Chapter 28

Gabriella was very close to New Mexico. She had driven for days, not knowing how she was going to get Sandy's car back to Wisconsin.

Gabriella couldn't wait to tell Troy how she really felt. She had been waiting to do it for a while now. She was very excited.

She admitted to herself that she had exceeded the speed limit quite a few times, but she had never gotten pulled over, so she was okay with it.

She had made a couple of stops along the way, but she tried to keep going as much as she could.

Gabriella came to a stop light. She took out her cellphone. She dialed in Troy's number.

After a few rings, he picked up.

"Hello?"

"It's Gabriella."

Suddenly, there was the buzzing of the phone when someone hangs up in Gabriella's ear. She looked down. Must have been a bad connection.

****

Velma touched the velvet of the dress she had on herself. She looked up at Troy. He had just put his cell away.

"Who just called you?" she asked.

"Uh, an old friend."

"Oh. Well, do you like this one?"

Velma turned around. The red velvet tickled her skin. She had tried on so many dresses.

"Is that velvet?"

"Yes."

"Velma, I hate velvet."

"Well, then, I guess this isn't the right dress."

Troy looked sick to his stomach. Velma had noticed that he had looked this way since they left his basketball practice.

"Are you okay, sweetie?"

Troy looked at Velma. "Yeah. I am."

"You can tell me anything, Troy."

Troy sighed. "Well, you know how I got pulled aside by the director of all the sports at East High?"

Velma recalled this. It had made her upset that she had to wait even longer to go shopping. She nodded.

"He told me that-- well, I almost got kicked off the team for going to Science Club, so he said that by becoming the coach for the team, it would make up all the practices I've missed. And, it's the only way I won't get kicked off the team."

"What's so bad about that? Coach?! That's great!"

"Well, there's a slight problem…."

Velma's face fell.

"I won't be able to make it to the dance if I take this job, so…"

"So, you're going to miss the dance for basketball? You're going to miss our date because of basketball?!"

"Velm, I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry."

Velma took in a deep breath, then let it out. In order to continue this relationship, she would have to make some sacrifices.

"Okay, I'll come with you to basketball."

"No, you go to the dance. I know you've been looking forward to it."

"Troy, I love you, and if it means giving up some dance for you, I'll do it."

Troy smiled. "That means a lot."

Velma went back into the dressing room and ripped of her dress. She wasn't as angry as she was upset. But, if it was for Troy, she would do it.

****

Sharpay had fallen asleep in the lobby of the doctor's office. She had been there for a long time.

She didn't realize she had fallen asleep until some little kid came up with a glass of water and dumped it on her.

Sharpay sat up and screamed. The water was cold.

The kid ran to his mother, laughing.

Sharpay wiped her eyes. She looked at the clock. It was midnight.

She slowly got up. She walked groggily to the front desk.

"Yes, how may I help you, Sleeping Beauty?"

Sharpay moaned. "How's Emmy? Emmy Bolton?"

The man looked down at his watch. "Midnight. They took her into surgery an hour ago. She had many broken bones and other such things."

"Is she going to be alright?"

"She'll be fine. She may need some casts and crutches, but she'll be okay."

Sharpay smiled as big as she could, but it wasn't very big, since she was so tired.

"Would you like to take one of the empty rooms and lay on one of the beds? I'll find you one."

"No, that's fine. I should probably stay awake."

Sharpay moved to a different chair, since the one she had been sitting in was all wet. She sat down and closed her eyes. She didn't fall asleep, but she needed to rest her eyes even more.

After a couple of minutes, she heard some screams. She opened her eyes to find Coach Bolton…. He was holding broken handcuffs and a metal stick.

"Unlucky for you, Miss Evans, I used to play baseball," he said, coming towards her with the stick. "Every ball I hit was a homerun."

****

Emmy was in the middle of her surgery when the door slammed open. Some of the nurses and doctors gasped and moved way from Emmy.

Emmy lifted her head to see her uncle with a metal stick. He was coming towards her.

"You are a disgrace," he said, getting closer. "I knocked out your friend out there who got me arrested, don't think I can't knock you out, too."

"If you're arrested, why aren't you in jail?" Emmy knew it was a dumb question, but she asked it anyway.

"I broke free, my ungrateful brat of a niece," said Mr. Bolton.

Emmy grunted. "You did not knock out Sharpay. You wouldn't go that far."

Mr. Bolton moved closer to her. "Watch me."