The Day The World Stopped Chapter 1: I Wish I Could Forget, a high school musical fanfic

A/N: This is my first fanfic, so be gentle. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Now for the standard disclaimers: I don't own High School Musical…if I did, it wouldn't be appropriate for Disney;). I'm a poor college graduate who still has to pay for a Masters Degree so, in a nutshell, PLEASE don't sue me. Ok, since that's out of the way here are a few things important to understanding the story.

1. This is a reflective story, meaning that some of it is written in the present but most of it will be told as a flashback. When it gets to be time for the flashback, I'll put a so you all know. The story will be told from Troy's point of view unless otherwise noted. All of his thoughts will be in italics.

2. For the sake of the story, let's assume that Albuquerque and the East Coast are in the same time zone. It's the only way I could get the story to work.

Thanks for reading this hideously long author's note. And now…on to the story.

The Day the World Stopped

September 11, 2006

I woke to find sunshine streaming through my window and sighed inwardly. Normally I loved the sunny days of early fall in Albuquerque; they were great for playing a late afternoon game of Horse with the guys or watching an early-season football game with my Dad. But not today. This day was not worthy of sunshine, and as far as I was concerned, this date would never be worthy of it again. Mother Nature must not have gotten the memo that only rain would be appropriate for today, if for no other reason than to match the tears that would undoubtedly be falling from my eyes all day.

I blinked and closed my eyes in a desperate attempt to return to the slumber I had been enjoying before the sunlight made its presence known. After all, if I slept all day I wouldn't have to think; if I didn't have to think I wouldn't have to remember. Remember the day I became a single parent at the age of 18; the day I lost the thing that mattered most in my life next to my daughter. The day I lost my best friend, my love…my Gabriella.

Today was September 11th and it was the five year anniversary of the day my life changed…the day my world stopped.

Realizing that my attempts at sleep were futile, I got out of bed and quickly dressed in my favorite Diesel jeans and a comfortable t-shirt, a nice change of pace from the dress shirt and pants I normally wore to work. I was in my first year as a science teacher and assistant basketball coach at East High. I loved my job, but there would be no work for me today. Ever since that fateful Tuesday this day had become one of remembrance and reflection for my little girl and me. I took off work or skipped class and kept her home from school every year so that we could be together and remember Gabriella without having to face the choruses of "I'm so sorry" or "Are you OK?" that we knew would come if we went about our normal routine. And, in spite of the pain, I always tried to make this day fun for us; I didn't want it to be overtaken by sadness. That's not what Gabi would have wanted.

After I finished getting ready for the day I tiptoed softly down the hall to the room where my daughter slept. Standing in the doorway I watched her sleep, one arm laying protectively over Spot, the giant stuffed dog that had been a constant sleeping companion ever since Uncle Chad had won him for her at a carnival a few years ago. My precious Kaidrie Grace. She was eight now, but as I stood there in the doorway, my mind wandered back to the day she was born.

A/N (again, sorry): So...this was intended to be a oneshot but now I think it would work better if I split it into a few chapters. Since I've decided to do that, I will put a mini-synopsis of the previous chapter at the beginning of each new one so nobody gets confused. That's a wrap on Chapter 1. Reviews would be great! Thanks!