team?" Chad shouted from the middle of the group.
"Wildcats!"
—
After the game, Troy lay tired on his bed while reading a sports magazine. He looked up from what he thought was a fascinating set of golf clubs when there was a knock on the door. The magazine ruffled his bed sheets when he put it down. His father walked in, smiling.
"Hey, kiddo." Mr. Bolton said, sitting next to his son on the mattress.
"What's up, dad?" Troy asked, his legs now dangling off the edge of the bed.
"Oh, not much... You did awesome in the game today. I'm so proud of you, I mean it." the father stopped to clear his throat and take a small item out from his pants pocket. "So, um...I want you to have this." when he opened his hand, a small golden ring with a red gem sat in its centre. Troy's eyes grew large at the sight.
"Dad, that's... That's your class ring!" Troy had seen it before in old pictures of his dad, whose finger was too large for it now. Mr. Bolton nodded and smiled at his son, and placed the ring in his hand and closed it.
"Uh-huh. And I want you to have it. You deserve it, Troy." Troy felt his dad rest a heavy hand on his shoulder. The boy nimbly slid the gold ring onto his finger, it fit perfectly. Both Boltons smiled.
"I don't know what to say, dad. T-Thank you." Troy said bashfully.
"No problem, Troy. You earned it. Hey, We'll see that same effort in your golf game on Monday, right?" Troy's father asked after lifting himself from the bed.
"Oh yeah, definitely!" Troy brushed his hair from his forehead as he answered.
"Right on. Keep up the good work, son. Good night." Mr. Bolton stood in the doorway momentarily, closing the door on his way out. Troy examined the, his, ring.
"Night, dad." Once Troy was sure that his dad wouldn't come back, he took a picture of the ring and sent it to Chad.