~Jade~
Not to be dramatic, but I was almost certain I would die today. I regretted agreeing to teach Vega how to drive, but how could I say no when she practically begged me right after passing her permit test? She was riding high on triumph, and she was so determined. Until she was behind the wheel. Of my car. We started out slow on the first day. I let her practice at a large parking lot, like a little kid. She was too nervous for me to trust her anywhere else. When she started to relax, she moved up to driving around her neighborhood. I calmly guided her and gave her advice, determined to cover my own nerves.
It was founded. Tori was known for running over poor defenseless little old ladies after all. So, for a week we kept at it, driving around the neighborhood in the same route until she was comfortable. Then came the street. That was when I thought I would die. Her nerves got the best of her at crucial moments, and we almost crashed twice. Sometimes I had to take the wheel. A dude on his bike had to swerve into traffic to avoid us, and she narrowly missed another old lady. But we all lived by the time we reached our destination. Tori careened into the parking lot and entered a space crooked. She also didn't stop.
"Stop! Vega, stop!" I shouted, grabbing the wheel to steady it, and lifting a foot to stomp down over the breaks.
"Ow! Geez, Jade, I was going to!" she yelled, yanking her foot out from under mine. I moved to sit up in my seat and brushed back my hair with a tired sigh. I wouldn't be surprised if I looked like a wreck right now. Tori sighed heavily while putting the car in park before turning it off. At least we wouldn't roll away on top of everything else.
"I'm sorry if it looks like I don't trust you driving, but that's because I really don't trust you driving," I grumbled, closing my eyes, and resting my head back. Tori remained quiet. I opened my eyes to glance at her and saw her slumped in her seat, sad eyes on her lap.
"Don't," I groaned.
"Don't what?" she pouted. I leaned over and took her by the hand, giving it a tug to get her attention. She turned to look at me and I took the opportunity to bury my hand in her hair and pull her into a hard kiss. I pulled back for a breath and then kissed her once more, but softer. Our eyes met and I offered a smile.
"You could have been a little smoother, but we're here. You drove us here and that's all that matters. Progress, right?" I said, letting her go to pull on my leather jacket and grab my wallet. She let out an exhale and nodded.
"Yeah," she finally accepted, moving to get out of the car. I had asked Tori out on a date, one of many I hoped to have with her. I wanted to officially ask her to be my girlfriend, so I let her choose where we would go. She wanted to try driving us to Nozu and I relented, knowing she would have to keep practicing if she was ever going to get the hang of driving. But seriously, I think Trina drove better than her at this point. Not that I would tell her. And yet, I still wouldn't be caught dead in a car with Trina at the wheel. Somehow, despite Tori's equally chaotic driving, I still trusted her more than her older sister. I stood from the car, taking a minute to walk around it and inspect it for damage. Tori waited on the curb, arms crossed, and keys gripped tightly in her hand. It wasn't bad. A few dings here and there from other practices, but nothing new. I patted the hood and turned to join Tori.
"She'll live," I announced, holding out a hand for my keys. She passed them to me with a guilty frown. I pocketed them and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into my embrace. She automatically returned it.
"You're learning. You'll get better. Don't worry about the car. As long as you don't wrap it around a tree or a pole or another car then it'll be fine," I told her, pulling back to study her sad expression. She nodded but didn't say anything. Instead, her hand slid down my arm to take me by the hand.
"Let's just forget about it for a while and eat, okay?" she said, leading me inside. I let her guide us to our usual seats. We sat down and Mrs. Lee came over with a frown.
"Oh, it's you two again," she remarked, unhappy.
"Hey, be lucky we keep coming back here. You know, seeing as you're the one that needs our money now," I countered, raising a challenging brow at her. She grumbled something under her breath and took our order. Tori and I both chose the same sushi platter and Mrs. Lee strode away. I looked to Tori, trying to see if she was still bothered by the driving lesson.
"Hey, Tor?" I began, reaching out to take her hand.
"Yeah?" she replied, looking up from tearing up her napkin.
"Look at it this way. You successfully operated a vehicle without incident of the elderly variety and we're both still alive. That's a win in my opinion," I joked. A small smile tugged at her face, but it didn't stay.
"I know. I'm just bummed that I couldn't do better," she said.
"It's only nerves. You'll gain confidence and it'll get easier," I assured her, taking a drink from the water the waiter placed in front of us followed by our order. Tori only nodded, moving on to mess with the straw in her own water.
"Ha, ha! She doesn't know how to drive!" a kid behind us shouted with a point. The other one laughed. Rude little…
"Jerks," I growled, shooting them a glare.
"Jade, you can't call little girls jerks," Tori admonished. I rolled my eyes.
"Hey, girl! That's a stupid black jacket!" the same kid jeered next. Her friend laughed again. I ignored them, smoothing a hand down the soft leather, and adjusting the collar. They could say whatever they wanted. Tori already told me how hot I looked in leather jackets. I played with the necklace Vega gave me, watching her frown at the comment. It was her turn to glare at them.
"Jerks," she stated evenly, setting down the sushi roll she was about to eat. I picked it up and ate it for her.
"Hey!" Tori exclaimed, indignant.
"You weren't going to eat it," I said with a shrug.
"Not yet, but eventually," she argued, moving her plate further from me and using her arms to defend it. I smirked and faked another attempt. She kicked my foot lightly in retaliation. My brows shot up.
"Oh, that's how you wanna play, huh?" I threatened with a smile, kicking her back, but a little harder than she did. We started eating and occasionally fended off each other's foot, laughing when we missed or kicked the stool instead. When we finished eating, the game ended with it, leaving Tori smiling. I returned it, satisfied now that she wasn't sulking.
"You know, some might say this date didn't start out well, but I'm having fun. Driving here was just a bump in the road," Tori jested with extra emphasis and a wiggle of her eyebrows. I groaned in exasperation and rolled my eyes.
"No corny dad jokes," I complained good-naturedly. She laughed.
"All right," she agreed, still laughing. I took a moment to study her, fond of the way she looked when she laughed. I averted my gaze once she calmed down.
"So, what's new in the life of Tori Vega?" I questioned. She quirked a questioning brow.
"Like you don't know. We see each other every day," she teased.
"Yeah, but I have to be missing out on something. Tell me something I don't know," I requested. She hummed in thought and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The feather earrings she started wearing looked good on her.
"Oh, did you know I was the Hambone champion when I was a kid?" she finally responded.
"A what?" I inquired, not familiar with the word. Instead of explaining, she pulled out her phone to show me a video. I watched, amused at the events but also confused. It was a pretty ridiculous…sport? I didn't even know what to call it.
"No way. You literally challenge someone to slapping yourself," I commented.
"It isn't just that," she disagreed.
"Sure," I stated, taking a drink of water.
"You'd change your mind if you saw the home video I have," she remarked.
"You mean little Vega in a fierce Hambone competition?" I gasped, faking interest.
"Yup, and winning," she bragged. I laughed. Cute.
"I'll take you up on that," I said. Her phone chimed and she looked down at a text, frowning when she read it.
"Ugh, Trina's been bugging me about a huge upcoming sale at Wanko's Warehouse, but I don't want to go because she said we'd have to wait in a long line the night before to get in first the next morning. Then she came up with this crazy idea that if we went in close to closing, we could hide and wait it out until the store opened and then we'd be the first ones there," Tori explained. Interesting. The look on my face must have given me away because Tori fixed me with a disapproving frown.
"You can't possibly agree with that logic. We could get arrested!" she reminded me.
"Scared of a little adventure?" I taunted. She crossed her arms.
"Jail is not an adventure, and our dad would kill us," she grumbled.
"Aww, but I bet it would be worth it if she got her hands on some new Fazzini boots," I continued to jest, earning a reluctant smile from Tori.
"Trina would so risk jail for that," she agreed, relaxing. She laughed.
"You seem to know my sister as much as you know me," she mentioned.
"Ew, gross," I spat, disgust plain on my face. She laughed again, pulling a smile on my own face. It always felt good to make her laugh.
"Well, if I ever do agree to it, you're going with us. You could probably get us out of any trouble. You know, because of your extensive criminal record," she teased playfully.
"Very true," I admitted. Tori's phone chimed again, and she let out an agitated sound, turning it off a moment later. I gasped dramatically, gaining a questioning look from Tori.
"You're turning off your phone for little ol' me? What about your loyal followers?" I said, using the voice that offended her.
"I don't talk like that, and yes, I'm turning off my phone just in case Trina starts trying to call me next. I don't want her interrupting our time together," she explained, starting off peeved and quieting to shy admittance. I smiled and made sure to turn off my own phone. Tori grinned at the gesture.
"Hey, remember when Sikowitz challenged us to spend a week without modern technology?" Tori said.
"Don't remind me. We failed miserably," I responded. Tori nodded while sipping from her water.
"That was rough," she agreed.
"But nothing compared to that Slap competition we had," I pointed out, taking a bite.
"That was so bad," she groaned, no doubt remembering the dumb things she did just for more followers.
"Too bad it got so out of hand. I was beating Beck with a car wash video I did in response to his own. He thought he could outshine me, but I proved him wrong," I said with a chuckle. Tori didn't respond so I turned from my food to see her on her phone.
"What happened to turning it off?" I asked, curious.
"Uhhh, I will. I just have to…oh wow," she stammered, eyes widening at the screen. I snatched the phone from her and held it out of reach so that I could see what she was ogling. Which turned out to be me. I burst out laughing and Tori turned red, scrambling to take back her phone. I let her have it.
"You just had to see it, didn't you?" I taunted, enjoying her blush.
"I was so busy trying to win I didn't bother looking at what the competition was doing. I think I would have given up if I saw that," she confessed, glancing at it once more before closing the video.
"If you liked it so much you could always help me wash my car next time," I suggested, smirking when shock registered on her face followed by another blush.
"Um, uh, well, yeah, okay. Sure," she accepted, nodding through her stammering.
"Good," I replied, eating my last sushi roll. Just then, a group of voices could be heard. Tori and I turned to see the gang come in. We both groaned at the same time.
"So much for our date," Tori whined. Cat saw us and bounded over, the others trailing behind her. They all settled on either side of Tori and me, eager to order.
"Hey girlies! How's it hangin'?" Robbie greeted, just as oblivious as Cat. Beck and Andre gave us an apologetic look.
"Fine," I forced out, meeting Tori's eyes. She gave me a supportive smile and shrugged. I sighed.
"Next time, I pick the place," I told her when our friends were busy ordering.
"Let me guess, the middle of nowhere?" she suggested.
"Sounds ideal," I replied. She took my hand and gave it a squeeze then turned to talk to Cat. Robbie joined in on her other side. Beck sat next to me while Andre was on his other side. Soon, their food came out and they started to eat. Tori politely let them, but I wasn't going to let this go without some retribution for interrupting our date.
"You guys know there's this germ called fecercillium that you can get from a spider crawling in your mouth when you're sleeping? Your uvula swells up really big so you can't breathe, and they have to cut a hole right here to drain the pus from your throat," I explained, using my hands to display the uvula's inflamed size as well as indicate where they would have to cut your throat. I looked around at their disgusted reactions. They hesitated to eat their food or just ate slower. Andre set his sushi down altogether.
"Does anyone want some candy?" Cat spoke up, already bouncing back. She was used to it. We all accepted, and she proceeded to dig around in her bra for gumdrops. She passed them out one by one while I stared at her. What was she doing carrying candy in her bra? I sighed and shook my head but ate the candy anyway.
~Tori~
It was weirder to me that I didn't find it weird when Cat gave us bra candy. It didn't taste too bad either. Jade's most recent factoid was something I could have lived without knowing though. I checked in with Jade to see her eating the candy too. She didn't look too mad about what happened, but there was still time for that to change.
"Hey, did anyone hear Trina trying to scat sing yesterday at lunch?" Andre shared. Jade and I shook our heads. We had a 'project' to do and spent all of lunch together in an empty classroom.
"Yeah. She is just awful," Beck responded.
"I have a question," Cat spoke up.
"What?" Andre replied.
"Every kid has to audition to get into Hollywood Arts, right?" she began. We all agreed.
"And Trina has no talent, right?" she continued.
"None whatsoever," Beck said.
"Horrible," Andre added. The rest of us only nodded.
"Then how did she pass her audition and get to go to school here?" Cat wondered.
"You haven't heard the story?" Jade asked. Heck, even I haven't heard the story. I always wondered the same thing. Asking Trina wasn't going to get me anywhere. Besides, she would probably just tell me that she was the most talented one and that was how she got in.
"No, but I love stories," Cat replied.
"I'll tell it," Andre volunteered, taking a drink before starting.
"Okay, it was about four years ago. Back then, Trina did have talent. Oh, yes. She could sing like an angel. There she was on that stage, singing like an angel," Andre began. Jade raised a skeptical brow but stayed quiet. I was already invested despite knowing that Trina was never able to sing well.
"She could sing classically, and it blew everyone away. Sinjin was in charge of the special effects and sounds, so when they took a break, Sinjin, you know, being Sinjin, accidentally broke a spotlight that swung into Trina's throat," Andre explained.
"Really?" Cat said.
"Yep," Andre confirmed.
"That light hit Trina so hard it knocked all the talent right out of her," Andre said. Hmm, that was an interesting explanation. But highly doubtful. I still didn't think Trina ever had talent.
"Okay, that is not how Trina got into Hollywood Arts," Jade refuted, arms crossed. I looked to her next. I had a feeling her story would be entertaining if not true.
"That's the story I always heard," Andre told her.
"Well, it's wrong," Beck joined in.
"Then how did she get in?" Cat questioned, desperation coloring her tone. I looked to Beck, waiting. But before he could respond, Mrs. Lee walked over.
"You want something else?" she asked us.
"Tori?" Jade inquired, looking to me. I glanced at my watch.
"Nah, we should get going. Just the check, please," I answered, turning away from Mrs. Lee to give Jade a meaningful look. Mrs. Lee left us to being berated by the gang.
"You're going already?"
"Don't you want to hang out?"
"We have more stories to tell!"
"I have candy!"
Jade rolled her eyes and then squeezed them shut before standing abruptly.
"No!" she shouted, silencing everyone trying to get us to stay.
"I want to go home. Besides, I only agreed to pay for Vega because we were already here hanging out, but I refuse to pay for you guys too," she snapped.
"No problem. I've got that covered," Beck said, taking out his wallet. He was leafing through it when Mrs. Lee returned with the check, plopping it down in front of me. I picked it up to see that she grouped all our orders together.
"Could we get this separate?" I requested.
"No," she replied bluntly.
"Whatever. It can't be that bad. Let me see it," Jade dismissed, taking the check from me.
"Chiz," she whispered under her breath, wordlessly passing it to Beck who looked it over too.
"Uh, well…" he said, going through his wallet again.
"Oh no. Not again," I groaned, remembering when we went to dinner with Sikowitz.
"Robbie, did you order extra expensive chiz again?" Jade snapped at him.
"No!" he vehemently denied, shaking his head.
"Well, I only have twenty-two. Enough for just me and Tori," Jade said.
"And I only have forty. We…we kind of don't have enough money," Beck told Mrs. Lee.
"Would it be okay if we- ow!" Robbie tried to say when she reached over and slapped him across the face. I jumped in my seat, startled. Cat squeaked and the guys grimaced. A small, amused smile alighted on Jade's face.
"You ate sixty-six dollars worth of sushi," Mrs. Lee stated.
"I know, but-" Robbie stammered.
"Now you give me sixty-six worth of money," she demanded, talking over him.
"We just told you, we can't," Andre spoke up.
"Just…give us a minute to figure this out," I requested, standing up.
"Yeah, sure. I'll give you a minute," Mrs. Lee promised. She probably meant just a minute too. As soon as she was gone, I panicked.
"Now what are we gonna do?" I asked, grabbing at Jade's arm. She gently shook me off.
"Look, we have enough for us two. I'll make her separate the check, we'll pay, and be out of here," Jade replied.
"But what about the others?" I asked, gesturing to them.
"We could try to sneak out?" Andre suggested. We looked around for Mrs. Lee, but she seemed to have appeared out of thin air right behind us.
"If you try to sneak out, you will have to get past Kwakoo," she said, startling Robbie and Cat.
"What- what's a Kwakoo?" Cat questioned. In response, Mrs. Lee called for Kwakoo. A large man with tattoos and a butcher knife came out from the kitchen.
"Oh dear," I whined.
"I thought nobody our age says that?" Robbie pointed out.
"I'm bringing it back," I told him, plopping in my seat. Jade rested a hand on my shoulder.
"We aren't paying for them. We have what we owe," she stated evenly.
"Jade, we can't leave them here to deal with Kwakoo," I whispered, concerned. Jade tried staring me down, but I held firm. Eventually, she sighed heavily, giving in.
"Look, you know who we are," I began, addressing Mrs. Lee.
"Yeah. You're the evil girls who left my daughter hanging from the ceiling," she spat.
"That was a long time ago," I rebuffed.
"I still hold a grudge," she retorted.
"Just separate our check, lady, so we can get out your hair," Jade snapped. Mrs. Lee scowled at her.
"You order my food. You chew my food. You swallow my food. You know what comes next?" she inquired. Gross. Jade frowned, probably thinking the same as me.
"I'm not comfortable with potty talk unless it's with my doctor," Robbie told her, offended.
"No, igmo. You pay for my food," she corrected him, stalking off.
"Come on. Let's just leave," Jade said, getting up. I hastily grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.
"No. Kwakoo will hurt us," I reminded her.
"Do you see him around?" Jade said, gesturing to the area. I looked around. It was empty.
"No," she finished, proving her point.
"I'm scared," Cat spoke quietly. Jade sat down with a loud sigh.
"Fine. I'll leave, go get more money, and bring it back," Beck said, getting up. He strode for the exit and rounded the corner only to be dragged in by the scruff of his jacket by Kwakoo who sat him back down in his chair.
"I got Kwakoo-ed," he said, letting his hands fall to his lap. We heard Mrs. Lee yelling at some other poor soul and shared a relieved exchange of glances.
"Okay, looks like we got some time," Andre said.
"Yay! So, tell me how Trina really got into Hollywood Arts," Cat asked.
"All right, here's the real story," Jade said before anyone else could share. I questioned her with a look, but she only cleared her throat.
"So-" she began, only to stop when Cat pulled out more candy to eat while she listened. Jade just started again.
"So, four years ago, Trina did her audition, and it was like torture, but not the good kind," she said. There was a good kind? My mind wandered, but I shook it away in order to pay attention.
"She sung terribly. All off key and screechy. You've heard it. She hasn't changed. Sikowitz was appalled and Eichner didn't think she belonged at Hollywood Arts. So the faculty agreed unanimously to decline her acceptance, but Trina used knockout gas. She then marked herself as accepted on all their forms. And when they woke up, they had no memory of what happened, and that is how Trina got into Hollywood Arts," Jade explained.
"Well, that is a fantastic story, that never happened," Beck refuted.
"That's how I heard it," Jade said. Beck only gave her a look that clearly said he didn't believe it.
"Well, anyone want some licorice?" Cat offered.
"I'll take some," Andre accepted. Cat started to pull out a long piece of licorice and then turned to Jade. With an eye roll, she reached down to unsheathe scissors from her boot to cut it so that Cat could pass it to whoever wanted some. The last cut gave Jade the longest piece. She stuck it between her teeth with a smile. I refrained from biting the end of the treat and instead begged Jade for a piece with my eyes. She sighed and cut hers in half, passing it to me. I grinned and stealthily gave her a peck on the cheek when no one was watching. She shoved me away, blushing. I chuckled and ate my piece of candy while on my phone.
Ugh! At Nozu sushi. I'M STUCK HERE.
HEEEEELLLLP MEEEE!
Feeling: Hostage-y
When I was done, I looked up to see that we were the last ones in the whole place. Everyone else was gone besides the workers who were cleaning up.
"I'm still waiting for my money," Mrs. Lee ground out, leaning on the counter in front of us.
"How do you expect us to get it?" I questioned her. My voice strained with irritation. I could feel Jade watching me carefully.
"Why don't you whip out one of your fruit-shaped telephones and call someone to bring you the stupid money?" Mrs. Lee retorted, raising her voice.
"Because we- oh, okay. That's a good idea," I conceded, calming down. I walked away and pulled out my phone to call Trina but decided on our parents first.
"Who you calling?" Jade asked, walking up to me.
"My dad, then my mom, and if all else fails, Trina," I answered.
"Good luck. I would offer to call the rents, but I already know they would either be too busy to help or turn it into some kind of life lesson," she said. I listened to her while the phone rang, but dad didn't pick up. He was probably busy. I called mom next and waited. She answered, but she was stuck at work and told me to call dad or Trina.
"Oh god," I groaned, already losing hope.
"What?" Jade replied.
"I have to call Trina," I told her.
"Just forget it. She won't help us," Jade said with a wave of her hand.
"Do you think Beck's parents could-" I wondered, but Mrs. Lee was at it again.
"So, when is my money gonna get here?" she demanded, looking from me to Jade. I sighed.
"We don't have-" I tried to say, but again I was cut off.
"Well, if you don't have money, then I guess you'll have to work," she said.
"No way," Jade refused.
"Yes way," Mrs. Lee argued.
"I have enough money for me and Tori. I'm not going to work just because-" Jade snapped, voice rising, but I stepped in. I forced her to take a step back from Mrs. Lee with a hand on her chest. She was starting to lean forward dangerously.
"Jade, cool it. They're our friends. They didn't mean to get us in this situation. The least we could do is stick together," I said, talking her down to the best of my ability. Jade stared at me a moment then closed her eyes and sighed.
"Fine," she finally agreed. I ran my hands down her arms placatingly and squeezed her hands in mine. She squeezed back, a little harder than necessary.
"You will do restaurant work," Mrs. Lee interrupted, stepping between us.
"What do we have to do?" I inquired, hesitant. She only smiled and gestured for us to follow her. The gang tagged along after she shouted at them. We took off our jackets before we were taken into the back where we were told to wear aprons and hair nets. Once we were ready, we stood behind a long counter with Kwakoo overlooking us. He had placed trays of squid out. Some were already on cutting boards.
"We don't know how to chop squid," Beck said. Mrs. Lee scoffed and gestured at the dead sea creatures surrounding us then at the knife.
"That's the squid. That's the chopper. Use the chopper to chop the squid," she explained.
"Can you go over it again?" Robbie asked.
"No! Kwakoo, sing the squid-chopping song," she ordered. The what now? Jade let out a sound of agitation next to me.
"Aye!" he grunted, picking up the knife.
"Chop, chop, chop the squid. Chop, chop, chop the squid. Chop, chop, chop the squid. Disappoint my father," he sang, slamming the knife down with every word. Cat clapped along until the end of the song, a sad frown on her face.
"How accurate," Jade remarked, referring to her own father. I sighed.
"You know, sometimes I think I disappoint my father too, and every time I try to bring it up-" Robbie tried to share, but Mrs. Lee cut him off. No pun intended.
"Chop and sing!" she yelled. Everyone quickly picked up their knives. Jade did so happily.
"You look too excited to be wielding a knife," I pointed out.
"That's because I am," she replied eerily, smirking. I narrowed my eyes at her, unwilling to let her spook me.
"Sing!" Mrs. Lee commanded. We all started singing and chopping until she left the room. Only then did we stop singing but kept chopping.
"Trina didn't get into school by using knockout gas," Beck suddenly said. At first, I thought he was trying to start something with Jade, but then I realized he was just trying to get our minds off the work.
"That's the story I've always heard," Jade drawled.
"I don't think it's true," Andre said.
"I don't know. Trina is kind of kooky in the head," Cat pointed out. I nodded at that.
"A little nutty in the old noggin," she went on. Jade and Beck nodded too.
"Some girls are like that, you know," Cat continued, pausing her chopping to pull more candy out of her bra.
"Some girls are," Jade agreed, staring pointedly at Cat. Andre and Beck agreed.
"Right?" Cat agreed too, oblivious that it was her they knew to be one of those girls.
"Okay. Do you want to know how Trina really got into Hollywood Arts?" Beck said. So now it was Beck's turn. I liked these stories. They were probably better than the truth.
"Oh, yes. Tell us great Beck who always seems to know everything," Jade taunted without malice. He shot her a knowing smile that made me smile too, knowing what they were referring to. It was Beck who managed to get Jade motivated enough to approach me about how she felt. He knew that I liked her and that we could work.
"You're happy, aren't you?" he pointed out.
"Just tell the story," she deflected, yet her small smile remained.
"Okay. Four years ago, Trina came here to audition. She sang terribly and her dancing was just as bad. Sikowitz didn't hesitate to tell her the truth and Lane pretty much said the same thing. Eichner told her she wasn't accepted and so Trina challenged all five of them to a fight. Which she won. And that's what happened," Beck explained.
"Oh, and I'm crazy to think that the knockout gas story is true," Jade scoffed. Well, Trina was a master in karate. It was a bit conceivable, but I didn't think she would try to fight teachers.
"You seriously think Trina got into school by ninja-whacking five teachers?" Andre questioned in disbelief.
"It's the story I heard," Beck defended himself.
"Wait. Did Sikowitz have hair?" Cat wondered.
"Yes. Or so I've been told," Beck answered. I set down my knife and turned to look at them.
"You know, this has been up for debate in my household too and no one seems to know how she managed to get into Hollywood Arts. I was hoping one of you guys knew, but I don't think it's any of your stories," I said with a shake of my head. I pulled out my phone to see if Trina would bust us out of here early by bringing what we owed. Maybe blackmailing her that I knew how she got in would get her to comply? It would be bluffing, but it was relatively easy to trick Trina. I stopped by the Slap first. Maybe someone out there would see my post and help us out. It was a big maybe, but I was hopeful.
ARGG! STILL STUCK at Nozu
with a billion pounds of
GROSS SQUID!
Feeling: Squidish
~Jade~
It felt like hours had passed since we started chopping squid. The stories had run out and the stupid squid song was driving me nuts. How much squid did she even need? Was this all a waste just to teach us a lesson? As if on cue, Mrs. Lee came back in.
"Well, did you terrible children finish chopping the squid?" she inquired, nonchalant. She was lucky I wasn't as bad as people believed me to be, or this knife would not be used for squid.
"Yes, we chopped all seventeen pounds of your nasty squid, all right?" Tori snapped, tired and upset. I smiled at that. I had gone on autopilot a while ago, but it looked like Tori had been aware of every grueling minute. Especially when her text went unanswered. Tori didn't stop there. She went off on the restaurant owner.
"See? Now you have enough chopped squid to fill the Grand Canyon, and three more medium-sized canyons!" she shouted, expression frazzled and angry. I loved when she got going.
"They have medium-sized canyons?" Mrs. Lee questioned, unfazed by Tori's rant.
"Can we please leave?" Robbie interjected. That was a surprise.
"Hmm. You forgot to chop this piece of squid. See it? This piece still unchopped," she said, waving it around. Tori snatched it from her hand and threw it on the cutting board. With a war cry she pulverized it with the knife.
"There! You happy?!" she yelled at Mrs. Lee. She looked uncertain and a bit scared. Even I would be scared if Tori pulled that chiz with me. Scared, but also flustered. I stepped close to Tori and slipped my hand in hers between us.
"Can we go?" I asked, a bit forceful.
"Hm, okay. Now you may get out," she finally accepted, hitching her thumb over her shoulder.
"Yes!" Tori cheered along with Cat. Beck and Andre sighed.
"Yippity do da!" Robbie exclaimed, launching himself over the counter while the rest of us went around it to the door. There was a loud crash and we all turned to see Robbie frozen on the countertop, broken dishes scattered across the floor.
"Oh, no! My beautiful plates!" Kwakoo moaned, running over with Mrs. Lee.
"Now you got to work here all day and night until you pay for these broken dishes," she ordered. Like hell we will. I opened my mouth to refuse but Tori beat me to it.
"No," she stated.
"Yeah, no!" Robbie joined in.
"He's got to work here!" Tori continued, pointing at Robbie. Yep. Sounds about right.
"Yeah! What?!" Robbie exclaimed.
"You broke the dishes. We broke nothing," Tori continued, gesturing from him to us.
"So you're just gonna leave me here?" he whined.
"Yepperty do da!" Tori replied, grabbing me and our stuff by the door. She ran for the car and jumped in the driver's seat without a second thought. I stayed quiet, wondering how this would turn out. Surprisingly, she drove better than she did when we got here. Probably because she wasn't overthinking anything. We pulled up at her house in silence. We hadn't talked the whole way. She shut off the car and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. All at once, she looked relieved. She leaned forward and rested her head on the wheel.
"Tori?" I questioned, placing a hand on her back. She relaxed further.
"I'm just so glad to be out of there. I should have listened to you. We could have already paid and been home watching movies and cuddling on the couch. Instead, I made you go through all that just because I-" she rambled, but I pulled her close and shut her up with a long kiss. I deepened it and ran my hand through her hair, resting at the nape of her neck. The other dragged down her back to grip at her hip, tugging just enough to tell her how much I wanted her against me. She pulled back panting to look into my eyes. Without a word she unbuckled herself and climbed over to straddle my lap. She fumbled for the handle that would recline the seat. She kissed me a while longer, hands respectfully still on my shoulders. We parted slowly, Tori brushing my nose with hers.
"Sorry I lost it back there. That women just…" she mumbled, unable to find the right words. I brushed back her hair.
"I know what you mean. It's a good thing I like it when you're angry. More so when it's at someone else so I can admire you without getting mad too," I admitted. She chuckled against my lips, kissing me briefly. My hands slid down her sides to rest at her hips. I could feel her body shudder in response to my touch. Wow, it was getting hot in here.
"So, uh, you really don't know how Trina got into Hollywood Arts?" I questioned, casually opening the window for air. She smiled at the action but shook her head at the question.
"She wouldn't tell me," Tori replied, sitting up. I missed her body pressed to mine but I knew we would have to part soon. For now.
"Maybe it's something we'll never get to know," I suggested.
"Maybe," she agreed, pulling on the door handle. The door popped open, and she climbed out. I followed her.
"See you in school?" I inquired. She nodded.
"See you," she responded, kissing my cheek. I waited until she was inside before driving away. When I got home, I glance at the passenger seat and smiled. Today was horrible, but it had a lot of redeeming qualities too. The next day I picked up Tori and we headed to school, comfortable in the silence. We went to class and talked with the gang normally, none of us ready to bring up the disaster that was the day before. But there was still one question that lingered. Tori and I entered Sikowitz's class to hear him talking about some gross sandwich storage he had under his bed. Andre mentioned that it was a long story and I helpfully mentioned that it wasn't nearly as ridiculous as Beck's story about how Trina got into school. I shot Beck a playful smirk and he shook his head, but he was smiling too.
"Yeah, um, how did your sister get into this school?" Andre asked Tori.
"I really don't know. I guess she just auditioned and got in," she said with a shrug.
"But she's untalented," Cat said.
"Cat, that's mean…and true. How did she get in?" Tori truly wondered. That set off the whole classroom with theories and stories.
"Children. Kids," Sikowitz spoke over us, clearing his throat loudly. We fell quiet to listen.
"I can tell you how Trina got into Hollywood Arts," he revealed.
"You know?" Andre asked.
"Mhm. I was at her audition four years ago," he began, stopping to stare up at the ceiling. We waited for him to continue but he just stared.
"So are you gonna tell us?" Tori inquired, snapping him out of whatever funk he was in.
"Oh! Yeah. So, just before Trina's audition was about to begin, principal Eichner walked into the room. I was working on opening a special coconut my cousin sent from Sri Lanka so that I had something to drink during the next audition. Anyway, Eichner told us that Sinjin got his head stuck in another soda machine and he needed help getting him out. I was ready to apply my expertise, but Eichner told me to stay and continue with the auditions. Before he left, he mentioned that the coconut smelled weird and it was probably spoiled. It was delivered to my back door, so I didn't see it for weeks. But I was very curious how it would taste, so despite how pungent the smell was, I drank it. What I saw was Trina in a masterful vision unlike anything I've seen before. It was magical, and I was feeling rather good myself. So after seeing…that, I accepted Trina into Hollywood Arts," he finished. Did I hear that right? What the chiz, Sikowitz?
"You mean, just 'cause you drank some bad coconut milk?" Tori questioned, nose scrunched adorably. I looked away to raise a brow at Sikowitz.
"And saw visions?" Andre added.
"I'm not proud of it," Sikowitz admitted. He could have done us all a favor and come clean so that Trina was forced to reaudition. Before pesky younger sisters fixed things, of course.
"Hey, does anyone smell sushi?" Sikowitz asked. We all tensed, exchanging glances with each other.
"It smells kind of like salmon. Or maybe it's yellowtail?" Sikowitz guessed, sniffing at the air and then at his clothes. I watched as Tori slipped down in her seat, biting at her bottom lip.
"No, wait. Maybe it's-" he started to guess again when Tori cracked.
"It's squid! All right? It's squid! It's squid!" she shouted, standing up.
"Squid makes sense. It's totally squid," Sikowitz accepted, taken aback and concerned. The rest of the class and the gang quietly agreed. I rolled my eyes and stood up, walking over to grab her by the wrist and pull her to the door.
"It's not that hard," she whined to me.
"Uh huh," I grunted in acknowledgment, opening the door and pulling her through.
"I just…couldn't get the smell off…" she muttered to herself. I took her to the janitor's closet where she took a seat on the large toolbox in the corner and leaned back against the wall.
"To be fair, I think all of us stink," I remarked, sniffing at myself. It was subtle, but with all of us in a room it must have made it worse.
"I never want to think of that again. I think I'm put off by Nozu in general," Tori lamented.
"Good. Then I'll never have to see Mrs. Lee again," I approved. I moved closer and opened my arms. She slid off the toolbox and fell into me. We held each other in silence, just enjoying the comfort and contact. Then I sniffed at her hair and faked a gag.
"Oh god, Tori. You might smell worse than the rest of us," I joked, receiving a punch to the arm. I flinched but laughed, causing her to laugh too.
"You gank," she accused, but her smile was back.
"You don't honestly stink though," I amended, tucking her hair back.
"Well, good," she mumbled, looking away.
"Hey?" I said, lifting her eyes to mine with a hand at her chin.
"Yeah?" she replied, meeting my gaze. I held the serious look as long as I could.
"You wanna get sushi after school?" I asked her, breaking into laughter when she glared at me and punched my arm again. The second one really did hurt.
"You're not funny. I hope you know that," she told me, crossing her arms.
"Sure I am. In fact, it's the whole reason you're going out with me," I jested, rubbing at my arm. Suddenly, she was serious, brown eyes locking with mine.
"Are we going out?" she asked me. In the whole fiasco at Nozu I never got to go through with my plan to make us official. I held her hands in mine and took a step closer.
"Tori, will you be my girlfriend?" I finally asked. She kept me waiting on purpose, playfully thinking about it first.
"Vega," I growled. She giggled and surged forward to kiss me. When we broke apart, she held my face in her hands.
"Yes, I will," she accepted, pulling me into another kiss. After everything we went through, Tori Vega was my girlfriend. And I was hers.