Brenda actually remembered what it'd been like to eat lunch in the cafeteria after sitting down with Donna at one of the tables. Food fights and impromptu dancing took place all around them but Brenda couldn't pay any attention to that, not when Dirk Daggett's last words lingered in her brain. He'd told her as she left that she wouldn't be able to hack it in his class…that she'd missed too many sessions already and she should just drop out.

She almost blew up at him, pointed a finger at his chest and told him to go throw himself off a cliff. How dare he tell her or even insinuate that she had zero talent? That she wasn't so fabulously gifted as an actress, a natural born prodigy that she couldn't whip herself into shape to rule his stage. She thought about filing a complaint with Mrs. Teasley but then realized she wasn't on her good side anymore since she'd been seeking her education elsewhere outside the academic fishbowl and in the grittiness of the real world.

"I just want to kill him…"

Donna looked up while nibbling on her corn dog at Brenda who seethed with such anger on her pinched face.

"Kill who?"

Brenda sighed, reaching for her sushi rolls and chai tea.

"Dirk Daggett…the new drama teacher…"

Donna sucked in her breath.

"Oh…why? I heard he's really hot and there was a fight in the girl's locker room about who gets him first."

Brenda just rolled her eyes. How like silly little girls to fight over an arrogant, volatile if smoldering man in Dirk. He'd just been hired and had shown up in a leather jacket and worn jeans with knee high boots. Supposedly he'd taught at a convent school and there were rumors of…complications involving some of the female students there and a couple of nuns. So he'd hightailed it out of there and wound up here charming Mrs. Teasley and the school board enough so he wound up hired as the new drama instructor.

"They should fight over a real man…a true artist who's been out in the real world and raged against it…someone like Cyrano…but he refuses to reduce himself and his huge talent into being just another tired hack in academia."

Wow, Donna thought, Brenda really felt strongly about her artistic mentor. She picked up a rice cake and lathed it with the leftover mustard from her corn dog.

"Well Bren…you're in his class and if he flunks you, you won't be able to graduate."

Brenda snorted.

"I don't need a stinking piece of paper to tell me I have any value in this world," she said, "Not when I have this huge artistic talent and all these opportunities in front of me."

Donna furrowed her brow.

"Like what?"

Brenda paused.

"Let's see…well the gallery showing at the artistic festival on Melrose…the gallery on Sunset in the back room and…I've heard there will be others as well."

Donna shrugged.

"Whatever…but you still have to pass Dirk's class and he doesn't seem to think you're as talented…"

Brenda's face turned bright red.

"How can you say that? How can he think that? I've been acting on stage since I was three and was the third of Santa's elves in the Christmas pageant."

Donna had heard the story before…many times when Brenda talked about becoming the best actress the world has ever known but it hadn't happened yet. She doubted that it would happen but didn't tell her friend that.

"Maybe if you just talk to him…"

Brenda shook her head.

"Why should I? If he can't recognize how gifted I am, then it'll just be a waste of my time."

Donna just sighed not knowing what to say next. She really didn't get Brenda these days and wonder if she really knew her at all. Even when they'd spent the summer together in close quarters in Paris, she thought Brenda to be someone moody and often downright odd. She dressed in these outfits that Donna thought somewhat garish and she walked around pretending she was French even though she barely knew the language. She'd smoked believing it made her more hip and then there'd been that whole embarrassing deal with Rick, the cute but clueless American guy that Brenda had suckered into believing she was some sophisticated French mademoiselle.

"Brenda I don't know but you need to get on his good side or you won't get to graduate at the end of the year like the rest of us," Donna said, "Even Steve's graduating…it'd be a shame if you had to wait until next year."

Brenda made a face, not really caring.

"Like I said, I don't care what Dirk has to say about my acting," she said, "He's a nobody and he's just trying to ruin my life because he's jealous of my immense gift…well I'm not going to let him sabotage my career."

What career, Donna thought. Brenda must have been smoking mushrooms again. They'd all done them at the last sleepover at Jim and Cindy's house. She just really didn't understand her at all and besides they had worse things to worry about than Dirk Daggett.

Someone had threatened to kill them. Donna still shivered when she remembered what it'd been like to see her beloved car go up in flames with the death threat etched in its charred frame. The other members of the gang had been threatened too…but wait what about Brenda? She hadn't said anything about receiving any death threats. In fact, she appeared to belittle them as insignificant compared to the drama of her own life.

Did that mean…no it couldn't be…Brenda wouldn't be capable of threatening to kill people…certainly not her own friends could she? Donna knew she'd never ask this question back when the wonder twins had arrived at West Beverly…back when they'd been apple cheeked corn fed Midwesterners dressed in last year's preppy clothes.

But the Brenda of yesteryear was not the same as the one sitting with her now, dressed in black and scowling.

With the newer version, who knew what would happen?

Brandon ran into Gil in the hallway after finishing his expose on the women's water polo team. He'd wanted to talk to the advisor about getting off of the sports' beat now that he'd given up trying out for the different varsity sports. He realized that he just wouldn't make the cut, not when there were all those imports from outside the district flooding the tryouts.

But he'd moved on and when he saw Gil and proposed doing a series on high school students who moonlighted in other jobs…like he did at the Peach Pit, Gil had seemed receptive.

"Go for it Brandon," he said, "I do it myself and I'm a teacher…but we don't make the salaries we used to since the budgets got slashed. I bought into a business though and so the money pours in even though I only put a few hours a night into it."

Brandon's interest piqued.

"What kind of business…?"

Gil paused.

"Entertainment…but it's still in its earliest stages. I can't really talk about it right now but I'll be able to trade in my old Winnebago for some nice wheels."

Brandon nodded.

"Okay I'll do it…you know I think Andrea got a new job."

Gil didn't respond and Brandon thought he hadn't heard him.

"She won't say where…just that she's doing some tutoring outside of school but Grandma Rose started making her pay rent."

Gil nodded.

"Good for her…I didn't know she'd done that," he said, "There's no signs she's slowed down at the paper."

Brandon chuckled.

"Andrea…nothing slows her down…if it'll get her closer to getting into Yale."

Gil had graduated from there himself and he smiled whenever the name came up.

"I knew she wanted to go…but it's a tough school Brandon," he said, "She'll have to work her ass off to get on the waiting list."

Brandon frowned.

"She's pretty smart."

"I know but face it…little fish, big pond," he said, "I just don't know if she's up for it."

Gil walked over to get something out of his desk and Brandon thought he looked somewhat tired. But then if he had his own business on top of his teaching job that meant that he might be running on empty soon enough.

They both looked up as Andrea rushed into the room as if she were running late. She slapped her backpack on her desk and adjusted her glasses.

"You won't believe what I just saw in the hallway," she said, "Those police are back and they are asking a lot of questions about what happened in the chemistry lab…they'd already raided it…if they don't know now what can they learn and what is Mrs. Teasley covering up?"

Gil put up a hand.

"Now hold on Andrea…don't you think you're jumping to conclusions here? They could be here for some other reason."

Andrea just rolled her eyes at him.

"I hardly think so," she said, "That narc who was trying to get kids to sell drugs to him last year…he's back and they've hauled Scott's sister in there for questioning."

Gil sighed.

"That poor sweet misunderstood girl."

Brandon sighed.

"She nearly eighty sixed your career Gil," he said, "She doesn't deserve your sympathy."

Gil disagreed.

"She deserves it because her family's so messed up," he said, "Not everyone is as lucky to have such solid, reliable and sane parents like you and Brenda have…consider yourself more fortunate."

Andrea nodded.

"We must go and help her at once," she said, "make sure her civil rights aren't being violated."

They rushed out into the hallway as the police locked it down.