Tiny Dancer

1.15 The Great Ping Pong Scam

Jesse shakes his head as he drops his unneeded textbooks in his locker and closes the door. "So, I'm sorry, what's the problem?"

Jade groans and leans against the locker next to his. "The problem is that Tori's trying to join the ping pong team."

"Right. And that's a problem because...?"

"Jesse!" she says in complete exasperation. "There is no ping pong team."

"I mean, there technically is," he points out. "We just don't, you know, play ping pong."

Jade groans and throws her head back in frustration. "You're missing the point. I don't want Tori on the team. I don't want Tori going to dinner with us."

Jesse raises his eyebrows. "You sure about that?" he asks. He and Beck agreed to let the two of them figure things out on their own, but a little nudge now and then won't hurt.

"Yes," she says through gritted teeth, deliberately avoiding eye contact.

Before he gets the chance to say anything else, they're distracted by a familiar voice calling Jade's name.

"She found you," Jesse says with an amused look.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jade says as Tori (now standing right behind her) calls her name again. "I don't hear anything."

Tori huffs and taps her on the shoulder. "Jade, stop ignoring me."

"Still don't hear anything."

"Just let me join the ping pong team!" Tori whines.

"Still don't hear anything," Jade says again.

"I'm not going away," Tori tells her. "And you can't just say no," she adds.

Jade sighs and finally turns around to face her. "No," she says flatly before she starts to repeat the word in various tones and languages. "No. No. Net. Non. Nein. Neyn."

Tori pauses and tilts her head slightly. "What was that last one?"

"Yiddish," Jesse tells her with a fond look in Jade's direction. "Not bad," he compliments.

"I know," she says simply.

"Alright," Tori admits. "You can just say no, but you can't just-" She cuts herself off with a frustrated groan and turns to Jesse. "Jesse, tell her to let me try out for the team."

Jesse frowns slightly as he remembers the way they joked about him and Beck being the 'parents' of their little group. It's times like this he understands where they're coming from.

"Tori, I can't make Jade do anything. She's captain of the ping pong team and it's up to her."

"Ha!" Jade chirps.

Jesse turns to her with a pointed look. "Jade, I really don't think it will hurt to let Tori try out."

"Ha!" Tori chirps.

Jade scowls at her before she turns to Jesse. "It will hurt somebody if she tries out," she says with a glare at Tori that makes her quickly step back.

"Jade..."

She ignores his tone and takes a sip of her coffee, deliberately avoiding his eyes. Jesse, well-versed in this particular tactic, crosses his arms and waits her out.

It doesn't take long before Jade groans and lightly stomps one foot.

"Fine," she says through gritted teeth. "She can try out, but that doesn't mean she'll be good enough to make the team."