The year was 2007. The weather was hot on the August day I returned home from sleepaway camp to watch the cinematic masterpiece High School Musical 2.
I was not disappointed. The movie was a bona fide hit. I just had one issue...THEY DID MY BOY TROY DIRTY!
First, Troy gets ALL his broke friends a job at a country club.
Enter master manipulator Sharpay. Sharpay knows Troy is worried about paying for college, so she starts getting him all these connections at the University of Albuquerque. Her family basically offers him a scholarship!
The only string attached is that Troy has to sing with Sharpay one day. Which none of the Wildcats should be upset about; it's not a crime for Troy to sing with someone else. Now, Sharpay being Sharpay, she manipulates Troy by deciding that "one day" is going to be the club talent show.
Okay, things get a ~little~ questionable when Troy starts practicing with the team at University of Albuquerque without inviting the Wildcats and missing dates with Gabriella. But really, the team is acting like he's cheated on them!
Troy is just looking out for himself and his future. Most of the shady stuff he does he's been tricked into doing by Sharpay! Like when she forces him to sing a remix of "You Are the Music in Me," which Kelsey wrote for Troy and Gabriella. How was he supposed to know Sharpay stole the song?
Is "Gotta Go My Own Way" a certified bop? Yes. Did Troy deserve to get broken up with over missing a couple dates to chase a scholarship? NO.
Troy is understandably heartbroken and conflicted. When he finds out how duplicitous Sharpay really is (after she bans the Wildcats from performing in the show), he decides it's time to TAKE A STAND.
WHICH MEANS HE THROWS AWAY HIS SCHOLARSHIP JUST TO TELL SHARPAY SHE'S BEING MEAN!!
Troy apologizes, and the Wildcats and Gabriella take him back. Which, yay. But also, YOU WEREN'T A JERK, TROY.
