"The next person to steal one of my fries is going to lose a finger!" Tori exclaimed, hovering over her quickly dwindling lunch. Beck froze mid-air, bringing his arm back to rest at his side, giving Tori a reproachful look. Jade smirked casually, remembering some horror movie that was on late the night before, having a scene just like that. She imagined Tori being the one in the movie that lost her finger, and it made her smile stretch wide. Tori stole a quick glance, too afraid to even try to imagine what would make Jade smile like that
"What's everyone planning for this weekend?" Beck asked, turning his attention back to his own lunch of a pizza slice and bottle of water. He took a bite and lounged back, hands clasped behind his head, enjoying the cool breeze. It was nearing the middle of September, but there were still a few warm days left.
"I think there's a sale at Jamie's" said Cat, flipping through a magazine casually as she spoke. "I need to get some new fabrics and stuff for Sikowitz' class, I'm doing costume designs for his new production."
"Oh, the one about werewolf pirates?" Robbie asked, perking up from his PearPad at the mention. "I signed up for the lead, but I doubt I'll get it. I think Sikowitz hates me."
"I think everyone hates you" Jade spat, looking bored at the conversation. Robbie glanced at her with a frown, but when it looked like she might take a swing at him if he opened his mouth, he swallowed back the words and sat in silence.
At that moment, Andre crossed the Asphalt Cafe and plopped down in the seat next to Tori.
"Hey hey ladies and gents!" he called out to the table, beaming from ear to ear. "How is everyone doin' on this fine afternoon?" Andre took a quick bite from his sandwich, scanning the table animatedly.
"You seem like you're in a good mood" Tori commented, Andre's infectious smile reaching her as well. "What's the occasion?"
"We got our grades in Advanced Rhythm today, got an A for that song you sang last week at the Karaoke Dokie." Andre grinned even harder, patting Tori on the back gently.
"That's great Andre!" Tori and the rest of the gang chimed in at practically the same time. Everyone knew he was really talented when it came to writing his own songs, so it wasn't anything new that he got an A. Still, he seemed to be pleasantly surprised every time he did well. Beck reached over and clapped him on the shoulder in congratulations, while Jade made a "whoopdy doo" swirl motion with her finger.
"So Cat, do you need any help with the costume designs?" Tori asked between bites of her cheese fries.
"Sure Tori. If you want to come with me after school we can go to the fabric store together and then maybe go somewhere for dinner." Cat's eyes lit up as her smile took over her entire face. Tori's heart swelled a little at how cute she was, nodding while taking a drink of water.
"Sounds good Cat, I'll meet you by the door after last hour and we can go."
"YAY!" Cat got up and ran around to Tori, hugging her neck from behind. Tori just laughed and patted her arm, amused at Cat's excitement.
A few kids in the background were skateboarding while others ate, read or did homework. Tori watched a couple kids playing Chess a few tables down from theirs, even though she didn't really understand the game. Andre flicked through his PearPod a bit and popped an earbud in, gently swaying to some music while he finished up his sandwich.
"Hey Robbie," Beck motioned to him as he finished the last bit of his pizza, "you can come over to the RV after school and I'll help you with your lines for Sikowitz' play. Maybe that'll help your chances."
"Aww, that's so sweet of you" Robbie beamed, nailing the pre conceived notion of his awkwardness. Beck shook his head from side to side and chuckled a little under his breath.
The group continued with their lunches and conversation until the bell rang to get ready for the next class. Tori and Jade both had Screenwriting, Beck had Advanced Character Development, Andre and Cat had R&B Vocals and Robbie had Advanced Stage Workshop. Each said their goodbyes and headed off to their lockers to grab new books and put others away. Tori took the familiar route she took every day from the Asphalt Cafe to her locker in the main hallway by the front door, not in any particular rush since her next class was practically a few feet away from her locker.
On the way to her next class, Tori ran into Trina, who was apparently having a fit about not getting the lead female role in Sikowitz' new production. Tori slowed as she was about to pass, looking at Trina with a hint of concern, and an even bigger hint of amusement.
"Why didn't I get the role Sikowitz? You know I'm the most talented person in this school." Trina flipped her hair from her left shoulder to her right, and cocked her left hip to the side.
"I, uh, well Trina, you know...I have a class to teach!" Sikowitz raised his eyebrows as he sipped his coconut, quickly scurrying away from the distraught older Vega as the second bell rang to be in class.
"I'm not done with you yet Sikowitz!" Trina yelled after him, scooping up her bag and trotting along after him in her 5 inch heels.
Tori couldn't help but let out a sigh that was partially a laugh as she stepped into her classroom, finding her seat near the middle of the group of desks. Jade sat one row to the left and one desk up, and was already sitting cross-legged, holding a cup of coffee and waiting patiently for the teacher to start the lesson. Jade turned to reach down and grab something out of her bag, catching Tori's eyes as she looked back.
"Can I help you with something?" Jade scoffed, making Tori blush a little and snap her eyes down toward her desk. Had she been staring? If she was, she didn't realize it. If she had been, though, it begs the question: Why? Tori didn't know the answer, so she just chalked it up to boredom and grabbed her pen, ready to take notes.
Jade stared ahead at the white board while their teacher went on about prose in scripting. Every so often, she'd catch herself stealing sideways glances at Tori. Jade didn't care much for the newish girl, even though she'd technically hadn't done anything wrong. Maybe it was her obliviousness to her talent? Most people worked hard to be at Hollywood Arts, and Tori Vega just seemed to fall into Jade's school, Jade's circle of friends, without hardly batting an eyelash. Jade knew thoughts of resentment did nothing but stress a person out, and she didn't want to lose any more sleep, especially because of Tori Vega, so she put her thoughts of Tori in the back of her mind and tuned in for the rest of the class.
Their teacher gave them an assignment, a paper on the popularity of foreign films and why they are liked/disliked based on language barriers. Jade clicked her pen and began writing down the assignment and some notes, scribbling a few ideas she would work over more when she got home that afternoon. One of her favorite horror movies was from Japan, so she figured she would get a pretty decent grade on the paper.
Not long after, the bell rang and students started grabbing their bags and filing out of the classroom. Jade had Sikowitz next, so she wasn't in any real hurry, as she was late to his class all the time and Sikowitz never did anything about it. She turned and saw Tori struggling to get all her stuff together in a rush, most likely worried about being late and getting detention. Stifling a laugh, Jade walked over to the slender, tan girl and watched as she bustled.
"Its okay Vega, Sikowitz isn't gonna give you detention or anything if you're late, so you can take a breath and get your stuff in order."
"I can? That's a relief." Tori huffed out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, and collected herself a bit before finishing up putting her stuff in her bag. "I've been here for a while now so I figured my time of freebies was long gone."
"I have a way of getting Sikowitz to be cool. He never gives me detention, or Beck. We can walk in together, you'll be fine."
"A way, huh? That 'Jade' charm of a promise of claws and fangs in your face?"
Jade felt kind of stung by the comment, as she was actually trying to be decent to the girl. Not really feeling in the mood to chit chat anymore, Jade grabbed her bag and stalked off without another word. Tori looked up as the sound of Jade's boots clicking away reached the door, hearing the door open and shut. She knew the girl was a bit of a brood, but she expected her to take a joke better than that. Tori sighed, knowing that she was gonna pay for that remark in spades over the next few days. Jade was good at holding a grudge.
Tori grabbed her stuff and headed out the door of the classroom in the direction of her locker. When she got there, she found Cat standing next to it, staring at a blank spot on the wall with no expression on her face. Tori walked up to Cat slowly, trying not to scare her.
"Cat...? Cat?" She dragged the second one out a little bit.
"Oh, hi Tori. What are you doing here?"
"This is my locker Cat, what are you doing here?"
"I dunno" Cat giggled, swaying her skirt from side to side.
"Shouldn't you get to class then?" Tori asked, looking up at the clock and realizing the bell would sound any second.
"Kay kay, bye Tori!" Cat skipped off with a huge smile on her face, humming a tune Tori didn't recognize. Tori put a couple books in her locker and shut it softly, rounding the corner to Sikowitz' class just as the bell sounded. Upon taking her seat at the front of the class, Tori turned around to look for Jade, but she was nowhere to be found. "She's probably just a bit late" Tori muttered to herself, and turned back to face the front of the room. A few minutes later Sikowitz came in holding a box, setting it down on the floor in front of the class. As soon as he was about to speak, the door opened and Jade strode into the room, taking her seat next to Beck.
"Why thank you so much for gracing us with your presence Ms. West, although you should probably look into a time-telling device."
"I had to waz, sue me" Jade muttered nonchalantly, crossing her left leg over her right and sipping a new cup of coffee.
"Yes I would imagine you did, you drink more coffee than Juan Valdez." Sikowitz roared in laughter at his own joke, then suddenly stopped while a serious look spread across his features. "Okay children, answer me this: Who would like to..." Sikowitz paused to grab a sheet of paper from the box he had set on the floor, holding it up to the class, "...help in the promotion for my new production here at Hollywood Arts?" The students looked at the flyer. Some of them chuckled, some of them sighed, while Jade laughed out loud with abandon.
"Is the design too much?" Sikowitz asked, turning the flyer around to look at it, only to see what appeared to be a flyer for a gentleman's club, complete with scantily clad women and drink specials. "Oh, well then...sorry about that." Sikowitz folded the flyer and quickly put it in his pocket, then searched for the right one in the box. "Don't tell anyone you saw that." Sikowitz looked from student to student, sipping gingerly on his coconut.
"What do we have to do?" Beck asked, pointing at the now correct flyer Sikowitz was holding.
"I would like you all to split into teams of two and distribute these flyers to potential theater attendees" Sikowitz explained, draining his coconut and throwing it over his shoulder. "Whoever distributes their stack the fastest will get free tickets to the production for 4 lucky friends and family members. Be warned, don't try to throw them away and hang out for an hour and then come back thinking you'll win. I have eyes everywhere, and I will know if you cheat."
"Uh Sikowitz," Sinjin raised his hand slowly, "Do you really have ey-" Sinjin was cut off by Sikowitz looking him directly in the eye and shaking his head no, in a very clear way of saying "Don't ask." Sinjin slunk down in his seat and kept quiet.
"As far as the teams are concerned," Sikowitz turned his back towards the student and took a few steps before turning back quickly, shouting "ROBBIE-CAT, BECK-ANDRE, TORI-JADE, SINJIN-BURF!" A few of the students jumped at the loud noise, Jade groaned audibly and Beck and Andre high-fived. Robbie had a punch-drunk gaze directed right at Cat, who tried to smile sweetly, and Tori stared right at Jade, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.
"Sikowitz, what about us?" one of the unnamed kids in the back asked. A few murmurs spread across the room.
"Oh yes, the rest of you. You never talk so I forget you're there sometimes. Pair with whoever you'd like."
"That's not fair!" Jade exclaimed, standing up to chase after Sikowitz.
"Can it, Jade" Sikowitz added swiftly, making a spinning motion with his finger for her to return to her seat. Jade sat down with a huff and looked over at Tori, who was still staring stupidly.
"WHAT" Jade yelled, causing Tori to jump and look away. This was going to be a very long afternoon. Sikowitz had each team pair up in the classroom and discuss how they wanted to distribute their stack of flyers. Tori got up and walked over to Jade, as it was very clear Jade wasn't going to move. As soon as Tori sat down, Jade perked up and looked her square in the face.
"Let's get this over with as quickly as possible, I have better things to do than run around with you all afternoon." Jade looked bored and annoyed, which ticked Tori off.
"You don't have to do anything Jade, I'll do it myself. I don't want to spend the afternoon with someone who doesn't want to be around me." Tori grabbed the stack of flyers from the seat next to Jade and walked back over to her seat.
"Vega, don't be like that, I'll help you."
"No, it's quite alright Jade, I have better things to do than have you hound me all afternoon and criticize me about how I do everything wrong and get on your nerves. You can do whatever you want, just leave me alone."
Tori sat down and put the flyers into her bag, and stared toward the front of the classroom for the remainder of the hour. As soon as the bell rang, she grabbed her bag and headed quickly for the door. Jade turned in her seat and watched her go, a little pang of guilt building up in her stomach.