AN: Personally, reading this chapter, ugh. I swear, I'm only good with characters like Tori or Cat. I can barely convey Beck's character, personally because Beck hasn't had much emotional moments in the show (or I haven't been watching Victorious close enough.) nevertheless, I like him way more than Robbie.
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Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious.
Chapter 7 - Memory; Beck Oliver
One day later
I apply the last touches on the stage, hoping that my work would actually suffice. It's been ten days since a fellow classmate died, and the fact that the school takes it as a joke, not to mention the neglect from her parents sums it all up that she's a broken young woman that never deserved any mistreatment that the student body gave her.
What makes me feel even more bad was contributing to that mistreatment. I start to remember the day I pretended to like her and then make her look bad in front of her father with André and Robbie's help. It was funny then, but after she died, it looks like a sick joke that no one should laugh at, and hearing her father's comment - Promise me that when you're applying for college, that you'll go far, far away - breaks me even more.
I never personally liked Trina, but the fact that she killed herself makes me think that my indirect comments have hurt her in a way. I remember first meeting her, way before Tori applied, and she was a very pretty girl to look at. Jade got mad at me that day, and then tells me who she really is. I didn't believe it until she opens her mouth one day, and then I realized that Trina is actually an egocentric girl with no ounce of talent whatsoever.
When I met Tori - formally, met Tori (not counting the day she rubs my chest after spilling coffee on my shirt) - I was unaware that she was related to Trina, until Tori says it herself. I felt the utmost pity for Tori, realizing that a talented, pretty, sweet girl would be related to that (by that, I mean Trina.) Her egocentrism skyrocketed after Tori applies herself in Hollywood Arts, mainly because all the attention diverts to the talented Vega. And I mean, all of the attention; Jade and Cat don't get leads in the plays anymore, I rarely attend a dance event without Tori singing (whether with André or not,) and if I'm not mistaken, Sinjin briefly mentioned how talented and popular we are, so I guess Tori helped us on the top of the social hierarchy.
With no help from Trina - she's always excluded from our events. I don't exactly kick her out, but Jade does, Robbie does indefinitely (Seriously. The puppet isn't a separate person. It's Robbie who's too scared to say anything!) and sometimes André does, and Tori does indirectly. Even Cat, the sweetest girl in the school, has found her ways to reject Trina. So I guess I'm not the only person who feels the guilt and shame.
"This looks nice," I hear someone say behind me.
"Yeah, I worked on it with a little help with the special effects crew," I reply, when Tori stands next to me, with her arms crossed and a distant expression. I take a good look at her - she still has leftover tears from the few days she's been brooding in her house, and since then, everything about her is dull. It's like the light that she always radiated has died with her sister.
"I still can't believe the school would allow me to have a memorial today," Tori says, with a glum tone.
I blink, "Of course they would. They didn't like it when she died as much as I didn't, or any of our friends."
"I guess you're right," I see a bit of a smile on her face. "I remember the first time I performed at this school. She had a swollen tongue and couldn't sing, but she never stopped me from performing despite that. Who knew she was the reason why I made it shine."
"That's a positive way to look at things," I nod.
"Yeah," she shrugs, and sits on one of the chairs. "If only she would have another chance at life, then I would say sorry for all of the things I've done to her."
"You probably don't know this," I start. "But when she told the whole school that she was dating me, I tricked her into thinking we were dating, and also getting André and Robbie into the ordeal, and made her look crazy in front of her dad. The last thing I remember was her father requesting her to go to far, far away from him. At the time I didn't feel sorry, but thinking about it now, I realize that the comment hurt her more than me tricking her."
Tori stares at me, with an unreadable expression. "Yeah, I knew about that. It was also my parents telling me that we should have abandoned her in Yerba. Even my own parents didn't care about her enough to make her disappear."
"That's just horrible. Yerba wasn't a fun place," I frown, remembering the horrible island we stayed in. "I wouldn't wish that on anyone, especially and even Trina."
"Me neither," she snorts. "The memorial starts in a couple of minutes... and I should expect some people telling me how sorry they are when they're not."
"Well, if it helps, I'm going to be here for you," I point out. "So will Cat, and André, and Robbie without the puppet, and even Jade. We'll all be here for you. I wouldn't be surprised if Sikowitz shows up... he's the sole reason why Trina got accepted into Hollywood Arts."
"Yeah." She laughs humorlessly, casting her head down. "If it wasn't for him though, I wouldn't be here either. I never sang in front of people, never opened my mouth for any reason except for talking, and then André shows up. He's the one who made me stay here, but it was her who really put me here. I never received an opportunity like that. While it's wrong for me to say this: I'm pretty glad she got her tongue swollen. She didn't even stop me from singing. She encouraged me, even though I couldn't understand her."
"I remember that," I chuckle lightly. "I saw that performance, with Jade. I didn't know that you were her sister, but Jade kept commenting that you almost looked like Trina. I didn't see the resemblance at all. But after that, I realized she was the same person, in the tacky blue dress, who supported you, and hoped that you would attend this school. I haven't noticed it until now. Oh, and by the way, if you didn't rub my shirt on your first day, you and Jade would probably be best friends... maybe, in a weird way, dating. She loved your performance."
"We're friends now," Tori counters.
"I mean, not dumping coffee on your head," I frown.
"Oh," she nods. "Oh man! I should have known. It's just that... she just walked in at a wrong time, and I dumped good coffee on you, and—"
"I know, that's in the past now," I say.
There's a small silence, with a sniffle that breaks it. "I really miss her, you know. She may be undesirable, but she was my blood sister, you know? My sibling. My rock. The only person that helped me when I needed sisterly advice. And now she's gone. I don't know if I'm going to get through this memorial without breaking down."
"Just stay positive," i reassure her. "No one's going to get through this without shedding at least one tear. But you can do this. And no matter what, she'll always be in our memories," I smile, staring at the photo of Trina, with a smile that almost brights up the room more than it should.
