Just A Click Away

Double Identity

"C'mon guys!" The coach blew his whistle vociferously. "I know you guys don't think these plays are that difficult!"

Gabriella walked cautiously into the gym, sneaking into a seat high up on the bleachers. The boys seemed genuinely tired out, groaning as they had to perform the set once again. Troy had mentioned something on the phone about the coach working them to the brink of death, but Gabriella had thought that he was just exaggerating, as most lazy college boys would.

It had been four days since the incident where Troy had brought her to lunch. The test – in which the preparation for had sealed their friendship – they had taken the previous day. The scores had come in and Gabriella wanted to check with Troy to see how he had done.

She set her backpack down, placing her elbows on her knees and propping her head in her cupped hands. She observed the game intently, wondering what exactly appealed to Troy about the sport. It seemed to her that it just was one big frustration sprinkled with sweat.

Gross, Gabriella thought to herself, inwardly cringing on the mental feel of sticky sweat.

Back on the court, Troy kept getting antsy with excitement. He was impatiently awaiting to tell Gabriella that he has passed the test with flying colors, and he just couldn't wait to see her face light up. She had this face that she made where the corners of her mouth shyly crooked upward while her nose crinkled ever so slightly...

Focus, Troy shook his head deliberately, trying to hear the coach's never-ending stream of critique on the team's overall lack of effort for the day.

The two had both been in a hurry after class the past few days, so Troy hadn't gotten the chance to say much to her since their study session. His mind was still elsewhere during the drills, which was probably half of the reason why the coach was so irritated at that point.

The inter-team game picked up once more, leaving Troy to start his way down the court with the ball. He started from mid-court, playing and replaying the order of plays in his head. His mental picture was all set up – there was the numbered circle '14', where he was supposed to move. Then, Chad's little circle was to the left.

Faking right – just as mapped out – Troy passed the ball back to Chad. In his split-second turn, he noticed that this wasn't quite a private practice. The gleaming wood bleachers were long stretches of empty space... Well, all except for one small occupied space.

In the back corner of the rows was a familiar brunette, watching the game awkwardly. He locked eyes with her, feeling his heart rate speed up. Reality came crashing back to him when he nearly tripped over his foot. He had stopped, returning the gaze intently.

"Troy! Quit daydreaming and play the game!" His coach called from across the court. Troy shook his head clear of thoughts, passing the ball back to Chad. He pulled in air to his lungs, realizing that he had almost forgotten to breathe.

He made side-glances at Gabriella all throughout practice, wondering what exactly possessed her to show up like that.

He wasn't angry with her; on the contrary, he was happy to see her, but it was still strange to see Gabriella Montez – the 'sports are a waste of time' Gabriella Montez – trying to get into basketball when he knew that she had no idea what the game was about.

To finish out practice, the usual 'coach pep-talk' was done, along with the schedule for next season. While it was still months away, their coach wanted them to be completely ready for the upcoming season. Troy, however, still couldn't fully concentrate. Maybe because it was flattering to him that she had taken time out of her schedule to come watch him. Or it might just be bothering him that he hadn't discussed their new friendship with his friends.