I'm Just Dancing

Glances

Chad POV

I can't believe I didn't know Ryan's parents owned Lava Springs. I catch his eyes for just a second before Sharpay hits the water and pulls my attention away. I feel like I shouldn't be here, but I really need the money.

I don't see Ryan again until I am unfortunate enough to get the duty of waiting on the Evans' table. Yet again I catch his eye for only a second before he sends his attention somewhere else. He seems so small and uncomfortable, moving food around his plate. I want to be able to say I don't know what the feeling that gives me is. I can't, though, I know it all too well. The stomach flip followed by relief and sadness. I try my best to focus on my job, but I keep glancing at him, begging him to look up at me again. He doesn't, and by the end of the meal he is staring at the table as Sharpay stage whispers to him. Something I'm sure I don't want to know.

Then it's back to silence, until Troy and I are called to caddy. "Forty dollars a bag." Fulton deadpans after tossing clothes at us, "you've been requested."

"Requested?" Troy asks. "By who?"

"Dude who cares? For forty bucks I'd caddy for Godzilla." I laugh but I am really not kidding.

We know what we are getting into before we make it to the course. No else would have requested us...well Troy mostly I'm sure.

"Hey boys!" Sharpay coos, "Troy I thought it was time for you to meet my parents." I break away from nodding at Ryan to shoot Troy a warning glance. This is weird even for Sharpay, also there is only one parent here. Without meaning to sound too rude it is easy to see where Sharpay gets her... appetite. Mrs. Evans shakes our hands and Ryan looks like he wants to crawl out of his skin.

I lean in to ask if he's okay but he just nods and stays quiet. I hear the whirring before I feel the wind.

"Whoa." Troy says. Whoa is right, a shiny fire engine red helicopter lands on the course. That's Mr. Evans, Ryan's dad. Despite seeing their house and knowing now that he owns Lava Springs, seeing him fly in on a helicopter made some pieces fall into place. I am in awe at the concept of that much money.

Mr. Evans walks up, gives Sharpay a big hug and a kiss and calls her princess. This makes total sense, I would have been more surprised if Sharpay weren't his princess. Then he puts one hand on Ryan's shoulder and addresses him as simply "Son."

"You've been working out," He says.

"Yoga," Ryan replies.

Mr. Evans reaches for Ryan's hat pulls it forward and says, "Bring that around." Ryan immediately pulls his hat back to wear it where he's comfortable, crooked. It's small but the message is clear even to me. And suddenly a bunch of other stuff makes sense too. The awkward dinners I bussed, the life consuming defense of the drama club.

All in all the experience isn't as painful as it could be. I mean sure, Sharpay is completely transparent in her touchy feely attempts to get to Troy, but it's a little bit fun to get this peek into the Evans family dynamic.

Ryan seems close with his mom which is good since his dad keeps reminding him to "straighten up." I don't think I could bear to watch if I thought he didn't like either of them, and as a self admitted mama's boy I think he made the right choice.

"Knees, hips, shoulders, hat," Every time Ryan plasters on a smile. For someone with as much theatre training as him, you'd think it would be harder to tell when he is faking it.

Mrs. Evans runs "backboard" which is just cheating to make sure Ryan's ball goes in but it's cute and it's a family game not a competition so who cares about rules?

Sharpay has been pulling troy into the golf cart for the last couple holes and I'll admit it's starting to wear on me.

"I'm saving up for a car," I mutter to myself before hearing the clank of clubs behind me. Sharpay's ploy has left Ryan behind to carry his dad's bag.

I wait for him to catch up a little, then, "Hey."

"Hey! He smiles, much more real this time than the others today.

"Sorry Sharpay yanked Troy away before he could grab those. Do you want me to carry them?" It's a weak offer but I'm not sure what to say. Can you tell someone standing in front of you that you miss them? Like he doesn't have his own stuff to deal with?

He bumps my side, "what Danforth you think I can't carry some clubs?"

"Not can't," I laugh, I'd be stupid to still think he wasn't physically capable after seeing him haul sets around, "just thought maybe you wouldn't want to."

"There's lots of stuff I don't want to be doing right now, these clubs are the least of my worries," He laughs and it sounds tense but I can't ask anything more because we are at the hole.

Things go back to silence and glances.

-------------------------------------------------------

This summer sucks, the work isn't even the half of it. Troy has become an absolute jerk, and I get it I guess he needs a scholarship, it just feels like he is willingly walking directly in Sharpay's claws. He seems to be the only one of us that isn't miserable and half of us are this way because of him.

I heard through Taylor that he's been skipping dates with Gabi and that just isn't like him, or at least I really believed it wasn't.

But he just ditched a game with us to go show off at U of A, and maybe I'd do the same in his shoes (his brand new italian leather shoes) but I like to think I'd at least name drop my friends.

At least I have the staff baseball game to blow off some steam. There are a lot of staff members whose faces I don't recognize and I take the time while getting changed into uniform to try and get to know some of them. They all seem really cool and a few of us exchange numbers. It's probably good to make friends outside of school but a part of my brain wonders if I'd be this sociable if Troy were here.

I can't get this in my own head. Sure this game is just for fun, but it's still a game and intend to win. We have just broken into teams when Gabi and Taylor show up. I wave to them before I see him.

Ryan Evans dressed head to toe in crisp clean white Even for Ryan it feels like a lot, like a costume designer trying to make a point about the goodness of a character. And he intends to play ball.