Beca kicked at the red front door she didn't want to open. School had ended two hours ago, but she had taken her time walking home. Her house just didn't seem comfortable anymore. Especially since her mom started dating some new guy. He was over all the time now with his son. They seemed nice enough, but it was just too soon. Beca could still hear the suitcases clattering and the car running over the trash cans as it backed up the night her dad left.
Sighing at the memory, Beca reluctantly opened the door. Clanking and banging sounds were coming from the kitchen, meaning that Beca's mom was trying to cook again. Diner had consisted of fast food and microwave meals after Beca's dad left, but it was good to have some home-cooked food again, even if it was just hamburger helper. A heavy bass beat thundered in Lily's room. And was that her ... beatboxing? Beca rolled her eyes. Long ago, she had accepted that she would never understand her sister.
Rounding the corner, she saw her mother bending over a boiling pot of water with two male impostors.
"Hey sweetie! Denis and his boy are staying for dinner. It's Mac-n-Cheese!" her mom said excitedly.
Beca nodded. She was walking past the trio towards the stairs when Denis's son called,
"Hey! Beca, wait up! Do you mind if I come with?"
Yes I mind! Go invade someone else's house why don't you?
"Uhhm ... I-I mean ... s-sure I mean, I g-guess." she stuttered.
Smiling, the boy followed Beca into her room. Beca looked around nervously, looking for anything embarrassing or incriminating. Posters plastered the walls, displaying all of Beca's favorite bands and singers. The room was dark and a little dingy. One half of the room was taken up by a bed and a small desk. A small upright piano occupied the other half.
"Hey, piano!" The boy said excitedly.
She smiled awkwardly and nodded her head in agreement. It was indeed a piano.
"Hey look, I know it's weird that are parents are like ... together or whatever, but I really think we could be friends! I mean, we'll have to spend some time together at least, so why not be on good terms?" he ended his speech with a smile. The kid always seemed to be smiling, and it made Beca a little more comfortable, despite the promise she made to herself to hate the guy forever. She was about to respond, but crap! She couldn't remember his name.
"Wow ... uhm t-thanks ... um s-sorry I f-forgot ... forgot you're ..."
"Oh, no problem. My name's Jesse."
"R-right! Thanks." Beca said, embarrassed but still looking solemn.
"So show me around, Beca! I want the grand tour of this great space! I think it'll really help me answer the question: Who is Beca Mitchel?" Jesse said holding his fingers out like a camera frame. He examined every poster, and played a song on the piano that he introduced as the most beautiful work in piano performance literature. It turned out to be Chopsticks. Jesse did most of the talking, which suited Beca perfectly. She was starting to think that maybe Jesse wasn't so bad, but she wasn't about to let him know that.
The next morning, Jesse sat behind Beca on the bus, occasionally leaning up to tell her a one-liner he had thought of or ask Beca a question.
"What's your favorite color?" Jesse asked.
"Black." Beca answered shortly.
"Spooky!" Jesse laughed. "Come on, enough with the badassery! What's your real favorite color?"
Beca rolled her eyes, "W-well, I guess ... I mean it's r-really p-p-purple. But dark purple." She added, trying to retain at least some of her dignity.
Beca could feel a ray of hope building inside her. Maybe she had a new friend. She quickly reigned in her hope. She had to remember that Jesse was just part of the dad-replacement-team. They were the enemy.
Beca was looking out the bus window while Lily was carefully making a voodoo doll out of grass and ... human hair? Beca was praying it wasn't her hair when a girl jumped up from her seat and approached them.
"Hey Voodoo Mama Juju!" the girl laughed, looking at Lily. "Switch with me for a sec!"
Lily tried to stare the girl down, but to no avail. She stood up grumpily, muttering, "You're next."
"Hey! I'm Chloe!" the girl chirped as she sat down. Beca recognized her. It was the sympathetic girl from the school skit. She was the only one who didn't laugh or jeer.
"Beca Mitchel, right?" She didn't wait for an answer. "I wanted to talk to you about something very important. You see, two years ago when I was a lowly freshman, Mrs. Glasgow came up to me and asked if I wanted to be on the debate team. Mrs. Glasgow was the one in the beard yesterday by the way. She said my argumentative skills were at the fetal stage, but she intuited some kind of potential. Potential for greatness. She said debate could do wonders for me, and I could do wonders for the team. Well, here I am two years later, doing the same to you." Chloe shot a beaming smile at Beca. "I think you, Beca Mitchel, have some greatness in you that hasn't been tapped. Well, I'm tapping it! I think you should join the Plainsboro High debate team. We're the tits. And we're totally going to kick Trenton's ass at the championship this year! So what do you think?" Chloe looked at Beca expectantly with a huge grin on her face.
Beca didn't think Chloe had paused for breath through her whole speech. Yet, she still retained her dazzling smile. And her eyes. They were the bluest Beca had ever seen. Beca suddenly became self-conscious about how much she was staring at them, so she played a torturous game of back and forth. She looked like she had a twitch. Realizing she had to say something, Beca said,
"You mean ... y-you mean public speaking? Yeah ... I-I don't think ... don't think ..."
"Beca! It would be a great opportunity for you and for the team. Our dream is to go the the championships and crush the competition. Help us turn our dreams into a reality?"
On the last sentence, Chloe eyes suddenly turned soft. Beca almost gasped. How could she say no to that face? But then she remembered that face was trying to make her speak in front of people.
"D-did you s-see me ... l-like yesterday? I m-mean ..."
"Resolved that the federal government should support the teaching of abstinence in public schools. From sex. It's totes better than farming subsidies! That was our resolution last year."
"Oh."
"It's settled then! We've got a meeting tomorrow, you can sit in and see how things work. And look," Chloe said leaning her face close to Beca, "I think we're going to be really fast friends."
Beca stopped breathing. She wasn't used to having people invade her personal bubble. That's why her heart started beating so much faster.
Before Beca could protest, the bus stopped and Chloe jumped up and bounced out onto the sidewalk. Beca watched her walk up to her front door. Chloe shot her a quick smile over her shoulder before opening it. As the bus started moving again, Beca didn't know what to think. She wasn't sure what to make of Chloe. She was pushy and intrusive, but she was also sweet, and sympathetic. Beca felt insulted, intrigued, and entranced all at once. As she lay in bed that night, Beca pondered Chloe's phrase, "fast friends." Was it too much to hope for two friends in a day? Beca hoped not as she dozed off to dreams of red hair, blue eyes, and chopsticks.
