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Personally, not to brag, I have been thinking aboutHigh School Musicalfor 15 years.
It is both disturbing and unbelievably hilarious.
Now none of his friends will speak to him, not even Chad.
A tense drumbeat begins.
It just kind of happened that way.
Unfortunately, it put me in an awkward position.
With that context in mind, Bet on It takes on an entirely new dimension.
Out of respect, I seek to match his intensity in this analysis.
He is out of bounds, which I just learned is a golf thing.
Troy holds his hand to his heart.
But moments later, Troy finds himself, quite inexplicably, right back on the smooth golf course.
His dancing becomes more manic, more furious.
Briefly, the music pauses.
As the sun sets behind him, Troy hits the ball directly into a manmade pond.
He is visibly disgusted with his own limitations, his now plainly obvious dearth of free will and agency.
Suddenly, it is midday again.
Troy stares at his own reflection in the golf pond.
Its no good at all / To see yourself / And not recognize your face, he sings.
Out on my own / Its such a scary place.
But just as quickly, he rejects this truth.
you could bet on me!
he sings, as if challenging the gods (Ortega) to contradict him.
The talent show goes off without a hitch.
Troy and Gabriella smooch as fireworks explode in the distance.
Heres to the future, says Gabriela, laying her head on Troys chest.
Heres to right now.
