It was a brand new day at Hollywood Arts and things were pretty boring so far... As boring as that school could be, anyway.

Tori and André were by the vending machines, but when Tori dug around in her pockets, no money came out. "Can I borrow some money for a pop?" she sheepishly asked.

"Sure," André said with a nod, digging around in his own pockets. Unfortunately, he had just as much luck as she did. "Um... Can I borrow two bucks?"

Tori let out a sad sigh. "Aww."

Just then, Gwen burst through the main entrance, a Groovy Smoothie cup in her hand. She danced inside, Beck and Jade slowly following her. As she continued her awful dance, she sang an equally awful little song that went a little something like this: "I've got a Smoothie from the Groovy Smoothie, because I like smoothies, especially ones from the Groovy Smoothie, and it was free, because I made Beck buy it, and that makes it taste even groovier, because free stuff is totally the chizz!"

She stopped singing and krunking right as she reached André and Tori, who just stared blankly at her. Jade and Beck reached the three at last and Jade said, "Yeah, she didn't get into this school because of her vocal abilities. Or her dancing abilities."

"Or her ability to not embarrass me," Beck added.

Gwen pouted at the two. "You guys are... Dumb." "Or her ability to come up with good insults," Jade muttered as she walked over to the vending machines to get something to drink. Gwen just silently surrendered and not-so-silently drank her Smoothie.

"Her wonk song was true, though," Tori stated, crossing her arms. "Things taste a lot better when Beck buys them for you. Wanna buy me and André something to drink?" She gave him her most angelic smile, and André tried to as well, but it just looked creepy when he did it.

"What am I, your dad?" Beck asked, a chuckle escaping his lips. A loud slurp interrupted his brief laughter. "Gwen, don't slurp. And stand up straight."

"Instead of mooching off Beck, maybe you two should use your own money," Jade suggested, a bottle of green tea now in her hand.

"We don't have any," Tori sadly said.

"Get a job, then, you bums."

Tori glared at Jade, then pointed out, "You don't have a job, either! How do you afford all your coffee and scissors?"

"I have my ways."

"And by that, she means she takes money from her dad's wallet," Beck told them, stealing Gwen's drink so he could have some.

Jade shrugged. "He's got plenty to spare. It not like he's going to miss a few hundred bucks here and there. Besides, he owes me, considering he hates my guts and all."

Beck was done drinking, but held the cup high above his head so there was no way short little Gwen would be able to reach it. It didn't stop her from trying to jump and get it, though. Even as this was going on, he was as calm as ever and said, "You know, there are actually a few jobs you can do here on the Hollywood Arts campus, some you can even do during lunch and free periods. Pay's decent, too." He brought the cup back down to his lips, took one final sip, and handed the cup back to Gwen after giving her short hair a good ruffle.

"That's not a bad idea," Tori said, nodding. She turned to André and added, "And it might be fun working together!"

"Sounds like a plan," André said with a smile. "We can stop by the student store to see if they have any-"

A loud, empty-sounding slurp interrupted André and everyone turned to look at the source of the noise. Gwen was too busy pouting at her empty cup to notice their eyes on her. "Aww. Beck drank the rest of the smoothie I made him buy me."

"Yeah, sorry about that. How selfish of me." Jade and her sarcasm must have begun to rub off on him.

"Maybe you can come with us, Gwen," Tori suggested as Gwen threw her cup away. "You could earn your own money and wouldn't have to make Beck buy everything for you."

Gwen stared at Tori as if she had grown a second head, then burst out laughing. As she continued to giggle, she flicked Tori's nose, as if Tori was the most adorable thing ever. She laughed and laughed, shaking her head as she walked away from the group.

Tori rubbed her nose, looking absolutely perplexed. "Why is she so fascinated with causing me nasal pain?"

Cut to the theme song and we're good to go!

It was time for improv class, and Robbie and Cat were on the small stage in their classroom. "But Julio, I'm in love with you!" the redhead dramatically cried, clinging to Robbie as if her life depended on it.

Robbie shoved her off of him and exclaimed, "For the last time, my name is Timothy!"

"But Julio is a much more attractive name! And how-" Cat's dialogue was interrupted when Gwen screamed in pain, a mango suddenly appearing in her lap.

She clutched her cheek, which was bright red from pain and exclaimed, "Sikowitz!"

Sikowitz, who looked pretty innocent considering what he just did, asked, "What?"

"You just pelted me with fruit!"

"Oh. I was aiming for the trash can. My apologies."

"But why would you throw away a whole-"

The rhythmic bell interrupted her and Cat exclaimed, "Yay, there's tater pops for lunch today!" as she ran to the exit.

The other students followed and, as Gwen stood up, she picked the mango up and asked, "Anybody want some tropical fruit?"

"Gimme that mango," Rex ordered as soon as Robbie picked him up.

"... But how would..." Gwen sighed and held the mango out for Robbie to take. "Enjoy." Robbie thanked Gwen as he gently took the mango from her, but Rex merely ordered Robbie to put it in his mouth. Robbie began bickering with the puppet as he walked out the door and Gwen looked back to the only students left, Beck and Tori. "He... How... Could he... Huh?"

Beck just shook his head and gave her shoulder a pat. "It's Robbie and Rex. I don't think I could answer your questions even if you could form them."

"Glen?" Sikowitz asked, back at the front of the room. "Can I see you for a minute?"

"Um, it's Gwen," Gwen said.

Tori gave Sikowitz a look and asked, "How come the last time you asked to see me after class, you threw bottled water at me?"

"Because I already hit Gwen with fruit," Sikowitz explained. "If I hit her with two things in one day, I'd be risking a lawsuit. And Lord knows I can't afford that, not since I gave half of my worldly possessions to that one guy..."

"What guy?" Tori asked, almost looking afraid to hear the answer.

"You know... A guy..." The three teens chose not to question this and Gwen walked over to their teacher as Beck and Tori walked out the door.

"Is there a problem, sir?"

"There is now," Sikowitz said, giving her a pointed look. "I am Sikowitz, not the President. Never call me SIR again."

"I'm... Sorry for being respectful?"

"All is forgiven!" He cleared his throat and continued, "Now, I understand that you would like to audition for an upcoming play." Gwen smiled and nodded. "Weeeeell, you don't get to." The smile was gone. "Not until you pass the bird scene." He pulled a small book out from his man bag and handed it to her.

"What's the Bird Scene?" Gwen asked as she started flipping through the book. She waited for a response, but never got one. She looked up and realized that she was alone. "Sikowitz?" Gwen shut the book, then snuck a glance at the open window next to where her new teacher had been standing. She shook her head and grabbed her backpack, then made her way to the exit. "That dude is a looney bird..."

Break

TheSlap

Tori Vega

I start my job now... Not that I have to be happy about it or anything...

Mood: grumpy

Break

Robbie, Cat, Beck and Jade were at their usual table for lunch, but Robbie and Jade were the only ones eating. Beck and Cat were on their PearPhones, checking out The Slap.

"Ooooh, André just updated his status!" the redhead squealed. "He got a job working at the school store! Yay!"

Beck nodded, still looking at his phone. "Tori found a job too. But apparently-"

"Why are you looking at her profile?" Jade harshly asked, looking up from her salad to glare at her boyfriend.

"Uh, because she's my friend?"

"Why do you always have to flirt with other girls? You just love making me jealous, don't you?"

"How does me looking at a platonic friend's Slap page add up to me cheating on you? I just-"

"What's the Bird Scene?" Gwen asked, appearing out of the blue with her book and her burrito, sitting between Cat and Jade.

"Oh yeah, you haven't done the Bird Scene yet!" Cat exclaimed.

"I remember when I first did the Bird Scene," Robbie mused. "Rex booed me off the stage..."

Beck's brows furrowed. "You left Rex at home that day."

Robbie nodded. "Yeah, but he jeered at me in spirit..."

"My question still hasn't been answered," Gwen reminded them.

Jade took the book from her and flipped it to the right page. "The Bird Scene is just some stupid thing the school makes you do before you can audition for any plays. It's like an audition... For an audition." Once she was on the correct page, she handed the book back to Gwen.

"Oh..." Gwen nodded. "So you all have done it before?"

A chorus of confirmations from everyone answered her.

"Will you guys help me with it, since you've all done it?"

The confirmations turned to quick 'no's and shakes of the head and Cat tried to change the subject by pointing at the sky and saying, "Look, that cloud looks just like Justin Bieber!"

Gwen, looking confused, ignored the Biebertastic cloud and asked, "Why not? I thought we were friends! Just give me some advice!"

"... Look, it's Sinjin!" Robbie exclaimed, pointing towards the school building.

"Oh, hi, Sinjin!" Cat cried, following Robbie's lead. "Let's all go talk to him!"

As they all gathered their items, Gwen pointed out, "But you guys don't even like Sinjin!"

"Just eat your burrito," Beck said, picking it up off of her tray and stuffing it in her mouth. The three ran off and Jade slowly followed, but not before yanking the burrito out of her mouth, taking a bite, and putting it back in.

Once they were gone, she pulled the Mexican dish out of her mouth and threw it onto the plate, looking back at her friends, looking very confused. She shook her head and was going to go over the infamous scene she had to perform, but she noticed someone familiar. "Tori? Is that you?"

Tori spun around, turning three shades of red. She was sporting an Asphalt Café apron, along with a broom, rubber gloves, and a hairnet. Her new job apparently wasn't the most glamorous.

"Hi, Gwen," Tori sighed, slowly walking over to her. "I'm glad that it was you to see me like this and not Jade… She'd never let me live this down…" She pulled a rag out of her apron and started lazily wiping the table down with it to look like she was working.

"So… You're a… cleaner-upper person?" Gwen asked.

"It appear so. And I have the most lovely uniform, right?" Tori groaned, hanging her head and giving up on pretending to clean as she sat down next to her. "But the pay isn't bad… And I don't have to work after school."

"That's good, I guess." Gwen looked back down at the book and asked, "Hey, did you have to do the Bird Scene when you first came to Hollywood Arts?"

Tori nodded. "Yes, and it was the bane of my existence. Why? Are you doing it?"

Gwen nodded. "The others were acting all weird about it… They wouldn't give me advice or anything…"

"Nobody can help you with the Bird Scene," Tori explained, yanking her gloves off and placing them on the table. "It's a rule… But I'll say this. Just… be confident in your performance." She gave the younger girl a smile and patted her back. "If you believe in yourself, you won't fail."

Gwen smiled back, suddenly feeling much more prepared.

Break

"What do you mean I failed?" Gwen exclaimed, a whole day later, right after she had finished the Bird Scene.

Sikowitz just shrugged, while Tori, André, Beck, Jade, Robbie, and Cat exchanged glances, all knowing what she did wrong.

Looks like Gwen wasn't as prepared as she thought.