ᴠɪᴄᴛᴏʀɪᴏᴜs s1 ᴇᴘ2 - ɴᴇᴡ ɢɪʀʟ s4 ᴇᴘ4
"𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁 2"
Doc had spent all of her time after school ranting to Nick in his room. Jess had shown up at some point which led to Schmidt, Winston, and Coach entering as well to join in on the rant session.
This was a common occurrence in the loft. André would mention another girl or have a girlfriend and Doc's heart would shatter. Why did she have to be so in love with him? It was the best and worst feeling she had ever experienced. He was her everything, but not having him felt like her heart was being ripped from her chest.
The sun had been harsh that following morning. Bartholomew was curled up at Doc's feet, his head on the backs of her legs.
Every morning the loft was filled with lots of noise in the morning. Groans from the Miller siblings, Jess singing, coffee being poured, Schmidt yelling about whatever, etc. This morning was no different.
Doc rolled off of her bed and onto the floor. Bart stretched before going through the curtain and trotting off into the kitchen. The girl let out another groan as she sluggishly stood up and followed after the Bernese.
Schmidt stood next to their landline in his suit, staring at the phone. Doc pulled the signature Miller turtle face at him before smacking his shoulder as she passed.
"Doc!" The man shouted and frantically tried to fix the wrinkles that were no where to be found.
Nick and Winston sat at the table. Doc threw herself into the chair on Nick's left with a grunt and laid her head down. Her brother slid her a coffee mug before rubbing her head playfully.
"What's up, Doc?" Winston asked with a yawn.
The girl grunted in return. "That was a stupid question," Nick said with a laugh. "You know she can never function properly until she's had her coffee." Doc sent him a thumbs up at his words and slowly pushed her head up to take a sip of said drink.
Bartholomew plopped down under her chair and a soft meow was heard from under Winston. The cat and dog were best friends; Doc and Winston made sure of it.
"I can't stop staring at this thing!" Schmidt said suddenly. Doc turned her head to squint at him as he moved away from the landline.
Winston let out a sad sigh and looked up from his police textbooks. "Man, I used to be so great at talking on the phone. You know, something about the chord and the handset just really set me at ease.
Nick nodded from beside Doc, "You were weirdly smooth. Something just came over him. He was amazing." Winston ran his hands through the air to show how smooth he was as he nodded.
"I'm just excited to add a third number: home, work, and cell," Schmidt said with a grin. "I'm so reachable! I'm definitely gonna mention that in my profile for Business, Man! magazine."
Doc scrunched her nose in disgust as she turned her body to face Schmidt fully. "Business, Man! magazine? Only you would have a profile for something like that."
Schmidt pulled out a magazine from his pocket and turned it to face his family. "Check it out. Business, Man! magazine. I've gotten a lot of heat from working on the sponge account. I'm telling you, this is the first step in my quest to becoming a millionaire."
Doc groaned, "This conversation is making my coffee taste bad."
"It's black coffee, Doc. It's gonna taste bad anyway," Winston scoffed. "I need sweet like Peep.
Doc stared at him, deadpan. "Shut up," She said before grabbing her mug and slowly making her way to begin getting ready.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
After Doc had finished her cup of black coffee, Nick had her iced coffee ready for her to grab before she left. The day had started out good and everything seemed to be going just fine.
Sikowitz's class had begun a few minutes earlier and Doc sat in her chair, nursing her coffee. André, Beck, and Robbie were up on the stage doing whatever nonsense Sikowitz had come up with.
Suddenly, their teacher jumped on to the stage and interrupted Robbie's line. "Ready?" He asked as he faces the class. Everyone sat up on the edges of their seats, ready for whatever he would say. "Drive-by acting exercises! You're all angry Englishmen. Go!"
The class stood from their seats as the boys on stage started off. "I insist you tell me who sat on me crumpet!" Robbie yelled.
"My grandmummy went to the loo while I snogged the prime minister!" Jade said as she turned to Doc angrily.
Doc gasped and huffed. "You snogged the prime minister! I snogged him as well you twat!"
"This flock of whip-poor-wills is bothering my trousers!" André exclaimed as he gestured to his pants.
Cat gasped and stepped up. "Good heavens! There's a dead cockroach in my brassier!"
"Blimey!" Rex exclaimed suddenly.
"Oi! Well, I told you not to put plum sauce on me banger!" Beck yelled and pointed to a boy in the class.
The room erupted into shouts in poor English accents. André stomped off the stage and up to Doc. The two couldn't help but let smiles
breakthrough as they began shouting at one another.
"All right! All right! Everyone quiet down! Very good!" Sikowitz yelled and gestured for the class to sit down. "Now that we're all loosey and/or goosey; the time has come for our newest student to tackle The Bird Scene!" The class clapped for her unenthusiastically as they all knew they would more than likely have to sit through it a few times.
Sikowitz stepped off the stage as Tori stood up and walked forward. "Tori, the stage is yours, though you can't take it home." He stepped to the back and grabbed his coconut.
Tori turned to face the class, "Can I ask a quick question before I start?" At that moment, Jade let out a loud groan. Doc's eyes widened at the sudden noise and attempted to hold in her laugh. André smiled at her from his place to her left.
Tori rolled her eyes at Jade's interruption and began to speak again, but Sikowitz spoke first. "Just do your best. Action!"
Tori jumped and placed her book on the ground. "It was 1932 when my husband left me. Alone. Living on the prairie was a dreary existence. No telephone. No radio. Only a large, majestic bird with whom I shared my feelings. One day, when I was feeling low, I said to him, 'Oh, bird, you can fly. You can soar for miles from this lonely place. Yet you stay. Why?' And apparently, my question rang true. For that afternoon, the bird left. And so went my spirit."
She placed her head down to signal that the scene had ended. The class stared at her silently. Doc prayed that she wouldn't say a word, André gave her a side smirk as she crossed her fingers.
Tori peaked through her hair, "So...How was that?"
Doc groaned inwardly at the question. Sikowitz cocked his head to the side, "What do you mean?"
"Did I do the scene right?"
"Oh!" Sikowitz exclaimed. "No not at all."
Tori's brows furrowed, "Okay. So what did I do wrong?"
Sikowitz moved back to the front of the room and picked up Tori's book as he stepped on to the stage. Handing it to her, he patted her back. "You'll have to perform it again tomorrow and get it right, or else you cannot be in André's play or any other."
"Wait, but can't you tell me what I did wrong?"
"No, I cannot."
"So, I don't get any feedback?"
Doc groaned at the questioning, it was reasonable, but annoying after the 100th time. Sikowitz ignored Tori with a wave of his hand. "Drive-by acting exercise: You're all terrified dolphins! Go!"
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
"You ready for ballet, pretty girl?" André asked with a grin as the two walked down the hall. He carried Doc's bow case once again as he had done since their first year at Hollywood Arts.
Doc rolled her eyes playfully and shoved him, "Obviously. Are you ready?"
"Always, girl." André stopped suddenly in the middle of the hall. "Is ballet really that hard?"
Doc stopped to turn and stare at him, "Um...yeah?"
André sighed with a shake of his head, "It's for the pretty girls."
Doc smiled slightly with a nod, "Let's go get Robbie and head to the studio."
The boy nodded quickly and grabbed Doc's hand to lead her forward. The brunette stared at the back of his head. "I'm coming over later by the way."
"Didn't expect anything less, Dré."
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Doc had been split from Robbie and André. She was sad to be away from her friends, but at least she wouldn't have Madame McKee for the semester. Janey, a girl in her class, explained how so many boys signed up for ballet that they had to split the class into two. One for the boys and one for the girls.
Slipping on her practice slippers, Doc sat on the floor of the studio and began to stretch. Janey had come in and began stretching next to the brunette. The two had been in ballet together since their freshman year and had become fast friends.
"Who's coaching us this time around since McKee's with the boys?" Doc asked as she leaned forward to stretch her hamstrings.
Janey shrugged, "I'd guess Ms. Lockwood since she coaches the other dance class."
"Anything's better than McKee so I don't care at this point." Janey nodded in agreement before the two fell into a comfortable silence as they continued stretching.
The door opened suddenly and all eyes turned. Doc turned, expecting to see Ms. Lockwood, but was instead met with soft brown eyes. His jaw was sharp and his brown hair curled slightly at his ears. He appeared to be Doc's height, but he was one of the most beautiful men she'd ever seen.
His cheeks flushed a deep red as all the girls in the room gawked at him. Whispers and giggles filled the room.
He stood awkwardly and allowed the door to shut softly behind him. He stepped further into the and placed his bag down near Doc.
The brunette looked up at with a smirk, "You good, dude? You look a bit nervous," She said teasingly.
He smiled nervously at her, his blush still present on his face. "I didn't expect to the be the only boy in here."
"Too many boys signed up to dance with pretty girls," Doc explained with a smile.
He nodded in understanding before glancing around nervously. He looked back to Doc timidly, "Could I stay here with you two?"
Doc turned to Janey, but the blonde was already nodding enthusiastically. She was practically drooling. The brunette rolled her eyes playfully before turning back to the boy, "Of course. I'm Doc Miller."
"Patrick Leeman."
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Doc had been receiving weird calls from Nick all day, apparently he was playing secretary and was trying to catch her up on the calls she had missed. He had called 20 times in Sikowitz's class after her coaches had called about recitals and tournaments. Jess had also called frantically yelling about a hot teacher.
Doc had turned her phone off completely after that one.
Tori had attempted 'The Bird Scene' again, but promptly failed. She had cornered Doc and begged for the secret to the small play, but promptly failed.
André had come back with Doc to the loft after school. He held the door open for her as the two stepped in. Schmidt and Cece stood in front of the new landline as Winston studied on the coach.
"It's too sexy!" Schmidt yelled at Cece.
Winston shrugged, "I think it was good."
Doc rolled her eyes at her family and tried to quietly move toward her space with André. Cece turned and sighed happily. "Doc! Come help them!"
"Nope," Doc said quickly before grabbing André's hand and pulling him to her 'bedroom'. Bartholomew trotted happily behind them.
Doc threw open the curtain to reveal her tiny space. Bart jumped onto the bed and went on his hind legs. The brunette grinned and hugged her dog happily.
"So, you hate ballet?"
André groaned and flopped onto the bed next to Bart. "Don't even talk about it, Doc. How about we talk about your obvious dislike of Tori," As he spoke, André pulled out his phone and pressed play on his and Doc's playlist. Music filled the small space.
Doc copied André's preschools action and fell beside the boy. "I don't know, man. She just gets on my nerves, but I've only known her for like a day so I'll just see how it goes."
André smiled at his best friend's tone, "Well, let me know when you figure it out. I can't fully like her if I know my doctor doesn't."
Doc turned to stare at his brown eyes, a grin plastered on her face. "I'll let you know my diagnosis soon," She said and closed her eyes.
André stared at Doc's profile for a moment before closing his eyes as well.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
"Do you think Tori's gonna complete 'The Bird Scene' today?" Cat asked as she stared at the curtain Tori had set up around Sikowitz's stage.
Doc shrugged, "I'm not sure. I don't have a feel for her quite yet."
The door opened to reveal André and Robbie began waddling in while groaning. Doc fell into a fit of laughter at the sight. André glared at her and threw his bag of ice at her. The brunette ducked as she continued laughing.
"Happy birthday!" Sikowitz exclaimed as he walked into the classroom.
Cat beamed at him, "Whose birthday is it?"
Sikowitz paused before walking forward, "Somebody's. Somewhere."
Cat smiled at Doc, "That's so true!" Doc smiled back at the redhead before patting the seat beside her. Cat happily sat down with a grin.
"Where's Tori?" Sikowitz asked from the stage.
"In here!" Tori called from behind the curtain.
"Oh! You brought a curtain!"
Tori poked her head out from the curtain, "Let's do this."
Sikowitz walked to the back of the room, "All right students. For the third time, 'The Bird Scene' starring Tori Vega!"
The curtains began to draw back and Tori stood in her old-timey getup. She pressed play on her Pear phone and an old southern tune began to play through the speaker. "It was 1932 when my husband left me. Alone. Living on the prairie was a dreary existence. No telephone. No radio. Only a large, majestic bird with whom I shared my feelings. One day, when I was feeling low, I said to him, 'Oh, bird, you can fly. You can soar for miles from this lonely place. Yet you stay. Why?' And apparently, my question rang true. For that afternoon, the bird left. And so went my spirit."
As she spoke, a real bird came and went from the window at the correct points during her monologue.
When she finished, Tori placed her head down and glanced through her hair. Sikowitz stood up, "That...was impressive."
"So, did I get it right?" Tori asked and Doc internally groaned at the question.
"Nope."
Tori stared in disbelief, "But—I...I! I did too get it right!"
"Tori, listen—"
"I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but do you know how hard I worked on this scene? I made this costume. I downloaded the special prairie music! I even trained that crazy cockatoo to fly in and out of that window on command!" The bird flew in and landed on its perch, "Not now! Look, I know you're a great acting teacher and everything, but I don't care what you say. The scene I just did was good, and I'm proud of it. No matter what anybody thinks!"
Doc and Cat began to smile. The class clapped at her speech, leaving Tori in a state confusion and irritation. "What?" She asked.
Sikowitz clapped, "You just passed, 'The Bird Scene'!"
The class erupted into cheers for the girl. They all remembered their struggles with said performance and were all happy when a student found his or her voice. Tori took off her fake glasses in disbelief, "But—but you said?"
The cheering ceased as Sikowitz spoke, "Tori, the whole point of 'The Bird Scene' is to teach a performer, like yourself, to believe in your own choices, no matter what others think. We are artists and a true artist does not define success based on approval from others. A true artist may only please himself or herself."
Tori stepped off the stage, "So all three times I did the scene..."
"Were delightful," Sikowitz finished. "It was only wrong when you asked if it was right, hmm? Drive-by acting exercise! You're all elderly people walking barefoot on broken glass!"
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Doc sat on the coach with her family that night. "Tori finally completed 'The Bird Scene' today. It's always nice when they believe in themselves."
Winston hummed in thought, "I don't think I could finish it. I don't really get the whole bird cruelty thing. Like Texas Chainsaw." He said quietly with a whimsical sigh.
Schmidt jumped to stare at him, "What do you think 'The Bird Scene' is, you delinquent." Winston stared off in confusion. "Anyway, I still can't believe that I'm in Business, Man! Look at it!"
Cece turned the magazine to show the group again, "Bringing nasty back." The page showed Schmidt making a disturbing face.
"'The bad boy of marketing'," Nick read off and Doc gave him a thumbs up.
"I mean, I always knew I was a bad boy, but now it's in print and it's official."
Doc groaned, "Don't call yourself a bad boy, Schmidt. It's weird. How many times do we have to go over this?"
Winston raised his hand, "Do you think I'm a bad boy?"
Schmidt scoffed, "You're not a bad boy."
Loud music began to sound from somewhere outside, causing the group to look around in confusion. "Winston!" A woman's voice was heard.
"Dang it, Nick," Winston hissed out and began to get up.
"Winston!" The woman shouted again and the group followed after him. He pushed open the window and everyone stared down with him.
A woman in golf attire stood with a boom box over her head. "Winston!"
"Yep. It's Judy," Winston said and turned to are at Nick.
Doc's brother waved down at her, "Hey, its Nick! We talked on the phone!"
"Sup," She called back.
Winston sighed, "Thanks, Nick." Her music continued to play as he walked away from the window.
Doc rolled her eyes, "Hey, lady! Turn that down please! Bart and Furgy are trying to sleep!"