The sun was bright and warm outside Hollywood Arts, shining down on the seniors as they all gathered in bunches in the courtyard. The air was thick with excitement, anticipation, and a touch of fear. Today was results day—report cards in hand, and graduation was just around the corner. For Cat, Andre, Jade, Tori, Robbie, and Beck, this felt like the end of an era.

Each of them held a crisp, unopened envelope, the official report card marking their last high school grades.

"Are we really doing this together?" Tori asked, clutching her envelope and looking around nervously. "Like, right here in front of each other?"

"Why not?" Beck said, shrugging with his usual calm. "We'll find out eventually. Might as well do it now."

Jade crossed her arms, feigning indifference. "Let's just get this over with. I'd rather rip off the band-aid."

Cat was practically vibrating with energy, her envelope unopened but gripped tightly in her hand. "I'm so nervous, I feel like my heart is gonna explode!" she squealed. "Like, what if I failed math? Or what if—"

"Cat, you'll be fine," Andre reassured her with a smile.

Cat chewed her lip, unconvinced but grateful for the encouragement. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Okay. We're all opening them on three?"

"One," Beck started.

"Two…" Tori added, holding her envelope with both hands, ready to tear it open.

"Three!" they all said together, and with a rip of paper and crinkling sounds, the group dove into their report cards.

For a moment, there was silence as everyone's eyes moved down their lists of grades. Then Tori let out a squeal of excitement. "Yes! Straight A's! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!"

Andre, glancing down his own report card, chuckled. "I got an A in songwriting!"

"Me too!" Cat's eyes widened as she stared at the grade, momentarily forgetting about math. "Oh my gosh, Andre, we did it! We actually got A's!"

Andre grinned, holding his hand up for a high-five, which Cat slapped enthusiastically. "Looks like all those late nights in the music room paid off," he said, nodding proudly.

"Congratulations, you two," Beck said, smiling at them. "It's awesome to see all that work pay off."

"Yeah," Tori added, beaming. "Songwriting is super tough to get an A in! Mr. Weaver barely ever gives those out."

Cat's smile was brighter than ever, but as she read further down the list, her heart started to sink. There it was, near the bottom of the list of subjects: Mathematics. She took a deep breath, bracing herself.

"What did you get, Cat?" Robbie asked, noticing her hesitation. "Did all that studying help?"

She stared at the grade for a moment, blinking as if it might change if she looked hard enough. Then, slowly, her face transformed from confusion to joy as she realized what she was seeing. She let out a shriek.

"I passed!" she squealed, holding her report card high above her head as if it were an Olympic medal. "I passed math! I actually passed!"

Everyone's heads turned, and for a moment, the entire group looked at her, wide-eyed.

"OMG Cat!" Tori squealed with her, happy for the redhead.

Cat nodded furiously, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I know, right? I thought I was gonna fail for sure, but I actually did it!"

Jade reached over and grabbed Cat's report card, giving it a quick scan to confirm it herself. A slow smirk spread across her face. "I guess all that nagging I did about you studying actually worked," she teased, handing the card back. "I'm proud of you." Cat grinned, pulling Jade into a deep hug.

"And look, Jade got all A's too!" Beck pointed out, leaning over to look at her report card.

"Not that anyone's surprised," Jade said with a shrug, though her lips twitched into a smile. "I'll admit, though, seeing 'A' next to Script Writing does feel pretty good."

Robbie, who had been oddly quiet, cleared his throat. "Well, not to bring the party down, but I only got a B in history. I studied really hard, and I really thought I'd pull an A."

"Oh, Robbie," Cat said, patting his arm. "B is still really good! You're super smart, you don't need history for College."

Robbie's face softened, and he nodded. "Thanks, Cat."

"Yeah, don't let one grade mess with you," Beck added. "We all did it. We're graduating. That's what matters."

Cat nodded, her smile wide as ever. "Exactly! And now, no more math. Like, ever. I am free!"

Before anyone could say more, Mr. Weaver, their songwriting teacher, strode up with a pleased, purposeful look on his face. He held a clipboard and gave Andre and Cat a nod of approval.

"Cat, Andre—can I steal you for a moment?" he asked, glancing between the two of them. They nodded and let him lead them away from the group as the others continued to compare grades. "I wanted to talk to you both about the End of Year Showcase coming up in two weeks."

Andre's eyes widened as he exchanged an excited glance with Cat. The End of Year showcase Hollywood Arts' biggest music event, a prestigious celebration where students from each year danced and sang onstage during a massive party. And at the end, one senior or duo performed an original song. It was an enormous honour, one usually reserved for the songwriting team with the top grades or a student who was most likely to have their big break soon. Andre had performed every year in the earlier slots, the ones you could sign up for, but somehow it had never occurred to him that he could get that hard to reach final spot. He was sure it would've been Tori- she'd performed at the Platinum Music Awards for goodness sake.

"I'd like you two to perform," Mr. Weaver continued, smiling. "Your songs were graded the highest in the class, the highest in years in fact. You've both done incredible work this year, so I wanted to extend the opportunity to showcase one of your songs."

Neither Cat nor Andre had considered this possibility; it felt unreal. Andre's face broke into a huge grin. "Absolutely, Mr. Weaver!" he said without a second's hesitation, turning to Cat with a sparkle in his eye. "Cat, we have to do this!"

Cat blinked, momentarily frozen, as her mind raced. She loved singing, especially the songs her and Andre had written, but performing in front of the entire school, solo? Her stomach twisted. "Um…I mean, I don't know, Andre. Me…in front of everyone?"

Andre, undeterred, gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "You're gonna kill it, Cat! Come on, we've got this! Just think about how fun it'll be!"

Without waiting for further debate, Andre was already brainstorming, his excitement tangible. "Okay, we'll need a drummer and guitarist - wait song should we do? You'll Never Know is more of a party song, but Tattooed Heart shows off more of your voice-"

Before Cat could even reply, he had already started running into the crowd of other Seniors, calling out names and making plans.

"Looks like you're performing at the showcase, Cat," Mr. Weaver said with a warm smile. "Get Andre to tell me the plans before end of day." He finished, before heading back to his classroom.

Cat stood there, her heart pounding. She was thrilled, sure, but the thought of singing in front of the entire school left her with a knot of anxiety in her stomach. She loved singing, but the main role? That meant all eyes would be on her. She took a deep breath and walked back to where her friends were waiting.

The group turned to her as she approached, noticing the mix of excitement and confusion on her face.

"What happened?" Jade asked, an eyebrow raised with curiosity.

Cat managed a smile, clutching her report card. "Mr. Weaver…asked Andre and me to do the final showcase performance. It's, like, a huge honour, and I can't believe he picked us, but…" She trailed off, looking down.

Tori's face lit up. "Cat, that's amazing! You got the final spot of the night! This is huge!"

Beck nodded, clapping her on the shoulder. "You've worked hard for this."

Robbie grinned. "I always knew you'd be a superstar, Cat! This is just the beginning!"

Cat's smile flickered as her heart raced again. "Yeah, but…I don't know, you guys. Singing infront of everyone…it's a lot. What if I mess up?"

"You won't," Andre's voice came from behind her as he returned, looking absolutely thrilled. "We're gonna crush it! I already got a people to agree to help with instruments, so it's gonna be big."

Jade rolled her eyes and gave Cat a reassuring nudge. "You know we'll all be there cheering you on."

Tori nodded. "And if you need any help, we'll be there for you. You're gonna do great."

"Will the rest of you sign up for the earlier slots?" She asked, seeing her friends perform first would take some stress out of the night.

"Nope" "Nuhuh" Beck and Robbie answered quickly, stepping away before Cat's puppy eyes could convince them otherwise.

"How about it Jade- one final duet?" Tori asked, nudging the goth girl with her elbow.

"Fine." Jade rolled her eyes. "For you, Cat." She smiled at her girlfriend. It was the least she could do to make her feel more confident, and being able to upstage Tori was just a nice little bonus.

Cat took a shaky breath, glancing around at her friends' encouraging faces. Maybe, just maybe, this was something she could do. With their support, maybe the idea of performing for everyone wouldn't be so terrifying. After all, if anyone could make her feel brave enough to face her fears, it was them.

"Okay," she said finally, a small but determined smile forming. "I'll do it."