Tori flipped through her pre-algebra textbook, muttering to herself. "Why do we need to have a knowledge of advanced math? People don't come to Hollywood Arts to become mathematicians."
Most of the time during math class, she would have bee joking with one of her friends, or with Jade. But today, the students were silent, the ticking clock and the scratching of pencils being the only sounds. An extremely stern substitute teacher stared down the rows of students. Tori looked up to try making eye contact with Jade, but Jade's seat was empty. She turned back to her notes, more annoyed because she forgot the events that transpired the day before.
A month ago, she wouldn't have worried if Jade wasn't in class. She could have gone on with her life without the slightest bit of concern for the girl with the colourful highlights. Now she was sneaking a peek at her phone every ten minutes, hoping Jade had replied to one of her many texts. No such luck. All she could do to try to distract herself was to keep factoring polynomials.
She checked her phone whenever she could. There were no new messages. She would always write another message before hiding her phone.
The bell's ringing freed Tori from her discomfort. She joined the crowd heading down the hall, only stopping when she reached Mr. Gradstein's room. She shoved the door open, holding it for the others as they entered. When they were all seated, Tori took a seat near Beck.
Mr. Gradstein stood at the front of the room. "All right, class! Today we're going to be learning about the quadrant system."
He walked to the chalkboard and drew a square divided into four. As he explained what the quadrant system was and how to use it, Tori took notes. She would occasionally doodle in the margins. It kept her from being bored out of her mind. When Mr. Gradstein finished talking, Tori took another peek at her cell phone. There were still no new texts.
As Tori shuffled in her seat, trying to get into a position where she could text, Mr. Gradstein picked up some paper. "I have something to return to you all!"
Tori quickly typed a message. "Hey Jade, we're getting our grades for the film now. So excited! :-{)" She stowed her phone in her pocket.
Mr. Gradstein called up the groups of students one at a time, starting with Robbie, Andre, and Cat's. He praised their movie's use of lighting and elegant sound design.
When Cat saw their grade, she covered her mouth in surprise. "No way!"
Andre shoved his hands in his pockets. "A real B+."
They took their seats as the teacher called the next group up to him. They were what Tori had secretly dubbed "extras," as they seemed to prefer silence and simplicity. The extras didn't react to their grades. They just sat without a sound.
When all the other groups had their grades, Mr. Gradstein stared down the class. "As some of you may have noticed, I've been saving a certain movie for last. This movie has proven to be... controversial, to say the least. It took risks." He glanced at the grade. "Unfortunately, the risks did not pay off."
Beck went to collect the grade, the entire class looking at him. He quickly snatched it out of his teacher's hand. He went back to Tori to look at it.
Their group had gotten a C.
Tori's blood began to boil, not because they had barely gotten a passing grade or because their work had been for nothing. She was angry because of a small note that was printed in the right hand corner.
"If it weren't for that stunt, you would have gotten an A. I hope you're happy now."
Tori stared at the note until Beck crumpled it up and stuffed it in his pocket.
"Ignore him." Beck was whispering. "He's jealous."
Tori woke her phone again. Still no replies. She typed out another message. "Hey. I've got some news. Call me soon." Reading it again, she realized it was too depressing.
She put a laughing smilie on the end of the message before hitting "send." Moments later, she regretted it. It felt like the little yellow dot with a face was laughing at her.
When the bell rang, she couldn't hold in her anger. She burst from the classroom, fists clenched, eyes wild, acting more like Jade than ever before. She stormed up the hall in no particular direction. Her friends ran behind her, but she didn't care. She just kept going. Eventually, the others stopped following her, with one exception.
Andre grabbed the angry girl's arm. "Hey, Tori, girl, this is about Gradstein, right?"
"Who else would it be about?" Tori's voice was harsh.
Andre looked at her with a placid face. "I know you hate Gradstein right now. I don't blame you. There's not a single person in this school that doesn't hate his guts. This is just one dumb project. It won't be the end of the year. You're a good student, Tori. You can do it."
"Yeah." Tori's muscles relaxed as the anger flowed out of her. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Andre."
She walked past her best friend to the girl's washroom. Once in there, she stepped inside a stall, locked the door, and let hot, wet tears flow freely from her eyes.