Night and Day

Chapter 12

"Sikowitz! Look! Tori's back!" Cat exclaimed cheerfully as she wheeled the Latina inside. Sikowitz stood, greeting the two with a smile.

"Tori! Welcome back! How do you feel?"

"Good. Different but it's good to be back."

"Well, it's good to have you back. Say, where's that little girlfriend of yours?""

The singer now turned a deep red. "Huh?"

"Oh, don't act dumb. Where's Jade? I'm surprised she left you out of her side."

"Well, she has been texting me nonstop and… how'd you know we were together?"

"Please! I've been trying to get you two together since you got here. It was quite obvious to see Jade had something for you."

"And how do you know that?"

"Jade only goes out of the way for people she cares about. Yes, to abuse," Beck chuckled. "It was just her way of showing she's interested but she was too scared to actually make a move."

"I'm glad to hear that I'm the hot topic," came in Jade's voice. Tori turned her head, her smile growing and her eyes twinkling happily almost instantly upon seeing her. The goth casually walked over, pressing a kiss to her lips as though it was the most simplest thing in the world, despite it being in front of everyone.

"Yes, yes. Save the making out for later. We don't want two more Andre's," Sikowitz smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The musician inquired.

"You fuck too many girls!" Rex announced.

"At least I can get laid, puppet!"

"I got plenty of Northridge girls," he laughed in return.

"Robbie! Control your fucking puppet man!"

"He doesn't like to be called a puppet!" Robbie responded.

"Maybe not but he is a dummy," Jade mumbled, taking a sip of her coffee. Tori laughed at that.

"Good one," she smiled, earning another peck on the lips, her face tinting a light pink as it always did.

"Awwww," Cat smiled, finding the two precious.

Jade glanced over at her, almost throwing a glare before Tori stopped her. "She's being nice. You be nice to her."

"Only to you, Tori. No one else."

"Unless I specify."

"Vega!"

"West!" She responded, laughing.

"The both of you!" Sikowitz interjected. "Class is about to start! Take your seats."

"Or remain sitting for all eternity," a kid in the back spoke. Tori felt a lump form in her throat but she said nothing. Sikowitz now looked up.

"Whatever skank just said that, care to repeat it?" It remained quiet and the hippie sat down on the stage. "I tolerate a lot in this class and I mean a lot. But what I don't is unnecessary cruelty. Now. Would anyone like to be honourable and own up?"

"How is it unnecessary cruelty if it's the truth?" the same kid demanded. Jade turned her head, standing and stalking over to him.

He stood, towering over her. "Sit down."

Her eyes darkened with anger as she wen tot punch him but was stopped by a gentle grasp on her wrist. "Jade, don't," Tori began. "This doesn't have to escalate."

"I'm not letting him get away with this bullshit!"

"It's not necessary to stoop to his level. Please." She glared at the kid before leading Jade back to where they usually sit.

"You know, Kyle," Sikowitz began. "What I'm wondering is why you think anyone should give a rat's ass about what you say when you don't care about this class. You never participate, never speak, and your grade is one of the lowest in this class."

"That's because you have class pets."

"No. These kids are generally interested."

"No. All they're doing is sucking your dick."

"Out."

He scoffed now. "You're kicking me out for speaking the truth?"

"Your truth, Kyle, is your truth. Not necessarily the truth."

"Please. The relationship you have with them isn't fucking normal," Kyle spat at the teacher now. "It's strange and barely even legal! What fucking teacher invites students to their house for 'improv'? What teacher allows a girl to pour coffee on someone's head and doesn't send them to the principal's office? What teacher allows someone to feel unsafe in this fucking school and refuses to go into a case where they feel threatened? And this class is a joke! There's no tests! No projects! And these kids are downright insane! I mean, we have a schizophrenic with his puppet, a fucking kid who dates everyone, and a homicidal lunatic who should be in jail! We have someone with the mentality of a child who has an insane brother! The only two normal people out of those are Tori and Beck! Jade's gonna get arrested, Robbie's ending up in an asylum, Andre is gonna end up sexually addicted despite his talent and Cat is just gonna fuck up shit because she's so naïve!

"And despite Tori being somewhat normal, she's so optimistic that she probably lives in denial half the fucking time. With her sister though, I don't blame her. I mean, she allowed a little girl to hang from the fucking ceiling to get approval from someone who clearly hates her! The relationship is going to be abusive! The things that Jade says should get her locked up because she has daddy issues that were never fixed! And Beck is also guilty for letting it continue when he knew that! Tori's father is an officer and child abuse was never brought up?! Once?!

"This school is so negligent that when Trina fell from the ceiling, there was no legal action taken whatsoever! She could have been fucking killed and then you have a murder on your hands! Half of the boys in this school are pricks, cheaters, and stalkers! And everyone is okay with it? No one gives a fuck?! This school should be shut. Down! The lunch guy had his fucking arm broken and his car trashed and there were no legal repercussions! I have no idea what fantasy world you're living in but the fact that I had to hit below the belt to get people's attention is awful.

"Tori. I'm truly sorry about what happened to you. But you should have never accepted the invitation to go to this high school." With that, Kyle grabbed his bag, turned, and left without another word.

They watched as he left, all of them speechless. Tori looked at Jade, attempting to figure out what she was thinking. Granted, she wanted to know what everyone was but she knew, or felt, as though Jade would take it worse than everyone else who had been called out. But even now, as she began to take everything into account, she truly started to feel ill. She didn't want to say anything, however, as she exited the classroom, refusing to look at anyone now.

What he said wasn't… Wrong. He said what she now believed a lot of people thought but never wanted to say. It wasn't anything new. Just something she refused to see for the longest time. She supposed that's why she was so hesitant in joining Hollywood Arts to begin with and she felt as though she should have left the very day that Jade spilled coffee on her head.

She wandered around the empty hallways, staring at each stylized locker as she passed them by, beginning to wonder where she would be if she didn't accept. Just a normal girl. Not a singer or actress. Just… someone.

When she finally grew to have realistic dreams, she settled on going into law. Her dreams weren't too big and out of reach, much like she had believed that Trina's were. She wanted her mother and father proud as she aimed high for a good job obtained by hardship and dedication. And truthfully, she had been content.

She was in college level classes and knew she could strive for an Ivy League college. She didn't see it that out of reach so she never gave much thought to the school that Trina raved about constantly. She was considerably content with her path in life. Seemed as though fate had other plans and Trina's stupidity would be helpful in setting the course. What was it that even made her tongue swell up to begin with? Why did Andre have to insist? Why couldn't they just cancel the stupid show altogether? So what if people were disappointed? If Tori wasn't there, no one else could take her place. Done. Simply cancel.

Maybe she didn't have to go along. Maybe she should have said fuck it and walk off the stage. She barely knew anyone so why did she care about disappointing them to begin with? It truly and honestly made no sense to her.

Tori stopped, finding herself in front of her locker, staring at the words as something formed in her chest… Bitterness? Anger? Regret? Part of her was truly upset. She had been through a lot. And there were several instances where she did fear for her life at the school. More often than not, Jade was the reason. She went through her medical records and attempted to give her a potentially lethal allergic reaction.

Maybe Kyle was right about her optimism. She always looked towards the brighter side of things and always attempted to seek approval. Even from people she shouldn't. And as she thought it about, part of Jade was a person that wasn't completely there. But despite the threats, she wouldn't go as far as… killing someone. Right…? Right?

Tori felt a lump in her throat form as she tried to reason otherwise. As far as she knew, there weren't any actual legal repercussions in Jade's name… Right? Now she had to convince herself with that. She would have to remember to ask her father about it once he came home. But the school was lacking in general security.

She remembered when both of them got in trouble and managed to trick the security to do the work for them as they snuck off. While funny and appalling at the time, it showed a severe lack of training and professionalism.

There was a lot wrong. A lot that needed to be fixed and looked into. Now she was wondering about the principal. Upon why he truly left. Coming to think about it, barely any school staff was every present. And it felt like a free for all most of the time.

She heard footsteps now and turned her head, watching as Jade rushed over. The goth knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in hers. "Are you alright?" she inquired. "You left in such a hurry. Don't listen to what he said. He's just a douchebag. He-."

"He's right," Tori whispered, refusing to look at her girlfriend.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Huh?"

"Jade. He's right. This school isn't… The people here… This whole place isn't… Normal. And it hasn't been normal since I got here. And I've always wondered if I made the right decision upon staying because, truthfully, sometimes I honestly don't feel safe here. With… how the school is run and with Trina falling from the ceiling… I really considered dropping out and going back to my old school… I… Don't feel safe."

"What about me?"

She looked at her in confusion. "What about you…?"

"Do you believe what he said about me is true? That I'm a homicidal maniac?" She waited for an answer, her concern increasing. "Well?"

"Jade…?"

"Answer me…" She stared at her. "Please."