Harmony amidst Chaos | A Jori story

Scraping bonds

-TORI'S POV-

On Monday, I walked towards the kitchen to find my grandmother and Trina already there, cooking breakfast and brewing grandma's famous tea. With my parents gone to work, it was just the three of us. Sitting down and eating together felt like I was a little girl again, enjoying the familiar routine of our mornings when we used to stay over at my grandparents' house.

This weekend had been great! It was filled with spending quality time with my family; just what I needed. We headed out to the park for a picnic, where Trina and I got into an argument after she told me I was throwing the frisbee wrong. Our disagreement quickly came to an end when she was chased by a dog for at least half an hour, giving us all a good laugh.

My mom had baked a cake and we all watched a ton of movies together. I had almost forgotten what had happened before the weekend and what I was about to face again.

After breakfast, I gathered my things and prepared to head off to school. As I slipped on my jacket, grandma approached me with a gentle smile.

"Remember, Sunshine," she said, placing a hand on my shoulder, "no matter what happens today, always kill 'em with kindness."

With a nod and a grateful smile, I hugged her tightly before heading out the door, getting in Trina's car.

As Trina pulled up into the parking lot of Hollywood Arts, I couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled in the pit of my stomach, afraid of how people will react and the moment I entered the school building my fear became reality. Whispers and glances followed me like a shadow. It seemed everyone had heard about what happened in stage fighting class and they weren't shy about sharing their opinions. Some cast sympathetic looks my way, while others exchanged knowing glances tinged with judgment.

I felt a pang of loneliness pierce through me, even the people that normally greet me with a smile seem to believe Jade's part of the story.

Going to my classes didn't make anything better. The minutes were literally dragging on and it felt like 10 hours before I finally made it to lunch.

I wasn't planning on eating at the Asphalt Cafe; honestly, I have been trying to avoid any of my 'friends' today. So instead I chose to eat lunch in the library, doing some work on writing to keep my head busy.

"TORI!" I hear a familiar voice scream, sending a jolt of anxiety through me.

"HAS ANYBODY SEEN TORI?!"

Another voice yelled back: "False alarm! He ate a bad taco!"

I look up from my notebook and see André running towards me, closely followed by Jade.

"Tori, I need to tell you someth-" André starts, but he get's cut off by Jade.

"Harris, don't." She tells him dangerously.

I glance between André and Jade, my heart sinking as I catch sight of the smudged makeup around Jade's eye. The eye that was still bleeding yesterday.

All I can do is stare at her. I was right, all this time I was right and now it makes sense.

She looks me in the eye like a deer caught in headlights. I think I saw a hint of embarrassment in her eyes, but she quickly puts on her usual scowl.

With a heavy heart, I turn away, unable to mask my disappointment. Yeah, I'm not even mad, I just can't bring myself to be mad anymore.

I start gathering my stuff and put it in my bag, ready to walk away, when André breaks the silence.

"Tori, I'm sorry, I should have believed you in the first place." He tells me, his tone filled with regret.

I pause, feeling the weight of his words sink in. I'm completely at a loss for what to say.