Chapter 3: The Visit from the Ghost of the Past

Troy is still lying down on his bed. After his visit from the Ghost of All Spirits when he came to realize that he wasn't going to be getting any sleep this evening. So he looks over at his nightstand where he had placed the picture of him and Sharpay. While he is staring at the photograph he never realized that the Ghost of the past had arrived.

"Still thinking about the life that you could've had?" the Ghost of the past asks.

"Yeah." Troy answers back while looking up, "Umm not to be rude but who are you?"

"Why I am the Ghost of the past. You were forewarned about my visit to you tonight as well as changing your ways."

"Ok but how was I supposed to change my ways?"

"First of all by apologizing to the girl whose heart you broke ten years ago for starters."

"I tried to apologize ten years ago but, I never got the chance too or she never wanted to listen or wanted anything to do with me after everything that had happened. For which by the way I still have no idea why."

"Why that maybe true, but did you ever try hard enough and have your apology come from your heart? And truly mean it?"

"No, I guess not." Troy says looking down and feeling ashamed.

"Well then that maybe the reason why she always choose not to listen." Said the Ghost of the Past, "now I am here to show you the past for you to see what happened with Sharpay."

"My past but why the past and why can't you show me how I can make things right now?"

"Because I am the Ghost of the Past not the Present that ghost will be coming later after I leave."

"What if I don't want to look back at my past? What then?"

"You young men really don't have a choice. But if you choose to continue on the path you are now while Sharpay lives her life, then don't blame anyone else for your choices in the end." He says while grabbing Troy by the arm.

The Ghost of the Past brings Troy to East High.

"Now this is the place where it all began to change or at least in Sharpay's eyes. You are going to see some heart breaking flashbacks are you prepared before I continue?"

"Since I don't really have the choice, but if I can see what you are talking about… Yes, I am ready to begin."

"Very well then it starts on the first day of your guys' freshman year of high school. The day when it all began to change and remember to look closely and pay attention…"

(Troy doesn't answer but instead looks back at was the begging to an end. The Ghost of the Past snaps his fingers and the flashback shows Troy at the age of 14 waking up and getting ready for school before his mom comes in to hurry him up again. )

-Freshman Year of High School: First day-

"It's time to wake up all of you teenagers and get back to school. As it is the first day of school. Which means it's every kids and teachers worst nightmare, while parents can say 'you gotta go back to school again'. " said the alarm clock radio waking up a fourteen year old Troy Bolton. He hit off the alarm and gets out of bed. He looks at the time and realizes that he has to hurry before his mom comes into his room and hurries him along before he is late. After he is finished getting ready and grabbing his backpack he looks on his desk and sees a picture of him and his girlfriend Sharpay Evans. They have been together for almost four years now. He smiles and hears a knock coming from the other side of the door. Meaning his mother telling him time to hurry up and get down stairs.

"Troy are you awake?" Lisa Bolton asked her son knowing that he has been late to school sometime for over sleeping.

"Yes mom and I'll be right down."

"Good and please don't be late. But seeing as you are getting a ride from your father then you better hurry and grab something to eat."

"Okay I'm on my way."

"Okay I'll you see in a minute downstairs."

(Scene changes and he is now talking to his best friend Chad. )

"Troy, my man is that you?" asks a voice.

"Yeah." A 14 year old Troy answers back to the voice.

"It's me Chad. We went to basketball camp together remember?"

"Oh yeah, hey man how have you been? How was the rest of your summer?"

"I'm good man. The rest of summer went by too fast and what about you?"

"Same and just spent the rest of the summer with my girlfriend. Who should be here in a few minutes. You are going to love her when you do meet her." Troy says with a smile on his face.

Sharpay and Ryan Evans had in the mean while entered the school and saw Troy talking to a guy that they didn't know. So they both talk (in the first chapter.)

Sharpay goes over to Troy and covers his eyes, "Guess who."

"Well it can't be my mom and dad. So it has to be my amazing and beautiful girlfriend."

"Great guess and you win a kiss," they kiss and pull apart. Sharpay notices Chad so she introduces herself. "Hi my name is Sharpay." She says while extending her hand to shake his.

"Chad nice to meet you," he says rudely when Sharpay was just being nice and friendly. "But do you mind Troy and I have a lot to catch up on. Being as we are going to be co-captain of the varsity basketball team."

Sharpay looks up at Troy wondering why he didn't defend her to Chad. A guy she had just met and was trying to be nice. But he never did and instead of defending her, he just looked down at his feet. Then he walks aways with Chad forgetting about Sharpay and heads to homeroom.

The flashback ends and Troy is just looking ashamed. He never thought or realized at the time that Chad was being rude to Sharpay. He just thought that they would become friends later on down the road, but that never had happened because two months later Sharpay ended things between them.

"Why didn't you stand up and defend her against your best friend?"

"I don't know. I guess I just never realized at the time what was happening around me. Why did you show me this?"

"For you to see where it all began to change, you see since you never defended her against Chad; Sharpay saw a change in you. She realized that while you were changing she was being left behind and you were choosing Chad over her."

"What? No I didn't!" Troy said getting mad at what the Ghost of the Past told him.

"Yes, you did and it continued on for two more months until the day came and she had to make a choice. But she did try, and you never did. You ended up taking her for granted and thought that she would never leave you. Until she finally had enough and decided to leave you. Next here is the flashback and it's going to be heartbreaking to watch. Believe me I cried just by watching it before I came, but I feel like you need to see it to believe it."

"Which flashback is this one?"

"The one where you were supposed to meet her at the movie theater and you never showed up?"

"Oh," Troy says looking down knowing full well what he was going to see.

The flashback begins and Troy sees Sharpay at the movie theater. Waiting there for him to show up but he never did. (Takes place after the phone call with Troy's mom in chapter one)

On the phone with Chad:

"Don't you know he's busy having a life without you?" He just says right away without saying hello. (Troy doesn't know about any of this yet)

"What do you mean? He was supposed to meet me here at the movie theater for our anniversary."

"Oh you mean he didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"He decided that he doesn't want to be with you anymore. Plus he told me that he was never in love with you. In fact he is making out with this really hot cheerleader right now?"

"What?" Sharpay asks trying to keep her tears from falling out of her eyes.

"Yeah here hold on and I'll send you a picture." With that said Chad hangs up the phone. But a few seconds later Sharpay sees the picture with her own eyes.

The flashback ends and Troy had tears coming out of his eyes. He had no idea that this had even happened.

"I never knew that this happened. Why would Chad do this to me?"

"Why did you kiss that cheerleader?"

"I didn't kiss her and she kissed me. I guess that is when Chad took that picture on my phone and sent it to Sharpay. But not before telling her I never loved her. This isn't true as I loved and still love her with all of my heart. He really did stab me in the back. Sharpay ended up dumping me that night over a voice message. I lost her all because of him." Troy said really wanting to see Chad and punch him.

"Yes and now you can see what happened after she left the message that broke her heart."

(The Ghost of the Past snaps his fingers and you see a new flashback begin. Sharpay had just finished leaving the message and hanging up the phone. Ryan having been there goes over to his sister and sits next to her on her bed.

"Ry, what did I ever do wrong?" she asks with tears in her eyes.

"You did nothing wrong Pay. Troy made the mistake and now he has to pay the price. He is losing a wonderful girl." Ryan says as Sharpay goes on to crying her eyes out.

"I hope that he will come back to me someday Ry, but as of right now I need to change. I need to make sure that my heart never gets broken by another guy like this again. I don't know if I could take it next time." with that said Sharpay cried herself to sleep that night with Ryan beside her.

The flashback ends and Troy now is crying.

"I never knew that she felt like that."

"How could you have known? You see when you ignore or take someone for granted to a point they begin to lose all hope. And that is what happened with Sharpay as she ended up losing hope that you would change. To once again be the man she used to know and love."

"Is there more?"

"Yes, and now this last flashback you are going to see a lot of pain."

"What else is new?"

"Not much, but hopefully by watching this you can understand better and realize how Sharpay felt when she saw this."

(The Ghost of the Past snaps his fingers again the flashback shows a 17 year old Troy and Gabriella while Sharpay is watching from the shadows.)

Troy had just finished putting on the necklace and Sharpay runs out before anyone could see her tears and Ryan goes after her.

"Ry, how could he just give her the necklace that he got me when he asked me to be his girlfriend?"

"I don't know Shar."

"I wish that I never even met him." She said once they were in Ryan's car and he was driving them home.

"Surely you don't really mean that do you?"

"I do and I can't believe that I wasted so many tears on him."

"Shar, I say this to you out of love ok?"

"I know."

"Then you know that it's his lost. And one day he is going to wake up and realize that he lost you. But by the time he realizes that it's going to be too late and you would've found a guy who is going to treat you like a queen."

Flashback ends and Troy sees what he had done.

"I had forgotten that I had that necklace made for her. Why I choose to give it to Gabriella I'll never know."

"Do you understand why she made this wish tonight?"

"No, not really."

"Sharpay made this wish so you could finally understand how she felt. And hope you would come to realize what a huge mistake that you made ten years ago. Now I am only going to say this once you messed up big time son!" Said the Ghost of the Past.

"Son? Why did you just call me that?"

"Because I am your grandfather boy." The Ghost of the Past takes off his hood and reveals himself to Troy. "You forsake her and took her granted one too many times until she made the choice and left you. Your grandmother and I had hoped that she would've been our granddaughter one day. I always did love her you know? But that's beside the point, you broke her heart and when you did the things you did. You changed how your future was going to be."

"Grandpa! I know okay? I get that you all had big plans but she broke up with me not the other way around."

"Yes, after she tried to get through to you one too many times. Do you know that when I was dying she came and visited me in the hospital?"

"No."

"She did and when I asked her what happened, do you know what her response was?"

"No."

"Her response was 'I had to do what was best for me. Even if it meant breaking my heart and his in the process and I hope that he lives a good life.' Now tell me does that sound like she did this out of spite?"

"No sir."

"Good now let's get you home for your next visit. And try and learn something and see how you can make it right."

"Ok grandpa."

"Oh and one more thing…" the Ghost of the Past starts off before hitting Troy over the head.

"Hey what was that for?" Troy asks while rubbing the back of his head.

"Well for one that's for being an idiot and letting Sharpay go. And another thing come and visit me and bring me flowers once in a while. Just because I'm dead doesn't mean you can't come and visit me as well as your grandmother. Oh and apologize before more time pass by."

"I will grandpa."

With that said the Ghost of the Past leaves and Troy sits back down on his bed thinking:

'What have I done?