A/N - This is just a bit of a fun filler chapter to add slower pacing to the Cade progression.

The next day the bell rang, echoing down the hallways of Hollywood Arts, as students trickled into the theatre classroom. Jade walked in with her usual scowl, taking her seat near the back of the room. She tossed her bag on the floor and crossed her arms, leaning back into the chair. Tori, Andre and Cat were there already, chatting between themsleves. Beck strolled in shortly after, sitting beside his ex, while Robbie stumbled through the door, Rex firmly in his grasp. It seemed that they were the only ones in class today, she assumed the shruggers had once again been told to leave early by Sikowitz.

At the front of the room, Sikowitz stood barefoot, dressed in his usual Hawaiian shirt, holding a coconut in one hand. His wild, frizzy hair seemed even more unkempt than usual, and there was a slightly crazed glint in his eye. Whatever today's lesson was going to be, it was bound to be weird.

"Alright, my little artistic weirdos!" Sikowitz shouted, raising his arms dramatically as if conducting an orchestra. "Today, we dive deep into the very essence of our art form!"

Jade rolled her eyes. "Oh, great. Another one of Sikowitz's 'deep dives.'"

"Shh!" Tori hissed. "This could be fun."

Jade shot her a look. "Do you ever learn?"

Sikowitz paced back and forth at the front of the classroom, spinning the coconut in his hand like a basketball. "Today, we explore method acting once again!" He threw the coconut into the air, and somehow it managed to land perfectly on the desk behind him.

Andre raised an eyebrow. "Didn't we do something like this last month? When you made us act as different animals?"

"No interruptions!" Sikowitz said, cutting him off, his eyes wide with excitement. "You will eat, breathe, and live as these characters until the end of class. Whoever breaks character first…" He paused for dramatic effect, eyes darting around the room. "Will have to drink the coconut milk!"

Everyone groaned. No one really knew what was in that milk, but the rumour was that it had aged for an unspecified number of years in Sikowitz's refrigerator. The few students who'd been forced to drink it in past lessons hadn't been the same since.

"Alright, let's get to it!" Sikowitz exclaimed, pulling out a hat filled with slips of paper. "Today, you won't be playing historical figures or fairy-tale characters." He paused, letting the suspense build, as if anyone was really on the edge of their seat. "You'll be method acting as... each other!"

Jade sat up straight, her eyes narrowing. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" Sikowitz grinned, twirling the hat in his hand. "Each of you will draw a name from this hat, and you will embody that person's essence for the remainder of the class."

Robbie looked scared at this. "Wait, so you're saying I could end up playing… Jade?"

Sikowitz nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! And Jade could end up as Cat, or Andre as Tori! You must live and breathe the person you draw until the end of the lesson, with absolute authenticity. Alright! Let's begin!"

One by one, they stood and walked to the front of the class, drawing slips of paper from the hat. Tori went first, she unfolded her piece of paper and immediately chuckled. "I got Jade."

Jade leaned back, crossing her arms. "Good luck with that."

Andre grabbed his next. "I got Beck," he said, glancing over at Beck with a shrug. "Guess I gotta act super chill all the time."

Beck smiled. "Think you can handle it?"

Cat bounced up to take her turn, grabbing a slip and reading it out loud. "I'm Robbie!" She immediately mimicked holding Rex, leaning in close. "Rex, why are you so mean to me?"

Robbie, looking mortified, held Rex a little tighter. "Uh, that's not how I talk to him."

"Not in public," Rex quipped.

Beck drew his next and unfolded the slip. "I got Cat," he said, a little grin appearing on his face. "This is gonna be... energetic."

Robbie stood up and took his turn, glancing at his slip. "I'm Tori!"

Tori smiled brightly at him. "Better bring your A-game."

Finally, it was Jade's turn. With a heavy sigh, she walked to the front and pulled out her paper. She looked down at it and groaned. "I'm… Rex?"

Everyone burst into laughter, even Robbie.

"Why is the puppet included in this?!" She yelled to Sikowitz who simply raised his hands in mock surrender.

"The hat decided not me!" He replied, taking a long hard sip of milk. "Rex will be Andre!"

"I'm not a part of this stupid game." The puppet replied, Sikowitz choosing to ignore it. "Good luck being me, West!" Rex sneered.

Jade glared at the puppet. "If I wanted cheap comebacks from a lifeless object, I'd ask my shoes for advice."

Sikowitz clapped his hands, utterly amusedby the energy in the room. "Now, remember! You must fully embrace the essence of the person you're playing. The best performance wins bragging rights, while the worst… drinks the coconut milk."

Everyone cringed at the mention of the infamous coconut milk.

Jade, muttering under her breath, sat back down and gave Rex a deadpan stare. She imitated his smug tone. "Yeah, I'm Rex. I think I'm so cool even though I'm made of fabric and my entire personality is being mean to people because I'm a representation of Robbie's insecurities."

The group laughed, and Rex shot back, "That's the worst impression I've ever heard. And I'm not insecure—I'm just better than everyone."

"Sure," Jade said, waving her hand dismissively. "That's why you project through him all the time Robbie."

Robbie, clearly uncomfortable, mumbled, "Hey, leave me out of this."

Tori, meanwhile, was fully in her "Jade" mode. She crossed her arms and leaned back, trying her best to look intimidating. "I hate everyone, and if one more person sings near me, I'll make them regret it," she said in a low, dramatic voice.

Jade raised an eyebrow. "That's actually not bad, Vega. But try less smiling."

Tori immediately dropped her smile, looking more annoyed. "Better?"

"Passable," Jade said with a shrug.

Andre was next, doing his best to channel Beck's chill attitude. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs casually. "Hey, what's up? I'm Beck. I'm super cool, and no matter what happens, nothing gets to me. Not even Jade's temper tantrums."

Jade shot him a death glare. "Watch it."

"See?" Andre said, nodding toward her. "Nothing phases me."

Beck laughed. "I mean, that's pretty accurate."

Cat, meanwhile, was fully committed to her "Robbie" role. She adjusted her posture to look more awkward and nervously fidgeted with her hands. "Uh, hey, guys," she said, in a spot-on Robbie voice. "Um, is it okay if we, like, don't get Rex involved in everything?"

Rex snapped back, "Robbie, even when someone else is you, you're still lame."

"Come on, Rex!" Cat whined, continuing her best Robbie impression. "Be nice, please!"

Then Beck, embracing his role as Cat, sprang up from his chair and started bouncing around the room. "Oh my gosh! I love everything! Let's go get cupcakes after this, and maybe we can all have a dance party, yay!" He twirled around, his energy on full display.

Cat giggled. "Wow, Beck, you're actually pretty good at being me!"

Jade, still playing Rex, leaned back and said in a mocking tone, "Yeah, Beck, you're doing great. Now if only you could turn that energy into something useful, like shutting up."

Robbie, now in full "Tori" mode, stood up, trying to exude confidence. "Guys, we can totally nail this! We just need to believe in ourselves!" he said, sounding overly optimistic.

Tori chuckled. "Okay, that's actually kind of good."

Sikowitz beamed, clearly loving the madness unfolding before him. "Yes! Yes! This is what true method acting looks like! You are all living and breathing the very essence of each other!"

Rex, ever the provocateur, pipped up again. "Jade, you think you're doing a good job playing me, but let's be real—you don't have the charisma to pull off being this awesome."

Jade gave Rex a withering stare. "I don't need charisma to point out you're just a puppet with a superiority complex."

Rex shot back, "And yet, here you are, acting like you wish you were me."

Jade, staying perfectly in character, mimicked Rex's voice again. "Yeah, because who wouldn't want to be a two-foot-tall piece of felt with an ego problem?"

Robbie, looking flustered, jumped in. "Uh, hey, can we all, like, calm down? This is getting a little intense."

"Stay in character, Robbie!" Sikowitz cheered from the sidelines, his eyes wide with excitement. "This is exactly what I wanted!"

"He's meant to be Andre!" Jade snapped, before having to really take a second to remind herself she was arguing with a puppet again.

As the chaos in the room reached new heights, everyone continued to embody their roles, fully leaning into each other's quirks and personalities. By the end of the class, Jade was still glaring at Rex, Tori was doing her best not to smile while acting moody, and Beck was bouncing around as an overexcited version of Cat.

"Bravo! Bravo, my little actors! You've fully embraced the essence of each other! Now, who's ready for a coconut milk celebration?"

The class collectively groaned.

"Hard pass," Jade said, dropping the Rex act and sitting back down.