Here it is folks…the next chapter…let me know what you're thinking? Good? Bad? Ugly? Love Tink. XX

Two weeks later Gabriella opened her locker door with a smile as she stowed her textbooks and retrieved the well-thumbed script from it's resting place.

"You ready?" came a breathless voice from behind her. She turned with a smile to see Kelsi carrying a manila folder under her arm and a bottle of water in her hand.

She nodded and shut the door, falling into step beside Kelsi

"So, where does your mom think you are tonight?" Kelsi asked as they made their way through the nearly deserted hallways of East High.

"History club…told her we wanted to get a head start on my next essay" she replied with a little frown.

"Gab, why don't you just tell your mom the truth?"

"Because she wouldn't understand…. you know what she's like, if it's not to do with school work then she thinks I shouldn't do it…besides I don't want her to know"

" So how are you planning on explaining the fact you'll have three evening performances to do"

Gabriella tilted her head and wrinkled her nose "I hadn't got that far yet"

Kelsi sighed as they pushed open the doors to the auditorium "Well you'd better think of something quick. Spring break isn't far away and after that there are only two weeks left"

"I know, I'll think of something…I'm smart," she said with a giggle as they stepped into the room.

The auditorium was deserted, silent, cast in half darkness. Kelsi flicked on the lights and called out,

"Hello…Ms Darbus?"

There was no reply. The girls stepped further into the room and as they did so, Gabriella noticed a hastily written sign pinned to the wall near the door,

"Drama Club rehearsals cancelled for this evening. Back tomorrow as normal, Ms Darbus"

Kelsi sighed disappointedly "Well that's that then"

Gabriella shook her head "We can still practice, we can run some lines maybe go over a few songs"

"You sure you want to…I need the practice but it means it's all on you"

Gabriella nodded "I'm sure, singing in front of you doesn't bother me, you've heard me in the car" she giggled, as they crossed to the piano.

"Well if we're gonna do this, you might as well do this properly….up you go" Kelsi said with a pointed look at the stage.

"Really? Can't I just stay down here with you"

Kelsi shook her head firmly "It will give me a better idea of the acoustics"

Reluctantly Gabriella walked the steps and stood center stage, looking at her feet, her arms crossed over her body.

"Relax Gab, it's only me, try not to look so petrified" she laughed at her friends discomfort.

Gabriella stuck out her tongue and forced herself to uncross her arms, letting them hang stiffly by her side.

"See, much better… can we try "I Can Hear the Bells…. that okay with you Gab?"

Gabriella nodded and took a few breaths as Kelsi played the opening bars; opening her mouth she began to sing.

"I can hear the bells, well don't you hear 'em chime?

Can't you feel my heartbeat keeping perfect time?

And all because he...

Touched me,
He looked at me and stared yes he...

Bumped me,
My heart was unprepared when he...

Tapped me,
And knocked me off my feet, one little touch now my life's complete 'cause when he...

Nudged me,
Love put me in a fix yes it...

Hit me,
just like a tonne of bricks,

Yes my heart burst now I know what life's about,

One little touch and love's knocked me out…"

Ms Darbus swept along the corridor chatting animatedly with her guests, pointing out several interesting features of the building, directing them to the fire exits, drawing their attention to the high ceilings and wide hall ways.

"East High has such character, as do our students, we all like to think it's a very special institution" she gushed, as she strode purposefully towards the auditorium, faltering slightly as the sound of music hit her ears. She stopped in front of the doors and turned to them with a smile.

"In here we have our auditorium, where drama club usually rehearses…we're doing Hairspray this semester" she said and the couple with her smiled blandly, uninterested "I did cancel rehearsals for this evening but it appears one or two of my students may not have got the message" she said with an apologetic tone, pulling the doors open and ushering the visitors inside.

As they stepped through the doors, Ms Darbus was surprised to see Gabriella on stage, singing her heart out as she blocked through the dance for "I can Hear the Bells" with Kelsi at the piano nodding encouragingly.

For a second Ms Darbus said nothing, she was loathe to make her presence felt, not wanting to disturb Gabriella's performance. She looked at her guests and noticed they had their heads together, whispering, half looking at each other, half looking at Gabriella.

"That is my newest recruit to Drama club, Miss Montez…she's one of our honor students, who will be acting as understudy for the role of Penny…she's very good isn't she?" she trilled, unable to stop her smile of pride as she watched Gabriella.

As the last few notes of the song faded and Gabriella returned to her position on center stage, Ms Darbus stepped forward, clapping loudly as she did.

"Brava Miss Montez…we'll have a thespian out of you yet" she cried.

Gabriella jumped guilty at the sound of her voice, looking up to see Ms Darbus coming towards them, closely followed by a tall willowy woman with dark hair and friendly eyes. Beside her a small balding man, looked appraisingly at first Kelsi and then Gabriella, before nodding to himself.

"Miss Nielson, Miss Montez, did you not get my message that rehearsals were cancelled for this evening?" she asked looking over her glasses, at the girls who had the decency to look sheepish.

Kelsi jumped to her feet as Gabriella stepped down from the stage.

"I'm sorry Ms Darbus…it's my fault I wanted to practice," Gabriella admitted quietly, in a soft voice.

Kelsi shook her head "No it's my fault I persuaded her to sneak in with me….I really need the practice and I didn't see the harm in it"

Gabriella opened her mouth to argue, to defend her friend but Ms Darbus held up a hand to silence them.

"Ladies, ladies...I don't suppose it matters much now" she muttered and turned her attention to the people stood at her side "I would like to introduce Angela White and Chris Bishop, from Zefron pictures"

Kelsi threw Gabriella a look, as a pair of identical smiles spread across their faces, Zefron pictures was the production company behind the Fame Academy movies. They were here at East High!

"Ms White is the location scout…they are thinking about using parts East High for some of the latest movie. Mr. Bishop is the casting director, he wanted to speak to me abut the possibility of using some East High students as extras" Ms Darbus said with a thrilled smile.

Gabriella felt her heart race as a million butterflies were released in her stomach; they were going to film here at east high! She looked at Kelsi who wore a matching grin and knew what she was thinking! Troy Bolton!

Chris looked at the petite girls stood before him, surprised by the talent he had witnessed in a scant few minutes. The girls were young cute and looked like typical high school students, easy to blend in but there was something about them that would also make them stand out. Gabriella especially, she was stunningly pretty with her long dark hair and big brown eyes and if her singing voice was anything to go by she could have a lot of screen presence. He looked at them as they grinned, their excitement shining on their faces. Fame Academy appealed to girls of all ages.

"Hi girls" he said with a warm smile "I think you two have something pretty special….if we spoke with your parents, would you be interested in coming to an open casting call? We need extras for the scenes in and around the academy," he told them, smiling easily, already knowing the answer.

Kelsi nodded enthusiastically but Gabriella seemed hesitant, unsure biting her lip.

"Miss Montez, is there a problem?" Ms Darbus asked concerned that she seemed reluctant.

"I'm not sure what my mom will say" she admitted quietly "I mean will it interfere with my school work?"

Chris shook his head "we don't anticipate that no…our plan is to shoot all the scenes with the extras first, over vacation, that way nobody, not you, not the school, and not the cast, gets disrupted too much"

"Oh" she mumbled "Well I suppose I could ask my mom" she added brightening a little, showing him a set of perfect pearly white teeth as she smiled. There was something so likeable about her, he knew she would light up the screen and he had an idea.

"That's great, what we need you to do is bring a resume and a head shot with you. You should maybe prepare a little something before hand, you know a monologue, a few verses of a song, maybe a few dance steps, that kind of thing…show us what you made of" he said with an smile at the nervous teen.

"Okay" Kelsi said happily "Er, Mr. Bishop, will er, will any of the cast be at the auditions?" she asked trying to sound casual and failing.

Chris smiled, sensing her hidden question "No… Miss Nielson is it? No, Troy Bolton won't be there"

Gabriella felt a little pang of disappointment; she would have killed to see the Troy Bolton up close. Despite her outward behavior and what she said to Kelsi, she had a total crush on him, she had seen all his movies and had posters of him scattered around her walls, even some pictures in her diary. With his shaggy blond hair, deep blue eyes and warm smile he was everything teenage fantasies were made of and more.

"Well Ms Darbus, now we have met our future stars of tomorrow perhaps we could continue with the tour" Angela quipped, with a smile at the now deflated girls. They hid their disappointment well but she could see it lurking in their eyes, they wanted to meet Troy Bolton, hell half the world wanted to meet him and there were times that she couldn't blame them. He was one beautiful guy, she thought to herself, they were times at the shoot that she had to just stop and stare and admire the phenomenon that was Troy Bolton.

"Certainly, if you'll step this way we will move on to the gymnasium…girls I will see you tomorrow" Ms Darbus said with a sweeping gesture and broad smile, leading the couple away.

Kelsi waited until the auditorium was empty once more and turned to Gabriella with a grin, so wide it almost split her face.

"We're gonna be in Fame Academy!" she whooped, bouncing on the spot.

"You mean you will be….Kelsi I really can't see my mom agreeing to this" she said sadly.

"Gab, she has to let you, how often will you get the chance to see Troy Bolton close up? Talk to her Gab, she has to let you" she insisted.

Gabriella shrugged lightly "I'll do what I can but I don't think she'll go for it"

The idea of being an extra in Fame Academy stayed with Gabriella all the way home and all through dinner. As Gabriella and her mom sat down to eat, her phone bleeped. Kelsi had sent her a text message.

"Well??????"

"Who's that hija?" her mother asked as she served the vegetables.

"Just Kelsi mamai, wanting to some help with homework" she lied, feeling guilty as she spoke, putting her phone back in her pocket.

"You're a good friend Gabriella, helping that girl and staying back all those hours after school…have you done all your homework for this evening?"

Gabriella nodded "Yes mamai"

Her mother beamed proudly "Because I don't need to remind you how important good grades are for getting into Stanford, do I?"

Gabriella stabbed a vegetable with her fork and raised it to her lips "No mamai" she popped it into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully for a few seconds.

She wanted to ask her mom about being in the movie but couldn't think of the right way to go about it; she ate in silence, her brow furrowed

"Is something wrong Gabi? You've been very quiet all night," her mom said kindly, some minutes later.

"No, no…. nothing is wrong, although there is something I've been meaning to talk to about" she said shakily.

"Okay… you're not in trouble or anything are you?" she asked in concern.

Gabriella shook her head and pushed her food around her plate, searching for the right words.

"Well it must be something to put you off your dinner"

"Nothing really…. it's just, I found out today that a movie company might be using East High as a location in their next film…and they would like me to audition as an extra" she said quietly, looking down at her plate as she spoke.

Her mother was silent for a few seconds as she considered what Gabriella had said, "How did that happen?"

"They heard me singing in the auditorium today," she confessed, still looking at the plate unable to meet her mother's eyes.

"Why would you be singing in the auditorium, if you were at history club?"

Gabriella felt the weight of her lies pressing on her shoulders and shrugged against it.

"I wasn't at history club…. I was at drama club," she admitted quietly.

Her mother put down her knife and fork and stared at her, not a good sign.

"You lied to me Gabriella…why? You know I feel about liars" she spoke softly, almost kindly but her disappointment came through loud and clear.

"I'm sorry Mamai, really I am but I thought you wouldn't let me go"

"Why on earth would you think that?" she questioned her daughter, looking at the earnest expression on her beautiful face.

"Because you always go on about the importance of my school work and how I haven't got time to socialize on school nights…I thought if you knew I was at drama club, you wouldn't let me go" she murmured, guiltily.

"Gabriella, your school work is very important, you know that as well as I do… but drama club is school based, if you would have asked, I would have given you permission"

Gabriella looked up from her plate in surprise, smiling at her mother but she didn't smile back.

"You would have?"

"Yes hija I would" she sighed, "How in the world did you end up joining drama club? I thought you hated that sort of thing"

Gabriella shook her head, her eyes dancing, her excitement making her forget herself and she blurted, "Oh no mamai, I love it…it started when I got detention and Ms Darbus said I was really good and she-"

"Stop right there young lady, detention? You have never told me about any detention…more lies Gabriella?" she said accusingly.

"No! It wasn't like that mamai, I forgot to tell you…Kelsi gave me a magazine article about Troy Bolton to read during silent study and Mr. Mathis caught us talking" she tried to explain.

"So not only were you not doing the work, you were also talking…. Gabriella I am shocked at you, why on earth would you let yourself get into trouble over some silly movie star!"

"But mamai, it was an accident" she protested.

Her mother shook her head "No Gabriella it was not, you chose to read the magazine instead of work, you chose to talk during silent study, you deserved the detention…you chose to lie to me about that detention and now I find you have being lying to me again about your whereabouts after school" she sighed and shook her head at her daughter "I'm an so disappointed in you Gabriella, you've let the school down, you've let me down but worst of all you have let yourself down"

"I'm sorry mamai but I couldn't tell you" she tried again, tears springing to her eyes, hating the conflict with her mother and the uncomfortable feeling it gave her.

"Yes you could, but you chose to lie and you know I find lying unforgivable…I want you to go to your room, you are grounded and there will be no more drama club, especially if it encourages it's members to lie" she said sternly, looking her daughters downcast face, angry that she'd been lied to on more than one occasion. She couldn't believe that Gabriella would do that to her, when she had always told her everything, they had no secrets, no need for lies between them.

Gabriella rose to her feet and looked down at her mother "I'm sorry Mamai" she whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears and turning from the table she headed to her bedroom.

Once inside she shut the door and threw herself onto her bed to let the tears come. She cried, cried for the conflict with her mother, cried for the icky feeling she got knowing she disappointed her and cried for the fact there would be no more drama club and no Fame Academy, no chance to meet Troy Bolton. She lifted her head from the pillow as she cried and her eyes fell on the poster opposite her.

Troy Bolton grinned back at her, his dark blue eyes, seeming to tell her it would be okay, his smile warm and reaching out to her. All she wanted was to have the chance to be a normal teenager, and not some kind of freaky genius girl. Being an extra on Fame Academy would have given her something else to focus on, something a lot of other people didn't have. Something to make her stand out for a reason other than her intellect. The poster reminded her of what she couldn't have but she couldn't remove it or the others.

Her wall was littered with pictures of him; some in color others in black and white, some serious, some funny, but all breathtakingly beautiful. Gabriella had adored him since the first Fame Academy movie and even now three years later, she still did, although only Kelsi knew the intensity of her secret crush. She considered herself to be above such things as giggling in corridors over guys but in the privacy of her room, she loved to stare into those haunting eyes, to daydream about one day getting lost in them. To imagine that one day she would get to meet him and he would fall hopelessly in love with her. She smiled to herself a little ruefully as she acknowledged how foolish such a dream was, a million girls probably felt the same way.

Her tears abated slowly as she realized that she had been in the wrong, she had lied to her mother, which was one thing she promised herself she would never do. Her upset came more from the fact that her mother was right and she had lied, than the fact she wouldn't be allowed to continue with drama club or audition for the movie. Gabriella hated conflict of any kind and for her mother to be angry and upset with her left a bad taste in her mouth. She knew she had to go down and apologize to her, as she got to her feet she muttered,

"Wish me luck Troy" and headed out the door.

As she reached the end of the hallway she heard the telephone ring, after only a few seconds her mother answered and Gabriella perched on the top step, not wanting to intentionally listen but curious. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her cheek on them.

"Yes this is Mrs. Montez….Oh good evening Ms Darbus" she heard her mother say into the telephone her tone slightly disapproving.

"Yes Gabriella has informed me of that" she paused "I don't think that it is a good idea Ms Darbus, you see Gabriella has not made me aware of her whereabouts these past weeks and I really feel that allowing her to take part will not reinforce the message I want to give my daughter"

She paused again and was silent, obviously listening to Ms Darbus. Gabriella felt her heart sink, she wasn't going to be allowed to audition. But she could not deny it was all she deserved.

"I understand that Ms Darbus, but she lied to me and I cannot allow that to go unpunished…. whilst I see what you are saying, I don't think it would be the best move for her right now"

Again more silence "Oh really, well that is quite interesting,"

Gabriella perked up as she listened to her mother again "I suppose I can talk with Gabriella, it's just I don't want her head turned by any of this Troy Bolton, movie nonsense…she's a smart girl, a good girl and that is how I would like it to stay…she is going to Stanford next year and I wouldn't want that to change but I do understand the benefits if she was to be successful"

There was along pause "I will, thank you for calling Ms Darbus, goodnight…Gabriella you may as well come down, I know you're listening hija" she called up the stairs, Gabriella jumped guiltily at having been caught eavesdropping.

Wiping her eyes on the back of her shirt she went down stairs and into the den, sitting herself on the sofa next to her mother.

"I am sorry Mamai," she said softly, somewhat tearfully again as she came face to face with her mother's disapproval.

"Gabriella, hija…. why did you feel you had to lie to me?"

She shrugged, toying with her shirtsleeves "I thought you wouldn't let me go to drama club because it's not exactly academic, it's the easiest thing in the world to do, I don't even have to work at it"

Her mother sighed and reached out to her, stroking her hair "Gabriella I only want what is best for you, that's why I push you to be the best you can be…and I also want to be happy… if you had told me drama club made you happy then you would have had my blessing….but now it's made me think twice about letting you stay on…you know Ms Darbus called me"

Gabriella nodded, interested to see what she had said, what had sparked the change in her mother, the willingness to discuss the possibility.

"Ms Darbus told me that the casting director was very impressed with you and wants you to audition for him at the weekend…she told me, it is very rare to get a personal invite from a casting director if you are not in the business…she also told me how good she thinks you are and that the movie company can pay you well enough to add to your college fund…. She also made a point about things like this looking good on college application forms"

"But what do you think Mamai?" she asked her heart racing, not daring to guess the outcome.

"I won't lie to Gabriella, it's against all my instincts as a parent to allow you to do this given that you lied to me… but on the other hand I would be going against my duty as your mother to deny you this chance" she sighed, stroking her face "You hurt me hija when you lied to me, I never thought you would lie to me….I always thought you could come to me with anything"

"And I can and I will, but I was scared of what you would say" she admitted.

"Gabi, I never want you to be scared to come to me, I'm your mother and I love you"

"I Love you too Mamai" she said quietly.

"And that is why I have decided you can audition on Saturday"

Gabriella squealed with delight and threw herself into her mothers waiting arms, their combined weight toppling them backwards onto the sofa.

"Thank you mamai, thank you," she cried over and over, her excitement bubbling to the surface.

Her mother hugged her close for a moment longer but then set herself away so she could look into her eyes "But anymore lies and the deal is off and you have to complete all your homework regardless" she said sternly but with a twinkle in her eye.

"Fame Academy here I come" she cried and dashed from the room to call Kelsi, knowing she would be the only one who could understand how elated she felt at that moment.