Disclaimer: Still don't own anything.
:}
Trina was having a hard time following Jade, but for once it wasn't just because the black belt was so much faster than she was. Jade was almost erratic, barely able to focus long enough to give Trina a new set of things to work on. The lack of focus didn't just mean going through the same move set again, it also mean Jade would show her some stuff, have her practice, then show her new stuff when she asked a question. Trina had to work to keep the goth focused on the task at hand.
Finally the brown belt had had enough. She was learning a lot, but not in depth. Trina was looking forward to having perfect form, something this version of Jade seemed to forget. So while they were doing a little sparring, and Jade seemed to have trouble keeping up with the slower girl, Trina risked asking. "What happened?"
"I'm sorry, what?" Jade's reply wasn't encouraging.
"What happened with Adam? You know, lunch with your brother." Trina asked.
"It was fine. He was trying to explain to me what the family wanted." Jade said, moving with her normal speed, but executing a maneuver that Trina could easily avoid.
"If everything is so good, then where did you go, because you're not here, not right now." Trina emphasized her point with a quick takedown, leaving Jade on her back. The goth barely managed to break her fall, something that she should have done without thinking.
"Uff." Jade took a second to recover, the wind knocked out of her. Trina sat down. Jade slowly sat up, looking at her student. "Sorry. I should be a better teacher. If you want, I can talk to Mike, see if there is someone else."
"Or you could get your head in the game. Tell me, whats going on in that head of yours. Normally, nothing throws you off..." Trina trailed off, suddenly worried that this whole mess was her fault. Jade, for her part, sat there on this impromptu break, trying to get herself back into teaching mode. "I'm learning a lot from you, even when we go over the class stuff. You've been helping me with my form, and you showed me a lot of moves that I'll be working on as we move forward. However, at our level, it's all about form, and you're off today. Or rather, since lunch."
"She kissed me." Jade said, her mind finally accepting what had happened. "Tori kissed me. She wants to be my girlfriend, and she kissed me."
"And this is bad why?" Trina asked. "I mean, if you're into her. Are you?" Jade's look back confirmed her deeply held suspicions. "Look, I shouldn't be telling you this, but Tori's has a thing for you. She's even been asking me if you felt it too. I think she's accepted she was into you over the last couple of weeks. So now, for the good of my family, as well as my teacher, I need to know, are you into her?"
'Yes." Jade's whispered response still felt like it should echo in Trina's tiny back yard.
"And your single right now, right?" The older girl asked. Jade nodded. "She asked, you're interested and single. So is there a reason you can't date my sister?" Jade shook her head. "Okay, your single, ready for a long term girlfriend, and not only do you like my sister, but she seems to like you back. So why not say yes?"
"uh." Jade started to answer.
"I'll tell you why." Trina interrupted her. "Because your so afraid she'll leave, like you were afraid your family would. Jade, in case Adam hasn't told you yet, they still love you. You may have problems, but they do love you, and so does Beck, and Tori is hoping to love you as well. So take a risk, tell her your interested, that you'll date her. Holy Chiz, she's practically naming your kids, so accept that she's interested and date my sister. It's a good thing."
"Did you have something to do with this?" Jade asked, her voice still shaky.
"A little. She's my sister, and I was trying to help. Once I knew she was crushing on you, I had you over for that hot tub party, just to see if you were, or could, return the feelings." Trina's almost confession was enough to set the black belt on guard. "From there, the flirting, everything else she did, that was her." The statement was true, Trina had planned on handling things in a different way.
Jade deflated, looking at Trina with a blank expression on her face. They sat there for another few minutes before Jade lept to her feet. "We've got about half an hour, and I have to make sure you get something out of today. So we may be going a bit fast" With that, they started sparring again. Jade corrected flaws, sometimes with words, sometimes just by adjusting Trina's stance, all while sparring, stopping only for the briefest time it takes for her to correct Trina's mistakes. They finished, both covered in sweat, breathing hard.
Jade went inside to change, ready to soak her fears away. Tori had asked, and would seek her out once she knew They were done. Scotty was already out, waiting for Trina. He was spending his time talking with Andre as Tori disappeared. 'I'll bet she went up to her room to get changed.' Jade thought. Then she moved quickly, needing to change before the image of Tori in her suit made concentration difficult.
The Vega jacuzzi was built to hold four people, but wasn't designed with molded seating, so could hold more. This was important, since there were quickly six people sitting in it. Jade and Trina were soaking off their workout, while Tori and Andre were taking a break from song writing. Scotty was there as well, trying to spend as much time as he could with his girlfriend. Finally, David Vega had taken an opportunity to soak as the barbeque heated up. For the Vega's, this usually wasn't awkward. However, the others were unprepared for the adult to join them. 'At least they all know him.' Trina thought. 'And since he's in that good cop shape, he won't embarrassed me.'
"So, Jade, Scott, I need to go over a few rules for dating my daughters." David started. "First, they're both good girls, so I expect you to treat them with respect. Yes Jade?"
"Um, no offense, but you're not that intimidating, soaking in a hot tub." She said.
"And how do I intimidate a world class fighter?" He replied. Jade stayed silent. "Anyways, I expect you both to treat my daughters with respect. Jade, just to be clear, no hanky panky in my house."
"Hanky panky?" Jade asked.
"You know.." David started.
"We'll be good." Tori curt her father off. "Honestly, we'll be good."
"I'm sure you will, mija." He said. "There are a few other rules. The first big one, don't let it affect your school work. That means, Tori and Trina's grades as well as your own. I know neither of you are poor students, so I'm sure this is more of a formality. Also, if you get serious, I expect to meet your parents. Finally, no late nights, and if you stay over, it's in the guest room. If both of you stay over, one of you will be on the couch, the other in the guest room. I don't even want the possibility of the appearance of impropriety. Everyone cool with this?" Scotty and Jade both nodded. "Good."
"Jade, just to let you know, this doesn't change anything. You're still working with me to teach the classes at the community center, probably for the rest of the school year, as well as acting as my black belt trainer." Trina said. "But on the bright side, you get to show off for Tori."
"Of course, you still need to help Andre and me with those songs." Tori said. "Like the one for the second act, when our hero sets out to find out what he's supposed to be doing, and no one seems to know. What were you going for with that scene?"
"Sounds confusing." David said. "But Jade, Scotty, I want you to remember, we're a very welcoming family. Just ask Andre here. Stayed with us a few days just a couple of months ago. Short notice, assumed so much, but we were willing to help one of Tori's friends."
Andre seemed to know when to keep his mouth shut. It seemed to Tori like her best friend was trying to sink until his head was under water, but the jacuzzi was too crowded, so the best he could do was up to his neck.
"What I was going for was a confused corporation, similar to the one in 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.'" Jade said. "The idea is, no one knew what the last person doing that position did, and that's probably why he was let go. Our hero is out to make sure he can do the job, so he's looking like crazy to find anything that would let him know what he's supposed to be doing."
"And we get to write that song." Andre didn't sound too enthusiastic.
"Andre, I know how much you love music, but not every song is about love. Some of the best paid songwriters in the U.S. write gingles." Jade scolded her friend.
"Besides, it's good to stretch ourselves." Tori added. "So how do we make it funny?"
"Stress the confusion. Make it clear that people who knew the last person for years, or worked with him, or even his supervisor, had no idea what he did, and do it in a way that shows them trying to hide that they didn't know." Scotty suggested.
"Of course, only the people who should know what he did will pretend they knew. The others, including his secretary, will admit they didn't know, and as much as they knew the man, his hobbies, what he liked for lunch, everything, they had no idea what he did." Trina added.
"He probably facilitated interdepartmental communications." The Vega patriarch said.
"What?" Andre asked. He was listening to all the advice, but somehow the last piece felt disconnected.
"Think about it. The guy is around everyone, and seems to be interested in their lives." David said. "A friendly person who used his position to spread company edicts and decisions up and down the ladder while staying alert for issues that needed to be dealt with. That way, he's out of his office at least half the time, and no one really know what he does since it seems like he doesn't do anything. Make his official position about cross-departmental project management and moral."
"Well," Jade said, "I never did come up with what many of these positions did, so that sounds confusing enough to work."
"You're dad helped us write a song, and adjusted the play?" Andre said to Tori.
"And you're surprised?" Trina replied. "I mean, it's not like it's something only a few people can do."
"It's just, well, outside of how my grandmothers crazy inspires me, no one in my family ever helps me write my music." The songwriter admitted.
"Funny." Jade said. "As a writer, you learn to take inspiration from wherever you see it."
"And what inspired this play?" David asked.
"I was reading 'Catch 22' for one of my literature classes." Jade replied. "The concept of how everyone gets promoted to their level of incompetence intrigued me, and I just took it to the next level."
They would talk about what inspired them for a little longer, then David would get out to start cooking dinner, and the others would slowly drift out to get cleaned up and ready to eat. All of this was observed from a tree with a great, barely obstructed view of the yard, situated just across the street. A tree that held Robbie, his camcorder, his parabolic mike, and his cell phone, which he was using to to send the film to Cat. Sinjin wasn't stalking today, since he figured out how to tap into Robbie's signal. Cat, along with Sam, were eating popcorn and watching the whole thing.
"I think the plays going to be pretty funny." Sam said. "Maybe it'll make up for me having to see that 'Baberaham Lincoln' play you put on."
"That's just rude." Cat replied.
:}
Tori's dad didn't scar anyone by soaking in the hot tub with her and her friends. I swear he didn't. Maybe Andre, but really, just moving in, with no warning, in the middle of the night? Guy had it coming.
Review, and maybe I'll get a cookie.