Ah, the brand new chapter... nice, huh? That means I finally finished the next chapter of my other stories, so plllllllleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaasssssssssseeeeeeeeeee read them! Please? Purdy please? My teacher is reading them for heaven sakes! I like her, it is just somewhat odd to have your teacher reading them. She's my favorite teacher, actually.... anyway. Here's the next chapter, read and enjoy, and read my other stories. Thanx!

Chapter Four: Murder

"Watson? Watson, we must get to rehearsal. Watson? Aren't you awake yet?" said a soft, nagging voice. I groaned and pulled the pillow over my head.

"Go away," I grumped. I heard another voice crack up, and then clear it's throat.

"Ah, Sherlock. You have to learn the technique. Christine, the water," it said. My brain didn't fully comprehend what was happening until....

"Ack! Who did that! Who?" I demanded, pushing water out of my eyes. I saw Holmes smile happily at me, and Kline started whistling. Christine looked guilty, and I immediately pounced on her.

"Christine, if you tell me who did it, you'll get out of trouble," I said kindly. Christine gulped, and pointed at herself.

"Ok, I didn't actually pour the water on you. It just sorta.... slipped."

"Sure it did. Of course it did. And it just so happened to slip right over my head!"

"Um, yeah?"

"Nerd. All of you, outta my room. I have to get dressed and stuff," I snapped. Christine smiled apologetically at me, and hurried out of my room, Kline not far behind. Holmes smiled at me.

"Well, of all my time that I knew you, you woke up grumpiest then. Did you get these wake up calls often?" he teased. I scowled and pulled on a sweater over my tank top.

"For your information, yes. Usually from Kline, but Christine was very.... imaginative. Kline usually used water, glue, hairspray, and occasionally whip cream. Christine would use honey, floss, wax, and bug spray," I moaned. Holmes raised an eyebrow.

"And how, exactly, do you use these products to wake a person up?" he inquired. I opened my mouth, but then I saw a glint in his eyes.

"There is no way that I'm telling you. You'll just use it against me. Turn around, I have to change my pants," I growled. Holmes laughed and turned away obediently. I yanked off my pajama pants with more force than necessary, and then pulled on a pair of loose jeans. Holmes began fiddling with my bedspread.

"Are you looking forward rehearsal today, Watson?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know. You can turn around now, unless you don't like seeing me putting up my hair," I told him. Holmes smiled as he turned, and stared as I threw my hair up.

"What?" I asked impatiently. Holmes smiled, rather sadly.

"You're very pretty, did you know that?"

"Ok, who are you, and what did you do with Holmes?" I demanded. He smiled crookedly at me.

"Fine, don't answer my question. Next one. What the heck made you say that?" I persisted. Holmes raised an eyebrow.

"Can't I give a little sentiment once in a while?" he asked, acting hurt. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, but you really need to give warning or something. Wear a sign. Alerting all people. Holmes is in a sentimental mood this morning. Be prepared for compliments," I announced. Holmes laughed, and watched as I yanked my hair up. He sighed and stood up behind me.

"Let me do that," he whispered. I tossed him the scrunchie and watched as he made quick work of the tangled mass that I was currently calling my hair. As I watched his reflection in the mirror, I heard a snicker. And then another one. I groaned.

"Ok you two. You can come in now. You guys are such sentimentalists," I yelled. The door fell open and Christine came tumbling in, and Kline stepped over her.

"Graceful, Christine, really graceful," she teased. I watched as a mixture of fury and amusement ran across Christine's face.

"Yeah, well. That is what happens when you open the door that I'm leaning on. I was trying to get out of your way, since YOU wanted to hear them," Christine gasped. Holmes laughed.

"I'm sure that she wasn't the only one," he teased. Christine's face turned a bit red as she stood up. She looked at the clock.

"Uh, guys. We have five minutes to get there," she told us. Holmes pulled his hands away from my head and glanced at the clock.

"We must be going. We wouldn't want to be late on the second day."

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"B flat scale, on my signal. One-two-three-four!" Jargin screamed at us. I hastily shoved my clarinet in my mouth and played the scale. Claudia watched in amusement as I gagged (I put the mouthpiece in to far) and started laughing. Jargin stopped and glared at us.

She was wearing hot pink clothes today, and this time her hair was purple with pink and green streaks through it. She jumped down into the pit (she had been on the stage) and stalked over to Claudia.

"Is something funny, Miss?" she snapped. Claudia grinned up at her.

"Why, yes. My good friend here just choked on her reed," she explained, looking very bemused. I heard the rest of the orchestra laugh as I buried my head into my hands. They stopped laughing as soon as Jargin looked around.

"I do not find it amusing. Perhaps you should take your antics elsewhere. Warm up is over. Please pull out 'They Could Be Kind'. The actress and actor who sing this are working on it, and we want to give them some music. I quickly yanked the piece from the folder and stared at it.

The piece was sung by Wiggins and Cricket. It was easy enough to figure out who would be playing Cricket, but I had no clue who was playing Wiggins. I turned to Claudia.

"Hey, Claud? Who is playing Wiggins?" I asked. Claudia looked up from the music and thought a bit.

"A boy named Todd. I don't know his last name," she told me. This time I really did choke.

"Todd? Tell me you're lying!" I exclaimed. Claudia frowned.

"No. I'm not. Todd was talking to somebody about it, and I overheard him. Why, do you dislike Todd?" Claudia asked. I shook my head and concentrated on the music.

I looked up as Jargin called attention to the stage. Christine stood there, and she did not look pleased. Todd was standing right next to her. He leaned over and whispered something to Christine, who promptly rolled her eyes. She made eye contact with me, and mouthed I think I'm going to be sick! I have to act with him!

I started giggling at Christine's expression, and I wasn't the only one. I heard Kline start laughing a few rows away, and I saw Holmes quickly cover his mouth. A few other orchestra were chuckling as well. Jargin scowled at Christine, and she quickly shut her mouth.

"These are our Wiggins and Cricket. Todd and Christine. We're going to begin with their lines, with the underscore. As soon as they finish, we must go straight into the song. Where is John, anyway? He's supposed to be directing. I saw Christine sigh and raise her hand. Jargin glared at her.

"What is it, Cricket?" she snapped. Christine looked unhappy, but decided to speak anyway.

"John said that he had to clean up his hotel room, or something. He also said-" Christine was cut off as Todd jumped in.

"He said that he needed to meet you later on for business, ok Sallay?" Todd asked cheerfully. Christine rolled her eyes again and looked away. Jargin instantly softened.

"Well, if he needs to meet me for business later on, then that is all right. Now, continue!" Jargin snapped, gaining back her nasty personality. I zoned out as Christine and Todd read their lines, and became absorbed in the music.

This was actually a very nice piece, and from what I could see of Holmes, he didn't mind it either. At least he was frowning over it. From what I could see of Christine, she seemed to have memorized the lines already, and she also seemed to like them. Then I realized what was going on- Cricket was arguing with Wiggins. So of course, Christine would enjoy it. I grinned despite myself, and watched as Jargin directed us to move into the actual song.

It wasn't a hard piece, really. There were some parts that made me frown in concentration, but I imagined it was harder for the actors. According to the score, Christine would begin it.

"What's the point of helping anyone, if they don't want you around?" Christine sang. Todd was sitting on a box, and then opened up his mouth.

"This one over there, stuff all in her hair, runnin' round the streets like they're her own," he snapped back. And so it went on, the song. By the end, I was in near hysterics. It was so much like those two! Christine scowled at me as I giggled into my clarinet. She seemed to know exactly what I was thinking.

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"You should have seen your face, Christine!" howled Kline. Christine sighed and leaned back in her chair.

We were all sitting in Holmes's room, contemplating rehearsal. Christine had sang and acted the entire day with just Todd, and had looked close to murder by the end of rehearsal. And of course, my lips were shot. We had played I Used To Know, They Could Be Kind, One Man, To Be Like You, and Once In My Life. Holmes had agreed with me that they were all very nice, but he didn't like some of them.

"I imagine that I looked very peeved, but I just wanted to slap the moron! Who can blame me?" Christine questioned. Holmes raised his hand, and Christine glared at him.

"It was a rhetorical question, Sherlock. Open your mouth, and I will take it upon myself to kill you. Moving on. How was your rehearsal?" asked Christine sweetly. I rolled my eyes.

"Painful. Those songs can be hard to play, especially when you have Jargin breathing down your neck," I muttered. Holmes laughed.

"How did you manage to choke on your reed, anyway?" he laughed. I glowered at him.

"NOT funny. I put it too far into my mouth. What about you? What did you do? How is the second chair violinist?" I asked. Holmes sighed and fell carelessly onto the bed.

"Dreadfully annoying. She kept pestering me throughout the entire rehearsal. If it had gone on any longer, I would have taken a page out of Christine's book and killed her," he teased. Christine rose to her feet, sniffed at us, and left the room. Kline grinned.

"Good one, Sherlock! You've managed to offend her. My rehearsal was cool. The flute music is pretty fun. Too many whole notes for my taste, but that is the way the ball bounces!" Kline said cheerfully. I laughed.

"And why are you in such a good mood, Kline?" I asked. Kline grinned again.

"Ah, the joys of a sugar high. And you know how much I like music!" she protested. I rose unsteadily to my feet, and glanced at the door Christine had left open.

"So, should we go apologize to the Drama Queen?" I asked. Holmes shrugged.

"I won't. She was just being dramatic. Besides, she is sitting right outside the door, we won't have to go far," he announced. I heard a snicker and saw Christine poke her head back in.

"Excellent call. Come on, Kliney. Let's leave these two lovebirds alone, all right?" she teased. I dropped my jaw and faked annoyance as Kline dashed out the door and slammed it behind her. I rolled my eyes and joined Holmes on the bed.

"They say they aren't sentimentalists?" Holmes asked, playing with my hair. I sighed.

"I have no idea why. They are. You should have seen them back in Ashling. Constantly falling over each other to try and watch Kelsey and Rachel's dates. They would place bets on who would get their first kiss, out of Kelsey and Rachel, of course. Their Christmas and birthday ideas for us would be lipstick and such. Christine would always grin and say that we would need it after we finished with our boyfriends. And to imagine, she's the somewhat mature one!" I exclaimed. Holmes began to braid my hair as I giggled at some of the memories that were left in my head.

"Really? Then why has Christine never dated anyone, and why does Kline move on so much?" he asked. I sighed.

"I don't know. They're weird? No, Kline just hasn't found the perfect guy yet, and is willing to hang out with her guy friends until she finds one. She has never really been out on a date. Christine just has friends. She doesn't want to date anyone yet. Says she's too young," I informed him.

"Does your mother think you're too young?"

"Yeah, but she likes you."

"It's nice to be liked."

"Especially by your girlfriend's parent."

"Are we really dating?" Holmes asked suddenly. I shrugged.

"I wouldn't think so. The occasional kiss, hug, and that is about it. I mean, really, think about it. Our idea of a good time is solving a case. And half of those cases have ended up with us in the hospital, moaning over each other," I reminded him. Holmes finished the braid and wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm sorry I can't be the traditional boyfriend," he said. I leaned against him and thought a moment.

"Um, if you were a normal boyfriend, I probably would have dumped you by now. No offense, or anything."

Nice one, Jenny. Just out right tell him you would have dumped him if he were normal. Good call, good call. You are really a genius.

"None taken, I assure you. If you were a normal girl, you would never have become my friend," he said in return. I spun around.

"Well, that is somewhat rude! Who were your friends before I met you, anyway? I haven't met any," I said jokingly. Holmes sighed and looked at the ground.

"It has taken you over a year to ask that? I had the Irregulars, Olivia for a while, and... that is it. What about you? Who were your friends besides Christine, Kline, Rachel, and Kelsey?"

"Jeremy Lyndon. I'm sure you remember him, you weren't very fond of him. I was also friends with a girl named Lisa. She was second chair clarinet at my school. We were constantly trying to beat each other at chairs, and every day we would race to class. We would try to get the first chair first. It didn't really matter to us about chairs, it was just fun. What about Lindsey? Aren't you friends with her?" I asked. Holmes laughed.

"The second chair violinist? Are you insane? She hates me!"

"I find that hard to believe."

"You wouldn't if you knew her."

"Yeah, I probably would. What?" I yelled. Someone had knocked on the door, and Kline opened it. She looked horrible.

"Sorry to interrupt your lovey-dovey conversation, but something happened that I think you should know about," she whispered. Holmes and I exchanged glances and ran after Kline.

We stopped in front of room number 310, on the next floor. Christine was busy comforting a hysterical girl, and seemed relieved to see us. She carefully pried the girl off of her.

"Jamie, could you tell my friends what happened?" she asked gently. The girl looked at us, and burst into a fresh wave of tears.

"I- I came up to Gina's room. I-I knocked a c-couple of times, but she d-didn't answer. I opened the d-door, thinking she might st-still be with Jackie, b-but she-- she was dead!" Jamie screamed. Holmes turned pale next to me and carefully opened the door to her room. I nearly threw up at the sight inside.

A girl lay just inside the door, her head shattered, with gray matter clinging to her clothes. Presumably, her brain.

*************************************************************************************************

"I think I'm going to be sick," Christine muttered as we ransacked the victims room. She had been left to go through the victims clothes. She was trying hard not to look at Gina- the dead girl- but we could still smell everything. Holmes looked up from the square inch of ground he was inspecting.

"Hurry up. The police will be here any minute. I want some evidence before they get here," he snapped. Christine frowned and continued to pick through her clothes.

Kline and I watched as those two did things. Kline had already finished inspecting the bathroom, closet, and hallway, and we had nothing to do. I tapped my foot impatiently, and then looked out the door.

The police were walking up the hall!

"Uh, hate to hurry this, but the police are going to be here in another minute!" I yelped. Christine jumped away from the body in an instant, and Holmes went faster. After another two seconds, he cried out in triumph, and pocketed something. Then the police knocked on the door.

"Police! Open up!" they yelled. Kline rolled her eyes and opened the door.

"We weren't hiding anything, you could have just come in," she mumbled darkly. The Scotland Yard official shoved her aside and stood facing Holmes. He scowled.

"Mr. Holmes. Fancy seeing you here. Tell me you aren't involved in this," he scowled. I realized then who the heck he was. It was Inspector Lestrade! The last time he had seen me, Holmes had pretty much passed me off as a prostitute. I quickly hid myself behind Kline.

"I'm sorry Inspector, I am not. My friends and I discovered the young lady who found her body," he snapped. Holmes pushed his way past Lestrade and left us to stare after him. I looked apologetically at Lestrade and then raced after him. Christine and Kline could fill out whatever paper work there needed to be done.

"Holmes! What did you find before Lestrade showed up?" I hissed as we went back into his room. He dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a microscopic piece of pink stuff.

"I found this. I have no idea what it is, but it doesn't belong there," he said, handing it to me. I squinted at it.

"Odd. Maybe Kline will know what it is. Or Christine," I added.

"Maybe I'll know what?" Kline asked from the doorway. Holmes waved her in.

"Where is Christine?" I asked, puzzled about why she wasn't with her other half.

"Oh, I left her to talk to that nimrod Lestrade. She knows all about that stupid paperwork, and I didn't want to do it," she said nonchalantly. Holmes nodded.

"Of course. We wanted to know if you knew what this is," Holmes said, handing her the small bit of fabric-y stuff. Kline squinted at it, and then held it further away. Finally, she sighed.

"Anybody got a magnifying glass?" she asked. I giggled at one of the memories I had from our last case with them, and shook my head. Kline caught my amused look, and looked hurt.

"You mean you don't wear my going away present?"

"Sorry, it seemed to slip my mind."

"Ah, well. It'll have to wait. Christine has one in her pocket."

"Maybe I don't want to give it to you," Christine said suddenly from behind me. "After all, you left me to deal with that idiot."

"Please? For the good of the case?" Kline pleaded. Christine rolled her eyes and tossed the magnifying glass to Kline.

"Look, I'm going to bed early, as I have a feeling we'll be up early tomorrow. Keep the glass, I'll get it tomorrow," Christine sighed. I nodded.

"I'd better get going too. Don't you two stay up too late, ok?" I scolded. Holmes nodded absent mindedly, and Kline didn't even respond. I sighed and left Holmes's room. It was going to be a long night.

Ok, pretty worthless chapter. But I had to add the case in soon enough. I'm thinking that the next chapter isn't going to happen, and that I'll just cram it into the other chapter I have planned. Yeah, the beginning of the next chapter will be a journal entry from Watson, explaining what the heck happened next. And the next chapter is called 'Dance of Death'. Please review, I'll be your friend forever if you do!