Author's note - You probably didn't expect this. Sorry but I'm no fluffy writer.
Tori winced as she got up from her bed. Dad went a little overboard last night, she thought grimly. Walking over to her bathroom she flipped on the light. She was momentarily blinded by the brightness, but then made her way to the bathroom sink. Sighing softly she took off her shirt and inspected herself in the mirror. Yup, she thought, he definitely went a little overboard. In the mirror she saw that her body was covered in bruises, new and old. I'm a freaking painting, look at all the pretty colors, she thought sarcastically. A wave of self-disgust flittered through her, I can't even defend myself; I'm so pathetic. She shook her head to get rid of depressing thoughts and quickly hopped in the shower. As the hot water rained down upon her battered form she remembered the events of last night.
A door slammed from behind Tori and she inwardly groaned. Her father was home, and from the sound of it, he wasn't happy. "VICTORIA!!! What is this mess in MY house?!?" Puzzled, Tori went to inspect what he was talking about. "Pete? What's the matter, what did I do this time?" She couldn't help sounding annoyed; she was too tired from practice. "Don't you talk to me like that! I work hard to provide for this family, and when I come home I expect this house to be clean! Look, you left your sticks all over the place!" Tori looked at him incredulously; there was one pair of sticks on the ground, and they were right next to her bag. "Okay, I'll put them away. I'm sorry." She made to pick them up but her father kicked her in the ribs. Tori cried out in pain as she heard something snap. "You think you're so great, just like your mom, well she left, and is never coming back. She doesn't want anything to do with you! Your worthless, a complete waste of space!" His words stung more than his kick; she tried to stop the tears from falling but it was no use. "Are you crying? What do you have to cry about? I give you food, clothes; I put a roof over your head. What else do you want?" He yelled, while grabbing her by the hair. "Pete, please I'm sorry...don't." He gave her a cold look, "Yes, you are sorry, a sorry piece of shit. Now go to your room!" She didn't need telling twice as she scurried to her room. Tori jumped on her small, tattered bed and quietly cried herself to sleep.
Tori stepped out of the shower and looked at the time. Crap monkeys! Practice started 30 minutes ago! Hastily getting ready she grabbed her sticks and headed out the door. Her school, Evans, was right next door; she could jump the fence and be in the practice field across from the band hall. Bounding down her stairs she almost made it to the front door before a large, beefy hand roughly grabbed her. "Wher' do ya think yer goin'?" The slurred voice of her father hissed in her ear. "Pete," she pleaded, "I-I have to go to practice." He threw her to the floor, "Don't you take that tone with me! Now go to yer stupid practice!" He kicked her viciously before stomping away. Slowly, Tori picked herself up and limped to her backyard fence, holding her midsection in pain. This is going to be hell, she thought. Awkwardly she scrambled over the fence and ran towards the band hall. She heard the drumline warming up and quickened her pace. Tori's body was sore all over, and with every step she took sharp pains shot through her. Stumbling through the double band hall doors she got her drum and raced outside. She finally reached her line and was met by the stern glare of her drum captain, Ron. "Parker!" she cringed at his angry tone, "Why are you ALWAYS late?" "I-uh...overslept?" He gaped. "You...overslept? Tell me, what kind of year is this?" Tori shuffled nervously, "A state year," she muttered. "Good, now give me 50!" Tori didn't have the strength to argue so she hit the ground. Wincing in pain she slowly did 50 pushups; through some miracle she managed not to collapse, even though she could tell at least one of her ribs was broken. Tori gently touched the rib that seemed to stick out of place and gasped softly; she had never felt this type of pain before. She took in a deep breath and blocked out the pain, a thing she had learned to do while living with her father. I hope it's not broken too bad; Dad won't take me to the doctor."Tori c'mon! We are going to learn the new drill!" Lauren yelled at Tori, effectively snapping her out of her morbid thoughts.
Pat studied the drumline as they practiced. That girl, Tori, was late again but he was more concerned at the way she looked. Yesterday she was so vibrant, full of life, but today...today she seemed sad about something, and Pat did not miss the occasional wince of pain. Something was up, and Pat wanted to find out.
Morning practice ended and everyone headed inside, sweaty and tired. "Tough practice huh Tor?" Randy asked. "Huh, what?" Tori replied. "What's up Tori? You're out of it today. I was surprised that you missed that last triplet roll at the end, we practiced it all yesterday." Tori smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, I guess I just forgot." Randy just shook his head, "Well you better not forget again; Ron looked pissed out there." "Okay, Okay, I'll try to do better." Tori said. Randy nodded, then smiled wolfishly, "So...about that prank." He whispered, leaning in close, "I was thinking we could take his clothes while he takes a shower, and then leave a ransom note to get his stash of snickers." An evil grin broke out on Tori's face, "Awesome. You grab his clothes and I'll write the note." "Use different handwriting, or print it out, there's a computer in the band hall office and the directors or at a meeting." "But the door is locked." Randy pulled out a weird looking object. "This is a professional pick, it can open any door." Tori stared, "Where did you get that?" Randy shrugged, "TV. You know you should really watch late night infomercials, there are all sorts of stuff on sale." "I'm sorry I'm not a crazed insomniac like you Mr. Edward Norton." Randy laughed, "We watch Fight Club entirely too often, besides, if I'm anyone, it's Brad Pitt." Tori scoffed, "You wish." Randy snorted. "Anyway, just take this pick and open the door, you know the substitute is busy with the band, so nobody will see you. We better hurry up though Ron takes his shower in exactly 10 minutes." Randy scratched his head in thought, "You know, he really is very predictable; remind me why you dated him again?" Tori lightly punched him on the shoulder, "Shut up and help me pick the lock."
They sneaked silently to the band office and Randy began to pick the lock. "Hey Tor, play lookout." Tori heard the click of a lock opening and quickly opened the door. She stalked inside and turned on the computer. Randy whispered beside her, "Meet me in the locker room in ten minutes." Tori nodded and proceeded to log on, "Hurry p, c'mon." she muttered at the slow computer. "Yes!" she whispered as it finally came up. Tori then typed the ransom note and pushed the button to print it out. "You piece of shit! Why won't you print." She cussed at the computer. "You know, just a guess, but I think it's out of paper. Lucky for you I was just sent by the band directors to get some." Tori jumped as she heard a voice from behind. Turning around suddenly she saw Patrick grinning like mad, a package of paper in his hands. "So what are you doing in this restricted area that is the band office?" "Ummm...doing a paper." He peered over at the screen. "Hmm... clothes for snickers...well what an interesting paper. By any chance is this for a certain brown-haired drum captain." "I-I have no idea what you're talking about, now may I please have some paper to print it out." Pat handed over the paper. "Well I suggest you hurry, Ron was already heading over to the showers." "Shoot!" Tori exclaimed as she hurriedly printed the note out. "Thanks Pat." Tori said, running out of the office. She met Randy by the locker rooms, "What took you so long?" He asked, annoyed. "I ran into a little interference." "Well, give me the note I have to switch it with the clothes." Tori handed him the note and walked over to the girl's locker room. Five minutes later Tori heard a loud yell from the boy's locker room "Ahh... life is good," she sighed.