Finally, Cat came back to school, much to the joy of her friends.

"You're back!" Andre exclaimed happily, hugging Cat. "What's up, Red Velvet?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cat yelled, taking a step back.

Andre frowned. "Uh, well, you're hair is red like a red velvet cupcake?"

"Oh!" Cat broke into a smile. "I love cupcakes! They're so cute with pink frosting swirled on top." She looked around the group as everyone stared at her, slightly confused.

"Anyway," said Robbie. "How's your brother?"

"Oh, he's good," replied Cat nonchalantly. "Still weird." She skipped over to the Wahoo Punch vending machine. "Did I miss anything important while I was gone?"

Now her friends were even more puzzled. "Uh, we had a test in history class," said Beck.

"And Sikowitz assigned us a big acting scene to learn. But he said he'd give you some extra days once you got back," Robbie added.

"Hey, why does Cat get extra treatment when we all worked harder than her? That's some unfair chizz!" Rex said. Everybody turned at stared at Robbie.

"Why is Rex being mean to me?" yelled Cat.

"I'm sorry! I can't control him!" said Robbie.

"Huh?" said Andre, frowning in confusion.

"You know he's just a puppet," Beck added.

"Don't call him that! It's an offensive term!"

"You guys are all creepy, and not the good kind," Jade said, and walked away, glaring. Beck shrugged and followed her, waving goodbye.

"Well, I gotta go too." Andre looked at Robbie, then at Cat. "See y'all around, I guess."

That left Robbie and Cat, alone for the first time in more than a month. "So," said Robbie, getting closer to Cat. "How are you?"

"Good," she replied cheerfully.

"You know, I uh, I've been bringing Rex around everywhere ever since you gave him to me. I really like him. I…I really—"

"That's awesome!" Cat interrupted, pleased that her plan from so long ago had worked so well. "I have to talk to my teachers about some missing work. Byyyyeeee!" She skipped away, unaware of Robbie's despair.

Robbie sighed. He was about to say "I really like you" before Cat interrupted, and he feared that now that Cat was acting differently, he might never get the chance. But it was probably for the best that he forget about her. She was too…Cat, and the whole situation with her brother had obviously changed her. It might be better to find some other girl to pine over, Robbie decided. No more longing for Cat.

Yet he couldn't help but have a little soft spot in his heart for Cat Valentine.

Months flew by, and before they knew it, it was May. The school year was almost over, and their freshman year almost completely conquered.

Cat, Robbie, Andre, Beck, and Jade had become the best of friends throughout the year. None of them had ever felt so close to anyone else, and even though they never spoke about it, they were all grateful to have each other.

"Let's swear to always be friends," Cat said one day, as they all sat together on the stairs in the main hall after school. "No matter what!"

"That's impossible," said Jade. "We can't all be friends forever."

"Who says?" replied Beck. Jade rolled her eyes and snuggled a little closer to him.

"Jade's kinda right," said Andre. "This is high school. We may be close now but we'll always meet new people and we can't all do the same stuff. We might grow apart in the next few years."

"But we have to try to stay friends!" insisted Cat.

"Yeah, we already have that whole ping-pong team thing," said Robbie. "It kind of binds us together for life."

"What? You mean I'm stuck with this chizz-bag for all of existence?" said Rex. Everyone grinned.

Suddenly, the front doors burst open and a girl wearing huge heels strutted in, followed quickly by a shorter, younger looking girl. The first girl, who also sported a flashy, neon blue tank top and shiny gold skinny jeans, barely turned her head to yell at the girl behind her. "Hurry up!"

"Well, slow down!" The second girl yelled back. She pushed some of her straight brown hair away from her face and groaned. "Why am I here again?"

"Because I have to clean out my locker and I need help carrying everything and all of my friends were too busy!"

"Yeah, I bet," the second girl muttered under her breath.

High-Heel Girl walked past the gang, her over-powering perfume nearly gagging them all.

"Who was that?" Andre asked, coughing.

"Trina Vega," answered Beck. "She's a sophomore."

"She was a teacher's aid for our English class," added Jade. "But she was so annoying the teacher made her leave after the very first day. She kept trying to do a pedicure and putting her feet on the teacher's desk."

"Wow," said Robbie, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah."

The girl who followed Trina in was completely lost. "Trina?" she called. "Ugh, why did I let her drag me here?" the girl said to herself as she looked around the hall.

"She's kind of pretty," Robbie said. "From a distance, at least. I can't really see her face." Andre agreed.

Beck opened his mouth, but Jade cut him off before he could speak. "Don't even think about contributing to this conversation." She picked up his arm and put it around her shoulders.

"She went that way!" Cat called to the girl, pointing up the stairs.

She didn't even glance at any of them as she ran by. "Thanks," she muttered, then, "Trinaaaaa!"

Andre, Robbie, Cat, Beck, and Jade all looked at each other.

"Huh," said Andre. "Wonder who that was."