Trapped In Hollywood Arts
By JMFearless
Tori Vega's eyes eased open quietly. How long had she been asleep? Bleary eyed, she looked at her watch. Holy crap, it was 10:00 at night. The play was already over. Everyone had gone. Well, maybe not everyone, judging by the sound of snoring. She tracked it to find Jade there. "Jade?" she said, shaking Jade, "Wake up."
"Huh?" Jade asked, "Vega! What are you doing?"
"Whoa, relax," Tori said, "We slept through the play. I think we're the only ones in here."
"Was it that boring?" Jade asked, putting her usually hostility for Tori aside for the moment.
"Must've been," Tori said, "Probably wouldn't have been if we'd played the leads though."
"Let's just get out of here," Jade said, "This place is creepy."
"What?" Tori mocked, "Little miss 'I love the dark' is creeped out by this place?"
"Stuff it Vega," Jade said, "Look, right now we just need to get somewhere where we can see." Jade got up and felt her way to the exit, with Tori following close behind. Jade immediately made for the nearest door, hoping it would get them out of Hollywood Arts and back home. But when she shoved on it, it was sealed tight.
"Bad news," Jade said, "We're locked in."
"Well, can't you like pick the lock or something?" Tori said.
"No Vega," Jade said angrily, "I cannot pick the lock. I'm a Goth, not a professional crook. Even if I could, the lock is on the outside of the door. No way to get any kind of tool into it from in here." Tori groaned. "Look, that's the way it is," Jade said. Tori took out her cell phone.
"No signal," she complained.
"Cell tower probably got knocked out," Jade said, "There was some lightning in that area earlier. I got the weather update on my phone, but then my signal died too."
"Arggh," Tori groaned.
"We'll just have to find our own way," Jade scanned for some way out, her eyes finally pausing as she looked above her. "There," she said pointing to an air vent, "That looks just big enough for you to crawl through. Maybe it leads outside. If you get out, you can go get help."
"Real nice plan," Tori said sarcastically, "Two problems: How am I going to reach that when its ten feet off the ground and how will I get the grate off if I do reach it?"
"Simple," Jade said, "You're going to stand on my shoulders. I should be able to hold you up with no trouble. As for getting the grate off, it's screwed to the wall. You can use this to pry out the screws." She handed Tori a small pocketknife.
"How do I know you won't drop me just so you can watch me break my ankle or something?" Tori asked, "Why don't you go up?"
"First of all, while I would normally find the thought of you having a broken ankle funny, I care a lot more about getting out of here Vega," Jade said, "And second, I'm neither small enough to fit through that opening nor light enough to be climbing on your shoulders. It has to be you."
"Are you sure about this?" Tori said as Jade knelt under the vent shaft.
"You have a better idea?" Jade asked. Tori opened her mouth to argue, but closed it when she realized that she didn't. She sighed and gingerly stepped up on to Jade's shoulders. She immediately felt Jade's fingers lock around her ankles, keeping her in place as Jade stood up. With the grate now within easy reach, Tori began to work on the screws with the knife.
"Hurry up Vega," Jade said. The heels of Tori's boots were starting to dig in to Jade's shoulders.
"Hey, if you think you can do it faster, let's switch places," Tori suggested. Jade didn't answer. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Finally, she managed to undo the screws and lift off the grate. "Look out below," she warned as she dropped the grate to the ground.
"Jesus, Vega!" Jade said, "Way to freak me out."
"Well, I can't climb in if I have to hold on to that," Tori said, "You do want to get out of here right?"
"Just hurry up," Jade said. Tori grabbed the inside edge of the vent and began to pull herself inside, with Jade pushing from below. She crawled in easily, finding that she just barely fit. Suddenly she was glad that she worked out every morning. It took a while to find the other end of the vent, but eventually she dropped out of it. Jade heard the sound of her hitting the ground and followed it. "Vega, are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm covered in grime and dust, but other than that, I'm good," Tori said sarcastically, "Thanks for asking."
"Bad news," Jade said, "I think that vent led to…"
"The janitor's closet," Tori said, "I figured that out." Jade opened the door and watched Tori stumble out, covered in dust.
"Man those were dusty," Tori said, "Why does nobody ever clean those?"
"Who knows," Jade said, "At least the fans were off."
"Well, any other bright ideas?" Tori asked.
"No," Jade admitted, "I guess we're stuck here."
"Yeah," Tori said, slumping against a row of lockers, with Jade joining her.
"I'm sorry," Jade said, "For snapping at you I mean. I was just scared." Tori looked at her like she wasn't sure what she'd just heard. Jade was apologizing?
"Uh, it's okay," Tori said, "I'm sorry too."
"What are you sorry for?" Jade asked.
"For…well, you know, for the kiss," she said, referring to the time she'd kissed Beck, "I was angry at you about the coffee, but even so, that was a line I should have known better than to cross." Tori had an ashamed look on her face.
"I'm sorry too," Jade said, "Faking an injury like that was a cheap shot and I knew it. I should have just came and talked to you about it."
"That would've been good," Tori said, "But let's forget about it. I'm over it."
"Yeah, me too," Jade said, taking a deep breath, "Friends?"
"I'd like that," Tori said, smiling.
"Good," Jade said, yawning, "Man I'm tired."
"Yeah, me too," Tori said, "Let's try and get some rest." It took time, but Tori and Jade managed to fall asleep against the lockers, leaning against each other.
(An hour and half later)
Jade's eyes eased open slowly, awoken by a vibration at her hip. Wait, Vibration. Cell phone. Son of a gun, her cell phone was going off.
"Tori," Jade said, shaking her, "Get up."
"What?" Tori asked drearily, slowly coming out of her sleep.
"My phone is going off," she said, "I've got a signal."
"What?" Tori asked, "Well, hurry and pick it up." Jade fumbled in her pocket for the phone, answering it as soon as she found it. "Beck!" Jade said excitedly, "I'm so glad to hear your voice. Listen, Tori and I fell asleep during the play. We're trapped inside the school. Can you get help?" She paused a minute, listening before saying "Thanks Beck. You're the best." And soon enough, help arrived. At exactly 12:30 in the morning, Tori and Jade made out of Hollywood Arts High, both ready to go home and sleep in, given that it was the weekend and all. They'd only spent a short time trapped in there, but neither of them would ever forget it: It was the night they became friends.
