Under the Maple Tree
Victorious and all characters including the fictitious high school, Hollywood Arts are the genius ideas of Dan Schneider. However, the plotline and ballad mentioned are my own creation and are based off of my own ideas.
I sat in the back corner of Sikowitz's classroom, slouched in my chair, trying to become invisible. There was nothing particularly wrong with my day, other than Beck hadn't been a part of it. And for that reason I wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear, leaving this classroom and everyone in it behind. This included Sikowitz, who was talking about some random acting exercise which made no sense, probably due to the fact that he was basically drunk on coconut milk.
I was roused from my thoughts when I felt a pair of eyes studying me. Using better judgment I would've ignored whoever was rudely staring at me, but I looked up, brushing the hair out of my eyes. Once I had emerged from my midnight curtain I became lost in the coffee brown eyes that belonged to none other than Beck Oliver. Five seconds passed before I had to look away, having faintly heard someone calling my name. I could still feel Beck's eyes on my back as I turned to look at Sikowitz.
"Jade, on stage." Begrudgingly, I lifted myself from my chair and held my head high as I walked to the front of the room and climbed up to the tiny platform that sufficed as a stage. "Now, you're assignment is to explain to the class the best moment you have ever had, but put it into song form. And…action!"
This was a living nightmare. All of my best moments and memories were of me and Beck and I could barely talk about him without breaking down crying, so singing would definitely be a challenge. I took a deep breath, and began, making a point not to look into Beck's eyes. I didn't need to make this any harder than it had to be.
"It was hot in the summer and we were a slumber under that maple tree, I woke up crying, and you were trying to comfort me. You said it's just nightmare, and that's when I saw that you cared. You held me close, said you loved me the most, and that we would always be, said you were mine and I was yours, that we would only grow more and more and more, it was hot in the summer and we were a slumber under that maple tree, I woke up smiling, knowing that you loved me."
As my melodious voice finished the sweet ballad, I could feel the tears pricking the corners of my eyes. That truly had been the best moment of my life, two years ago in my backyard, when Beck told me that he loved me. For the second time that day, I was shaken from my thoughts but this time by clapping. All the students including Sikowitz seemed to be in a state of 'aww'. I managed a slight smile before returning to my chair. As I sat down, I caught Beck's eyes. They were full of tears.
That feeling of wanting to be invisible, of wanting no one to see or hear me, was replaced by the want to start crying and sobbing and screaming. And, I didn't care who saw me either. But, I managed to hold myself together as I slipped out of the classroom, unnoticed by all except Beck. I walked down the hallway, trying to decide where to go. I didn't want to leave school, I didn't think that I had the strength to drive myself home and I didn't want to be there. I didn't want to face a huge house full of sadness and regret. I already had enough of that. Luckily, no one else was in the halls, aside from the occasional ninth grader who avoided me entirely, scurrying to get out of my sight. I thought of the places inside the school that I could go. The girls bathroom? No, I had absolutely zero desire to be in a room with toilets and sinks, to be surrounded by girls fixing their make-up and talking about senseless things. The bathroom was definitely out. I could go to the janitor's closet, but it seemed too cliché, everyone always went there and I needed a place to think where I wasn't surrounded by mops and trash cans that I had already cut up.
That left one place and it seemed like the best one: the black box theatre. Walking quickly, I made my way across the school and opened the huge doors, revealing an all black room strewn with old set pieces, props, and costumes. I left my bag by the door and walked to the stage. I sat down on a seventies looking sofa, the same one that we used in the play where I had to play Tori's wife. I shuddered at the memory. I looked out across the empty chairs. It was weird to be in here alone, to not have to be performing or really doing anything. It gave me a sense of inner peace.
After a while of sitting under the dim lights that had automatically turned on when I entered the theatre, I was in blackness, the security lights having faded to nothing. It was then that I really began to think and reminisce on everything.
My mind went back to those first few weeks at Hollywood Arts, when we were all scared ninth graders trying to find ourselves in a school full of talent and creativity. I can remember thinking that I would never belong, that I wasn't good enough. I then thought back to my first date with Beck, he was the one who convinced me that I was good enough. He showed me that I was worth something, that I meant something to him and in that moment I knew I loved him. The first play we did together I was so scared, scared that I wouldn't remember my lines, and all it took was an encouraging smile from Beck that gave me the strength to go out on stage, this very stage, where I not only fell deeper in love with Beck but found my newfound love of acting. My first vocal performance, I locked eyes with Beck the entire time, pretending that it was just me and him, and somehow I hit all the right notes and earned a standing ovation. But, that didn't matter, all that mattered was the pride that shown in Beck's eyes as he clapped for me. Everything that I was today was because of Beck. He had given me so many gifts and I hadn't returned the favors. And now, I was sitting alone in the dark.
I sighed, knowing that if I hurried I could make it to my next class. I stood up, and sensing my sudden motion, the security lights came back on. I looked across the room and smiled. I had come here to think, but instead I had remembered. I remembered why I missed Beck. As I was about to leave I heard the door creak open. I turned around, and there he was, my handsome, perfect, loving Beck.
In one look, the past three months were forgotten. Our mistakes, our faults, they were lost, unimportant in the big picture. This picture had been burned and scarred, the colors muted but still there, still strong, and getting stronger. I ran towards Beck, and jumped into his outstretched arms. He cradled my head in his hands, and it was then that I realized we were both crying, tears of joy. We kissed, a short and sweet symbol, the purest form of, "I love you." It felt like we were back under the maple tree.