---------------

"Who's she?" the other Josie asked.

The group turned as one to the speaker. "Who are you?" Z ventured to the newcomer.

The other Josie snorted. "It's me, Emma. Who's she?" she repeated, pointing at Josie.

They all turned back to face Josie, again with confused expressions on their faces. Josie looked up at them all, feeling just a little more than scared… Apprehension filled her, and she nervously took a step back.

"I'm Josie… I already told you that…"

They all shared significant glances with each other, before turning back to Josie.

"Sure you are kid," Marshall said to her, with a light grin. He turned back to the other Josie… Emma. "She's probably your stunt double, just trying to get into character."

Emma moved up to come face to face with Josie. "They sure did a good job in picking you out… You really do look like me." She laughed slightly. "I heard that everyone in the world has a twin. Guess it's true."

"The resemblance is remarkable," Z commented. "But there probably are some differences."

"Yea," Corrine replied, peering at Josie. "Like, with her hair done that way, her face looks a little rounder than yours Em, but that can probably be fixed in make up."

"Okay," Josie cried out, waving her hands around and backing up. "Could you stop staring at me like I'm on display? I don't know what's going on, and I don't know who you are, but I've had enough! Could someone just tell me what's going on and where I am? Please!"

Lucas moved in front of her, a challenging look on his face. "Okay, why don't we start with you? Where are you from, and who are you? And don't say Josie, coz we know you're not."

Josie took a deep breath to calm herself. "I am Josie. My name is Josie P. Trent. And no, I'm not telling you what the P. stands for. I go to Blake Holsey High, commonly known as Black Hole High. I was sucked into a wormhole, and ended up here. Now will you tell me what's going on?"

Z laughed slightly. "I think someone's a little obsessed with the show guys. Come on, we've got to get going. Security can deal with her."

Josie grabbed his arm before he could walk off. "What show?" she asked forcefully. "Where am I? What year is this?"

Z turned back to her. "Okay, since you really want to know. This is the set of 'Strange Day's at Blake Holsey High'. We're all actors," he replied, gesturing to himself and the others. "It's 2003, and you're in Canada. Explain all?"

Josie shook her head. "No… No… What you're saying can't be true." She started to pace. "You're telling me, that Black Hole High is a tv show? That my life is a tv show?"

Vaughn raised one eyebrow. "Look guys, she's obviously some nutter from the local loony bin who's escaped. Her reality is all messed up, look at her. She's crazy." He waved one hand in her direction.

Josie stopped pacing and turned to face him, red hot anger rising within. "Don't you ever call me crazy! I'm not crazy. I know what I know, and I know that none of this," she gestured around her, "can be real. It's all a dream and I'll wake up any minute now… I'll be in science class, listening to you… Professor Z… explaining something about anything, and Lucas… You… will be poking me with a pencil, while Corrine," she turned to face Corrine, "will be trying to wake me up. That's all this is. A dream."

She nodded emphatically, as if trying to convince herself it was all a dream. Then she closed her eyes and screwed up her face, wishing hard that she was back at school.

"Why don't you try tapping your heels and saying 'There's no place like home'," she heard Vaughn laugh.

Someone pinched her arm, and she jumped, opening her eyes. She looked beside her and saw herself standing there, trying not to laugh.

"Okay, so it's not a dream." Josie started to pace again. "Okay, look, I'm going to need your help if I'm going to get home…" She started to think as she continued pacing.

"Look," Z said, "why don't we start at the beginning. This is obviously not getting us anywhere," he said as he looked around the group. "She obviously believes she's Josie Trent, so we might as well play along for now."

Josie whirled on him. "I am Josie Trent," she said vehemently. "And you don't have to 'play along' as you put it. I'm sure I can figure out how to get home without your help."

"Except," Lucas said. "You need our help… We could have you kicked off the lot for being an imposter. Remember?"

She sighed and bounced on her heels. "Fine," she replied defensively. "So help me, why don't you?"

"How can we help you, unless we know your story?" Corrine asked calmly.

"Okay… As I said before, I'm Josie Trent. I go to Black Hole High. This morning I got into trouble thanks to Lucas," she turned and glared at him. He looked at her in confusion and spread his hand apart, to imply that he had no idea what she was talking about.

"You… Lucas… dared me to do something in science class, and I took the dare… and accidentally turned Schroeder purple. Schroeder's our science class rat," she explained. "Obviously you…Z… didn't take it too well, and you called me into your office. I was just leaving when the black hole opened, I got sucked in, and I found myself here. All I can guess is that I'm in some alternate reality…"

The situation finally began to dawn on her, and a wave of panic hit her. "An alternate reality where my life is a tv show, and the black hole doesn't exist!" Josie laughed dryly. "Which means you guys have no idea how to find me, or where to look, and I may never get home."

Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. "This is just great. Stupid wormhole," she muttered under her breath.

She looked around the group who were staring at her like she was mentally challenged. "Look, I realize how this may sound to you… I do, truly. But I swear I am who I say I am… And I am from an alternate time line." She shook her head as she realized just how crazy she must have sounded to these people who looked like her friends but who weren't. "Okay… I just realized I don't even know your real names… All I know you as is Corrine, Vaughn, Lucas, Marshall and Z."

Z nodded, with a possible sympathetic glance at her. "Well, I'm Jeff, and obviously I play Professor Z… Who you know as Lucas is Michael, Corrine is Shadia, Vaughn is Robert and Marshall is Noah. Obviously you've already met Emma." He stopped for a moment to take in the remarkable resemblance between the two girls, before shaking his head and continuing. "Now, what can we do to help?"

Josie shook her head helplessly. "I don't know. This is a tv show, this is all fake," she cried out, gesturing around her. "There'll be no black hole under your office, because your office doesn't even exist. I don't know what to do. Or how to get back."

She looked up at the others, urging them to believe her with her mind. She just hoped that they weren't going to have her committed. She'd never get back home then.

---------------