Tiny Dancer

2.04 Tori Gets Stuck

Sikowitz sets his usual coconut on the podium at the side of the classroom's stage. "Let's discuss..." He rips his straw out of his mouth and tosses it aside with all the drama he can muster. "Acting!"

An expectant silence fills the room as they all wait for Sikowitz to elaborate.

"What about acting?" Andre finally asks.

"Oh, yes!" Sikowitz exclaims with a clap. "Any questions?"

Jesse shakes his head with an amused smile when he sees the way everyone else is looking around in confusion. Really, they should be used to this sort of thing by now.

Cat fills the quiet. "One time, my brother painted part of his body purple," she tells them.

"Well, why did your brother paint part of his body purple?" Robbie asks.

"He had a job interview." She shakes her head with a smile. "He didn't get it."

Andre's brow furrows as he turns to give her a curious look. "Wait. What part of his body did he even paint?"

"It was his-"

Jesse reaches over and gently covers Cat's mouth. "No," he says simply. "No. That's okay, Kit-Cat. We don't need to know."

He waits until Cat nods in understanding to drop his hand then looks at Sikowitz, silently telling him to get on with things. The bell rings to dismiss the class before he can.

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait," Sikowitz calls as they all start to grab their bags. He pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Would anyone be interested in seeing the cast list for a little play called Steamboat Suzy?"

Various murmurs of excitement and anticipation fills the room as Sikowitz unfolds the paper.

"I got the lead, right?" Jade asks before he can even start to read the cast list.

Sikowitz opens and closes his mouth a few times. "Pardon?"

"Uh-oh," Jesse mutters, silently wishing Beck wasn't in Canada right now so he could help with the inevitable fallout.

"I'm playing Suzy," Jade says with an expectant look. "Right?"

Sikowitz tries and fails to answer for a moment before he turns to Jesse for help. "Uh, Jesse, how do I...?"

Jesse purses his lips. "Just tell her, Sikowitz. Read the list."

He does not read the list. Instead, he drops it on the stage and runs out the classroom door, clearly choosing to simply avoid the whole situation as long as he can.

"Or run away," Jesse says flatly. "I guess that's also an option."

Jade gives him a look before she walks over to the stage and picks up the cast list.

"Did you get the lead?" Cat asks innocently.

She slowly looks up from the paper, expression completely blank. After a second, she crumbles it up, throws it back down, and kicks the nearest chair across the stage.

"I don't think she got it," Andre concludes.

"So, who's playing Suzy?" Robbie asks.

Tori grabs the cast list with a sigh and straightens it out. She reads the list then slowly looks up with a nervous smile. "Me."

Jade nods, irritation clear on her face. "Yeah. Her. That," she says, pointing at Tori. "She got the lead."

"What part did you get?" Cat asks.