An Unexpected Twist (Open to all)

[Jimmie "Rocketman" Zara]

After spritzing himself with his new cologne, he slipped it into his pocket, gave a small smile and straighted his jacket. In his own mine, he looked absolutely amazing and with the cologne he knew that he would be able to impress Sharpay. Ever since Troy told him that she had a secret crush on him, he had been waiting for the perfect moment. The first time he had thought to approach her, Ms. Darbus had stopped him and told him that he was granted the role of the understudy. Although he still didn't understand what that meant, he was all game to go over to Sharpay and actually strike up a conversation.

Fixing his beanie, he nodded at his reflection in the mirror. "You look good, man," he said to himself, grinning from ear to ear now. Now he was ready to make his way over to her and say something to her. It didn't matter what he said as long as he said something to her. Jimmie was the type of guy to just say something and think about what he said later on.

Making his way across the stage, his hands in his pocket, he kept his eyes on the prize; Sharpay. The best thing about this was that he was suave enough to woo any lady he came into contact with. Even that other girl he had ran into on stage that one day, the one that always hung around Sharpay. He knew he had won her over somehow with his words and although that date had never happened - yet!- it would someday if he had anything to do with it. Of course, he had to be able to make a move on Sharpay first.

Once he was finally backstage, he came up behind Sharpay and had been about to say something when the other people arriving caught his attention. Everyone seemed to arrive in big groups or in pairs. Not that it was odd since him and Donny usually went everywhere together, even to lunch.

With a shrug, he ignored the group of people coming in and did a little slide to come up in front of Sharpay, a grin on his face. "Hey, I'm Rocketman," he said giving her a small wink and leaned back against the wall, watching her.

[Sharpay Evans]

It was the last day of rehearsals, the Monday after the prom, and Sharpay was more than ready to give it her very best this time. This musical, as much as it doesn't matter much to her anymore much as it has before, would determine their future, her and Ryan's future, whether in Juilliard or not. This was how important this is. And even though she really was not worried much anymore, Juilliard was still their dream together, and it would be amazing if they get those scholarship. She was still sure that they would have to take them both as twins, after all, they've been through a lot of productions together and worked so much better as partners, she has even mentioned him a lot in her application. Plus, for her, Juilliard wouldn't be the same if they won't go there together.

As they arrived at the theater, Sharpay gave Ryan a wink, knowing that they would have to keep their siblings roles up, meaning they would have to be separated throughout the rehearsals. She gave his hand a quick squeeze before entering through the backstage dramatically, her hand on her hip as she looked around. "The star has arrived, now we can start," she announced, as she walked right through the stage, a beaming smile on her face as she looked at all the people around her. Her eyes were actually searching for one particular person, the one she was supposed to work with, but apparently he was still missing.

"Where's Troy?" she asked with her eyebrow raised, looking at that little guy she had remembered from that day they broke into their rehearsals in just their towels. But before she got her answer, a weird new scent had suddenly reached her nose, making her want to sneeze. As she turned her face to that direction, she had to jump back because this person, the other boy in the towel that day that she can remember, was suddenly in front of her.

"Ewww," she ignored the introduction, she didn't even listen, pinching her nose as she stepped away from him, looking for Ms. Darbus so they can finally start, and she could finally avoid this weird guy with the weird scent.

[Jimmie "Rocketman" Zara]

It was quite amusing to watch everyone turn to either look at Sharpay when she entered the auditorium or completely ignore her. The way the people worked in this school made him wonder sometimes, but he ignored most of them since they were upper class men. He had his sights focused on Sharpay herself or Troy. The only reason he really looked up to Troy was the fact that the boy had something that he just couldn't pinpoint. It was probably some sort of pizazz or what have you that made him the most popular guy in school. Of course, he was also the captain of the basketball team and Jimmie was always amazed at how much the school respected someone in that position. It was almost like he was King of the school, perhaps he was. And Jimmie idolized him like everyone else, maybe a bit more then the others.

Now with Sharpay, he just thought she was really fine. From the day he had gotten stopped in the hallway by the teacher and she didn't get in trouble, one look at her and he forgot what he was complaining about. It was his fault though that he was late all the time, he just had to talk to Troy, convince him to give his Jersey and locker to him. It's proven more difficult then anything else.

And here was Sharpay in all her glory and she was wondering where Troy was. It was odd that he hadn't seen Troy anywhere around today. He just thought that he was going to arrive late to practice, which he could understand because it was the last and final day of rehearsals. The play was literally just around the corner and everyone was excited with nervous energy. Jimmie was actually just hanging back and watching it all. Why he was still hanging around was pretty obvious.

He shrugged, not really knowing how to answer her when she asked about Troy. It was more like he was focused on more important things and that included the girl standing near him. Stepping to the side, he gave her his usual grin; a mix of relaxed, friendly and flirty. "He's probably waiting for someone to go get him," he finally said, pushing himself off the wall and stepped to the side to stand in front of her now.

At her 'ew', he simply didn't hear it. He was bracing himself for this moment with her, taking a deep breath in, his smile still in place so he wasn't paying attention to anything else but his own thoughts. When he saw her look somewhere else, he assumed she was looking for Troy. "You won't find him out there. Lucky for you, you got something better right here."

[Sharpay Evans]

Sharpay was starting to get irritated, up to that moment, no one still knew where Troy Bolton was. Ugh. The nerve of that guy, now he's the one playing VIP? And this weird skater dude-looking guy was not helping either. She ignored him once again with a wave of her hand and went over to center stage, taking her place. "You know what, forget it, let's just start without Troy...after all, the theater waits for no one. Right, Ms. Darbus?" she commanded, nodding and smiling at Ms. Darbus as she quoted their drama teacher's original line.

Sharpay took a deep breath and went towards the side of the stage again in hopes of losing this guy-slash-dog who seemed to be following her, but when she took a glance behind her, she rolled her eyes as she saw that he was in fact still following her, walking in that fresh manner. Ugh. Where's Tiara when I need her? She once again rolled her eyes at his lame attempt to flirt with her. This was the last thing she needed on the final day of rehearsals of all days.

"Okay, first of all...why are you talking to me?" She demanded as she turned to face him again, pinching her nose in disgust as that terrible scent he was wearing reached her nose once again. "I'm sure you know me, but I don't know you. And I'm sure you know that I'm a busy person, and I don't just talk to anybody unless you are important, which obviously you aren't, so...tootles!" And with a fake smile on her face, she wheeled around and went over to the seats, taking her place near Ms. Darbus. She looked around for any signs of Troy, or even Tiara, she needed her badly right now. But her eyes stopped when it landed on Ryan, who was talking to Kelsi at that moment. She couldn't help but feel jealous as she watch her little reactions as they talk, she obviously likes Ryan. She can't blame the little composer though...even she fell for Ryan. Her jealous thoughts only stopped as she was reminded about the night of the prom, and all that had happened after that, her lips forming a wide smile that she had to suppress.

[Jimmie "Rocketman" Zara]

This Sharpay was very very persistent and Jimmie liked it. When she ignored him this time for saying that the show must go on, he nodded, acting like he knew what she was talking about. As long as he had been hanging around everyone, he still wasn't sure why everyone was so interested in the show going on, but he just sat back and took it. And apparently Sharpay was in a hurry to rehearse with Troy Bolton. "If Troy doesn't show up I don't mind rehearsing with you," he said to her, a goofy grin now on his face in place of the smile that was once there. He didn't know that being Troy's understudy meant that what he said was actually right.

He honestly would have been completely wounded if he knew that she wasn't going far. And if she actually knew him, she'd know that he was a very important person. He scored the final points in the Championship game and they won because of him. Therefor, he was an 'important' person so to speak. Jimmie had been about to say something, too, when she turned and walked away. With a push from his buddy Donny, he followed after her, thinking slightly that maybe she was acting with him.

Grabbing a seat behind her, he sat down on the edge of the chair and leaned his chin on his hands that he folded on the seat in front of him. "You got it all wrong, babe," he muttered, looking over at her once more. "I am an important person. Who do you think scored the winning points in the basketball game? It wasn't Troy Bolton. Troy actually threw the ball to me." He was getting excited now, remembering that night and how Troy threw him the ball. At first, he had been shocked, but eventually threw the ball, making it in at the last second. Then later on at the party, fantastic.

"Weren't you there?" It was a stupid question and he knew it, but he actually didn't think before speaking. It was a major downfall.

[Sharpay Evans]

Sharpay thought she had been safe, since she could not see the weird guy anymore, and was about to breathe out a sigh of relief that was until she smelled that scent again, and this time she could not even take it anymore, she let out a sneeze, pulling her pink handkerchief quickly from her skirt's pocket to cover her nose. The smile that was on her face had quickly disappeared. "Look, I don't care if you think you're a part of the show, because personally, I don't think we need you, and I don't really want to rehearse that number with you of all people." She said without looking at him, just keeping her eyes straight at the stage, watching as the guys started rehearsing their basketball number. "Troy would not miss this show," she said, partly because she wanted to convince herself more. Because if Troy misses the show, then she would be stuck with...ugh.

As this guy continued talking, Sharpay wanted to just cover her ears, or just to listen to anything that would drown out this guy's annoying voice, but as she looked at her purse, she realized she had left her iPod with Ryan and the Wildcats rehearsing on the stage weren't loud enough. She just started rubbing her temples as she shook her head gently. "I wasn't there, obviously," she answered, still not facing him, her other hand still covering her nose. "And I don't care about some stupid basketball game. Why would I enjoy watching a bunch of sweaty guys throw a stupid ball around. Eww," she rolled her eyes as if the answer was obvious enough. To her, it was.

"And why am I even explaining myself to you? It's none of your and anyone's business. Obviously," she shook her head again before standing up and transferring to another seat, hoping that this time it was really over. She just wanted to rehearse for one last time and go home and spend more time with Ryan, just relaxing. Her eyes went over to her boyfriend again, hoping to catch his gaze. Now if only Troy Bolton would arrive soon, they could get done with this day soon. She even had no idea where he was and apparently no one knew as well. Tiara was missing too, lately she has been doing that. Once she had found out she was going to play her original role, Tiara had started to disappear a lot from her sight. What is she up to? She shrugged her shoulders, deciding that she doesn't even care. She just needed to get done with this.

[Kelsi Nielsen]

Kelsi was by the piano, chatting animatedly with Ryan, who was the choreographer of the musical, and well, co-director, if you put it that way. Right now, they were talking about finalizing the opening number of the spring musical, to now which they've agreed on singing a duet.

Kelsi and Ryan have been spending a rather large amount of time together as of late, because of the demands of the spring musical, which was to be staged in a few days from now. But as their conversations started from working on the songs and dances, it gradually ventured into other, more personal things, and well, as both members of the Drama Club, it wasn't surprising that they shared a lot of common interests. But still, for Kelsi, it was great that they connected.

"So you're saying, we're singing the first part of the song?" Kelsi asked one more time, even if she clearly knew the answer. She just liked hearing Ryan talk and explain things. It made him seem smarter than this Sharpay lapdog he's made out to be in the past. Kelsi grinned at her partner, unaware that she's been staring at him for almost 5 minutes. To clear her head a little, she glanced around. She thought she saw Sharpay staring at her direction--her and Ryan's direction, but then quickly dismissed it. All Kelsi knew was she was enjoying every minute with Ryan....a lot.

[Jimmie "Rocketman" Zara]

Jimmie was slightly disappointed that his flirting style wasn't going noticed by Sharpay. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that she disliked him or something, but he shook that thought off simply because he knew that no one could resist the Rocketman. Not even that other cute little blonde girl that just happened to follow Sharpay around. If he was smart enough he would have talked to her and ask her out. Maybe that would have made Sharpay jealous. Too bad he didn't actually think of that was trying to catch something that obviously didn't want to be caught.

And yet he kept trying, wanting her to eventually give in to him. He was hoping that one day he would be like Troy in that sense; be absolutely irresistible. Before he could say anything at all to her, she got up and moved over again. He didn't want to rehearse with you, he didn't even know what that word meant, but he would love it if he got to work with her.

Moving over a few seats away, he leaned back and threw his feet up on the seat ahead of him and grinned over at Sharpay. "Well, if you want to talk to anyone, I'll be sitting right here, babe," he said, winking at the back of her head.

[Bebe Tenko]

Bebe groaned. What an idiot.

She'd been watching Jimmie Zara for quite some time. After all, she was Drama's set designer, and the only person she really interacted with was Sharpay, seeing as Sharpay always wanted something changed. ("That staircase is too red", "the tree needs more leaves", etc.) And since Jimmie followed Sharpay like Sena Kobayakawa followed football (she laughed at her private anime joke), she had come into contact with the irritating child.

And boy was he irritating. Bebe wanted to shoot him with her staple gun. But she wouldn't, even though most people expected her to be violent at the drop of a hat. Everyone knew she was the daughter of Japanese gangsters, and, despite all her efforts, Bebe was still shunned by most of East High. At Lava Springs, people had been more open, but as soon as school started, everyone faded away again.

Typical high schoolers.

Bebe went back to painting a picket fence black, for some artsy student's interpretive dance on modern marriage. Bebe didn't get it either.

[Sharpay Evans]

Sharpay just decided that this time, she was just going to ignore this skater dude freak, either way, it seemed like he wouldn't stop talking to her anyway. She could at least just save her voice for more important matters, like singing with the still MIA Troy Bolton for instance. It was starting to get frustrating...for someone bold enough to apply for Juilliard, this guy surely doesn't know professionalism. But Sharpay knew that all of these thoughts were just because she was starting to get nervous about the show, Juilliard, and their future for that matter...what with graduation just a few days away. "God, I need to breathe," she muttered to herself. She closed her eyes and counted down to ten and breathed in, like she always used to try and calm down.

As she slowly opened her eyes again, Sharpay finally felt slightly relaxed and her head was much clearer. This time, she thought, she wouldn't wait for Troy anymore. He can just come whenever he wanted to, she would just have to make the best of her last performance at East High. And at least she has Ryan to rehearse with. After all, her boyfriend is the choreographer, that would surely make this rehearsal more fun. She grinned as she took a glance at them again. Kelsi surely looked like she was having so much fun there...but when she suddenly caught her eye, she quickly looked away and just started to scan the stage again, checking each and every set and making sure they look perfect, they have to be perfect. It would be their last musical in East High, it should leave a legacy.

"Bebe?" she suddenly said out loud as she suddenly saw the pinkish hair of East High's most known Japanese girl. She hadn't seen her for a long time. Over the summer, Sharpay and Bebe had come into contact for the first time, during that one slumber party she had hosted. They had actually became friends until the start of school year...and then Sharpay got preoccupied by wanting her future to be perfect again that she forgot about friends, and even Ryan. She shook her head at how stupid that was, she lost a lot only because she was too worried about her future. And Bebe was such a good friend...maybe a little odd for her taste, but still a very good friend. She looked at her with a small smile on her lips, hoping to catch her eye, to at least let her know she still remembers her.

[Allison Nicolette Stone]

Allison walked in in a pair of jeans with paint splotches and an old too big t-shirt with the same splotches. She was on cast yes, and she was a pretty big part, she had a name, a few songs, and enough lines to be called a lead, but while she was not on stage she always found it relaxing to help with sets. She had more tech friends than cast friends for many reasons. the cast people were so clickey, and she was far too open, she loved to pain and was pretty good, and she was strong enough to carry the set pieces with any of the guys. She normally just talked to her friends and helped them before she went on, but they all seemed to have their jobs covered today. She had been quickly instructed to talk to the set designer for the first time in her crew career.

Allison looked for the described designer that sounded extremely like the girl she had talked to a prom. She scowered the stage and found Bebe in paint cloths. She quickly smiled and walked over. "Hey need any help? I've got a while before I'm called up to start in rehearsal." she offered as if she'd talked to the girl a thousand times before. She was energetic but not annoyingly so and looked very different from the dance. Her hair had a slightly wave to it and she almost looked like a boy with a girl's face with the baggy cloths she had on and her hair pulled back to the point it was almost invisible behind her long neck.

Allison tried to block out the other people in the room and concentrate on Ms. Darbus and the crew, but that proved to be problematic. Sharpay was insulting some slightly attractive boy that was trying for her. For some unknown reason Sharpay was one of the most sought after people in school, yes she was pretty but her personality was a complete turn off unless you knew her REALLY well. Of course men never seemed to care for anything other than a pretty face and a nice rack. It was hard to tryst straight men, they had no taste. The only exception to that was Ryan, who really didn't count to Alis because he seemed extremely gay. She had even though he had gone after Chad for a while, but gave up on that notion. He was just too nice to be straight.

[Ryan Evans]

Ryan frowned slightly over at Kelsi from his spot next to her on the piano bench, the look of consternation furrowing his brow slightly. "Yes," he started again slowly, wondering if the pianist was slowly going deaf or was suffering some hearing loss. "you and I, we..." He said gesturing between them slowly as he spoke. "will be singing the start of the medley." He finished, the look of exasperation brimming under the surface as he felt like he was repeating himself again for the third time now. Ever since prom working with Kelsi had been awkward, it was like she hadn't even noticed that he had run out on her on their prom night, which was odd enough give the way he made his grand exit. In fact, he'd been avoiding eye contact with Kelsi just in case she was harboring some ill will towards him and was waiting for the moment to strike.

He stood slowly from the piano bench and started muttering to himself nonsensically before turning back to Kelsi again. "I'll run through it one more time," he said as he held up one finger to her, hoping that visual cues would aid him in some way in communicating with her. "you're going to start the song off by yourself," He instructed as he ran his hands over the piano keys, the chord progression adding to the jumble of noise. He took his eyes off the keys for a second, looking at Kelsi to see some type of acknowledgment before continuing. "And then I'm going to join you," he continued as he hopped up on the piano top, his feet dangling off the side awkwardly. "And then the band is going to kick into the basketball number," Ryan nodded to himself as he spoke, calculating each move he had gone over in his head. "Got it?" he asked Kelsi, hoping this time it had sunk in and that he wouldn't have to attempt this again.

As Ryan hopped off the piano, he grimaced slightly from the slight stings of pain still left in his body. He stretched out his arms in front of him slowly, trying to loosen his muscles as he set back down beside Kelsi. Letting out a sigh it seemed as if everything really was falling into place, and not just the musical he thought as a smile crossed his face. He let out a long drawn breath as he started looking around the chaos, not able to take in all the happenings at once. It was only when his eyes fell on Sharpay that his posture stiffened for a moment, a sheepish grin crossing his face as he looked at her. It was only after he noticed the look of disdain on her face that his eyebrows furrowed questioningly at her. "Ummm, hey Kelsi," breaking the silence again. "I think my sister needs me, will you be okay running this through by yourself for now?" He asked, turning to Kelsi, hopeful that either he could politely make an escape or that he could just walk away unnoticed again like on their prom night.

[Bebe Tenko]

Bebe looked up. Sharpay. Wow, it had been a while since Sharpay had given Bebe the time of day. As usual, Sharpay was immaculate. Bebe was not - a ripped up Watchmen tee, from when the graphic novel was just a graphic novel and not a pop culture zeitgeist; a purple belt; torn-up pinstriped Dickies; paint-splotched shoes. The perfect outfit for painting a house meant to go in the back of the big Troy-and-Gabriella-love-each-other song. Although, personally, she'd heard Zara sing Troy's part much funnier. It was almost charming.

But then again, it was Zara. He found a way to make himself irritating as sin again in no time at all.

"Hey, Shar -"

But then another cat-call reached Bebe's ears. It was Allison, the girl she'd met at Prom, wearing an outfit much like Bebe's. Bebe basically flipped her body around to greet both girls at the same time.

"Hey Alis-kun, hey Sharpay-sama," Bebe said with a smile. Man, she probably looked utterly ridiculous. She gestured to the house for Sharpay. "Does this house look all right? I was thinking tan was a safe color, and it matches the green house that Bolton-san and Gabi-san will be singing on."

Bebe then turned to Allison. "Alis-kun, if you could grab the white paint, I'll start working on the windowframes with you."

Bebe then stopped. "This is ridiculous. I can't carry on two conversations at once. How are you both doing?"

Bebe noticed Ryan walking over. Great, throw a freaking party, why don't you? Bebe had never been on very great terms with Ryan after freshman year, when the two had played Romeo and Juliet in a showcase - at least, until Sharpay intervened. He and Bebe had accidentally kissed, and Bebe hadn't really forgiven him for taking her first kiss. Then there was Jacob, that horrid cheater who ended up married to her own sister. Then Chad came along and took another kiss that she regretted...

Bebe sighed. Love sucks.

"I think we're almost done with sets. Just need to finish the back of Ryan's staircase for the 'I Want It All' number, then the windowframes," Bebe commented absentmindedly.

[Sharpay Evans]

Sharpay nodded at Bebe, pointing towards the balcony set. "Actually, I'm gonna be the one singing with Troy, and that's good enough for me. Could you add more glitters though? That will be fabulous," she smiled at her again and gave her a thumbs up. As soon as another girl whom she recognized as another drama club member talked to Bebe, Sharpay just gave her a nod before turning her eyes away from them again, which was very timely because at that moment, she suddenly felt a set of familiar eyes on her...the blue ones she loved so much to look at. She turned her eyes to meet Ryan's, and upon seeing his grin, she couldn't fight the likewise sheepish grin that formed on her lips. She had to hold back though, since not everyone knew what happened between them, and they'd just look suspicious if someone caught them. So she bit on her lip and gave him the smallest of winks.

As soon as she saw the questioning look on his face, Sharpay just shook her head, not really wanting Ryan to be worried. She knew it was just her nerves that was making her restless and irritable, and this Troy wannabe understudy was not helping at all, what with his lame flirting style and all. The longer she was looking at him though, all the more she wanted him to be close. She watched as he started making an excuse to Kelsi, keeping her grin hidden behind her hand.

You're good, Ry.

Sharpay stood up again and transferred to a seat farther than anyone else, just in case Ryan goes to her so they could at least be far away from other students again. She watched Kelsi and Ryan once again, amused at how obvious the smaller girl was being and how oblivious Ryan was, always so adorable even when he doesn't know it. Sharpay almost felt bad for Kelsi because of that...almost.

[Bebe Tenko]

More glitter. Bebe should've known.

"Huh. Okay. I can do that," Bebe responded, but before she knew it, Sharpay was off to talk to Ryan. Bebe rolled her eyes, a playful smile on her face. Sharpay was trying to be friendlier. She had changed quite a bit - but if one thing hadn't changed, it was her need to boss Ryan around. Bebe turned back to Allison, grabbing a large bucket of silver glitter paint.

"Guess we'll be needing this," Bebe murmured. "Alis-kun, how long do you think you'll be here? I'm going to need you for about two hours, so if you're gonna leave sooner, I'll need a heads-up."

And now that Bebe thought about it, she also needed a third person to help her. Ryan and Sharpay were out. So was Kelsi - after a mishap last year with some blue satin paint, Kelsi banned herself from helping with stage crew. The only other person left was... Zara. Sigh.

Bebe put the paint down and pried the lid open. "Sorry, Alis-kun, but I'm gonna have to call Zara over. We can't do all the painting by ourselves." The fact that Zara had no suffix on his name was telling; Bebe hated him enough to ignore Japanese naming conventions completely. She looked up.

"Hey. Zara. Get over here," she yelled. "Stage crew needs you."