Andre sat on Tori's couch, as she tried to explain what had happened to her. He raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh. Once she was done, she looked at him, expecting a response. "I don't know Tori, do you really expect me to believe that Rex came to life and attacked you?"

"No," said Tori. "I'm not saying that Rex is alive. But what if Robbie did something to Rex? He could've made it so that Rex is remote-controlled now."

"Okay," said Andre. "I guess that's possible. Robbie's certainly smart enough to do that."

"Right," said Tori.

Andre chuckled. "So maybe Jade wasn't crazy after all."

"I know," said Tori, nodding her head. "It's just weird that Robbie would do something like that. It doesn't seem like him."

Andre shrugged. "Are you sure? He's played pranks on us in the past. This doesn't seem that different."

"I guess," said Tori, sitting down on the couch. She then turned to look at Andre. "Hey, did Beck ever talk to him about what happened with Jade?"

Andre shook his head. "Nope. He wasn't able to find Robbie."

"Interesting," said Tori. "What, was he just not at school?"

"No idea," said Andre. "I haven't seen him at all."

"Well have you tried texting him?" said Tori.

"No," said Andre. "Do you want me to?"

"Maybe," said Tori. "Actually no."

"Why not?" said Andre.

"Let's talk to him tomorrow," said Tori. "If we text him now, he'll be able to hide what he did before school."

"Hide what he did?" said Andre. "He's not some kind of criminal mastermind. He's just a kid playing pranks on his friends."

"I know," said Tori. "But there's something weird about what's been happening. Like, these feel like more than just pranks. You know what I mean?"

"Not really," said Andre. "Do you?"

"Not really," said Tori. "I don't know. I guess I'm trying to say that this thing feels real. Like Rex wasn't just a puppet. Like he was a real person."

"Tori," said Andre. "That's just the magic of theater. Robbie's good with that special effects stuff. I'm sure he found a way to make Rex seem real."

"I guess he could," said Tori. "It's still freaky."

"I'm sure it was," said Andre. "And tomorrow we'll tell Robbie to knock it off."

For some reason, Jade wasn't at school the next day. Tori was a little disappointed. She had hoped to tell Jade about her encounter with Rex. Tori had tried asking Beck where Jade was, but he was just as clueless as her. Before class, Tori met with Andre by her locker. "I mean, don't you find it weird that Jade's not at school today."

"Yeah, I do," said Andre. "But Jade's always been a bit dramatic."

"Sure, she can be dramatic at times," said Tori. "But have you ever known her to skip class because of a prank?"

"No one's ever really played a prank on her," said Andre. "Maybe that's why she's acting weird."

"What do you mean?" said Tori.

"This is the first time someone tried pranking her," said Andre. "She doesn't know how to react to it. That's why she's acting like she really got attacked by a puppet and why she's not coming to school today. She doesn't want to admit she got pranked and it really freaked her out."

"But that prank really freaked me out too," said Tori. "And I'm not ditching school."

"Yes," said Andre. "But you know how to react when you get pranked. This is new territory for Jade."

"Come on, Jade doesn't scare that easily," said Tori.

"True," said Andre. "That's why she's so shaken. If this is enough to scare Jade this much, it's got to be really scary."

"What's really scary?" Tori turned around to see Robbie standing behind her. She let out a scream. "Wow! Sure, I didn't have time to fix my hair today, but I don't think it was too bad."

"Robbie," said Andre. "We were just talking about you."

"Really?" said Robbie. "I hope you were saying good things about me."

"Yeah," said Tori. She looked Robbie over, taking special care to look for his puppet. She furrowed her brow. "Um Robbie, where's Rex?"

"Oh yeah," said Robbie. "I don't have him today."

Tori raised an eyebrow. "You don't have him today?"

"Yes," said Robbie. "That's what I said."

"Can I ask why?" said Tori.

"Sure," said Robbie. "He's with my cousin, Abe."

"Why's he with your cousin?" said Andre.

"Abe wants to be a ventriloquist, just like me," said Robbie. "I figured I'd let him have Rex for a bit so he can learn the basics."

"So um, I guess we won't be seeing Rex for a while," said Tori.

"Yeah," said Robbie. "But don't worry, I've got a replacement."

"A replacement?" said Andre. "Where is it?"

"Here." Robbie took off his backpack and reached inside it. He proceeded to pull out a ventriloquist puppet. Unlike Rex, this one looked more like a clown. It had a cone hat and a brightly colored suit. Robbie held it up. "Hey guys, say hi to Gunther."

"Hi Gunther," said Tori sheepishly.

"Hi Tori," said Gunther. "It is nice to meet you. It is so nice to meet people. I've been a bit cooped up lately, so it's nice to interact with other people."

"Sure," said Tori.

"Hey Robbie," said Andre.

"Yes," said Robbie.

"Your cousin Abe," said Andre. "Does he go here?"

"No," said Robbie. "He goes to East Hills High, but they're on Spring Break now."

"Interesting," said Andre.

"Why is that interesting?" said Tori.

"I'll tell you later," said Andre. "And your cousin, is he good with electronics?"

"Yeah," said Robbie. "How'd you know?"

"Just guessing," said Andre.

After school was over, Tori and Andre walked down the hallway. "See, I'm right. Abe was behind it."

"No," said Tori. "You don't have any proof."

"Sure I do," said Andre. "Fact number one. Abe's school is on spring break."

"Yeah," said Tori.

"Well that gives him the opportunity to prank you and Jade," said Andre.

"Okay yeah," said Tori. "But just because he has the opportunity, doesn't mean he's behind it."

"Fact number two," said Andre. "Abe is a whiz with electronics, at least according to Robbie."

"Yes," said Tori. "According to Robbie."

"Well that means he could've outfitted Rex so he can be remote controlled," said Andre. "Am I wrong?"

"Not necessarily," said Tori. "But maybe-"

"Fact number three," said Andre. "Robbie gave Abe Rex."

"Yes," said Tori.

"So," said Andre. "Abe has the opportunity to prank you and Jade, he has the skills to outfit Rex, and he has access to Rex. I think it's a closed case. Abe was the one behind those pranks."

"Maybe," said Tori. "It's a possibility. But I still think we should rule anything out. Robbie could still be behind it."

"I don't know," said Andre. "It seems more likely that Robbie's cousin did it."

"Are you sure?" said Tori.

"Yes I'm sure," said Andre. "It makes too much sense."

"Well then why is he pranking us?" said Tori.

"Because it's fun," said Andre.

"Sure," said Tori. "But he doesn't know us. Why would he try to prank complete strangers?"

"Are you sure?" said Andre. "Maybe Robbie told him about us. Or maybe he followed Robbie around to see who his friends are."

"Why?" said Tori. "Why does he care so much about pranking Robbie's friends?"

"Because he thinks Robbie will get blamed for it," said Andre. "And he was almost right. We'd be blaming Robbie for those pranks if it wasn't for my brain."

"If you say so," said Tori. The two continued down the hallway. As they walked past Sikowitz's classroom, Tori heard someone talking. She couldn't make out what was being said, but she turned around. She could see Robbie, standing by his locker. His locker was opened and Robbie seemed to be talking into it, or talking to someone who was inside it. "Robbie?"

Robbie jumped. He turned to Tori, his face pale. "Oh hi Tori."

"Hey Robbie," said Tori. "I heard you talking."

"Yeah. I was calling my mom." Robbie smiled nervously at Tori. Tori looked him over, noticing that she couldn't see a phone.

"Right," said Tori. She turned away from Robbie and continued with Andre.

A/N: I know some people will be disappointed by this ending. However, I'm of the opinion that horror should leave the readers asking questions. Hope you liked it.