CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: YOU DON'T KNOW ME

Troy took a seat across from his dad. His dad looked at him, unable to hide his anger and disappointment. Coach Bolton frowned at his son. "Troy, do you know how disappointed I am?"

Troy gulped. "I'm sorry, Dad. I should've told you I was missing practice."

"It's not just practice, Troy. You skipped out on a whole school day. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I had to help a friend out." Troy said quietly.

"Troy, why didn't you tell me you and Sharpay broke up?"

Troy looked at his dad with a surprised expression. "How'd you know about that?"

Coach Bolton chuckled for a second. "The faculty knows everything. I just didn't appreciate that I had to find out from Ms. Darbus that you weren't in homeroom due to an incident that involved Sharpay and Gabriella Montez."

"It's my fault that happened." Troy started. "I broke up with Sharpay on Saturday because I like someone else."

"Gabriella Montez?"

Troy nodded. "I feel awful because Gabriella and Sharpay are best friends. But I couldn't keep away from her and Gabriella feels the same way towards me."

Coach Bolton shook his head at Troy. "How can you give up your future like that?"

"What are you talking about?" Troy demanded.

"You're giving up your chance to play at U of A."

"And how's that?" Troy asked.

"You know Sharpay's father is on the Board of Directors at U of A. How do you think he's going to feel towards you knowing that you broke his daughter's heart?" Coach Bolton looked at Troy in disgust.

Troy felt like he'd been smacked. Was his dad serious? "Dad, are you listening to yourself? I don't need Mr. Evans to get me into U of A."

"Don't be silly, Troy. You are a shoo-in for a full scholarship according to Mr. Evans. Now, that could change because you dumped his daughter. Honestly, how could you be so careless? You should really consider getting back together with Sharpay before he finds out."

"What?" Troy exclaimed. "If U of A doesn't want me on my talents alone, then forget about them. I am not going to sell myself out just to get a pass. Besides, who I date is none of your business."

"You're damn right, it's my business. What you do reflects on the team, Troy. How do you think Jason or Chad are going to feel when you're no longer being considered for U of A. The three of you are being recruited together."

"You're being so ridiculous. Has U of A even shown that they lost interest? You're jumping to conclusions here. I've met Mr. Evans and he's not the kind of man to ruin a kid's chance at college. He'd never do something like that."

Coach Bolton was red in the face as he looked at his son. "I'm just looking out for you, okay? I just don't think you're being objective here. You're giving up everything for some girl you barely know."

"Dad," Troy began. "Gabriella is not just some girl. She's special. She's shown me that I can do anything I want. She listens to me and I find that very refreshing. And to be honest, U of A isn't the only school that's interested in me."

"What are you talking about?" Coach Bolton asked, his eyes blazing.

"Dad, I know you want me to go to U of A and carry on your legacy, but I'm looking at other schools." Troy told him.

Coach Bolton shook his head. "Over my dead body you're going to another school! You've been written down for U of A since you were born. I raised you as a Red Hawk fan. How can you just give your dream away?"

Troy winced as his father started raising his voice. Troy was not going to back down. "It's not my dream, Dad!" He shouted. "U of A is your dream! I'll go wherever I want to go! It's my future!"

Coach Bolton looked at his son in shock. He didn't even recognize the boy sitting across from him. His son would never yell back like that. "If I'm paying for your college education, you'll go where I want you to go. You're going to U of A Troy and that's final."

Troy could feel his anger start to boil. How dare he? He thought. His dad was being so unreasonable. "Then I'll find my own way of paying for college. I'm done with U of A."

Coach Bolton froze and looked at his son with annoyance. "Son, you better think long and hard about this. We'll continue this conversation tomorrow. You're dismissed."

Troy stood up and walked towards the door. Just as he was leaving his dad's office, he heard, "One more thing."

Troy turned towards his dad and frowned, "What?"

"You're grounded for the next two weeks. You will ride to school with me everyday and go to every practice. No car, no dates, and no internet. I'll let you keep your phone because you need it, but other than that, you're banned from everything else, including Gabriella Montez."

"That's not fair!" Troy argued. "Leave Gabriella out of this."

"I don't even want to hear that you defy another school rule because of her. As of right now, she's bad in my books." Coach Bolton said.

Troy glared at his dad. "You are so unreasonable, you know that? For once, can you just treat me like your son? And not your son that's a basketball star? Will you ever do that? I can't even talk to you right now." Troy left his dad's office and slammed the door behind him. He was seething with anger and felt like he was going to burst. He loved his dad but sometimes he acted like such a jerk.

Troy nearly collided with his mother as he made his way to his bedroom. "Sorry Mom," Troy said quietly.

Mrs. Bolton looked at her son with concern. "Troy, don't be mad at your dad. He loves you so much."

"No, he doesn't. He loves his basketball star son. He's being so unfair. Grounded for two weeks!" Troy whined to his mom.

Mrs. Bolton patted her son on the arm. "You know that whenever you and your dad get into arguments, I stay out of it. I'm not going to tell you that what you did was right or wrong, or if you deserved to get punished. You'll just have to serve your time and try harder, okay?"

Troy nodded. "I understand."

Mrs. Bolton kissed her son on the cheek. "You better get to your room and get some homework done. Dinner will be ready in 20 minutes."

"Okay, Mom," Troy said to her as he made his way to his bedroom. Once he was in his room, he took his cell phone out and called Gabriella. She picked up on the first ring. "Hey, it's me." He said softly as he took a seat on his bed and laid down.

"Hey there," Gabriella said cheerfully. "How's it going?"

Troy groaned. "I can't pick you up tomorrow. I'm grounded for the next two weeks."

"Oh no," Gabriella said sadly. "I feel awful. It's all my fault. If I hadn't left school, then you wouldn't be in this situation."

"Brie," Troy told her, "it's not your fault. I should've told my dad I was skipping school and practice. He's just upset, he'll get over it."

"I still feel really bad. Why couldn't I be a stronger person and just face up to Sharpay this morning? Why did I have to run off like a baby?" Gabriella lamented.

"Hey, stop beating yourself up about this. I may be grounded, but you and I are okay. We'll just have to wait until two weeks to have our next date. At least we get to see each other in school. And I'm sure I can convince my parents that we have to get together to work on our Family Living project. So they'll have to let us get together then." Troy told her.

Gabriella laughed. "That's right. Thank goodness we have TJ. Where is he by the way?"

Troy groaned. "I was so preoccupied this morning that I left TJ in the boys locker room. Hopefully he hasn't made a peep."

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed, unable to control her laugher. "We are going to get into so much trouble. This is considered neglect!"

"It's a doll. It'll be fine." Troy said.

"Whatever you say," Gabriella said. "So, what do you want to do about tomorrow?"

"I'll meet you outside the student parking lot at 7:15. We'll walk in together."

"Okay, sounds like a plan. I'll see you then." Gabriella said.

Troy smiled as he said, "Until then. Sweet dreams, Gabriella."

"You, too," Gabriella said quietly.

After they hung up, Troy laid on his bed staring at the ceiling. He could hear his stomach grumbling and wondered what his mom had made for dinner. He dreaded having to sit at the dinner table with his dad, but he'd have to if he wanted to eat. His parents refused to let him eat in his bedroom or the living room. It was important to his parents to eat together as a family.

He thought about Gabriella and the school day tomorrow. He was sure by now, the whole school had heard about Sharpay's confrontation. He didn't know what to expect. At least, he and Gabriella would walk into East High tomorrow a new couple. Even though he was grounded, Troy couldn't help but think that at least his senior year was getting off to a great start.

Gabriella was nervous as she pulled into the East High parking lot. She checked her watch. It was only 7:10, so she had a little time before meeting up with Troy. She hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before. She had taken a while to find the perfect outfit for today. She figured that if people were going to talk about her and point at her today, she'd at least look as put together as possible. She decided on a pair of dark jeans with a beige v-neck sweater that hugged her curves. She was wearing knee high brown suede boots. The boots gave her extra height. She let her dark curls fall loose around her shoulders. She got out of her jeep and grabbed her backpack and looked around for Troy.

She noticed the back of his head right away. He was standing with his back to her towards the entrance of the lot. She smiled as she made her way towards him. All of a sudden her path was blocked by a tall figure.

"Hey Gabriella," the tall figure said.

Gabriella looked up in surprise at Zeke. "Hi Zeke."

"So, how are you?" Zeke asked.

"I'm okay." Gabriella said, and then before she could lose her nerve, she continued. "Zeke, I'm really sorry about everything. I can't go out with you."

Zeke gave her a smile. "It's cool, Gabriella. I was going to break our date, too. I figured since you and Bolton like each other."

"I'm sorry if I led you on. I'm not that type of girl. But, you probably think I'm a horrible person for liking my best friend's ex." Gabriella told him.

"You're not a horrible person. It's just a sucky situation. Hopefully things will be better for you. And Sharpay." Zeke replied.

"We'll see. I know she hates me right now." Gabriella said dejectedly.

"I'm sure she's a mix of emotions right now. She's obviously hurt from her break up from Troy and then she learns her best friend and her ex like each other. I'm sure she wants to be happy for you, but it's an odd and uncomfortable situation for her. Just give it some time."

Gabriella gave Zeke a genuine smile. "Thanks Zeke. I hope that we can become better friends."

"I'd like that." Zeke said.

"You should consider playing basketball for the Wildcats. I'm sure they could use your talent. They're a pretty outstanding team already, but they could always use help." Gabriella said.

"I might actually consider that. Thanks. See you around." Zeke waved to her as he walked away. As soon as Zeke was out of her path, she resumed her way towards Troy. She came up behind him and gently cleared her throat.

Troy turned around and his smile brightened. Gabriella was absolutely stunning today. "Hey Brie," he said, giving her a hug. He breathed in her familiar scent of honey and vanilla. "You look beautiful," he whispered in her ear.

Gabriella noticed that other students were starting to notice their embrace. Ignore them, she told herself. She saw that some of the students smiled when they looked at them, others scowled. "So, you ready to do this?" Gabriella asked as they pulled away from each other.

Troy nodded. "I can't wait to show the whole school that you're my girl." He said taking Gabriella's hand in his.

Gabriella blushed. "I'm excited, too. So, how was the rest of your night?"

Troy shrugged. "Whatever. I told my dad I was considering other schools beside U of A and he freaked out."

"Oh no, I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for? You helped me realize that I can go to any school I want. U of A is my dad's dream." Troy told her.

"But Troy," Gabriella said, "I don't want your dad to hate me. He's going to think I'm the reason why you've decided to look elsewhere."

"Brie," Troy said, "I already told him you inspired me to see my future as something else. And that's a good thing."

"I just don't want to make a bad impression on your dad. I don't really know him."

"Hey, stop worrying, okay?" Troy wanted to change the subject. He didn't really want to tell Gabriella that his father wanted him to get back together with Sharpay. "Anyway, let's head towards the school. I see Chad and Jason by the entrance. Let's go talk to them."

They gave each other encouraging looks and made their way towards the entrance of the school. Gabriella felt safe as she held on to Troy's hand. As they neared Chad and Jason, Gabriella could see them both smiling widely at them.

"Look at you two," Chad called out. "So, this is for real then?"

Gabriella nodded. "It is."

Jason walked up to Troy and clapped him on the back. "We're happy for you. Now maybe Troy can focus on basketball again."

"Ha ha, very funny." Troy retorted.

"Dude, your dad was pissed off. How much trouble did you get?" Chad asked.

"Grounded for two weeks. No dates, no wheels, no internet. I'll be a prisoner in hell." Troy lamented.

"Two weeks isn't too bad. Before you know it, your punishment will be over." Jason said.

Just then a voice interrupted their conversation. "Jason Cross, can I talk to you, please?" They turned and noticed Martha beckoning to her boyfriend. Martha pretended like Gabriella and Troy weren't there.

Jason turned back to Gabriella and Troy and muttered, "Sorry guys, gotta go." Jason made his way towards his girlfriend and they weren't even out of ear shot when they heard Martha yelling at Jason for talking to Troy and Gabriella.

Troy shook his head and looked at Chad. "Is this how it's going to be?" Troy wanted to know.

Chad shrugged. "I don't know, man. It's weird, definitely weird. Sharpay has some serious followers and they're angry at you both. Lucky for me, I don't have to deal with anyone picking sides. Taylor's refusing to pick sides."

Gabriella smiled. "Really?"

Chad nodded. "She's freaked out that this happened, but at the same time she's not surprised either. I guess she always kind of thought you two should be together."

Gabriella felt at ease that at least she'd have an ally in this situation. It was obvious how Martha felt. She needed to find Taylor and talk to her at some point. She could sure use a friend. "Thanks for letting me know, Chad. I feel so alone out there."

Troy put an arm around her. "Hey, you got me. And Chad, right?"

Chad grinned. "I'm always here for you, Gabs."

Gabriella smiled. "I know that, but I feel alone without a girlfriend. I can't tell you boys everything, you know." She said with a laugh.

"We hear you." Troy said. He looked at the clock above the school doors. "We should get going. I better go retrieve TJ from the locker room. I'll walk to you to your locker." Troy and Gabriella said good-bye to Chad as they made their way inside the school doors. "You ready?" He whispered to her.

Gabriella hesitantly nodded. "Now or never, right?"

"Right." Troy said. They started walking down the first corridor. Gabriella braced herself for the menacing glares and scowls, but she was surprised to find that a lot of their classmates smiled at them. Sure, some of them whispered as soon as they walked by and some were shocked to see their bold statement, but other than that, most people seemed to accept their status as a couple. It made Gabriella feel good. Troy noticed as well and smiled at Gabriella. "See? We're old news by now."

"It looks like it. I almost feel okay." Then she froze as they neared her locker. Troy gasped at what he saw. Written across her locker in bright red lipstick was one word: BITCH. Gabriella felt like she's been slapped across the face. "Oh my God," she whispered, as tears started forming. "I can't believe this."

Troy put his arms around Gabriella. "Don't look at it, Brie. Let's go and find Mr. Matsui. This is uncalled for."

By now Gabriella was crying softly. She had never seen such a hurtful word in her life. The lipstick was obviously Sharpay's. It was one of her signature shades. I am in complete shock, Gabriella thought. How could Sharpay be this spiteful? She knew her friend was upset, but they had never called each other such names before. It was completely wrong.

As they neared the principal's office, Gabriella saw Sharpay standing by her locker. She made eye contact with her. Gabriella decided that it wasn't worth it to cry at Sharpay's childish and rude actions. She squared her shoulders and threw Sharpay a menacing glare. Sharpay noticed Troy's arms around Gabriella and her eyes darkened. She glared at Gabriella and rolled her eyes at her. Then Sharpay took a compact out and applied a shade of bright red lipstick across her lips; the very same shade of red was on Gabriella's locker.

Gabriella gasped and felt her anger surge. She couldn't believe how bold Sharpay was acting. Where is my best friend and what have you done to her? She thought to herself. She didn't know this side of Sharpay existed. Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand and squeezed it. "Ignore her," he muttered. "Let's go talk to Mr. Matsui."

Gabriella took one last look at Sharpay before entering the principal's office. Sharpay blew her a kiss and waved. Then she shut her locker door with alarming grace. Gabriella watched as she strutted her way to homeroom. Gabriella wasn't sure what scared her more – not having Sharpay as a friend or gaining Sharpay as an enemy. All she knew was that at that very moment, she wasn't going to let anything affect her newfound happiness.

A/N: The title of this chapter is called "You Don't Know Me" a song by Ben Folds.

I hope you liked the chapter. Please review. I appreciate it.