Tori:
Jade went home after school, saying that her mom just came back to town and wanted to spend some time with her.
She offered to take me along, but I figured that Jade needed some time away from me to spend with her family too. I can't keep hogging her all the time, and sometimes I'm worried that she'll get tired of how clingy I think I am becoming. Besides, I don't think I'm prepared emotionally or mentally to meet her mother just yet. Jade never talked about her family all that much, so having to meet one of them without any idea what I'm getting into sounds extremely intimidating. What if her mom doesn't like me, or disapproves of our relationship because we're both girls?
Pushing these negative thoughts aside, I decided to focus on the present I'm preparing for Jade for her birthday. Now, I have no idea if Jade even celebrates her birthday, since that topic never actually came up in our conversations. The only person who might have the faintest idea is no longer on speaking terms with either of us. I think he's pissed at me for stealing his girlfriend from him. I mean, I would be too, if I were to lose a wonderful girl like Jade to one of the people who I thought was my friend.
I know Beck's extremely unhappy with me, but it still hurts when he joined Ryder Daniel's group of friends, who have been one of those most vocal in gossiping behind my back. I overheard one of the guys in their clique commenting about me being a "stupid one-legged dyke" to his groupie the other day when I was in R&B vocals class. I tried to pretend I didn't hear it, but it still pains me to know that there are people out there calling me nasty names.
Turning on my Pearbook, I clicked on my music creating software and began working on the third song for Jade. I got stuck with the lyrics halfway into writing, and decided to call André over for help. He's been complaining that we never hang out anymore ever since Jade and I got together, and it'll be nice to spend some time with my best friend.
André popped in an hour later, portable keyboard in hand. He placed the instrument onto the seat beside my laptop, and made himself comfortable on the couch before draping a hand on my shoulder, a big grin on his face. "How are you, chica?"
"I'm good. You know, same old."
He eyed my prosthetic leg with interest. "You know, I've never really seen it up close till now. Is it really detachable?"
I shrugged, taking out an Allen wrench, which is now a permanent accessory in my pocket. Lifting my leg onto the coffee table, I plugged in the hex key and unscrewed the metal connector for the prosthetic, pulling once to detach it and thrusting the fake limb in his hands. I watched as André's eyes widened in fascination as he turned the titanium hardware around. "Damn girl. This is so cool. It's almost like you're a cyborg in those Terminator movies or something."
Wrestling the limb back from him, I reattached it to my calf before punching him playfully on his arm. He picked up his keyboard, pressed a few buttons and proceeded to play a rendition of the soundtrack from the movie. Laughing, I turned back to my laptop.
"I'm working halfway through a song, but got stuck on the lyrics. Do you think you can help me with it?"
He ran through the verses I had typed, humming the melody. "Love song for Jade?"
I felt a blush creeping onto my face. "Yeah. I'm making her a cd for her birthday. I don't even know whether she's into celebrating such an occasion, but I would love to make this year a memorable one for her."
André nodded. "Let's get started then. We can make the lyrics more morbid because we all know she likes that kind of crazy chizz."