Jade returns home after school on friday evening. She is sitting in the kitchen looking on The Slap on her phone. „Hello, honey. How was school?", her mom says as she enters the room.
„Good", Jade answers, like always not wanting her mother to ask her more questions.
„That's amazing. What would you think about going on a weekend trip with your brother and your father's new family?"
„I would rather jump off a cliff!", Jade states, that sounds hoorrible.
„Don't jump off a cliff because you are going!"
„WHAT?!"
„Your dad wants to take you and your brother on a weekend trip to their vaction home in Santa Barbara."
„Oh, I am not going!"
„Come on, Jade. It is an opportunity for you to get to know your sister."
„I don't wanna get to know her!"
„And I could really need a weekend for myself. One without all that drama, so I can get things done."
„You won't even notice me. I will be at Beck's and you don't have to see me all weekend, you will be all to yourself!"
„Jason says he won't go without you."
Jade rolls her eyes. I could really use a break too, she thinks. „Noo, I am not going. I don't care at that point anymore. A weekend with them will be pure torture!"
Two hours later Jade finds herself in her dad's car. Katelyn is sitting in the back middle seat with Jade and Jason to her left and right. Jade is starring through the window, listening to her own music through her headphones and trying not to touch Katelyn in any way. She doesn't know how she could let her mother talk her into that. But from now on there isn't a turning point. She's stuck with them for the next two days and she already regrets it.
„The house in Santa Barabara is pretty cool but my favorite is the house on Hawaii", Katelyn says to Jason, „which is your favorite place to go on vacation?"
„We don't really go on vacation", the little boy explains, „but Jade was in Yerba with her friends last year."
„Yerba?", Katelyn asks interested.
„I hated it", Jade says.
„Jade hates everything", Jason adds.
„Why am I not suprised", Katelyn mumbles but Jade can still hear her.
„There we are", their father says as they arrive.
„Isn't it beautiful?", Karen asks happily.
„Yeah", Jason says.
„Sure, like hell on earth", Jade adds with a sarcastic faked smile.
Their father tours them through the house. „Apart from the master bedroom which will be of course Karen's and mine we only have two other bedrooms."
„I forgot about that part", Katelyn says apparently not happy about it as well.
„So we thought Jason will get the smaller one and you girls can share."
„Can this become even worse?", Jade mumbles to herself.
„Jadelyn? What have you just said?", her father asks agrily.
„Nothing", Jade lies way too obviously, „of course we will do that. I am so so happy to share this small room with my new half-sister that appeared out of nowhere a month ago."
„Oh and we don't have internet nor service here since this is suppose to be a relaxed family trip", their father adds as he leaves them alone.
It just got worse, Jade thinks.
Katelyn returns back to their room, earlier she has just thrown her stuff in the corner and left Jade to herself. Jade did not mind that at all. She has promised her mother and herself that she will try to be nice to Katelyn and to not cause any trouble. But since she has a talent for getting in trouble Jade decided to stay quiet for the whole trip. Jade will not speak to anyone as long she doesn't have to, she will just concentrate on the song she is writing for school. Maybe also learning her line's for the musical Wicked.
„Dad asked me to show you and Jason around", Katelyn breaks the silence.
„And you're doing everything your daddy says", Jade immediatly fires back.
„So I guess you don't want to?", Katelyn just ignores her comment.
„No!"
„Fine, even better, so I can go alone with Jason."
Jade isn't sure how to feel about this. Katelyn will be probably really nice to her new little brother and in the end he will most likely like her more than Jade but Jade pretends she doesn't care about it. It's not like Katelyn isn't taking over her life anyways and at this point Jade is just tired of it. It's like just another unfortunate circumstance she has to add to the list of things she has to learn to live with. Like Beck constantly flirting with other girls, Tori getting all the lead roles, her mother being unresponsible at times and now having a half-sister that not only looks like you but also is everyone's favorite!
After Katelyn is gone, Jade wanders through the house since there is nothing else she can do. She looks through the window and sees Katelyn playing basketball with Jason outside. They both are laughing and having fun. This is exactly what Jade feared. After watching them for a couple seconds Jade sits down at the piano in the hallway and starts playing her new song.
Karen, Katelyn's mother, walks down the stairs. „I don't know why they even let you go to that school. I mean, you're just average!", Karen says. There they go again. Everytime she's alone with Jade she manages to insult her in one way or another. If Jade fights backs she tells her father and he of course rather takes the side of his lovely new wife than the one of in his problematic daughter.
„Excuse me?!", Jade tries her best to hold her tongue.
„Your father spends so much money so you can go to this school although we both know it's just a waste of time."
„Oh, so you're upset you don't have the money to get a new pair of boobs because the last doctor did such a horrible job", Jade says.
„Someone needs to raise you proberly, but with a mother like yours there is no hope left", Karen says calmly but clearly offended by Jade's comment earlier. She may be a grown up woman but she behaves worse than every teenager at times. Jade's hands are shaking. She cannot take that woman talk bad about her mom but she promised to not do anything stupid. So she walks outside, slamming the door behind her.
„Jade, where are you going?!", Jason screams after her.
„I'll be back later. Stay with Katelyn!"
Jade walks through the woods surrounding the house kicking all stones that come in her way.
Katelyn walks inside after a while after playing basketball with Jason.
„Mom? Why is Jade so mad?", she asks her mother.
„I don't know but I guess that girls has some serious anger issues. You should stay away from her."
Katelyn takes a chocolate bar from the shelf.
„Katelyn, you know you shouldn't eat that!", her mother says.
„Why not?", Katelyn cannot believe she's starting that discussion again.
„Because you will get even fatter and no boy will ever love you."
„First of all, that's body shaming and second what if I don't want the boy?"
„Don't be naive, you know I am right!"
Katelyn walks out of the kitchen leaving the chocolate bar there.
After half an hour Jade returns from her walk but noone asks where she has been doing. But it's already 8 p.m. and the rest of the evening they are watching a movie. But nobody is talking since their father hates talking during a movie and Jade isn't upset about it as well. The next day Katelyn parents decide that their father and Jason will go look for new sports gear for Jason and the girls will go shopping. Neither Katelyn nor Jade are happy about it. Katelyn hates to go shopping with her mom and Jade would rather stay in the house playing the piano all day.
„Jade, don't you want anything?", Karen asks while she takes even more clothes for herself.
„No!", Jade answers.
„Does your mother buy you normal clothes and not this black... something?"
„I choose and buy my clothes by myself." Jade's theeth clench.
„No suprise there. Okay, so I assume you have probably enough money from what your father is paying for you each month."
„Mom, stop, please! We all want to have a nice day", Katelyn tries to save the situation.
„I am sorry for her", Katelyn adds but so that only Jade can hear her, „my mom's a-"
„Katelyn, look at that dress! It would look wonderful on you and not like those potatoe bags you are wearing", Karen says from a few meters away. The dress is all pink and girly, not really something Katelyn would ever consider to wear.
„Yeah, a complete sunshine", Jade says sarcastically.
„Don't-", Katelyn answers but Karen takes her hand and drags her to even more girly pink clothes.
„Mom, how many times do I have to tell you that. This isn't really my style", Katelyn tries to explain nicely.
„And what is your style, if I may ask? Those ripped jeans and that black piece of garbage?", Karen points at her daughter's shirt, not noticing Katelyn's hurt look on her face. Even Jade notices it but she decides to stay out of it. At least for once Karen isn't picking on her, but instead she is picking on her seem to be perfect daughter. Jade laughs silently.
„I will go to that other section over there and you can look here and we will meet in the changing room in 10 minutes", Katelyn offers as she walks to the other section.
„Alright", Karen agrees, „Jade, you can go with her."
„I do it but only because I want to", Jade states, knowing she would never stay next to Karen voluntary.
„I like the skirt", Jade says as she sees the one Katelyn is looking at.
„Have I asked about your opinion?", Katelyn is clearly in a bad mood now, „You should try it on. I think it would look great on you." Katelyn hands it over to Jade.
„I am not looking for myself today. Try it on though, it's cool." Jade is being nicer to Katelyn than she planned to be. But Katelyn being at odds with Karen, makes Katelyn more likeable for Jade. What was the saying again: the enemy of my enemy is my friend! Although it's her mom so they'll never be real enemies.
„Why aren't you?", Katelyn asks.
„Why aren't I... what?"
„Looking for yourself?", Katelyn is curious.
„I have enough stuff, besides this store is hell of expensive! I don't have daddy's golden credit card", Jade rolls her eyes.
„Trust me, I don't have it either." Somehow they both laugh.
Katelyn has picked out some shirts and jeans, most of them black, white or grey as they walk back to Karen who has picked basically the opposite.
„I told you to pick some outfits and not let Jade pick them!", Karen seems to be disappointed.
„I picked those myself", Katelyn says the truth.
„Alright... let's try them on", Karen rolls her eyes as she hands Katelyn the dresses she has picked for her. Jade sits down on the bench in front of the changing room. She has service there, she almost forgot about that, so she starts to write Beck a text message, followed by texting her friends.
The first outfit Katelyn tries on is a white mom jeans with a simple black oversized shirt but the only thing Karen says is „there is no need to hide your non-existant curves, honey". The next one is a pink dress her mom has picked for her. Jade almost laughed out loud when she saw her. She looks like a complete different person. The third outfit was a crop top with skinny jeans, also one Karen picked. Katelyn now reminds Jade of the girls who used to bully her in middle school. There is no need to say that Katelyn hates those clothes. Karen's conclusion is that everything looks horrible on Katelyn, so Karen herself needs to try on those outfits. After an hour of watching Karen trying on horrible outfit's both Jade and Katelyn are more than just happy their father is waiting outside to pick them up.
„So Katelyn have you found anything nice?", he asks his daughter.
„Katelyn hasn't seen anything she likes that would actually look good on her", Karen doesn't even thinks about letting Katelyn speak for herself. Jade is shocked how Katelyn seems not to care at all. Until this day Jade was conviced her stepmother was being rude only towards her and not her own daughter. Katelyn hasn't said a word for the rest of the way so they only listened to Jason talking about his new soccer shoes. Back at the house, everyone is going back inside except for Katelyn who sits down outside listining to sad music. Jade is standing in their bedroom looking through the window as she notices Katelyn sitting on the porch steps. Somehow Jade feels sorry for her. Jade is being used to be picked on my her stepmother and her father but she isn't around them all the time, not like Katelyn is. And if Karen is always this mean to her, she can't imagine how Katelyn must feel. Jade walks downstairs.
„Hey", she says to Katelyn.
„What do you want?!", Katelyn says back in a harsh tone, still looking down at her hands.
„What happened to being nice towards your new sister?"
„Yeah, I am over that part."
„Wanna get coffee?", Jade plays with the car keys in her hands.
„Have you asked dad if you can have the car?", Katelyn is suprised her dad would let Jade drive his new car.
„Nope", Jade replies still playing with the keys in her hand.
„Let's go then", Katelyn laughs. Maybe there is a nice side to Jade somewhere deep inside her, Katelyn thinks as they both get in the car.
„Can I ask you something?", Katelyn says.
„I wouldn't", Jade hates personal questions.
„Why did you save me from Shayleen's birthday last week? And why didn't you tell on me?", Katelyn looks at Jade hoping for an honest answer.
„I don't know what you are talking about", Jade lies as they drive to the next Starbucks.