"Gabby!" Sharpay's voice startled me as I walked into the classroom. This new found friendship has been...disturbing to say the least. I had started tutoring her about a week before and to my surprise, we were actually getting along. Before I knew it Sharpay Evans was coming up to me in the hallway just to say hello. She offered to take me shopping and she even asked me to sit with her at lunch, which I declined. I didn't want to leave Taylor alone. I also didn't want to sit with Sharpay and her barbie-doll friends. Every high school has that group of girls who appear to chug foundation by the gallon and Sharpay was the leader of those girls. They weren't all evil like Sharpay, some were surprisingly nice. I knew that because it wasn't just Sharpay who was saying hello to me now. It was all of her friends. Well, her gal pals. No boys were paying attention to me.

"Gabby oh my god!" Sharpay squealed as I sat down, "Are you free Friday night?"

"Yeah, why?" I asked. I was always free.

She smiled, "Well, my parents are going to be out of town so I'm throwing a party. It's nothing huge, like a hundred people at most." A hundred? That's not huge? I don't think I even knew a hundred people. "Wanna come? You'll have to look nice, of course." She looked me up and down. I was back to my sweatshirt and leggings uniform.

I grinned, "I'll definitely think about it." I meant it, too. It was my senior year and I still hadn't been to any parties. My lack of enthusiasm for my classmates was probably the cause of that. I've never really felt like I was missing out, though. Some people party, some people pull all nighters editing their blog. I was the latter.

After yet another dreadful hour of chemistry, my school day was done. I headed out the door to my locker, but Sharpay was trailing behind me begging me to come to her party. I finally gave in. Maybe chugging beer with the East High elite wouldn't be so bad? I assumed I'd just find some corner to sit in and play games on my phone. When I finally reached my locker, Taylor was there waiting for me. Her eyes rolled as she saw Sharpay say goodbye to me.

"You're going to get some airborne reaction to all that spray tan, Gabby." Taylor went on, "Who knows what kind of chemicals are in that thing."

"Relax, Tay. I'm only tutoring her." I laughed, "It's not like I'm planning on being an oompa loompa anytime soon."

She protested, "I don't even know why you're helping her. She's a bitch."

"She invited me to a party." I admitted. Why shouldn't I tell Taylor?

Taylor's voice was harsh, "You're not going, are you?"

I shrugged, "I'm thinking about it," When I turned to face Taylor, her face was red. "What's your problem, Tay?"

"Are you really going to ditch me for them?" She muttered.

I stepped back, "I'm not ditching you for anyone. Chill Taylor. I'm allowed to talk to people who aren't you."

"You're turning into a real bitch, Gabriellla. Fuck off."

And with that, Taylor stormed off, leaving me alone. She's always been dramatic, but she'd never ran away from me before. I looked up at the ceiling and stared at the light. I wasn't going to cry at school. After taking a deep breath I shut my locker and started walking home.


I didn't live too far from the school, so I still managed to get home before my mom. She was now "official" with that guy. Sara has met him, but I haven't. I wasn't interested in meeting the guy who is sleeping with my mom. All I knew was that he was a lot older than my mom, had no kids, and was an accountant downtown. That was good enough for me. When I walked upstairs, I saw that my entire closet was thrown onto my bed and floor. For someone who constantly tears me down, my mother loved my clothes. We were both petite and we shared the same size in a lot of pieces. I sighed and began hanging everything back up. Pulling each shirt back onto the hanger, I heard a knock on the front door. I ran downstairs and to my surprise, there was Sharpay. A box was in her hands.

"I have an idea." She walked in, placing the box down on the kitchen counter.

"And what would that be?" I questioned. I tried peering into the box but it was unfortunately taped shut.

She sat down, "Well, you may not know this about me but I've been taking hairdressing lessons from my aunt. She works in Hollywood, ya know? And like, I've only ever worked on straight hair." Sharpay looked at my thick curls.

"Nope, nope, no way!" I called out. It had been years since I cut my hair. There was no way in hell I'm letting this Barbie come near my head with scissors.

"Pleaseee!" She begged. This was becoming a common theme in my life. "Just a trim? I think it'll look great just below your shoulders."

"Sharpay I don't trust you that much." I shook my head.

She went on, "What if I set you up with someone? You don't have a boyfriend or anything right?" She was right. The closest thing I had to a boyfriend was my cat. But a boyfriend was really not enough incentive to cut off my hair. Then, I remembered what Taylor said. If I was already becoming such a bitch to her, shouldn't I try to make new friends? This haircut, as much as I didn't want it, could make Sharpay and I closer. It's crazy, but Sharpay was nicer to me now than Taylor ever was. She didn't snap at me, and the occasionally jab at my appearance was becoming more endearing than hurtful.

I sighed, "Just a little bit! And if you ruin my head I'm legally allowed to kill you, okay?" Sharpay smiled and hugged me. What did I get myself into?

I ducked into the shower to wet my hair and by the time I got out she was set up. She opened the box and inside was more than just scissors and an apron. She has tons of makeup too. She explained to me that she wanted to test out and see what I'd look like all done up. I protested, of course, but in the end I decided what the hell. She combed out my hair and began chopping. She cut it right to my shoulders and then added layers. It wasn't a bad experience, really. Having someone play with my hair is one of the most calming things for me. After about twenty minutes she was done, and began blowing out my hair. Turning my chair around, she smiled.

"Oh my god! It's so good Gabby! Go look!" She grabbed my hand and lead me into the bathroom. The long, coarse curls were gone. My hair was straight from the blowout, and it looked almost silky. I ran my fingers through it. The length really did frame my face better, I looked so much older.

"Wow, Sharpay. I love it." I turned away from the mirror to face her, "Thank you so much."

"You're gonna look so hot on Friday!"

I laughed, maybe I would.