Scenes from Freshman Year: The Original Version

by MissCar

This is the story of life after high school complete with new friends, enemies, relationships, half siblings, stepsiblings, pseudo nephews, unexpected children, and future stepfathers. Ensemble story with multiple pairings: C/S, T/OC, R/TM, JZ/OC, Z/OC, JC/MC, and JB/OC. Completed but being rewritten as Scenes from Freshman Year: Fall Disorientation

50. The Future is in the Past 3

Thank you to everybody who read the last chapter. This is the final chapter of Scenes from Freshman Year. Thank you to everybody who has stuck through this story through all its insane soap opera twists and turns. Also, thank you to anybody who put this story on alert or added it to his or her favorites. Thank you to Teddy Bear who has been the beta for a good portion of this story.

The idea for the restaurant in this chapter is based on an actual restaurant in Albuquerque. I saw it on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives when I was working on this chapter, and I just had to use it. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the restaurant.

There will probably not be a sequel to this story because I don't think there's enough interest. I mostly finished it because when I was in the hospital last year after getting hit by the car I knew I would regret it if I died without finishing this. So, I can now cross this off my bucket list. I may do some short High School Musical stories in the future but nothing this epic ever again. I can't believe how long this story is. So without further ado, the 50 and final chapter.

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The Future is in the Past. Part three

April 29, 2023

New Mexico

"I'm so glad you agreed for me to help you." Kerri said as Penelope open the door to allow her into her spacious house. It was a three bedroom vintage home in one of the better suburbs of Albuquerque. The only reason why she can afford a house like this on her salary is because Sharpay graciously gave Penelope a cut of the royalties for Scenes from an American High School because it was based off of A Very High School Musical that they worked on together their freshman year of college. If it does become a TV show she will finally be able to afford a decent summer vacation without asking her boss for the 'family rate' at the Garden hotel of her choice.

"Actually it was Sharpay's idea." Penelope explained. It really was. Sometime during the mess that was Zack's funeral, Sharpay decided that it was completely unfair for a non-alumni to plan the thing. Maybe she just realized how much Penelope was drowning. Between her childhood friend dying and the press following her to get the real reaction on what Richard did to her now that the truth came out after his death, she felt overwhelmed. She could go through the motions, but anything extra was beyond her. "She is the one paying your salary." Of course, Sharpay could not help herself but she was perfectly willing to pay for professional help. Penelope really didn't care.

"Please I would volunteer my services for free to avoid the crepe paper disaster that was my high school reunion. What they did with the East High Bobcat was a crime against good taste." Kerri said with a shiver.

"You went to the East High reunion? I thought you went to Sandra Academy for your final year." Penelope asked confused not that she kept up with Sharpay's charge that well but they did live in the same town the year before Chad and Sharpay moved to California and Kerri accepted a basketball scholarship out East.

"They claim me anyway now. Being on a basketball team that won an NCAA championship make some former classmates kiss your ass. We attended mostly to mess with everyone's head." Penelope was sure that 'we' refer to Jimmy, Kerri's public friend and private lover. Even if she just knew the two from TMZ, she would already know what was going on. It was too obvious.

"I honestly think that's the only reason why Sharpay is coming to the reunion this time."

"Actually it's probably because Amanda planned for her wedding to be the next day to prevent another bachelor party disaster." Kerri remarked darkly referring to what happened last time.

"I am surprise you're the one here. Not that I'm not happy because you did a really good job on the funeral. Don't you usually handle the very high profile stuff?" Penelope asked.

"In DC yes, but I pretty much handed over all the good stuff to Tierra here in New Mexico because I thought I would be taking over DC operations for the duration of the campaign. I only kept the Baylor wedding because Amanda is a close personal friend and I am in the wedding party. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control I need to lay low in New Mexico until a certain Maryland special election." Kerri said with irritation.

"You mean the condom breaking when you were having sex with a married man whose husband is trying to run a very high profile senate campaign. I'm guessing Taylor doesn't want to lose her campaign manager to a scandal." Penelope said sarcastically. Just because everybody else in the group avoids the elephant in the room doesn't mean she will. She doesn't criticize other people's personal choices however she likes people to be a bit more honest about it.

"What is a condom?" A certain four year old asked from the living room. You would think after eight years of teaching she would remember to censor herself better when the impressionable were in listening distance.

"Alex says that the reason why he's here is that daddy forgot to use one when he was a teenager. Is that why you are pregnant?" A certain seven year old replied in a way that would be just mortifying if she were Troy. She found it highly amusing.

"Did I forget to mention I'm babysitting the evil two because Amanda and Zeke are taking Kim and Troy out for their wedding anniversary?" Penelope said with a smile.

"That would have been helpful." Kerri said before turning to the children. "Sometimes when people are not able to have a child on their own they ask a third person to help. I'm helping Jimmy and Marc to have a baby because they want one really badly." Kerri explained in a way that most small children would understand. Not these children, unfortunately.

"Why?" Ivy asked again.

"Because they want to have a kid?" Kerri said sheepishly. It almost sounded like a question.

"Why?" This time it was Gabi that asked.

"Let me talk to Penelope for a little bit and then I will let you guys help me decide on the decorations for the East High gym for your daddies' high school reunion." Kerri suggested.

"But I want to know why you're having Uncle Jimmy's baby. Uncle Chad said that Jimmy was a polllikeamess. He was also mad that Jimmy was going to have a baby and he wasn't. What is a polllikeamess?" Zeke's daughter asked completely butchering the word polygamous. Kerri looked like she wanted to hide under the furniture.

As a high school teacher, Penelope was immune to this sort of thing. You should hear the questions that she has got from students about the entire Richard fiasco in the last few weeks. This was mild by comparison.

The thing that hurt her was Chad being upset about Jimmy getting to have a biological child when that was never going to happen for him. Every time one of his friends announced the impending birth of their child Chad always got this sad look. She wanted to help him but she wasn't sure how.

"I can't answer that question for you but your Uncle Chad will. We can call him after we pick out the decorations." Penelope answered with a smile. If he got himself into this mess he was going to be the one that would answer the inappropriate questions.

"Okay. Can we have cookies?" The four year old asked.

"Later. Why don't you go color in the kitchen?" Penelope suggested and the children finally left.

"God, you should have worn me. They are much more vicious than the twins ever were. Actually, they are as bad as that TMZ reporter that ran into me at the grocery store last week. Why are they even here? I assumed that Alex was their usual baby sitter of choice." Kerri questioned as she started to pull out her IPad.

"Supposedly, he was busy doing something with one of his friends. Personally, I think this was an excuse to keep me from spending another Saturday night eating vast quantities of cookie dough ice cream as I watched Lifetime movies. It's almost enough to make me miss grading papers. Zack would have been much more direct." Penelope said with a frown. Whenever she would act like this he would fly down and drag her to the nearest club. Her other friends ask her to baby sit. Although spending time with the children is still an improvement on her normal solitude.

"I think the reason why you're sitting in your home making Ben and Jerry's very rich is Zack's death." Kerri said as she pulled up a simulation of the East High cafeteria on the screen.

"Maybe, but I'm getting through it. At least, I'm still getting up and going to work every day. According to Sharpay, Ryan has not even got up the courage to go back to his apartment. He is still living in her guest room. He hasn't returned to work either although unlike me he doesn't need the money. The joys of being a trust fund baby." The fact that Zack died in the same month when the Lucy fiasco happened did not make the situation easier on anyone, especially Ryan. She could understand why he was a complete mess. "I wish there was something I could do to get him out of this, I'm just not sure how.

"You're right there are worse ways to deal with grief and we all do it differently. When her father died, Sharpay took over an entire company and Ryan had relations with his future husband in the men's room during the viewing and the funeral the next day. I may or may not have convinced my ex boyfriends current boyfriend to let me have S-e-x with my act so I wouldn't die a virgin. The word was spelled out to keep little ears from figuring out what they were talking about but it was still enough to shock Penelope. "You just have to let it play out for now."

"What?" Penelope asked nearly screaming. The kids were so going to hear this.

"Okay I really did convince Jimmy to do you know what with me, okay rather I convinced Marc to let me do it." Her mouth was open an absolute shock. "No he didn't watch, that time." Kerri hastily added, the last part muffled so softly that Penelope could barely hear her. Penelope practically fell out her chair. Really she shouldn't be surprised it was the running joke in the group even if Chad was probably the only one who knew for sure.

"That wasn't what I was asking about. Ryan and Zack at the Funeral Home? I Mean I knew Chad and Sharpay did something inappropriate but its Chad and Sharpay." Really, who hasn't heard those two doing something inappropriate by this point? Penelope is shocked that they never had an actual sex tape.

"You weren't there because you were helping to take care of Alex but the funeral was insane. Mr. Bolton caught the couple at the funeral after Sharpay disappeared. Jimmy was the one who saw everything at the Viewing. We all kept quiet because Ryan couldn't deal with Taylor freaking out." Kerri explained.

"Please her reaction was bad enough at the end of summer when Ryan told her." The week before sophomore year started they all got together to just hang out at one of the nearby Beijing Gardens resort hotels. It must have been just a few weeks after Nikki's father died. Her stepmother was forcing her to go back to New Mexico. It was Chad's idea that they do something to cheer her and everyone else up with a weekend in the desert. Ryan brought his new boyfriend along without mentioning to his ex girlfriend that he was dating someone else. Taylor's response was to throw him in the pool.

"We probably need to start talking about what you need for this reunion before the evil two come in here and start asking questions I don't want to answer." Kerri said trying to get back on task.

"Good point. I need to return my attentions to the children before they start drawing on the walls. I want something nice. Since this is East High, we should probably have karaoke and lots of room for dancing. No crepe paper and is there any way on earth we can avoid using the school colors? I thought the West High colors were hideous, but East's colors are substantially worse."

"I can work with that." Kerri said pulling up various mockups on her IPad. After 2 hours they actually had something usable with a few interesting ideas from the girls involving glitter. They finished just in time for her reunion planner to spend quality time in the restroom. Penelope was kind enough to bring her a ginger ale.

"Sometimes, I wonder why I agreed to do this." Kerri said sipping her ginger ale.

"I thought the only thing you agreed to was unprotected sex." Penelope quipped. It was safe to do so because the children were downstairs.

"I was raised by Chad Evans. The man gives condoms as birthday presents. I know how not to get pregnant. It really was a planned pregnancy, sort of. Jimmy loves children and as much as he argues otherwise, Marc does as well. You know how much he adores Ivy. Adoption was going to take forever and after all the problems that happened with the Boltons and their first carrier they were wary so they asked me to help. I agreed because I want to take that sadness away." Kerri explained.

"And the fact that you're doing it the Babylonian way?" Penelope asked with an eyebrow raised.

"It was more practical for our situation. You already know that we're still FWB. The only drawback was it's harder to plan the thing when you're doing it the old fashioned way. We were going to hold off until after the election to keep trying but it just happened anyway. Chad found it extremely funny that I got pregnant as soon as we actually stop trying."

"He found it funny?" She question.

"Mostly, he is still a little upset over you know."

"I know. I know they both want to have a child together so badly. They are great parents. All things considered, Olivia and Isaac came out pretty normal."

"They even took me in. Chad is probably my only decent father figure." Kerri added.

"I wish I could help."

"You could. As far as I know you have a perfectly working uterus and it's not busy at the moment. I would volunteer to be there carrier but I'm already busy and I still don't like needles."

"I don't think I'm as adventurous as you are." Penelope quipped.

"I don't think Sharpay would volunteer for that anyway. I meant the normal way for this type of thing."

"I'll think about it." Was Penelope's only response that.

---

"Seriously Zeke owns five of the best restaurants in town and he's taking us to a liquor store for our anniversary dinner." Kim said once she managed to get herself out of the car and into her chair. "I'm not even 100% sure there's a wheelchair ramp."

"I thought that's why you got a chair that does stairs. You're just looking for any excuse not to be here. I agreed with you to cancel our regular anniversary party in light of recent events but you still got to eat something." Every year's since they were married Troy always threw her a huge anniversary party. Actually, that first year it was Gabriella's idea and the entire thing was filmed for American Star Maker but it was their way of getting over the negativity associated with the month before. With Ryan's husband dying just a few weeks earlier it didn't feel like the right time to throw a party.

"I got a chair that can do stairs because I want to be able to function as normally as possible. Also as we both know those red carpet events are not that accessible. Seriously you can't be the first celebrity with a disabled wife." Kim said still looking at the establishment with disdain.

"Probably not but you're the first to go to all the parties." Troy said with a smirk before continuing.

"I'm super busy working on my next album and I really would like to do something on my day off other than watching you going over the lesson plans of other teachers or arguing with your sister. Alex was never that bad. Why did we agreed to let her live with us again?" Troy asked with a sigh.

"Because she has been acting up since dad died and none of us want her to break your record of the youngest person in the family to become a parent. 15 was bad enough. We volunteered to help because we set such a bad example." Kim quipped.

"Technically I was 16 when Alex was born. We're never going to be forgiven for that?" Troy asked with a sigh.

"Not really." Kim said equally annoyed.

"At least we don't have to worry about Alex." Troy said with a laugh. "The only girl he's interested in is Gabriella."

Since he was four years old Alex has had a major crush on Gabriella. Every time Gabriella dated someone else he has a tantrum. The worst was when she almost got married three years ago, but he left when he found out about Gabi. Alex celebrated for three days when the wedding was called off. It would probably be adorable if it wasn't for the fact that Gabriella was the biological mother of his baby sister. However if Kim learned anything from her own mother it was that saying no will just make the situation worse.

"For now, all bets are off when he turns 18." She said with a laugh.

"Nothing will happen. Gabriella is his sister's biological mom." Troy argued.

"My threats only applied until his 18th birthday. I'm not my mother. My children can be with whoever they want even if I find it a little disturbing. Okay maybe it's good that we're at a liquor store." Kim said finally going inside, realizing that she wasn't going to get out of this dinner.

To her surprise, once you get through the liquor store there was actually a good restaurant behind it that allegedly served the best stakes in town. Thankfully only Zeke and Amanda were actually at the table. For a moment, she was worried that she was going to be ambushed by a surprise party. Instead she was treated to Zeke approved appetizers. Unfortunately she couldn't get out of a Sharpay Evans tradition even if her best friend was in New York dealing with a depressed brother and two twins that desperately hated their school enough that they asked her for transfer papers for East High when they were in town for the funeral. At every anniversary party, since she has been married to Troy, Sharpay would read a short story about true love and Kim's relationship with Troy. This year Amanda would be reading or rather reciting the story from memory.

"Once upon a time in a place not that far from here lived a girl named Kim. She had a wonderful father, but a horrible mother. It was an arranged marriage and there was never any love there at all. Despite seeing her parents fight all the time she wanted to find real love." Amanda started looking directly at Kim.

"Do you really have to do this?" Kim asked her with a glare.

"Yes, it's a tradition." Troy answered back.

"It's an embarrassing tradition. Can we at least skip to the part about the wedding? I liked the part about you and Marc sneaking into my hospital room to turn it into a wedding paradise." Kim quipped.

"Nope, your wedding is very important to me because without meeting your grandfather there I would have never had a chance to go back to culinary school. This is how we commemorate that wonderful day. Shut up, enjoy your wine, and listen to the pretty lady read." Zeke told her.

"Fine but this had better be some really good steak." Kim grumbled.

"Best in the city and I brought my own very special raspberry truffle cream layer cake for dessert." Zeke said with a smile.

"Find but I am only doing this for the food." Kim complained. Amanda just started again.

"Kim did find her love in the most unexpected place, the student that her health teacher begged her to teach."

---

May 1, 2009

Kim initially blamed the industrial strength opiate family pain killers for her visions of red roses and white lace. A medication induced hallucination was the only logical explanation for her hospital room looking like the little wedding chapel of love. There were doves and those white paper wedding bells hanging over her bed that Sharpay refused to let her use at her wedding. In front of her Marc was now barking orders at some poor candy striper helping him redecorate her hospital room.

"Marc what the hell is going on? Why are there flowers everywhere?" She asked.

"Usually when somebody survives getting shot the hospital room is filled with flowers." Marc responded snidely not really answering her question.

"When I fell asleep I was surrounded by daisies and carnations. Now there are red and white roses everywhere. Also I feel like I am covered in glitter."

"Sorry about that, I spilled a bottle on you when I tripped." Responded that unknown volunteered who was currently replacing her traditional hospital curtain with cream lace drapery.

"Explain Marc." Kim demanded.

"Ask your boyfriend and Gabriella. This was their idea to cheer you up." Marc told her.

"The Valentine's Day theme is supposed to cheer me up. Its April, you are two months too late for that." She remarked bitterly.

"Today's May 1." Marc remarked.

"Time moves differently when you're stuck in a hospital bed." She replied back

"You're not stuck. Don't you have physical therapy?" Marc asked.

"Soon, although that's not really going to start until I move into the long care rehab facility. Sharpay is trying to get me the room next to Tiffany's so I can visit whenever I want." Kim said sarcastically.

"She's already drawing up blueprints. It gives her something to do during the boring calls with the lawyers." Chad said walking into the room in the same suit that he wore for his own wedding, although the colors were different. His lapel and cover bon were a deep crimson that matched all the decorations in her once drab hospital room.

"Why is she meeting with the lawyers? More importantly why are you wearing a suit. You only wear something other than a T shirt and jeans at funerals or court appearances. I thought Mr. Evans was buried yesterday?" She asked.

"He was. That's because the lawyers now feel that it's okay to pounce on Sharpay to make all the decisions about the estate and company."

"I can understand the estate things, but my father is the number two at the company. He should be doing that stuff." Kim told him.

"Who is dealing with a daughter who almost got killed less than a week ago and who a newborn. Sharpay doesn't want to put any extra pressure on him." Chad said with an annoyed sigh.

"That is so Sharpay. She tries to take on the world herself because she is afraid to let anybody help her. You still didn't answer my question about the tuxedo."

"That's because I cannot answer it yet. Watched the video file," Chad said handing her his iPhone. On the screen was an image of a tuxedo clad Troy with baby Alex wearing one of his adorable suits.

"I had a very interesting conversation with Gabriella last night. Apparently, somewhere in that mind of yours you think it's better for me if you just leave. That's absolute bull. I had to live without you once before and I'm not going to do it again. I don't give a fu… I don't care if you're in a wheelchair." Troy said correcting his profanity. Not that it would help because their two year old already says the F word all the time.

"I need to prove to you that I'm not letting you go ever. Here's the deal, we are getting married today. No negotiations. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Her mouth dropped at that moment as the file ended.

"He's giving me an ultimatum to marry him." She said in surprised.

"No he's proving that he's always going to be here no matter what. I mean you already have a kid together, you already are bound for life anyway." Chad told her.

"Yes one kid and there's never going to be another one." Kim said sadly. She is just starting to accept that her baby was gone

"So what, Sharpay and I are probably in the exact same boat. At lease you have one." He said bringing out a point that she wasn't quite ready to accept.

"What will happen if I say yes?" Kim asked.

"Sharpay's team of ninja hairdressers and makeup artists will descend upon you to make you the best hospital bride ever." Chad said with a smile.

"What about the dress? There's no way in hell I'm getting married in a hospital gown." Kim objected.

"It's taken care of. I called Nikki last night after your future husband to be told me about this crazy wedding. She is a design major and had a few very interesting ideas." Marc said just as Penelope came in holding the beautiful cream wedding dress that Kim kept eyeing the entire time she was picking out things for Sharpay's wedding in March.

"I knew you'd like this dress. The hard part was getting an army of seamstress to modify it so we could slip it over you like a hospital gown." Penelope said turning the dress around to show that the back was held together by Velcro.

"I can't believe I'm actually going to do this. I blame whatever they put in my IV bag." She said with a sigh as she motioned for Penelope to come forward with the wedding dress. It was selfish but she did not want to let Troy go.

"The wedding is a go." Marc yelled into his ear piece. Within seconds, she was surrounded by what seemed like every hair dresser and stylus in the city. By the time they were done, she looked like paraplegic wedding day Barbie.

During the makeover, Judge Suarez came in to talk to her about why she was getting married. The judge was able to help her deal with a lot of her fears and completely convinced her that it was better to just give in instead of running away again.

"You look perfect." Sharpay said smiling as she gave her a kiss on the cheek. Sharpay was wearing a crimson bridesmaid dress. If they didn't spend a small fortune for Sharpay's wedding a little over a month ago, Kim doubted that they would be able to pull this off so quickly. Then again everybody loves a sob story.

"That's the makeup and the dress. I can't believe you told him." She said slightly annoyed.

"I didn't say anything, it was all Gabriella. As much as you believe otherwise, he really loves you. Kim you have to stop doing what you think is best for everyone else and start doing what's best for you. You can be selfish today." Sharpay said in a whisper.

"I'm being selfish, I agreed to this wedding. I'm ready Marc." She called to her eager wedding planner.

The room was soon filled with family and friends. Chad and Sharpay stood on her right side. They were the best man and best woman respectively. Next to the two were Penelope and Gabriella also dressed as bridesmaids. Gabriella was holding onto Alex or at least trying to. Within seconds, her toddler was handed over to her. Troy and Judge Suarez were on her other side along with her stepmom and father. At the foot of the bed was her maternal grandfather who came as soon as he could after hearing about the shooting. Also up front were Caroline and Jack. The pair have been here with her almost every day. Marc was at the door with a reporter who was recording everything.

"We're in this hospital room to celebrate love." Judge Suarez started. "Love it is the greatest thing in the universe yet is not always easy to maintain. I'm here to bring together two people who have endured much for their love." The judge started.

---

"Why did you decide to get married?"The reporter asked Troy on screen.

"I asked her to marry me months earlier but we wanted to wait until I was at least 21. After the accident I wanted to prove that I would be with her always." Troy said with a smile as he squeezed Kim's hand on screen. In their bedroom exactly 14 years later Troy squeezed her hand again. It was tradition that on their anniversary day they would watch the video file together. Their anniversary dinner which she did enjoy because they really did have great steaks in the restaurant behind the liquor store happened on the weekend. The video file watching happened on their actual anniversary after the traditional sex marathon. Thank god some of her girl parts still worked.

"Your fiancé heir apparent to the Beijing Gardens empire Kim Bolton was not just in a mere accident. It was actually your…" Troy quickly cut off the reporter before she could mention she who will not be named.

"Today's my wedding day and I'd rather not think about how close I came to losing the love of my life. I love Kim and I would do anything for her, even get married in a hospital room."

After that the reporter started talking about how this was not your normal rush wedding and showed the absolutely fabulous spread of food that Zeke came up with on super short notice. They even managed to have a wedding cake. There is a replica of that blueberry cream cake currently sitting in her kitchen. Zeke usually sends her one every year as her wedding gift and also as a 'thank you for getting him back in to culinary school' gift. Kim really can't take credit for that it was her grandfather who saw his potential when he tried the buffet that Zeke created with only a few hours' notice. However, Kim will take that thank you gift no questions asked.

"It was a beautiful wedding even if I was slightly stoned out of my mind at the time." Kim remarked as Sharpay appeared on screen being overly bubbly despite losing her father just days earlier. Kim thinks that her wedding was also a great distraction for both Sharpay and Ryan.

Just as the file ended her phone rang. Of course, it was Sharpay. She was the only friend brave enough to call on anniversary night. Even Alex knew not to be home today. He volunteered to take his aunts and baby sister to the movies. She only allowed it on a school night because she was expecting good sex.

"Hi Sharpay, you called just in time. We just finished watching the wedding video stuff."

"I knew you wouldn't pick up the phone if you were still in the middle of the sex part of the evening. Anyway, I'm calling to wish you a happy anniversary and to see if you got my present." Sharpay's present was three nights at the new Lava Springs Resort. Darby lost control of the country club and everything else because Vince died before the divorce was finalized. He knew his death was coming and he adjusted his will so that everything went into the trust that Sharpay controlled. It took her 14 years but Sharpay completely transformed Lava Springs into New Mexico's premier retreat and convention center.

"I love it. I'm going to have to get a babysitter, but I love it." Kim said with a smile.

"Caroline already said she would be happy to take care of all the kids. She loves spending time with the grandkids and Van wants some quality time with her BFF." Van was the nickname of Troy and Chad's oldest little sister. She was named after Sharpay's father, sort of. There are not a lot of V names to choose from. Troy and Chad also share a 10 year old sister named Chloe and a five year old Brother. (She thought that at least one of her children would not have aunts and uncles that were younger than they were but what Caroline thought was menopause, was actually baby number four. Thankfully, her mother in law started the change two months ago so there would be no more siblings. Although now that Caroline is a Judge, Kim wondered how she found the time to have so many.

"That's true. So why else did you call? What's wrong?" Kim asked because she knew Sharpay way too well after nearly 30 years of friendship.

"Nothing's wrong." Sharpay said in a voice that told Kim she was right.

"Sharpay something is always wrong." She told her friend.

"Nothing more than the usual." Sharpay said with another sigh. "Isaac and Olivia got in another fight with their classmates. The teasing is worse than ever, to the point I'm considering putting the two in public school next year."

"By public, you mean the Fame school." Kim supplied.

"Of course, Olivia is a dance genius and Isaac plays 12 instruments. At that type of school they would be perfectly normal."

"Except for the fact, that they have very famous parents. At a school for the performing arts everybody is going to know who you are." Kim quipped.

"Very true, but at Least, drama kids will be respectful."

"The kids having problems in school can't be the only reason why are calling."

"The Hospital that Chad works at has decided that they don't want a doctor on their staff that is a reality star." Sharpay spat out bitterly.

"He's doing a sex education TV show, not the real Monday Mornings of New York." Kim said quoting the name of Bravo's reality doctor Soap opera.

"I know it's a lie, considering several other staff members are actually on that reality TV show. His bosses are just jealous. It's not that bad of a thing. Chad was thinking about going into private practice anyway. Besides he has the blog and TV show to keep him busy." Sharpay explained.

"He can always set up shop in New Mexico and I bet the twins would love to go to school there. My students are too afraid of me to do anything too stupid. Mrs. Mckessie is looking for another partner. Isn't Chad also an OB-GYN in addition to everything else?" Kim asked. She has been trying to get Sharpay to move back to Albuquerque for years but she always comes up with multiple excuses not to.

"Technically, yes. Though, there still is the show. It's supposed to shoot in New York." Sharpay argued.

"Troy has managed to successfully convince five different studios to shoot in New Mexico because it's cheaper. You know that pilot that he is shooting for ABC?" Kim asked.

"You mean the TV adaptation of my very own Scenes From an American High School. I find it deeply ironic that he was cast to play a character that I based on his father." Sharpay said with a laugh.

"You're one of the few that knows that. Anyway, if it does get picked up they are going to shoot in Albuquerque for the sake of budget and authenticity." Kim said with a smile. Thankfully, her husband was in the bathroom when she technically violated the confidentiality agreement to keep quiet about the plans for the show.

"That would be fabulous. Why hasn't anybody told me this?" Sharpay asked.

"It's supposed to be a surprise. Besides, we won't know anything until the upfront next week. In addition, the production company is in top secret negotiations to buy West High for shooting. Only a handful of people know that the school is getting close down next year. Despite my recommendations, there waiting for the last possible moment to let students know that they won't be coming back their next year. The real reason why I have Penelope doing the high school reunion is so she will be so busy that she will not have time to react when the news goes public soon. Unfortunately, she now has other distractions." Kim said darkly.

"What?" Sharpay asked in total surprise. "Why?"

"The school is underperforming and unlike EHS it does not have rich benefactors to pay for renovations or IPads for students who can't afford to buy their own. You have no idea how much of my own money I spent on making this building disabled friendly. It made a very nice tax write-off. Also enrollment has dropped severely since the district approved a plan that would allow future thespians and AP students to attend the much better funded East High instead of you know actually giving money to the other schools in the district." Kim said with anger. She is tired of the school board using her for their own means but she doesn't want her students to suffer.

"What about the students?" Sharpay was one of the few people other than her that has asked that question.

"They will be sent to all the other high schools in the city. East high is not going to pick up a lot of extra students since we already absorbed a good 15% of the students that should have been going to that school in the first place because we have the best AP program in the state. However, we always have room for a few more. We would be happy to have Olivia and Isaac here as students. If they were here, I could protect them from the stupidity of their peers. The freshmen are afraid I'm going to run over them in my power chair." She joked.

"I wonder who started that rumor."

"Penelope, she was having a bad day. Enough about the politics of the Albuquerque public school system, my whole point is that you can easily have the production moved here."

"It is a possibility also the powers that be are trying to get me to do something beyond writing the pilot script. However, I really don't have time for more. Not with what's going on with Ryan."

"Is he getting better?" Kim asked with concern.

"He's eating three times a day and he showers regularly. That's an improvement." Sharpay said with sadness.

"It is that bad?" Kim asked.

"Since we got back from the funeral the only time he has left the apartment has been to collect his things from his dressing room after he handed in his resignation." Sharpay explained.

"That is not good."

"I don't know what to do. He so lost." Sharpay was almost crying at that moment. "Moving is out of the question completely for Ryan's sake alone. I can't leave him right now, not even for the twins."

"Do you think that maybe a change of scenery would help?" She asked as an idea occurred to her.

"I don't know. I just want my brother back." Sharpay said on the verge of tears.

"It's going to take time."

"I Know."

"However, I do have an idea how to get him out of your guest room. Is he still coming to the wedding and reunion next month?" She asked.

"I can barely get him to the kitchen. I doubt it."

"You get him on the plane by whatever means necessary and I will take care of the rest." Kim told her. She had a plan but she would need Gabriella and Penelope to help.

"Fine." It was all Sharpay said. "If you could get Troy to leave your rehab room 14 years ago, I am sure you can get me my guest room back. Although I seriously doubt an American Star maker audition will help."

---

June 1, 2009

She has been married exactly one month and she was beginning to regret it. Not because she didn't love her husband but because he just stayed with her. He had nothing planned beyond what they were trying to have for dinner and who was going to take care of Alex that day. He was acting like his life was over and it just didn't sit well with her. She could barely get him to go out for lunch with Chad or Gabriella.

This is exactly why she wants to break up with him in the first place. Just because she was stuck in a wheelchair did not mean that his life was over. Troy even took an incomplete this semester because he refused to go back to take his final exams. Even Ryan and Gabriella went back to finish this semester. Everyone who finished did well all things considered, although Chad is upset because he only got a B + in intro to acting due to missing too many classes. Kim personally thinks his professor was being generous because of the circumstances of all of those absences. Nobody can miss that many classes where attendance counts as part of your grade and still get a good grade under normal circumstances.

There wasn't much to do when you're stuck in rehab except hang out with your friends and surf the Internet. Studying for her makeup exams wasn't something she was ready to do, because she was still on too many pain killers. Studying for her physics classes and anything from the opiate family was not going to result in anything good. At some point, she came across the ad for the auditions for American Star Maker in San Francisco. If Sharpay wasn't so busy keeping the Evans Corporation from falling apart she would be forcing everyone there to participate or at least the old Sharpay would. The new Sharpay was changing diapers and taking online business classes. Talent shows were no longer the most important thing in her world, but it would make a good distraction for everyone else.

It made Gabriella wish she was spending the summer in San Francisco instead of being there in Albuquerque to support her and Troy. She spent an hour talking about how much fun it would be.

"You should go for the auditions. Actually you both should." She suggested later that day when both Troy and Gabriella were in her room..

"I can't leave you here." Troy said as an excuse.

"It's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon. My days consist of eating, sleeping, and physical therapy. You should do something fun. I have other baby sitters like my stepmom and Penelope."

"Hanging out with you is fun." Troy argued. She did not believe him.

"I almost broke up with you because I didn't want you to waste your life and now you doing exactly what I feared you would do. You know technically our marriage is not legal yet because we can't you know. An annulment would not be that hard to get under the circumstances." She suggested hoping that would break him out of whatever is going on in that mind of his.

"You're threatening me?"

"What your wife is trying to say is that for her to be in good health and spirits she needs to know that you're out there doing something." Gabriella explained.

"Seeing you mope around like this is not good for my recovery." Kim added.

"So you want me to do this?"

"I personally would be happy for a pickup game between you and Chad at this point. I just want you to not give up because of what happened. If we act like we're dead, Lucy wins. Don't let her take away your happiness." She said paraphrasing what Sharpay told her nearly a month ago

"Fine I will go." Troy acquiesced.

"Thank you" Gabriella kept repeating over and over again as she kissed Troy on the cheek.

---

May 31, 2023

In high school, everyone expected Gabriella to become either a doctor or lawyer, including her mother and father. It was the only option for a brain like her. No one saw pop princess or American film darling as a possibility, except for Kim. She was the one who pushed Gabriella to take a path that no one expected her to ever consider. She owed the woman.

So therefore, when Kim called her asking for help to get Ryan out of Chad's house she would do it. Besides she loved Ryan and no one else in their group understands real depression the way she does. According to Sharpay even after nearly two months, he is still barely functioning. Even Taylor's best efforts are not making an impact she can barely get him to go to the Starbucks down the street. Olivia can get him to eat but that's only with inundating him with stories of why she absolutely hates her school and the eighth grade.

So of course, nobody else was going to be able to get Ryan to Amanda's wedding and the class of 2008 high school reunion. That's why they call her in. When she saw Ryan streaming old episodes of Glee wearing one of his husband's ratty basketball tee shirts she knew what she had to do.

"Put this on." She said throwing an outfit that actually matched at him courtesy of his sister.

"Gabriella what are you doing here?" Ryan asked.

"Getting you out of your sister's house, I would like to get you to my summer house in New Mexico, but I would settle for a slice of pizza two blocks over."

"I told Sharpay I don't want to go. I'm not ready to face questions about my lack of husband."

"You don't have to go to the reunion. Do you think I'm looking forward to questions about my broken engagement or about why things did not work out with Troy? However there are people I want to catch up with. I haven't seen Martha since she left my tour to marry Jason Cross. She would love for you to speak to her class Friday." For some reason Ryan looked very uncomfortable at that moment

"I thought your engagement fell apart because of Troy." Ryan said.

"My engagement fell apart because he was an ass who thought that he could tell me how to live my life. The fact that I'm little Gabi's biological mother had very little to do with anything. It is not like I actually gave birth to her. It was just another reason to argue." Gabriella explained.

"I just can't deal with it." Ryan said again.

"Then just go for Zeke's wedding. It's not a wedding unless you lead the entire group through your version of the electric slide." Gabriella joked.

"I would never force the electric slide on anyone." Ryan said horrified. It was good that he was showing any emotion at all.

"Sorry my mistake, you need to attend the wedding to keep that from happening."

"I just don't…" Ryan started again but Gabriella cut him off.

"I know you don't feel like doing anything. I know that better than anyone here. Ryan just because Zack is dead doesn't mean you have to be too. He wouldn't want you to live like this. You never wear gray and black." She said pointing to his outfit.

"I just…"

"Ryan if anyone here understands what you're going through it's me. Depression is a pretty normal part of my life you have no idea how many times I just wanted to curl up in a ball and never wake up. I'm not going to let that happen. You got me through one of the darkest parts of my life and now it's time for me to return the favor. Maybe a change of scenery will help break you out of this a little, along with some good medication."

"Going back to New Mexico is going to make me feel better? Ryan asked skeptically.

"It is a start."

---

July 2, 2023

Ryan wasn't sure how they convince him to even step on the plane to New Mexico. Let alone convince him to speak to the dance classes of Martha Cross formally Cox. (Yes, his ex boyfriend was still deep in the closet and his poor wife was still clueless about all his 'camping trips'.) Ryan is sure it has something to do with the anti depressants that Gabriella finally convinced him to take.

Thanks to a cash infusion from the Garden Foundation and other sources, East High now has two drama teachers, two dance teachers, a music teacher, a band teacher, and a choir director. It was the closest Albuquerque was ever going to get to a performing arts school. In an effort to get him over his depression, his well meaning friends were now forcing him to actually do things now that he was out of New York. Speaking to Martha's class was the first thing. The vibrant dance teacher forcing a promise out of him that he would come to the reunion Friday night was the other thing. Unknown to her, the guilt over knowing that her husband was most likely cheating on her was enough to get him to promise anything. It was his evil sister that probably manipulated Martha into asking. She was still deceitful like that.

Maybe coming here was a good thing. His time working with the students has been the first time he hasn't felt overwhelmed by grief since he found out about his Zack. The dance studio didn't remind him of picnic lunches with Zack in front of the ABC studios or walks in Central Park. He was so busy teaching that he didn't have time for anything else. It was good for him.

"It's good to see you smiling again." Kim said from the wings of the dance studio.

"It feels good to smile again." He replied

"You did a good job with the students."

"You were watching?" Ryan asked her.

"The entire school is wired for video and sound. It's hard to sneak up on unsuspecting students in a wheelchair. However, considering I got pregnant on the roof of this school while still a student I see this as a necessary investment."

"I shouldn't be surprised. You are Sharpay's best friend."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment. You're a good teacher." Kim praised.

"No, I'm a good choreographer."

"It goes beyond choreography. For years, I've been seeing you coach my son every time he has a performance. You're much more patient than Troy can ever be."

"My sister is Sharpay Evans. Patience is just one of those things you have to cultivate." Ryan joked. It felt good to do that again.

"Very true, I don't think that Chad could have survived 14 years of marriage without it." Kim said with a laugh. "However, I still think you're good at this. How would you like to do this sort of thing all the time?"

"Coming into school to speak to the students? I wouldn't mind doing it more often. I'm thinking about camping out in Gabriella's Albuquerque house for a little while. I don't think she's going to let me lounge around in bunny slippers the entire time, so I need to find something to do."

Sharpay was not even going to put up with that anymore. His sister said in no uncertain terms that she was kicking him out of her guest room permanently for his own good. Staying with Gabriella for a while as she works on her next album seemed like his best option. Actually, it was his only option unless he wanted to sleep on Taylor's couch until the end of election season or go back to the empty apartment that he shared with his husband for nearly a decade. The latter was no option at all and as much as he loves Taylor, it was better if he kept his distance until the election was over. Especially because there was a good chance that he wouldn't stay on the couch very long. Their relationship has always been complicated and he wasn't quite ready for whatever was going to happen next.

"No, I mean teaching classes here." Kim explained. "Penelope's replacement is only here to the end of the year. I need to find a permanent replacement to take over. You would coordinate the performing arts department, organize the fall play and spring musical, as well as do some of the acting classes. Although you mostly stick to choreography now, I know you can act and have done so on the great white way. In addition, since you are classically trained there are a few dance classes that you can teach that Martha can't such as ballet. Maybe we can start doing dance recitals as well. "

"I'm not a teacher." Was his initial response.

"No but you can teach and have done so on many occasions. I've seen you with Ivy and Olivia. That's more important for this type of thing. Because the drama program is mostly privately funded, I have more leeway with who I hire. I'm allowed to hire a subject matter expert for this type of thing even if they don't have a teaching certificate as long as you pass a background check. The fact that you graduated from Juilliard with honors and have a Tony award will be more important to the board of education than the fact you don't have a teaching certificate's. Besides you can get the later on if you want." Her argument was quite persuasive.

"You're actually serious?" He asked skeptically.

"As somebody who has gone through a major loss, I can understand how a change of location and staying busy may help you deal. Teaching high school students will keep you so busy that you won't have time to think about what has been keeping you in Sharpay's guest room for the last two months. Besides, if you are here maybe I can finally talk your sister into moving back home. They really do want her to be the head writer and a producer on Scenes from an American High School." That was the first time he's heard anything about this. Then again, he really hasn't been paying attention to anything recently.

"She's thinking about coming back? She hasn't mentioned that to me." Ryan asked.

"It's because of the problems the twins are having in school in New York. She and Chad were actually thinking of sending them to live with me next year if they can't come up with an alternative." Again, this is the first time he's heard of this but he knew things were bad. Actually, he probably knew more about how bad things were then Chad and Sharpay. It was much easier to tell your uncle about being shoved in a locker then your mother.

"That would kill her. She barely lets twins spend the night at our-my apartment when she and Chad were out of town for work reasons. Why don't they just move here? Chad won't be working at the hospital passed this summer and Sharpay can write anywhere even if she doesn't take the TV job. Chad's new show could just as easily tape here. Actually it probably would be cheaper." Ryan suggested.

"Even though your sister has kicked you out of her loft for the greater good, she's not going to leave you in New York to fend for yourself." Sharpay has always been there for him more than anyone else. She wouldn't leave him alone right now even if it meant sending the kids away for their own sake. He couldn't let her do that.

"Very true, let me think about it." Was all he could say at the moment.

"You can give me your answer at the wedding." Kim said smiling. "I believe you have your next class to speak to." Kim said as the students started pouring into the room.

He was so busy with students the rest of the day that he really did not have time to think about her offer. More importantly, he didn't have time to think about plane crashes and dead husbands. Actually he didn't even think about Zack until various classmates started asking him about why he was there with Jackie as his date at the reunion that night. (She was going to be there any way to make sure the event went off famously and if he was being forced to go he might as well not be alone.) Jackie's very pregnant death glare could only scare people off so much. When she was busy yelling at the catering staff, he decided to go to the roof. Penelope was already out there.

"What are you doing here?" Ryan asked as he sat next to her on one of the benches in the rose garden. The rooftop garden was so much more grand then it was when he was a student. There is also now an elevator that went up to the roof and a greenhouse.

"Avoiding that question, also, I have roof chaperoning duty this half hour. Even though everyone here is an adult, Kim still doesn't want her rose garden defiled."

"Unless she's the one doing it." Ryan quipped.

"Very true." Penelope said taking another drink of her punch.

"I'm not sure everyone here is an adult. Jose Martinez's date barely looks older than Olivia." Ryan joked again.

"I think you're talking about Courtney Castro. She's a very distant cousin, who I had in drama class last year before she graduated. She's over 18, but just barely."

"Now why can't they bombard him with inappropriate questions?" Ryan joked.

"Because last time you came to one of these things you were happily married and this time you're here with the very obviously pregnant Jackie. She looks at least six months pregnant, instead of not quite four."

"I thought they would ask more questions if I was alone. Everybody apologizes quickly enough when they find out …" he was unable to say anything else. It was Jackie or Sharpay who told everyone a horrible truth who didn't already know from the constant news coverage.

"On the bright side you are only being asked questions about Zack. I'm getting questions about why I'm here in the first place even though I went to the enemy school, the whole thing with Richard which has been all over the news recently, and my dead friend." Penelope told him with annoyance.

"Who's been asking that?" Ryan asked.

"Do you remember Curtis May? I think he was on the baseball team with you."

"I barely remember him from senior year. It was a big school."

"He's married to Zack's one and only ex girlfriend and it's not a very happy marriage. She asked me all sorts of questions about him that would be inappropriate under the best of circumstances. I spent a good 10 minutes talking about how happy Zack was in New York with his perfect husband before I told her about the plane crash in probably the most cruel way possible. She is currently crying in the ladies' room. That's when Kim sent me up here for roof duty. Worst of all she took away my champagne." Penelope pouted.

"That's absolutely horrible. At least they're letting you drink at all." Ryan shot back.

"You lost your husband and your mother died of alcohol poisoning. I can understand that. He wouldn't want you to destroy yourself." Penelope said sadly and he knew she was right.

"I know."

"He loved you so much. You gave him so much happiness and it would hurt him to see you this miserable. He would want you to move on and find some happiness." Penelope told him with one tear rolling down her cheek.

"Speaking of moving on, Kim offered me your old job." He told her.

"I know it was my idea. Zack made me promise that if anything happened to him that I would watch out for you. It will be easier for me to do that if you're in my school. Besides if you take over, I may be able to talk Kim into letting me teach a couple of classes next semester in addition to my Vice Principal duties."

"So this is a plan for your happiness?"

"Not completely." She said taking another drink of her punch. At that moment Martha and Kelsey exited the elevator.

"20 bucks says the first question Kelsey will ask is why I am here even though I went to West High." She mumbled under breath.

"You're on. I don't think Kelsey is that tactless." Ryan told her.

"She let you find out about your dad's death on CNN." Penelope whispered before putting on her favorite fake smile.

"What are you doing here? You did not even go to our school." Kelsey said as soon as she saw Penelope.

"Told you." Penelope said holding her hand out for her $20.00.

"That is so unfair." He mumbled as he handed her the 20.

"I am an honorary bobcat. I did lose my virginity in the boys' locker room. That has to count for something." Penelope said sarcastically.

"That doesn't surprise me." Kelsey mumbled under breath.

"Kelsey, Ms. Castro is the new Vice Principal at East High and my boss. She oversees all the arts programs at the school. She is here at the reunion as a chaperone to make sure us adults don't cause significant property damage. Kim sent me to relieve you. She also said you could go home if you want. Ms. Jackson is doing a good job of keeping everything under control."

"Thank god." Penelope said in relief.

"You're the new Vice Principal?" Kelsey asked with a bit surprised.

"Yes. Before that, I was the drama teacher here. What are you doing these days? I know your sister is a news anchor for the local ABC affiliate. She was here for career day. In addition, her husband is our Girls Basketball coach. Everybody loves Coach Cross, but that's mostly because our girls have won state four times. I see her all the time and she hasn't mentioned you." That would be because Jackie Cross hasn't been on speaking terms with her sister for the last 14 years. She couldn't forgive her sister for what happened with the CNN incident even if Ryan could. She was not even at Jackie's wedding five years ago to her high school sweetheart. (Eventually Jackie did get over the entire Jimmy thing. He was actually in her wedding party.)

"I am a radio personality. What about you?" Kelsey asked Ryan. 24 hours ago, he would have responded with 'I'm taking a break from being a Broadway choreographer.' Now he has a new answer.

"I'm going to be the new drama teacher here at East High."

"Thank god you're taking the job." Martha said hugging him.

"Your husband is okay with moving out here." Kelsey asked. Before Ryan could say anything, Martha turned around and gave her a very dark look.

"I think he would be perfectly fine with it. Unfortunately, he passed away two months ago. I know he would be happy with my choice though." Ryan said with a smile. "Let's go downstairs. Zeke said they had those mini crab cakes that you love so much." He said walking to the elevator as Penelope squeezed his hand in support. He could hear Kelsey being reprimanded in the background. Apparently, she was warned not to mention Zack but did it anyway. He was looking forward to Martha being a colleague if only she would realize…That her husband was currently making out with one of Ryan's fellow drama geeks in the elevator.

That was the site that greeted him and everyone else on the roof as soon as the elevator doors opened. Martha suddenly stopped yelling at Kelsey and started in on her husband.

"What the fuck is going on?" Martha yelled.

"We're going to take the stairs." Penelope said pulling him into the stairwell. It was at that moment Ryan realized that there were much more painful ways to lose a husband then a plane crash. He knew that Zack would have never done something like this to him. That made him feel a lot better.

---

"If one more person asks me why I changed my last name to Evans, I'm going to hit someone." Her husband said as he sat beside her and kissed her on the lips.

"It's better than getting, 'You are a high school principal? I didn't think people like you could do those sorts of jobs.' or 'That must be hard because you're in a wheelchair.' You think the acceptance of people with disabilities would have improved by 2023." Kim said sarcastically.

That's better than some of the other snide comments that Kim has received over the years. The first time Kim escorted her husband to the Grammys a certain journalist that will remain nameless assumed Kim was a make a wish winner and not Troy's wife. Let's just say that a certain network was fined by the FCC for her response.

"I thought most of the questions were going to be about why you married me in the first place." Sharpay said smiling at her husband. "Instead, they keep asking me if I'm jealous of Gabriella. Idiots." She said pointing at the starlet across from her. "This is why we avoided the first two reunions. Why are we here again?" Sharpay asked in annoyance.

"Because Zeke had the brilliant idea to turn a high school reunion into his bachelor party." Gabriella told the group. "Besides, if anybody should be jealous it's me. You're happily married with two wonderful kids and have a mantle filled with awards for things other than Best Kiss or Best Villain. You have also written the best children's series ever. I absolutely love the Country Club Chronicles. The two little girls remind me of you and Kim. They also remind me a lot of Ivy and Gabi." Gabriella praised. This was still slightly disconcerting for Sharpay.

"You're just sucking up because you want the role of the queen in the upcoming film adaptation The Sleeping Queen." Not that many people know that story was based on Tiffany. They assumed it was some weird sleeping beauty interpretation, not about her friend that is still in a coma and her twin children.

"Maybe." Gabriella said with a smile.

"Considering my first bachelor party turned into something out of the Hangover movies I've decided I wanted to spend the night with all my friends in an environment that will not result in somebody getting arrested or accidentally stoned." Zeke explained.

"It is not my fault one of my crazy Fans tried to kidnap me in Vegas and we all got drugged." Troy remarked under breath.

Sharpay was the only woman invited to the bachelor party festivities because she wouldn't let Chad go otherwise. Thankfully because of her habit of never drinking anything that didn't come from Chad or that she got herself in a party situation she was able to keep anything really bad from happening.

"You know if only you met a stripper with a heart of gold who convinced you not to marry you know who, you could avoid the whole mess." Amanda joked.

"I wouldn't have Ivy though. She is worth the misery and the $4000 a month of alimony that I'm paying her to stay the hell away." Zeke remarked.

"That's how my father thinks of she who will not be named. He hates her for almost killing Caroline, but without her I would not exist." Troy told the group, not even able to say his biological mother's name 14 years after the fact.

"I feel the same way. That's the only reason why I can forgive her even a little bit." Kim said from the head of the table.

"How can you forgive her at all?" Taylor asked, who was sitting next to her date Marc. Only Taylor would bring her happily married campaign Manager as her date.

"Because I have two wonderful children, a husband who loves me very much, and a career that helps me shape the future minds of the world. She is going to be spending the rest of her life alone in a mental hospital. I can't feel anger, only pity for her." Kim said solemnly. However, the moment was broken by Penelope and Ryan running to the table. Ryan looked confused but Penelope was highly amused.

"What's going on?" Kim asked.

"What goes around, just came back around for Mr. Cross. Check the camera on the roof." Penelope said laughing.

"How is she going to do that here?" Zeke asked out loud. That's when Kim pulled out her IPad.

"The school's Security System is fully accessible through my iPad." She said pulling up the security camera for the roof just in time to see Martha kicking her husband in the stomach before running down the stairs with Kelsey and what she assumes to be the other guy following behind.

"I'm so glad I got out when I did." Marc said laughing.

"Says the guy whose husband got another girl pregnant." Zeke mumbled under breath but everyone could still hear him.

"It's not cheating if you are watching." Marc said with a wicked smirk. "If Jimmy did the traditional NBA player thing I would rip off his balls. This arrangement works for us, who are you to judge?"

"I don't need to know that." Sharpay said with a groan.

"We have a code 16 on the roof. I'm going to need security to escort Mr. Jason Cross off the property." Jackie whispered into her ear piece as she gave Marc a very irritated look.

"I knew he would be stupid enough to try something at the reunion." Kim said with a sigh.

"Too bad you asked her to take over roof duty." Penelope said just as Kim got a twinkle in her eye.

"You knew this was going to happen!" Sharpay accused.

"I don't know what you're talking about. He was bound to get caught creeping around, eventually. The whole faculty knew what was going on. Martha is a good person. She doesn't deserve what he's putting her through. Unfortunately no matter what we say she wasn't going to accept the truth until she saw it for herself." Kim explained.

"You still set her up." Sharpay said crossing her arms over her chest.

"If it makes you happy I promise to pay for her divorce lawyer."

"Not really."

"I am going to go check on her. She needs another friend right now." Kim said before leaving just in time to miss Jason's walk of shame with security. Sharpay believes they brought him through the cafeteria purposely to make the experience as humiliating as possible.

"Taylor thanks for inviting me to be your date." Marc said smiling as he took a drink of champagne. "This is so much better than Jimmy's high school reunion. It's not every day I get to watch my bastard ex boyfriend get dragged by off security for being a prick." Marc says pointing to a very angry Jason being manhandled by security.

"What about yours?" Penelope asked.

"I don't know. I didn't go." Marc answered.

"I don't blame you. I'm not going to mind." Penelope told everyone.

"Why not?" Sharpay asked.

"I don't feel like being called a traitor for working for the enemy." Penelope explained.

"Considering West High will not exist after this year that should make things a little easier." Troy added.

"I was asking Marc that question." Sharpay clarified.

"We were not very popular in high school. Marc and Nikki were the only people I could actually tolerate and we still talk to each other on a daily basis. There's really no one else we want to see." Amanda explained.

"Nikki went but that was because her girlfriend at the time also went to our high school and made her go. Thankfully our school only puts you through this torture every 10 years." Marc said smiling.

"You're married to an NBA player. You should have gone just for the bragging rights alone." Gabriella added.

"You do have a point. Maybe next time." Was all Marc said before the group broke into more gossipy stories about their former classmates. The biggest surprise of all was Julian, also known as 'skater dude' in high school, was a member of the Boston Philharmonic as a cello player.

"I think I drank too much punch. I assume that ladies' room is now clear of screaming jolted wife. Excuse me." Sharpay said as soon as she saw Kim consoling a still upset Martha at the dessert table. Zeke's signature chocolate pastries can make any situation better.

"I need to go too." Penelope said getting up as well.

"You know, I can go to the restroom by myself." Sharpay said as soon as they made it to the hallway.

"Yes but I need to talk to you. Mission 'get Ryan out of your loft' is a complete success." Penelope said referring to the planned that Kim, her, and Gabriella came up with. Sharpay's only role was to tell Ryan that he couldn't come back once Gabriella successfully got him out of the house. "He's taking the job."

"Oh thank god. I love my brother but I can't take him so depressed." She said actually hugging Penelope.

"I have another reason for you to hug me. Remember when I told you I would give you my ovaries if I could at the funeral?"

"Vaguely," Sharpay supplied.

"I was joking at the time but I am serious now. I want to be your gestational carrier."

"What? More importantly, why?" Sharpay asked still surprised.

"Because you and Chad are my friends and deserve to be happy. I was going to do it for Zack and Ryan anyway but things just didn't work out. I'm not going to be able to give you a niece and nephew anymore but I can give you a son or daughter. I have a job with summers off anyway. We can aim for me to get pregnant right before school starts again so I can give birth in the spring and have all summer to recover. It's a good idea." Penelope was babbling by that point.

"This is big. Chad and I haven't really talked about alternatives because everything with Ryan and the kids."

"Don't forget your busy career. Did I ever thank you for giving me credit for helping you create Scenes from an American high school? I'm actually going to be able to get that Ferrari I always wanted. They're even talking about making me a consultant." Penelope said smiling.

"You deserve it." Sharpay said graciously.

"However, even doing all that I can still carry a baby for you. Again, it is not like I'm using them. Just think about it." Penelope said as they stepped into the restroom.

"Okay."

---

June 3, 2023

"If somebody told me 15 years ago that I would be standing here giving the toast at my ex boyfriend's wedding I would have suggested psychiatric hospitalization, especially if it was right after our break up." Sharpay said as she stood up in front of the table in the banquet room of Zeke signature Albuquerque restaurant Ivy. Zeke opted for a much smaller wedding this time around made up of just friends and family. It almost seemed like most of the attendance were in the bridal party. Her, Jackie, Marc and Nikki were bridesmaids/attendance for Amanda. Penelope, Ryan, Troy and Chad were Zeke's attendance. Penelope was her fellow best person/maid of honor, Ivy and Gabi were the flower girls. Ivy was currently sleeping on Amanda's lap. Apparently, the ceremony wore the little girl out.

"If you told me I was going to be the maid of honor for your bride to be, I would have been equally horrified. Then again, I never expected to meet somebody like Amanda. I'm personally surprised she survived being my roommate from entire semester. I'm still shocked we are friends after all these years. I love you like the sister that Darby refuses to have because it would ruin her figure. Honestly, I'm just happy that you have found happiness." She said looking over to her friend.

"The fact that I'm giving this speech a second time is equally surprising. Though, I can honestly say that Amanda is a much better match."

The gold digger that Zeke marred the first time asked Sharpay and Gabriella to be in the wedding party because she didn't really have any friends. She personally believes the wicked bitch wanted the bridal party to be filled with celebrities. Although the no friends thing was probably true because she was a dreadful person. A lot like the Sharpay she was in high school before she stopped trying to be the person Darby thought she should be. Unfortunately, in case Ivy is not actually asleep she cannot say any of these things aloud.

"Everyone deserves a second chance at love and happiness no one knows that better than me. Zeke, I hope that you will make the best of your second chance. I hope all your wishes come true this time around. I hope you find a love that will last a lifetime." Sharpay said as she lifted her glass of sparkling cider. "May you find forever together." As the glasses clinked, Sharpay sat down before Penelope got up to roast her ex boyfriend.

The rest of the wedding was great. The best part was seeing Ryan on the dance floor with Ivy and Gabi laughing and having a good time. He was starting to come back to his self. He was now slow dancing with Taylor with a smile on his face. The fact that he was taking the job at East High gave Sharpay hoped that he would come out of everything someday.

Sharpay was currently on the floor with Troy because Kim wanted him to dance with someone.

"So you're taking the job as head writer?" Troy asked her.

"Writing and producing, that makes me your new boss. You know how much I love telling you what to do. Also, I am now in talks with ABC family about a series based on the Country Club Chronicles. They're not as freaked out about my husband being a sex expert." She said with a laugh.

"That's great." Troy said smiling. "Though, I am most happy about you moving back. Kim misses you."

"I think it will be better for the kids." Sharpay said with a smile.

"That is true. That's part of the reason why we decided to be based out of New Mexico instead of somewhere else. Besides you will have Alex around to help take care of his baby Cousins." He said laughing.

"Good point." Sharpay said as Chad tapped him on the shoulder.

"Can I cut in?" Chad asked with a smile.

"Of course, I'll see you later Pay." Troy Said kissing her on the cheek.

"Did you have fun dancing with Penelope?"

"As much as I ever do. When were you going to tell me that she offered to carry our future child?" Chad asked as they started to move around the dance floor.

"Probably when we arrived back in New York. We had too much to talk about last night with the decision to move back here." Sharpay said honestly.

"I think Penelope offering to be our carrier should've been something else to consider in the decision. It would have definitely made me more willing to come back." Chad told her.

"We decided to come back anyway, so it doesn't matter in the long run. You want to take Penelope up on her offer?"

"There's nobody else I'd trust more that doesn't already have their uterus in use. This is our best option." Chad told her.

"I know Jackie's out, but what about Amanda. Zeke would be okay with his wife carrying our child." She said knowing Zeke would do just about anything to make her happy.

"Like I said before her uterus is already in use."

"She's pregnant too?" Chad nodded his head in agreement. "Let me guess, she didn't want to upset me?"

"More like she didn't want her family to think this was a shotgun wedding. She's barely a month pregnant anyway."

"You know this how?" Sharpay asked her husband as they continued on the dance floor.

"You know that I am the one person in this group that knows everyones sex secrets." Chad said with a slight shiver.

"Very true. So you want to do this?" Sharpay asked

"I will do whatever you want me to Sharpay. Do you want to do this?

"I'm perfectly happy with the twins." She told her husband.

"But you still want a little me and you in the world. Penelope can give us that."

"Okay." That is when her husband started jumping for joy on the dance floor. She did not even have to tell Penelope that they were taking her up on the offer because she already knew.

---

August 14, 2023

"Seriously, our aunt Kim is the principal of the school, yet we still have to wait in line with everyone else to register. Why can't we use nepotism to our advantage just this once?" Olivia said with hands on her hip. She looked like a mini Sharpay at that moment. He and his wife were currently the fourth in line waiting to register for the 2023 school year. Seriously why can't they do this online?

"Actually you only have to do this in person if you're transferring from out of state. Everyone else can register online." The woman in front of them said.

"That is so unfair." Isaac said in annoyance.

"It's not so bad. If it wasn't for horrible registration lines Chad and I would have never reconnected in college." Sharpay said smiling.

"I don't believe that." Olivia said. "You two are destined for each other."

"Seriously, what is taking so long?" Isaac said looking impatiently at his watch.

"Seriously, do you have something better to do?" His sister asked.

"Unlike you, I actually have friends here who are not relatives that I want to hang out with." Isaac responded in annoyance. "We're so going to end up with our aunt in homeroom."

"Actually, Van is technically a sophomore." Chad told his children.

"The weight wouldn't be so long if the Vice Principal wasn't throwing up in her office. How unprofessional." Remarked the same unpleasant woman in front. Chad was almost positive Penelope was pregnant considering they did the first round of in Vitro a month ago.

"She is so pregnant." The twins said simultaneously as they gave each other high fives. "It looks like we will be getting a new brother or sister this year."

"What are you guys talking about?" Sharpay asked her children.

"Mom we know that Aunt Penelope is your gestational carrier." Olivia replied.

"You are not doing a good job of hiding it from us." Isaac added.

"It wasn't like you were being that stealthy about it." Olivia scoffed.

"We will talk about this later. I need to check up on Penelope." Chad said pulling Sharpay to go with him. "Stay in line and behave." He told the twins with a glare.

"Why is he cutting in line?" Said that same lady. Chad hoped he would not run into her at the PTA meetings.

"I'm a doctor. Olivia, call your aunt Kim and tell her that Penelope needs to be relieved of registration duty. Sharpay follow me. " Chad said as they walked into Penelope's Office. He could hear her throwing up in her private restroom.

"How are you doing?" Sharpay asked as sat down next to Penelope.

"Horrible. Why did I agree to do this again?" Penelope asked.

"Because you're a good person." Sharpay said getting up to grab Penelope's mouthwash from the counter.

"You don't know if you're actually pregnant yet. It could just be bad takeout." Chad told her not wanting to get his hopes up.

"I took three pregnancy tests this morning. All came out positive. Congratulations, Sharpay you're going to be a biological mom." With those words, his wife burst into tears but they were happy tears.

---

August 15, 2023

"I know I have been too busy to see you since I moved back here but I needed to get settled. I'm still staying at Gabriella's Albuquerque house. She says there's no point of me getting an apartment when she's not here 90% of the time. It really is a nice house." Ryan told the grave that contains his husband.

"Let me catch you up on everything you have missed. Zeke and Amanda did get married and they will be expecting their first child together sometime in February or early March. Ivy is not happy because she is afraid she's being replaced. She is worried that Amanda will like the new baby more." Ryan said with a laugh.

"Taylor lost the election but only by 1 percent of the vote. Her competition found out about her campaign manager's open marriage and used it against her. Someday when it's not raining, I'll tell you the real story behind Kerri's pregnancy. I think this has turned Taylor off of politics for good. She's decided to stick to charity work. We'll see how long that will last when she comes to visit next month." Ryan said with a laugh.

"However, it pissed Marc off enough that he is running for DC City council. He said if they elected Marion Barry after his scandals, then he definitely has a chance." Ryan smiled at that.

"In other pregnancy news, Chad and Sharpay are finely going to have their baby according to the twins. Your Penelope is the one carrying the baby. I don't know if I can handle a pregnant Penelope as my boss." Ryan said with a shudder.

"Tomorrow is my first day as a teacher and I am absolutely terrified. I'm not sure if I can do this but I'm going to try. It's hard to be miserable when you're spending all your time putting lesson plans together. I still miss you. I still feel like I am being swelled by the darkness but there's this little spark of light helping me get through it. I promise I will be okay someday." Ryan said as he laid a single red rose on the gray.

---

August 14, 2009

After several months of dirty diapers and accompanying his wife to shareholder meetings Chad finally decided on a new major. He wanted to be a doctor. He wasn't sure what type yet but he knew that pre med was where he needed to be right now. Besides somebody and the group needed to become a doctor now that Amanda realizes that she needs to find a different path. Amanda was supposed to be with him right now the change their majors together. Instead she was driving Zeke to the Airport. He was going back to culinary school in Chicago and unlike him and Taylor they had the good sense to just be friends right now. He just hoped that they would get a second chance eventually.

Chad absolutely hated the fact that he had to change his major in person. This is so unfair. He was alone at the end of the line because the twins needed a diaper break. He was pretty sure his wife was going to spend the entire time in the baby room.

"Hey what are you doing in line?" Chad heard a voice that he hasn't heard in person since his wedding to Sharpay.

"Switching to Pre med. For some evil reason I cannot do this online. Nikki what are you doing here?" Chad asked giving the girl a hug.

She has been through as much as Sharpay has in the last few months. Chad isn't sure what is worse to have your be father taken away suddenly or to watch him waste the way into nothing. Nikki's father finally succumbed to the cancer just two weeks ago. "I wasn't sure you were going to come back. At least, not so soon." He said pulling away.

"My stepmom did not give me a choice. Besides, it was in my father's will that I finish school. It was his last request, so I'm here. For some reason you also have to re-enroll in person." She said with a sad smile.

"That's so unfair. I would convey my deepest sympathies, but Sharpay said that was annoying as hell." Chad said with half a smile.

"Only when it's not sincere, the worst is when everyone tells you things like 'I know how you feel.' They have no clue how I feel." She said in anger.

"I think I have a pretty good idea." His wife said handing baby Isaac to him. Olivia went straight to Nikki who extended her arms. I'm sorry that we didn't come up for the funeral. I just wasn't ready for that sort of thing." Sharpay said sincerely.

"You do need to apologize about that. I understand. If it happened the other way around, I don't think I would've been ready either. You may be one of the few who does know what I am going through but it's not exactly the same. Oh my god, they're so big now." She said smiling at the baby.

"They're going to start crawling any moment now, and then they will be getting in to everything. It makes me happy I am doing independent study next year." Sharpay said and kindly enough, Nikki did not ask why.

"I go to the bathroom for 10 minutes to change your childrens' dirty diapers and you are already chatting up another pretty girl in the line." Sharpay said with fake annoyance.

"I'm not doing anything of the sort. You're the only pretty girl that I need." He said kissing his wife.

"You two are adorable together. You're already the perfect little family." Nikki said smiling.

"And to think it all started in this line." Sharpay said kissing him one more time.

The End.