It was what seemed like an ordinary day at Hollywood Arts High School. Tori Vega had just closed her locker. Alongside her was one of her closest friends, Cat Valentine.
"Hey, Tori," said Cat, "are you as happy as I am?" She ran her fingers through her hair as she normally would, smiling her all-too-ditzy smile.
Tori sighed. "Probably not," she said. "What's got you so happy?"
Cat giggled. "My brother just got out of the hospital." Cat put her hair behind her ear. "He was playing a game of Uno, but he got a papercut from a card, and he was so angry, he smashed a vase. A shard from the vase got stuck in his leg, so he started bleeding so much, he had to go to the hospital. But he's out, now!"
Tori laughed. This was so typical of Cat to say. Sometimes, Tori wondered if Cat's brother was okay, or if he needed serious help. But Tori knew that Cat's brother was okay. Well, probably. "Cat, we should really get to class, now."
Cat laughed again. "Okay!"
Tori turned around and accidently bumped into a girl, and they both collapsed.
"I'm so sorry!" Tori exclaimed. Tori went to collect her books that had fallen out of her hands. She extended her arm to the girl she had ran into. "Can I help you up?"
The girl had dark hair and deep, brown eyes. She wore clothes that were about a size too large, and, to Tori, she looked a little too young to be going to high school, at maybe twelve or thirteen years old. She stood up on her own, not even considering the fact that Tori's hand was there. Her eyes focused on the ground. It was almost as if she didn't recognize Tori was there at all.
Tori realized that this girl wasn't familiar. She thought she knew most- if not, all- of the students at Hollywood Arts, but this girl didn't ring a bell. "Hey," she asked her, "do you go to school here?"
The girl paused. Tori thought she'd do nothing, but she shook her head. She ran her fingers through her hair, which immediately reminded Tori of Cat.
Tori thought that if this girl was lost, she should help. "Hey, do you need to-"
But before she could finish her sentence, the girl ran right past her. She found her way to one of Tori's other friends close by: Beck Oliver.
The girl clung to him, and, to Tori's surprise, Beck hugged back. "Haley," he said, "what are you doing here? Did Mom and Dad leave you here?"
She nodded.
Beck let out a sigh. "I wish they weren't like that all the time."
Tori walked over to Beck. "Oh, so I'm assuming this is your sister?"
Beck smiled. "Yes. Her name is Haley." He let go of Haley and took her hand. "Haley, look at me."
She looked up at him. She didn't smile all that often, and she wasn't smiling now, but the look in her eyes reassured Beck of her happiness.
Beck smiled. He knew it was hard for her to express her emotions, and she acted like that for as long as he could remember. There was a reason for it, too: she was autistic. Simple things like eye contact were difficult for her, but she really was a sweetheart. "You see this girl here?" he said slowly, pointing to Tori.
Haley turned around and looked into Tori's eyes and nodded.
"That's Tori. And that-" he pointed to Cat, "is Cat."
"Hey, what about me?"
Beck turned around and saw his girlfriend, Jade West. She smiled devilishly.
Haley clung to Beck at the sight of Jade, which amused Tori. "Look, Jade," she sneered, "even SHE doesn't like you."
Jade snarled at her. The respect of Beck's sister meant nothing to Jade, but being embarrassed wasn't fun, especially by Tori Vega.
"Jade," Beck said, "you've already met Haley, haven't you?"
"Well, yeah," she admitted, "but I wanted to be introduced, too."
Beck laughed. "Haley, do you remember Jade?"
She nodded, but she refused to let go of Beck, even holding on to him more tightly.
Cat smiled and said, "That reminds me, one time, Jade scared me into believing there were monsters under my bed who only ate bubbly redheads, so I was too scared to sleep there, and when my brother tried to go in my room, I screamed so loudly, I was put back in therapy." She giggled.
Beck smiled. "So, Haley, do you want to go to my class and learn with me?"
She thought it over, and she shook her head.
He thought about it and changed his offer. "Do you want to come to my class and sleep there?"
Haley paused, and then she nodded.