A/N: Victorious Time Jump AND O.C. characters? LET'S GOOOOO!
Let's get this right out; this story was brought to me by Teentitan12. They came up with the basic premise: Tori's daughter and a bunch of fresh faces at Hollywood Arts, with Tori as the new principal. Teentitan12 also created some original characters for these students and I added some additional people myself. This was a fun collab, a writing prompt I never expected but ended up falling in love with.
I hope you do as well. AHH! we are really excited to share this with you.
When new people are introduced, I will assign credit to Teentitan12. All other characters are my own.
Please favorite, leave a review, show your love!
One more time: BIG THANKS TO Teentitan12!
Burbank, California...
September 23, 2030...
Alice stood by the bus stop for her first day of high school.
She spent the last two weeks with her mom after having been at her dads for the summer. The pair were inseparable to the point that the 14-year-old had to fight for her not to drop her off at her new high school. It was bad enough that she was going to be a freshman, the least she could do was ride the bus like everyone else.
Given that Alice lived quite a way away from Hollywood Arts, the regular school buses couldn't accommodate. So, Alice had to take the city bus.
This worried her mother to no end. But the teenager reassured her that she wanted to do this; maybe she'll make a friend on the way.
"Please don't talk to strangers," her mom sighed.
"They're not strangers if they're your age!" countered Alice.
The woman folded her arms and reluctantly conceded. But she made Alice promise that she would text when she could and call if there was an emergency.
One more caveat: she was to have a small can of pepper spray on her person.
Alice rolled her eyes and took the self-defense trinket.
And she was off.
Today was a particularly pleasant day in the Valley. The sun was shining but it wasn't oppressively hot. In fact, a mild breeze came and went, shaking the trees.
Sadly, the smog was still doing its thing. Alice imagined that at any other place in the country, the sky would look spectacular. But as mornings go in L.A. this was a beautiful one. She felt like the universe was trying to tell her, "Alice, this is your chance. You got this!"
Here came the bus, with the gigantic windows and big white letters that say LADOT. The orange and grey behemoth wheezed its way along the curbside and stopped with a hiss that kicked off the dirt and dust around her.
She coughed as the doors opened.
"Where to?" grumbled the middle-aged bus driver.
He wasn't mean but he was clearly going through the motions.
"Oh, uh, Hollywood Arts please!"
The driver nodded and the two stood for an uncomfortable five seconds before he gestured toward the machine beside the handle that opened the doors.
Alice blinked and fished the money out of her pockets and paid her fare.
"Find a good seat," he suggested as he got ready to pull away.
Once he saw in his mirror that the kid finally sat down, he was free to pull into traffic and go.
Alice pressed her lips together, feeling mild embarrassment with the way she held up the bus. She hadn't taken public transportation before, so this was new for her. But she knew that the only way to learn is by doing. Alice just wished her next blunder wouldn't be so public.
She sat back in the double seat that she had to herself and pressed her face against the window.
The city flew by as hundreds, maybe thousands walked and drove about to begin their days.
Alice noticed a tall figure running alongside the bus, reaching out as if they were going to catch it like a runaway dog's leash.
The dark-haired girl looked up and pulled the stop request line and the vehicle slowed down to a complete stop.
"Who's getting off?"
Nobody got up.
The driver noticed through his window the rookie passenger who was still holding her arm up from pulling the switch.
She sees that he sees her so Alice points outside.
The man opened the doors and the runner staggered into the bus, almost losing their footing on the couple of steps.
Now that the runner was standing still, Alice was able to take in the person more clearly.
A tan hand unfurled the hood of her long sleeve shirt to reveal a teen girl, a bit older than Alice. The green shirt was open, revealing a white tee underneath. She wore a locket around her neck.
After dropping two tokens in the machine, the girl pivoted and walked toward the back.
Now Alice could make out ripped jeans and a worn pair of black Vans.
"She's probably going to school too," Alice thought. "Good thing we stopped, or she would have been late."
The freshman also took notice of the cool way she was wearing her backpack, slung over the one shoulder.
"One shoulder, gotta remember that!"
The standing teenager looked around with a huff. There were no other places to sit.
"You can sit here," offered Alice.
The girl looked down at the smaller girl holding her backpack in her lap.
She sighed and took the seat beside her.
Now the bus was able to resume its route.
Alice was eager to make some conversation, but the older teen just sat still, staring off into space. She looked like she checked out.
"Hi, I'm Alice."
Nothing.
"You looked like you were in a hurry," she blurted out. "Did you oversleep?"
The girl didn't turn her head, but her eyeballs moved to her right (toward Alice) and went back to looking at nothing.
"Not a talker, huh?"
It would be a long twelve minutes until the bus stopped half a block away from Hollywood Arts. The space in front of the school were for yellow buses only.
A handful of folks started to get off. To Alice's surprise, the mysterious girl quickly got up and pushed toward the front. Alice promptly followed and ran toward the girl.
"Hey. Hey!"
She didn't stop or slow down, so Alice was nearly out of breath when she caught up with her.
"So, you go here too, huh? That's awesome."
The older teen just shook her head, muttering something under her breath.
"You're probably a junior or a senior," Alice continued, trying to break the ice. "I'm a freshman. This is my first-"
Alice was startled when the taller one swiftly stopped in her tracks, turned around and grabbed her shoulders.
"Since you're new here," the girl finally said. "Consider this a public service announcement. The name's Mia. There aren't any others in this school so don't worry about it. We might be riding the same bus in the morning or sometimes walking in the same direction, but that's all it is. We...are not friends."
"But I..."
"So, do yourself a favor and stay the hell out of my way. I'm feeling generous so thought I'd give you the chance NOT to find out what happens when you get on my bad side."
Mia released her and marched to the school.
Alice stood there, dumbfounded.
"Awesome, first attempt at a friend was a total failure."
Alice wandered into the main office and the secretary, Mrs. Hughes, smiled at her.
"Good morning, can I help you?"
"Yes," the girl nodded. "I'm Alice Doyle. This is my first day and I was told to pick up some things."
"Ah, yes," the lady said.
She got up and walked over to a big filing cabinet and pulled out a thick manila envelope.
"This is your Freshman Starter Pack, as we call it."
Alice opened the flap and all kinds of stuff fell out.
"Let's see..." Mrs. Hughes started. "Here is the school policy book. Be sure to brush up on all the rules. We may be a performing arts school but there is still order. I mean we don't want you to tag any of the walls with spray paint without a faculty member signing off on it."
That befuddled the girl.
"Graffiti is allowed here?" Alice asked.
"As long as it's not inappropriate and that you get approval for the area."
The woman then reached underneath the counter and hands Alice a yellow tag.
"Speaking of which, here is your locker number and combination. Feel free to decorate your locker, inside and out, anyway you like."
"Oh cool," Alice said.
Hughes then took out a marker and wrote on the envelope.
"There's your homeroom," she said and then gazed at the clock. "You should hurry, girly!"
Alice stuffed all of her new items into her backpack and put the locker number in her pocket. Now with her bag in one hand and envelope in the other, Alice took off.
OOOOF!
The freshman slammed into another student, causing them to drop their books.
"Oh, I'm so sorry..."
Her eyes bugged out when she saw Mia was the one she collided with.
"For fuck's sake!"
"Sorry, sorry," Alice said. "Let me help you."
Mia knelt down to gather her things.
"Don't worry, I got it."
Once she had her books in order, Mia just silently left.
The lockers stretched all the way down the corridor, but it wasn't the dull grey doors like in middle school.
Each and every one was unique. Some were painted, some had things attached to the door. A few even had working lights.
"That's so cool," she whispered.
The numbers were looking familiar, so she double-checked the tag from her pocket.
"Alright, 143...here we go!"
Alice then tried the combination. She always gets flustered with these things in the beginning.
"UGH! Is it left-right-left? Or is it right-left-right? Wait, do I start at zero? Uh, crap!"
The bell rang and everybody scattered.
"Well, no time now. Better get to my first class."
Lunch rolled around and everybody was dining outside at the Asphalt Cafe.
Mia was eating some fries she got from the food truck, Festus and Sons. This greasy spoon on wheels was a permanent staple at the high school.
Lauren and Jenna were having a talk, Mia not really engaging.
"I just get so nervous when I'm in front of everybody," the taller girl sighed. "I mean I've been in front of crowds before so what's wrong with me?"
"Come on, Jenna" groaned Lauren, who's curly bop with bangs was in stark contrast to Jenna's tight bun. "You got to give it a try or you'll regret it. Like my grandma says, every time you don't try, the answer is an automatic no."
Lauren put her hand on Jenna's shoulder reassuringly.
"You gotta get over this," Mia finally said. "So, you're an amazon, big deal."
At this point, Chase joined the table.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Johnny Cash."
The boy rolled his eyes at Mia. The comparison couldn't be helped. He liked dressing in dark clothes and there was always a guitar nearby.
"What's this talk about amazons?" he asked with a mild southern drawl.
Jenna shook her head.
"Nothing. Just trying to psyche myself out before I try out for the new play."
Chase nodded, "Be sure to knock 'em dead. Hear that guy directing it is a real asshole."
It was amusing that this 6'3" toned athlete could be intimidated by anyone.
He noticed some papers by Lauren.
"What ya workin on?" Chase asked.
Lauren looked over to her left and saw what he meant.
"Oh that? I was entering that songwriting contest over at the Cataclysm. First prize is $10,000 and this girl could use a new computer."
Chase nodded.
"That's cool," he said. "I heard about that contest too. I'd like to enter but...I don't know how I could...perform it."
"Do all the white kids have stage fright now?" Lauren smirked.
"Not exactly," he said, paying more mind toward his bagged lunch.
"Is that peanut butter and pickles?" asked Lauren with a face of disgust.
"Nah," he smiled. "It's PB and sardines."
Mia tilted her head.
"Scratch that, he's not Johnny Cash, he's Elvis."
The girls laughed as Chase bit into his sandwich with gusto.
"Oh shit," coughed Chase.
"What is it?" asked Jenna.
He pointed a couple tables over. Alice approached a table with a platinum blonde girl and three other similarly styled girls were talking and laughing.
"That," replied Chase. "Looks like new girl is tryin' to sit with Savannah and her posse."
"Oh, you poor sweet summer child," Lauren sighed.
"HI!"
The fearsome foursome stared daggers at the new girl, like she unwittingly interrupted the most important conversation in the world.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" Alice asked as she sat down with her tray. "Took me a minute to find this place."
"Who's this?" one girl blatantly asked as if she wasn't within earshot.
"Sorry," she sheepishly said, putting down her sandwich. "I'm Alice."
"You new?" another girl with brown hair asked. "You must be because this is our table..."
Savannah raised her hand.
"Easy now, Patricia," the blonde said. "Let the freshman sit with her lunch."
She then gave her crew a knowing smirk and they understood the assignment.
"Nice to meet you, Alice" she smiled. "I'm Savannah."
Her valley girl accent was like something out of a movie. Alice thought better than to mention this.
"This is Kris, Ashley and Patricia."
The friends nodded and gave mild greetings.
"I like your shoes," pointed Kris.
Alice looked down and saw that she was referring to her denim-colored Sketchers.
"Oh, these? Thanks. Thought I'd try something new this ye-"
"You must have ordered them online," interrupted Patricia. "Because I thought the thrift store here closed down."
The younger girl perked up.
"There's a thrift store?" Alice smiled. "Alright, maybe we can go together."
Kris and Ashley giggled like the new girl low key insulted Patricia.
"I don't shop at a thrift store!" she protested.
"Oh, okay" Alice nodded. "Where do you go?"
"Nowhere you'd shop," snapped Pat. "The places we frequent don't carry ratty shirts like that."
Alice saw she was pointing at her red shirt with the white silhouette of a hawk.
"My dad gave me this shirt," she said.
Now she was no longer smiling.
"Patricia, you're such a bitch," chortled Ashley. "Like, seriously."
The group of friends laughed at Alice.
"I'm already bored," sighed Savannah. "Sorry, girls, I thought this would be more fun. I know."
The blonde then stood up, walked over to Alice and pushed her down, spilling her food all over the place.
"There, now it's fun again."
They all started cackling once more, even a few students who saw giggled some.
Alice sat there in the floor, seeing the others mocking her.
"Don't do it. Don't you dare!"
A tear escaped and went down her cheek.
"Hey, Savannah..."
The snobby girl turned and was met with a punch from Mia.
Savannah's friends stood up and gasped as their leader went down like a ton of bricks.
Mia looked over to Alice who was wide-eyed at what had just happened.
Then shouting teachers came running to the scene and a resigned look came over Mia's face.
"Oh, here we go."
Mr. DeBiase got between Mia and the others. A female teacher helped up Savannah while her little friends told her that she was attacked.
"Mia, did you hit Savannah?" he asked.
The girl rolled her eyes as her "bus buddy" got up from the floor.
"My fist may have connected with her face, yes."
Alice was stunned by the lack of fucks she was giving in this moment. Mia wasn't kidding, she really was a tough cookie.
"We do not accept bullying or fights in this school, young lady," DeBiase sternly told her. "Did you forget?"
"Probably same place Gilmore over there forgot her manners," she quipped.
"Okay, that's it. Both of you girls to the principal's office!"
Mia was just as surprised as Alice.
"Why her?"
"Yeah, why me?" asked Alice.
"Looks like we have three girls involved but only one is going to the nurse's office. You two are coming with me."
Detention Hall...
Mia and Alice sat next to each other in the empty classroom. No other delinquents today.
The teacher watching them excused himself to use the restroom.
Alice sat in her chair hunched over, staring at the floor.
Mia was more relaxed, legs sprawled apart with her neck lazily leaned on the back of her chair.
She's been here before.
"Great first day, kid. No really, ten out of ten."
The lack of response made Mia look over to her "partner in crime."
"Hey, you okay?"
Alice snapped out of it.
"Huh?"
"Damn, freshman," she smirked. "Land on your head or something?"
Mia then gave her the bird.
"Quick, how many fingers do you see?"
"Sorry I got you in trouble," Alice finally said.
Mia lowered the rude gesture and shrugged.
"You kidding me?" chortled Mia. "Inter-facing with Gilmore was my pleasure."
She stretched in her seat.
"I mean she had it coming. Truth be told it wasn't my first encounter with the bitch. But I promised mom I wouldn't get into any fights."
"Oh," Alice said sadly.
That made her think of her mom and how she hadn't contacted her since getting to school.
She hoped she wasn't worried.
"Eh, it's fine," Mia added. "I was on my longest detention hot streak, though! Three weeks."
"Didn't the semester start three weeks ago?" asked Alice.
"Details, details."
Echoes of a woman shouting grew with intensity out in the halls.
"The hell is that?" asked Mia.
Alice sunk into her chair.
"Oh no."
The door was kicked open by a woman with long black hair accentuated by a silver streak.
She immediately ran to Alice and checked her out.
"Alice! Are you okay? What happened?"
"It's okay, mom" Alice huffed. "I'm fine."
"FINE? You're in detention!"
A well-dressed woman with brown hair leaned in the doorway.
"What is all this noise? This is a school and I-
Her eyes widened.
"Jade?"
Alice's mother's jaw dropped.
"Tori?"
"MOM?" blurted out Mia.
Alice's eyes bugged out.
"That's your mom?" she asked.
"Oh, it gets better," Tori said. "I'm also the principal of this school."
"Holy. Shit." Jade thought.