That's a double chapter for you.. with lyrics by Counting Crows... thanks to LAeyeball for the beta.. if i missed something u corrected... sorry! Please let me know what you think...?

LK

She don't want nobody near
But you can't get away from that
They appear and disappear
And they all get a string attached
Pretty soon they got you hanging on a line
Pretty soon they're singing one by one the same old rhyme
They say, "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight"

She don't want nobody home
Cause it's a little too crowded then
But she don't wanna be alone
So they just keep pouring in
Pretty soon they have her heading for the door
She comes home to find that they're not hanging round no more
She says, "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight"
Don't you wonder what she looks like in the light?
She says, "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight"

''Milgram took each one of the volunteers in a room. He introduced them to another candidate, who for the sake of the program was an actor. He picked 'randomly' one...'' Sabrina used her fingers as quotation marks. ''... to take part in the role play as the 'student'. The other one would be the 'teacher', testing a new teaching method.'' She looked around class to see if anyone was paying attention. It seemed that indeed a few pairs of eyes were on her. ''The 'student' got hooked up in a electro-shocking machine with maximum 450V, that is lethal. The teacher asked a set of given, pre-arranged questions to ask, and when the student was wrong he would push a button and the 'student' would receive a shock from 15V, increasing by 15V on every wrong answer.'' She looked around the girls sitting in the room. ''Who would like to make a guess about the percentage in a hundred scale of people who pushed the lethal 450V button?''

A few hands rose and Sabrina nodded at the girl she stumbled upon a couple of nights ago. She lifted an eyebrow questioningly. The girl smiled nervously. ''Alice, my name is Alice.''

''So, tell me Alice, what is your guess?''

''I would say...half?''

''Half percent?''

''Half of the people, fifty percent.''

Sabrina smiled. ''Are you sure? Sounds like a large number.''

A blond girl in front of Alice laughed. ''Naw, impossible. I would say two, two out of a hundred.''

''Nobody asked your opinion Amy!'' barked a muscular girl from the back of the class. ''Stop interrupting everybody!''

Sabrina coughed to get their attention and lifted up her hands. ''Hey, hey simmer down people!'' She flashed another smile for the sake of peace, but a wave of nausea was starting to hit her. She cleared her throat loudly. ''This same question was asked through a poll, and the results were about four percent, close to Amy's opinion. So what does this fact tell us?'' She pointed at Alice again. ''That Amy thinks as an average person would think?''

Sabrina nodded. ''Exactly. Amy shares the same opinion as the average person.'' She paced around the desks. ''The 'student' and 'teacher' were placed in different rooms and they could only hear, and on some variations of the experiment see each other. What they didn't know of course was that there was no electrical shock given, which they learned after the experiment. During it though many of the subjects asked to stop, or questioned the purpose of this. Milgram gave them a succession of verbal prods in the following order. 1,Please continue. 2, The experiment requires that you continue 3, It is absolutely essential that you continue. 4, You have no other choice, you must go on. '' She leaned back on the wall. ''What do you observe about these phrases?'' The muscular girl in the back leaned forward with interest. Sabrina nodded to her direction. ''Name?''

''I'm Hope.'' She tapped her desk with her pencil. ''The commands are gradually getting more intense. It starts with a polite pleading and ends in a command that must be followed.''

''Very good.'' The girls stood quiet for a while, waiting for Sabrina to speak. ''After these four gradual , as Hope said, prods, if the subject still insisted to leave the experiment would halt. Otherwise it would halt after the subject had pushed the 450V button three times in a row. The question is, out of the random people that took part in this experiment unknowingly, how many would in a real life situation kill someone under the orders of an authority figure, such as Milgram was in this experiment? The answer is approximately 65%. 65% of you in this class are able to obey an extreme authority figure command and give a lethal shock to someone. 65% of us.''

''Where are you taking this miss Reyes?'' Hope asked, perplexed.

''I am giving to this experiment as an example of what happened during World War II, during the Nazism.'' Sabrina paced around again. ''I can't deny that many of the Nazi soldiers and general were psychopathic sadists, that found the war as an excuse but I'm trying to show you how dangerous a respected authority, like Hitler is.'' She paused and wondered what was everybody thinking. ''Hitler might have been a psychopath, and a sociopath to a great extent but he was a strong and smart leader.'' Alice raised her hand, but Sabrina waved at her to stop. ''Don't take me wrong, I'm not complimenting the murdered of so many people, I am merely commenting on the facts. I also cannot deny that many of the Nazi soldiers and generals were people living a life like you and me, but under the absolute commands of an extremist like Hitler they were transformed into killing machines. At some point they became victims of their psychopathic leader. Hitler carefully brainwashed them, and turned them against other people, because he needed to blame someone. It was the Jews, the Coloured, the homosexuals, the Roma, the Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses, Soviet prisoners, prostitutes, and generally people who stood out from the crowd, the perfection Hitler was demanding. What I'm trying to say is, that under the right circumstances anyone has the potential to become one of the Nazi soldiers, using it of course as a metaphor. Alice raised her hand again.

''Yes?'' Sabrina asked.

''Excuse me, miss Reyes, are you defending the Nazis?!'' she asked with a hint of anger in her voice.

''I most certainly am not Alice. I am warning you of the possibilities, so that you keep them in mind and you watch out your moves around cults and groups very carefully, so that you won't be transformed into something you wouldn't like, and so that your free will won't be taken away from you.'' Sabrina took a step back, worrying that her words had been misunderstood. The bell rang. Ha, Sabrina thought, saved by the bell. ''Alice I would like you to write a paragraph about why you thought the percentage would be so high, and you Amy I would like you to write a paragraph as well, explaining why you thought the percentage would be so small. We will compare notes in class tomorrow. The rest of you gonna write a paragraph about your view in Milgram's experiment and what it means for you personally. Use your head and your own words, I'm not a literature teacher!'' She laughed. She watched as Alice got up and sighed. Approaching slowly, she noticed that the girl put her hand on her hip. Sabrina raised her hands, signaling peace. ''I'm not here to argue,but I am interested in your opinion. Have I said something that offended you?'' She said when the room was empty. She pulled a chair for herself and sat down. Alice took a seat opposite to her and hunched, her elbow resting on her knee, fingertips on her forehead. ''Everything, everything you said miss Reyes...I... I do not... I cannot understand how can you defend these people!'' Her chin suddenly lunched upwards and she bit her lower lip.

''You're wrong, I'm not defending anybody.'' At this point Sabrina decided that physical contact wasn't the best option. ''What is going Alice?''

''Yes you are! You damn well are! And you don't even know what the hell you're talking about! Or you may be even one of them! I-''

''Hey, slow down here, I know that-''

''You know what?! You think because I'm black, I'm stupid?! I can see what you're doing here!''

''Okay, stop, stop this now and listen to me. I never meant it this way.'' She patted her pockets for a pack of tissues. She handed it to Alice. ''I am not one of them. And I never meant to defend them. I am stating the possibility, and believe me I would hate to see one of you in here become a close minded brainwashed idiot.'' She raised her hands awkwardly as the petite girl started sobbing. ''Listen, listen-''

''You can't... you can't talk about these people like this...'' She paused to look up at Sabrina. ''You can't... you... can't...'' Her shoulder's hunched even more and her right hand came up and covered her right shoulder, as a defense reflex. Sabrina frowned and gently put her right hand over hers. Slowly she pulled back her T-shirt a little, revealing a burn scar shaped as a swastika on top of left shoulder. ''Who did this to you?'' she said slowly, recognising the shape from Hazel's body.

Alice shook her head. ''I don't know...''

Before Sabrina could ask her the door slammed open and Hope walked in. ''Hey!'' She was easily a six feet six tall and Sabrina immediately got up. Hope took a few wide steps to their direction. ''Leave Alice alone! Like what people have done to her isn't enough! Go away from her!'' Sabrina, for one more time during the past hour raised her hands up, trying to show she wasn't hostile. ''Hey, we're just talking, can you please back up here?! We need some privacy, so I would appreciate it if you-'' her last words were muffled as Hope took another few steps clearing the distance separating them and punched her in the face. Her hand reached for her nose and she felt a steady stream of blood. Her eyes opened wide as she received another blow that send her rolling on the ground covering her face. Alice jumped up and pushed Hope back, tears drying on her face.

''Hope!'' She shoved her back but the taller girl did not move. ''Hope it's alright! You didn't need to punch her!'' She shouted.

Sabrina pushed herself up with a lot of effort. The past few days had gotten to her. Not sleeping, not eating, and there was this constant need of the addiction that gradually worn her off during the day. She groaned but didn't say anything. I kinda deserved that... but for other reasons...she thought. Alice took her stance as hostile though and shoved her back. ''Don't hit her!'' she screamed to Sabrina this time.

''Din't blan do...'' she, her voice muffled by her hands. Hope made a step forward but Alice pushed her back and got between them.

''Stop! Cut it out you two!''

Sabrina made a grimace. ''I dibn't do anyfing!'' She grabbed the tissue pack and quickly pushed one against her nose. ''Not fair!''

Hope snorted crossed her arms on her chest. Alice looked at her accusingly. ''Go...go! Get out of here!'' Sabrina waved at her the same. ''Go!'' She replaced the tissue with another and tossed it in the waste bin. Alice followed her. ''Miss Reyes I'm sorry, I'm very sorry about this-''

Sabrina sat down, suddenly a bit dizzy. ''It's alright, it's okay, it's okay...''

''Me and Hope... we're here with a scholarship, we can't afford the school, and if we get kicked out of here-''

''You won't okay?!'' Sabrina's eyes wandered on Alice's face. ''You won't. What happened stays between us.''

Alice waited a little while, to make sure that she was serious and then abruptly hugged her. Sabrina groaned and kept her bloody hands away from her back. ''Oof...Okay, okay, let go of me now...C'mon...''

''Th-Thank you miss Reyes! Thank you so much thank you-''

''Not here, not now. Tonight at eight... come to my room. We need to talk.''

Alice opened her mouth to say something but Sabrina stopped her. ''Nobody will learn about this. I won't tell anyone. Tell Hope she doesn't need to worry okay?'' Alice nodded and turned to leave. Sabrina stopped her at the door. ''You got a very good friend here Alice.''

They exchanged a small smile and Sabrina closed the door.

Oh my God I don't want the teacher cover ever, ever again...

Kelly was waiting patiently outside the bathroom door. She could admit that the sounds of Sabrina being sick behind the door made her slightly nauseous too. She knocked. ''You okay?''

She heard the tap, water streaming, then silence for a few seconds. The door unlocked and Sabrina walked out, eyes gleaming. She exhaled heavily, walked to the arm chair and allowed her knees to buckle. ''Gawd...''

Kelly shook her head and offered her a bottle of cold water. She gratefully accepted it. A few breathless gulps lated she managed to speak. ''Sorry...''

The other woman pulled a chair next to her friend. ''I don't know how you gonna go on like this. You need to eat something.''

Sabrina waved her hand. ''I know, I know...'' She coughed. ''Mmm...''

Kelly frowned, her eyes seemingly penetrating Sabrina's forehead and reading her thoughts. She followed the taller woman's gaze to the closet behind her and then up to the ceiling. ''Where is it?'' Kelly asked.

''Where is what?''

''You know what.'' Kelly rose to her feet.

Sabrina sighed. ''I left it in LA.''

Kelly sighed herself. ''Oh come on Bri...'' She walked to the closet and opened it. She started patting around clothes and drawers. Sabrina groaned. ''Okay, okay. Bottom drawer.'' Kelly quickly retrieved the small plastic packet containing a white powdery substance. She shoved it in her pocket, watching as Sabrina made a small move to protest but sunk deeper in the armchair after all. She laid her head back and closed her eyes. ''This stays with me.'' Kelly announced.

Sabrina reached for the water bottle again and emptied it. It felt good. She checked her watch. Seven. She was trying to get up when both of them heard a muffled shot echo through their floor. Kelly was the first one to jolt into action, opening the door and running to the direction of the shot. Sabrina, with a small delay, was right behind her, as they both ran, Kelly in a blue waitress skirt that was making it extremely hard to move around in ease, and Sabrina in faded blue and red teddy-bear pajamas, that under other circumstances Kelly would stop and laugh at. But right now they were both running towards what they knew was Kris' room. Unfortunately Kelly wasn't as graceful in her high heels and she tripped into the corridor carpet and next was Sabrina who didn't manage to stop in time. They both tumbled on each other and rolled on the uneven floor for a while, before Kris' door opened and light seeped out the dark corridor. The edge of the door caught Kelly on the eyebrow. She picked herself up and burst into the room, falling on Kris this time, who shoved a gun in her side. ''Hey, HEY!'' Kelly shouted and the blond girl threw the small revolver on her bed. ''Oh my God Kelly!'' The pulled away from each other and turned to Sabrina, who was still picking herself from the floor. She pointed at them, keeping one hand on the wall to support herself. ''Are you two crazy?!'' She pointed at Kris. ''And are you OK?!'' Kelly moved inside the apartment and sniffed the air.

''What's that smell?'' Then she noticed the blood on the floor. ''Seriously Kris?''

Sabrina followed Kris inside and shook her head. ''A rat? You shot a rat?!''

''Hey!'' Kris threw her hands in the air. ''It suddenly ran out of my closet! What was I supposed to do?!''

Sabrina snorted and bent over the dead form of the rodent. She pretended to pull a recorder from her pocket. ''Victim is young, early twenties...'' She took a step backwards. ''Male, carried no personal effects...'' Kelly laughed and slapped Sabrina's shoulder as a warning. ''Don't pick at her!'' She turned to Kris. ''I surely don't want to play hide and seek in your closet again!''

Kris frowned. ''You play hide and seek in my house?'' Kelly opened her mouth to find an excuse but she didn't have any. She smiled awkwardly. Sabrina shrugged. ''Naw, not always, only when Kelly is very drunk and I'm trying to make her put some clothes on... '' She stopped and laughed when Kelly stomped on her foot. ''What?!'' Kris shouted at them. ''When we get home you both are giving me your keys to my place!'' Sabrina whistled innocently and opened the closet. She looked at Kris. ''Is this your hat?'' she asked.

Kris took a steps to the closet. ''Yeah, why?''

''Looks like it's someone's home now...'' she took the large hat out and laid it down on the bed. ''Heh!''

''Are these...alive?'' Kelly pointed to the small pink bundles inside.

Sabrina picked one and held it in her palm. It moved. ''Rat babies! Always wanted one!''

Kris pushed the hat in Sabrina's free hand. ''Tell you what then, you go play with them, just take them OUT of my room!''

''Yay!'' Sabrina cheered and quickly left the room, before Kelly and Kris realised they had been left to clean the rest.

''Hey!'' Kelly protested, but she was already gone. She sighed. The revolver was small and all the girls were outside, so nobody else had heard anything. While cleaning up, it was time to exchange information. She let Kris know about what Sabrina had found in the autopsy. It looked like many things had happened during the day she and Bri were gone.

''So, April didn't return from visiting her parents at the arranged day. The principal called the parent's and, surprise, they had never invited their daughter.''

''So April has been missing for a week already? No body found?''

''Exactly. The worst is that this morning, another girl, Serena Walter went missing.'' She paused to look around for a mop. ''She's in Sabrina's class...was.''

''Ugh...'' Kelly said, but Kris wasn't sure if it was about the girl or because Kelly was having trouble stuffing the rat inside the bag.

''This girl Alice, will be meeting with Bri?''

''Yeh, she plans to tell her she's private eye.'' She started scrubbing the wood floor with warm soapy water. ''Don't know if it's a wise move.'' She wiped some sweat away from her eyes. ''After all the girls private titan friend punched Sabrina's lights out this morning...''

''Whoa...'' Kris said. ''Hope?''

''Yeah, that girl, how did you know?''

''Not hard to guess from your description...Hey Kelly?''

The other woman stopped what she was doing, sensing that her friends words were serious. ''What is it?''

''What's wrong with Bri?''

''Jet-lag.'' She lied.

''Oh-Kay...''

The both looked up simultaneously when they heard a distinct crying.

Pretty whitewashed lies
Endless alibis
And reasons that need cleaning every night
Half a world away
You can't wash away the stain of the deceiving
And the things that you cannot believe, and well...

She don't want no one around
Cause she don't want anybody to see
What she looks like when she's down
Cause that's a really sad place to be
Pretty soon she gets them crawling up the walls
Then she wonders why they beg her please to never call
She says, "I'm OK. It's , look who's on TV
tonight"
She says, "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight"
Don't you wonder why it's dark outside at night?
She says, "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight"