A/N: Hey!!! How are my favorite readers? I hope you're all doing fantastically despite the pressures of school! I'm pretty on top of the world right now, not going to lie. As a recently licensed driver I'm feeling pretty good. :D
So in the time I've been away, I've be crazy busy with school, friends, family and just life in general, but I did find time to work on this story. I'm really really excited about it because believe it or not, there is a scene in this story (which I haven't written just yet) that I have had in my head since I started working on Feel This. Honestly I have no idea how long this is going to be. I don't think it's going to be as long as Feel This but it'll probably be 20 chapters(?) Now of course I've said that, I'm going to be completely off base. You'll see. Regardless of the length, I hope you all enjoy the story you're about to embark on reading because as I said before I really believe it's going to be a great story!
This first chapter might be a little boring. I'm letting you know now that nothing exciting really happens in this chapter – the good stuff comes in the next chapter : ) It's more of just a transition from the first story to the second.
For the first time, I actually have 3 chapters written ahead of time. The nice thing, I learned, about writing chapters ahead of time is that you can skip around. So fun fact, even though I started the chapters is order, I didn't finish them in order. I actually finished the first chapter last. Oh and I decided on the title, pretty much like yesterday, so yeah….I do things backwards sometimes. Anyway…I'm hoping that'll help to keep my updating more regular, but I can't make any promises. I'm a junior and my academic life is really stressful, but also really important, so sometimes that means sacrificing my social life and FF :(
Wow, now that I've babbled on for a while I'll let you start reading (that is, if you've kept reading this entire time). So, enjoy…
Forgiveness is Such a Simple Word
Chapter One – The First Day
The first day of school always brought the feeling of butterflies to Gabriella's stomach. In past years she had simply been fearful someone would find out her secret. She had always feared that she hadn't done her makeup properly and someone would notice the bruises. Maybe some new teacher would take a special interest in her, question her about scars he may have seen, wonder about her fatigue.
This year, however, was slightly different. Though she still felt nervous about the first day of school, it wasn't fear, it was anxious excitement. Although she had seen her friends all through the summer, it had been a while since they had all been together due to various trips each person had taken. She was excited to have everyone back together again. She also hoped that she would have her friends in her classes. Unlike before, she didn't want to be the lonely bookworm sitting in the corner, she wanted to be able to chat to her classmates.
As she walked into the school for the first time that year, she remembered what it had been like to walk the same crowded, bustling hallway just a year before. She remembered the need to be invisible, the fear of being discovered and the confusion of a new school that had engulfed her. This year, she felt excited walking down the same hallway, ready to start her Senior year, to see all her friends again and to dive into her schoolwork.
Gabriella made her way to Mrs. Darbus' classroom to receive her schedule and meet up with all her friends. She entered the classroom and saw Taylor and Kelsi sitting next to each other, in deep conversation. Smiling, she walked over to her two friends,
"Hey!" she greeted excitedly. Both girls looked up and beamed at Gabriella,
"Gabi! Hi!" Taylor greeted, standing up, so she could give her friend a hug. Kelsi was quick to do the same and hug her friend as well. Gabriella took the seat just behind Taylor and the three girls started chatting again.
"So, you have all your summer reading work done?" Kelsi asked.
"Yep. I finished the books a while back, but I just finished the quote analysis last night," Gabriella answered.
"Same! Well, except the part about finishing the books ages ago…" Taylor trailed off.
"Please tell me you didn't read them both yesterday," Kelsi gasped.
"Not both of them," Taylor insisted, "I finished Babbitt on Saturday and then I read Bartleby yesterday," she explained.
"Procrastination much?"
"Bartleby was only like 40 pages!" Taylor defended.
"Please tell me you nerds aren't already discussing school," Chad sighed, interrupting the conversation. The three girls turned to see Troy, Zeke and Jason also standing behind them.
Gabriella smiled at Troy and he was soon just behind her with his hands draped over her shoulders and interlocking with her own hands.
"Oh shut up," Taylor swatted her boyfriend, "I bet you didn't even do yours."
"My summer reading? As a matter of fact, I have that covered. I sparknoted it last night and I'll do the quotes during lunch," Chad informed his girlfriend proudly.
Taylor rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the same time.
"What he means is he'll copy someone's during lunch," Troy whispered to Gabriella, causing her to giggle.
"Anyway," Taylor began, changing the subject, "has anyone heard from Shar? Wasn't she getting back from Fiji yesterday?"
"Her flight was delayed; there was really bad flooding at the airport in Fiji so planes couldn't take off. She texted me yesterday afternoon to let me know she'd taken off and told me she would text me again once she landed, but I haven't heard from her since," Zeke explained.
"Hopefully she gets back soon, you know Darbus won't take that as an excuse for lateness," Chad reminded everyone.
"Maybe she'll let us off easier this year since we're seniors," Kelsi suggested, shrugging her shoulders.
There was a pause of silence before the entire group, including Kelsi burst into laughter,
"Yeah and on that same day, Sharpay will come to school in sweat pants," Taylor laughed sarcastically.
"Did I just hear my name used in the same sentence as sweat pants?" Sharpay demanded as she strutted into the classroom.
"Sharpay!" Taylor exclaimed happily, "You're here!"
"Well of course I'm here, but let me tell you, it was not an easy journey," She waved her hand dramatically, "First of all, our flight was delayed 10 hours, so that was just a disaster. Luckily though, Daddy got our room back, so we didn't have to waste 10 hours at the airport. So finally we got on our plane and that wasn't so terrible, but when we landed, ugh, when we landed. First of all it was 4:30 in the morning, second of all I discovered my phone had died and then, of course, it so happened that our bags were the last to come out," Sharpay threw her hands in the air, "Finally by the time we were in the car, it was 6 am and I thought I would just charge my phone in the car, but can you believe it, they didn't have a plug in the limo," She looked to Zeke sadly, "So that's why I couldn't text you. Eventually, we arrived home, at 7 mind you, so that only left me an hour before school started." By the time Sharpay had finished with her extensive story, she had sat herself down in her seat, "And now I'm here after practically jumping in and out of the shower, throwing clothes on and whipping together my hair and makeup." She sighed and leaned back, "I'm exhausted."
Zeke was already behind Sharpay, massaging her shoulders, while the rest of the group glanced at one another.
"Oh! And you know what else?," Sharpay continued, "My good straightener was packed, so I had to use my old one, which doesn't do as good a job, so in the end I just had to put my hair up. Could this morning have gone any worse? I mean it's the first day of Senior Year."
"At least Fiji was nice, right?" Gabriella offered hopefully.
Sharpay bolted up straight, "Oh Fiji was fabulous! The beaches there are absolutely stunning and let me tell you…" Once again, Sharpay started an extravagant tale of her experience in Fiji. This time, however, her story was set at a much happier tone.
Gabriella felt Troy kiss her hair gently and she looked up at him questioningly,
"You're a saint, you know that, right?" he whispered in her ear.
Gabriella laughed quietly.
"I don't think I could've listened to her complaints for any longer."
"She's low on sleep, you know how some people get when they don't get enough sleep," Gabriella pointed out.
"See I told you, you're a saint, seeing the good in people," Troy reminded her.
Gabriella smiled and shook her head, "you're such a charmer."
Troy grinned proudly, "and you love it," he mumbled in her hair.
Gabriella chuckled knowingly, "Are we still coming over tonight?"
"You better be," he answered.
"What time?"
"My mom said anytime, dinner is at 6, so whenever you want to come on over is cool."
"Ok, should we bring anything?" Gabriella asked.
"Just yourselves," Troy replied.
"Perfect," Gabriella smiled. Just then Ms. Darbus entered the classroom and took a seat in her large arm chair, signaling class was beginning.
***
"Ok everyone dig in," Mrs. Bolton encouraged warmly.
Since Gabriella and her family had moved back to Albuquerque, the Bolton and Montez family often got together for dinner. They alternated hosting the dinner usually every other week. Despite the age gap between them, Lucille and Mariana had become very close friends. Even if their families weren't getting together the two women often had lunch.
The dinners felt less like two separate families eating together and more like one big family dinner to Gabriella as time went on. Though she'd never experienced a large family gathering, she'd always loved the idea of a big family; lots of cousins and aunts and uncles. She imagined that having the dinner with the Boltons was pretty darn close to a big family – or at least it felt that way.
"So Gabriella, are you still working?" Lucille asked curiously.
"Yeah, I'm working twice a week at Borders. As much as I liked working at the diner, at Borders I'm surrounded by books all the time and I get an employee discount," Gabriella explained enthusiastically. "So, if you ever need a book, let me know and I can get you the discount."
Lucille chuckled, "I will definitely hold you up on that offer. I'm glad you're happy with your job."
"So how was your first day back, Troy?" Mariana asked.
Troy shrugged his shoulders, "It was good. Boring really, I mean we sat through the same, 'hand in your homework on time, don't be late' lecture 7 times. Although, my history teacher, Mr. Miller, was really funny, I liked him, I guess."
"And you Gabriella? How was yours?" Lucille turned to Gabriella.
"Call me a nerd, but I thought it was wonderful," Gabriella grinned. "I have a great variety of classes that I'm all pretty excited for. My English teacher, Ms. D'Angelo, is amazing! I'm so glad I got her," Gabriella explained excitedly, "Oh and my Bio teacher, he's so great! He has so much insight about the changing world we live in. We spent the entire class discussing life and its definition. It going to be such a great class," she sighed with happiness.
"That's wonderful Gabriella," Lucille was grinning, oh how she missed having another girl in the house! And such an enthusiastic one at that. Girls always gave so many more details. She loved listening to the driven young woman's aspect on the world. Troy had been right, Lucille did notice a difference in Gabriella; she was much more confident and had really blossomed into a wonderful young woman.
Gabriella smiled before she felt Troy nudge her with the mashed potatoes in his hands. She smiled up as him as he passed her the bowl and as she scooped the potatoes onto her plate, she could feel Troy's eyes adoring her. Just as she finished plopping a scoop onto her plate, she looked back up at him, and was met with a famous Troy Bolton grin.
"What?" she whispered.
"Nothing," Troy insisted, before he grabbed the corn and started spooning it onto his plate.
Gabriella raised her eyebrow questioningly, but turned to pass the potatoes to her brother.
Lucille watched her son adore Gabriella and couldn't help but smile. She really was thankful that Gabriella had entered Troy's life. She was such a loving and caring young woman, who brought out the best in her son. Seeing Troy as happy as he was with Gabriella was a relief for Lucille. For the longest time she'd worried about her youngest. Yes, he was a happy teenager, but he'd always been so consumed in basketball that she worried what would happen if, god forbid, basketball was ever taken away from him. She wondered what he would have left. Now the answer was Gabriella. She knew that Gabriella had opened a new world for him and filled with so many different emotions. Though occasionally those emotions weren't always positive, more often than not, Troy lived in a blissful world.
She knew that like any couple, Troy and Gabriella would face their challenges. Knowing Gabriella's past she imagined some of them might be more difficult than normal teenagers. But, in her heart, Lucille really believed Troy and Gabriella were going to be happy for a long time.
A/N: So there you have it! The very first chapter. Like I said, it was really just an intro, a connection between the story stories. In the next chapter, the real fun begins. Thank you for reading please review!
All my best,
~HSMLUVER218