"Now that the class is all settled, we will begin learning about solving quadratic equations," Mrs. Samuels, the sophomore geometry teacher, stated to her rowdy class. They quieted themselves as she began to speak.

She promptly scribbled numbers and X's on the whiteboard with a red marker. "Donny Dion, why don't you start by explaining how to solve this problem," she suggested, still facing the board.

"Um…about that," he stated nervously. "I don't understand it myself, so I don't think I'd have the right answer."

"It doesn't matter whether or not it's right as long as you try." Once she had finished marking on the board, she turned to observe him. His eyes were blank. He didn't seem to have a clue as to what an equation even was. Mrs. Samuels rolled her eyes. "Just look at question number 5 of your homework, Mr. Dion."

"I didn't do my homework." The class erupted into a small fit of laughter as Mrs. Samuels sighed. They didn't pay her enough to deal with the consistent laziness of her students.

"Alright. Mr. Lacking, did you do your homework?"

Donny ignored the start of class as usual. He instead chose to daydream about earlier that morning when girls had surrounded him and Jimmie. He sighed. Why couldn't quadruple equations be as interesting as music or girls? When the image of himself scratching a record loudly in a hallway had faded, he switched his attention back to his teacher. Unfortunately, Joe Lacking had absolutely nothing interesting to contribute to Donny's lack of entertainment. Something moved back and forth in the corner of his eye. He glanced out the door to see Jimmie waving at him, gesturing for him to come outside.

Tiara Gold was confused among other things. Sharpay was definitely in homeroom that morning, but now she could not seem to find her. She was not in the auditorium, her English class, or at her locker. Where could she have wandered off to? Tiara continued to walk down an empty hallway, peering into each classroom she passed. Some of the students closest to the doors glanced back at her then returned their attention back to their learning.

She paused. Did she really want to go looking for Sharpay? Maybe she didn't really want to find her. This could be her one day of freedom, from Sharpay's yelling, shoving, and bossiness. In all honesty, she was not a mini-Sharpay wannabe clone like everyone thought she was. Tiara was an individual, a talented person, and a gifted worker. She just wanted to help people in whatever way she could. And Sharpay needed help, didn't she? Why else would she post a wanted notice for a personal assistant?

She huffed. "Outside of Sharpay, I don't have a real identity, do I," she asked herself.

For a moment, she just stood still, feet together, pondering if her superior would ever change. Maybe she should quit being Sharpay's assistant. It was her first year in America, and she already was failing at showing everyone her true self. Tagging along with the iciest senior in all of the school was not helping her reputation. Out of all the fun things she could be doing to build a foundation for herself at East High, she was sacrificing it to someone who wouldn't even be here next year.

The many thoughts that ran through her mind gave her a painful headache, so she pushed them to the side. "I'll just find her and talk to her, if she'll even try to listen," she thought. She kept walking until she reached an intersection in the hallway. Which way was her class again, right, left or ahead? "I guess I'll go straight." She began to walk when she heard the sound of laughter and the squeaking of shoes. She jerked her head to her left and caught a glimpse of two students she knew running somewhere.

Kelsie snatched her head from the left to the right, surveying her surroundings. She had to make sure no one was around. Sharpay's pink convertible could be an eyesore to any East High faculty members that may wander too close to their classroom windows. She was also scared of catching the attention of the security guards.

"Kelsie," Sharpay insisted. "We're not going to get into any trouble! We're freaking seniors for crying out loud! We have permission from the school to leave early if we want to."

Kelsie glared at her. "Not this early in the morning! First period has just begun. No senior just comes to school for homeroom!" She shook her head.

"Whatever," Sharpay replied rolling her eyes. She put her hands on her hips. "Just get in the car already. You're making it seem as if we're breaking into the car with the way you're crouching around it."

"Fine," Kelsie said, hoping into the back of Sharpay's car. The top cover was down. She lay down on her back, covering the whole backseat. "But I'm staying like this until we leave the parking lot. If you get caught, I wasn't here."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "You can't stay that way forever. When Donny get's here, you two have to share the back."

Kelsie looked at Sharpay, who was standing by the car at her feet. "Obviously."

Sharpay smiled. It seemed as if she was not the only person who was concerned about what other people thought, but Kelsie was different. She cared about what the school thought of her, what a goody-two shoes.

The student/teacher parking lot was across from the back of the school. There were multiple doors that led inside. Her eyes darted to and from each one of them to see which one Jimmie and Donny would come out of. She and Kelsie were waiting for Jimmie to rescue Donny from the boredom that was the average school day. She wished they would hurry up. She desperately wanted to get out of here, at least for today. Her seniorities was starting to kick in and it was only the third month of school.

One of the side doors to the school slammed open, making a loud banging noise that any of the nearby classrooms could have heard. Jimmie and Donny came running out of it in excitement and chuckles. Kelsie jumped up in a seated position and looked about her. " Oh no! We've been caught," she screeched. Her irregular breathing subsided when she noticed that it was only the sophomores and not the security guards. She lay back down and placed her hand on top of her heart. "That was close."

The boys reached the car, but suddenly stopped. They turned their attention from each other to Sharpay. Their eyes seem to pass by her in a weird way. "I didn't know she was coming," Jimmie said, pointing a finger in Sharpay's direction.

Sharpay raised one of her eyebrows. "Kelsie? Are you serious? She was there when I told you we were going to-."

"Not, her," Jimmie said, indicating with his whole hand to something behind Sharpay. She slowly turned around, scared to see who it might have been. There was nothing behind her except more cars and the green Albuquerque mountains.

She turned to face them again, but saw that their eyes were now on something next to her. She jumped to the side, startled by the girl who stood there. "Goodness, where did you come from?"

"I followed them," Tiara Gold informed, pointing at the boys. "May I ask where you are going? You are supposed to be in English class right now."

"Oh please, like I need to know the symbolism in British literature to know how to act," she snapped. "And don't nag me about school. Now isn't the time." She gestured toward the car, motioning for Jimmie and Donny to get in.

They called shotgun and rushed to the passenger seat at the same time. Jimmie glared at his best friend and cleared his throat. He kept bobbing his head in the opposite direction. "Oh, I see," Donny whispered and then attempted to get in the backseat. "Um, there's a girl in here," he said after looking down at Kelsie, who was looking back at him.

While Kelsie moved out of the way to let Donny have room, Sharpay walked around to the driver's side of the car. Tiara was left standing. She had now realized that they were all leaving school, probably unauthorized. She was a little hurt that Sharpay would just disappear without telling her anything. It was as if she didn't exist to her. She cared more for her dog then she did for actual people. She should have just gone to class.

Tiara walked away from the pink convertible towards the East High Building. Behind her, she could hear the engine of the car starting. She thought about how she was going to explain being this late to her teacher. She didn't have any late passes with her. She heard the car's tires slowly rolling backwards across the gravel. Maybe she could hide out in the auditorium. She could practice her lines for the senior play in there.

"Hello? I'd honk the horn, but Kelsie would freak if anyone heard us," Sharpay called. Tiara swiveled around to see that the car was right behind her. Everyone was watching her. "Come on, get in, Brit."

Jimmie tried to keep cool. He wanted to maintain a chic look to impress Sharpay with, but every inch of his mouth wanted to flash a smile so wide and bright that it would have hurt his face. Once again he was next to her. Her fragrance continued to intoxicate him. The wind blew her hair behind her in the type of way he'd only see in Pantene commercials. She had slipped huge black sunglasses on her face, covering her beautiful brown eyes. Today was going to be a great day, he knew it. He couldn't believe that he was going to spend the day with Sharpay Evans, for a second time.

He almost hadn't notice when she had parked the car in front of Chick Fil A. He was confused.

"You skipped school so that you could eat chicken," Kelsie gasped. "We're scheduled to have chicken during lunch on Friday. If only you were patient."

"Kels, please. This is so not about the chicken, although, their greasy chicken breading is to die for."

"Then what is this about," Jimmie asked.

"This is just the start of our day. We'll start with a nice breakfast, then-."

"Let me guess, go to the mall? We could have done all this on a Saturday, you know."

Sharpay squint her eyes at Kelsie through the rearview mirror. "I'll think of something. We can talk about it over food."

Everyone entered into the restaurant. Sharpay and Jimmie offered to order food, while the others claimed a table in the back corner. For a while, they stood in silence scanning the menu located above the heads of the service clerks. Jimmie tried to look cool and complacent as they waited in line, but worry was sinking its way into his thoughts. He may have been a goof off, but he certainly wasn't a skipper. Why did he let his liking to Sharpay influence him in such a way? Besides, wouldn't people notice that he, Donny, and Tiara appeared too young to not be in school this morning?

When they received their order, a full tray of chicken and waffle fries, they returned together to the back table where everyone else was waiting. Donny and Tiara were sitting on one side of the booth, while Kelsie was sitting across from them. Soon, Jimmie and Sharpay scooted in beside her.

Jimmie smiled to himself. Even if skipping school today basically had no point, he was really happy to be sitting next to Sharpay, he realized why he was so influenced by her presence. Still, he had to be careful to guard his heart.

"It's called a quadratic equation, not a quadruple equation," Kelsie remarked to Donny, who had just related the story of his boring math class to everyone at the table. Tiara and Jimmie laughed. Sharpay quietly sipped on her fruit soda through a straw, carefully watching the interaction.

"Hey, what does it matter? All I know is that it is boring. If you give the teacher the right answer then you will get more boring facts. If you give her the wrong answer, then you get corrected with more boring facts," he replied.

"Or yelled at," Jimmie added. Donny nodded his head in agreement.

Sharapy allowed her eyes to roam around the small restaurant. Her eyes passed from a middle aged couple, to a mother holding a little child, to a bored looking college student waiting to make his order. Then suddenly there was a man with black hair and thin glasses dressed in a suit.

Immediately she gasped and started chocking on her soda. She ducked under the table to hide herself. "Oh no!" The others were startled by her reaction, keeping their eyes on her.

"Is there something wrong," Kelsie asked, peering under the table to look at Sharpay's face.

"Yes! Look over there! It's Mr. Matsumishi, our principal!"

Kelsie quickly swirled around behind her to confirm the information. Her eyes popped open in surprise. It was true. He was standing in line on a cell phone, too invested in the moment to notice the teens that had just skipped school, fortunately hidden in the corner. "Duck, everyone," she squealed in panic. "I knew it. I knew it!"

Suddenly, everyone hid under the table, leaving only their food remaining on top. "Shoot," Sharpay cried. "Why isn't he at school? Shouldn't a principal be-I don't know-principaling?"

"The same rule applies here as it does with anyone at East High. School is too boring to be there all day, everyday," Donny said matter-of-factly. Kelsie hit him in his side with her elbow.

"This really does feel quite silly," Tiara commented.

Sharpay hushed them as the sounds of people approaching their table grew nosier. A pair of feet stopped short of the side of their table. A man with a cropped black beard, dressed in a red and white Chick-Fil-A uniform crouched down to view all of their faces. Not knowing what to do, they all smiled at him. "Hi," they all said.

He blinked at them a couple of times. "Do you realize that our playground is located in the other room?"

"We are not playing, sir, we are, um," Kelsie began, but did not know where to finish.

"Can you let us know when the last man in line leaves, then we will be on our merrily little way out of your hair," Sharpay smiled sweetly. He starred at her, looked up, then starred at her again.

"What man? All who were in line just recently have already left," he replied confused.

Sharpay curled around the edge of the table to see that a whole new line of people had formed. Her cheeks reddened. "Then I guess we'll be going now."

"See, we're fine. Stop worrying," Sharpay tried to consol Kelsie as she drove to another unmarked destination, at least, unmarked to everyone else.

"No it's not! Take me back. I want to return to school!" She folded her arms in protest.

"The only way you are getting out of this car is if you plan to jump out of the window!" Sharpay really wanted this special skip day to be something worth her while. Just when she began feeling comfortable around the others, allowing the tensions to sooth out of her muscles, panic comes. She was not going to give up now. Besides, she did not want to be left alone again. Watching Kelsie and Jimmie leave was how this excitement started.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Sharpay has a safer place envisioned," Tiara chimed in confidently.

"As a matter of fact, I do. You won't have to fret about anyone from school being there," Sharpay smiled, pressing her foot to the gas petal slightly and turning unto an upcoming highway.

One could try to imagine what the Evans mansion appeared like in person, but one would only be fooling themselves. True enough, her house was in an upper class gated neighborhood, surrounded with fresh trees and bushes, making one forget that it was situated in New Mexico. However, the house was much more beautiful than any stereotypical rich person's house.

Before the house laid a great garden, carefully designed, where a stone pathway led to the front porch. On either side of the pathway, huge rosy bushes were scattered about the lawn. The whole mansion was made partly of brick and partly of plaster. A huge veranda was positioned in front of the two storied home, with a swing attached. The driveway was behind the house, where the Evan's gated pool was located. Sharpay parked her car in this area.

The back of the house was just as extravagant as its front. The same rosy bushes that decorated the front yard were also spread apart in the back yard. The grass was a great fresh green that covered the ground like a carpet. A great beige gazebo sat about 30ft away from the sparkling pool.

"Wow," said Donny as everyone crawled out of Sharpay's pink convertible. Jimmie felt the same sentiment. He had never seen the Evan's household before either, unlike his female counterparts. Tiara had been to the house one or twice to assist Sharpay in cataloguing outfits for the first semester of school or to help in pre-party planning. Kelise had been to the mansion many times with Ryan as they spent time together, so she wasn't as surprised as the others. However, being here with Sharpay instead of her brother, now that was a surprise.

Sharpay unlocked the back door of her house and led her guests through long hallways, finally stopping in a partly wooden kitchen, which was adjacent to a dinning room on the left and mini-living room on the right. Inside the kitchen was a small open room set with a wooden table and six white chairs, where one could grab a quick bite to eat without having to sit in the fancy dinning room. The stove and the dishwasher were made of steel and heavily imbedded into the side of the wall, surrounded by wooden counters and draws on each side.

"Your house is beautiful," Jimmie said somewhat astonished. The kitchen reminded him a little of the inside of his own home.

Sharpay smiled, slightly embarrassed. "Thanks." On any other occasion the shocked and impressive looks on the faces of her guests would have brought her great satisfaction. She usually loved to be exalted above others and thought of as superior, rather than an unapproachable ice queen. However, that was not the case now. She found that the rich quality of her home might seem intimidating to her newfound friends.

"So what are we to do now," Kelsie asked.

Once again Sharpay had not thought that far. "Well, I was just thinking that we could hang out here," she suggested. Everyone's eyes became wide eyed. Hang out here? With Sharpay? In her huge mansion? It was almost too impressive a thought for their minds to comprehend. Jimmie's heart even skipped a beat.

"Well, that's a plan," Donny interjected, rubbing his hands together.

"We could bake something," Tiara offered, seeing as they were in a kitchen. She knew it would be easier to clean up any mess they made in a kitchen than in a living room. She wasn't sure that she could trust the cleanliness of boys yet.

"That sounds fun," Kelsie squealed with delight. The boys did not care. They were willing to do whatever as long as they could stay inside Sharpay's house. Sharpay tentatively agreed.

While Donny and Jimmie were rummaging through the kitchen cabinets, scavenging for whatever tool suited their needs, Sharpay starred down at the goopy mess inside the pink plastic bowl in front of her. The goopy material was lumpy and somewhat frigid. She really had no idea how to cook, nonetheless bake cookies. Tiara was behind her cleaning a baking sheet in the sink, while Kelsie stood across the counter from her reviewing a cook book Jimmie had found in the cabinet. Suddenly, she looked up.

"Just stir it Sharpay, be sure to get all the lumps out," she instructed.

She reluctantly did as she was told. "You know, I have never cooked before."

"That's okay, this day will not end until you have learned how to make cookies." She smiled mischievously and turned toward the two boys who were standing on the countertop behind her, looking through shelves for plates. "And that means all of you."

Donny groaned at the though of his masculinity shrinking. How would girls react to a guy who could bake desserts? Sharpay starred at Kelsie. "Do you cook?"

Kelsie's finger traced the words in the book, checking specific amounts of butter and cooking oil. "Of course I do. Sometimes my mother will do it, but every other night we take turns making dinner."

"Oh." Out of all the things that swirled through Sharpay's mind like rehearsing lines in a play, organizing her outfits, taking care of her little dog, cooking was not one of them. Someone else always took care of that daily task. Today she would have to share that task. She swiveled around to watch Tiara clean. Cleaning was also something she gladly did not ever think about doing.

"Are you sure you didn't see her," Ryan asked his fellow thespians, who were situated in the grand auditorium. They shook their heads. No one had seen Sharpay since earlier this morning. "Well, thanks anyway. See you later."

He had looked everywhere for Sharpay. He went to most of her classes, even though the day had not yet ended. It was now lunchtime. He trudged to the wildcat cafeteria in hopes of relaying his feelings to his treasured girlfriend, as well as to the rest of his friends. He had missed the incident with Troy when he ran out of the room to find out who was playing the guitar in the hallway. That was the last time he saw her. He knew that she had some classes with his friends that he did not share with them. They were his last resort.

He approached the usual table not far away from the wall of the cafeteria stairs. Troy was standing by Gabriella, she rubbed his back sympathetically. He noted that Kelsie was not with them. "What's wrong," he asked Troy automatically.

"I'm afraid I might have been a little harsh with Sharpay. I confessed to her that I basically did not have the feelings for her that she had for me," he replied. "And now everyone thinks that she might have skipped school." He sat down at a vacant seat next to Gabriella and put his head in his hands.

"You're being too hard on yourself. You didn't say this to her in a mean way, but the truth will hurt no matter how you say it," Gabriella soothed.

"I wish we would have never come up with that fake date scheme, it just hurt her more," he said.

"Well, you never know. Maybe Jimmie could take her mind off of you," Taylor replied, stuffing a spoonful of jello in her mouth.

Ryan sighed. He hoped that Sharpay would be home so that he could speak with her. No matter how much he tried, his advances did not change her isolated state, but his only solution was to keep on trying. She was his sister no matter what. She needed someone to depend on just like everyone else, but who could satisfy her standards? He doubted that even Jimmie could fulfill her heart's desire of love.

"Don't beat yourself up. She can never move on if you never set her straight," Ryan admitted. "If I know my sister, she will eventually bounce back to her normal self even if it takes a while. " Troy's heart began to ease at Ryan's words. He was her brother, so he must be right. Right?

"Unfortunately she just might bounce back meaner and icier than ever before, huh," asked Chad, who mostly ignored the conversation in favor of eating his French fries and chatting with Taylor. Everyone nodded in agreement. Little did they know, this was less and less likely to be true with each passing day.