Chapter 3

It had been week since Troy had talked. Now he only talked to answer questions the teachers asked.

And Tiffany kept trying to talk to him...and the results were quite amusing.

Like during lunch on Tuesday...

"Hey, Troy," Tiffany said. "Wanna sit with me? You seem kinda lonely." Troy ignored her and went on eating his sandwich. He didn't even look at her. Tiffany scowled and went back to the Drama Table.

And then on Wedensday morning...

"Troy," Tiffany shouted, running up to him. "You're fashion-wise, right?"

"Sorta," Troy said.

Gabriella, who was nearby at the time, noticed the suspicion and caution in his voice.

"Well, what do you think of my shirt?" Tiffany asked, batting her eyelashes.

Troy eyed it. He opened his mouth to speak. Gabriella was expecting something like "I don't/do like it." But instead, he said, "I think it makes you look retarded." Then he went inside the school, building leaving Tiffany fuming.

After that incident, Tiffany had steered clear of him on Thursday.

But then on Friday...

Gabriella was taking her math books out of her locker when she heard Tiffany say, "Hey, Troy."

Several heads turned. They saw Tiffany and Troy standing in front of the Auditions Sign-up List. It was for the play Beauty and the Beast.

"Are you signing up to play Prince Charming?" Tiffany asked. Before Troy answered, she continued, "That's so cool. I'm signing up for Beauty. Won't be cool if we got the lead parts?"

"No," Troy said. He walked away without signing his name. Tiffany gaped for a second before she stomped off in the other direction.

Really, Troy could be a comedian without even trying! But Gabriella had to give it to Tiffany. That girl has determination.

That's what Gabriella said to a group of girls during lunch. "She's really determined to make Troy her boyfriend," she said.

"It's weird, though," a girl named Haley said. "It's, like, sooooo obvious that Troy doesn't like her at all!"

"I guess being an actress makes you really determined to make the impossible happen," Gabriella said before sipping her milk.

The others agreed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Troy sat in his seat for History class. Everyone else was either passing notes or just falling asleep, but Troy wasn't doing any of those.

He was ignoring everyone.

This was probably the worst school he had ever been too! The kids here acted like they had never met a guy dancer before! Or a male actor. Or a male singer, either. Troy knew he was different from most guys. While most of the guys were playing football or shooting hoops, Troy spent his free time watching musicals or learning new dance steps or listening to songs. Troy kept his hair neat and out of his face so it wouldn't get in the way of dancing. He sang, he danced, he acted, he even did gymanstics for a while. And his classmates seemed to think he was some kind of curse or whatever.

And that Tiffany girl was so annoying! She kept giggling and yakking non-stop about non-important things.

Troy wished he was back in New York City, where he attended Juilliard and hung out with kids who didn't care that he was a guy. He wished he would've stayed, �

But noooo, his Aunt Julie had to own a school for fine arts in Alburqurque, New Mexico! Troy had went to a private middle school, Roadsville Middle School, when he had first moved to Alburqurque. He wasn't as cold then. He smiled at people and said hi a few times. But all of the kids made fun of him, especially the guys on the basketball and soccer team. And the cheerleaders scoffed at him and called him "Mama's Boy'" and called him gay.

When Troy started East High, he was glad to find out that none of the kids from Roadsville would be attending East High. Then he made a vow that he wouldn't talk to anyone, especially the popular kids. And there was one he hated above all of them.

Gabriella Montez.

Troy had overheard a group of girls talking about her. And by the sound of it, Gabriella was the most popular girl in school. She got whatever she wanted, threw amazing parties, met celebrities every other week, and had her things shipped from places like Rome and Paris. And she looked fabulous 24/7 and had the football jocks trailing behind her with drool coming out of their mouths and hearts in their eyes.

At first, Troy had thought she was pretty--long, straight black hair, gorgeous tanned skin, and long legs. Prettier than the girls at Juilliard. But after he had seen her being swarmed with admireres on his first day of school, he knew she was popular. And if she was popular, she probably wouldn't want anything to do with someone like Troy. And he had heard that she was more popular than the cheerleaders and seniors. If that was true, Gabriella would be worst to face than the cheerleaders at Roadsville.

He had caught her staring at him a few times. But then she would either giggle, look away, or whisper to someone else. Troy knew others talked about him. And he didn't really care. Really! But something about that girl bothered him. Was it her style? Her looks? Her attitude? He had no idea.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG!

Troy got out of his seat and pushed his way to the door. So was everyone else but he managed to get through.

Unfortunately, so did Tiffany.

"Hey, Troy," she said.

Troy groaned and closed his eyes, thinking, Please, please, let this be a nightmare.

He pinched himself. Nope, it was real.

He opened his eyes and saw Tiffany standing right in front of him.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked with a small smile.

Troy almost lied and said yes. But then his better sense took over and he shook his head.

"Oh, wow, really?" Tiffany asked. Troy knew she was faking. "I don't have a boyfriend, either."

"That's nice," Troy said. He tried to walk past her, but Tiffany blocked his way.

"Well, then this is perfect," Tiffany said, walking closer...too close.

"Um," Troy stuttered. "What do you mean?"

Tiffany giggled her annoying giggle. "You know, we could...go out."

She stepped closer. Just one more step and they'd be kissing.

"So what do you say?" Tiffany said. "I mean, it's really obvious it's faith. We're totally made for each other."

Troy would've laughed if Tiffany wasn't so close.

"So wanna go out?" Tiffany repeated.

A few seconds of silence but to Troy it felt like years. He didn't look around but he knew people were staring.

Then he said...

"Why would I want to?"

He pushed her away and walked through the laughing and cheering hallway. Some guys patted him on the back and others called him crazy.

But Troy didn't care. He just wanted to get away from Tiffany Green.

As he was walking through the hallway, he saw Gabriella.

After that, everything seemed blurry.

All he remembered was their eyes meeting. They walked past each other, still staring. Then they both looked away.

But Troy knew he would never forget those chocolate brown eyes...

no matter how much he hated the person who had them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few seconds of a Troyella moment.

hehehe.

R&R! Thank u!