Estrangement

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

Chapter 11 (Tough Love)

"Do a good job, you'll get rewarded." Tori followed Trina into a Gold's Gym, immediately flinching due to the toxic vapors choking her. Jade was following, and Tori could see the amusement in her eyes. "This place is special to me, Tori." Trina turned and crossed her arms. "I got my start here at this particular store. This is also one of the busiest and most profitable franchise location. This is where I worked my ass off, even having to study here."

"How can you stand the smells though?!" Tori held her nose and let her stomach twist inside. She was baffled when Trina closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. It was nauseating to watch. "Oh my god."

"That's the smell of success, Tori. Success and hard work."

"Really? Because I kind of thought it was the smell of sweat and tears? Where's the blood?" Trina raised an eyebrow at her and lifted her shoulders.

"Martial arts and boxing section."

"Of course."

"Listen Tori, you can't get a job anywhere else. You're almost blacklisted because you've been fired so many times. You have no work ethic, so here, we don't just work people into shape physically-but mentally and emotionally as well." Tori didn't have the slightest idea why Trina was making her work here though. She felt the woman's hand on her shoulder and slowly bowed her head, fighting the nauseous smell. "You want to show me effort, you want me to believe you can work at something, then work here. Maybe if you can manage to put that energy into keeping a job, I'll see some responsibility. Maybe, just maybe you can prove to me that you can use that same effort in life. Get ready Tori, this work builds character."

"You have got to be kid-" Almost instantly Trina dragged her into a giant room with many people running on treadmills, other exercise equipment, lifting weights, and even practicing martial arts in the back. To Tori's shock, every person had sweat stains on their shirts, and producing worse smells than outside.

The scent in the room was so ferocious that her knees almost began to buckle. Her stomach acid swished violently inside of her and burned her esophagus. "You know? This was my primary room. Maybe it will be yours too. I worked the towel station." She pointed to a towel rack in the corner, immediately causing fear and panic in Tori's veins. "I handed towels out, replaced the towels on the rack, and picked up the dirty towels to toss them into the wash."

"Y-You don't have a laundry bin for dirty towels?"

"We do." Trina pointed to a yellowish sack hung up on a square, rolling device. "That's the towel bag, but many people that work out here aren't considerate enough to put their towels in there. You have to pick up the ones they don't toss in there. Dirty work, but you'll do fine if you can keep up."

"Yuck…yuck, yuck, yuck! So gross!" Trina started to smirk as she led Tori to the general manager of the store and franchise owner. The general manager was a tall woman with a long blonde ponytail, and wearing the custom Gold's Gym jacket, a black shirt underneath, and jogging pants. The customary uniform. The franchise owner had curly brown hair, clean shaven face, and broad muscular arms. "These are my bosses I guess?"

"Yep. Nancy and Patrick. They will be reporting your progress to me, by the way." Tori's eyes widened and she quickly looked to Jade, almost begging for help. We have a little wager going for how long we think you're going to last."

"W-Wager?"

"Yes. I think you won't make it a day. Patrick's giving you about two or three days and Nancy's giving you the benefit of the doubt, thinking you'll make it."

"Gee…thanks Nancy." How could her own sister not think she'd make it? Granted, that was a safe assumption considering the place she had to work. "So…I have to be the towel person?"

"Yes," Nancy admitted, "It's the best job to start you out. Stay on for a while and you'll get health insurance now after 30 days. We also offer a scholarship to help anyone returning to college. So if you're ever thinking of college, then you'll be great."

"How do you know I didn't even go to college?"

"I didn't, but at the same time Trina would not put you at our lowest position if you had a degree…"

"Well, that's, uplifting." She had to prove to Trina she had what it takes to put forth an effort, but it was almost as if the woman knew this would be difficult for her. "About as uplifting as the smell in here…"

"Oh you'll get used to that."

She started to turn green as a nearby worker lifted their arm, unleashing an incredibly ripe stench and making her eyes water. "I don't think my stomach agrees with you."

Trina clapped her hands and stepped forward as everyone in the room turned to look her way. Tori's eyes widened tremendously as curled a finger over her lip. "All right, I want to introduce all of you to our newest worker." Tori began to shy away, but Trina grabbed her and moved her front and center. "She's the new towel person and will be more than happy to take your towels to the towel dispenser over there." She watched her sister point to the bin. "Victoria Vega, remember her now. She's your new personal maid…"

"What did she just do?"

She heard Jade stifle a laugh before clearing her throat, "Just made your job incredibly harder." Job? This felt more like a punishment than anything else! "I guess you shouldn't expect it to be easy."

"Right. Cause nothing's easy, is that correct?"

"Pretty much." Just then, one of the patrons walked by after wiping his face and underarms. Tori started to whimper when she looked to the towel in his hands, sopping wet and dripping. The man threw the towel at her, and being frozen with fear, she didn't budge as the cloth landed on her face.

A quick shudder jolted down her spine, gagging her as sweat and the horrible nauseating smell, and warmth choked her. Her body began to tremble as she fell to her knees. Her eyes were burning and her lips were twisted in a silent scream as she fought a whimper back into her chest.

How was she supposed to do this? How was she supposed to handle this? She could barely breathe! Never before had she been treated this way! She could hardly move her hands to remove the towel, but she didn't want to leave it on her face before it began to mildew.

Suddenly someone grabbed the towel from her face. She looked over, whimpering as Trina tossed it into the nearby bin.

Instantly Tori bolted for the bathroom, retching over a toilet and screaming loudly. Her screams turned to sobs as she moved her arms around her stomach. "Oh god I can't do this! I-I can't! It's too-too much-too smelly and horrible!" She cupped her hand over her mouth, gagging as she recalled the horrid smell.

"Hardly even took a whiff and you're giving up?" Tori's eyes widened and she quickly looked over her shoulder, whimpering as Trina's shadow fell over her. "Come on. Get up. That's nothing. You got a stinky towel to the face, boo-hoo, if you are going to give up so damned quickly, then you may as well go back to LA and deal with your own problems, because the only way I'm going to help you is if you can show me that you can actually make a valiant effort to try."

"But that's not easy!" Tori rose up and wiped her eyes, sobbing lightly. "How can you expect me to just…I don't know…"

"Oh shape up!" She winced as Trina lowered her fists and straightened her back. "Welcome to the real world, where people don't give a shit who you are or what your name is. All people care about is making it through the day doing their own thing. The world isn't a friendly place, Tori, and unless you rise up to meet the challenge, those out there will chew you up and spit you out!" Trina put her thumb to her chest and narrowed her eyes. "I learned that the hard way when I was knee deep in sweaty, bloody towels, digging through them all. Out here in the real world, you're not going to get any special treatment, so get used to it or go home. I don't know whether to waste my time on you or not."

"B-But you're willing to take care of mom?"

"Of course I am, because she needs someone who is financially stable to take care of her! Regardless of what happened."

"Then what am I? Chopped liver?"

"I'm afraid so. Until I can see some sort of effort being made. All I know of you is you could very well likely dip your feet into my family and once satisfied, walk away."

"But I won't do that, Trina! Can't you see?"

"I see someone who has never given two cents about her family over her. That is what I see. I see someone who is used to being pampered, to getting what she wants and chasing after some dream that she never will get! That's why I'm sending you through work, because just like parents do with a kid wanting a dog-putting them through work shows if they're responsible. Well I'm trying to see if you're responsible enough to be there for your family. If you're not, then guess what?" Trina pointed to the door, her voice raising with each word. "Get out and don't waste my time, don't waste this store location's time, and go back home." Tori's heart stopped as confusion and anger sparked in her. She was hurt by her sister's words and lack of faith, but there was something else these words did for her.

They made her determined. She felt an inspired spark inside and leaned forward, ignoring the tears on her faces. She had a feeling, this drill-sergeant, boss-like behavior was achieving what Trina wanted it to: a determination.

"No!" Trina raised an eyebrow and leaned back, folding her arms across her chest and staring down her nose at her. "I won't go back and I'm not giving up!" She clenched her fists and locked her jaw, narrowing her eyes at her sister. "I'm not a nobody, and I'm not going to just ignore my family. I'll show you, I'll show all of you! I can do this, I have what it takes."

"Then show me. Until then, I will be watching you closely. But mark my words." Trina leaned forward and lifted a finger to her face. "If I hear one time you going after a talent coach to pursue some fantasy dream instead of doing your job. Then you're done. We're finished and your ass is as good as gone. Just one time, Tori Vega, one slip up and you're blacklisted for good. Do you know what it says when a CEO has to fire someone that's already been fired a million times? I can make your life a living hell just like you and all your friends made mine. That isn't a vendetta either, I would fire anyone that chooses to call off sick to work or lying to their boss, because that is poor work ethic."

"Fine! Then I won't! I don't even care about singing anymore!" Her voice rose and her body began to heat up. "I know you don't believe me, and you have every right not to. I know you don't believe in me either-"

"If I didn't believe in you, I wouldn't give you this opportunity."

"Whatever. I'm just going to prove you wrong."

"You know what? I hope you do." Trina pushed the stall open and walked towards the door, stopping only to look back at her. "Because that's the only way that I'm going to even give you a chance."

"So what is it then? Tough love?"

"Maybe." Trina sighed and pushed open the door. "Get back to work, Vega. And shape up, a towel to the face is the least of your worries. Besides, there's a trick to working here."

"And what's that?" She wiped her face with her arm, sniffling as her sister walked out, telling her to figure it out. Her back pressed against the stall as she slid down to the ground. "Not fair…so not fair…I'm a certified janitor." Granted, there really wasn't much that could be done without so much as an associate's degree. Then there was the issue she had with some prior bosses that gave her chances, telling her that not many people even took Hollywood Arts seriously as far as the high school diploma went. Mostly since they didn't really teach the important subjects, just fine arts. So there wasn't an abundance of math, science, or any other curriculum. She leaned her head back against the wall and started to sigh. "I am so screwed…"

Yes tough love, but also very highly boss-employee, any boss would have a similar talk with a possible problem employee. Trina wants Tori to succeed, but she also wants Tori to be good for the store location and business. As everyone knows, if a worker falls behind, productivity falls behind, and if productivity falls, so does business. The plus, Nancy, the general store manager, is a really nice person. Tell me your thoughts ^_^.