Gabriella Montez and her mother were in the kitchen of their suburban house, Gabriella was complaining while her mother was making breakfast. Gabriella's little six year old cousin, Natalie, was sitting at the kitchen table eating her Lucky Charms while working on a picture in her favorite coloring book. Natalie's brother Nick, who was the same age as Gabriella, was also at the kitchen table listening to Gabriella's conversation with her mother.
"Mom," Gabriella began, trying to take a calm approach to this. "It's not that I don't want to do the right thing and help the guy, but there is seriously no more room in this house."
Gabriella's mother didn't glance up from the bacon that she was making.
"There is plenty of room." her mother replied.
"What about money? You are working your fingers to the bone on your job to support the three of us. Why add in another child?" Gabriella asked.
"Natalie and Nick's parents gave me their inheritance, as well as their wonderful children," Mrs. Montez said tossing a loving look over to Natalie and Nick. Natalie smiled gleefully, Nick just rolled his eyes, he didn't like hearing about his parents' deaths. "We have enough money."
"Well, you are a single mother. Don't you think it will be a little difficult to raise four kids. Three of them being teenagers!" Gabriella said, desperate to not have another addition to the house. Natalie and Nick were family, but this guy, Gabriella wouldn't be able to handle it.
"You and Nick can handle yourselves, and I do think that I have done well so far." Mrs. Montez continued. "Besides, it won't not be forever. The doctors said that his parents are almost out of their comas."
"Gaby," her mother said with a tone the tone that she always uses when she's about to lecture someone. "This is the right thing to do, and I know it won't be easy but it's what needs to be done."
Gabriella didn't think her mother realizes exactly what she had gotten herself into.
"Mom, he got in a car accident and has amnesia. The doctors don't think he'll ever get his memory back. His parents are in comas and you want to take him in!" Gabriella said, relaying all the information that has happened. "I wanna help as much as the next person, but this is where I have to draw the line!"
"Technically, Gabriella, it's not your line to draw." Mrs. Montez replied.
"I don't even know the guy and he doesn't know me, and you expect us to live in the same house?"
"Before his parents moved away when you were four, you two were the best of friends." Mrs. Montez reminded her.
"Well, I don't remember anything about being four. And apparently, neither does he, led alone anything else about his life." Gabriella replied.
"Then you both start of with a blank slate, how wonderful."
"Mom," Gabriella moaned. "I don't know him. I knew Natalie and Nick, so that's different. But this is a stranger. And he'll feel totally uncomfortable living with us too."
"For once I have to agree with Gaby," Nick chimed in. "Besides, if he comes, I gotta share my room with him. Which will suck."
"Kids!" Mrs. Montez snapped. "My best friend and her husband are in a coma, their son has amnesia and they specifically said if anything was to happen to them he goes to us! So, we are taking in Troy Bolton as one of our own, until his parents wake up from their coma. End of story!"
"But I don't wanna nutcase in my house." Nick said.
"He is not a nutcase, he has a brain injury." Mrs. Montez replied icily. "And I expect all of you to welcome him with open arms. Show him around school, introduce him to your friends. Understand?"
"Yes Mam." Gabriella and Nick said solemnly in unison. All the while Natalie had continued drawing in her coloring book.
"Look Aunt Vicki," she said referring to Mrs. Montez. "I drew you a picture."
"Did I ever mention that you're my favorite?" Mrs. Montez said giving Natalie a kiss.
"I don't know if I wanna do this," Troy Bolton said anxiously as he pulled up to the Montez's house.
"They are practically like family." his social worker Calvin said, before getting out of the car and unloading Troy's suitcases.
"Yes, but I don't remember them. Can't I just stay in the hospital?" Troy asked.
"No," Calvin replied, opening the gate that led to Troy's new home and leading Troy down the way. He had no choice but to follow.
"It'll be weird." Troy said. The truth was, for him everything was weird. Everything was new and foreign. It's not like he forgot how to talk or what a showerhead was, he simply forgot his life and everyone that came along with it. Even his coma ridden parents. Now he was being thrust into a place that he knew nothing about. He would have been much more comfortable in a hospital bed, watching TV.
Calvin rang the doorbell and Mrs. Montez instantly came running up to the door.
"Hello!" she said, opening the door with a giant smile. Then she saw Troy and gasped, she'd seen him a few times when she went to visit Troy's mother, but he looked so handsome and grownup now.
"Troy, look at you!" she said, rushing to give him a hug. Troy tried to jerk away and felt very uncomfortable. Who was this woman?
"Oh, of course," Mrs. Montez said catching on. "You don't know me. How silly of me! I'm Vicki."
"Troy," Troy said. "Which apparently you already know."
For a little while there was an awkward silence, but Calvin broke it.
"Well, I have to be running. I will be checking in when I can." he said. He gave Troy a nod and told him to call him if he needed anything and then was on his way. Vicki waved goodbye and then motioned for Troy to come inside the house.
"You have a nice house." Troy said, as he walked through it. It was very nice. The walls were painted and the furniture was nice. Not fancy or expensive, but comfy. Like a couch where you can just crash down on a watch TV. Troy had an odd feeling that he had been here before. But that feeling was so fleeting, he didn't even know he had it.
Troy was led into the kitchen where Natalie was sitting at her favorite spot in the kitchen table, working on yet another one of her drawings. Mrs. Montez explained how Natalie did not like to be disturbed during her coloring time and how they can make introductions later. She excused herself to find Nick and Gabriella.
That left Troy alone in the kitchen. He wasn't sure what to do, but he was feeling overwhelmed. His legs felt a little weak too. So he decided to sit down at the kitchen table, but as far away from Natalie as he could.
"Hi!" Natalie suddenly said after many moments of silence, startling Troy. "I'm Natalie!"
"I'm Troy," he replied, tapping his fingers on the table nervously. Natalie didn't say anything else.
"Have we met before?" Troy finally asked, wanting to know everything he possibly could about his old life.
"I don't know," Natalie said, examining him. "Let me think."
She walked over to Troy's end of the table and poked him in various places, for reasons Troy could not understand nor wanted to. Then she examined the blue shirt with a basketball on it that Troy was wearing, while looking as though she was concentrating too hard for her little brain to handle.
"I like blue." she finally concluded. Then she sat down back near her coloring book and started drawing again. What was wrong with this girl? Troy asked himself.
"Um...Natalie?" Troy asked, trying to remember the girls name.
"No talking." she said as she stared, transfixed at her paper.
"Okay," Troy said to himself.
"Don't mind her." a voice coming down the hallway said. He was a tall boy with dark hair and dark eyes who looked about Troy's age.
"I'm Nick," he said, introducing himself. "Apparently we're sharing a room."
"Great," Troy mumbled. He didn't know what to say or do.
"Quiet." Natalie repeated.
Nick motioned for Troy to go into another room, and Troy followed Nick's lead. They ended up in the family room with the comfy couch and TV.
"Sorry about my sister. She's a little neurotic. The major downside is she's become annoying perceptive too, it's like I can't get away with anything without her knowing. But she's been acting really odd since our parents died." Nick explained.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Troy said. "I though Vicki was your mother."
"No, she's our aunt. She took us in after."
"Does she have any kids?" Troy asked.
"Yeah, Gabriella," Nick replied.
"What's she like?"
Gabriella Montez was very beautiful, talented, and intelligent. She got perfect grades, and managed to be a drama club super star at the same time. She could get any guy that she wanted, yet chose to reject them for her friends, family, and studies, because she believed romance in high school was a trivial matter. Gabriella had a way of being mysterious and enchanting to everyone around her and could win over anyone that graced her presence. Basically, for a teenage boy's heart, Gabriella Montez spelled trouble.
"Gabriella!" Vicki said, interrupting Nick and Zack's talk about school to call down Gabriella to meet Troy.
"Coming Mom," Gabriella said, trying to hide to vexation in her voice. She didn't want to be rude, but she didn't exactly want another house guest here.
She made her way down the steps, wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and her long wavy hair flowing at her side. A look that seemed so simple to put together and so simple in general, but looked absolutely stunning on her.
"Hey," she said when she reached the bottom of the steps. "I'm Gaby."
Troy heard her name and saw her beauty and felt his breath get taken away. But he tried his best to play it cool. But he couldn't help but gazing into her gorgeous brown eyes that practically rendered him speechless.
"Um, hi," Troy stumbled out, silently cursing his memory loss. His named seemed to have escaped him. But it wasn't his amnesia that caused him to forget his name, it was Gaby.
"This is Troy." Nick said for Troy.
"Right," Troy answered.
"Hey," Gabriella said awkwardly again.
The group heard a banging noise and then saw Natalie scurry across the room with her picture in hand, on her way up the staircase.
"She does that a lot." Gabriella said. "Mom, can I go to the mall with Sharpay? We have tryouts for the school play tomorrow and Ms. Darbus always expects us to look our best and make a good impression. Can I go?"
"Sure, but be home for dinner." Vicki said.
"Thanks Mom," Gaby said. "Bye Troy."
Troy felt his face go warm when she said his name and he waved goodbye. Was he blushing, he asked himself. No! I hope no one noticed, he told himself.
"Well, I have got to get working on dinner." Vicki said leaving to go to the kitchen.
Troy glanced over, to see Nick, smirking at him.
"I should have warned you not to make direct eye contact with her." he said with a frustrated look. "Another one down."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Troy asked. Nick just gave him a laugh and then showed him where his room will be.
"I'll let you unpack, I've got places to be a girls to see." Nick said, grabbing the jacket on his bed and leaving the room. Troy looked around his new room. It had a closet, Nick barely had any clothes in it. And their was a stained rug on the ground, probably from soda by the looks of it. There were two twin beds taking up most of the space in the room. Troy figured out which one was Nick's because that was the bed covered with various items ranging from clothes to food. Troy's bed was empty except for a little piece of paper that was lying on his pillow.
He walked over to see what it was. The small piece of paper was folded up in an almost obsessive compulsive way. Every end matched perfectly. He slowly opened it and found that it was a drawing. On the piece of paper was a boy, who looked to be about four years old. The little boy was playing basketball. He was wearing a blue shirt, exactly like the one that Troy was wearing and had piercing blue eyes. Just like the eyes that Troy had. Troy knew the drawing was of him. And in the background of the picture there was a little girl with long black wavy hair cheering him on from the sidelines. She looked so familiar.
Even though it was drawn with crayons, the picture looked so real like it had actually happened. Then Troy suddenly blanked out and remembered something.
"Go Troy! Go Troy! Go Troy!" a little girl with a high voice shouted from the sidelines. Troy let the ball be released from his hands, into his little kiddy basketball net that couldn't be taller than a short adult male.
"Troy Bolton wins the finals!" said a little boy who ran a victory lap cheering and whooping.
"My hero!" the little girl said, running up and giving him a hug. The little boy pushed the girl off and said "Ew! Girl germs!"
Troy zapped back to reality. He felt dazed for a minute. Troy realized that he just remembered something about his life. He knew that memory was real, he could just feel it. That was him and Gabriella when they were little kids. But how did he remember that? Troy looked back down at the picture. The little girl was cheering from the sidelines just like in the memory and the boy was taking a perfect shot, just like in the memory. This picture triggered his memory, it's like the key to his life was drawn out for him on this piece of paper written in crayons.
But who gave it to him? And how did they know?
Troy flipped it over and looked at the back, in what looked like child's writing, a message read, 'YES I KNOW YOU. PS- I LIKE BLUE'