Timmy's Hidden Talent

Ch 9: Breaking Free, Snap Shot 1

The next day, Gabriella opened her locker and a note fell out. She picked it up and read it quickly, than looked at a yellow door at the end of the hall. She was a little confused – and very intrigued. She opened the door and found a staircase that led to the roof. As she opened the door and stepped out into the beautiful, sunny day, she saw Troy sitting on a chair. He was surrounded by lush planets, all being grown as hydroponic experiments.

Trixie asked, "Wow. So this is your private hideout?"

Timmy answered, "Thanks to the Science Club. This means my buddies don't even know it exists."

Trixie responded, "Looks to me that everyone on campus wants to be your friend."

Timmy commented, "Unless we lose."

Trixie changed the subject and said, "I'm sure it's tricky being the coach's son."

Timmy explained, "It makes me practice a little harder, I guess. I don't know what he'll say when he hears about the singing thing."

Trixie asked, "You worried?"

She was surprised. Troy seemed so cool, so confident. Not the type to worry. Ever. But Troy nodded.

Timmy explained, "My parents' friends are always saying, "You're son's the basketball guy. You must be so...proud." Sometimes I don't want to be the basketball guy. I just want to be...a guy."

Gabriella smiled with understanding. He didn't want to be the basketball guys any more than she wanted to be the genius girl. They were both so much more than that...

Trixie asked, "I saw the way you treated Kelsi at the audition. Do your friends know THAT guy?"

Timmy stated, "To them, I'm the playmaker dude."

Trixie responded, "Then they don't know enough about you, Troy." Gabriella paused, and then decided it was time to share a confession of her own. Trixie confessed, "At my other schools, I was the freaky math girl. Its cool coming here and being...anyone I want to be. When I was singing with you, I just felt like...a girl."

Timmy teased, "You even looked like one too."

She laughed, glad to have the seriousness of the moment lighten up a bit.

Trixie stated, "Remember in kindergarten, you'd meet a kid, know nothing about them, and then ten seconds later were best friends because you didn't have to be anything but yourself?"

Timmy responded, wistful, "Yeah..."

Trixie told him, sincerely, "Singing with you felt like that."

Timmy confessed, "I never thought about singing. That's for sure. Until you."

Trixie asked, "So you really want to do the callbacks?"

He thought about it for a moment as he looked at her. Really looked at her. Then he smiled.

He answered, "Hey. Just call me freaky callback boy."

She smiled a glowing smile of pure happiness. She stated, "You're a cool guy, Troy. But not for the reasons your friends think." He looked down, a little embarrassed, and she moved on quickly. She added, "Thanks for showing me your top secret hiding place. Like kindergarten."

Then the bell rang, breaking the mood between them and making them realize they was late. Sighing in frustration, they intertwined hands as they stood up and sprinted down the stairs, not wanting to be any later for class. And that meant detention.

...

The next day, Kelsi sat alone at the piano, playing with passion and energy. No one else was in the room. Just Kelsi and her music. Exactly the way she liked it. Troy sat in the stairwell, practicing his audition song.