Well, here is the third chapter of TTT. I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing and putting my story on alert…you guys ROCK! And just so you know, I really do appreciate all of the reviews. It seriously makes me so happy when someone tells me that they like my story.
Tori spent the next three days in a dream-like state. She felt like she was just going through the daily motions of school, eating and hanging out with her friends. Her mind was constantly on the difficult choice she was faced with. Tori knew that this decision would affect the rest of her life. She would probably have to give up her dreams of being an actress and international pop star. But, she would be helping her country and getting to do things that most people never dreamed of doing. How was she ever going to figure this whole mess out?
On the third and final day Tori faked being sick so she could stay at home and spend the whole day thinking about her impending decision. She tried making pro and con lists. She tried one of her mother's yoga DVD's to see if it would relax her mind and body. She even tried getting her mind off of the topic at hand by watching a CSI marathon on TNT. None of these things gave Tori any insight into what she should do. If anything, they made her even more confused about her decision.
That is why at 2:30 in the afternoon Tori was sitting at her kitchen table with a huge carton of Rocky Road ice cream in front of her. She had already eaten a third of the carton and was starting to feel sick to her stomach when she heard the front door open and shut.
"Tori, honey? I came home to check on you and see how you were feeling." The voice of Holly Vega called out as she walked into the kitchen carrying a sack containing frozen yogurt for her youngest daughter.
"Well, I see you won't need this." Holly smirked as she put the yogurt in the freezer.
"Oh mom, I am so confused." Tori groaned as she laid her forehead down on the cool wood of the table.
Holly pulled a chair up next to her daughter and took one of her hands in her own.
"I knew you had been acting different the past few days. What's wrong Tor…this isn't just about being sick is it? Did Trina do something to you…or was it that mean girl Jade?" Holly asked concern evident in her tone.
"No mom, it's nothing like that. It's just…mom, have you ever had to make a really difficult choice and no matter what you tried, you couldn't figure out what to do?"
Holly Vega stood up and went to a drawer to grab another spoon. She then took off her blazer and placed it on the back of her chair before sitting down and grabbing a spoonful of ice cream. She pondered over what to tell her daughter as she let the cold ice cream melt in her mouth. This was one of those difficult times when a parent's answer could really affect the choices that their child had to make. Holly could tell that Tori was very torn up over whatever was troubling her and she wanted to help out her little girl in whatever way possible. So she took a deep breath and prepared to tell a story that she had hoped she would never have to tell Tori.
"Honey, have I ever told you about how you came to be?" Holly questioned her daughter, taking another bite of ice cream.
"Yes mom." Tori moaned, "I know I was a happy accident, you've told me this story a million times."
"Well, what if I told you that you were an accident, but not such a happy one for your father and me?"
At the sound of those words, Tori's face fell and she could feel tears beginning to prick at her eyes.
"Now wait Tori, don't get upset until you let me tell you the whole story, please!" Holly pleaded with her daughter as Tori tried to compose herself enough to listen to her mother. When she had finally calmed down, Tori motioned for her mother to continue the story.
"Well, your father and I had always planned on having only one child. I wanted to be a stay at home mom and the only way we could do that on your father's salary was if we had just one child."
Tori nodded, she already knew this part of the story.
"So, we had Trina and everything was going really well until Trina was about 6 months old and I started feeling sick again. I had always heard that old saying that you couldn't get pregnant if you were breast-feeding. Well, you are living proof that is a lie. I found out I was four and a half weeks pregnant with you the following day."
Holly took another bite of ice cream before continuing.
"Honey, I want you to understand that your father and I were very conflicted over what to do about you. We both knew that we didn't want to have another child, so the discovery that I was pregnant was not a joyous one." At this point Holly paused and lowered her head, averting her eyes from Tori's gaze.
Tori started to get teary-eyed again at her mother's confession. She couldn't believe that her parents hadn't wanted her. Tori tried to remain composed and remember that she needed to hear her mother out. She grabbed a big bite of ice cream and leaned back in her chair, waiting for her mother to continue.
When Holly finally raised her head and looked at Tori she had tears in her eyes that were beginning to run down onto her cheeks. The next words that came out of her mouth were said in a whisper.
"We almost got rid of you."
At this sentence, both Tori and Holly broke down into sobs which eventually subsided until the two were merely sniffling at one another. As they sat there in silence, Tori finally lost it and began screaming at Holly.
"How is this supposed to be helping me mom?" Tori shouted. "Why would I want to hear that you almost aborted me, that you didn't want me?"
Without waiting to hear her mother's explanation, Tori got up from the table and slammed her spoon down. She then proceeded to run up to her room and throw herself down on the bed as she began to cry again.
A few minutes went by and Tori had almost cried herself to sleep when she heard her door being opened softly. She heard footsteps slowly walk over to her bed and then she felt her mother begin to stroke her hair. She wanted to shrug off her mother's loving gesture and scream at her to get out of her room. But, after the news she had just received and the past three days of being completely out of it, she just didn't have the energy.
"Sweetheart, you didn't let me finish the story." Holly softly said, feeling her heart break at the pain she knew she was causing Tori. "I know that hearing all of that must have been devastating but I want to tell you what happened next."
"Fine, it's not like you can hurt me any worse than you already have!" Tori said harshly, jerking upright to look her mother in the eye.
"One night a week later I was sitting in bed reading, trying to get my mind off the difficult choice I had to make. Your father was sound asleep and I decided it was time to quit messing around and come to a decision, so I did just that. I decided to forget about all of the hardships that would come from having another child and focus on all of the wonderful blessings that a child brings. So what if I had to go back to work? So what if we had to struggle a little more financially? I resolved that I wasn't going to take my problems out on the innocent life inside me. I fell asleep that night knowing that I was going to have you. That was the first night I slept soundly since I had found out I was pregnant."
Tori's eyes softened towards her mother as she leaned forward and threw herself into Holly's arms.
"I love you so much Tori. You were the hardest and the best decision I ever made." Holly said as she held her daughter to her, softly stroking her hair.
"I love you too mommy and thank you for telling me the entire story. I'm not going to lie, it hurt knowing that you guys didn't want me at first. But, I think I get the point you are trying to make. Sometimes, when we are faced with difficult decisions, we have to take a leap of faith and hope that we made the right choice."
"Yes, and sometimes the hardest decisions are the most rewarding in the long run." Holly said, smiling lovingly down at her youngest.
At 9:00 that evening, Tori received a text from an unknown number.
"Come to my office at the school ASAP!"
Tori knew that the text was from Helen. She ran downstairs and made an excuse to her parents that she had a test in Trigonometry in the morning and that she had forgotten to bring her book home to study. They both looked up from the movie they were watching and gave her a skeptical look. Tori knew that her excuse was not very believable, since she had claimed to be deathly ill that very morning. Thankfully Trina chose that very moment to begin screaming for help from upstairs.
Tori rolled her eyes at her sister's increasingly insane antics, all for the sake of beauty. She knew that Trina had been trying to give herself a homemade seaweed wrap and probably got herself stuck in the strips of cloth. Knowing that Trina was probably naked and would be mortified if both of her parents's showed up in the bathroom, Tori tried to save her sister a little embarrassment.
"I think mom should probably take this one dad." Tori said, gazing at her mother apologetically.
As Holly Vega sighed and got off the couch, David looked thankfully at his youngest daughter and stood up.
"You didn't think I was going to let you drive yourself to the school, did you?"
"No, I just didn't want to bug you and it is only a couple of miles away." Tori said as she handed him the car keys.
"Now what kind of example would I be setting if I allowed my unlicensed daughter to drive around, especially at nighttime?" David smirked as he followed Tori out the door.
"Ha ha dad…so funny, make fun of your daughter flunking the driver's test because she didn't see the old lady. She shouldn't have been crossing right there anyways…you know she was jaywalking!" Tori yelled as they got in the car and headed towards Hollywood Arts.
When they pulled up to Hollywood Arts, Tori turned to her father and told him it might take her a few minutes to find her book since the hallways wouldn't be lit.
"I'm honestly surprised that the school would be open this late." David pondered as he looked at the unlit building. "Are you sure it is unlocked?"
"Yeah dad, when Andre texted me a few minutes ago to remind me about the test, he said he was just leaving the music room." Tori said convincingly, hating that she had to lie to her father.
"Okay, I'll just be waiting for you here then." David said as he turned on an oldies station and began bobbing his head to The Beatles.
Tori ran into the school and towards Principal Helen's office. It looked like no one else was here which made Tori extremely nervous. She was already a little afraid of the dark and it didn't help that the school looked pretty scary at night with all of the lights turned off.
She finally made it to the only room with its lights shining brightly. Tori softly knocked on the door before continuing into the waiting area. The desk that Principal Helen's assistant usually sat at was vacant and looked neat and tidy, ready for the next days work. As she looked at the gigantic purple stapler that sat on one side of the desk Tori heard her voice being called.
"Are you going to stand out there all night or are you going to get your tiny butt in here already?" Helen shouted from behind the glass door that said Principal on it.
Tori opened the door and found Helen sitting at her desk with two large men dressed like secret service agents behind her.
"Sorry." Tori apologized as she closed the door and went to sit in the chair in front of Helen's desk.
"It's fine." Helen replied curtly. "Look, I know your dad's out there and we don't have long. So let's get right to it, shall we? Have you made a decision about our offer?"
"Well….ummmm…it was really hard to decide what to do." Tori continued, "I tried to make these lists and…"
"Out with it girly, we don't have all night here. Do you want to join this organization or not?" Helen said impatiently as she slammed her hands down on her desk, causing Tori to jump in her seat.
"Uhhhh….well….yes, yes I think I will join you all." Tori said, already wondering if this was a bad idea.
Helen sat back in her chair with a smug smile on her face.
"Well now, you have surprised me Miss Vega. I didn't think you would be "spy-like" enough to join us." Helen said, chuckling to herself over her little joke.
"So, now what?" Tori wondered aloud.
"Now, you go back to your daddy, get in the car and drive home. We will contact you about when and where your training will begin. Until then, go on leading your life as you always have."
Tori stood up slowly and made her way to the door.
"Oh and Tori, don't forget this." Helen said as one of the large men handed Tori her Trigonometry book.
Tori turned back to the door and as she was halfway out it Helen called out to her again.
"Miss Vega!"
"What?" Tori said impatiently.
"Welcome to S.T.A.R.S." (Special Tactics And Rescue Service)
So I hope everyone liked the third chapter. Yes, I know, I totally stole the name of the agency from the Resident Evil video game. I tried to think up my own name and could come up with nothing…seriously, nothing. Also, the stapler on Helen's assistant's desk is taken from a YouTube video of Victoria Justice and Avan Jogia. For those of you who are missing the rest of the gang…it might be a couple more chapters before they really make much of an appearance again but don't worry, you won't be without them (at least some of them) for too long. I don't know if I will be able to update this weekend or not so expect a new chapter from me no later than Monday night. Have a great weekend!