"Life works in really weird ways. Ways that we all don't seem to understand. I mean, I'm a great example of that. One minute I was standing on stage at my first audition for community theater, about to cry because I was so nervous and the next I'm a world famous actor. Things like that just surprise us because we don't expect the world to act like that and yet, it does. After all, as humans, we're inclined to believe that the worst is going to happen. That's what we've been taught since we were little, so why would we think any differently? That's why, when life seems to be going right, we're delightfully surprised. Then again, if we never had anything bad happen to us, would we enjoy life as much? Life is funny like that, isn't it? Maybe we really just need to take a step back and look at what we've got and how we got there. After all, it's all we've got, right? This was another morning thought by Jasmine Ender. Thank you." The camera cut off from Jasmine and switched to what was clearly another day, since her outfit was very different than the last. It appeared to be another Morning Thought because it still had the same feel to it.
"So, let's tell a little story, shall we? Imagine that it's a beautiful day outside, right? And you're walking around with your friends, laughing and talking about the simplest things. You haven't got a care in the world and life's going great. And the next? You've stepped in some glass and are bleeding. And it hurts. It hurts a lot and it mood is ruined. Some friends might try to help you get the glass out of your foot and get your bandaged up. But others? They'll just sit there, doing nothing. Some might laugh at your misfortune while others are just shocked and aren't really sure what they should do, so they do nothing. It's easy to imagine, right? Because you've probably been in a scenario like this before. At some point in your life, something like this has happened and it's completely shocked you. Now, replace the glass in your foot with depression. This has been another morning thought with Jasmine Ender. Thank you." Again, the camera cut, showing a different day with what was bound to be a different topic.
"How many of you like to watch movies? Right? Me too. I mean, I'm an actress. How could I not like movies? I literally act in them. Now, there was this one time that I was working on a movie and the director would put me in some situations that made me uncomfortable. I dunno, like maybe I'd be backed up against the wall for a shot and that made me uncomfortable. Or maybe I had to wear something that made me feel uncomfortable or maybe he'd said something that I didn't like. Whatever it was, that movie sucked. Now, I'm not saying this for you to pity me or anything. That's the last thing I want. That's why I'm not going to say what movie it was. However, because of that movie, I learned how to say no. Some of you are like me and you're a people pleaser. You'll do anything to make someone happy so you don't really know how to say no. Trust me, I'm the same as you. I've always got to make sure that everyone's happy and content before I even think about caring about myself. It's a personality trait. Still, you need to learn how to say no. You can't live your whole life just waiting on people to make them happy. Instead, sometimes, it's better to take a step back to help yourself. After all, a doctor isn't good if they're sick, now are they? This was just another morning thought by Jasmine Ender. Thank you." The video continued, playing more of Jasmine's morning thoughts that she had come up with, though there couldn't be more than fifteen, since Jasmine didn't like making her videos long. They were just morning thoughts that she had. Some were serious, some were a little more funny, but they all had a message in them. After all, this was Jasmine. All she wanted to do was help people anyway.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
"M-a-r-k. Mark, Mark, Mark! Mark, guess what?" Jasmine giggled, throwing her arms around Mark's neck and giving him a hug, despite him being taller than she was. Mark just laughed and patted her arm, turning away from the people he was talking to before, waving as they left to go home. The school day was over now, so it meant that it was time for his favorite part of the day. Club time. But first, Jasmine.
"What could it possibly be, Jasmine? You've got something new to say every day," He replied with a laugh. Jasmine rolled her eyes and giggled, taking his hands in her own and squeezing them tightly to show her excitement.
"Guess what today is?" She asked, bouncing up and down on her toes slightly. "Three years today! Isn't that great? Three years!" She giggled again and Mark spun her around in a circle. "So now you owe me ice cream. Because you promised me that you'd get me ice cream if I made it three years."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Mark replied with a small laugh. Jasmine giggled and jumped onto his back, which was difficult considering that he still had his backpack on, but since she wasn't complaining, he wasn't going to complain either.
"I want mint chip with a thousand sprinkles!" She replied, resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her legs around his waist so that she didn't fall off. Mark chuckled and hoisted her up so that she didn't fall onto the floor and hurt herself, because given Jasmine's luck when it came to this sort of thing, she was bound to hurt herself.
"Only that?" Jasmine thought for a minute, humming to herself for a minute before shaking her head, laying her head on his shoulder.
"Nope. I also want a waffle cone. And... Well, I'll think of the rest later when we're there. But I'm so excited to get some ice cream."
"Okay, okay. After club, we won't stop until you get your ice cream." Mark laughed a bit. Jasmine giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck a little tighter.
"I've only been counting down the days to this since, like, school started, Mark! No. Before that. When I was on set for Miss B I was counting down the days. And that was all the way at the beginning of the summer! So, now I get ice cream."
Mark felt Jasmine slipping so he nudged her off. With a groan, she jumped off but yanked at his backpack. Mark sighed and slipped it off, throwing it against his locker as gently as he could with his laptop inside, waiting for the moment that Jasmine would jump back on so he wouldn't be as surprised as he was the first time and accidentally drop her. When Jasmine jumped back on, he noticed that she was a little heavier than Monet. It was a little odd, since the two of them were basically the same aside from their hair and just a few slight details, like Monet's freckles, but it was probably because of their different environments. Monet mostly cared for herself, since her father was always working, and Jasmine had her aunt to take care of her. He made a mental note to invite Monet over after school more often.
"You know we can just go get ice cream any time you want, right?" Mark asked with a laugh. Jasmine laid her head on his shoulder and pulled herself up a little so she didn't fall down, tightening her grip on her own hands so she didn't fall off of her own fault.
"Yeah, but this time, you're going to buy it for me and I don't even have to pay for it so there, take that." Mark didn't need to look at her to know that she was smirking. He just chuckled again and jumped a bit so that she was more comfortable on his back before starting over to the club room.
"Wait, wait. We're inviting someone new!" Jasmine said, kicking her legs a bit so that Mark was forced to stop. With a sigh, he did, waiting for her to tell him what to do next. "Yeah, Aria Fitz. She'd be in the practice rooms by the band room. She likes to hide in there to work on her dances and has been neglected a bit recently by what had been her friend groups since she just made it into the Nutcracker. You know, that professional one that's in the city that I wanted to see, but can't because I'll be out filming when it's shown? Yeah, she made it into that one."
"So, we're going to the band room now?" Mark asked with a small sigh. Jasmine laughed a bit and nodded her head.
"Um, of course. I'm hoping that she'll join us today. I mean, it's been a while since we've gotten a new member." She shrugged her shoulders a bit and pointed towards the direction of the band room. "So, come on! Let's go!"
"Okay, fine. But next time, we're inviting some more boys, because we have so many more girls in our club than we do boys," Mark replied with a laugh. He turned around and started over towards the band room. "How'd you find out so much about Aria anyway?" Jasmine shrugged her shoulders again.
"You know what's funny?" She asked, tilting her head a bit. "How much you can find out from Kyra. That girl is really good at observing people. She was actually the one who told me that I should invite her. She told me that today at lunch, Bathroom Picnic again. And what's even funnier is suddenly, Kyra and Cleopatra are acting like best friends. You remember how I told you that Cleo was transferred to my English class because she got into an argument with the other English teacher? Anyway, when I came in this morning, the two of them were sitting next to each other and talking until it was time to actually start class. It was odd, but I'm kinda just pleasantly surprised, if you know what I mean."
"Cleopatra and Kyra are actually getting along? Like, more than they were before?" Mark asked, turning down the hallway so that they could cut through the cafeteria on their way to the band room.
"Like, before, they were just friendly. Now, they're actually talking. Like, you know how good of friends Cleopatra is with Monet? Like that level of friendship. And what's even odder is that it happened overnight, basically. I know Cleopatra and Monet became good friends because of the Bathroom picnic, but this is way different. They had time to build a friendship. This happened suddenly," Jasmine replied with a small sigh, resting her head on his shoulder again. "I dunno how it happened, but I am not complaining. Now we just have to get Anthony and Cleopatra to stop hating each other."
"If they can. Apparently both of them said some pretty awful stuff about the other and now they won't even look at each other without glaring at each other. At least, that's what Sasha told me," Mark said, jumping again and adjusting his grip on Jasmine so that she didn't fall down. "It's not our problem. Not really, as long as they can act mature about it."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Still, I dunno. I wish they'd get over it. It makes it hard when we try to do things as a group. Or in general." Jasmine frowned and tightened her hands around his neck. Still, it didn't take them long to reach the band room after that.
"Oh, hey, Jasmine. Before we get Aria, I have a question to ask you," Mark said, nudging her off of his back again. Jasmine groaned but jumped off and faced him.
"Yeah?" She asked, reaching in her pocket to grab the invitation that they used on everyone.
"What do you two want for your birthday? Since it's in two days." Jasmine froze, a frown covering her face. It took her a second to think of an answer, but when she did, she just giggled and flashed him a peace sign.
"Oh, come on. You know us well enough by now! Come on, let's get Aria." The girl smiled and turned, knocking on the door and startling the girl in question behind it. It looked like they were in for an interesting day.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Whenever it was Monet's birthday, she never really expected much. She knew that she was going to get something from Jasmine and Mark, like she always did, and her father would forget it was her birthday until it was really late and he'd stop by Mark's house, where Rebecca had her over for a birthday supper, like she always did since her mom died, and she'd go home with him and that'd be it. Maybe she'd just a gift the next day in the evening, but that was it. Aside from being with Jasmine and Mark, it didn't really feel like a birthday. No one at school really knew she existed and it's not like she ever really had a party, not since her mother died. She just didn't want one anymore.
So, she was surprised when she made it to the bathroom for lunch to see everyone in the club right in front of it. Confused, Monet tilted her head and slipped her guitar off, setting it far enough away from the group. She wasn't quite ready to show that off to them yet. As comfortable as she was with Kyra, Jasmine, and Cleopatra, it was a different story when it came to the group that she now spent majority of her time with. She much as she wanted to trust them with her skills, she wasn't quite sure if she had reached that yet.
"Is something wrong?" Monet asked as she came over, folding her hands together. Kyra, whom she ended up next too, jumped, but gave the raven haired girl a smile when she noticed who it was. Jasmine frowned at her, placing her hands on her hips and Mark groaned. That was when she remembered that it was, in fact, her birthday and they were all probably gathered here to celebrate it with her and Jasmine.
"I mean, why not have some peace and quiet here for lunch so that we can spend your birthday with you two, since you guys don't have lunch in the lunchroom anymore," Sebastian replied with a shrug. Monet shifted a bit uncomfortably, not because she was upset with them all being there, but by the fact that they had all noticed her frequent absence.
"It'd be a pity to miss out on this, don't you think?" Cleopatra asked with a tilt of her head. Monet smiled a bit, though she was a little confused by it all because she would have sworn that they would have just had a celebration later during the actual club time. Still, when Jasmine got an idea, it was probably just best to nod your head and agree. So, they all moved over to the little alcove between the two bathrooms, where Cleopatra and Isa both laid out blankets, finally back on speaking terms for the most part, though it was clear that the two of them would keep their distance if given the chance.
Once everyone was set on the floor, the groups were made pretty clear. The people who normally joined the Bathroom Picnic sat together, like it wasn't even a conscious thing anymore, though they were joined by Mark and Sebastian, who spent more and more time around Kyra as the weeks went on. Aria sat with Sasha, Leo, Isa, and Anthony and it looked like she was getting along well with that group. The club really had changed a lot since the start of it, even from when Monet had joined.
It wasn't until they were halfway through lunch did Jasmine decide to make things more interesting and pulled out her video camera. "Let's make a video! We can play, like, never have I ever or something like that. It'll be fun!"
"Do we have too?" Anthony asked with a sigh as the group turned to face her. Jasmine frowned, making a little pouty face before she spoke again.
"It's my birthday though!" She whined, crossing her arms over her chest. When there were no more complaints, she giggled and moved to the front of the makeshift picnic, setting her camera down and setting it up so that they could all be seen on camera. Monet heard Aria ask Sasha what was happening, but Sasha was quick to fill her in on the two other videos the club had made.
After the disastrous game that was Never Have I Ever (in which most people had cheated and said things that only they had done on purpose to get the others to lose), they returned to school to finish out the day before they would finish out their birthday celebration at the club. As much as she enjoyed her friends, Monet knew that things were going to get crazy now that Jasmine was filming things. Then again, she couldn't really blame her. After all, it was Jasmine's coping mechanism. It always had been. If Jasmine chose to spend her birthday making a video of the ridiculous things that they did at the club, who was she to judge?
Though, as much as she forgot about her birthday, she had to admit that it was one of the best ones that she had. After all, she hadn't had so many people care about it in so long, let alone get a gift from more than three, sometimes four people. Still, when Cleopatra caught her after school, she wasn't quite expecting to get another one.
"Here. I was going to give you this at the meeting, but I figured that I'd give it to you in private," Cleopatra replied, holding out a neatly wrapped box. Monet tilted her head, but she took the gift and pulled the ribbon off before pulling off the lid. Cleopatra was shifted slightly, it was clear that she probably put a lot of effort into this gift. Still, whatever it was, Monet wasn't really sure. Reaching in, she pulled out a white strand that transferred to orange, then blue, then yellow, green, brown, and finally black. That's when she got it. It was all of the belts together, each stitched with a different form of martial arts.
"I love this!" Monet said, smiling as she held it up. "It's amazing! Did you sew it?" Cleopatra nodded her head.
"That's not the best part. It's a guitar strap. That's why I gave it to you here. I figured you didn't want the others to know about your guitar yet. I mean, you never take it with you to club, so it wasn't that hard to figure out." She shrugged her shoulders, like it wasn't that big of a deal.
"Cleo, I love it. It's so thoughtful. I can't wait to put it on, honest." Monet put the strap back into the box and placed the lid back on top, glancing over at Mark and his mother appear in their car next to her on the road that she was supposed to have followed them too. "Seriously, thanks. I have to go, but you'll definitely see it at the Bathroom picnic."
"Okay, chill. It's not like I bought you a car," Cleopatra giggled slightly. "But, yeah, go home with your boyfriend. I'll see you at school!" With that, she waved and turned to leave. By the time Monet processed what she had said, it was already too late and she had no choice but to get into the car. It looked like she only had spending the evening at Mark's house left now.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
"So, yeah, now that Miss B's new trailer came out, I've got, like, three interviews in the next week. It's going to be a lot of fun," Jasmine laughed slightly, parting Monet's hair so that she could rebraid it before Monet's next round of her competition. It was Saturday and a week after their birthday, so of course, it was another competition that she was bound to go to and win. At least, that's what Jasmine thought. Monet did manage to win a lot of competitions that she went too. And by a lot, Jasmine meant most.
"Yeah, but at least people like giving you positive attention. I can't even walk home without people calling me a slut," Cleopatra replied, scrunching up her nose as she leaned her arms against the table that they were at. Kyra only rolled her eyes slightly.
"It's probably your fashion," The white haired girl replied with a shrug.
"Hey!" Cleopatra whined, only slamming her hands against the table with enough force that the eccentric ring on her finger made enough noise to be noticed. "I'll have you know that Lolita fashion is very modest."
"Doesn't stop you from looking like a slut to other people," Kyra replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Before the two of them could argue any farther, Sebastian interrupted.
"Anyway, do you think you're ever going to get bored of being an actress, Jasmine?" He asked, looking over at the girl in question. Jasmine didn't reply at first, pretending like she was too focused on Monet's hair to make a coherent response, but Mark knew her well enough to know that she was just buying herself time.
"Don't tell anyone but the passion has been slowly draining itself out of me," Jasmine replied truthfully, sighing as she tied off the first braid and ran her fingers though the unbraided section. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love acting and I love my fans and all. I love every aspect of being an actress, but, like, Hollywood life is a lot for anyone, especially when I'm really just a small town girl who's just trying to make it through high school."
"You get perfect grades on, like, every test you take. You passed the ACT with 36 and had to retake it just to prove that you did it. I wouldn't think that you would be worried about making it through high school," Cleopatra pointed out, sipping her cold Starbucks drink through her straw.
"Yeah, but I'm not perfect. That's what everyone expects. I'm still a normal person, you know. I just happen to be really smart and a world-famous actress," Jasmine giggled slightly, tying off the rest of Monet's hair and sitting down next to her while Monet adjusted her uniform slightly, untying and retying the black belt around her waist.
"No, you're not and no one expects you to be," Mark replied rather quickly. "You're just Missy here. Just Jasmine."
"Exactly. Anyway, Miss Knight, are you planning on heading onto the next round again this year?" Monet looked up from her fidgeting for a second and shrugged.
"I mean, of course. I want to try to win this year. Though, it's really hard because everyone is, like, three years older than me sometimes. Since I'm on my way to getting my second black belt and all. Which is next Friday, by the way."
"That's exciting!" Sebastian cheered, though his excitement spoke for the rest of the group.
"What is a second black belt?" Cleopatra asked, the same enthusiasm as Sebastian's statement.
"It's when you've..." Both Mark and Monet started to say, but both blushed and looked away, apologizing faster than they both could talk. After much arguing, they both just decided that Mark would explain what it meant, mostly because Monet couldn't really speak much anymore anyways. Probably from embarassment, but it was mostly because she liked Mark and there was no chance that she realized that he felt the same way. "It's when you've been a black belt for two years and you can meet their list of expectations. And you have to be able to teach techniques, right?" Monet nodded her head.
"Yeah, testing is next Friday. So long as I pass, I'll be a second black belt for three years before I can test for my third. I'll be a freshman in college by the time I can do that though." Monet shrugged her shoulders, but it wasn't even a few seconds after she said that did a little girl, no doubt one of the girls that Monet taught, with two little boys run up to her.
"Come on, come on. They're doing awards now!" One of the boys said, grabbing her by the hand and trying to pull her out of her seat, shaking his brown hair out of his eyes. Monet chuckled a bit and stood up. It wasn't her turn for awards, but she did promise that she was going to be at the awards for her students. Plus, she did have her next competition after they went.
"Come on, Sensei. Please? You're coming, right?" The girl asked, grabbing Monet's other hand to drag her away as well. Monet only laughed a bit more.
"Okay, okay. I'm coming. Let's see what you guys got," She replied, looking back at her friends for a second. "I'll be back after my comp. If you want to come, go ahead, but if you don't, I'll be back soon."
"Hey, Mo. If you make it to the next round, I'll get you ice cream," Mark replied with a smile. Monet offered him a smile and nodded her head.
"Vanilla with chocolate sauce?"
"You know it!"
"How about chocolate?" Jasmine offered with a laugh.
"Ew no!" And with that, Monet was dragged off by her kids to head to their awards and her own competition, one that she was bound to win.