CHAPTER 3:

Later that afternoon, the gang gathered in the mall's food court. Jade had told them about her half-sister. She didn't especially want to.. But when she had talked to Beck the previous evening, he insisted on letting them know,since they were her friends. And since they had already seen the SplashFace video anyway.

"So there you go," Jade finished. "Apparently, I've got a half-sister."

"Having a half-sister is kinda cool," Cat said, trying to cheer her up. Jade just shrugged.

"What does she look like?" Tori asked her. "Does she look anything like you?"

"Not even close," Jade said, rolling her eyes. "She's got blonde hair, blue eyes and she dresses…like you."

"I don't know if I'm supposed to be flattered or annoyed," Tori stated, although she knew what Jade was implying.

"God, so anyways," Jade said, clearing her throat. "This makes my whole parent thing so complicated. Like I don't know what to do. Do I ask my dad what he knew or just ignore him forever?"

"Well, have you talked to Valerie since then?" Robbie asked.

Jade shook her head. "Can't stand this whole situation, or Valerie either, as a matter of fact," Jade added.

"Well, you should talk to her," Cat said softly. "You might be able to get a sister bond going." She playfully poked Jade on the shoulder.

"Doubt it," Jade muttered as she leaned back in her chair. "Tori, you have a sister. What's that like?" she asked.

"Hey, that's different," Tori retorted. "Well…Trina's different."

"Whatever choice you make, Jade," Andre said. "We'll support you every step of the way."

"Thanks, Andre," Jade said. She sighed. "I think I actually might call her. Might meet up for a coffee or something. I dunno."

"Do it," Cat encouraged her. "It'll be fun."

"Hope so," Jade said.

Once the gang had departed from the mall, Jade pulled out her phone and dialed Valerie's number. It rang for a while before someone picked up…"Hello?" the voice on the other end said.

"Hi, it's me. Jade," Jade answered.

"Oh!" Valerie said, surprised. "I didn't expect you to…Umm, well how are you?"

"More or less okay," Jade said. "Listen, could we meet and catch up somewhere?"

"Yeahh, sure?" Valerie answered, unsure of herself. "Well, there's a milk bar in L.A. I think it's not too far from the mall center? I could meet you there in twenty."

"Sounds good," Jade said back, and she hung up the phone.

Driving down to the milk bar didn't take Jade long. She parked and went inside. Once she found an empty seat, she ordered herself a latte, waiting for Valerie and hoping the caffeine would wake her up slightly.

After a few minutes, she spotted Valerie walking through the door. "What took you so long?" she asked.

"I didn't have access to my parents' car," Valerie answered, sitting down opposite Jade. She sounded out of breath. "So I had to bike all the way here."

"I see," Jade said.

"So... you said you wanted to catch up?" Valerie asked.

"Yeah," Jade answered. "I know we got off on the wrong foot when we met. I didn't know how to react, to be honest. And I hope there's no hard feelings."

"No, of course not!" Valerie said, relieved. "I was actually quite shocked when I saw your SplashFace video."

"How exactly did you know that I existed, anyway?" Jade asked her curiously as she sipped her latte.

"I found out that my mom – well, our mom – had a previous marriage," Valerie explained. "I snooped around and found her old marriage license when she was married to your father. It wasn't hard to find out your name. You were in Hollywood Arts, so you're not exactly low profile, are you? Long story short, I tracked you all the way here."

"And do you regret it?" Jade wondered aloud.

"No, not at all," Valerie answered with a chuckle. "You're…perfect? To me at least."

"Perfect?" Jade asked. "Maybe you haven't heard my mom's way of putting it."

"She talks about me like I'm all sunshine," Valerie laughed as she tied her hair.

"I can see why," Jade joked. "So…what do we do about all of this?"

"I don't know, to be honest," Valerie admitted. "I feel the need to talk to mom about this, but I don't know how she will react…I take it you don't get along with your parents so well?"

Jade shook her head. "I got engaged a few months ago," she said as she showed Valerie the ring. "And they don't like it. I just don't know why they don't want me to be happy. It is my life, after all."

"It's a gorgeous ring," Valerie said, admiring it. "It's jade, right? Just like your name. It suits you."

"It is and it does," Jade said, as gazed at it herself.

"You sound like you're very much in love," Valerie said with a smile.

Jade looked at her. "Yeah, I guess I am," she admitted. A thought occurred to her. "Oh, you probably don't know this, but my birthday's coming up in a few days."

"Actually I did know. I saw your birthdate on TheSlap," Valerie said. "Do you think your parents will each call you?"

"They might," Jade replied. "Like they did at my graduation. But if they cared they would visit me instead of just calling, and I doubt that will ever happen. Say, you want to come to Nozu's with us on my birthday? You'll be able to meet a few of my friends."

"I mean sure, if that's what you'd want!" Valerie answered excitedly. "Though I don't exactly like sushi."

"That's alright," Jade shrugged. "We can order something else then."

Jade updated her status on TheSlap which read: "My birthday is in a few days… guess what? You're not invited - MOOD = Meh".

After about a month of living with Tori, Leah's parents had an unexpected knock on the door.

"Can I help you, sir?" Leah's father, Kevin asked.

"Kevin and Karen Brownstone, I am Detective Glenn Sherman, LAPD," he said, showing his badge. "You're both under arrest for child abandonment charges."

"What in the world are you talking about, officer?" Karen asked as another officer placed handcuffs on both of the parents. "These are appalling charges."

As the officers walked the parents to the police car, Leah arrived at the house with David to gather her stuff she left behind a month ago. Frowning, she turned to her parents and said, "Well, I hope you're happy!"

"Us? You're the one who went against our faith. We raised you to follow the word of God," her father argued.

"Save it!" Leah shouted back, as she felt tears brimming up again. "I'm sorry, officer; carry on…"

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law," Glenn said, placing Leah's parents in a cop car.

As the cop car drove away. "I'll see you two in court!" Leah said.

"You okay?" Tori asked.

"I will be," Leah said as a large black lab came barking and running at the door. "Rocky! Oh, I missed you, boy."

"Wow. He's such a cute dog," Tori commented.

"His name is Rocky. He's my best friend. You can pet him if you want." Leah smiled before

turning to Mrs. Vega. "Would it be alright if Rocky stayed with us instead of having to go to the pound?" she asked, worried. "I hope you're not allergic or anything."

"Of course he can," Holly said. "Why don't you go put him in the car before the other officers see him so they don't call up Animal Control."

"Great. Come on, Rocky…now that my parents are gone, maybe I can go into this house again and pack your things…and anything I left behind too," Leah said.

"Yeah, that can be allowed," Holly nodded her head and Leah hurried into the house with a beam on her face.

Tori updated her status on TheSlap which read: "It's strange seeing how complete strangers can completely change someone's life for the good… - MOOD = Pleading".