The months flew by, and the kids at Hollywood Arts all felt very much at home. It was easy to get in the rhythm of things, to find your niche. After the first day of school, Andre, Beck, Robbie, Cat, and Jade all stuck together. Jade wasn't so lonely and for the first time in a long time, she felt like she belonged.

Robbie admitted it to no one, but he had a giant crush on Cat. She was the first girl to show any interest in him whatsoever, who didn't run away the second she saw him coming.

He wanted to tell Andre or Beck about it, but he was afraid they would force him to ask her out. First of all, he would never have the nerve to do so. And second of all, what if she said no? Robbie would rather just be friends with Cat than have her know his true feelings and not reciprocate them.

One day in the middle of the week, Sikowitz announced to his class that auditions for a musical would be coming up. It wasn't the first show that year, but it was the first show the freshman could audition for because they had all had to pass The Bird Scene first. Everyone was excited.

"The musical is written by one of the juniors, Grace Bailey. She will be part of the casting process, so if you have any questions about what is expected, you may ask her," Sikowitz announced at the end of class one day. "How many of you are auditioning?" The majority of the class raised their hands, including Beck, Andre, and Jade.

"Fabulous. I hope you all get wonderful parts!"

"How come you're not auditioning?" Cat asked Robbie as they walked out of the room.

"Oh, I don't know…I'm not really that good. Maybe the next one. What about you?"

Cat sighed. "The rehearsals would take up too much of my time. My parents want me to spend some quality time with my brother before he goes back to the special hospital in January."

"Special hospital?"

"Don't ask…I'm not allowed to talk about it!"

Robbie shook his head. Suddenly, he spotted Beck. "Oh, look, here comes Beck…" he stopped when he saw who was walking with him. "And Jade?"

Cat squealed. "Look! Jade looks really happy about something. Aww!"

Beck and Jade walked side by side. Beck was smiling and trying to look at Jade without her noticing. He said something Robbie and Cat couldn't hear, and Jade threw her head back and laughed.

Robbie and Cat watched as Beck caught Jade's arm and turned her towards him. He spoke, and Jade looked surprised, then nodded. Beck gave her a hug and began to walk away. Jade simply stood there, watching him go.

Cat ran up to Jade. "Oh my gosh! What happened!"

"Beck just asked me out."

"Whaaat? No way! That's so awesome! Yay yay yay yay yay!" Cat was in hyper mode, spinning around and grinning wildly. "I'm so happy for you!"

Jade couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I'm happy for me too."

A few weeks later, Beck and Jade were the "It" couple at Hollywood Arts. All the girls were jealous of Jade. At first she didn't mind, but then almost all the girls in her classes stopped talking to her. What have I done wrong? Jade thought. Why do they have to hate me just because of my boyfriend? Jade had been making many new friends, breaking out of her shell. But once again, girls looked down at her because of the boy she was dating. It was 7th grade all over again.

One night in late December, Cat and Jade were talking on the phone when Jade brought up Robbie's crush on Cat.

"He likes you, you know. It's so obvious."

"He does not!" Cat protested.

"He really does, Cat. He's like a little puppy, following you around and doing whatever you want him to do. Actually, it's kind of pathetic. Just go out with him already."

"Robbie and I are just friends, Jade!"

"Yeah, for now."

After they hung up, Cat sat on her bed thinking about Robbie. She liked him, that was for sure, but only as a friend. Robbie was funny and smart and super nice.

And yet….Cat couldn't help but get little butterflies when she thought about him. She instantly felt better whenever she saw Robbie at school and realized, now, that she always got shivers when he gave her a hug or touched her arm.

But no. Cat couldn't allow herself to feel this way about Robbie. She'd never had good luck with guys, and she didn't want to lose Robbie as a friend.

Maybe, just maybe, she could get Robbie some sort of gift, like a stuffed animal or a plant. Something he could give all his attention to, so that he would forget about Cat. She vowed to get him something tomorrow.

"Robbie! I have something for you!" Cat sang out the following Friday.

Robbie turned around from his locker, looking at Cat expectantly.

Cat carried a giant gift bag with a huge red bow on it. "I got you a present! Here! Open it!" She thrust the bag at him.

Robbie opened the bag and pulled out a giant puppet. It was a male puppet, with a big head and brown hair. It wore a red t-shirt, jeans, and gym shoes. Robbie looked at Cat quizzically.

"It's a ventriloquist puppet! I got it from my brother's friend! He had a special deal on it and I saw it and thought of you." Cat smiled shyly.

"Wow," said Robbie, admiring the puppet. "Thanks, it looks awesome!"

"Yay!" exclaimed Cat. "You can bring him with you everywhere! He'll be your new best friend! Like a puppy, but it's a doll! Oh, what are you going to name him? How about Mike? Or Sammy? Or Rex? Or Brian? Or—"

"Rex," Robbie interrupted. "I had a goldfish named Rex once, so this is perfect!"

Cat squealed and gave Robbie a huge hug, then ran off to class. Hopefully, her plan would work.