I am aware this first chapter is a little slow. I guess you can skip it and the story won't be affected much, since it's basically just the pilot until a few thousand words in.
Anyway, read on. :D

"Let's see…" I look up from my book to the science project resting on the table. "The bread mould!"

"The bread mould." My partner on the project Ian repeats, typing it into his laptop.
I lean down, looking throw a magnifying glass at the mouldy piece of bread dangling from the mould tree we've created. "Furry."
Ian repeats me again before typing it up.
I take the bread between my fingers, squeezing it softly. "Mushy." Ian types up what I've said again, while I wipe off my hands.

"Next, the fish mould." I pull a face. Definitely not the best science project I've ever had.
"Fish mould." By the look on Ian's face, I can tell he's not really relishing the idea of mouldy fish either.
I squeeze it gently, frowning. "Spongy." Gross.
"Spongy." Ian types it up, frown crossing his face as well.
I pick up the piece of fish, lifting it slightly before bending down to sniff it. "Stinky." I tell the boy, gagging a little.

Before Ian has time to write anything else down, the front door opens, and my older sister Trina walks in. "I am so upset!" She flings the door shut behind her as I roll my eyes. Trina's upset most days.
She throws her bag down onto a chair before stomping over to us, waving her arms. "You won't believe who I got partnered with for the big showcase!"
"Who?" I ask, although I don't really care. Ian spins in his chair, eyeing Trina cautiously.
"Andrew Harris… A tenth grader!"
"What's the big showcase?" Ian asks, curiosity over my sister's woe peaking.
"It's a performance they put on at her school every year where…"
I'm cut off by Trina. "They invite agents," she pulls Ian up out of his chair, dragging him across the room. "And directors and other super powerful people from show business and it's extremely important to me." She's reached the door. I guess I'll be finishing my science project alone, then. "Which is why I'm very upset and…" She opens the door, practically flinging Ian out by his arm. "And goodbye!" She slams the door in his face and turns to cross the room.
"Hey!" I protest, even though I already knew what she had planned. "He and I have a science project due tomorrow!" I cross the room and throw up my arms. "I have to turn in my mould bush!"

Trina doesn't care, obviously. "So?" She asks, continuing before I can answer her. "Andrew's coming over and you gotta help us figure out what we're gonna do in the big showcase!" She stands in front of the piano that sits in our living room. "I definitely want to sing."
She throws her hands down, bashing the keyboard before letting out an ear piercing screech. I wince slightly. "How was that?" She asks, looking impressed with herself.
"Loud." I answer, semi-sarcastically.
"Awesome!" I roll my eyes again, but the doorbell cuts me off before I can say anything else. "He's here." She tells me, crossing the room again to open the door. I move to follow her but she turns, throwing up a hand. "Stay!" I pull up short, shooting her a dirty look.

She answers the front door, telling the boy in question to come in.
"Thanks." He mutters half-heartedly, and I can already tell he's unhappy about working with Trina.
"Tori," Trina motions towards the boy. "That's Andrew."
"Andre" He corrects her, throwing down his back and following her across the room.
"Hey!" I wave, trying to make up for Trina's hostility towards him.
"You go to Hollywood Arts too?" He asks.
"No, I'm not a performer." I jab a thumb in Trina's direction. "Just my sister."
"Yep!" She throws an arm around my shoulder, "I got the talent and she got the strong teeth!" She grabs my jaw and gives my face a small shake. What? Strong teeth? She really couldn't think of anything else to say? "You know, she's never had one cavity."
"I try not to brag about it." I shrug, sighing.

Andre senses the tension and steps around us. "Oh, nice piano!" He sits down and begins to play, and a smile lights up my face. This kid has serious talent.
"Oh my god, you're fantastic!" I tell him, sitting down next to him.
"He's okay…" Trina snorts, rolling her eyes.
He looks annoyed for a second before looking round the room, then sniffing me. As he picks up my hand, I stop him with the words fish mould, and he immediately lets go of my limb, letting it drop back down onto the keys of the piano.

I help Trina and Andre work through a few songs, and suffer through more of Trina's "singing", and after Andre leaves, I head upstairs to take a shower, and finally wash the smell of mould off me.
I managed to get most of my project finished when Trina wasn't screaming at me, so I'm feeling pretty good.
I hear my dad come in as I'm getting changed into my pajamas. He's a police man, so his hours are sometimes all over the place, and I've barely seen him in the past few days so when I've towel dried my hair I head back downstairs.
"Hey daddy," I great him, flopping down on the couch next to him.
"Hey sweetie." He replies, not looking away from the television screen.

I look up toward the screen, wondering what could keep my dad's interest and see a news anchor reporting on a new virus.
"Not much is known at this point, other than the few infected with this new virus are from a tour group returning from South America." The reporter goes on to list symptoms and gives a number to ring if you or anyone you know is affected.
"Dad?" I tried again after the reporter had finished talking.
"Yeah?"
"That virus isn't serious is it?"
"No, it'll just be one of those scare tactics to get us to spend more on health care or something stupid. If it was really serious they'd have warned us about it in work." He throws and arm around my shoulder and hugs me. "Did you finish your science project?"
"Eventually, Trina managed to make it take 4 hours longer than it should've though."
My dad chuckles, roughing up my hair. "Sounds about right." He looks over my shoulder at his watch. "It's getting late though, you better get to bed."
I stand up, stretching. "Okay dad, night."
"Night Tori."

We're halfway through another day of rehearsals when Trina declares that we need a break before running off up the stairs. I watch her go before turning to Andre.
"You want a drink?" I ask, heading over to the kitchen.
"Oh, yes please!" He grins, following me towards the fridge before his phone rings. "That's my Grandma, I better take this." He tells me before answering the phone and heading out to the patio.

"No Grandma, listen, there's no way you can drown at my school." Andre's still on the phone to his Grandma as I enter the garden and hand him a glass of juice. "You're not gonna fall in a toilet!" My brow furrows slightly as I listen to their conversation, trying not to laugh. "Look, look…" He moves the phone from his ear while still trying to interrupt the older woman. "I'll call you later!" He yells, finally hanging up.
"Your grandmothers coming to the big showcase?" I ask him, taking a sip from my drink.
"Yeah, it's gonna be the first time she's left the house in six years." Andre informs me, and I can't help but look surprised.
"Why?" I ask.
"Because the woman's afraid of everything! People, umbrellas, rabbis, bikini's, breakfast foods…" He lists.
"So if she saw a rabbi in a bikini, eating pancakes…" I joke.
"The woman would burst into flames." He laughs. "Plus, she watches far too much of the news channel, she thinks that virus those tourists got is gonna kill everyone!"
"Ah, my dad said it's probably just a ploy to dupe people into buying unnecessary medication."
"Yeah, people like my Grandma." He chuckles again, and I join in.
I open my mouth to speak again but I'm interrupted by Trina bashing the keys of our family's piano. "You guys come on!" She yells from inside the house.
"Back to rehearsal" I sigh, turning and heading into the house.

When we enter the living room, Trina has changed into a dress. "So, what do you think?" She asks, spinning on the spot. "Fabulous, right?"
"You really need to wear that dress to rehearse?" I ask her, pushing up the sleeves on my cardigan.
"A performer needs to feel the part to be the part" she tells me patronisingly, tapping me on the nose.
"I thought we talked about you tapping my nose anymore." I say, a little venom entering my voice.
She laughs at me anyway, causing my anger to rise a little before waving a hand dismissively in my direction.
"Okay!" She moves to stand about a foot away from the piano. "We got the comedy stuff down, so let's start with my song."
"And by your song, I'm guessing you mean the song I wrote?" Andre looks up at her from the piano, obviously annoyed.
"No one cares who wrote the song!" She laughs to herself. "Now…" She clears her throat. "Go."

Andre begins to play the song he's written and manages to get about a second in before Trina screams at him. "Slower!"
Andre jumps slightly before complying, and Trina begins to sing. Well, I say sing. It's more a screeching. "Trina?" I interrupt. She carries on for a few more words. "Trina?" I try again.
"What?!" She demands, looking at me.
"I think Andre was right, you should let him play the song at a faster tempo!" I tell her, avoiding telling her that if she sings it at a faster tempo it'll be over faster. I love my sister, I do, but she really can't sing.
"No! It has to be a power ballad!" She tells me, "so all the important people can hear my range and vocal clarity."
"But I just think…" I try again but she cuts me off.
"No!" She turns to Andre. "Just take it from 'When I make it shine…"
Andre complies, continuing to play as Trina screeches out another line, before looking at me. "Do you have any aspirin?"
I pull the bottle I've been keeping next to the piano for the duration of the rehearsals and hand him some before taking some from the bottle for myself.
It's gonna be a long day.

I actually survive helping Trina work on her song. Not that she takes any of mine or Andre's advice, and the whole me helping thing turned out to be pretty pointless. Part of me just thinks she wanted an audience.
I'm sitting the audience at the showcase, musing over the week I've had and watching two guys dance when I hear shuffling behind me.
I turn to see an older woman sitting down, clutching her purse with a look of fear on her face.
"Oh hi! You're Andre's Grandmother?" I ask her, trying to be polite.
"I don't know you! She yells, crouching down behind the chairs.
I look at her for a second before deciding it's best not to push her and turn back round to watch the rest of the performance.
Well, I try to, until I hear someone moaning in pain. Someone who sounds a lot like my older sister. I look at my mom and raise an eyebrow, and she rolls her eyes, obviously thinking Trina is exaggerating about something back stage until the schools councillor crouches down beside us.
"Excuse me, you're Trina's parents?" He asks, looking concerned.
"Yes?" My dad confirms at the same time my mom asks why.
"Please come with me." He tells them, getting up and moving back down along the row. When my parents get up and follow him, I watch them for a second before sighing and traipsing after them.

We follow the guidance councillor back stage and he points towards a crowd of people. "There she is!"
"Trina!" My mum yells, looking forward. I don't see what the issue is at first but when Trina turns to look at me her tongue is ten times the size it should be.
"What happened?!" My dad asks, looking as shocked as everyone else.
Trina mumbles something we don't understand, pointing at her mouth.
"Oh my god it's huge!" I exclaim, looking over the shoulder of the nurse that's trying to help.
Trina yells something again, and my mum turns to the nurse holding a tongue depressor.
"Are you the school nurse?" She asks, even though it's pretty obvious that she is.
"Yeah…" The nurse looks around. "Does anybody know how this happened?"
I think for a minute before realising what's wrong. "The Chinese herb gargle!"
Trina points to her nose and at me, shouting something that sound like yes.
"What are you talking about?" My dad asks, patting Trina on the shoulder.
"Trina found this website that shows you how to make this special Chinese herb gargle that's supposed to help you sing better."
"Well, she must have had an allergic reaction." The nurse tells us, gesturing to my sisters enormous tongue.
Trina cries out something else that no one understands.
"Will she be okay?" My mum asks, looking worriedly at my sister. "For a minute I thought it was that new virus."
"That new ploy for more money." My dad mumbles.
"Well, her tongue is obviously engorged. And…" She grabs the end of her tongue. "Oh, it's throbbing erratically." Even the nurse looks alarmed at that.
Trina grasps at her tongue again, eyes wide, and makes noises of agreement.

"Any way she'll be able to perform today?" The councillor pops out from behind the nurses shoulder, jabbing a thumb in Trina's direction.
"Of course not!" She tells him, which upsets Trina, who grabs the nurses shoulders, trying to say something again. "Stop talking, your tongue could burst!" Trina squeaks at this.
"I'm sorry sweetie." My mom consoles her, as my dad adds "Next year."
The nurse grabs Trina's hand and pulls her away. "I'm gonna take her over there and massage her tongue." She tells us, leaving.

We watch Trina walk away before Andre crosses his arms. "I guess my Grandma came here for nothing." He says, and I look at him sympathetically.
"Wait, does anyone else know Trina's part?" The councillor asks again. Oh no.
"Her sister does!" Andre points at me. Oh, great. Brilliant.
"Me sister?" I point at myself, "No, no, no, no, I just helped them rehearse." I hold up my hands. I do not want to do this. "I'm not even a student here! I couldn't go…" I get cut off by Andre pulling me off to the side.
"You know this whole thing inside and out." He tells me, looking hopeful. "The song, the choreography, you can do this, come on!"
"Uh-uh" I tell him, shaking my head.
"She said she'll do it!" He shouts anyway, causing the room to cheer.
"No I did not say I would!" I squeak at him, before the councillor points at me.
"She can't go on stage wearing that!" Oh, rude.
"Excuse me!" I yell, still annoyed that no one is actually listening to me.
"Go get her something cool to wear!" He shouts to a girl in glasses across the room. She waves her hand in agreement and disappears to get me a new outfit. I bet it's sparkly.
"I am not going, okay?" I try again, louder, but they drag me off to a different part of backstage, while I protest. I manage to break free and get back into the other room before Andre catches up with me and carries me back toward the crowd of people.
I flail the entire way, protesting before he reaches the room again.
"Isn't this kidnapping?" I ask but no one's listening.
"Put her down over here" the councillor says, and the minute my feet touch the ground I turn and try to run, but hit a wall of people. They grasp at me for a minute before I yell "My dad is a cop" which gets half of them to stop touching me immediately.
"Take her behind the screen and get her undressed!" A woman says, and a group of girls rush towards me. I can't believe this is actually happening. I can honestly say I've never been undressed by a group of strangers before.
I hear the councillor say "Just the girls," Which leads me to believe that some of the boys followed us in but someone is pulling off my shoes and it's distracting me.

The girl with the glasses runs back in with a dress and practically shoves me into it. It's sparkly. I knew it would be sparkly. I grumble in disagreement as someone jams my feet into a pair of high tops and a headset is stuck to my head.
I emerge from the makeshift dressing room a minute later, still angry about what's happening. I definitely didn't agree to any of this.

Another minute later and the councillor, whose name is apparently Lane, is shoving me onto the stage. I try to escape again but he just grabs me and puts me onto a platform. I'm sure there were less people in here before. And now they've all seen me, so I can't run away.
Andre looks at me and gives me a nod that's supposed to be reassuring before he starts playing.

"Here I am…" I start, eyes wandering the crowd. I continue to sing, but Andre was definitely right about this being an up tempo song. If I'm gonna do this, I might as well do it properly.
I motion to him to speed up, and he does. I actually get into the song pretty fast, and I think I sound pretty good.
half a minute later I'm surrounded by flashing lights and dancers and I'm not quite sure how it's happened but the crowd is loving it and I can't keep the smile off my face.
Before I know it, the song is over and everyone is on their feet cheering. Andre looks happy and runs over, hugging me and lifting me off my feet.

The curtains close and we're back stage, celebrating. I can't believe that people really liked it.
"You're really Trina's sister?" Lane asks me over the babbling crowd, causing a noise of protest from my sister.
"Excuse me?" A man is pushing his way through the people that have grouped around me. He stops in front of me. "Who are you?" He asks, smiling.
"I'm Tori Vega, who are you?" I reply.
"This is Mr Eikner, our principal." Lane explains, gesturing at the taller man.
"You don't go to school here?" The principal asks me.
"No, I just, ah." I point towards Trina, trying to explain but he interrupts me.
"Look, do you want to?" He asks again.
"Me?" I ask him in shock. "Uh, well…" I look at Trina and then back to the principal. "Should I?" I ask Andre.
"Yes!" He tells me, smiling.
"But the kids who go here are all like, crazy talented!"
"Yeah, but so are you." Andre tells me again.
I run my hands over my hair. "But what if I'm not good enough?"
Everyone starts talking over one another again while I worry, and I notice Andre slipping away from the group.
The next thing I notice is are the curtains reopening. The crowd becomes silent and looks up at us, and we stare down at them confused, until Andre comes back on stage.
"Hey!" He shouts, getting the audience's attention.
"Hey Andre!" His Grandma shouts back.
He stops and looks at her for a minute before grabbing my arm. "This girl doesn't know if she's good enough to go to school here." He tells the crowd. Oh no, again. "What do you people think?" He asks them.

The crowd erupts in applause again, causing another smile to blossom, and I blush.
Andre looks at me and raises his arms. "Okay?" He asks.
I think for a second before I shout "okay!" And jump into his arms, before hugging my family.
Hollywood Arts. A brand new school. A brand new start.

It's my first day at my new school, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I get ready well before I need to leave and sit in the kitchen, watching my dad talk on the phone with someone at work.
I don't really know what he's talking about, but there was something about a riot breaking out down near the hospital on the news this morning, so I guess it's something to do with that.
He says something police-y I don't understand to the person on the end of the phone before hanging up and sighing.
"You okay Dad?" I ask, playing with the last of my breakfast.
"Yeah, just gonna be a long day today kiddo." He smiles at me. "How about you, excited for your first day?"
I don't have a chance to answer before Trina comes stomping down the stairs. "Tori we're leaving." She yells in my direction, picking up her bag.
My dad just chuckles, bending down and kissing me on the top of my head. "Have a good day."
"I'll try." I reply, following Trina out of the door.

We make it to the school pretty quickly, Trina drives like a maniac, and when we head through the double doors, I'm kind of overwhelmed.
Everything is bright and colourful and there are kids everywhere dancing and playing instruments and it's insane. I follow after Trina like a lost lamb, not knowing what to do with myself.
"See" She waves her arms around a little. "It's just a high school."
"Uhhh, this is not just a high school! These kids are all artsy and creative and talented and I'm just…" I sigh. "Normal."
"It's okay" For a minute I think my sister's actually going to say something to make me feel better. "There's nothing wrong with being average." Nope. I nod at her. "Anyway, you're not alone, I got your back." She tells me, and I actually feel a little bit better until she starts blabbering with one of her friends and disappears. Great.
"I'm alone!" I shout after her. The corridors are emptying, which is probably a sign that class starts soon and I have no idea where I'm going.
"Hey!" I shout to a girl passing with bright red hair.
"Oh my god, you're Tori right?" She smiles at me.
"Uh-huh" I confirm.
"You were so awesome in the big showcase!" I smile at the compliment.
"Oh, thanks!"
"My name's Cat." She tells me.
"Oh, like the animal!" I joke. She doesn't get it.
"What's the supposed to mean!?" She yells, affronted.
I eye her curiously for a minute before I reply. "Nothing, I love cats!"
"Oh, me too! They're so cute!" And without another word, she turns and walks away from me. This day just gets better.
I attempt again to get directions, this time stopping a guy with a puppet who walks past me.
"Hey!" I try.
"Hi." He answers at first, not really looking. Then he looks up. "Hey! Hello!" He looks me up and down. "Female." Female? What? "Yes?" He asks, his voice breaking.
"Can you tell me where Mr Sikowitz's classroom is?" I ask getting straight to the point.
"If you head due north from here…" He starts, and I frown. Which direction even is due north? "About thirty paces…" He continues.
"Paces?" His puppet interrupts him. "The girls not a pirate." I watch the two of them with wide eyes.
"This is none of your business." The curly haired boy tells his puppet.
"Sikowitz." The puppet addresses me again. "Down the hall, swing left at the water fountain, second door on your right."
"Thank you…" I tell them, walking away.
"Whatever it takes, cupcake." I look back at the puppet and frown before leaving.

I find the classroom eventually, setting down my bag and turning around to look at the room. I turn straight into a coffee cup, and send it spilling all over the guy holding it.
"Oh my gosh." I don't even know what to say, I've been at this school for 10 minutes and I'm already throwing coffee over people. "I spilled coffee on your…" I start rubbing his shirt with my sleeve. "I think it's coming out."
He tries to reassure me that it's okay but I feel so bad I keep attempting to clean it up.
"You might be making it worse." He tells me eventually. I smile up at him, getting a proper look at him for the first time. His hair is so fluffy.
"Dude." A voice calls from behind him. A female voice. I look up in the direction of the sound. "Why you rubbing my boyfriend?" The girl asks.
I'd be lying if I said she didn't look a little bit scary. Black clothes, black make-up, tattoos, piercings.
"Oh." I try, "I just… I spilled coffee on him…" I'm explaining but she cuts me off.
"Get away from him."
"Relax" The tall guy tells his girlfriend, moving away from me to kiss her on the cheek.

I don't have a chance to say anything else before what I'm assuming is the teacher bursts through the door, "oh my god there's a huge fire!" he tells us. I look around in panic, and someone screams before he laughs and waves his arm.
"Kidding, kidding. Just wanted to get your blood pumping." He smiles, "Which I did."
I move to my seat, sitting down next to Andre. "This is our teacher?" I ask him. He nod to confirm.
"First I'd like to introduce our new student, Tori." He motions towards me and I give a little wave. "And I'd like to thank Tori for her generous gift of two dollars, that she handed me outside this morning, not necessary, but much appreciated." He holds the money up the air.
"Why'd you give him two dollars?" Andre asks me, confused.
"I thought he was homeless" I admit to him, and he nods in understanding.

"Now today!" Sikowitz continues. "We're going to continue our study in group Improv." He points at me again. "Tori I assume you're familiar with Improv."
"I, uh, well, yes and no." I answer him, embarrassed.
"What does that mean.
"..no"
"Okay, crash course," he moves back over to the board. "Improv! Acting without a script, which means the actors must make up their own actions and dialogue as they perform the scene. Understood?" He doesn't give me a chance to answer. "Excellent! Jade, you will captain the first group of the day." The girl who yelled at my for rubbing her boyfriend earlier stands up, smirking, and heads towards the stage at the front of the room. "Choose your actors!"
She looks across the room before pointing to the redhead I met this morning. "Cat." She points to a blond boy, and then her boyfriend. "Eli. Beck." And then she says something surprising. "And Tori." I look up at her, obviously unwilling, but Andre motions for me to take to the stage so I do it.
"Okay, let's give them a place." Sikowitz says, standing behind Jade.
"Home!" The boy with curly hair shouts out.
"Home" Sikowitz repeats, writing it on the board and ignoring the boy arguing with his puppet. "And now we need a situation."
"Big news" Andre provides.
"Andre, nobody wants to see big nudes." The class looks at Sikowitz in confusion.
"NEWS." Andre tries again.
"Ah, that's different. News!" He writes it down on the board.
"Why don't you go wait in the hall." Jade tells me, pointing to the door to the left of the stage.
"Uh, okay." I agree, heading outside.

I can't really hear what they're saying from the door which I'm sure Jade's done on purpose, but Sikowitz moves to the back of the room and points, signalling for the improv to start.
They do a little bit of the scene before Jade heads over to the door, grabbing my arm harder than is necessary and pulling me into the room. "I went to the animal shelter." Oh no. "And got us a dog!"
"Uh, yep, I'm the new family dog!" I don't know what to do in this situation. Or what I've done to Jade in the half an hour I've been attending this school. "Woof."
"Sikowitz," Jade practically saunters to the front of the stage. "Will you please tell this amateur that dogs can't talk." She turns to look at me. "And that they don't walk on two legs." When Sikowitz doesn't reply, Jade yells at him.
"Oh, I'm sorry" He hold up a coconut. "I was sucking the milk out of this coconut. But it's true Tori, if you're gonna play a dog, be a dog."
Jade looks at me over her shoulder and I frown, getting down on my hands and knees. "Woof."
"And action!" Sikowitz starts us off again.
"I went to the animal shelter and I got us a dog." Cat and Eli begin to pet me.
"Can the dog sleep in our room?" Beck asks, causing Jades face to drop.
"No, honey, it can't." She tells him. "Uh oh, looks like this dog has bugs in her fur!" She picks at my hair.
"uh, Woof?"
"Ew!" Cat and Eli start at the same time, standing up and moving away from me.
"Oh it's okay!" Jade moves away from the stage. "I read on the internet that coffee works great for getting rid of fur bugs." She picks up another kids iced coffee and walks back to the stage.
"Maybe you should, uhm." Beck tries, but Jade ignores him.
"Jade!" Andre shouts from the audience, and I release what she's going to do, but it's too late and I'm covered in cold coffee.
"What's the prob, dog?" She asks, glaring at me. I don't know what to do, and everyone is looking at me, and there are ice cubes in my hair, so I leave.

I stop at the stairs in the main hallway, not looking when I sit down and end up with a face full of butt. Shooting up off the stairs, I walk back toward my locker.

"Whatchu doing?" Andre asks me, coming from around the corner.
"Calling my mom to tell her I wanna go back to my old school." I tell him, already dialling numbers on my phone.
"Why?" He asks, like he can't see I'm covered in coffee.
"'Cause I don't like having black coffee in my hair!"
"Then I'll get you some cream and sugar, everything will be chill." He tries to joke but I put my phone to my ear.
"Hey, mom.." I try but he grabs my phone and hangs up, putting the phone in his pocket.
"Gimme back my mom!"
"You're gonna quit this school on your first day just because of one mean girl?"
"It's not just her, I don't fit in here, with all this." I throw my hands up.
"Come on, this place isn't that different from other schools."
"Oh come on, like regular schools have improv classes with bare-foot teachers, nerds with puppets and bi-polar cats and mean girls that make you bark like a dog!"

The aforementioned nerd with puppet runs up to us. "Uh, you guys…"
The puppet interrupts him. "Sikowitz wants you both back in class."
"He asked me to tell them!"
"See!" I point at the boy and his puppet. "This doesn't happen at my old school!"
"Will you guys be cool?" Andre asks them.
"Him?" The puppet replies, "Be cool?" He laughs.
"You're a demon!" They boy yells back.
"You guys!" Cat comes rushing around the corner now. "Sikowitz really wants everybody back in class!"
"And you really wanted a date to the prom last year, but you didn't get one, did ya?" The puppet talks again.
"What's that supposed to me!?" Cat yells.
"Rex!" Nerdy boy yells. I assume that's the puppets name.
"Tell your puppet to stop being mean to me." Cat cries.
"Don't call him a puppet, that's an offensive term!" What is with this kid?
"Yeah, this schools pretty normal." I tap Andre on the shoulder and move away from the group.
"Just please go back to class and tell Sikowitz we'll be there in a minute." He tells the other two.
"You better hurry!" Cat tells us, to which Rex interjects "yeah!"
"I was gonna say yeah!" The other boy walks off, arguing with the puppet.
I cross my arms and look at Andre.
"Okay, this school is not normal."
"Really?" I roll my eyes dramatically.
"You're not normal either." He tells me, moving back towards me. "I've seen what you can do on stage. You're special. You're fantastic. You belong at this school." He walks off, leaving me standing in the corridor. He turns before he reaches the corner. "Normal's boring."

"It's true." Cat tells me, suddenly by my side again.
"That normal's boring?" I ask.
"No, that no one asked me to the prom last year!" She informs me before turning and heading off in the opposite direction.
I sigh and look around the hallway one last time before heading out of the double doors and walking home.

I've been home for about ten minutes when my dad bursts through the front door, looking frantically around the house.
"Tori, what are you doing here?" He asks, "And where's your mother? And Trina?"
"I came home from school early, Trina's still at school, and Mom's not here. What's going on dad?" I notice the way his blazer is ripped and my eyes widen in alarm. "What happened to you?"
He doesn't answer me, switching on the tv instead. A news reporter, standing on Hollywood Boulevard in front of a burning car fills up the screen.
"Still no explanation for this wave on unexplained killings that's sweeping across the city." She stops at the sound of something hitting the ground behind her. "A deadly crime spree with no end." The report stops, eyes widening in alarm at something behind the camera, and before the camera man has time to react, the camera's knocked out of his hands, hitting the floor, and someone starts to scream. I flinch, looking back up at my dad and ignoring the tv switching to a news anchor advising everyone to stay indoors.
"Dad? What's happening?" I ask again, watching as he checks the house.
"There's something happening. People have just gone insane. I watched… I saw I guy rip out Gary's throat. I had to shoot him." He sounds like he's in shock. "We have to leave. Now. Get out of LA. It's not safe here. Do you know what your mom was doing today?"
"She said something about going to grandmas, I think. Dad, I think you should rest. Sit down a minute."
"No!" He yells, at me, making me jump. His eyes are wide and frantic. "Go and pack a bag, now, and some stuff for Trina, five minutes. Go." I don't want to argue with him when he's like this, so I rush upstairs, cramming as many clothes as possible into an old holdall. I pull on my favourite jacket, an old leather one I found in a goodwill god knows how long ago and head back downstairs in time to hear my dad tell my mom he loves her.
"Alright." He turns to look at me, running a hand through his greying hair. "Your mom is safe at your grandma's for now. We're gonna go to your school and get Trina, then head over there. Okay?"
I nod in agreement and he takes the bag out of my hand, picking up the one resting on the floor next to the kitchen table and walking through to the garage. I follow him not really knowing what to say. He throws both bags in the trunk of the car, before moving around to a lock box and fumbling in his pocket for a small key to open it.
I widen my eyes when he pulls out his spare gun and ammo for it. "Do you really need two guns Dad?" I ask, watching as he loads bullets into it and check the safety is on.
"This isn't for me. It's for you." He tells me, holding the gun out to me handle first.
"Dad, I don't know how to use a gun! I don't need that, I'm with you, you'll keep me safe." I protest, eyes locked on my dad's shaking hand.
"Tori, please take it. You need it." He thrusts it at me again, but I don't take it. "TORI!" He yells at me again, "If something happens, if I can't keep you safe, you need this."
My own hand is shaking when I finally take it off him. He throws a holster at me and I put it around my waist, slotting the gun into it.
He gets in the car and pulls out his own gun, filling the handle with bullets.
"Look, Tori." He holds up a piece of metal. "This is a magazine. Bullets go in here. And it slots into here." He slots the magazine into the back of the gun. "And this here, this is the safety." He points the button. "The guns not gonna fire if that's on, so make sure you take it off if you have to use it, okay?" I nod. "You know how to fire it, right?" He asks.
"I have an idea." I tell him, my voice cracking.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay." He leans across and lifts up my chin, looking in my eyes. "It's just for safety, okay? I'm here." I nod again, feeling a little better, and my dad uses the remote to open the garage.

Our street is pretty quiet, there are a few people outside boarding up their windows. Our next door neighbour is standing out on his lawn, laughing at the people who're making their houses safer. My dad shakes his head.
"What's causing this?" I ask him as he pulls out of our neighbourhood. "I know you know, I can tell by the look on your face, so don't lie to me, Dad."
"Those tourists." He starts, swerving to avoid a bike abandoned in the road. "The ones that got sick in South America? Whatever they caught, it changed them, did something to their brains. The hospital thought they had them contained, but when one of them went in to try and loosen their restraints, they got bitten. And it spread. They didn't even realise until it was too late." He swerves again, this time avoiding a car left in the road, its door wide open.
I'm quiet for a minute before I realise why this all sounds so familiar. "This sounds like a lame zombie movie, Dad? Do you realise how insane this is? This doesn't happen."
"Well, it happened kiddo." He sighs. "I… I watched my best friend get murdered today, a guy just ripped him apart with his bare hands. And then Gary, he didn't… He just got up, and he moved toward me, and I thought he needed to go to the hospital. Then he lunged at me, and his eyes were just empty…" My dad trails off again, watching the road ahead. "That's why you need the gun Tori."
"Dad, I'm sorry, I didn't know." He doesn't answer me, just nods and continues to watch the road.

The further toward the school we get, the more signs of something happening we see. My dad takes back roads, trying to avoid traffic, and people, and by the time we reach Hollywood Arts, we can see buildings burning in the distance.
The schools quiet, though.
"Do you think they've evacuated everyone?" I ask, turning to my father.
"It looks possible" he tells me, looking around. He heads into the school and I follow after him. It's definitely too quiet for the time of day that it is, so it looks like I was right.
"Tori, if Trina was still here, where would she hide?" He asks me. I give him a list of places she's spoken to me about before. The last one is the Black Box Theatre.
"Alright, can you check there? I'll sweep the rest of the rooms and meet you back here?"
"Are you sure?" I ask him, nervous now. Honestly, I don't really believe him about what's happening, but the thought of being alone here is still scary.
"You'll be okay." He tells me, then taps the gun resting on my hip. "Don't be afraid to use it. And if you have to… Just, aim for the head, okay?" I gulp at his words, nodding, and watch him head off up the stairs.

I walk on my own for about a minute before I start feeling weird, like something's breathing down my neck. I move my hand to my waist, pulling the gun out from its holster and trying to copy how I saw my dad holding his.
I don't intend on using, but if say, Jade, was lurking around a corner, waiting to jump out and scare me, I'm sure me pointing a gun at her would stop her from ever doing it again. Or she'd just knock it out of my hands.
I adjust my grip a little, trying to hold it tighter, and round the corner, stopping in front of the door to the theatre. My hands actually shaking as I reach for the door handle.
I drop my hand for a second and take a deep breath before reaching out again, pushing the door open and sliding in through the gap I make.
"Trina?" I whisper, "Trina, are you here?" I stop in the center of the room, looking around cautiously.
Something feels… off. Like there's someone in here. I hear a shuffle behind me, and my suspicions are confirmed. I freeze, listening to the person move quietly closer.
I spin, squeezing my eyes shut lifting up the gun into the face of my would be assailant, who lets out a small squeak.
I crack one of my eyes open. "Cat?"
The redhead is standing in front of me, staring at my gun and shaking. I quickly lower it. "Sorry, I thought you were going to kill me." I laugh sheepishly. "What are you still doing here?"
"I got separated, and then I heard people shouting, and someone started shooting, so I hid in here, why are you here?"
"Me and my dad are looking for Trina. Have you seen her?" Cat shakes her head.
"She probably went with the men who came to take us somewhere safe, they took everyone." I nod, fumbling to put my gun away when Cat gasps again at something behind me.
I turn to see a tall blond boy moving towards us.
"Sinjin, what're you still doing here?" Cat asks him. He doesn't answer her, just continues shuffling towards us. "Sinjin?" Cat tries again. He groans.
"Cat, get back." I tell her, stepping back and keeping her behind me. "Hey, kid, stop moving!" I yell at him. He carries on walking towards us. "I said stop!" I yell again, moving my hand to take the safety off the gun.
He still doesn't stop, rambling towards us, and I panic. I don't know what to do. My mind goes black as I aim down, shooting the gun in an attempt to frighten the boy away.
Apparently my aim is off, because instead of hitting the floor I hit is knee. Cat squeals, but the boy doesn't stop, his face remains emotionless as he carries on moving, blood dripping down his leg.
"Sinjin?" Cat tries one last time. He's too close now. We can't get around him, and I don't have a choice. My mind runs through a million scenarios, but when he grabs my arms, I squeal, lifting the gun up under his chin and squeezing the trigger.
The bullet passes straight through his head, splattering blood and bits of skull behind him as he drops to the floor. Cat squeaks again as I back us away from the body.
I don't know what to do, again, my eyes are wide as I stare at the body on the floor. My hands shake and I drop the gun, hearing it clank against the floor.
"I… I shot him. In the head." A weird noise the sounds half like laughter and half like sobbing rips through my chest as I sink to the floor. "I killed him." Cat moves to crouch next to me, rubbing my arm softly.
"He would've killed you." She tells me, sounding very unlike the girl I met that morning.
"How do you know?" I ask, breathing in deeply. "What if he just wanted help?"
She points to something in the corner, and when I look up I see the mangled remains of Eli, the boy from the improv class this morning.
"He did that. I saw him." Cat's crying now, staring at the body of the other boy. "He was trying to protect me, he hid me, said he'd lead them away but he didn't get very far."
I rub her arm comfortingly for a minute before I realise what she's said.
"Wait, there are more?" I ask Cat, eyes widening. She opens her mouth to respond but the door swings open, banging against the wall.

I pick up the gun from the floor, spinning and aiming through the door, set to squeeze the trigger when the figure in the doorway calls out.
"Tori!"
"Dad?"
My dad walks into the room, looking around before talking. "I heard gunshots, are you okay?"
I point to the body on the floor and my dad immediately understands, walking forward and wrapping his arms around me.
"Oh, baby girl, it's okay. I've got you now."
My dad's arm moves and for a second I'm confused until I see a shock of red hair squeezing into the hug.
"Who's this?" My dad asks, obviously confused by the small girl hugging him.
I break the hug, standing back and motioning with the gun. "This is Cat, she's in some of my classes. I found her in here. No Trina though, although Cat said she probably went with whoever came to evacuate the school." I motion to the lifeless body of Sinjin. "There are more of those too, apparently. So we should probably leave."
"Good idea, let's get to your Gran's and then we can figure out how to find Trina."
We start walking out of the room and I get to the door before I realise Cat isn't following me.
"Cat, come on, you can't stay here!" I tell her.
"But I'm scared to go outside." Her voice cracks slightly as she speaks and I can't help but feel sorry for her.
I extend my hand. "Come on, I won't let anything happen to you." She crosses the room and takes my hand, grasping it tightly.
"Promise?"
"I promise."

We make it back to the car safely, but when my dad starts the engine, the noise starts to attract those… things.
"Dad?" He looks up through the rear view mirror and sees what I'm looking at. "I think we should go now." Cat's watching through the window as well, eyes wide. I don't know any of the teenagers creeping out of the school and towards the car, but she must. Her eyes fill with tears again.
"Hey, Cat, sweetie? Don't look. Just don't look, come here." I pull her towards me, let her bury her face into my neck and nod to my dad, who quickly drives out of the car park and heads towards my Grans house.

I stay in the back of the car with Cat as we drive towards my grandmothers. It takes her about fifteen minutes to fall asleep, babbling something about her brother warning her this would happen. She doesn't move from her position on my lap, just curls up more, snuggling into my chest.
Part of me feels weird about letting a girl I've known less than a day sleep on me, but I don't want to wake her, so I leave her be, watching the streets pass through the window.

"Why was she still in the school?" My dad asks eventually.
"She told me she got separated from the rest of the students, heard people shouting and shooting and hid in the theatre with Eli." I reply, watching the smaller girl twitch in her sleep.
"And where's Eli?" Dad asks again.
"He… He didn't make it. He tried to lead those things away, to save her. I guess he did save her, they didn't find her. I think she saw everything."
"Poor kid." My dad sighs, looking up at us through the rear view mirror for a second before his eyes flick back to the road.

It's getting harder for him to drive, the closer to my grandmother's house we get. The roads are full of cars, and bikes, and people. Not alive people. Some of them are even in bits. I have to close my eyes eventually, unable to look at the road.
"Shit!" I must've drifted off because my dad swearing jolts me up. Cat wakes up at the same time, looking around in confusion.
"Dad, what's wrong?" I ask, looking around. I don't even recognise where we are.
"That's your Gran's house." He points to a house in the middle of the street that's engulfed in flames.
"Why is it on fire if someone lives there?" Cat asks, but I don't reply, instead pushing her off me and reaching for the door handle.
"Tori no!" My dad yells at me.
"But we've gotta find Mom! She won't be there, she'll be hiding somewhere. She'll be safe." I reach for the door handle again but the sound of movement stops me.
"We're too close to the hospital." My dad tells me, putting the car into drive. "They're everywhere. We have to go."
"We can't go, what about Mom?!" I yell at him, feeling desperate.
He doesn't answer me, instead starting to drive up the street. We get about half way up before we see the crowd. "Shit." My dad mutters again.
"How are there this many already?" I ask, eyes sweeping the crowd.
"The hospital was full, and when they got out, they spread. Fast." He slams the car into reverse, swinging it round and starting to drive the way we came. There are more of them this way now as well.
"Dad, I really think you should drive faster." I tell him, watching as Cat buries her face into the seat of the car.
"I'm trying Tori." He tells me, manoeuvring the car around another car, lying on its side. The people outside the car, the ones that are infected, are getting closer and closer.
"Dad…" I don't know what else to say to him, watching as he tries to speed up.
Not fast enough, as I hear one of them bang on the window. I pull my gun out of its holster, sighing before looking up.
I almost drop my gun.
"Mom?"

A/N:

Hello buttercups, I'm sorry that the first half of this is literally just the pilot episode but it helps me set the scene in my head.
All I've done for a week is watch Victorious and play The Last of Us/State of Decay. I have a huge lady boner for zombie stuff.
So this happened.
It's probably gonna be a Jori Fic, and I'm flakey as balls at actually uploading stuff on a schedule so I apologise in advance.
And I tried to Americanize my words because I'm writing as Tori but it's hard because I am old and british. Okay I'm not old, but u kno.

I would love love love it if you reviewed and favourited, not that you should feel that you have to, but reviews make me happy. And inspire me.

Thank you for reading!