Timmy's Hidden Talent

Ch 11: Start of Something New, Chorus

Over the next few days, Gabriella and Troy became more and more depressed. Gabriella thought Troy had dumped her. Troy thought Gabriella had dumped him. And, even though their friends tried to cheer them up, nothing worked. One day, the basketball team was dressed in their P.E. outfits and practicing basketball on the outside court by the cross country track. The others tried to get Troy to join them. But he ignored them and went to jog on the track instead, moving steadily away from his friends.

...

That evening, Troy shot baskets alone in his backyard. He missed a few baskets and threw the ball against the fence frustrated. He collapsed onto the grass holding his head, still frustrated over what happened between him and Gabriella. His father was watching from the back door worried. He knew that something was going on with him. He also knew it wasn't the right time to try to find out what it was.

...

At the Montez house, Gabriella walked onto the balcony. She was also upset over what went down between her and Troy. She was trying to stop tears from escaping while she stared at the sunset.

...

The next day, Gabriella and Troy happened to pass each other in the cafeteria. They glanced at each other...then defused the awkward moment by moving on without saying a word. Gabriella sat at her table and stared at her food depressed. Troy ignored his friends telling him to come sit with them. He headed to the rooftop garden. Chad and Taylor saw the exchange from opposite ends of the room and nodded. They'd seen enough. They could see the effect of what they'd done, and they knew that they'd screwed up, big time. Now they had to try to fix it...

..

Troy was sitting by himself at the edge of the balcony on the roof. He hadn't bothered to touch his lunch yet. Just then, Chad, Zeke and Jason appeared looking apologetic.

A.J. told him, "Hey. We just had another team meeting."

Troy tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice. He said, "Oh. Wonderful."

But had failed. A.J. started to say, "We had a meeting about how we haven't been acting like a team. I mean us, not you. Look, the singing thing..."

Timmy snapped, "I don't want to talk about it."

A.J. told him, "We just want you to know that we're going to be there...cheering for you."

Timmy asked, surprised, "Huh?"

Chester answered, "Yeah, Cap. If singing is something you want to do, we should be boosting you up, not tearing you down."

A.J. added, "Win or lose, we're teammates. That's what it's all about." He lightly punches Troy's arm and adds, "Even if you turn out to be the worst singer in the world."

Tad added, "Which we don't know, because we haven't actually heard you sing."

Troy sighed. It was great to finally have support from his buddies, but it didn't mean anything anymore.

Timmy pointed out, "And you're not going to hear me sing, guys. Because Gabriella won't even talk to me. And I don't know why."

Chad, Zeke and Jason exchanged uneasy glances. Troy might not want to be friends with them anymore when he finds out the truth. But it's better than hiding what happened.

A.J. stated, "We do."

Troy looked at them shocked. How could they know what really caused Gabriella to suddenly dump him. Zeke pulled a bag of cookies from his backpack and handed them to Troy.

Chester stated, "I baked these fresh today. You might want to try one before we tell you the rest."

...