"Cat, do you think you've got enough markers?"

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"It just… looks like you've got a lot of markers," Tori said, gesturing to the five-gallon bucket in the redhead's hand.

"Oh! Thanks! They're for Ms. Santiago," Cat said proudly.

"The new art teacher? The one with the funny eye?"

"Mm-hmm," Cat said. "She was saying the other day how she didn't have any of the skinny markers that smell like stuff, so I stole a bunch from my brother."

"Won't your brother notice that they're gone?"

"No. He stopped drawing last year after his girlfriend told him it was against his religion."

Tori tilted her head, confused. "Is it against his religion?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just meant…"

Before Tori could even start to explain what she'd meant, a turquoise plastic ball flew around the corner, whacking Cat in the face. The girl dropped the five-gallon bucket of markers, which scattered across the hall floor.

"Ow!" Cat shrieked.

"I apologize, Cat," Mr. Sikowitz said, scurrying to retrieve his ball. "I was attempting to hit Goldstein."

He gestured theatrically down the hall to where Perry Goldstein was opening a bottle of Peppy Cola.

"Goldstein!" Sikowitz launched the ball again, hitting Goldstein squarely in the back. The boy dropped his Peppy Cola; it fell to the floor, exploding in a fizzy spray. "You owe me an essay from last week!"

"My eye!" Cat exclaimed, clapping a hand to her face. "Is it bleeding?"

"It doesn't… look that bad," Tori said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's… puffy," Tori offered.

"Ohhh," Cat moaned. "I have to go to the nurse!"

"What about the markers?"

"Will you take them to Ms. Santiago?" Cat asked.

"I mean, I guess I can."

"Thanks – you're the best!" Cat rounded the corner and disappeared, her hand still pressed to her face.

Tori sighed and bent down to gather the seemingly infinite number of markers scattered across the floor. At last she had them all back in the bucket, and with a quick look around to make sure that Mr. Sikowitz wasn't waiting for her with his ball, she headed down the hallway towards the 2-D art room.

She stuck her head into the room. It was long and large, with light pouring in through two walls of windows. Paintings and sketches were propped up on easels, and famous works of art were laminated and push-pinned to the wall.

"Hello?" Tori stepped into the room and set the bucket of markers on the table. "Ms. Santiago?"

"She's not here," a voice said from the other side of the room. "She went to talk to somebody about the backdrop for the musical."

Tori turned to see a girl with shoulder-length dark hair sitting at one of the desks, sketching on a large newsprint pad. "Oh! I, um, I didn't notice you."

"That's okay." The girl set down her ink pen and turned towards Tori. She was very thin, with pale skin. Her dark hair was held back with a red polka-dotted head band. She wore a gray T-shirt with a stylized drawing of a human torso, including ribs, the heart, lungs, and major veins, rendered in black, white, red, and blue, and a pair of black yoga pants. Her shoes were bright red Converse sneakers. She looked like any number of students Tori had seen at Hollywood Arts; in fact, the only thing that would set her apart was the thin plastic oxygen tubing that ran under her nose and looped behind her ears. It ran down to a black backpack on the desk beside her.

She stood as Tori entered, and put out her hand. "I'm Evie."

"I'm Tori," Tori said, and they shook.

"So," Tori said, gesturing to the bucket, "do you think I could just leave those here?"

Evie shrugged. "I don't see why not."

"They're… not mine," Tori said. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with having a lot of markers, but… I'm just delivering them for a friend."

"Cat?" Evie asked.

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"She was talking about them during photography today," Evie said.

"She would have brought them herself, but Mr. Sikowitz accidentally hit her in the head."

"With what?"

"A ball. But to be fair, he was aiming for Perry Goldstein."

"Aren't we all," Evie said, grinning. "That Sikowitz is a real character."

"Oh, do you have him for a class?"

"No, but my sister does," Evie said. "She talks about him all the time. Most of the time she worships that guy, but every now and then his craziness gets to her."

"Your sister? She goes here too?"

"Yeah," Evie said. "Maybe you know her."

From behind Tori came a coldly amused voice. "Trying to branch out, Vega? Maybe it's for the best. You're not really a great actor."

"Hey, Jadey," Evie said.

"Where've you been?" Jade asked as she entered the room. "Mom's waiting."

"I guess I lost track of time," Evie said. She grabbed her newsprint pad and flipped it closed. She stuck her pen into her pocket.

"Give me that," Jade said, and took the drawing pad from Evie.

"Your sister is… Jade?" Tori asked, her mouth open with surprise.

"Yeah," Evie said.

"Surprised, Vega?" Jade smiled sweetly.

"Uh, yeah," Tori said.

"You mean because my sister's a monster?" Evie asked, grinning.

"That was my first thought."

"Well, your sister is a talentless harpy," Jade said to Tori.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tori asked, aware that she sounded like Cat.

"Nothing," Jade said with a shrug. "It's just the truth."

"You're awful," Evie said. She swung the black backpack over her shoulder. "See you later, Tori."

"Bye," Tori said.

Jade slung her arm around Evie's painfully thin shoulders, and the two girls disappeared through the art room door.