A/N: Everything will make sense, I promise. Give it time. Until then, count to ten, take deep breaths, and think about Tommy shirtless. Here's number six--I hope you enjoy! Don't forget about that pretty little purple box at the bottom, either!
Chapter 6
"I hate school..." Jude muttered to no one in particular as she walked into G-Major after her two week absence. The time Darius gave Jude off wasn't exactly a vacation for her since she had to start school two days after she got back from her tour.
Still, she was glad to be back at the studio and to begin settling into a new routine. After sharing a quick greeting with Sadie, Jude dumped her bag behind the receptionist's desk and made her way back towards the studios, figuring Kwest would be waiting for her so they could begin her third album.
The sound of laughter distracted Jude and she headed towards the source, which turned out to be Studio A. The door was open, so Jude just stuck her head in to find Mason and a girl Jude didn't recognize clutching their stomachs, trying to recover from a bout of laughter.
"Um, am I interrupting something?" Jude asked, trying to figure out who this new girl was.
Mason was the first to look up. "Oh, Jude, hi, I'm glad you're back. And no, you're not interrupting anything, just a good discussion Karma and I were having about, um, something." His eyes locked with the strange girl's and smiles spread across their faces as another fit of laughter threatened to erupt.
Jude just looked back and forth between the two, clearly confused.
Mason finally noticed Jude's face. "You don't know, do you? Oh, well, Jude, this is Karma Reed, the newest Instant Star. Karma, Jude Harrison, the original Instant Star."
The girls' gazes locked from across the room, and Jude was unnerved at the...arrogance she found in Karma's eyes, like she already felt she was superior to Jude. Neither of them moved to shake hands or anything. Jude finally decided to be the better person.
"Hi." Yep, that was really tough to say. It takes a big person to say one little monosyllabic word.
"Hi," Karma replied, clearly not interested in anything Jude might have to say.
"Well, um, I'll just let you two get back to whatever you were, uh, talking about."
Mason shrugged and said, "Later, Harrison," while Karma didn't acknowledge her departure at all. Before she was even completely gone from the room, Mason and Karma were engrossed in their conversation again and Jude Harrison was completely forgotten.
She walked out.
Well, that was that, she supposed. Her true replacement was finally here, and Karma seemed to know that she was exactly that: Jude's replacement.
She finally reached Studio B and walked in to find Kwest already there, just like she expected.
He looked up as she entered. "Hey. How was your tour?"
"Good, it was good," Jude replied, most of her attention still focused on what had just happened a few moments ago.
Noticing the odd look on her face, Kwest asked, "You ok, Harrison?"
She smiled, covering up perfectly. "Yep, I'm fine. Ready to get started?"
Kwest nodded, and so began Jude Harrison's third album.