AN: OMG. After two and a half months of hard work, I am finally posting this story. I haven't actually finished writing it all yet, but I've written 30 out of 40 chapters so I think there's a good chance that I will not be abandoning it. It's taken me a while to get here, and I'm pretty excited to finally post it. I actually started the very first draft of this story... oh gosh, I don't even know. I think before the summer. But I didn't like it, and then I decided to wait and rewrite it until after HSM 2 premiered, and I officially started writing this right after I saw it. So... yeah. Anyway, if I do say so myself, I like this story a lot and I'm really proud of it. I really hope everyone likes it too. Also, all chapter titles will come from songs in musicals.
The chapter title comes from the musical Fiddler on the Roof.
Title: Forget Yesterday
Rating: T
Author: MadiWillow
Summary: The kids at East High are all seniors now, and looking forward to spending every day as if it were their last together.
Genre: Humor/Drama
Chapter: Sunrise, Sunset
"Thank GOD we don't have to work there anymore."
Troy Bolton and his three best friends, Chad Danforth, Jason Cross, and Zeke Baylor all walked into Troy's den at the back of his house and collapsed onto various couches and chairs.
"I thought I was going to throw up if I had to serve Sharpay one more time," Chad continued.
"It wasn't that bad!" reasoned Zeke.
Chad glared at him. "Maybe for you. You were cooking the whole time. And you're going out with Sharpay now, so even if you had to wait on her, she probably wouldn't have berated you if you slipped up and accidently forgot to say 'Miss Evans.'"
"Yeah, I guess you're right," smirked Zeke. Chad threw his server's uniform at him.
"I still can't believe you're going out with her," said Chad, disgusted. "I mean, really. Do you enjoy dating the devil?"
Before Zeke could answer, their attention was averted to the back door of the den, which led into the backyard, opening. In walked Gabriella, Taylor, Sharpay, and Ryan.
"Oh, look, the girls are here," chided Chad.
"Ha-ha," said Ryan, sitting down in the one of the abandoned chairs.
"Zekey," pouted Sharpay, crossing the distance between the two of them in a matter of seconds and placing herself firmly on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and asked, "Why don't you come back to work?"
"I'd rather stick a lead pipe through my head," Chad spoke up.
Sharpay glared at him. "I wasn't talking to you," she snapped, before grabbing Zeke's head and beginning to furiously make out with him.
"Hey," Chad winked at Taylor as she sat on the arm of the couch next to him.
Taylor smirked at him. "Hey yourself."
Gabriella walked over to where Troy was sitting and he pulled her into his lap. She had yet to change out of her lifeguard uniform. "Who else is so glad to be away from Mr. Fulton?" she sighed.
Troy tightened his grip around her waist. "Now we can sneak swims in the pool at night without getting in trouble." Gabriella giggled.
Sharpay pulled away from Zeke and narrowed her eyes. "I swear to God, between you two --" she pointed at Taylor and Chad, "-- and you two --" she motioned to Troy and Gabriella, "-- I'm about ready to throw up."
"You're one to talk," said Taylor. "Look at you, all over Zeke. Why don't you get a room so we don't have to see you doing it."
"Whaddya say?" Zeke winked at Sharpay, who slapped him on the shoulder.
"Zeke, no!" she laughed playfully.
"Sharpay, why are you even here?" asked Chad irritably. "This is Troy's house. Isn't he, like, the bad guy who broke your heart?"
"Troy Bolton did not break my heart," answered Sharpay, as if Troy wasn't even in the room. "Actually, if Troy hadn't rejected me, I never would've realized how much I liked Zeke. And besides, Zeke invited me to hang out here."
"You should've consulted us first, man," said Chad, annoyed.
Zeke rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Like that's even been an issue before."
"It hasn't. But Satan has never been in our midst, either."
"Ugh." Sharpay stood up, angrily. "Come on, Zeke, let's go back to my place to have a little privacy." She sneered at Chad as she grabbed Zeke's hand and dragged him out the door with her.
"Thanks, man," sighed Jason.
Before Chad could answer, Troy's mother poked her head into the den. "Oh, hello everyone!" she chirped pleasantly.
"Hello, Mrs. Bolton," everyone chorused, except Troy, who threw in a "Hey Mom."
"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Becca?" Mrs. Bolton laughed loudly. "Troy, have you seen your father?"
"No, I just got home, Mom."
Becca frowned. "Oh." She paused, waiting for someone to question her, but continued as if someone had anyway. "Well, it's just, he told me he wanted corn for dinner, but your father doesn't like corn, he only likes corn on the cob. So I don't know if, when he said corn, he meant corn on the cob, or if he's tried corn somewhere else and decided he likes it. We don't have any corn on the cob, just corn, and I can't get a hold of your father on his cell, so I'm not sure if I should just cook the corn, or go to the store and buy corn on the cob just in case --"
"Okay, Mom," said Troy over her. "If I hear from him, I'll let you know."
"Thanks, sweetie," she beamed, backing out of the room and closing the door behind her.
Ryan, who had never met Troy's mother before, cleared his throat awkwardly. "Your mom seems, um, nice."
"I know, she talks a lot," said Troy, "You don't have to pretend not to notice it." He looked up Gabriella. "You wanna stay for dinner?"
She smiled. "Sure!" She stood up and ran a hand through her hair. "I need to shower and change though. I'm covered in chlorine." She made a face. "Coming, Taylor?"
"Sure." Taylor slid off the couch and walked towards her friend, smiling at Chad.
"See ya later?" said Chad, grinning, and she nodded back. "Bye Gabriella." He paused, before adding, "Ella, ella, hey, hey, hey."
Gabriella rolled her eyes at him. "Please stop that." Gabriella and Taylor exited from the den, and the only people left were Troy, Jason, Ryan, and Chad.
"So Ryan, whaddya think of my house?" asked Troy, gesturing around.
The den they were sitting in was nice, if not a little disheveled. It was clear that this room was mainly Troy's – he had a pool table in the corner, with a few dents in the felt, and next to that was a large stereo. There was also a fully stocked wet bar and an open door that led to a small bathroom. There was a large couch and two arm chairs, surrounding an average-sized television, complete with X-Box and Playstation 2. Also, hanging from the walls were various posters, depicting music bands and groups with everyone from Nickelback to 50 Cent, and mixed in were bikini pin-ups of Jessica Alba and Tyra Banks.
"I'm liking it so far," commented Ryan, nodding approvingly.
"Yeah, we usually spend a lot of time in here," affirmed Chad, switching on the TV. "Well, when we're not playing basketball."
"Of course."
About a half hour later, while the boys were all engrossed in an episode of Law & Order, the doorbell sounded from the front of the house. None of the boys even moved until Becca called, "Troy, can you get the door?"
"No!"
"GET THE DAMN DOOR!"
Ryan jumped and his eyebrows shot up. Troy simply rolled his eyes and stood up, shuffling towards the door that led to the main hallway. Chad, Jason, and Ryan got up to follow him, with Chad explaining, "Yeah, Becca yells loudly too."
Troy led the boys through the hallway of his home and reached the front door. The other three guys went off to the connecting kitchen, where Becca was preparing dinner.
"Oh, Mom, can Gabriella come for dinner?" called Troy, his hand on the door knob.
"Sure, sweetie."
"Mm, smells good, Mrs. Bolton," said Jason. "What're you making?"
"Oh, just a pork roast with mashed potatoes," she said, wiping her hands on her "Best Mom" apron. "And corn, because I hope Jack didn't mean corn on the cob when he told me what he wanted for dinner. I just didn't want to go to the store – I mean, I would've, if Jack told me he wanted corn on the cob – but since I wasn't sure – I didn't want to go for no reason --"
"Sure, Becca," said Chad distractedly, taking a cookie from a platter on the counter.
Troy had listened to his mother rambling and shook his head whilst pulling the door open. As his eyes laid upon the visitor, his mouth dropped open.
"Grandma Lila?"
An incredibly tiny and frail old woman was standing on his front porch. She was very skinny and short, but had big, gray hair about the size of a basketball. She looked as if she'd come straight from the eighties, clad in blue leggings, white tube socks and tennis shoes, and a yellow sequined sweater despite the eighty-degree heat. She had round, thick glasses, many different necklaces that clanked in the wind, and two large suitcases at her feet.
"Oh, my little Troy!" she said, her voice quivering, as she reached up and pinched his cheeks. "Oh, you're getting so tall! How old are you now? Twelve?"
"Seventeen, Grandma."
"Stop lyin'," she wheezed, whipping out a cigarette and using a neon green lighter to ignite it. She sucked in deeply and exhaled, right into Troy's face. "Aren't you going to let a little old lady in?"
Getting over his shock, Troy said hurriedly, "Oh, yeah. Come on." He picked up her moss green suitcases and led her inside. Closing the door behind him, he said, "Uh Mom. Grandma's here."
"Funny, honey."
"No, seriously."
There was a clang of metal, as if his mother had dropped a pot, and a moment later she appeared in the hallway. "Ma?" she sputtered, shocked. "W-what are you --"
"Aren't you happy to see me?" Lila asked, her thick New York accent audible. She instinctively touched a hand to her hair and patted it. She took another drag from her cigarette and blew up at the ceiling this time. She caught sight of Chad, Jason, and Ryan staring at her, and hobbled slowly over to them. "Oh, you look like good little boys." Her cigarette dangling in her mouth, she reached into her purse and took out her wallet. "Here, have a nickel."
She handed five cents to each of them, and they all exchanged peculiar glances before chorusing, "Thanks, Mrs. --" but they all stopped.
"-- Schaeffer," she finished. She inhaled from her cigarette.
"Ma, please don't smoke in here," sighed Becca, still looking flustered. "But really, why are you here?"
"Wait, you didn't invite her?" asked Troy urgently, staring at his mom.
"Of course not!" she hissed back.
"I'm here to move in, of course!" said Lila, as if it were the most obvious explanation in the world.
The room fell silent, except for the bubbling of boiling water and the sound of Chad, Ryan, and Jason eating cookies, watching the events unfolding in front of them interestedly.
Suddenly, Becca started laughing.
"Wow, Ma, good one!" she laughed, and Troy soon joined in, followed by Chad, Ryan, and Jason.
Lila looked around, blinking slowly from behind her inch-thick glasses. "What's so funny?" she accused them. Chad, Ryan, Jason, and Troy immediately shut up, but Becca continued giggling.
"You can't be moving in here!" she chuckled. "Well, I mean, it'd be possible of course, it's not like there's any type of law keeping you from it. But," she continued, "you don't want to live here. What about Florida?"
"Those hacks?" sputtered Lila angrily. Ash was building on the tip of her cigarette, and she started waving it around haphazardly. "I still can't believe you would send your dear old mother to an assistant living home. After I pushed you out in a twenty-five hour labor!"
"Ma --"
"I schlepped you around all over Queens, walking you to the bus stop and back every day from school because your father wouldn't let me drive. Every other mother made their daughters walk themselves, but no, I walked with you, gave you my coat when you were cold. And this is how you repay me?"
Becca sighed. "Ma, that was me who gave you my coat when you were cold. And you didn't walk me to the bus stop, that was when I had to go with you to get the mail. And Daddy didn't let you drive because you totaled two cars in five months." She shook her head. "But anyway, you don't want to live here."
"Of course I do!" Lila waved her arms in emphasis, and the ash looked dangerously close to falling off. Chad, Jason, Ryan, and Troy started watching its movement, more interested in when it would fall than the conversation at hand. "Even though you ditched your religion when you moved out and married that gentile --"
"A what?" asked Ryan curiously.
"Non-Jew," Lila informed him. Becca rolled her eyes.
"Ma, you know that Jack isn't going to be happy about this."
Lila waved her hand, the ash collecting considerably. "I don't care about that schmuck." She glanced at her cigarette and noticed the long collection of ash. "Oy." She walked over to one of the boiling pots, opened the top, and flicked the ash inside.
"Ma! That's our dinner!" cried Becca, darting forward.
"Dinner?" repeated Lila, sniffing the air. "Oh, that's what's burning."
Troy nearly cried in relief when he heard a familiar voice calling his name in the den.
"Be right back!" he said instantly, running out of the kitchen, but not before his mother grabbed his arm.
"You better be coming right back," she growled, and he nodded. Leaving his friends behind, he nearly ran through the hall and burst into the den.
Gabriella and Taylor were in there, their hair freshly styled and clothes changed. "Where's Chad?" asked Taylor.
"In there," Troy pointed, and Taylor side-stepped him to get into the kitchen. As she walked away, Troy grabbed Gabriella's hands. "I want you to meet someone."
Gabriella quirked an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yeah." Troy took a deep breath. "And don't take anything she says personally."
Looking thoroughly confused, Gabriella said "Troy, what --" but before she could finish her sentence, Troy dragged her into the kitchen.
Taylor was standing next to Chad, watching Lila with raised eyebrows. Lila was currently stirring the pot she had just flicked her cigarette ashes into with a pair of tongs. "Rebecca, you should really take the meat out of the oven," she suggested, holding her cigarette in her other hand.
Becca glared at her mother. "Well you just ruined half of our dinner." She paused. "Okay, not half, because we still have the corn, and the bread, and the actual roast, but --"
"Gabriella!" cried Chad in greeting. "ella, ella."
Lila looked over at the new arrivals and saw Gabriella, clutching Troy's hands. She tossed the rest of her cigarette into the boiling pot – Becca frowned – and wobbled over to Gabriella. "Who are you?" she asked rudely.
Gabriella glanced fearfully at Troy and said, "I'm Gabriella Montez. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand, but Lila simply narrowed her eyes.
"Why are you holding my baby grandson's hand?"
Troy put his arm around Gabriella and pulled her close to him. "Gabriella's my girlfriend, Grandma." Gabriella attempted to smile.
Lila gasped. "But Troy, you're only eleven!"
"Seventeen," repeated Troy, but his grandmother was no longer listening.
She turned to Becca, who was attempting to salvage the rest of their dinner, and cried in indignation, "You're letting your little boy date already? What kind of mother are you?"
Becca glared. "Ma, Troy's seventeen. He's not a baby anymore." She glanced lovingly at Troy. "Although I still think of him as one."
"Yeah, I do too," agreed Chad, with Jason and Ryan nodding along with him. Troy sighed.
"How long until dinner?" snapped Lila to Becca.
"Twenty minutes," she responded. "Although the meal will be significantly smaller without our potatoes..."
"Who cares about potatoes," stated Lila, waving her hand. "What are you cooking, by the way?" she asked, motioning toward the oven.
"Pork roast."
Lila froze, staring at her daughter. She lifted her hand and pointed a shaking finger at the oven. "You're cooking a p-pork roast?"
Becca's face suddenly whitened, and her mouth dropped. "Uh – um, Ma, I – I --"
Troy glanced at Taylor, Chad, Jason, and Ryan. "You guys might wanna leave now," he advised.
They didn't need telling twice. The four of them scrambled past Troy and Gabriella toward the front door, and Ryan muttered, "What's going on?" as he passed.
"Pork isn't Kosher," Troy supplied, and after a few seconds, the sound of the door closing signified their leave. Troy glanced at Gabriella, who was watching Lila nervously.
She leaned over and muttered, in an accusatory tone, "You didn't tell me your grandmother would be here."
"Aw, not enjoying her enchanting personality?"
"Oy! My own daughter, serving her mother pig!" Lila cried dramatically. "That is traif, you know that, Rebecca!" She lit another cigarette and took a long drag, blowing it directly in her daughter's face. "I don't mind what you do when I'm not around, Rebecca, but how could you even think to serve traif when I'm here?" She shook her head.
Becca stared at her mother. "Ma, you showed up unannounced!"
"I called!" snapped Lila in defense.
Taken aback, Becca blinked in surprise. "You did?" She looked around at Troy, who shrugged.
"Yeah. Jack was talking over me the whole time though," she said darkly.
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, I called," she began with her thick New York accent, "and Jack answered. I was trying to tell him that I was going to move out here, but he just kept talking over me. I could barely get a word in!" she exclaimed.
Becca stared incredulously at her mother. "Ma, that was the answering machine."
"The what?"
The front door opened and Jack's voice boomed throughout the house as he entered. "Sorry, Bec, I was called in for a staff meeting at the school, and --"
He stopped dead as he walked into the kitchen, staring at his mother-in-law. His shocked expression darted back and forth from Becca, standing near the stove, to Lila, in the middle of the kitchen, to Troy and Gabriella, next to him, and to Lila again. He gaped at her, seemingly at a loss for words.
Finally, Lila scolded, "Is that any way to greet your mother-in-law?"
Jack snapped out of his reverie and walked awkwardly over to Lila. He was about twice her size, but he still looked uncomfortable as he bent down to kiss her cheek.
"Ouch!" yelped Lila, clutching the side of her face. "Be a little more gentle!"
Jack glanced helplessly at his wife. "So, Lila," he started nervously. "What are you doing here?"
"I told you on the phone!"
Jack furrowed his brow. "I never talked to you on the phone."
"I already told you, Ma, that was the answering machine," explained Becca again. Before another word could be said, she exclaimed, "How about we sit on down for dinner?"
"Hey man, how'd dinner go?" said Chad by way of greeting as he entered the den with Jason, Zeke, Sharpay, Ryan, and Taylor in tow later that night. Troy and Gabriella were cuddled on the couch, his arm around her shoulders, and watching Family Guy. The rest of their friends took seats around them and leaned forward interestedly.
Troy groaned. "It was --"
"-- horrible," Gabriella interrupted.
Nodding, Troy agreed, "Best word."
Chad snickered. "Give us the details, man."
"Well, my mom tried to delay telling my dad that my grandma had come to stay," he started, "but my dad was really impatient. He kinda hates my grandma so after about two minutes he was, like, demanding to know what was going on."
"And when Mrs. Bolton told him, he got really pissed. You could tell by his face," Gabriella continued. "It was the same look he had when you two got detention and missed basketball practice." She motioned to her boyfriend and Chad.
"So then he asked to talk to my mom in private, but it wasn't so much private because we could hear him yelling," said Troy, rolling his eyes. "He was saying that my grandma can't live here, and blah, blah, blah, and my mom said that they couldn't just kick her out. They pretty much just repeated those words for about ten minutes. But luckily, my grandma has faulty hearing so she didn't know what they were talking about."
"Yeah, she was kept occupied by trying to get me to eat because she thought I was too skinny." Gabriella rolled her eyes. "But then when I was eating, she said I --" She paused, glancing at Troy. "What was it, again?"
"She said you 'fress.'"
"Which means?"
"Eat like an animal."
Everyone in the room laughed, and Gabriella pouted. "That's when we came in here. Where we've been for the past hour."
Jason, who was sitting next to them, asked tentatively, "You guys didn't do it on here, did you?"
Troy stared at Jason. "Yes," he said in a monotone voice.
Jason jumped up and moved to sit on the ground instead.
There was a knock on the door. "Troy? Are you in there?"
Troy's eyes widened at the sound of his grandmother's voice. "Don't. Say. Anything," he whispered to everyone.
"Come in, Grandma!" called Sharpay anyway.
Everyone glared at her. "What the hell?" snapped Troy as the door opened.
"I'm sure she's not that bad," said Sharpay. Lila stepped into the den and looked around.
"What a hegdesch!" she said loudly. "Why don't your parents ever clean this place, Troy?"
Troy shrugged, and Lila caught notice of his friends. She glanced around at each and every one of them, scrutinizing each face for a few seconds before moving on. She looked at Sharpay and stated bluntly, "I don't know you."
Sharpay smiled graciously and stood up. "I'm Sharpay Evans."
"What a schnozzle you have!" cried Lila suddenly, striding over to her.
Troy snorted and turned his head to hide it in the crook of his arm. Sharpay glanced, perplexed, at Troy and then back at Lila, who was looking her up and down.
"You're a beautiful girl," she said approvingly, and Sharpay beamed. "Not too fat, not too skinny." She looked over her shoulder at Gabriella. "Unlike this one over here," she said quietly, unaware that everyone could hear her. "You should've seen her, stuffing food in her mouth like it was the end of the world. Oy!"
Gabriella glared at Lila's back.
"You know, I think you and my grandson would be perfect for each other!" Lila said excitedly.
Sharpay laughed. "Been down that road." Chad rolled his eyes.
"And Grandma, I have a girlfriend," said Troy. Lila looked back at him and Gabriella waved.
"Eh." Lila dismissed her and looked back at Sharpay. "Well, you would be so much better than that one." She sighed and dropped Sharpay's hands, walking out of the den and shutting the door behind her.
"Why doesn't she like me!?" Gabriella burst out angrily.
Sharpay smirked at her. "It's not hard to see why she would like me more, though, you have to admit."
"Troy, your grandmother is Jewish," stated Chad. "Why does she like Hitler so much?"
Glaring, Sharpay snapped, "Shut up." She plopped down on Zeke's lap, laying her head in his chest.
"Let's getta beer," suggested Chad, standing up and striding over to the bar.
"Oh, we can't," said Troy. "My dad did his monthly count of alcohol today, so we have about two weeks before he forgets what it was."
"Damnit."
"Ready to go, Gabriella?" asked Taylor from her position on the arm of Chad's chair.
"Sure." Gabriella planted a kiss on Troy's cheek before untangling herself from him and standing up, smoothing out her dress.
"Where are you going?" asked Troy.
"Oh, I'm sleeping over at Taylor's tonight," she explained.
Chad grinned. "Gonna have a sexy pillow fight?"
"You know it," said Gabriella. "That's what every girl does at a sleepover. Wear nothing but underwear and have pillow fights."
"That's hot," commented Jason.
Sharpay frowned. "You two are having a sleepover?"
Gabriella and Taylor nodded, and Sharpay pouted and looked down. Gabriella and Taylor glanced at each other. Taylor shook her head furiously and mouthed 'no!' repeatedly. Gabriella, however, sighed and said, "Do you wanna come, Sharpay?"
"Yay!" squealed Sharpay, jumping up and clapping her hands happily. "We're going to have to stop by my house first and get my stuff. On second thought," she added, "why don't we have the sleep over at my house? It's so much bigger, after all."
Taylor glared at her, and Sharpay got the hint.
"Fine! We'll go to your house." She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "It'll be like camping."
Taylor shifted her glare to Gabriella, and she shrugged helplessly. The two led Sharpay out, who was listing all the different facial and hair treatments she could perform on the two others to make them really "glow." As the door closed, Chad remarked, "Somehow, my longing to crash the party has been diminished."
Ryan made a face. "Mine too."
Troy nodded in agreement.
"Hey, Sharpay may be a bitch, but she's still hot!" Jason reasoned. "You can't deny that."
"I can," said Ryan.
"Yeah, I've had enough Sharpay this year to last me a long time," Troy said. "I'll be fine just fantasizing about what Gabriella does during slumber parties instead."
"I have no interest in spying on the Devil reincarnated, no matter how attractive she may – or may not – be." Chad shuddered.
"Do you really wanna insult my girlfriend like that while I'm in the room?" asked Zeke threateningly, crossing his arms.
They all stared blankly at Zeke, who's angered expression slowly faded to a frown as he realized his threat was empty.
"So who wants to play some pool?"
AN: I figured I'd say this now – I did base this story very loosely on That's '70s Show, mostly for them hanging out in Troy's den/Eric's basement on the show. Just in case anyone was wondering. So, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and please review with your honest thoughts!
UP NEXT:
Troy, Gabriella, Taylor, and Chad go on a double date, and Sharpay and Zeke explore a new aspect of their relationship.