Chapter 15
Gabriella closed her eyes as she lay in the nurse's office. The pain was unbearable.
"Ms. Montez, you have a visitor."
Gabriella groaned as a sign to let the visitor in. She was happy to see Troy.
"Hey, what happened?"
"I got beat up."
"By who?"
"A bunch of people."
"Why did they do it?"
"I don't know. I was walking to class when this group of people just came up and started hitting me and punching me and…"
Troy put his hand on her head. "Did they break anything?"
"I think my left arm is broken. And I think my right leg is, too."
Troy stroked her hair. "I'm sorry."
Gabriella smiled. "Hey. It wasn't your fault."
Troy gazed into her eyes.
"My mom's coming over and taking me to the hospital."
"I'll come with."
"No. You have to stay here."
"I'd rather be with you."
"Me, too. But I have to go with my mom. You have to stay here, at school. Alright?"
Troy nodded.
Gabriella smiled at him.
"But, you didn't recognize any of the people who beat you up?"
Gabriella thought. "Chad was cheering them on…and I think Sharpay was standing off to the side. Oh, and I believe your dad was there."
"WHAT?!"
"He wasn't hurting me, but he was standing there. Just watching."
Troy felt anger grow inside of him.
"It's fine, Troy."
"No. It's not."
"Troy, that was probably my detention or something."
Troy got up. "I have to go."
"Where?"
Troy was so angry that he stormed out of the room, leaving Gabriella.
****
"Why did you let those kids beat up Gabriella?" "Huh? Oh, right. I thought it might do her some good. I mean, I didn't think they were going to do it that hard, but…"
"She's in the nurse's office. She has to go to the hospital! Because of you!"
"Troy…"
"Just be quiet!"
"Listen to me. That girl is trouble. Do you know how close you are to being kicked of the team?"
"I don't care about the team! I care about Gabriella!"
"Troy, you are not getting kicked off the team just because of some girl who has made you like science and stuff."
"It was my decision!"
Coach Bolton put his hand on his chin. "You need to think about your future."
Troy shook his head. "Why not think about right now?"
Coach Bolton stood up. "I think you'd better be getting back to class."
"Gladly." Troy stood up and stormed out of the gym. Instead of going to class, though, he went back to the nurse's office. Gabriella was still there.
"I'm sorry," he said, sitting down next to her.
"Maybe I deserved this."
"No. You didn't."
"Ms. Montez, your mother is here. Mr. Bolton, would you mind helping her come out?"
Troy picked Gabriella up and carried her out of the office.
"Sweetie! Are you okay?" Her mother came running up to them.
"Well, I'm hurt. On the inside and out."
"Oh, my darling! Troy, would you mind bringing her out to my car?"
"No problem."
The three of them went out to the parking lot. Troy put Gabriella in the car.
"Thank you," she said, her arms around him.
"You're welcome," he said, his arms around her.
Gabriella kissed his cheek. "I think you've made up the other half."
Troy smiled. "Alright." He leaned in and kissed her on the mouth. She kissed him back.
Troy reluctantly pulled away. "I'll see you later."
"Okay."
He shut the door and watched as the car pulled out. He went back into school. He had a lot of things to take care of. Beginning with Chad.
****
"Dude, I'm sorry. She was totally taking you over. It wasn't cool."
"It wasn't cool what you did!"
"Hey, man, be cool."
"How can I be cool after what you did?"
"I'll apologize."
"Sometimes…apologies aren't enough."
"Well, what was I supposed to do? Let her turn you into a nerd?"
"Chad, just go. I can't talk to you anymore."
"Wow. Whatever."
Chad left Troy in the locker rooms. After a while, Troy also exited. On his way out of the gym, he bumped into Sharpay.
"Why didn't you stop the kids who were beating up Gabriella?"
"Excuse me?"
"She said you were there when she got hurt."
"Well, I tried, but, they wouldn't listen. Besides, maybe it's for the best. She was kind of getting between us…"
"WHAT?! That gives you no reason to just stand around."
Sharpay sighed. "Fine. Sorry."
"Don't apologize to me."
She rolled her eyes. "I don't wanna go talk to her!"
"I'm not saying you have to. I'm saying you should."
"Fine, then I won't. It's not like I was the one actually hitting her."
"You're right, but you should have done something to stop them. But all you did was stand there."
"Troy, why Gabriella? What do you see in her? I mean, we are going out."
"No, we're not."
"What?"
"Sharpay, I'm sorry, but I used you. Okay? We're not going out."
Sharpay looked at him. "So, this was all a trick?"
"I just grabbed you because I was mad at Gabriella, okay?"
"See! This is exactly why I didn't do anything! WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE TOGETHER! GABRIELLA NEEDS TO GET OUT OF THE PICTURE! OKAY?!"
She stormed off down the hallway. Troy stood there, looking at his watch. School was about to end, and he needed to make a trip to the hospital.