4. Please Show Me Another Way.

Jade kept her head up and her eyes away from the stares of the students who had clearly grown used to her absence, opening her locker as forcefully as possible.

"Oh! Jade!" a voice suddenly said. Jade turned slowly, looking into the face of the one person she constantly hoped she'd never see again.

"What?" Jade snapped.

"Well, you're a vampire, right?" Trina Vega said. She leaned in and whispered. "Do I smell like blood?"

There was a moment of silence between them — Trina waiting expectantly, Jade incredulously disgusted.

"Yes," Jade drawled finally. "You smell like bilious, rancid, clotted blood."

Trina's eyes widened and she scurried away. Jade, smirking smugly (she'd been looking for a way to use 'bilious' in everyday conversation), went a few minutes early to her first class, slamming a stack of missing assignments down on the teacher's desk.

"Ms West," the teacher said, surprised. "You're back."

"Yeah, I'm back and I'm not in prison and I did all of these horribly uncreative assignments for you," Jade retorted.

"Thank you," the teacher said awkwardly, but Jade had already turned to take her regular seat. She fiddled with her phone, pretending she had someone to text, as the rest of her peers started filing into the classroom in groups of two or three.

"You know Rex is just a puppet," a voice suddenly said to her right. She glanced to see Andre sitting beside her. "No one really thinks of you that way — wicked witch and all that."

"You were pretty quick to believe I was a criminal," Jade said coolly. "What was it you said? 'She might've just… I dunno, lost it.'"

"I… I didn't mean that you—"

"Yes you did."

Andre looked down at his textbook awkwardly, clicking his pen. He couldn't think of anything to say after that.

Jade wasn't back with the entire Scooby Gang again until Improv class, the last period before lunch. If Jade was being honest with herself, which she hardly ever was, she was dreading this class the most. The man who called her a 'gank' on the record in court and would probably win the "most likely to bring up awkward moments from the past" award was not someone she was quite ready to confront. But now was not the time for hiding, so when the melodic bell rang and the students milling (or dancing) in the halls began to move toward class, Jade walked confidently to her usual seat and stared a hole in the wall as everyone else crowded in.

"Listen, Jade," a timid voice began awkwardly. Jade's head snapped toward Robbie, who was clutching Rex like a lifeline, standing above her. "I-I'm sorry about what Rex said this morning, he didn't mean t—"

"Leave," Jade growled. Robbie squeaked slightly and sank into his chair. Jade heard a familiar sigh of exasperation from behind her. She glared, eyes narrowed, at Beck over her shoulder. "And what's your problem?"

He just shook his head with a weary eye-roll. Dissatisfied, Jade turned forward again with a tut.

"My young thespians!" a voice suddenly shouted and Sikowitz, carrying a crate of coconuts, walked backward into the room. He pivoted rather gracefully to face his students. "Ah, Jade. I thought I sensed an extra dollop of bitterness this morning!"

Jade smiled sardonically.

"Jade West," Sikowitz said dramatically. "To the stage!"

He swung his arm to point to the front of the classroom. Jade rolled her eyes, but was secretly pleased to have been chosen first. She stood on the stage and looked at her teacher, waiting.

"Sit," Sikowitz had stacked his coconuts into a little pyramid on one of the empty chairs and flipped the crate upside down onto the stage, "on this."

Jade smirked and settled herself on the wooden box.

"And now, Misterrrrrrr…." Sikowitz's eyes swept the room. "Ah! Mister Tori."

"Um," was all Tori could say before Sikowitz continued.

"Now Tori, you will walk out of that door, and," the coconut lover produced a straw hat, "you will draw a line out of this hat. Then you and Jade shall improvisationalize a scene based on that opening line. Capisce?"

"You mean improvise, right?" Andre interrupted.

"Hush, child," Sikowitz said in a Southern accent, fanning himself with the straw hat like a southern belle. Slips of paper fell out and floated to the floor. "I have a delicate constitution and must not be contradicted."

That successfully rendered everyone speechless. Sikowitz, his eyes gleaming, put the hat under Tori's nose and waved it enticingly. Tori carefully plucked a slip of paper from the hat and unfolded it. The teacher gestured toward the door, shutting it as soon as Tori was outside. Then he reopened the door and waved her back in.

"'Don't underestimate yourself,'" Tori said, reading from the paper.

"I'm not underestimating myself," Jade responded from her perch on the coconut crate, sweeping her hair over her shoulder. "I never do, which is why I know exactly what is going to happen."

"You never know until you try!" Tori countered, sitting on the floor next to Jade onstage.

"On the contrary. There's no reason to try when you know what the outcome will be."

"Excellent!" Sikowitz interrupted. "Now, Robbie, onstage!"

Robbie laid Rex aside and joined Jade and Tori. Sikowitz threw the straw hat to him like a frisbee. Robbie caught the hat by crushing it against his chest, sending more papers flying.

"Read another line and continue with the scene," Sikowtiz whisper-shouted, cupping his hand at the side of his mouth. Robbie nodded and picked a paper off the floor.

"'You know that's not what she meant,'" Robbie read.

"Yes it is!" Jade retorted.

"No it isn't!" Tori argued.

"Then what did you mean?"

"I meant that…that…." Tori stalled for a moment as she thought of her next line.

Sikowitz made a sound like a buzzer on a game show.

"Yerrrr out!" he shouted, pointing at Tori then jerking his thumb toward the back of the room.

"What? I didn't even know we could be out!" Tori protested.

"Well you can. Beck, take Mister Tori's place," Sikowitz ordered while Tori slumped back in her seat. Beck sat next to Jade's crate-seat.

"Aaaaaaaand—" Sikowitz paused. "Action! From your line, Robbie."

"You know that's not he meant," Robbie said.

"Then what did he mean?" Jade turned to look down at Beck pointedly.

"I meant—"

A phone rang suddenly, echoing slightly in the room that fell silent.

"Fire!" Sikowitz exclaimed, gathering up his coconuts into his arms.

"It was a cellphone, Sikowitz," Tori comforted.

"Who's?" the teacher's voice was suddenly dangerous.

—"Jade's."

—"Mine."

Jade glared at Beck, who had spoken at the same time.

"You don't know it was mine," she snarled.

"You just said it was."

"You said it before I said it!"

"We said it at the same time!"

"No, you started saying it first!"

"I know your ringtone!"

"How?"

"Are you kidding me? We dated for three years!"

"Ugh, don't remind me."

"God, you're insane."

"I'm insane? I'm insane?! You are such a hypocri—"

"Jade," Sikowitz interrupted. "Who is calling you?"

Jade pulled her phone out of her pocket and shrugged, not recognizing the number.

"They'll leave a message. If they're brave enough."

"Okay then, return to thine acting, young thespians."

Are we no more than parts in a play

Letting other people, strangers say our lines?

Okay this one's a little bit longer, with a little bit of Bade banter (one of my favorite things). Chapter 5 right now is really short, but I'm going to try and lengthen it today. After that the chapters are pretty steadily longer (Ch 8 is like 1600 words). Anyway, let me know what you think! A guest reviewer requested maybe a Bat conversation, and I wrote it in yesterday! It's not until like Chapter 14 though, so...sorry. Okay. Longer chapters soon! Love you all.