Opposites Attract

Chapter 1: The Assignment

Summary: The computer was supposed to find the perfect person to give you advice. So how did two people who thought they had nothing in common get matched up?

Disclaimer: I own High School Musical. Okay, no I don't.

A/N: The first and last chapters will have no POV, all of the others will be indicated in the beginning. This story's on trial, meaning if people review, I will update, if no one does, I'll delete this story. So if you like it, review and tell me why. If you don't, then review and tell me what I should do to make it better, or if I should get rid of it completely. (Sorry this is long.)

"Welcome to the new year!" Mrs. Darbus exclaimed excitedly to her homeroom class, who were still out of it from summer vacation. Troy Bolton, the captain of the boy's basketball team and star of the "Twinkle Town" musicale (As Mrs. Darbus calls it) seemed to be the only alert person in the room, even the Evans twins seemed to be not paying attention. Ryan and Sharpay Evans, the school's most dramatic pair, were Mrs. Darbus' favorite students, though she'd never admit it. Troy's ex-girlfriend Gabriella Montez, sat on the other side of the room next to Taylor McKessie and Chad Danforth. Gabriella and Taylor were easily the smartest students in the school, they led the scholastic decathlon team to victory every week since Gabriella had transferred to East High. Troy had broken up with Gabriella in June, and no one knew why, not even Chad or Taylor, their best friends. The only thing anyone knew was that Gabriella doesn't even talk to Troy anymore. Mrs. Darbus noticed that the class was not broken up in to different cliques, like it had been a year ago. Troy and Gabriella starring in the musicale changed that. 'Theater does make a difference.' she thought triumphantly as she remembered the ongoing arguments she had with Jack Bolton, the school's basketball coach, Troy's father. "This year," Mrs. Darbus continued, "The English department set up an anonymous peer counseling program via e-mail. You are to take a personality test, and will be assigned a partner from there." Most students groaned. "This program is mandatory and will count as 1/4 of your final average."

"How can you tell who did the assignment if it's anonymous?" Troy asked sarcastically.

"You will use a number to protect your identity, the teachers are notified whenever someone sends an e-mail from that number. Your letters are completely confidential, however. More information will come during your English classes."

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"Alright class, sign in with your new e-mail addresses while I explain what's going on." Troy's English teacher, Miss Stewart, announced later that day. Most of the class like the idea of sharing their secrets with someone who couldn't ridicule them. The most eager, it seemed, was Troy Bolton. "This assignment is mainly because most people are embarrassed to talk to someone older about their problems. Having students talk to their peers about things they wouldn't normally talk about, is killing two birds with one stone. First, it will hopefully make some people understand what other people are going through, and will stop a lot of the intolerance problems we're having. Most of you think all that's over, but it's not. People are still calling each other hurtful names, and last year, three students were suspended for two weeks for beating up another student so badly he had to be hospitalized. They were lucky the boy recovered." She glared at Chad, Zeke, and Troy, who were smiling proudly. "Second, everyone will be getting advice, which an advice column in the newspaper couldn't do. Since you are the last class of the day, you will be writing the first e-mail. To start the test, click on the 'Peer Counseling' icon on the desktop. You may begin." Troy sat up straight and read the words on his screen, at times pausing to look around or type something. The other students hadn't even signed in, yet he was already halfway through the test. He raised his hand. "Yes Mr. Bolton?"

"Can we ever meet the person?" He asked.

"That all depends on if you want to. After at least 2 weeks, you may choose to meet up with him or her, or not. Just remember, this is a year long assignment, meaning you must continue writing all year, no matter what. Just think of it as e-mailing your friends." Miss Stewart answered.

"What if we end up getting paired up with people we hate, and they try to kill us? This isn't a good idea!" Troy's friend Zeke said nervously. The class laughed.

"Shut up Zeke!" Chad said.

"Mr. Danforth...enough of that. Zeke, no one will kill you. I promise." The young teacher said. This was going to be a long year, she knew it. She looked over to Troy, who was now typing at lightning speed.

A/N: There's chapter 1! Sorry it's so short, but I wanted the e-mails to start in the second chapter, since that chapter's in Troy and Ryan's POV. Please review if you liked it, or else how am I going to know if I should keep it up? Well, I'll write chapter 2 now, since we have no power and I have 75 battery life left on this laptop.