Postgrad Partners

A New Year's Jori

"That's...really sweet, actually," Tara smiled, "Not the 'being recognized everywhere' part, but she's lucky to have you here to help her through it."

"Yeah..." Jade gave a short nod, "But I'm also lucky to have her; just like you're lucky to have me, Short Stack!" With that, she parked in the lot in front of the Vega house and stepped out with Tara to stretch before grabbing the luggage from the back.

"Oh, finally!" Tara sighed in relief as she got out of the car, "I really have to go to the bathroom!" She looked up at the large house still decorated with winter-themed lights from top to bottom. "Wow...This is an average family's house in Hollywood?"

"Welcome to Los Angeles~" Jade chuckled as she pulled out Tara's duffle bag and walked her to the front door, "Now how's about we ring in the New Year together?"

Tara flashed a smile, taking her bag from Jade and giving the front door three solid knocks.

Tori

The living room, kitchen, and dining space in the Vega house were filled with friends of Tori's parents, a few old acquaintances from Hollywood Arts—teacher and student alike—but those closest to Tori were elsewhere, leaving her relatively alone in her room as she waited for Jade and Tara. From her laptop, however, she was passing the time with an old friend via video chat all the way in New York.

"I can't believe you're still up, Andre!" Tori laughed as she adjusted her earbuds, taking in Andre's living space captured in his webcam's view. "Isn't it almost 3 AM over there?"

"Trust me, Tori," Andre laughed with her as he leaned back in his chair, "In New York City, the night's still young, especially in New Year's, apparently!"

"Well, judging by the photos you've been sharing, I'd say you're having a fun time without us~" Tori scrolled through some of Andre's social feed on her phone, "And, oh! Isn't this the girl you took to our prome a few years back?" She held her phone up to show him a photo he took with an attractive young woman with dark braids, fair light-brown skin, and a distinguished punk-like attire that stood out against Andre's formal wear.

"Oh yeah!" Andre smiled as the photo came into focus, "I ran into her again at Times Square, but she couldn't stick around! She said she had some 'serious work' to take care of." He held his fingers up in air-quotes as he rolled his eyes.

"Really? What kind of work would keep her busy on New Year's?" Tori raised an eyebrow at the air quotes.

"Get this—it threw me for a loop, too..." Andre chuckled, "She said she works for a secret government organization, fighting crime with her 'amazing computer hacking skills'! Can you believe that?!"

That was the last thing Tori expected to hear, but the idea made her laugh out loud in her seat, "Wow! That's about as likely as me having amazing computer skills and fighting crime in New York—and you know I can barely set up a video conference without reading the instructions every time!"

"Oh, don't I know it?" Andre shook his head, "But I could see you playing a crime-fighter someday, maybe if you took up acting, too?"

"Maybe...but it's been great catching up, Andre. I miss chatting with you just casually; not for school or work stuff..." Tori flashed a smile that quickly fell at the nostalgic feeling it brought her.

"Same here, Tori," Andre replied, showing the same sense of longing for old times, "But it's good to see your record deal's going well so far! You sure you're gonna be okay keeping that up with college, though?"

"That's all I've been thinking about since Jade and I got accepted to University of Miami..." Tori shrugged her shoulders, but maintained a confident smile, "I just have faith that I can do it and Jade will help keep me sane through it all..."