Hollywood Arts was constantly bustling with colour and noise. Even during lunch, you could look to your left and see a streetdance crew practicing, and to your right and witness some kind of novel flashmob. Beyond the fact that it was so utterly more exciting than her previous school, Tori was glad for this, as it filled out the sparseness of her lunch table, populated today by only herself, Andre and Robbie. Beck was on set, Jade had gone off sulking after one of her plays had been rejected for staging at the school, and Cat was ostensibly searching for her. A task surely no one in their right mind would volunteer for, Tori had thought.
"Is Cat still looking for Jade?" Tori asked, looking around in search of the familiar redhead.
"Yeah." Andre replied.
"I don't get what the big deal is." Said Tori. "So the school won't put on her play? Surely that happens to hundreds of kids at this school?"
Andre winced. "It's not just a play to Jade. She's been writing it forever - it's really personal and means a lot to her. I think she just wants people to recognise that she's more talented than they give her credit for."
Tori shrugged. "But isn't that true of everyone at this school? What makes this play so different?"
"Well, Jade's on this thing called the Jane Vaulks Scholarship. She gets her fees paid but she has to display 'outstanding contribution to the school' every year to stay on it. Putting on your own play is basically a surefire way of fulfilling that."
"Jade gets her fees paid?" Tori asked, aimimg for surprise. The glint of superiority in her tone did not escape Andre, however, and he quickly decided not to add that he wad also a beneficiary of the fund. "Well, she's already getting money from the school, then? It's probably difficult for them to justify giving her more to put on the play."
Andre shook his head. "The scholarship is completely separate from the school. And HA would more than make their money back from ticket sales."
"Yeah. When I did front-of-house for Moonlight Magic, they brought in like six grand." Robbie added.
"In all honesty, the school administration really aren't massive fans of Jade and don't want her name on anything the school puts on. And without their funding, there's no way Jade can put it on herself."
"Why not?" Tori asked, with genuine surprise.
Even Robbie looked as confused as Andre.
"It would cost like two, three grand to stage, Tori. You think Jade, who shares a room in her mom's house with her six-month-old, has that kind of money lying around?" Andre laughed. He really shouldn't have been surprised that Tori, who lived in an open-plan house in the Hollywood Hills, thought that a nominal fee.
"Well... it shouldn't be that hard to find the money." Tori shrugged.
Andre raised an eyebrow.
"You said that the play would more than make the money back through ticket sales, so we just have to find someone who's willing to put up the money in the first place, knowing they'll make a profit." Tori continued, as though this was simple.
"True." Andre conceded. "But this is Jade West we're talking about. Who's giving her three grand?"
"Beck?" Tori suggested, secretly hoping that Andre would explain that he would never.
"No." Robbie shook his head, giving Tori a moment of satisfaction.
"All Beck's money goes on Toby, and his parents hate Jade, so no chance there." Andre explained.
Well, that was something, at least.
"I mean, I'm sure my parents would pay for it if they knew I was involved. They also hate Jade though, so I'd tell them I was directing it. They always want to support me, and they'd be happy to spend the money if they'd get it back from ticket sales anyway."
It was a peculiar series of events that resulted in Jade watching a rehearsal of her handcrafted play in an actual theatre with Tori Vega by her side.
She'd spent the entirety of Monday holed up in the janitor's closet, avoiding falsely sympathetic friends, and all educators which were part of the system so determined to shut her out. She was sure that this would instigate a call to her mother and stepfather regarding her attendance, but she could deal with that later. For now, she just wanted to wallow.
When Cat, who had, to Jade's guilt, spent her lunch break attempting to coax Jade out of the closet, found her at the end of the day, she'd had unexpected news: Tori Vega had agreed to finance her play.
Of course, Jade immediately turned this down. At best, it was a sign of pity, which she didn't need, or an attempt at friendship, which she didn't want. At worst, it was a cruel joke to flaunt her superior financial disposition. Jade didn't want any of it.
It was Beck who got her to reconsider. As a friend of Tori's, though Jade loathed to admit it, he knew that it was a genuine offer. He also hit Jade with the hard facts - she wanted to put on her play and prove herself, and to miss out in doing so because of stubborn pride was self-sabotaging; and, ultimately, she needed to keep her scholarship, and this was probably her only chance to do so assuredly.
So, after a reluctant agreement with Beck's argument, and an even more reluctant message of appreciation to Tori, 'Well Wishes' was in production at the Lower Hills Theatre. Even if she did have to admit to owing it to Tori Vega of all people, Jade's heart did swell with pride at seeing her handiwork advertised in a real, functioning theatre.
Tori's phone rang, and Jade almost let out a sigh of relief at being left alone to watch the play come together. Rehearsals had been going well and, to Vega's credit, she only observed, but, even so, Jade much preferred being able to direct the proceedings alone.
She really should have known that something was wrong. Not when Tori came back into the room, her face as sheepish as one could imagine. No, she should've known as soon as something positive seemed to come about in her life. Obviously something would come up. It always did.
"So, that was my mom..." Tori began, timidly. "And she has some... notes, about the play."
"Notes?" Jade quirked an eyebrow. Not only was it preposterous that Tori's accountant mother could have any useful notes on a creative piece of work, but the woman hadn't even seen it. She had had so much faith in her little princess that she'd trusted that her money was being spent wisely. It made Jade sick.
"Well, just one really. She wants Trina to be in the play."
Jade tasted bile in her mouth. "No."
"Jade-"
"Absolutely not. Are you joking, Tori? You think I'm going to let your hack-job sister ruin the play that I've been working on for literal years?" Jade seethed.
Tori gulped. "It's not really... negotiable."
"What?"
"She said the play has to include Trina."
"Well, I'm the director and I don't want someone that untalented in my play. So, if you won't tell her no, I will."
Tori looked as if she might collapse. "Well, you see, that's not really possible, because... well, because they think I'm directing it."
Jade's eyebrow arched dramatically and Tori hadtily rushed to finish her explanation.
"They're not your biggest fans, you see. So the only way I could get them to agree to provide the money was by telling them I was the director."
If looks could kill, Tori would've died when Jade came back to school in October. She then would've been reincarnated as a caged bird, had all her feathers plucked and been roasted alive, purely with the power of the glare Jade was currently directing her way.
"Your parents think this is your play?"
Tori nodded feebly.
Jade laughed, in a manner that made Tori exceedingly nervous.
"Of course. Of course something good would only happen to Tori fucking Vega. Of course I work my ass off for years only for you to take the credit because you've got supportive parents and a truckload of money."
"I'm sorry, Jade, but-"
"Fuck you, Vega, I don't want to hear it." Jade shook her head. "You know, everyone thinks that I'm a terrible person but I would never, never take credit for someone else's work. At a performing arts school? You're awful."
Tori was taken aback. She actually did feel guilty about this whole situation, but she was not about to silently take a lesson in morality from Jade fucking West.
In typical Jade fashion, she'd began to march off, though not yet out of the front doors, so maybe there was something to salvage.
Jade headed straight towards the women's bathroom, pulling out her phone and tapping Beck's contact without even having to look. But she reached the bathroom without any kind of response, despite calling him three times. He was so unreachable on set, and it worried Jade an uncharacteristic amount. She wasn't sure whether she'd grown increasingly dependent upon him, or whether she'd simply had more upsetting experiences recently that she wished to share with him, to ease the hurt.
So caught up in fretting over Beck, she barely registered Tori following her into the bathroom, which also concerned her. She was really losing just about every edge she was once able to flaunt.
"Jade, please just hear me out."
"I don't want your stupid explanation, Vega."
"I was trying to help, honestly. I want us to be friends."
Jade looked Tori in the eye, unable to decipher whether or not this was true. She settled on the notion that it was, but only because Tori was a people-pleaser, and not because she had any great desire to be Jade's friend in particular.
"I don't want to be your friend, Tori."
"Okay, but you could at least recognise when I'm being nice to you." Tori huffed.
"Pretending you're the director of my play is you being nice?" Jade scoffed, incredulously.
"It's the only way your play could actually get staged!" Tori exclaimed in exasperation. "Sometimes you have to accept compromise!"
"Trina is not compromise. Trina is a shitstain all over the work I've put every ounce of my energy into over these past few years!" Jade yelled.
Tori shook her head. "You're not the only one who works hard, Jade."
Jade just laughed. "Don't pretend for one minute that you have to work as hard as I do."
Tori suddenly felt greatly aggrieved. Who gave Jade the right to decide that her effort levels were more commendable than anyone else's? The last time Tori checked, Jade had much poorer attendance than her, or any of their friends for that matter.
"Why would that be so hard to believe?"
Jade paused for a moment, letting Tori's words wash over them both. "I got pregnant at 15, Tori. Do you know how fucking young that is?"
"What? How is that..." Tori began, before sighing. "Of course I do, Jade. I know, we all know how hard-"
Jade groaned loudly. "Oh my god, would you all stop with this fake understanding thing? You don't understand what any of this has been like, none of you do, so please save your terrible words of wisdom for someone it might actually be useful for."
Tori sighed in frustration. "I might not be in the same situation as you, Jade, but I'm a compassionate person, so I can sympathise with you even if I don't know exactly what it's like."
"Exactly what it's like."
"What?" Tori replied, not understanding what Jade could be annoyed at this time.
"You said exactly what it's like - implying that you somewhat understand what it's like."
"Jade-"
"How did you spend your sixteenth birthday?"
"What?"
Again, the darker girl groaned in frustration. "Why am I always having to repeat myself? What did you do for your sixteenth birthday? It's a simple question."
Tori looked uneasy but entertained the question. "Well, if you must know, I went to New York with my parents."
Jade didn't reply straight away, instead tilting her head back in a way that Tori wasn't sure meant she was contemplating the answer or deciding entirely not to acknowledge it.
"New York, huh." She nodded. "No Trina?"
Tori shook her head. "No, it was my birthday treat after all." She replied, with an attempt at light humour. Jade didn't laugh.
"You know how I spent my sixteenth?" Jade asked, with the tone of someone who not only doesn't expect an answer, but discourages it. Tori gulped, expecting the worst.
"I spent my sixteenth birthday behind the counter of a 7-Eleven, passing greasy old men cigarettes over my six months pregnant belly whilst they asked me if my unborn child needed a father."
Well, whatever Tori had been expecting, that was somehow worse. "That sounds... unique." She stumbled, even her positive demeanour failing to make that sound appealing.
Jade gave Tori a look of complete contempt, and the latter almost felt as though she had shrunk into the walls behind her.
"It wasn't unique, Vega. It was god awful. Everything hurt, everything was exhausting, but I went to every single class and turned up to work for every single second of my shift so that I could actually afford to raise my baby and give him the life he deserves and have everyone that doubted me shut the hell up." Jade spoke, and such was her air of maturity that Tori felt there was nothing she could add that would be on the same wavelength.
"This play..." Jade began again, a slight choke of vulnerability creeping in. "for once I thought 'this is it'. I've worked my ass off for months to provide for my kid, and I've worked for years towards this dream, and this felt like such an accomplishment." She looked towards Tori. "I let myself picture the words in the programme - 'Well Wishes, Jade West'. And I wouldn't be Jade, the mean girl, or Jade, that sophomore who got pregnant last year; I'd be Jade, that girl who put on the best play Hollywood Arts has ever seen. This was my chance to show everyone that they were wrong about me, about so many things - that I'm gonna make it, with my baby in tow."
She clicked her tongue, almost like a switch, turning off the hopeful tone of her previous words. "But I'm not. Because not all of us have parents who whisk us off to New York to frolic around Times Square in pretty dresses, or teachers who would do anything to see us succeed."
"So?" Tori said, almost surprising herself. Jade quirked an eyebrow, shocked at Tori's apparent boldness.
"You don't need them." Tori quickly followed up. "You have other people that support you, like Cat and Beck."
Jade sighed. "Cat's not gonna pull any industry strings for me, is she Vega? And Beck- he loves me, a lot." Tori ignored the twinge in her chest at this admission. "Do you really think if there was something he could do, he wouldn't be doing it?"
Tori had no answer for this.
"The facts of the matter," Jade said, pulling herself up from the floor with a oxymoronic sense of defiant resignation. "are that people like me don't win. There's just too many barriers, too much bad karma probably." She added with a small laugh. "People like you win. People who have the stability behind them, and the promise in front of them; people who are nice and compliant and write things that aren't 'weird and disturbing'."
With that, Jade turned the handle on the door and began to leave Tori in her wake.
"Things will work out for you, Jade." Tori said, almost argumentatively, feeling as though she had not yet said her piece.
"Don't you remember the fairytales you read in elementary school, Vega?" Jade called down the corridor, already walking backwards and away from both the bathroom and the conversation. "When does the bad guy ever win?"