Sweetest Devotion ||Troy Bolton||

Chapter Nine

Eventually, Sophie and a conflicted Troy said goodbye to each other and went their separate ways; Troy to a basketball practice during his free period and Sophie to class.

The more Troy thinks about singing on New Year's with Sophie, the more he is considering trying out for the school musical. Troy knows that even though Sophie won't say it, she wants to be in the school musical with Troy as her costar. Before he wouldn't have even thought about it, but now? Now, all he can think about is the complete happiness he felt singing on that stage, which confuses him. Like he was a different person that night.

So instead of feeling so torn up about solving the issue by himself, he decided to see how Chad felt about the musical during practice. Taking a deep breath, Troy walks over to where Chad is stretching.

"Dude you know that musical thing? Is it true you get extra credit just for auditioning?" Troy questions even though he knows the answer.

"Who cares?" Chad scoffs as he continues to stretch.

"It's always good to get extra credit," Troy smiles before grimacing as he finished with, "for college."

"Do you think Lebron James or Shaquille O'Neal tried out for their school musical?" Chad rebutted, laughing at the very idea.

"Maybe," Troy answered, not believing the words coming out of his mouth.

"Troy," Chad began, the look on his face screaming 'Are you stupid?', "The music in those shows isn't hip hop, okay-or rock, or anything even essential to culture. It's, like, show music. It's all costumes and makeup." Shuttering he says, "Oh, dude, it's frightening."

"Yeah, I know. I just thought it might be a good laugh," Troy lied, disappointed in the answer he got from his best friend. "Sharpay's kinda cute too," he said, regretting the words as soon as they came out of his mouth.

Knowing his friend didn't mean the Sharpay comment, Chad just laughed and said, "So is a mountain lion, but you don't pet it."

"Well, uh, I think Sophie is thinking about doing the musical," Troy said, knowing that Chad knew about Sophie's talent. It's not something she cares enough about to hide.

"Why would she want to do that," Chad laughed, shaking his head and walking away before he got an answer.

Letting out a huge sigh, Tony called, "Alright, Wildcats! Pair up!" Clapping he added, "Let's go! Come on!"

Starting to dribble the ball and complete a series of exercises, the Wildcats began their basketball practice led by Troy.

Coach said to fake right

And break left

Watch out for the pick

And keep an eye on defence

Gotta run the give and go

Take the ball to the hole

And don't be afraid

To shoot the outside "J"

Just keep ya head in the game

Just keep ya head in the game

And don't be afraid

To shoot the outside "J"

Just keep ya head in the game

After a small scrimmage team huddled up to listen to Troy's pep talk.

You gotta

Get'cha get'cha head in the game

We gotta

Get our, get our, get our, get our head in the game

(repeat 3x)

Troy then began the next drill of the practice.

Let's make sure

That we get the rebound

'Cause when we get it

Then the crowd will go wild

A second chance

Gotta grab it and go

Maybe this time

We'll hit the right notes

Troy accidentally showed his more musical side, prompting a couple players to give him confused looks. Shaking his head, Troy tried to get back to what he is known for being good at.

Wait a minute

It's not the time or place

Wait a minute

Get my head in the game

Wait a minute

Get my head in the game

Wait a minute

Wait a minute

After giving himself a mini pep-talk, Troy launches himself back into the practice, trying to forget the tug of war going on in his head.

I gotta

Get my, get my head in the game

You gotta

Get'cha, get'cha, get'cha, get'cha head in the game

(repeat 3x)

Why am I feeling so wrong

My head's in the game

But my heart's in the song

She makes this feel so right

"Should I go for it?" Troy asks himself, remembering singing with Sophie on that stage. Realizing what he is saying Troy answers his own question, "Better shake this, yikes!"

I gotta

Get my, get my head in the game

You gotta

Get'cha, get'cha, get'cha, get'cha head in the game

(repeat 4x)

After practice is over, the team runs out of the gym with Chad leading the traditional chant of 'Wildcats'. Troy turns to the basketball hoop and is the only one left in the gym. He shoots one more ball, hearing the 'swish' it makes before walking away. Troy walks to the locker room knowing that his mind still isn't made up, leaving the last basketball dribbling to a slow stop.