It's the end of the Wildcats' championship basketball game against the West High Knights, where team captain Troy (Zac Efron) immediately rallies their spirits (Now or Never). With the teams' spirit raised, they win, thanks to the winning shot from their newest team member Jimmie "The Rocket" Zara (Matt Prokop).

Later, at Troy's after-match party at his house, Troy and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) are seen thinking about their future and wishing that their last few months at East High would not end (Right Here, Right Now). Meanwhile, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) meets Tiara Gold (Jemma McKenzie-Brown), a British exchange student whom she hires to be her personal assistant.

When drama teacher Ms. Darbus (Alyson Reed) notices that there were so few sign-ups for the spring musical, Sharpay suggests she could do a one-woman show. This alarms Kelsi (Olesya Rulin), who is writing the show, so she signs up almost everyone in the class for it instead.

This results in Ms. Darbus announcing they will create a play about their final days at East High. In addition, she reveals that Sharpay, Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), Kelsi, and Troy have all been considered for a scholarship at Juilliard, but only one of them is to be chosen. Sharpay becomes desperate to win the scholarship, and knowing that Kelsi will give the best songs to Troy and Gabriella in the musical, she gets Ryan to try to persuade Kelsi to give them a song, by predicting her (and Ryan's) future (I Want It All).

The next day, Gabriella and Troy meet on the rooftop and she teaches him how to waltz (Can I Have This Dance). Chad (Corbin Bleu) then asks Taylor (Monique Coleman) to go to prom with him. She initially refuses due to his lack of enthusiasm, but later agrees when Chad proves he can put in some effort and asks again in front of half the school. The group rehearse for the musical, a scene about their prom night (A Night to Remember).

Meanwhile, Ryan walks in on Kelsi composing (Just Wanna Be with You) in the music room, and performs it with her, and then he asks her to prom halfway through. While Troy and Chad reminisce about their past (The Boys Are Back), Sharpay and Tiara discover that Gabriella has a chance to go to college early. Sharpay later convinces Troy that he is the only thing keeping Gabriella from her dream. Troy talks to Gabriella about this over pizza, and after sharing an awkward goodnight, Gabriella (Walk Away) leaves for college the next day.

Troy's dad, Jack (Bart Johnson), talks to him about his academic future. Troy becomes angry, confused, and runs away, storming around East High confused (Scream) until he finally screams at the top of his lungs in the theatre. Ms. Darbus is in the theatre and reveals that she sent in his application for Juilliard, as she knew how comfortable he was on stage and how much he liked it. Troy takes no offense and thinks about the advice given to him. Troy later gets a call from Gabriella saying she won't return to Albuquerque, as she is too used to being away. However, on the night of prom, Troy visits Gabriella at Stanford and convinces her to return, as everyone isn't the same without her.

Back at East High, Jimmie receives a text from Troy to tell him to cover for him onstage because he is going to be late. The Juilliard representatives are there, and watch as the show seems to go well, (Senior Year Spring Musical). During the opening number, Kelsi and Ryan debut. While during the second number, Chad, Jason (Ryne Sanborn), Zeke (Chris Warren Jr.) and Martha (Kaycee Stroh) debut, Ryan does his number with the many chorus girls, Jimmie then performs with Sharpay, receiving his own standing ovation.

Troy and Gabriella appear during the second half of the show and sing their duet together. Tiara then betrays Sharpay and tells her how she is going to take over next year in the drama department. Sharpay finally learns how it feels to be humiliated, but does not wish to go down. While Tiara performs, Sharpa

At East High, the final bell rings, and the students converge in song (What Time Is It). As a symbol of his feelings for her, Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) gives Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) a necklace with his initial "T" on it on the last day of school.

Sharpay and Ryan Evans (Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel) plan to spend the summer at their family's country club, Lava Springs (Fabulous), But Sharpay's summer plans also include pursuing Troy, whom she has hired at Lava Springs. However, Troy convinces the club's manager, Mr. Fulton (Mark L. Taylor), into hiring Gabriella and their close group of friends; this includes Gabriella's best friend, Taylor (Monique Coleman), and Troy's best friend, Chad (Corbin Bleu).

Sharpay is especially enraged upon learning that Gabriella has been hired as one of the lifeguards. Mr. Fulton is unable to fire the "extras" at Sharpay's command, since her mother (Jessica Tuck) approved of their hiring, so she orders him to make them want to quit by giving them tough tasks. Fulton attempts to intimidate the group but Troy rebuilds their confidence and convinces them that they can work their hardships out (Work This Out).

While Troy continues to worry about obtaining a college scholarship, Gabriella is happy to be in one place over the summer. Sharpay schemes to win Troy, who has to choose between two worlds: his own with the Wildcats and Gabriella; or another, in which Sharpay's family can offer him an easy way to college and other luxuries he has only dreamed about.
Meanwhile, Kelsi writes a ballad for Troy and Gabriella, and Troy agrees to sing with his friends in the upcoming talent show (You Are the Music in Me), while Sharpay conspires to get Troy to perform with her in the show. In the extended version, she and Ryan trap him as he prepares for a date with Gabriella, and perform their potential show stopper,(Humuhumunukunukuapua'a).

A visit from a local college basketball team, The Red Hawks, causes a rift between Troy and Chad when Troy chooses their company instead of his friends. As Troy grows further away, Ryan realizes he does not mean much to Sharpay anymore. Taylor and Gabriella invite Ryan to the baseball game (who hits a home run), and Chad offers him Troy's place in the game (I Don't Dance). Troy and Gabriella's relationship is strained when Troy sees Ryan with Gabriella, sparking jealousy. Owing to a "promise" from Troy, he and Sharpay practice their song for the Midsummer Night's Talent Show (You Are the Music in Me (Sharpay Version)).

When Sharpay discovers that Ryan and the Wildcats are putting together their own performance in the show, she orders Mr. Fulton to ban all junior staff members from performing in Lava Springs' annual Midsummer Night's Talent Show. Gabriella confronts Sharpay, and makes it clear that she will not play Sharpay's "game", and that she has quit her job at Lava Springs.

Troy overhears the exchange, and tries to persuade Gabriella to change her mind, who expresses her loss of trust with Troy (Gotta Go My Own Way). Later, Troy discusses his growing uncertainly with his father, who remains supportive of his son.
Troy returns to work the next day to find that all his friends refuse to talk to him. Kelsi silently shows Troy the notice from Mr. Fulton, causing Troy to question his own motivations (Bet on It). He begins to reconcile with Chad, then confronts Sharpay, informing her that he will not sing with her, causing Sharpay to burst into tears. The Wildcats and Chad forgive Troy for his absence and convince him to sing in the talent show, which he does only under the condition that they are allowed to perform as well.

At Sharpay's supposed instruction, Ryan gives Troy a new song to learn moments before the show. As Troy goes onstage, he asks Sharpay why she switched the song, and Sharpay is shocked to find that her brother tricked her. Troy sings the song (Everyday) alone — until Gabriella is revealed. In the end, Sharpay herself p

East High School's basketball star Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and math-whiz Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) meet at a New Year's Eve party at a ski lodge over Christmas Break. Here, they take part in a karaoke contest and sing (Start of Something New). They discover they have a great chemistry between them and end up exchanging numbers.

A week later, Gabriella's mother is transferred and Gabriella begins classes at East High in Albuquerque, New Mexico where Troy sees her in homeroom. After making sure that it is she on his cell phone, Troy accidentally gets detention, along with Gabriella, his best friend and teammate Chad Danforth (Corbin Bleu), scholastic decathlon captain and head of the science club Taylor McKessie (Monique Coleman), and Drama Club co-presidents Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) and Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale).

After homeroom, Troy and Gabriella see each other again and as they start talking near the sign-up sheet for the winter musical auditions, Sharpay sees them and assumes that Gabriella is interested in signing up. With Ryan's help, Sharpay determines that Gabriella is an "Einsteinette", and puts an article of her previous academic achievements into Taylor's locker.

During detention, Taylor approaches Gabriella and invites her to join the school's scholastic decathlon team. Due to their detention, both Troy and Chad miss their basketball practice, much to the annoyance of Coach Bolton. During a confrontation between the coach (Bart Johnson) and Ms. Darbus (Alyson Reed), it is made clear that neither of them has any real respect for the work that the other does. Troy eventually takes part in basketball practice, but he cannot seem to stop thinking about Gabriella and how he might actually enjoy singing (Get'cha Head in the Game).

Troy skips basketball practice during free period to go for the auditions, which Gabriella also attends. However, both are too shy to come forward, so they hide behind a janitorial rolling cart as Sharpay and Ryan perform their version of the audition song (What I've Been Looking For). When Gabriella finally decides to audition, Troy offers to sing with her, but Ms. Darbus says that it is too late.

After a confrontation with Sharpay, Kelsi Nielsen (Olesya Rulin), the composer of the musical, trips and drops her notes and piano music. Troy and Gabriella rush to help her, and she offers to let them hear how the song was originally supposed to sound. Troy and Gabriella then sing the slower version of the song (What I've Been Looking For (Reprise)). Ms. Darbus hears them from behind the auditorium entrance and gives both Troy and Gabriella a callback. The next day, Sharpay sees the callback sheet and is furious. Once Chad and all the basketball players find out that Troy skipped basketball practice to audition for the musical, they are all shocked.

At lunch, everyone learns that Troy is doing something way out of a basketball player's nature, and the students start confessing their secret passions and talents (Stick to the Status Quo), including basketball player Zeke Baylor's (Chris Warren, Jr.) love for baking. At that moment, Gabriella slips and accidentally spills her lunch all over Sharpay's shirt. Sharpay tells Ms.

Darbus that Gabriella did it on purpose and tries to convince her that Troy and Gabriella are trying to destroy the musical, but Ms. Darbus will not hear a word of it. Troy asks Gabriella to meet him at his secret hideout, the balcony of a greenhouse. There, she reveals that singing with him at the party was like meeting a new friend at kindergarten; she felt that he was like a best friend, although she hardly knew him. Meanwhile, Zeke attempts to talk to Sharpay, who says that she would rather stick pins in her eyes than watch Zeke play basketball.

Chad and Taylor decide that they need to devise a plan so that everything returns to normal. The basketball team tricks Troy into saying that Gabriella is not too important while she watches them through