It was the start of the third week of school, the green still sticking as long as possible to the leaves of the trees. A chilly wind picked up, and Marie was starting to see more sweater vests under blazers. Marching Band season was starting up, which got most people talking excitedly in the halls as Marie went to her classes.

As hard as Marie tried to push it away, Sophie's dare stayed at the forefront of her mind. She didn't know how to try it out, and she wasn't sure she wanted to.

Marie dressed again in her school uniform after dance class with about five minutes to spare. She dampened her handkerchief with the water from the drinking fountain to control her sweaty face. There weren't enough mirrors in the girls dressing room, and the fastest dressed got to the mirror's first to touch up their make-up. Marie never dressed fast enough. She had to jump behind a crowd of girls to make sure she looked decent before heading out of the dressing room. Marie already felt her frizzy hair starting to come out of her ponytail.

"Hey Marie," Abe said.

"Hi Abe."

Marie patted her forehead again with her handkerchief.

"Quite the dance routine, right?" Abe asked.

Marie shook her head, her muscles already sore. "I didn't think we would start the more complicated swing dance moves until later in the semester."

"Come on, now. I think they're fun," Abe said.

"Well yeah, because you're a guy. You're not the one being flipped around and thrown into the air."

Abe smiled, which after a couple weeks knowing him, Marie knew it wasn't a common occurrence. "You have me there."

"Good work today, guys," Mr. Kelly said, going through the group. "Good work. Keep it up. Oh, Marie. Well done today."

Marie was one of the few girls out of the dressing room. She gave up caring about what she looked like after the first week of dance. As much as she tried to hide her frizzy hair by straightening it in the mornings, it wouldn't last through dance class.

Marie and Abe were never paired up as partners because of their drastic height difference. It made Marie sad she couldn't be with her friend, but for swing dance week, it was for the best. Abe could probably toss Marie around like she was nothing, and it frightened her enough to have someone her own size flip her.

The bell rang and Marie and Abe walked to lunch, chatting about swing dance. He walked with her to her locker so she could get her bagged lunch, even though he didn't have to. Marie was reminded of what Sophie said, but desperately wanted to ignore it right now.

They walked into the cafeteria. Abe went to stand in line and Marie made her way to Albert and Billy. They were in the middle of an intense conversation as she sat down.

"It's a dangerous, dangerous thing they've done. They might regret it!" Billy said.

Albert rolled his eyes. "It's not dangerous, Billy. There is absolute, undeniable proof! You can't mess with the facts."

"You can absolutely mess with the facts! Because facts are still 'discovered' by people, and people can be bought," Billy said. "Scientists who look the other way for a price while doing research. Bought facts are far more terrifying than pretty lies."

Marie pulled out her sandwich, interested in the conversation. "What's so dangerous?"

Albert was rubbing his temples with his fingers. "Another one of Billy's conspiracy theories."

"Conspiracy is a nice little word to hide behind when you're frightened of the truth, isn't it Albert! Look, Marie, you're a woman of logic. Does it make sense to name a school after someone who is alive?"

"Um, I guess not."

"No!" Billy slapped the table with his palm for emphasis. "Because then they might do something embarrassing and stupid and mess up their reputation. And what are you left with? A school named after someone who turned out to be a total embarrassment. Or worse. A criminal."

There was a pause as Marie and Albert exchanged glances. "So... what does this have to do with anything?" Marie asked.

"Elvis Presley is still alive!" Billy said.

Albert went back to rubbing his head, and even though he seemed annoyed, Marie could sense a slight smile on his face. "Billy, they had a funeral for him and everything. He lived a great life, and now he's gone, and he's honored by having a school named after him."

"There's evidence, Albert. Evidence! He's absolutely still alive!"

Abe sat down with his tray, hearing the last bit of the conversation. "Still stuck on that, are you Billy?"

"It's true! He faked his own death to go undercover to help the S.E.A. figure out what was on the other side of the wall." Billy dropped his voice when he talked about the wall.

"His death was over twenty years ago," Albert said.

"Fake death, and your point?" Billy asked.

"If he is alive, he's still not back."

"Ah, see, some people believe he's one of the hobos running about, gone crazy with what he saw on the other side. There's this magazine I subscribe to. The picture totally looks like an aged Elvis."

Albert stared at Billy like he was crazy.

Abe shook his head. "Got a massive writers block bothering you, Billy?"

Billy groaned, moved his tray, and placed his forehead against the lunch table. "The worst." Billy let out a longer, louder groan. "Here we are, almost three and a half weeks into school, and I still have no idea for a premise of my play. It's due at the end of this week if I want to stay on schedule."

Marie finally noticed the open notebook on the table, blank, with a pen on the side. Abe shrugged. "He dives into conspiracy theories to help his writers block."

Billy lifted his head enough to shoot an evil look in Abe's direction. "I do not! I love conspiracy theories! Writers block or no!"

"But you only discuss them when you have writers block," Abe said.

Billy looked like he was about to protest when he stopped and thought about it. "Macbeth. You're right!"

Albert began eating his salad, a smile on his face. "Maybe we can help you with an idea instead of discussing how Elvis is most definitely dead."

Billy tried to smile. "Or breathe to life an idea, like how Elvis is most definitely alive!"

Albert chuckled at Billy's attempt.

"And they want you to write a tragedy?" Marie asked.

His head barely inclined to what might be considered a nod. "But I can't think of one."

Marie glanced at the three of them, realizing she had the opportunity to try out what Sophie suggested. She began to feel her pulse behind her ear as she recklessly began speaking.

"What if you wrote one about a relationship?"

The three of them turned to her. Billy was the first to speak up. "But it's a tragedy."

"Make the relationship a tragedy, then," Marie said.

Billy's eyes widened. She could almost see the gears inside his brain start to work. "Relationship. Love. Tragedy. Hmm."

The pen in Billy's hand started to scribble, even though Billy was completely lost in his own thoughts he didn't even look at what he was writing. Marie studied Albert and Abe, who were quiet. Marie didn't know how much of a test it was. Studying each boys face didn't give her much.

"Does anyone have a past or current relationship they could help Billy out with? Every relationship has its drama, after all," Marie said.

There was another pause. Billy looked up, his face consumed in excitement. "This works perfectly! I have a girlfriend who attends Lennon High! That alone is a story in itself! I could write something about a guy and a girl falling in love from two rivaling... rivaling somethings."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You have a girlfriend?!" Abe's usual calm, quiet voice was raised a few decimals. "How did I not know about this?"

Billy's pen inched toward the paper as he gave his friend a guilty look. "She goes to Lennon High. I was afraid of the reaction I might get."

Abe shook his head. "Is there anything else you want to tell your best friend since elementary school about your life this past summer?"

Billy tapped a finger to his chin, his brows furrowed in thought. "Did I tell you about the wart on the side of my foot?"

The corners of Abe's mouth twitched up. "No, no you did not."

"Oh. Well, now you know. There's your update of my life over the summer."

Albert stabbed the last of his salad, a smirk on his face. "Possibly skipping a grade, got a girlfriend, and a wart. Quite the eventful summer for you."

Marie couldn't help it and started giggling. Part of it was out of relief because Sophie was wrong. Billy already had a girlfriend, and therefore Marie was not part of a love tetrahedron.

"What's her name?" Abe asked.

"Anne Hathaway."

Billy returned to his notebook and began scribbling. Marie turned to Albert and Abe who were again silent.

"What about you two?" Marie asked, her throat dry. "Do you guys have any relationship drama to tell Billy? For ideas?"

Albert's eyes narrowed a bit as he studied Abe. "Nope. Not really."

Abe returned Albert's stare. "Nothing current."

Marie's heart dropped. She didn't know why. At the end of last week she was ecstatic to have friends. Now she realized two of them were wanting to be more than friends. She didn't want to be a part of a love triangle. She didn't want this at all.

"And you, Marie? Do you have any relationship advice?" Billy asked nonchalantly.

"Nope," she was forced to say. "Nothing."

"Huh. Well, thanks for the idea. This is going to be great!"

Billy continued to write as Albert, Abe, and Marie sat quietly. Everyone was finished with their lunch, and Marie needed an excuse to stop this conversation.

"Hey, why don't we go for a walk? Get some exercise before our next classes?" she suggested.

They left the cafeteria. Billy had a far off look in his eyes, obviously still mulling over the play in his mind. Albert and Abe still seemed to resent each other, and it made Marie nervous. She struggled to think of a safer topic. The silence was killing her.

"I think I'm already sore after today's dance class," Marie said to Abe.

"Yeah? Frankie didn't toss you too high in the air, did he?" Abe asked.

"No, but if we keep this up, I'm going to be in serious trouble."

"The boys in our class aren't bad dancers," Abe said.

Marie forced herself to laugh. "Swing dance brings out my trust issues. I can't trust guys to catch me."

Her foot hit the next stair and switched randomly to tap shoes, throwing off her balance.

"Murphy's law!" Marie swore.

There was a millisecond where she was sure this was how it would end, falling down the stairs of Presley High and breaking her neck. Her legs were in a free fall and she closed her eyes, bracing for multiple impacts when she felt three pairs of hands grab her. It took another second before she let out a breath and sucked in another grouping of oxygen back into her system.

Slowly she opened her eyes. Abe and Albert each held one of her arms near her shoulders, and Billy had his arms securely wrapped around her waist, his face pressed against her back.

"You okay Marie?" Billy asked, his voice muffled from her blazer.

"Um, yeah. Yes. I am. Thanks. Guys." Marie got on even footing before the guys let her go. She grabbed the railing. "Stupid, cheap, dangerous shoes." Marie whacked her right shoe against her left with every word she mumbled, feeling her face grow red. She hated her hand-me-down shoes. They could have been the death of her.

"Have you had Mr. Edison look at your shoes?" Albert asked.

The shoe returned to character shoes and Marie looked up. "Does Mr. Edison know about shoes?"

"Well, probably not a lot, but he is an inventor. Maybe there's something with the shoe that needs replacing."

Marie nodded. "It's worth a shot. I'd rather not die at Presley High."

"Is Mr. Edison the science and math teacher all the other teachers don't like?" Billy asked as they changed their course.

"I'm sure not everyone dislikes him," Marie said.

"He does eat alone in his office at lunch," Albert said.

"That could mean anything," Marie said.

"He is an old war veteran teaching math and science. Rumors swirl like crazy, even among the staff," Billy said.

"How do you know the rumors among the staff?" Abe asked.

Billy shrugged. "I have my ways."

They opened the door, but the classroom was empty. Marie glanced at Albert who marched into the room anyway. Albert lead the group past the whiteboard until they got to the office door which stood slightly ajar. Albert knocked on it.

"Mr. Edison, sir?" Albert asked. "We were wondering if you could help us out."

"Sure, come on in," Mr. Edison said.

Albert smiled at the others before opening the door wider. Marie stepped into the office. Behind her, Billy gasped.

The office had three bookshelves, most of them covered in gadgets. Tools and small blueprint paper were scattered on the desk. Mr. Edison sat at his desk with a lamp turned on, tinkering on a small device.

Billy squealed with his lips clamped shut, muting the sound.

"You okay?" Marie asked Billy.

"Look at this stuff! It's like a mad scientist works here! Not the derogatory term mad scientist, or anything, sir. I just think it's cool!"

Mr. Edison smiled, glancing up from his small device. "I'll take the complement."

"Where do you find time to work on any of this stuff, sir?" Billy asked, inching closer to look at what looked like a much smaller camcorder than what they use now.

"Oh, here and there."

Albert introduced Abe and Billy. Abe gave a small, respectful bow to Mr. Edison's obvious status as a member of the older generation. Billy stared at Mr. Edison with wide, child-like wonder.

Mr. Edison turned to the group. "What can I help you with?"

"My shoes aren't working right," Marie said. "They're supposed to change when I hit them against each other, but they keep changing randomly, and it's getting dangerous."

"Hmm. Probably something wrong with the SOM 4 switch. Let me see them."

As Marie took off her shoes, she noticed Mr. Edison unlocked the top drawer of his desk and put the device in it before locking it back up again. He moved his tools closer to him. Marie placed her shoes on his desk and Mr. Edison put on magnifying glasses. He shined his desk lamp on one of Marie's shoes then began taking it apart. Marie felt worried he wouldn't be able to put them back in time for her next class but chose to remain silent. Abe watched, curious. Billy was standing behind the light, watching with his mouth open. Albert smiled at Marie in a "I knew he'd be able to help" kind of a way.

It took a few seconds before Mr. Edison nodded. "Just as I thought. Faulty SOM 4 switch. They only last a year or two at the most. The S.E.A. is making a ton of money on them."

Mr. Edison took off his glasses, stood up, and walked to a section of small drawers on one of his book shelves. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out a small switch.

"Incredible!" Billy said with wide eyes.

Mr. Edison glanced at Billy, a smile on his face as he sat back down and placed the glasses back on. "Fan of invention?"

"Are you kidding, sir! It's a talent I'll never have! I find it super fascinating. I mean, President Arnold is an inventor, and he's wildly successful."

Mr. Edison focused on Marie's shoes. "You have a good attitude, young man."

Billy beamed as though President Arnold himself gave him the compliment.

Mr. Edison pushed the magnifying glasses up his nose and continued working. Marie thought they'd have to stand in silence again, but he started talking again.

"Albert, Marie, I wanted to invite you personally to my after-school physics club I'm creating."

"After school physics club?" It was Albert's turn to look excited. "Really?"

Mr. Edison screwed the heel back on Marie's shoe. "Yes. I've talked to Mr. Machiavelli, and he's given me the green light."

Marie rubbed her upper arm. "We're freshman. Does it matter?"

"Loving science is the only requirement."

"I'm totally in!" Albert said.

"Marie?" Mr. Edison asked.

"Sure!" She felt a bubble of excitement in her stomach.

Mr. Edison smiled. "Excellent! Let me get you permission slips. Your parents will have to sign them. Assure them we won't be doing anything dangerous."

"Like blowing up a microwave?" Billy asked.

Mr. Edison chuckled as he continued working. "Right, none of that."

He finished fixing Marie's last shoe then handed them both to her. Marie took them.

"Thank you, sir. Do I need to reimburse you for the parts?"

Mr. Edison waved a hand. "They're super cheap, it's why they don't last long. Don't worry about it."

They all walked out of his office. Mr. Edison grabbed two papers off his desk and handed them to Marie and Albert. Marie took hers and then sat at a desk to put on her shoes.

Mr. Edison turned toward Billy and Abe. "Of course, your friends are more than welcome to come if they want to."

"No thank you, sir," Abe said. "I have no talent for science."

Billy looked like he was seriously considering it, then frowned. "Not if you guys won't blow up microwaves. Though if you will, let me know, and I'll come that day."

Mr. Edison laughed. Marie got up and walked around a bit. It remained her character shoe. She wouldn't be able to tell if they were working, but they worked fine now. She gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate this," Marie said.

"Don't mention it. Always happy to help," Mr. Edison said.