New Girl ~Jade West~

1

I was standing in the parking lot in front of my new school, Hollywood Arts, letting my mind wander. I had a little while before the school actually opened for the day, so I took out my phone and called my girlfriend Tori, who went to another local school. "What's up, babygirl?" She asked sleepily when she answered her phone. "I miss you already, boo," I said in reply. "I miss you too. You're gonna do great at Hollywood Arts, I know you will," she said. "Thanks boo. You always know what to say to make me smile," I said. "That's part of my job as your girlfriend, babygirl," she said. "Well, I feel a lot more confident now that I got to hear your beautiful voice today. I'll let you go so you can get ready for school," I said. "Okay. See you after school?" She asked. "You know it, boo," I replied, and we hung up.

I was the first student to enter school, and I noticed that everyone had decorated their locker doors. Much to my surprise, I discovered that none of them included much of anything I liked, which cheered me up, since it meant that I would get to customize mine. It would definitely be unique. I put in my earbuds, found my playlist for My Chemical Romance, and hit shuffle. I started to put my supplies into my locker as the song "The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You" played in my ears. I had already personalized some of my notebooks, gluing pictures of some of my favorite bands and abstract designs to the front covers. I lingered for a moment as I studied a notebook cover, reminiscing about the first time I went to a My Chemical Romance concert.

I was abruptly ripped out of my reminiscing by the sound of a locker door slamming shut, making me jump and drop the notebook. "Who are you?" A brunette girl asked. "Jade West," I said. "So, you like My Chemical Romance, huh? You realize that the only people that listen to their music are outcasts and freaks, right?" The girl asked. "Watch who you're calling a freak," I said in an icy tone. "What're you gonna do about it?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Lexi, leave her alone." Someone else said. "Okay sweetie," the girl, Lexi, said with a huge smile. "You must be the new girl. I'm Beck Oliver. Sorry about my girlfriend Lexi, she can be a little extreme at times," the newcomer said. "I'm used to it. Im Jade West, by the way," I replied. "Nice to meet you, Jade. If you need anything, let me know," he said. "Well, my first class is with Mr. Sikowitz. Can you show me where that is?" I asked. "Sure," he said, and as we walked away, I caught a glimpse of Lexi's face, and she looked angry. I understood why she looked mad, but she had nothing to worry about. I wasn't gonna steal her man. I'm into women, but very few people know that about me, and I certainly wasn't about to tell a girl who already thought that I was a freak.

When Beck and I reached the classroom, there was no one else there. "By the way, since you're new, you should know that Sikowitz is a little... weird," Beck said. "Weird in what way?" I asked. "Well, for starters, he looks like he's a homeless hippie or something, and he never wears shoes. He also has a tendency to climb into the room through the window, and he pronounces some things differently. For example, instead of saying 'Top notch', he says 'Top nootch'," he explained. "Yeah, that is weird," I commented, and we took our seats and waited for class to begin. As everyone came in and took their seats, there was still no sign of Mr. Sikowitz. I decided to talk to the girl sitting on my left, a redhead who seemed unable to sit still. "Um, hello," I said. "Hi! I'm Catarina Valentine, but everyone just calls me Cat. What's your name?" She said so fast that I almost couldn't understand what she was saying. "I'm Jade West. It's nice to meet you, Cat," I said, shaking her hand. "Oh, you should join me at lunch, then I can introduce you to my friends," she said. "Thank you for offering. I'd love to meet some people here, preferably people who aren't as judgy as that girl Lexi," I said. "She can be pretty judgy when she wants to be," Cat said in agreement. At that moment, someone crawled in through the open window, then got to his feet and introduced himself as Erwin Sikowitz. The lesson for the day was something that he liked to call "drive-by acting exercises", which turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable.

At lunch, I found Cat sitting alone at a table, so I joined her. "Hey Jade! The others said they just have a few things to put in their lockers, and then they'll be here," she said, just as a rather nerdy looking kid with a ventriloquist dummy joined us. "Oh, hi Robbie! Hi Rex!" She said. "Hello, ditzy redhead," the ventriloquist dummy said. "Hi Cat," the boy carrying the dummy said. "Hey," I said sort of awkwardly. "Who's your new friend here?" The dummy asked Cat. "Oh. Robbie, Rex, this is my new friend, Jade West. Jade, this is Robbie Shapiro and Rex, two of my other friends," Cat said. "Which one is which?" I asked. "I'm Robbie," the boy said. "And I'm Rex," the dummy said. "Okay, good to know. How do you guys like going to school here?" I asked. "It's pretty cool," Robbie said. "Yeah, this place is pretty chill," Rex added. "You can learn how to do all kinds of stuff here. You can learn how to be an actor or actress, how to be a singer or musician, and a lot more!" Cat said as we were joined by another student, who immediately took a piano keyboard from his backpack and started playing "Axel F" by Harold Faltermeyer. "That's pretty impressive," I said. "Thank you," he said. "I'm Jade West," I said. "I'm André Harris," he replied. "Nice to meet you," I said. "Right back at you," he said.

Not long after that, we were joined by a girl that I already knew. "Hey Trina!" I said. "Hi Jade. How are you enjoying your first day at Hollywood Arts so far?" She asked. "It's been alright. The first person that I met today was less than kind, but everyone else is really nice," I said, just as I noticed Lexi approaching with her arm linked with Beck's. "Speak of the devil, and she shall appear," I muttered just loud enough for Trina to hear me. She let out a snort of laughter, while I scooted a little closer to her so I hopefully wouldn't be rubbing elbows with Lexi. Unfortunately, Beck sat down next to Cat, so Lexi had to sit in between Beck and me. "Ugh, can't you sit somewhere else? Like, literally, anywhere else?" She asked me, and this time, I chose to ignore her, which I soon came to regret. "I said go sit somewhere else," she said, pushing me backward with her left arm. I landed on the ground, and she put her bag where I had just been sitting, then carelessly tossed my lunch in my general direction. "What was that for?" Trina asked her as she got up to check on me. "She's a freak. She listens to emo music like My Chemical Romance," Lexi replied. "I happen to be her friend, and just because she wears dark clothes and dark makeup and listens to emo music doesn't mean that she's a freak," Trina said harshly, and I heard the others at the table murmur their agreement. How could things possibly get worse? I wondered to myself. I wasn't prepared for what I was about to go through.

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This is a bit of a new take on Victorious that I came up with recently, and I hope you enjoy it. Until next time!