Troy had been trying to teach Mrs. Evans how to properly drive the ball when Mr. Fulton's voice exploded from his pocket.

"Troy!"

Mrs. Evans was mid-swing and was so startled that the golf club flew straight out of her hands and into a bunker.

Also startled, Troy ripped the walkie-talkie out of his pocket, nearly dropping it and then fumbling with it in the air before actually catching it.

"Nice catch," he told himself before pressing down the button on the walkie-talkie while Mrs. Evans ran off to fetch her club.

"Hello? I mean… yes, Fulton, uh, sir?"

"Bolton! There is a female suspect headed toward you from the southeast. Brunette, about 5"6. Apprehend and detain her until I instruct you further."

"Okay," Troy replied, but then he shook his head. "Wait, what? Are you okay? You sound out of breath."

"Never mind that! Just be useful for once and do what I told you to!"

"And what exactly did you tell me to do?" Troy asked, not sure he had heard Mr. Fulton correctly.

Fulton groaned loudly. "There's a sopping wet girl running in your direction. Stop her, or you're fired!"

"Uh, okay. Ten-four?" Troy said uncertainly, and then Mr. Fulton was gone.

"Fulton is such a weird dude," Troy said, putting the walkie-talkie back in his pocket. "Why do I have to stop some girl? I'm pretty sure that's not in my contract. Which way is southeast, anyways?" he wondered, looking up at the sun and trying to remember which direction it came from.

His answer came more quickly than expected, however, when something powerful slammed into his back.

Mack had been too busy looking over her shoulder to see Troy until it was too late. She tried to slow down, but her wet feet slid on the grass until she made contact with him, nearly causing him to topple forward.

He caught himself and spun around rather gracefully, and when he saw Mack falling, his arms shot out and caught her.

"Nice catch," Troy told himself, earning a weird look from Mack.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," Mack apologized tentatively. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Troy answered. Not moving out of their awkward position, he surveyed the sun shining off the girl's wet brown locks and asked, "How tall are you?"

Thrown off by the question, Mack answered, "Um, about 5"6?"

Troy looked almost regretfully at the girl in his arms and told her, "I think I'm supposed to apprehend and detain you."

Not sure if she should be running away from this guy as well, Mack put on her best charming smile and requested, "Could you not?"

"Fulton would fire me if I didn't follow his instructions," he said, his eyes betraying his inner conflict.

"Fulton? Is that the name of the man in the suit with the glasses?" Mack asked a little uncomfortably, not quite sure why he hadn't let go of her yet.

"Yeah, that's him. Why is he after you?"

Mack didn't know why, but she felt like she could trust this boy and that he would somehow be able to help her and Brady out.

"There was just a misunderstanding," Mack tried to explain, anxiety rising back up in her chest. "My friend and I… accidentally fell into one of the ponds, and then Fulton threatened to get us arrested, and he tried to chase us down, and now he's still after Brady, and this is all just a huge mess!"

Troy looked into the eyes of the distraught girl with sympathy as he set her back on her feet.

"Yeah, Fulton can be a real stickler about trespassing, especially on the golf course, especially if you're trespassing with the intent of having fun. I would know," he said with a grin.

His smile was infectious, and Mack couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Look, you seem like a really nice guy, and I just want to get my friend back and get out of here without getting into any trouble. Do you think you could help us?"

Troy tried to come up with an answer but was interrupted when Mrs. Evans returned, her driver in hand.

"Well, who is this, Troy?" she asked suspiciously, looking Mack up and down and frowning at her surfing attire and overall dampness.

Troy opened his mouth to introduce her but then realized he didn't know her name.

"I'm Mack," Mack said quickly. "It's nice to meet you."

Troy noticed the way that Mrs. Evans was eying Mack, and Mack did too, taking a small, cautious step backwards. He could almost see the desperation to get away on her face, even though she was trying not to show it, and it made him want to drop everything to help her.

However, he already had two strikes with Mr. Fulton and had been promised a prompt firing at his third strike, and he really needed this job. If Fulton caught him trying to help out Mack and her friend, he would be unemployed for sure.

Mack took another step backwards, accidentally bumping in to Troy. When she looked up at him apologetically, his thoughts about his job suddenly fell away, and all he could see was this charming stranger in front of him that that made the risk seem worth it.

Making up his mind, Troy threw together something plausible and said, "Mrs. Evans, this is one of Sharpay's friends. She… got lost, and Sharpay just radioed in asking me to bring her back."

"Oh. Well, you better get her back pronto! You know how Sharpay gets," Mrs. Evans said reasonably, all suspicions about Mack dropped since she had learned long ago not to question the weirdness of Sharpay's friends.

"Thank you, Mrs. Evans. I'll send out another caddy for you right away," Troy said with relief, placing a hand on Mack's back and steering her toward the main building where Sharpay would most likely be.

"Thank you," Mack whispered up to him, almost making him trip over his own feet.

"Troy! Send out that cutie Chad, would you?" Mrs. Evans called as the pair walked away.

Troy sent an uneasy smile back to her. "Will do, Mrs. Evans! Will do…"