July 22nd, 2018

Hope you enjoy!

:)

- Disconnected, Façades -

And to think you thought your mask was strong,
Bright enough to glow before others,
Concealed enough to lie to yourself...

Question is:
How will that glow dim once you're disconnected?
How strong will that mask be when you pull yourself together?
Sometimes you need more than a mirror to reflect that...

No One's Perspective-

It was just like any other school: lockers, classes, gossip, confusion, disputes and groups. Of course, the lockers each had a coat of life covering the flaky metal, ranging from glass to stabbed by scissors, then glimmering lights to bottle nipples. (Admittedly, some lockers are never spoken of, purely because of the sheer embarrassment.) The classes, too, were full of exaggeration and excitement, with a hint of enthusiasm. The social life, however, remained the same. Everybody was unintentionally placed into various, rather odd assortments of groups; though, being in an environment where face and talent was the norm, any strange ones stuck out like a sore thumb.

And many would argue that - in a nutshell - that was what made Hollywood Arts. When the interesting lockers and teachers were set aside, it was any other school.

Or...is it?

Strange things happen within those walls. For one, a sister who hadn't even been enrolled at Hollywood Arts had to cover for the poor, unfortunate junior whose tongue swelled to its maximum (hopefully, anyway - not that it was painful, but imagining it bigger would be describing a whale) during a showcase. Of course, the sister had been enrolled for a year thereafter, the junior now a senior.

A senior with five-inched heels, racing around the corners of the halls. She couldn't be late - not to her first meeting of the semester. And as she whipped around another corner, her world spun as she hit the ground with a yelp. Blinking rapidly, she snapped, "Watch where you're- Oh..." She felt a blush cross her cheeks as she looked up, a boy crouching over her feet. He pursed his lips, expression remaining impassive. "Hey cutie," she mumbled, scrambling to her feet.

As she padded down her tight skirt, he only asked, blandly, "You're Trina, right?" She couldn't help but nod enthusiastically with a small grin.

"And you're Tony, right?"

Trina watched as he stood, gnawing the inside of his cheek. "Right..." he drawled, black eyes following as she reached for her dropped notebooks and pens, "you're Tori's sister?"

She paused for a moment before reattaching her smile. "Oh, who cares about her? She got her talents from me," Trina said. Tony only shifted his bag over his shoulder before starting off, barely moving around her misplaced things. Her eyes followed him - pitifully blinded of his unamused features - before turning back around for her things. She stood up and jerked at the tap at her shoulder. Trina then spun around, meeting an awkward, bashful smile and her pen in his hand.

"You- uh... You dropped this, Trina," he mumbled, holding up the writing utensil. "It rolled over by my locker," he continued, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder towards a graffiti-style painted rectangle of a jungle.

She took the pen sharply, the boy flexing his hand after it was torn against his palm. Trina watched him for a moment, pursing her glossed lips. "Thanks..." she murmured, her sentence trailing off.

The boy brushed his long, coal hair from his stark, hazel eyes. After a few moments, he said, "Rick...from period three?" She blinked at him. "Our canvases are right next to each other."

"Oh!" She chuckled quickly, slipping the pen back into her pocket. "You're that Rick!" He eased a shaky laugh, hooking his thumb to his jeans. "Well, bye then." Her heels clicked passed the poor boy as he stared at the empty spot before him, blinking through his confusion. He mumbled weakly before shuffling back to his locker as Trina felt another tap at her shoulder. "What do you want now?" she groaned, twisting around. "Oh... But what do you want now?"

There was a frown across her sister's face. "You told me to remind you about today at the theatre."

Trina pulled a face. "For what?"

Tori rolled her eyes, heaving a long sigh. "You know," she started, "the hours for community service that Sikowitz handed out?"

"Yeah, okay, I'll be there at four."

"But, but it starts at three!" Tori retorted as her sister began to stride away. "Trina!"

"I'll be there at four!" was her response. The half-Latina mocked the line for a moment before trailing back towards her locker - a shining one reminiscent of her performance at the showcase - and to her group. Four stood there, three with their eyes at Trina as she melded into the crowd with one giggling at a magazine. There was a page flipped, revealing a strong dimple across an innocent smile. Tori only shook her head towards the girl.

There was a chortle, too, before, "You're sister's a pill."

Even though she couldn't agree more, Tori sent a half-hearted glare across the group's circle; "Thanks Jade," she retorted. Jade only hid behind her cup of coffee, a knowing smirk and a mischievous glint playing her features. Tori pursed her lips to hide the ghost of a grin before dropping her gaze down to the intertwined fingers between Jade and an easy-going-looking dude - Beck. He shifted quietly, eyes flicking between the two girls. "Anyway, about the Black Box Theatre, do any of you know who's doing what?"

A dark-skinned boy only shrugged against her locker, explaining, "I dunno. Sikowitz said to bring as many people as he could. Didn't really say what we were doing, did he?"

Beck said, "I'm assuming it's cleaning up after that play. It ended with the students shredding a bunch of books." There was another giggle emitted from behind the magazine, the rest of the group watching curiously. "Cat...?"

The girl - with exotic red hair - jerked her attention from the pages. "What?"

"What are you reading?"

Andre nodded along, adding, "Yeah. Is it that same 'Sky Store' you were raving about after visiting your uncles?"

Cat paused, watching the group carefully. "...no."

Jade rolled her eyes, breaking her hand-hold with Beck before raising it towards her. "Come on," she ordered, "let me see it." Cat glared at Jade for a few moments, though reluctantly pushed the magazine - or catalogue - towards her. Jade analyzed the cover, brows furrowing. "What's 'Space Haven'?"

The redhead snatched the catalogue from Jade's hands, earning a hard stare. She ignored it, turning towards Andre excitedly. "I did find it at my uncle and uncle's house," she admitted before turning towards the rest, "but it's higher and better than the 'Sky Store'! I mean, how much higher can you go?"

"Smoke some and we'll see..." Jade mumbled under her breath.

Beck only rolled his eyes, tucking his empty hand into his pocket. Everybody turned once there were hurried steps racing through the halls, a curly-haired boy pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. He halted, panting with a small box under his arm. "It came! It came in just today!" The group rang with questions as Cat jumped, clapping her hands. He set the box down before ripping it open, having already cut the tape with scissors. With one hand, he pulled out a strange, space-alien plasma gun. "I got it from 'Space Haven' after Cat had me look through it and bought-"

"A plastic, toy pistol. Great," Jade commented.

Tori patted his shoulder, asking, "Robbie, what's the toy do?"

"It isn't a toy!" he argued sadly.

Cat hurriedly flipped through the pages before grinning. "It's the 'Cloninizer'!" she announced, earning a quiet grin from Robbie.

Andre leered over the page, furrowing his brows. "Seventy-nine bucks? Robbie, it even says, 'It's going to double your world for twice the fun. This cheap party trick will be a blast of a life-time.'" Robbie shook his head, tucking the Cloninizer back into his backpack.

"Well, okay, I bought it from the Cat's thing. But it actually works! I found it on this website for three grand, and on their website, they said that they sold it to 'Space Haven' since it was a version that is older."

"So you bought a seventy-nine dollar toy-looking gun from a catalogue that bought it from NASA?" Beck asked.

Robbie shook his head. "Private corporation. That, and it'll be worth it. I'll show it to you guys at the theatre, I swear it'll be worth it."

The group looked at one another, unconvinced. There was a pause, before Andre mumbled, "Right... Well, it'll be awesome to play with anyway." Robbie nodded with a satisfied smile; he didn't expect anybody to understand anyhow.

But they would like it, he was sure.

. . .

There were still shredded paper covering the floor, even with the large trash-bins filled with the discarded, ruined books. Andre, Cat and Robbie had at least three bandages on their hands, having been nicked by the paper. Jade, Beck and Tori only managed accumulated one as a whole, being slow and careful with their work. The room was quiet and somewhat giddy; Robbie constantly gave lingering glances towards his bag, Andre returning knowing looks. Half the work would be done, and then fun with the gun - that was the deal.

The double doors blasted open, Beck jerking with his pile of paper. "Fuck," he snapped, sucking at the edge of his thumb. He picked himself up, running water from a bottle over the second cut on his hand. After drying it with his shirt, he turned towards Trina. "Thought you said four," he said, glancing at the large overhead clock - 4:57.

"Hello," Trina muttered, pointing to her shoes, "I can't do anything with heels on."

A snort came from her side, Jade lifting her gaze from the sneakers. "That's why you go on your knees, right?"

"Jade," came with a whack to her shoulder, Tori unable to suppress a grin. The sister turned towards Trina. "You know you'll only have two hours on your service now, right?"

"I know. I had to take care of business." She set her hands on her hips before asking, "So what now?"

"Pick up the shit on the floor and put it in the trash cans," Jade replied. Before Trina could start her work, Robbie let out an excited holler.

"Ten trash cans! We can see the Cloninizer!" Beck, Cat, Andre and Tori left Jade and Trina to their spot, curiously following the awkward boy as he shuffled through his bag. While Jade finished her pile, Trina was ordered to stay and clean the floor. The circle around Robbie was curious, watching as the blaster whirled to life with a flick of a button. "I kinda figured out what to do with it this morning. You basically turn it on, aim it at something and it'll clone it to two different versions... Well, I only turned it on," he explained.

"Alright, shoot something," Andre said. Robbie chewed his lips, eyes wondering towards a pile of books. Beck quickly grabbed a blank one, its leather cover a dark shade of blue. He set it on the table, then backed away. Everybody around Robbie did, the anticipation still beading his temple as if they got closer. He pressed his index against the trigger, and felt the blaster vibrate. After a few moments, a quick spurt of white flashed towards the book.

There was a thunderous snap before the book smacked against the wall. Large grins splayed across their faces. A strange, black smoke began to fester against the wall, the room engulfed in the scent of charcoal. Robbie stepped forward, carefully, coughing through the smoke. Apprehension took hold of the waiting group, eyes peering through the dark mass. Robbie stepped out with a victorious, toothy smile, a book in both of his hands. One was of baby blue while the other black.

"Told you it would work."

Beck looked up to the ceiling, focusing on the fire alarms. "Why aren't they going off?"

Robbie shrugged. "It must not be real smoke. Anyway, you guys want to have turns?" The group all grew into a hyper excitement, the Black Box Theatre soon consumed in bright rays of light, black smoke and extra books.

"Oh! Oh! Do Purple! Do Purple!" Cat begged, pulling out her stuffed, violet giraffe from her bag. The group clustered around, shot the toy before pulling out two more, one a vibrant blue and another a dull red. All while they had their fun, Trina watched from afar, bringing the piles of paper to the trash-bins. Though, as time went on, the beams of light lessened as the students went back to their chore, one-by-one. Every now and then they would analyze the Cloninizer, which had been set carefully on a table as a sort of prize.

An hour had passed, the room being much cleaner. Cat, Jade and Trina had remained on the stage, sorting the last of the messy piles while Tori closing the double doors behind her. Andre, Beck and Robbie sat, watching the Cloninizer. "It really does look like a toy," Andre mumbled, folded arms holding his head over the table.

"Yeah...but it's not," Robbie replied quietly.

Beck tapped the barrel of the blaster, brows furrowed in thought. "I wonder why the corporation sold it."

There was a shrug, and then, "Maybe they thought it wasn't worth much."

"Could be they had better versions too," Andre offered as Tori came up from behind. He shifted, raising his head to his palm. "What if you shot a person with it?" Nobody answered, only watching the Cloninizer curiously.

"Hey! Watch where you're stepping Trina!" They all looked towards Jade's scowl as she picked herself up, rubbing her hand gingerly.

The older half-Latina only crossed her arms. "You threw the paper at me earlier, remember?"

"Oh boy," Tori groaned, walking towards the two girls. "Trina, please."

The eldest sister gawked. "Why are you always defending her?" She glared at the smirk across Jade's face. Trina pressed her index to Jade's chest, growling, "Quit with that look!"

Jade snapped, "Don't touch me!" She snatched Trina's wrist, wrenching it to the middle of them. As they stared at one another, there was a sudden racket, then a collection of yelps with a blast. Cat screamed as the two turned towards the edge of the stage. White clouded their eyes before they felt the searing sting rush through their systems.

"Robbie!" Tori cried, whipping towards the table. All of the boys were at their feet, staring at the Cloninizer on the ground.

"I accidentally knocked it over," Andre admitted, blinking towards the girls. "What's happening to them?"

Everybody watched as the two yanked their hands from one another's grasp, their body rigid. If it wasn't for the green hue coloring Trina's cheeks, her hand over her mouth or the vein surfacing at Jade's temple, the sight would've been almost comedic. In a sudden jerk, Jade hurled herself back, smacking against Trina. They grunted, staggering back until they smashed into the set, toppling to the ground. The wall beside the fake office they crashed into fell, completely shrouding the rest of the group from view.

Tori eased forward as the groans grew less and less, clearing her throat. "Uh...Trina? Jade? Are you- Are you alright?" As the group inched themselves forward, around the collapsed set, a hand shot around the corner. Trina - with a wide grin - stepped out back onto the stage, eyes flicking around the room. "Trina?" Another figure came to view, this time Jade with a light scowl. "Jade?"

As they clambered off the stage, the rest of the group was put-off by their calm, collected appearance. Trina turned toward Tori, a strange gleam in her eyes. "I'm going home and when you're there, remind me that I need to finish my work-out, okay Tori?"

Her sister stared at her blankly. "Trina," she scoffed, the others frowning, "you're supposed to help us finish. You nee-"

"Oh please. I don't need to do this shit. All I need to do is show the producers what I am," she snapped, walking towards the double doors. Trina turned around dramatically, the door opening. "A performer!"

If that sight wasn't enough to leave Tori dumb-struck, when she turned around, it was worse. She watched, stricken, as Jade pressed her lips greedily against Beck's, arms tangled around his neck. As she pulled away, Jade purred something in his ear. Her eyes - a crystal blue to which Tori tilted her head at - switched to the half-Latina. "What are you looking at, Vega?" she snarled. The group gawked as they watched Beck blindly follow Jade; once he looked back, he gave a blissful grin.

Andre let out a hoarse chuckle as Cat came to Tori's side, arm around her shoulder. "Well, I guess that's one way to do it," he snickered weakly, Robbie adding a soft, "Yeah..."

They all started once their was a cough behind them. Black smoke had completely dissipated by this point, leaving another Trina and Jade. Though, their clothes were at a dimer hue, eyes tired and expressions sullen. Trina and Jade - or their doubles - slowly strode towards them, movements ginger. "J-Jade?" Tori asked, searching through another strange pair of eyes: a dark, leaf green. And to that, the other Jade - or maybe it was just 'Jade' - nodded.

Trina coughed hoarsely, rubbing her neck. "I need a fucking Advil."

Jade agreed quietly.

In fact, everybody else did.

. . .

The waitress came around at her table, dark eyes watching the four expressions as she collected the empty plates and bowls. "Do any of you want dessert?" All shook their heads politely.

"I'll get the check," Andre said instead. She nodded before whisking away. Cat, Robbie, Andre and Tori all sat, hands either crossed, on their laps or fiddling with their utensils. "So...two Jades and Trinas." There was a nod in agreement. "What do we do?"

"Well obviously," Tori grumbled, "we try to fix it so we have one Jade and Trina."

"Tori," Robbie sighed, flicking a crumb off of a puppet beside him, "calm down, please? I know you're mad but-"

The half-Latina rolled her eyes. "But what? My sister and-" She halted herself, eyes darting nervously to Cat; the redhead only stared at her lap. Tori cleared her throat. "My sister and friend are now split into two, Robbie! What the hell is wrong with our lives for that to happen?" The boy only sheepishly shrugged.

"Well, we can start by differentiating the two," Andre suggested. "I say we call the first two - the happier ones - Trina and Jade, and then the gloomy ones Trina-doe and Jade-di." Tori arched a brow. Andre shifted, mumbling, "Well, it rolls off the tongue."

"I like it," Cat added with a soft voice.

Tori shook her head. "No. I'd switch it... The second should be Trina and Jade, and the first Trina-doe and Jade-di."

"Why?"

She turned towards Robbie, working her jaw. "I just, I don't think the gloomy ones would like it if we gave them names like that," she answered. "I mean," Tori added, "the happier ones wouldn't mind, right?" They all nodded in agreement.

"So happy Trina is Trina-doe, and happy Jade, Jade-di. Cool." Andre clapped his hands as the waitress passed their table, quickly reminding herself for the check. "So...how do we tell Beck then?"

"We tell him. I'd go the sooner the better," Tori answered.

"Yeah," Cat agreed. "Before school."

Andre chortled. "If he doesn't have his hands all over Jade- Er, Jade-di..." Tori shuffled uncomfortably, a small frown crossing her features. "Can we cut it to Jae-di? That rolls off the tongue easier," Andre proposed. Tori waved, not giving a single damn.

"Alright, sorry about that," the waitress said as she came back around. She placed the check on the table with a cheery smile. "I'll be back in a few moments, alright?" The four nodded with another round of polite smiles, though didn't speak. None did as they left, either.

If your friend split into two - and then another - with a plastic-looking blaster, how could you anyway?

Yes, yes, I know. I didn't write this to be out there now, since I'll really crack down on this once the three other stories (The Doggie Project, Only a Winter's Tale II and Chatter of the Bewitched) are completed. I've had this story idea rolling around for about half-a-year now, and it became distracting. I debated posting it here over shutting it away until the other stories were done...but then decided to just to get feedback. Never really had a story like this - being sci-fi(ish) and all - but I hope it'll do well.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed.

:)