It's the last day of school, and the Wildcats are counting down the seconds until they're free. When the bell finally rings, they throw their papers in the air and celebrate with a song [What Time Is It?].While walking through the halls, the Wildcats all reveal what their Summer goals are: Jason (Ryne Sanborn), Zeke (Chris Warren), Martha (KayCee Stroh) and Taylor (Monique Coleman) all want Summer jobs to save up for college, whereas Chad (Corbin Bleu) wants to work to save up for a car (to take Taylor on a proper date), Kelsi (Olesya Rulin) just wants to write music, Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) wants to relax, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) want redemption for her Winter Musical (and she also wants Troy), and Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) just want to spend time together. Troy gives Gabriella a necklace with a T on it as a promise.After a game of basketball with the Wildcats and Coach Bolton (Bart Johnson), Troy gets a call from Mr. Fulton (Mark L. Taylor), the GM at Lava Springs country club, and is offered a job for the summer. With a little persuasion, he gets Fulton to allow all his Wildcats to join him.Ryan and Sharpay roll up to Lava Springs in Sharpay's pink convertible, where they're just as pampered and bowed to as in school, and its' revealed that Sharpay arranged for Troy's hire.As Sharpay, Ryan and the Sharpettes, Sharpay's back-up girls in every sense ( nm2657048, Tanya Chisholm and Kelli Baker) relax by the pool, Sharpay expresses her disgust at having lost her part in the musical, her hope for the club's summer talent show, the Star Dazzle show, and above all, her need for all things luxurious [Fabulous], ending the song when she sees Troy walk through the gates. However, her joy is short-lived when she sees that he's not waving at her, but at Gabriella, who has taken the lifeguard position. Enraged, Sharpay falls into the pool.When she confronts Fulton about the Wildcats, he tells her that the Lava Springs Board approved the hiring, meaning that their parents knew about it, as their parents are the owners of the club. Sharpay brings the issue to her spacey, yoga-loving mother (Jessica Tuck), who thinks it will be beneficial for her to spend the summer with her school chums. Sharpay, however, hears none of this, and demands that Fulton get rid of them, demanding that "if he can't fire them, make them want to quit".Fulton joins the Wildcats in the kitchen, handing out tasks as rudely as possible, even reprimanding Gabriella when she clocks out for lunch 3 ½ minutes early. It's near-unanimous that the Wildcats are unhappy with the jobs they've been given, but Troy rallies them to charge the mountain [Work This Out].After their shift, Troy invites Gabriella out to the golf field for a picnic, where Troy reveals his concern for his future, while Gabriella expresses her joy at what will be her first summer in five years in one place, glad that she's here with Troy of all people. They dance around the golf course, unaware that theyre being watched by Ryan and Sharpay, the latter of which makes up an excuse for maintenance to turn the sprinklers on Troy and Gabriella, which gets them caught by Fulton, earning them both a strike (three strikes and their employment is terminated). Sharpay seems to not be worried or threatened by their relationship, as she clearly has something up her sleeve.The next day, as Troy and Gabriella walk into work, they overhear Kelsi singing a song she wrote for the staff's performance for the Star Dazzle show. Troy, is initially reluctant to sign up to perform (stating his singing career began and ended with the East High Winter Musical), but after singing a love song with Gabriella, written specially for them by Kelsi [You Are the Music In Me], he changes him mind.Ryan, who at Sharpay's request, had been spying on the Wildcats, tells her about the song, and Sharpay admits that Troy's participation in the talent show could be fantastic, though not beside Gabriella.Chad and Troy are requested as caddies for the Evans family, Sharpay bragging up Troy as soon as Mr. Evans (Robert Curtis Brown) joins them on the green (by helicopter). Mr. Evans is a University of Albuquerque Alumni (where both Chad and Troy hope to attend), who is extremely impressed with Troy's basketball and golf skills. At Sharpay's suggestion, Troy is excused from the rest of his shift to join the Evans family for dinner, along with more U of A Alumni. Sharpay offers him up to sing, but when he refuses she makes him promise in front of everyone to sing with her another time.Troy is excused from dinner, only to be intercepted by Fulton and brought to a secret stage where Sharpay, Ryan and the Sharpettes perform an elaborate, over-the-top song for him [Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]. Troy slips off to join Gabriella for the date they planned earlier in the day. They go for a moonlit swim, only to get caught once more by Fulton and receiving a second strike.At home, Troy expresses his guilt at his special treatment to his father, who tells him that though they're all friends now, and that's good, when they graduate, all his teammates will be chasing the same scholarships and opportunities as him, and that there's nothing wrong with working toward what he wants. He also gifts Troy the keys to an old, beat-up truck the pair have been repairing, stating "You didnt think I was gonna drive this heap, did you?".The next morning, Troy is told by Fulton that hes been promoted, as the Evans family thinks he has untapped potential. Troy is awarded a $500 a week job, a locker full of fantastic, designer clothes (including Italian golf shoes), full use of membership facilities, his own set of clubs, and his own golf cart.Taylor worries that Troy is falling right into Sharpay's hands, telling Gabriella that "she's basically offering him a college education just to sing with her in the talent show". Gabriella and Chad have faith that Troy is stronger than that, though when Troy snubs Chad, who is serving lunch to him, the Evans family and a bunch of U of A basketball players, Chad begins to agree with Taylor.Sharpay walks into a rehearsal room where Ryan and Kelsi are talking about ideas for the show, and demands Troy and Gabriella's duet, snatching it out of Kelsi's hands when she refuses to give it to her. She tells them that she and Troy will be performing it in the talent show, which angers Ryan, as he was planning on performing Humuhumunukunukuapua'a with her. Sharpay coldly announces the change in plans, but demands that Ryan still spy on the Wildcats for her, telling him she'll find him a spot somewhere in the show... or the next one. Ryan walks away in anger.Afterwards, Gabriella sees Troy playing basketball alone, adorned in a U of A Redhawks jacket. He promises to spend some time with her after his game with the Redhawks, and Gabriella tells him that "promise is a big word", reminding him that the staff has a baseball game after work, one he promised he'd play in. Jason, Chad and Zeke all walk out, eager to play with Troy and the Redhawks, but Troy refuses, saying it's a closed practice. Though Chad expresses his annoyance, Troy leaves with the Redhawks.As Gabriella and Taylor are on their way to the staff baseball game, they come across Ryan, walking through the club grounds alone. They ask if he's going to the game, but he says that he's "not staff; wasn't invited". The girls invite him, and he joins them in the golf cart to the game. The general consensus amongst the male Wildcats is that since Troy bailed on them, they don't want to do the show anymore, but the girls do, asking Ryan to put his amazing choreography skills to good use and help them. Chad tells Ryan that "if [Ryan] wants to play ball, then grab a mitt, but he [Chad] doesn't dance". Ryan steps up to him, with a remark of "You don't think dancing takes some game?". Ryan takes the pitcher's position, playing a fierce game against the Wildcats [I Dont Dance], and just barely losing. As he goes to walk away, Chad calls him back, telling him that he's "not saying he'll dance in the show, but *if* he did", asking what Ryan would have him do. Ryan smiles to himself.Troy is then shown playing in the Redhawks' gym with their star players, watched by the entire Board of Directors, who admit that they like what they're seeing. During a break, Troy tries to call Gabriella, who's abandoned her phone in her bag as she celebrates with the Wildcats, including Chad and Ryan, who have switched clothes in a gesture of friendship. Chad asks him about where the ball skills came from, to which Ryan reveals that he was on the Newport, Rhode Island Little League World Series championship team when he was younger.The next day, as the sun is setting, Ryan and Gabriella talk about the show, and though Ryan says that he knows "everyone thinks he's Sharpay's poodle", but Gabriella tells him that "if they were thinking that, they're not thinking that today". Ryan shows her a dance step, and Troy walks up, misreading their linked hands. Ryan tries to show that he harbors no will will toward Troy, but when he brings up Gabriella's mother's brownies, Troy coldly cuts him off, saying "Yeah, I know. I've had 'em". Ryan walks away, and after a look at Gabriella, so does Troy.The next morning as Troy walks into work, everyone makes comments about him bailing on their 2-on-2, and Troy defends himself, saying that Mr. Evans set everything up, not him. However, he and Chad explode on each other, Chad telling him that Troy's losing himself, and Troy denying it.Later that day, Troy and Sharpay rehearse their song for the Star Dazzle show, an up-tempo, jazzy, ridiculously over-the-top song complete with back-up singers, pyrotechnics, and bedazzled microphones [You Are the Music In Me (Sharpay Version)]. Sharpay tells Troy that the entire Scholarship Committee will be there to see him perform. Troy suddenly has a vision of Sharpay in a wedding dress, and excuses himself for some air.Troy is shown playing basketball alone the next day, but follows the music he hears to a rehearsal room, where all the Wildcats are dancing and having fun, rehearsing for the Star Dazzle show and being coached by Ryan. Sharpay also stumbles on this scene. The Wildcats file out after the song, but the only thing Troy sees is Ryan and Gabriella hugging before Gabriella leaves, too. Troy walks away, and Sharpay storms into the room to scold Ryan, telling him that she said to keep an eye on them, not turn them into the cast of Grease. Ryan doesn't care about losing the Star Dazzle award (which he and Sharpay have won several years running), and Sharpay asks when he became "one of them", which Ryan takes as a compliment, and sarcastically tells her and Troy to have a good show.Sharpay, annoyed at Ryan's betrayal, tells Fulton that all employees need to work on show night, that she doesn't want any employees in the show. Fulton advises her to think about this, reminding her that the Wildcats are not just employees, but her classmates. Sharpay doesn't care, telling him to do it anyway.Fulton give the flyers with the announcement to Taylor to distribute, who immediately tries to protest, but Fulton hears none of it, telling her that in the world of adults, "sometimes, we have to perform tasks, however unpleasant, that are necessary for that all-too-important paycheck to land in our all-too-empty pockets!". Taylor offers him some calming tea before showing the flyers to the Wildcats, who know immediately that it's Sharpay's doing.Gabriella goes to confront Sharpay, telling her that Wildcats or not, she's ruining something Ryan worked extremely hard on. Sharpay doesn't care, claiming that Gabriella has been interfering with Troy's future by getting him written up twice, and that she "had to step in just to save Troy's job". She tells Gabriella that she's just jealous that Sharpay won, to which Gabriella replies "What's the prize? Troy? The Star Dazzle award? You had to go through all of this just to get either one?". Gabriella then quits, before warning Sharpay that she's doing serious damage to Ryan and their relationship and that she's too preoccupied with her reputation to notice or care. Sharpay leaves, offended, and Troy runs up to Gabriella, having heard most of their conversation. Gabriella tells him that hes changing, and its better that she knows this now. She quits and breaks up with Troy [Gotta Go My Own Way], giving him back her T necklace in the process.That night, Troy asks his dad if he seems different, telling him that none of his friends will talk to him and that he's been too focused on the scholarship. Coach hands him a picture of himself in his basketball uniform, telling him that "he's absolutely sure he's gonna figure out the right thing to do".The next day at work, all the Wildcats ignore Troy, some even walking away when he sits at a table with them. Kelsi silently shows him one of the flyers about the employees not allowed to participate in the show, which he crumples up in anger. He goes outside and reflects on everything he's done and how he's been acting [Bet On It], telling himself that hes gonna turn it all around. He tells Sharpay that he's not doing the show, as he's asked Fulton for his kitchen job back and therefore, is not allowed participation. He tells her that he doesn't like the way they've both been treating his friends, so he's doing something about it. Sharpay tries to change his mind, telling him "we can all hold hands around the campfire some other time! Right now, weve got a show to do", to which Troy replies, "No, you've got a show to do. I got a kitchen to clean", and walks away.Sharpay reverts back to Ryan, telling him Humu Humu is back on, but Ryan refuses, telling her that he took her advice and sold his Tiki Warrior outfit online, and that she's "always wanted the spotlight. Now you've got it".Kelsi had witnessed the entire scene between Troy and Sharpay, and told the Wildcats what Troy had done, who forgive him when he walks into the kitchen. Troy tells Chad that brothers fight, and Chad says that they're still brothers. Troy apologizes to Ryan for all his hard work wasted, and Ryan says that he doesn't "really want to see his sister crash and burn... at least he *thinks* he doesn't", and that he wants Troy to sing with her.Troy tells Sharpay that he'll perform with her on one condition; the Wildcats get to participate, too. Sharpay reluctantly agrees. When Troy returns to the kitchen to tell the Wildcats, Ryan tells him that Sharpay wants him to learn a new song, and he and Kelsi immediately run to the rehearsal room to practice.Just before Troy goes onstage, he asks Sharpay why she switched songs, and Sharpay is confused, stating that she didn't learn a new song, and Ryan brushes past her with a smug "Exactly". Sharpay is horrified.Troy walks onstage and begins singing, expecting Sharpay's accompaniment, but to his shock, he hears Gabriella. She walks through where all the Wildcats have gathered at the back of the show audience, joining him with a hug. They sing about making memories last and celebrating their friends and being young [Everyday], and are eventually joined at a chorus by all the Wildcats, who join them onstage. Gabriella grabs Ryan and brings him onstage, and Troy does the same with Sharpay. They finish the song by joining hands, and Fulton walks up to award the Star Dazzle award to Sharpay, but she grabs the mic at the last second, announcing that the winner is Ryan, for his choreography of the final number.After the show, the Wildcats, including Sharpay and Ryan all converge on the golf green, smiling and laughing. They see a shooting star and start dancing around the golf course. Gabriella toasts to the future, to which Troy replies, "No, here's to right now". The two share their first kiss (something they've been trying to do the entire movie, but kept getting interrupted) as the sprinklers turn on, soaking all the Wildcats, who keep dancing.The last scene is a staff pool party, where Troy, Ryan, Chad, Gabriella, Sharpay and Taylor perform a song about finally getting the summer they wanted, and finally having some fun [All For One].
Output: Question: What does Gabriella give back to Troy?, Answer: The T necklace