Inspired by awesomelydivergent's story "Trina Takes a Stand". However, it has nothing to do with the story, and I'm sure that story ends very differently than this one does.
Obviously I don't own Victorious or any of the characters. I just borrowed them, and get no money for there use. But hay, they weren't complaining.
As always, read, enjoy, review.
:}
Trina was find it harder and harder to find a place to have lunch these days. She'd tried to sit with the A-list seniors again, but as usual they didn't want anything to do with her. She couldn't sit with her own friends too often, because everyone judges you based on who you hang out with. 'They understand, we can't hang out much at school. After all, you gotta make the contacts to get anywhere in this world. And the contacts I want can't see me hanging with the D list.' The sad part was, the only time she was with A list students was when her Sister invited her to sit with her friends. Tori's friends. The juniors who, for all intent and purpose, ran the school. For the first time ever, the junior class was the home to the "Main People" at Hollywood Arts, and that was Tori's little group of friends. They starred in all the plays, sang all the songs, and in general were the stars of the school.
So Trina was having her share of troubles. Unless Tori took mercy on her and asked to eat lunch together, she was consigned to eating alone, least she be seen with the wrong people. Today, to avoid the latest gossip people were saying about her, she'd chosen to eat in her car. 'Bad enough that everyone tells me I'm untalented, but now they're saying my hit show is a joke, and I'm only in it because I slept with the director. He's been nothing but a perfect gentleman, except for the time he invited Tori and Jade to muscle in on my gig.' she was lost in her thoughts, her anger growing. Trina had auditioned for the part, and while she wasn't the first choice, she wasn't the last either. Once the girls who didn't want the part had cycled out, she'd moved to the top of their list. She even had her own dressing room. 'A glorified closet, but for a school of aspiring actors, they sure don't realize how many people share dressing rooms. In most shows, you don't get your own dressing room unless you're a star.'
That's when she noticed the pale goth standing next to her. Jade was showing a side she'd only seen years ago, when helping distract Mrs. Lee so Jade could show her father that play the way it was supposed to be shown. Jade was nervous. Trina, for her part, just couldn't care. 'Yes, she occasionally shows she human, like caring about my need to use the restroom while we were stuck in Wanko's Warehouse, but for the most part, she's the worst offender of their group.' Trina grimaced as the thoughts migrated through her consciousness.
"What do you want?" Trina finally forced out. She wasn't in the mood to even try being nice today. 'Like I care Jade's near the top of the social hierarchy, or that she's got the reputation for hurting people.' Trina assured herself. 'I can take her, and I doubt she can do anything to hurt my reputation.'
"I Kinda, well, look, Trina, I'm here to say..." Jade was nervous. The goth was usually so good with words. Even Trina had to admit that Jade was one of the best writers the school had produced, even if her plays were seen as "Disturbing." Trina was hyper aware of Jade's talents, having silently cataloged each person who could potentially help her career once they were out in the big bad world, and despite how often the writer showed up on the list, Trina felt it wasn't worth being nice to her.
'She hates me.' Trina thought. It was so clear. 'As much as people talk about her treatment of Tori, Jade doesn't even bother hiding that she doesn't like me.' Forcing the thoughts from her head, Trina addressed the stammering girl in front of her. "Spit it out."
"I was saying." Jade's voice came back, strong, with that hint of malice that helped keep so many of the students at Hollywood Arts terrified of her. "I was saying." She repeated, losing power in her voice. "I'm Sorry." Jade's volume had dropped to the point where Trina had to strain to hear her, while the goth had turned her head to avoid eye contact.
"What?" Trina asked.
"I said I'm sorry." Jade said, getting some volume, but still not as strong as Trina would have liked.
"For?" Trina asked.
"Look, forget it. Sikowitz said I had to apologize to you, and I did." Jade said, preparing to depart.
"Did he say why, or that I had to forgive you?" Trina asked. 'Why me? Shouldn't Jade be apologizing to Tori? I mean, Sikowitz's world seems to revolve around her. You'd think, if he's going to have this gank apologies to anyone, it'd be her.' Trina's mind was racing, trying to figure out what the crazy teacher was up to.
Jade didn't respond, she just walked away. She was done with the whole thing. Trina, however was just getting started. The elder Vega started making a list of everything Jade had done that she should apologize for. Despite the mean girls reputation, the list wasn't that long. Jade, for the most part, ignored her. Other than reminding her that the goth felt she was talentless and no one liked her, the worst thing Jade did to her was the occasional insult, and winning Prome queen, but Trina felt she could forgive the girl for that.
Instead, as she moved to a table to get some sunshine, Trina started making a list of what everyone had done to her. 'Tori, you've been the best, but not by much.' Trina thought. 'I mean, we're sisters, and you never defend me to your friends. They only accept me because they use our house as a place to hang out, and sometimes even crash there, but it's clear I'm not one of them. Only Cat likes me. Of course, I'd hate to see someone so nasty that Cat doesn't like them.' A moment of realization flooded across her face. "That's why Jade called her a pet?" Trina saw the way everyone was staring, and moved to the next task she had for class.
'The worst part is, Cat understood when no one else did. Maybe she's not as dumb as people think' Trina was beginning to get it. 'The others, however, they have only ever tolerated me. Even Rex called me conceited and talentless, and no one bothered to defend me.' The whole thing was upsetting her. 'I understand Cat not saying anything, but Tori, you lied to me.'
Jade, meanwhile, was in Sikowitz classroom. "But I apologized to her!" She said, her voice reverberating off the glass.
"Not good enough. You need to find a way to get Trina to forgive you." The crazy teacher said.
"Whyyyy?" Jade whined.
"Because she's a fame whore. Have you read the tabloids lately? Or ever? Fame whores manage to get in the news, and since Trina is Tori's sister, she's almost guaranteed to, so you don't want to be the one she's feuding with. It'd cast you in the same light." The coconut lover said.
"So I'm doing this just in case she gets her fifteen minutes she won't drag me down?" Jade asked.
"Not exactly. I know you don't like...People. Unfortunately you have to work with them. This is an exercise in bonding, in finding a way to coexist and move forward. Jade, of all my students, you're the one the most in need of this exercise." Sikowitz said. "For all her faults, Trina at least knows how to act like a professional when she's working. You need to be able to do the same. So go make nice with her."
"How?" Jade asked.
"Find something positive about her. Figure out things you like about her. That way, you won't just see her as some talentless fame whore who's hanging around hoping fame will rub off on her." The teacher said.
"But you just" Jade started, only to see the way her favorite teacher was staring at her. "Fine."
"I mean it, Jade. As you continue in entertainment, you will have to work with people you don't like. I've even heard of one show where the main actors practically hated each other. It's the professional who can put it all behind them and do the job." He was lecturing. "You're making nice with Trina is more than good practice, it's insurance. You may not see it yet, but with your varied talents, Trina's drive could well open doors for you. Doors I never could."
"I said fine." Jade repeated.
"Look for her talents, however small they may be. Look for her strengths, find something you admire about her. It won't make you friends, but it will help you see her as human, and from there you'll find it easier to apologize to her." He continued. Jade walked away, convinced he would be espousing Trina's virtues for the foreseeable future.
That evening, Trina was in the middle of a full blown crises of faith. After her show was done filming, she headed home, same as always. 'Funny, when Tori gets a gig on TV, like singing the national anthem at a community college basketball game, mom and dad treat it as special, even invite her friends over to help her celebrate. When I got this show, they barely noticed. Tori was the only one interested, and she was just a quick to mock me as Jade.' Trina was feeling depressed. Everyone seemed to think she was so worthless. Her parents wanted to get rid of her, sending her to some college far away, while never believing her that three actors, trained in stage fighting, could have faked a brawl just to embarrass her.
It was during this spiral, while driving home, that she got a strange reprieve. Someone called her. "Hello?" She answered.
"You know, pear phones have blue tooth." Came Jade's voice over the phone.
"You called just to mock me?" Trina said.
"No, it's just not safe to drive while on the phone." The goth's voice sounded less hateful, almost like she cared. This wasn't the first time Jade had been nice to her, just the first time she did it without using it to insult Tori.
'God, those two should just get a room.' Trina thought. "So why did you call me?"
"I'm trying to find common ground, so that when I apologize, it will mean something." Came the reply.
"So you're just trying to get through that apology? Do you have even the slightest inkling of how much pain you've caused me?" Trina was aware Jade was just one of the group, but she needed an outlet.
"I just want to make nice so we don't have tension when the gang hangs out at your your place." Jade tried.
"And there you go, making it about Tori. You always do that, you know, make everything about her. Or Beck, or Robbie, or whomever." Trina said.
"Look, Trina, I know I've been a bitch, to you and your sister..." Jade started.
"And you'll make nice with her too. But this is about me, so don't you dare make it about anyone else." Trina said. "And if you want to make nice, apologize, then do it face to face. You know how to find me." She then hung up. 'The nerve of that gank.'
Jade wasn't too shocked that she'd been hung up on. Trina was wazzed. Jade started making a list of everything she'd done to the older Vega, and it wasn't that big a list. Mostly reactions to when Trina added herself to whatever the group was doing, or tried to muscle in on their popularity, or muscle in on Beck. The worst thing she'd done was that time she invaded that lame show with Tori, and the two of them wound up in that stupid scene. That little kid in the mouse suit was lucky she didn't catch him, poking her with that fork. Still, Jade made the list. Then, as per her instructions, she made a second list of everything she could possibly admire about Trina. In the process, she made a call.
"Cat? Hi, I need to know something. You were with Trina when she was preparing for that role in Steamboat Suzy? Could you tell me what she did?" Jade asked. It would take several more tries to get an answer out of the ditzy girl, but eventually she found out that Trina had gotten herself sick, and they feared tuberculosis, just for the part. Jade had to admire that level of dedication, if not the intellect behind it.
The next day, before school started, the group was hanging out on the steps in the school, waiting for the last of them to arrive. Tori and her sister were often the last to arrive, but sometimes it would be Cat. Jade, being Jade, decided to ask everyone opinion about her having to apologize.
"Sikowitz is making me apologize to Trina today." She said.
"Good." Beck said. "It's good practice. Then you could maybe apologize to Tori."
"Yea, you've done a lot more chiz to her than Trina. And think of all the times Tori helped you out." Andre said. Jade glared at him, and he promptly shut up.
The others, however, started trading their lists of everything Jade had done, with Andre jumping back in once he saw that they Beck was going to let it flow. The list didn't include everything, missing such pranks as the garbage coffee and the feat meat, but including her stealing the Platinum Music Awards, pushing Tori from that platform, and the whole Gorilla Club situation. Jade was upset by the last three. Jade had done her share to help Tori, including the three mentions. 'I didn't take the Platinum Music awards, I was just there after her "friend" Mason took it away, and I was the one who gave it back. And the Gorilla Club, the push off the platform, both of those times I was helping her overcome her fears. It was a damn lot more then what you guys did.' she thought. Then it hit her. 'Oh my fucking CHIZ. They turned it around. No one cares about what I did to Trina!' At that thought Jade got up and walked away. Her friends didn't budge. They were expecting some kind of response, but they had their reasoning wrong. They were assuming she'd get mad about them listing the things she'd done to Tori. So when she left, they were just amazed she didn't explode, each having already come up with their own escape plan. Instead, they watched her walk away.
Later, during Lunch, Trina was once again sitting alone, only glancing occasionally at her old friends, wishing she could sit with them. They understood, just like they understood that their own careers weren't going to help Trina, so they only hung out after school often in places where others from school wouldn't see them too often. It was the main reason they stopped hanging out at Trina's place once tori started at Hollywood Arts. 'I was so sad when my hit show wasn't enough to insulate me from the schools judgment. I miss them sometimes. Still, we do get to hang out more, just I have to protect my image.'
'Trina, I'm here to say I'm sorry for saying that no one likes you." Jade's voice was stronger this time, like she was sure of what she was going to say. "Also, you may not have much, probably not enough to be in this school, but you do have some talent."
"That was almost an apology." Trina said.
"Look, I'm trying. I can't change the fact that you're not a great singer, you can dance but somehow manage to screw that up in your classes and auditions, and your acting leaves a lot to be desired. It's not for lack of work, as far as I can tell you're one of the few people here who works as hard as I do, so it's got to be something else." Jade said.
"Try harder." Trina said, getting angry.
"Your never going to do better than that lousy show your on if you don't stop and look at yourself honestly!" Jade screamed at her.
"Lousy show? I'll have you know a lot of great actors got their start doing shows like that." Trina shot back.
"Really? Playing a fucking piece of cheese? Symbolic much? I mean, your better looking than most girls, and you're running around in an outfit that makes the furries scratch their heads." Jade was in her element, ready to throw down. Too bad she had no idea what she was fighting for.
"Take that back. It's not much of a show, I'll admit, but I never told anyone because I knew you'd just make fun of me. And I was right, wasn't I?" Trina screamed back.
"It's obvious you're only there because they think you're fuckable. Hell, when I was there, I swear the director was undressing me with his eyes." Jade shot back. "I never thought for a second I'd say this, but you're better than that stupid show. At lease you can dance, if you'd only learn to take direction better. Maybe they could get Sikowitz to direct the next show."
"Look here Jade, I'm not going to accept an apology from a stuck up bitch that thinks she's better than I am." Trina was fuming.
"I'm certainly..." Jade stopped herself. 'I write, act, direct, and sing, as well as magic, both the big tricks and slight of hand. And before Tori got here I was the best, or nearly the best, in the school.' She thought. "Look, I know you're not helpless. In Yerba, you could do all the moves we choreographed, and despite being able to adapt and learn moves quickly, you seem to miss important things...Oh my chiz."
"What?" Despite Jade calming down, Trina was still sporting for a fight.
"It's the desperation. You want, no need to be famous so much, but you need to do it your way. You're not the chiz. I'm an arrogant bitch, but I back it up. You may have reason to be too, but we need to see what you can do when you follow someone else's vision because your own is screwy. I'll bet you could be a decent dancer, and maybe even an actress, if you'd just tone everything down. Undersell it." Jade was starting to sound excited. "That show of yours, the lame one with the mouse children. How much life do you think is left in it? Two, maybe three more episodes until they can't think of new ways to torment you?"
"My contract is up in two episodes, but we're a hit, so they're bound to renew." Trina said, her anger was fading, but only because this was getting too weird.
"Then we develop the next show. It has to be sell-able, expandable, and feature you. We need to do it cheap, cause lets face it, your show probably has less of a budget than My... well Tori's last birthday. I suspect the best thing to do, the hot trend in cheap ass shows, is the fake interview show. We make up a bunch of actors, you know, fake backgrounds and chiz, and then you interview them." Jade seemed to be on a role. "Make it funny. We can get Robbie involved..."
"Can we not?" Trina asked.
"I guess you're right. He's not that funny if he's not embarrassing himself. But we can do this. I'll produce, and direct, and you can star. I know you can write funny, so we write it together." Jade continued like that for a while.
Not too far away Sikowitz was smiling. The coconut was right, this was the right thing to do. Just like it was the right thing to let Trina in to Hollywood Arts, because it brought them Tori. Now he didn't have to worry about Jade so much. She'd make her mark on the entertainment world while making Trina a star, and then grow from there. 'Now what to do with Robbie? I've reduced his dependency on that puppet, but his standup leaves a lot to be desired? Maybe I'll get him with one of those troops, like the Groundlings?' He knew it was just a matter of time before his coconuts showed him the way, just like they did for all his students.
:}
Not my best work, but I like it anyways. It's hard sometimes to espouse Trina's virtues when the show did a bang up job of hiding them, but she has been seen to dance, she does her research, and she had one self written play which, despite being written as a musical drama, was well received as a comedy.
Hope some of you liked it.