A/N: That was a long day one, huh? What can I say, we had A LOT of introductions to make.
Thanks for all of the likes, follows and REVIEWS so far!
Glad to have everybody enjoying this. And let me reiterate that I'm taking my time because I have so many players in this story, and I have grown accustomed to this world.
Some things are just too good to be in a hurry!
With the amount of research and work I've been putting into this; I'm not able to juggle any side projects right now. If you have any suggestions for future stories, please reserve them for when this story is finished. I want to be laser focused.
Once I close the book on this one, be sure to blow up my DM's.
Alice was sitting on the bus once more.
This time she was less lost; being quick with her fare and finding an empty spot in the back.
Once the handful of electricians wearing matching safety green shirts got up and deboarded, Alice was all alone on the back bench of the bus.
Nobody got on for another couple of minutes until the vessel pulled over by a building that looked like the bottom floor was boarded up. There was a couple of floors above it, Alice observed. She also noticed quickly who got on.
It was Mia.
The older teen glanced over when she was done paying and saw dead center at the back of the bus was the short pale girl. She smiled and waved.
Mia wasn't accustomed to this amount of friendliness on the bus. It was like being in a crowded elevator or a restroom. You just went it, kept your head down and didn't speak to anybody until you got the hell out of there.
"Hey," she said as she threw her bag on the seat beside Alice.
"Morning."
(Ugh, a morning person.)
"Well, you came back for more" Mia snidely said. "Persistent or too dumb to quit, we shall see."
"I'm going to assume you had a bad night," Alice quipped.
Mia flopped onto the seat, utilizing the extra space to put her feet up. She laid down her head on her bag like a pillow.
"What gives you that idea?" Mia yawned.
"I'm sorry," Alice said, concerned.
"Not your fault. Like you said, last night really sucked."
She rolled over to her side, instinctively tucking her locket into her shirt. Alice was surprised how quickly Mia had fallen asleep.
(Wish I could do it that easily.)
The two had the back of the bus to themselves for the rest of the ride until school.
Once they approached Hollywood Arts, Alice shook Mia awake.
"Huh, what?" the Latina yawned. "Shit, already?"
"Yup," Alice stood with her bag in tow.
Mia grumbled as she grabbed her own backpack and they both exited the bus.
"Thanks," she said.
"What?" Alice asked, confused.
"For letting me sleep back there. I really needed those extra minutes. Normally I can't let myself fall asleep on the bus."
"It's nothing," she said.
Mia pulled on Alice's bag, making her stop.
"No, really. You doze off on the bus you run the risk of getting robbed or molested, so you did me a solid keeping watch."
"That's what friends do."
Alice froze, immediately embarrassed at blurting out such a cheesy sentiment.
The junior just chuckled at the freshman.
"Okay, well see you at lunch."
Mia then broke off toward the east side of the building while Alice was veering to the west.
Jenna rolled out of bed and landed with a thud. Knocked hard out of slumberland, as if that wasn't jarring enough, the girl saw the time on her phone and freaked.
"SHIT-SHIT-SHIT-SHIT!"
The sound of her mom coming up the stairs was being ignored at the moment. Thankfully she had been getting her showers at night lately so that was one less thing. But if Jenna didn't hustle, she was going to be late.
"You awake, hon?" her mom asked.
"Yes, sorry!" Jenna said, scrambling for clothes.
She wasn't concerned about cobbling together an outfit, just whatever worked in her haste.
"My stupid alarm on my phone didn't wake me up!" she explained. "Must have had my phone on silent so I could read."
Jenna stopped dead in her tracks.
"Oh, shit!"
"Language, young lady!" admonished Miranda.
Her daughter was now frantically looking around the bed.
"What are you looking for now?"
"My script," Jenna panted. "I had it last night; it was with me in bed and now it's gone!"
"Jenna..."
"Oh, man, Geoffrey's gonna kill me."
"Jenna..."
"He won't cast me for sure."
"Jenna!"
The teen finally acknowledged her mom.
Miranda shook her head and opened the desk drawer, producing the papers held together with three rings.
"It's right here," she said. "Didn't want the cat to get it."
Jenna nearly collapsed from the relief.
"Thanks, mom" she smiled.
Her mom shifted in her stance a little.
"So, you've been cast in a play?" she asked.
"Not yet" Jenna replied as she slipped on her sneakers. "Yesterday was just a one on one. I'm coming in to meet everybody after school."
"And then you'll know?" Miranda pressed.
Jenna shrugged.
"I sure hope so," she nervously smiled.
"Just be careful, sweetheart."
"Why?" asked Jenna.
"Because this isn't like tryouts."
Jenna rolled her eyes.
"It's exactly like tryouts, mom. So many spots on the team, whoever is the best one out there gets it."
Miranda crossed her arms.
"There isn't exactly a B squad, is there?"
"Actually yeah, there's understudies."
Her mother sighed.
"I know you've been looking forward to this but be prepared for disappointment."
"What's that supposed to mean?" huffed Jenna.
"That came out wrong," Miranda held up her hands. "I only meant that like anything else, interviews or auditions don't always go according to plan."
Jenna grabbed her backpack and brushed past her mom. She was already downstairs before Miranda even got halfway there. They were both swift, but Jenna clearly had the advantage of being younger.
"Jenna, wait!"
The teen stopped but refused to turn and face her mother.
"Yeah?"
"That school is full of other kids who want to do this with their lives."
(Here comes the "it's just a phase" argument) Jenna thought.
"Someone might do a better audition is all I'm saying," Miranda further explained. "I just don't want you to be let down."
Jenna wordlessly left, grabbing her keys along the way out the door.
Most high schools had a "Seniors Only" policy to student drivers. But Hollywood Arts extended this to include both Seniors and Juniors, provided they had a valid driver's license, and their vehicle was insured. No assigned parking: so, it was first come first serve.
This meant Jenna will surely have a crappy spot.
She started the engine on her white 2026 Toyota Camry and pulled away with a slight screech of the tires.
The time on her radio said it was less than ten minutes before school starts. As much as her stomach rumbled, Jenna was forced to skip breakfast and soldier on until lunch.
She held her hand over her mouth, swearing to herself that she neglected to brush her teeth. Luckily there was always gum in the glove box. This will have to do. Jenna made a mental note to pocket some extra for later.
Would hate to have bad breath for the second part of her audition.
Alice found her locker again, only now she was going to try it for the first time.
A little trial and error and the metal door opened.
She was a bit startled when she saw her face looking back at her. Last owner had a mirror and left it inside.
Alice shrugged and put her stuff in the locker. Now her bag felt so much lighter. She knew she had to plan her day accordingly, knowing which periods were going to have her closest to her locker. Obviously, she would hit it first thing before home room. But Alice would need to load up with everything she needed from now until third period. However, there was another time when she would pass her locker. Right after lunch and everyone came back in, if she used the doors closest to the food truck, her locker would be right there.
Now that she had her plan of attack, the freshman was a little more assured than on Monday.
Tori was at her desk, filling out some paperwork when her buzzer went off.
"Hello?"
"Principal Vega?" called out Mrs. Hughes.
The woman was getting exhausted with constantly corrected others in her last name, always dropping the "Larson".
"Yes?" she responded.
"I have DeBiase here to see you," Mrs. Hughes replied.
"Let him in, thank you."
Soon, a middle-aged man with thick glasses and a mustache entered.
"Edgar," said Tori.
"Tori," he replied. "I heard you wanted to see me?"
Tori pushed her papers aside and sat much straighter in her chair.
"Sit down, please."
Edgar regarded the wooden chair opposite the principal's desk with contempt.
"I'd rather stand," he said.
"Suit yourself," Tori sighed. "Care to shed some light on what happened yesterday during the second lunch period?"
The man folded his arms.
"Your daughter assaulted Miss Gilmore. Did she not tell you?"
Tori wasn't sure if that was a dig at her as an administrator, a mom, or both but she was getting plenty pissed with his attitude.
"Yes, Mia did admit wrongdoing. But I have yet to hear a confession from Savannah. Her part in all of this."
"There was no..."
"Actually, there was" Tori pointed. "Several witnesses saw Alice Doyle, our newest freshman, trying to sit with Miss Gilmore and her friends. Don't know exactly what was said but it culminated in Savannah pushing down Alice. At that moment, Mia intervened. And I will admit that she was wrong to put her hands on Savannah."
DeBiase started to look smug.
"However," Tori continued. "Miss Gilmore, whatever issue she had with this new student whom she never met, Savannah escalated the situation by getting physical."
"We don't know that those girls haven't crossed paths before," he argued.
Tori held the bridge of her nose. She hoped she had some Tylenol in her desk somewhere because it felt like a wallop of a migraine was on the horizon.
"Besides, who vouched for this version of events? A bunch of Mia's friends?"
He flinched a bit when Tori stood up, her chair scooting behind her.
"Back when I was her teacher, I was privy to more than one altercation involving Savannah, or her crew. And yet, nobody can corroborate when she violated school policy. The people around her seem to get the all of the blame."
Tori walked around her desk to Edgar.
"It just seems like I'm getting a lot of looking the other way when it comes to Savannah and extra attention when it comes to my other students."
"Well, I regret you feel that way" he replied.
"So far, you have given me no grounds as to why Alice was also handed detention."
Edgar didn't have a comeback for that.
"I want better eyes on these students during free periods, including lunches. If I feel you aren't capable, I can find someone else."
"You have nothing to worry about," Edgar huffed. "Just communicate to your students that a little respect goes a long way."
He then checked his watch.
"Well, better get to my next writing class. I've got work to do."
Tori could tell that he wanted to say something else like, "some of us have work that matters" but went with something less inflammatory.
When he left, Tori sighed and sunk into her chair. She put her head into her hands and sat there in silence.
(Where the HELL is that aspirin?)
Alice entered the outside lunch area and looked around, clinging to her plastic bag.
"Hey, over here!"
She knew that voice and turned to see Mia over at a table to her left. The freshman nodded and bounded right on over.
"So, this is Alice" smiled the girl sitting on Mia's other side. "I'm Lauren."
Lauren then pointed to across the table.
"That dude is Chase."
He gave a tepid head nod. The boy looked like he was in deep thought. Chase was more startled by Lauren asking him a question than the new girl.
"And over there...somewhere...behind that big sandwich...is Jenna."
"You okay there?" grinned Mia. "You're eating that like it's your job."
Jenna gave the side eye and made an incomprehensible response.
"Sweetie, chew your food, then talk" teased Lauren in that motherly tone.
The tall girl swallowed and partially set her food down. She wasn't finished.
"Sorry, I was just starving! I totally missed breakfast."
"Overslept?" asked Alice.
"Yeah," Jenna replied. "Been obsessed with this new play and I might possibly have the lead part."
Alice lit up.
"Oh, that's exciting!"
Jenna looked more scared than excited and just resumed her sandwich.
"What are you having?" Alice asked Mia.
The Latina pointed her thumb toward the food truck.
"Waiting for the line to go down. Taco Tuesday is ridiculous here."
Alice put her bag down and opened it up. She pulled out a clear plastic container with a clear top.
"You ordered Chinese for lunch?" asked Mia.
"No," Alice said, shaking her head. "These are leftovers from last night. Mom and I always order too much."
"What'd you get?" asked Lauren.
"General Tso's chicken and pork fried rice."
"Spicy?"
"Is there any other kind?" smirked Alice.
Mia made a face.
"You gonna heat that up?" she asked.
"No way," Alice replied. "Cold leftover Chinese is the best."
Mia chuckled and shared a look with Lauren.
(This girl's a weirdo for sure. She'll fit right in.)
"Only two kids in line," observed Chase.
Mia's ears perked up and the tan girl nearly jumped over the next table to get there fast.
When she finally returned, the rest of gang carried on for the rest of the period. Alice was thrilled to be making friends already, upperclassmen for less, and they made her feel comfortable being her awkward self.
The bell rang and the lunch area dispersed. Jenna grabbed her bag and fled.
Alice noticed a book she had left behind.
"Jenna, wait!"
But the girl was gone. Jenna wasn't exactly easy to lose in a crowd, so that was quite a feat.
"Oh, man."
For the rest of the day, Alice went to her other classes, holding onto the forgotten book.
She had hopes that she would run into Jenna at some point so she could return it.
The final tone rung and students without any clubs started to leave.
Alice blew her hair in frustration and then she remembered.
(Wait! Jenna was auditioning for that play!)
She saw a poster informing about tryouts and Alice ran to it.
The auditorium.
(Great! Where is that?)
"Here goes nothing!"
Jenna was seated alongside her potential cast mates on the stage with Geoffrey overlooked them.
"Alright, we just met with Jenna yesterday and she was good but I want to see how you both look together. Billy."
A dirty blond-haired boy looked up and leaned over to see the newcomer.
"Billy, Jenna, let's see you."
Both students stood and the moment Jenna was on her feet, murmurs permeated through the cast and crew.
Billy's eyes widened.
"Oh, wow. She's so...uh...wow."
Jenna winced and tried to underplay her height by slouching.
He was pretty tall but Jenna had at least a few inches over him.
Geoffrey stepped back to better take in the pair standing close.
"Damn, it's pretty noticeable."
The boy closed his eyes and put scratched his head.
He snapped his fingers. "I got it."
Geoffrey pointed to a stagehand.
"Louis! Get me a box or crate or something."
Within seconds, the kid returned with a small black milk crate.
"Billy..."
"You gotta be kidding me," the blond protested.
"Step on it!" he ordered.
Billy rolled his eyes and did as he was told. Now he and Jenna were about even.
"Better!" exclaimed Geoffrey. "Much better!"
"Geoffrey this is stupid!" Billy groaned.
Jenna just stayed quiet.
(I agree but screw it, I really want this part.)
"It'll be fine. There's only like six scenes where you're gonna be standing that close."
Billy then lost his footing and tumbled backwards but Jenna was quick enough to grab his hand to prevent a nasty fall.
"Uh, thanks..."
"Jenna," she said.
"Okay, Jenna" he nodded.
"ALRIGHT!" Geoffrey said, clapping his hands together. "Meet our Kelly and our Conrad!"
Everyone clapped.
Jenna was so excited that she almost dragged Billy with her when she ran to Geoffrey.
"Thank you so much!"
"Just be here, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. We only have two months to put this thing together..." Geoffrey then turned to address the whole group. "Let's go people! We'll come back Thursday and begin the real work!"
The door flung open, making the couple dozen students look up.
An out of breath Alice, clung to the door frame holding a book.
"Jenna...whoa...give me a sec...so tired...you forgot this."
The tall girl ran over to Alice and graciously accepted the book.
"Oh I thought I lost this forever, thanks!"
Alice smiled and held her racing heart. She wasn't a runner.
"Who are you?" asked Geoffrey halfway up the aisle.
"Alice," she replied. "Just returning this to Jenna."
He nodded.
"You ran all the way here? That's pretty impressive. I could use that kind of dedication. You want a job?"
The tiny brunette's eyes widened.
"Who, me? No, no, no, no, I can't act..."
"No, not that!" Geoffrey cut her off. "We're putting a crew together and still need a P.A. for all the odd stuff."
"Yeah, Alice" Jenna added. "It's all behind the scenes. Did you want to?"
Alice thought about it. She hadn't had any extra-curricular activities under her belt yet. None of the clubs interested her from the school website. But taking part in a school production would look good for a college resume. And like Jenna said, she'll be safe in the shadows. No spotlight.
Plus, this gives her an excuse to get to spend time with one of her new friends.
"Sure," she nodded. "I'm in."