#ALSO KELSI GOT HER JOB AS A PIANIST AT THE CLUB

[charlotties]

i just watched sharpay's fab adventure and im in LOVE, peyton is EXACTLY what sharpay deserves, and im glad she FINALLY got a happy ending!

as a resident sharpay stan since the ripe age of 5, im really happy with how much shes achieved since she graduated high school, a leading role IN NYC?? love.

if only everyone in hsm could see her now UGHHH

also i rewatched hsm 2 and finally watched hsm 3 and can i just say i hate kelsi so much. AND so many of these kids are just ungrateful?? they complained about the manager at the country club saying hes terrifying?? i have never met a more well mannered manager in my LIFE. fucking wish i had that type of manager at MY first job.

also YOU ALL WANTED JOBS??? WHY'RE ARE YOU COMPLAINING?? YOURE WORKING AT A COUNTRY CLUB WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS?????????? AND ITS YOUR FIRST JOB?????

also taylor in hsm 2 was really stoking the fire cause first she tells gabriella that these weird rules her sister told her aboutig dating and then later on lies to gabriella saying troy asked for sharpays opinion on his new shoes. not to mention for some reason no one sees troys new position as an golf assistant as a good thing? bitch he has some sort of power now, FUCKING help your friends out to get into higher positions!! you have sharpay who will LITERALLY do your bidding.

not even talking about how much troy did change when put in a position with more freedom and power like thats all on him, how're are you NOT gonna help chad out????????????????? hes LITERALLY always talking about U of A and you just DON'T TELL THE BIG WIGS ABOUT HIM?????? thats on you bitch NOT sharpay.

[kismetconstellations]

From here:

“Sharpay Evans was the real victim of the hsm movies. In the first movie she just wanted to sing in that musical Ms. Darbus was doing and then Troy and Gabriella stole her role and they didn't even do a good job because bitch got paralyzed and couldn't start singing. In the second movie she just wanted to perform in HER (she literally owned the place) summer camp/spa/thing and yet Troy and Gabriella stole the show, AGAIN. They literally told her she was going to sing and then changed the fucking song so Gabriella could sing with Troy and then left her out of the show that she, single handedly, planned for the entire summer. And finally in the third movie that fucking little blond bitch sharpay wannabe stole her fucking role??? AGAIN???? Like Sharpay Evans loved performing more than anyone in that freakin' school and she never got the chance to be the protagonist and also didn't even get to the college she wanted to go.”

Let’s break this down point by point, shall we? As it appears OP, and many others who buy into this “theory” wholesale, were wearing blinders while watching these movies. 

1. In the first movie, the entire plot revolved around kids realizing that they don’t have to adhere to hobbies and interests pertaining to their specific cliques. Sharpay is a theater kid/performer, which is all well and good, but her winning the lead in the winter musical, instead of the “status quo-defying” Troy and Gabriella, would have undercut the main theme of the film. 

Troy “The Basketball Guy” Bolton and Gabriella “Freaky Genius Girl” Montez needed to win the leads for the message that it’s “okay to be someone other than who the world wants you to be”, to be driven home. 

Also, unlike Ryan, who was actually justifiably afraid of the jocks “conquer[ing] the entire student body”, Sharpay’s desire to keep Gabriella, in particular, from winning the lead in the winter musical stemmed entirely from a place of selfishness. She didn’t want to have to share a dressing room when she had “already picked out the colors” for it. And, her reign over the theater department entailed intimidating Kelsi, who penned all of the musical selections for the show, into not offering “direction, suggestion, or commentary” when Sharpay had her rehearsal pianist alter Kelsi’s selections as Sharpay deemed fit. 

Is it wrong that Sharpay (and Ryan) lost the leads to two less practiced performers purely because said less practiced performers were able to draw in a large crowd to watch their audition? Sure. But, no one “stole” anything from Sharpay, and she is still an antagonistic figure rather than an innocent “victim”. 

2. In the second film, Sharpay uses her position of power over Troy as his employers’ daughter to manipulate and essentially blackmail him into promising to sing with her, because she’s decided that she wants him for a trophy boyfriend. She says, “But, you will sing some other time, though. With me”, spurring Mr. and Mrs. Evans to give Troy pointed looks that pressure him into agreeing to these terms. 

Then, Sharpay pulls the rug out from under Ryan, who wanted to perform in the Lava Springs talent show and win the coveted Star Dazzle Award every bit as much as Sharpay did-

- effectively stabbing him in the back by unceremoniously booting him out of his own act in the show and electing to steal a piece Kelsi had written expressly for Troy and Gabriella to perform with Troy. She brushes Ryan’s justified anger and feelings of betrayal off, and demands Kelsi to, once again, alter her artistic vision and “transpose” the song into Sharpay’s key. 

After this, Sharpay discovers that Ryan has choreographed an act for the Wildcats and orders Mr. Fulton to issue a ban on employee participation in the show, because she cannot handle the idea of having actual competition. 

As a result, Ryan, when presented with the opportunity to get revenge on his sister, who screwed him over twice, ensures that Sharpay cannot perform by convincing Troy to do the show, only to switch “You Are The Music In Me” with “Everyday”, a song Sharpay never learned. Troy and Gabriella had nothing to do with this. 

In fact, Troy, despite Sharpay sexually harassing him just about every other time she interacted with him in this film, brings Sharpay up onto the stage during the show, so she isn’t left out. 

Once more, Sharpay was openly antagonistic, particularly toward her own brother, sexually harassed Troy repeatedly, and made life hell for a group of employees at her family’s country club. Thus, she was absolutely not a “victim”. 

3. In the third movie, Sharpay did, indeed want to win that scholarship to Juilliard, and, according to her, “Kelsi always writes her best songs for Troy and Gabriella”. When Ryan fails to seduce these pieces out of Kelsi as Sharpay ordered him to, Sharpay decides to become Gabriella’s understudy in the senior year spring musical to ensure that she gets to perform one of Kelsi’s “best songs”. 

When Gabriella is “unavailable” for the show, due to her relocating to California to accept her admission into Stanford University’s Freshman Honors Program, which is exactly what Sharpay wanted, Sharpay takes on Gabriella’s role, as understudies do, and Ms. Darbus directs “that fucking little blond bitch Sharpay wannabe” to take on Sharpay’s previous role. 

“Sharpay, you will do Gabriella’s duet with Troy. Tiara, are you ready to step in for Sharpay?”

Sharpay was totally okay with this, even suggesting that Kelsi would help Tiara fill her “sparkling shoes”. 

Once again, no one “stole” anything from Sharpay. Tiara playing Sharpay in the show only became an issue for Sharpay when Sharpay failed to conduct herself in a professional manner when Troy’s understudy, Jimmie “Rocketman” Zara came out to perform with her, instead of Troy, himself. Sharpay blew her own shot at the Juilliard scholarship by breaking one of the oldest rules in the acting book- staying in character no matter what- and then coming out to fight another performer (the “little blond bitch Sharpay wannabe”) onstage. She presented herself as childish and immature, and thus, unfit for such a prestigious performing arts school. 

Sharpay was less antagonistic in this outing, only forcing Ryan to do her bidding and being particularly callous with Troy in the name of manipulating him into convincing Gabriella to leave for Stanford, but still not a “victim”. 

In short, the only things Sharpay Evans is a “victim” of, are questionable parenting and her own hubris. 

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

Questions for High School Musical II Continued

The above image is, of course, Gabriella in the midst of her somewhat commendable tirade against Sharpay for banning Employee involvement in the Talent Show. 

I continue with my questions about this movie. 

On Wildcat ingratitude

1- Perhaps Troy didn’t give all his friends a full rundown of the jobs available for the Wildcats upon Mr. Fulton agreeing to hire them all, but one would have thought they would be delighted to get summer employment. And so they are, until Mr. Fulton informed them of the “perspiration” that would be involved. Stop the world! This is awful, according to the Wildcats, as they burst into enraged song. 

Forgive me for asking, but doesn’t a job involve... work?

2-. Chad, who believes that working as a waiter and being a caddy is worse than detention with Ms Darbus, is suddenly reformed from his misery when he discovers the financial perks of being a caddy. No doubt Troy had a hand in recommending Chad for this position, just as he did for everyone else. In fact, Chad is so pleased about his good fortune, that he plans to save for a car, just like he said. But Chad, jealous and bitter of Troy’s success, blows a fuse over said success and never apologizes for doing so. But throughout, I assume that his role as a caddy would have earned him tips over and above his waiter duty. 

Precisely what did Chad lose throughout his stint at Lava Springs? Didn’t he get a decent deal?

3- I struggle to understand Zeke’s rising annoyance with Troy. Firstly, I thought they always got on well. Secondly, Troy is responsible for securing Zeke a role in the kitchen that would expose his cooking skills to a wider (and more sophisticated) audience. He said, “I’m hoping that Chef Michael will teach me the art of Austrian flake pastry”. Signed, sealed, delivered courtesy of Troy’s recommendation of Zeke’s cooking skills to Mr. Fulton. (Remember that everything Mr. Fulton said to each character in the kitchen was based upon information he had received from Troy). Not long after, Zeke mockingly calls Troy “LeBron” and claims Troy “bailed” on his friends with regards to the Staff Baseball game, and then dumps an omelette in Troy’s plate with a glare during the famous Silent Treatment scene. Of course, as soon as Troy “apologizes” (I use brackets out of contempt for the motivation behind his apology), Zeke is all smiles again, joking that “because show-business is our entire life, right?”. Ah. So it didn’t really matter whether you missed out on the Talent Show or not, because you were actually there to work and earn money for college. 

What gives?

3- I have already mentioned Taylor’s behaviour throughout. We know that Troy told Mr. Fulton that she was efficient. As a sign of that, she was given the very important role of managing all events and keeping an eye on the children on the course. This role would demonstrate her organizational and management skills, which would look great on her resumé. She was entrusted with large events, she was clearly popular with the visitors/members (the cute scene where all those kids say hi to her before she slams into Mr. Fulton is evidence of this), no one complained about her work, she got her own golf-cart and she must have received a decent salary for such high responsibility. So her angry face upon receiving the clipboard astounds me. 

Was Troy wrong for getting Taylor the job? I thought she was struggling to find work? Where’s the gratitude?

4- I can’t take credit for this next one (this comes from BoltonEvans), but Kelsi’s complaints to Troy are perhaps the most ludicrous and mystical. Ingratitude one can expect from the other Wildcats. And though I have forgiven Kelsi for this, given that she does not turn her back on Troy much later, AND gets Chad to forgive Troy, I can’t gloss over her actions during the first scene with Mr. Fulton. The only thing Kelsi lost was her chocolate mousse. Otherwise, she was hired-- by Sharpay, no less. The same Sharpay who had bossed her around beforehand, and now offered her a job with no questions asked. Don’t you think that an exclusive country club could have had its pick from any more experienced pianist with more than one high school musical under their belt? 

Precisely what was the justification for Kelsi’s complaint? She was being hired to do what she did best: WRITE and PLAY music! Didn’t she say she was going to spend her holidays writing music? Mr. Fulton said she had to play to entertain guests, a way of exposing her musicianship to a wide array of sophisticated guests. What about this was unsatisfactory for her, and why was it Troy’s fault?

EDIT: The most important question, which I forgot last night:

5- Why was it Troy’s fault that Sharpay banned Employee involvement in the Talent Show? WHY? I can’t bear to watch this scene, except for Kelsi’s refusal to turn her back (literally) on Troy. This is infuriating. What did Troy have to gain by colluding with Sharpay? Nothing. He didn’t do anything. Why would he want to ruin his own friend’s chances of performing in the show? WHY DID THEY GIVE HIM THE SILENT TREATMENT FOR SOMETHING HE DIDN’T DO?!

On Gabriella’s behaviour

A recurring theme in the movies is that everything is Troy’s fault. Can any criticisms be made of Gabriella’s own behaviour?

1- All of the dates throughout the entire movie series were set up by Troy. Not once does Gabriella set up a date for Troy during the movie, although I assume that since Troy has had Mrs. Montez’s brownies, she will have arranged for Troy to meet her mother. Still, you don’t see Gabriella climbing trees to bring Troy a picnic of his favourite foods, or thinking of any other little considerate thing to do on his behalf. This continues through to the third movie, where she enjoys his tree house, gets free rides in his battered truck and pizza delivered straight to her room. 

Would it have killed her to make an effort now and again?

2- When Troy is worrying over his future, Gabriella insists that they must think about the present. Of course, one can sympathize with the lack of stability in Gabriella’s life: the constant moving around, the lack of a father figure (never explained, thanks to Barsocchini) and her alienation from other students thanks to her intelligence. All understandable. In practice, her dialogue about wanting to stay in one place over the summer is fine. But it comes right after Troy has just confided very deep worries to her. Instead of actually engaging with the comment he made and answering his specific point, she turns the conversation to her. This might seem minor, but she actually does this again in the third movie at least twice. Listen to what Troy says, pretend to understand and then turn the conversation back to herself. Obviously if Troy is worried about finance for college, then he can’t just “focus on right now”. That is not to say that chronic worrying is a good thing, and Troy definitely might have anxiety/self-esteem issues (thanks, Gabriella), but he is also mature and practical when it comes to his future. 

This is one of the reasons that I find Troy and Gabriella’s conversations to be intolerably dull. Foolishly, I had entertained high hopes for the third movie when I first saw it; high hopes that were crushed within the first fifteen minutes. I can be fair and assume that they may have discussed other things than musicals, Gabriella, college, Gabriella and more Gabriella. But somehow I can’t picture it. Their communication problems (none of which are Troy’s fault) are glaring throughout the second movie. 

Why does Gabriella show such a lack of interest, even approaching impatience with Troy’s concerns, but then blame him when they have a(nother) communication breakdown?

3- In quite possibly one of the most upsetting parts of the movie, Gabriella cuts Troy down for having forgotten the Staff Baseball Game, talking to him as though he is a wayward three year-old who needs guiding by the hand. Of course, Gabriella never offers to come and watch Troy playing with the Redhawks. That would involve taking an interest in his life, and caring about his future. I have already discussed the disproportionate rage over losing out on free cheeseburgers. However, she also mocks Troy for having received Italian golf shoes (over which he innocently asked Sharpay’s opinion earlier), new clothes and golf carts. Any reasonable person can see that Troy never went looking for any of these things, and was astonished to receive them. But moments after Gabriella cut Troy down to pea size with her cruel mockery, we see her sitting next to Taylor... in a golf cart. 

So it’s a new Troy when he unexpectedly receives a promotion and accompanying golf cart, but Taylor, who has been enjoying free reign over the country club in her golf cart, has remained the same. How does Gabriella justify this?

4- In the most upsetting part of the movie, Gabriella is seen to befriend Ryan. At first glance, we assume that she is being kind, although one might remember that she has never shown any interest in Ryan before. Ryan is the neglected half of the Evans duo, constantly overlooked in favour of his sister. Despite being talented in various areas (arguably more talented than Sharpay, given that he can sing, dance, play piano and choreograph), everyone looks to his dazzling blonde sister first and then to him as an afterthought. He craves validation on his own merit. So of course, he is flattered and uplifted when Gabriella appears to be friendly towards him. (Excessively friendly, as we hear her say “you’re so awesome!”, which counts as flirting in my book. Fake flirting.) He thinks that she is being genuine and is delighted to hear his sports skills as well as his choreography being praised. He doesn’t suspect anything amiss, and neither did I. But then when Gabriella has duped him into a dance (I don’t know whether she really couldn’t remember it; her fakeness is too suspicious) and Troy appears, the façade is blown apart. The careful viewer may notice how Ryan looks at Gabriella and sees what I consider a very cold, calculating and vindictive expression on her face. Troy, by comparison, looks hurt and humiliated (I often can’t watch this scene). It is never addressed in canon-- rather, it is glossed over, but I refuse to believe that Ryan didn’t understand what Gabriella had done just then. He MUST have known that she was using him. Or at least suspected it. The awkward silences and giggles from her spoke volumes. Anyway, Ryan quite commendably tried to keep things friendly, because he was doing nothing wrong. But on account of Gabriella’s emotional manipulation, Troy was short/irritated with Ryan and not her. Like I said, this scene has me cringing all the way through. 

Bottom line? This is CRUEL. Just cruel. And why does Gabriella do this? Is it because she wanted to be cruel? I actually don’t think so. Her expression when Troy had left was strangely pensive, even remorseful. But she did intend to punish him because she felt he was cheating on her with Sharpay. This is so absurd a suspicion that it would be a waste of words to discuss it, but suffice to say that Taylor had a hand in planting that suspicion. Still, the act of exploiting Ryan’s need for validation to send Troy the message that she basically didn’t need him, that two could play that the “game”, was the cruelest act in the movie. She is not vindicated by the fact that later, she quite commendably defends Ryan’s hard work against Sharpay, because her accusations against Sharpay are rendered hypocritical given her own actions. 

She accuses Sharpay of selfishness, but she has been irritated with Troy for not catering to her needs throughout their time at Lava Springs. She accuses Sharpay of playing games, but she used Ryan to make Troy jealous. She accuses Sharpay of leaving a trail of damage behind her, but she hurt Troy by dumping him in the middle of the summer, after having subjected him to criticism, mockery and manipulation beforehand, bolstered by a cocktail of lies about Troy’s behaviour. 

Why does Gabriella never realize this? Why is she never obliged to apologized? Why so hypocritical?

5- Apparently in a deleted scene, Taylor has to drag Gabriella out of her room (having invented another one of her sister’s ridiculous rules to support the action) to come and be reunited with Troy. Because romance. Clearly, Gabriella was not exactly pining for Troy if the prospect of being reunited with him caused such reluctance. Neither of them discuss the issues in their relationship, and Gabriella certainly doesn’t apologize, although kudos to her for showing up eventually. 

Do people resolve their relationship problems by singing?

Like I said, I am biased. I do not pretend to be impartial here. I think that Troy was largely justified in his actions throughout this movie, and would genuinely seek answers for the above questions. We shall see. I think I might do one for HSM III as well in the near future. Oh, the torture. 

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

Unanswered HSM Questions: What’s the Deal With Kelsi and Chad?

I like the dynamic between Kelsi and Chad during the HSM franchise, although it comes out of unexplained circumstances. We have no idea how they became friends, or what they may or may not have in common, just a series of careless clues. Since I love unravelling mystery, I will attempt to shed light on this coincidence.  

In the above scene, the whole group of Wildcats see Kelsi staring despondently at the rearranged callback times. 

So why does Chad adopt an accusatory tone towards Kelsi, of all people in the following line:

[Chad] “Do you know something about this? Small person?”

I can only assume that it’s because Chad treats anyone connected with Drama (or Music, or Skating, or Cooking, or Academics) with suspicion and contempt. Also, as an athlete in a sport where height is an advantage, he isn’t used to seeing people who are, er, vertically-challenged. The irony of this scene is that ever since their underhand scheme to discourage Troy from participating in said callbacks, Chad and Taylor are seen walking together into East High during this scene. 

I have to admire Kelsi’s reaction here. Rather than cowering in the face of such rudeness (and yet I still like you, Chad), she completely blanks him out. This despite technically responding to him earlier:

[Kelsi] “Actually, I think it’s two rats, none of them named Darbus.”

(Still funny). 

Either this was a reflex reaction, a method of venting her frustration, or she wanted to exonerate Ms. Darbus despite the latter capitulating to her students, rather than exercising proper authority. From this and several other scenes, it appears that Kelsi respects and even likes Ms. Darbus. 

But after Chad belittles her height, she brushes him off and walks straight over to Troy. Not Troy and Gabriella, who are both being affected by this change, but just Troy. This is interesting, because it’s unnecessary. Kelsi should already know that all the Wildcats assembled there are upset about this change. Furthermore, she herself gave a huge hint (to Chad) that Ms. Darbus wasn’t technically at fault. Why does she need to explain to Troy directly (again, not Gabriella) why the show has been rescheduled? 

I believe it’s because Kelsi wants to do the callbacks for Troy, for reasons which I explain here. 

The fact that Kelsi treats Chad’s comments like they’re nothing can only be attributed to an increase in confidence caused by her new friendship with Troy. Previously, she had cowered under Sharpay’s glare and tumbled back onto her piano stool. 

Prior to the above scene, Kelsi and Chad have no interaction whatsoever. As we can see earlier, the Drama Geeks’ lunch table is on the upper-landing of the cafeteria: the basketball players are below. Because we’re not shown any substantive discussion between Troy and Kelsi during HSM 1, there’s no evidence that she learns about his friends. 

So after the callbacks, we have to assume that she met Chad somehow and grew to like him instead. How? Why? No information is given. 

Instead, we move straight onto HSM 2 and get this:

[Kelsi] “Maybe Zeke and Chad can do backup and everyone can dance!”

Hold on a minute: since when did Kelsi deem Zeke and Chad suitable for backup singing? I highlight the singing part, because she said earlier that the employees got to do a number (a song), and Troy and Gabriella could sing the lead (without auditioning, despite Kelsi working for a Talent Show and surely knowing full well that everyone must audition). 

So Kelsi somehow knows that Zeke and Chad can sing. Otherwise, she would not entrust them with her compositions or her songs. I have studied Kelsi’s character here, and have found her to be territorial over her work and who is suitable to perform it. I have criticised her favouritism towards Troy and Gabriella, although conceded that some of her reasons are justified when considering her character desires.

When did this happen? A number of possibilities present themselves:

1)- Additional roles were given in the musical and Kelsi discovered the singing talent of Zeke and Chad. 

Verdict: Unlikely, as there is no evidence to support this. 

2)- Kelsi wanted to meet more of Troy’s friends after the callback auditions went successfully. 

Verdict: Given Kelsi’s extreme shyness once again on display when Troy hands her the Game Ball, this may not be likely.

3)- Troy introduced her to his friends after the show.

Verdict: Likely, because of Troy’s gratitude to Kelsi, as evidenced by the Game Ball award, and his attempts to include her as a friend. 

4)- Kelsi met Zeke and Chad via Jason.

Verdict: Just thought of this a second ago, and it actually seems the most likely. When Troy gave her the Game Ball, she was shy about the praise, and awkward with the Ball. When Jason helped her shoot a hoop, she relaxed and smiled. If we are to assume that she began dating Jason not long after this scene, and that Kelsi became a Wildcat, as well as the fact that Jason and Zeke were close friends, then it makes sense she would meet them this way.

But that doesn’t explain how she learned that Zeke and Chad could sing. 

So, we must read between the lines. In HSM III, Ms. Darbus’ class prepare for the Spring Musicale. But in HSM I, they are preparing for the Winter Musicale. 

Therefore, could Kelsi have been involved in the Spring Musicale for Junior Year as well as Senior Year? That would, at least, explain why Sharpay instantly offered her a job at Lava Springs over the summer in HSM II. After Kelsi owned her brilliantly during the Winter Musicale, I can’t see Sharpay’s ego appreciating that until she had at least seen incontestable evidence of Kelsi’s talent demonstrated either at the live show or over two shows. Lava Springs is, after all, an exclusive club. Sharpay could have chosen any other composer-pianist. 

But could Zeke and Chad have performed in this Spring Musicale? There’s no evidence, so we can’t assume anything-- particularly since everyone looks surprised and annoyed when Kelsi signs them all up for the Show in HSM III. 

Then again, why do this unless she knew they were capable of performing onstage?

However, if we turn to a small scene in HSM II, where Martha is beatboxing and Kelsi is DJ’ing, we may have a satisfactory answer. 

Suppose Kelsi’s influence as a musician, Martha’s recent confession to being a hip hop aficionado, Troy’s recent enthusiasm for singing, and Chad and co’s appreciation of that talent, were demonstrated on an ordinary day when the Wildcats were just hanging out. Suppose this scene were just like the beatboxing scene of HSM II. This would be a likely point where Kelsi would learn of Zeke and Chad’s talent in (backup) singing. 

The same conclusion can be used for Kelsi’s declaration that “everyone can dance”. 

Remember that Kelsi doesn’t suffer fools gladly, even if her shyness prevents her from calling them out. Her look of contempt bordering disgust at some of the people auditioning for Twinkle Towne speaks volumes. Indeed, when Ms. Darbus offers Cindra a fake compliment after her eardrum splitting performance, Kelsi gives her teacher an “Are you insane?!” look. 

So if Kelsi says someone can be in her show, it’s a compliment. 

Also, if Kelsi allows someone to play her music, that’s an even bigger compliment. The scene between Kelsi and Ryan in HSM III could have been a demonstration of Kelsi’s respect for Ryan as a musician. She budges over, allowing him to play her songs and enjoys his rendition. (Significant, given how she despised his take on “What I’ve Been Looking For”). It would have been a great character arc for Kelsi, who initially judged Ryan with resentment, and gradually realized his positive characteristics. Instead, the scene was ruined with fake romance. 

In HSM II, Kelsi is delighted when Chad and the rest come to sing “You Are The Music In Me”.

We can therefore assume that her friendship with Chad was solidified either before or at this point. 

More on this in subsequent posts.