TORI SIGHED AS SHE opened the door to her home, letting in partner for the project, who was holding a mold bush. "Just set up on the table over there." Tori said, gesturing to the dining table. Her project partner did so and she walked over with him as he turned on his laptop, starting a document.
She grabbed her folder and started writing down some notes before turning to the weird mold bush. "Let's see, the bread mold." She said and her partner nodded. "Bread mold." He said, typing it down. She placed down the folder and leaned down slightly, looking at the mold bush with a magnifying glass. "Furry." She noted, her partner writing it down.
She pinched the mold slightly. "Mushy." She said, before placing down the magnifying glass and clapping her hands, looking at the fish mold with a grimace. "The fish mold." She said, before sniffing it and cringing. "Stinky." She said, clapping her hands together to get rid off the excess.
The front door opened, revealing Trina. "I am so upset!" Trina shouted, slamming the door. Tori and her partner turn to her. "You won't believe who I got partnered with for the big showcase!" Trina stormed over. Tori tilted her head curiously. "Who?" She asked and Trina huffed. "Andrew Harris, a tenth grader!" Trina replied.
"What's the big showcase?" Her partner asked. "It's a big performance they put on at her school every year where-." Tori started but Trina cut her off, dragging her partner by the arm as she started. "They invite agents and directors and producers and other super powerful people in show business and it's extremely important to me, which is why I'm VERY upset and gOoD-ByE!" Trina said, shoving him outside the door and slamming it in his face.
"Hey! He and I have a science project due tomorrow! I have to turn in my mold bush!" Tori groaned. Trina deadpanned. "No— Andrew is coming over and you gotta help us figure out what we're gonna do in the big showcase. I definitely wanna sing." Trina said, before playing a note on the keyboard and singing a high pitch, off key note.
"How was that?" Trina asked with a smirk. Tori, deciding she didn't want to hurt Trina's feelings, smiled slightly. "Uh, Loud.?" She replied, furrowing her eyebrows. "Awesome!" Trina said, pumping her fists. Tori snorted as the doorbell rings. "Ugh, he's here." Trina groaned, walking to the door.
Tori goes to follow but Trina stops her. "Stay! And don't punch anyone this time!" Trina warned, pointing a finger at Tori who huffed. "It was an accident." She muttered, crossing her arms as Trina opened the door, revealing this so called 'Andrew Harris.' and ushered him in. "Come in." She said. The boy furrowed his eyebrows. "Thanks." He said, softly but a bit sarcastic.
"Tori, that's Andrew." Trina said, waving him off. "Andre." The so called 'Andrew' corrected. "Hey." Tori greeted. "You go to Hollywood Arts too?" He asked, walking up to them and the Piano. "Oh no. I'm not a performer—." She said as Trina silently snorts, amused.
"Just my sister." Tori smiled, shoving a thumb in Trina's direction as Trina threw an arm around Tori's shoulder with a smirk. "Yep, I got the talent and she's got the strong teeth!" Trina said, squishing Tori's face with one hand. "You know, she's never had one cavity?" Trina said, as she lets go of Tori's face. "I try not to brag about it." Tori said, with a small smirk of amusement as Trina huffs at her.
Andre smiles in amusement before looking at the Piano. "Oh, nice Piano!" He said, walking over and sitting down on it before playing a series of notes, making Tori smile, impressed. She's more of a guitar person, but Piano was still very impressive. She would take it a stretch and say Piano might be harder than guitar.
"Oh my god, You're fantastic." Tori praised as Andre smiled at her. Trina huffed. "He's okay." She said and Tori rolled her eyes in amusement. Andre sniffs the air before lifting Tori's hand and sniffing it, making Tori tense and restrain from punching him, not used to being touched without giving people permission.
Trina noticed it and sent her a warning stare, not to punch her partner. "Fish mold.." Tori said and Andre dropped her hand rapidly, making Tori snort and stand up, going to wash her hands. For the next 5 days, she would be seen helping Trina and Andre with the big showcase, Andre and Trina made her learn Trina's part, the song, the choreography, everything. She didn't know why.
She had a pretty interesting time though. She walked outside on Andre talking to his Grandma who thought she would drown at the school, hasn't left the house for six years, afraid of basically everything, especially Rabbi's in Bikinis eating pancakes. The woman would apparently burst into flames.
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Tori finished up some last minute training before showering and shrugging on a pair of jeans and a top before heading out with her parents to go to the big showcase. She was ditching school for this and tweeted about it on her @ToriVega account, and for some reason a person under it, called JaxieCat asked for more cat food? Weird.
They watched a series of very talented students. Tori smiled as she watched some people breakdance on stage. She turned around at the sound of shuffling and noticed someone to be described as Andre's grandmother. Being polite, she waved at the woman who jumped and shakily waved back.
Tori didn't want to randomly turn around and ask the woman if she was Andre's grandmother, it might scare the woman who already looked petrified just sitting in the same room as the hundreds of parents. She turned back to the show and watched them dance for a few seconds longer before she heard someone whining and screaming offstage,
Suddenly, someone crawled and shuffled through the seats. "Excuse me, You're Trina's parents?" He asked. "Yes." Her father said as her mother looked at the other man curiously. "Why?" She asked. "Please come with me." The man pleaded. They all follow him wordlessly until they make it backstage.
They walk over, hearing Trina screaming about her tongue? It made sense when they came in view, seeing Trina's tongue twice it's size, looking like it could pop any minute. "Trina!" her mother said, concerned. They all ran over as her dad asked what happened. Trina said something which they couldn't understand and Tori winced.
"Oh my god it's huge!" Tori said and Trina glared at her. "UMBAH-EE OO THUMPTHIN!" She said, which sounded like 'Somebody do something!' Tori snorted quietly. "Does anybody know how this happened?" The nurse asked. Tori thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. "The Chinese herb gargle!" She said, pointing at Trina, who quickly confirms it. "Wait, What are you talking about?" Her father asked.
"Ugh, she found some website that shows you how to make a special Chinese herb gargle that's supposed to help you sing better." Tori explained and the nurse frowned. "Well she must have had an allergic reaction to it." She theorised. Trina complains about her tongue being huge.
"Will she be okay?" Her mother asked. The nurse furrowed her eyebrows. "Well her tongue is obviously engorged and— oh, it's throbbing erratically." She noted. "Throbbing erratically?" Tori asked shocked. "Ih Is Hrobbing Erraically!" Trina whined. "Any way she'll be able to perform today?" The man from earlier asked. "Of course not!" The nurse said, like it was obvious, which it was.
Trina got angry and started to try talk to the nurse who told her to stop otherwise her tongue could burst, she dragged Trina away to massage her tongue. "I guess my grandma came here for nothin." Andre frowned. "Wait, does anyone else know Trina's part?" The man asked, looking at Andre.
Andre lit up and pointed at Tori. "Her sister does." He said and Tori pointed at herself. "Me sister?" She asked, bewildered. Andre nodded and Tori immediately shook her head, rolling her shoulders. "No, No, No, No. I just helped them rehearse. I'm not even a student here. I couldn't go onstage—." Tori was cut off by Andre, dragging her away.
"You know this whole thing inside and out— the song, the choreography— you can do this, come on!" Andre pleaded "Uh-Uh!" She shook her head in denial but Andre took it as acceptance and cheered. "She said she'll do it!" He said and Tori widened her eyes."No, I did not say I would do it!—" She said but was cut off by the man.
"Whoa, Whoa! She can't go on stage wearing that." He said and Tori turned to the man, offended. "Excuse me?" She asked. The man ignored her and demanded a student to get her something cool to wear. "I am not going okay?—" But she was cut off once again and was dragged away and was forced to get changed into an outfit. She tried to run but Andre dragged her back and she had to hold back her strength so he wouldn't get suspicious.
The next thing she knew, she was on stage, staring at hundreds of people. She sighed, she's not nervous cause of the people, she's nervous cause she doesn't know if she can sing well enough. Andre started to play the piano as the lights dimmed slightly for a second.
"Here I am, once again." Tori began, looking around. "Feelin lost but now and then. I breathe it in, to let it go." She said, before turning to Andre, telling him to speed it up, he complied as did the band behind him. Tori slowly started to build confidence as she sung.
The experience was surreal as she danced across the stage, sung to the audience with a smile on her face. The band and Andre getting hyped as she continued, the people watching from the sides like her parents and Trina dancing. The audience clapped to the music and some dancing along. People record as she spun around and twirled her hands and continued dancing.
"In my victory, just remember me! When I make it Shine~!" Tori finished, striking the finishing pose and panted slightly, a grin on her face. The audience jumps up and claps, cheers and whistles as she looked over to Trina and smiled before looking at her parents who were jumping up and down and clapping.
Tori let out a little scream of excitement, hugging the closest backup dancer to her with a grin before jumping on Andre and engulfing him in a hug with another exited scream as the others backstage ran over to her, crowding her. Her mother came over and hugged her. "Oh my god, sweetie!" She said, excitedly. "That was incredible!" Her father said, pride lacing his tone as he hugged her.
A man walked over and stood next to Tori. "Who are you?" He asked. "Uh, Tori Vega, who are you?" Tori asked, staring at the man suspiciously but a polite smile on her face. "This is Mr. Eichner, our principal." The man from before, who she still didn't know the name of, said. "You don't go to school here?" Mr Eichner asked, bewildered.
"No, I just—" Tori started but Mr Eichner cut her off. "Do you want to?" He asked. Tori widened her eyes. "Me?" She asked, dumbly. "Mhm!" He nodded. "Uh." She turned to Trina, who nodded at her, excitedly. "Well, Should I?" She asked. She got a collective yes and she frowned. "But what if I'm not good enough.?" She asked. after all, all the kids at Hollywood arts are crazy talented.
Shouts broke out after that, protesting against that. Suddenly, the curtains opened and everyone froze, looking at the audience who looked at them, bewildered and confused. "Hey!" Andre shouted, and Andre's grandmother perked up in the crowd. "Hey Andre!" She shouted back, getting weird looks as she looked around, petrified.
"This girl—" He said, grabbing Tori's arm and dragging her forward. "Doesn't know if she's good enough to go to school here! What do you people think?!" Andre asked the crowd, who applauded with no hesitation, cheering and telling her she should with their cheers. "Okay?" Andre asked Tori with a smile. "Okay!" Tori shouted, hugging him.
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2080 words
The big showcase— Done!
Going onto the first day next chapter!