School ended, and Marie had an instant where she felt relief. Then she remembered the S.E.A. were going to pick her up and teach her for three more hours. She closed her locker and gave a sigh.

"You okay?" Albert asked.

"Fine. Just remembering I still have the S.E.A. to go to after this."

Albert shook his head. "It doesn't seem fair."

"Well, you heard my song. I need extra help."

Albert took her lunchbox and carried it for her. "Do you think they're going to help?"

"I hope so."

They started heading for the door. Albert walked beside her. "Did Adolf hurt you at all?"

Marie frowned, remembering the encounter. "No. He didn't get many insults in before Mr. Ross showed up."

"Good."

Marie again heard the vehemence in his voice.

"Hey Marie!"

Albert and Marie turned to see Abe and Billy. They fell in step with them.

"What'd you think of drawing today, Albert?" she asked.

Albert smiled as they walked down the hall. "I think I'm getting the hang of it. Mr. Ross is a great teacher."

Marie allowed herself a grin. "I want to know what happens when he has to grade Edgar's work. I thought it was bad when Edgar only painted in different shades of black, but now he discovered the color red."

Billy closed his eyes and nodded. "I'd love to see that."

Abe, Albert, and Marie laughed. For this small moment in time things were back to the way they once were. Then they pushed the main doors opened and stepped outside. Marie slowed to a stop when she saw the S.E.A. vehicle. It was a black, sleek car. It had Singing Enforcement Agency in green on the side. An agent stood in front of it with Marie's name written on a card for everyone to see. A lot of students looked at the car and whispered.

"It'll be okay, Marie." Abe gave her a small but genuine smile as Albert returned her lunchbox. "I researched some S.E.A. history. They've helped a lot of students get back on their feet. Not everyone who goes there are criminals. You're going to be fine."

Marie gripped the strap of her backpack. "Thanks, Abe."

"See you next week, Marie," Billy said.

She took a deep breath, then made her way to the car. The agent didn't bother asking if it was her. He probably saw the extra piece around her ear and let her in.

The trip wasn't long, considering Presley High and the S.E.A. building were about ten minutes away from each other. The dread Marie felt made it feel much longer.

Marie stepped out of the car and glanced again at the huge sky scraper. The doors flew open and Marie was surprised to see Mrs. Germain come out with a sickly-sweet smile on her face. "Marie!"

"Hi, Mrs. Germain," Marie greeted as she walked closer to her.

"Oh Marie. It's been so long since I last saw you! How are you?"

"Um," Marie tried to gather her thoughts together. "You know. Going to school. Having sleep overs at your house every other weekend. The usual."

Her quiet jab didn't shake Mrs. Germain's smile. "So great! Let me tell you about what goes on in this place before we set you up for your lessons."

For a bizarre moment, Marie thought Mrs. Germain would loop arms with Marie, but instead patted her shoulder and lead her toward the building. Mrs. Germain made a note to greet everyone she knew by name. It took a while.

"Floors one through four are for basic maintenance. Level five is where you'll receive your further education. Six through twenty-five are the offices of agents. Twenty-five though seventy-five are for everything about the chip. We've got composers writing music for it, orchestras and bands recording the music, and dancers recording dances for the songs for the chip memories. We go through thousands of songs every few days. In other words, job security."

Marie got the hidden message. There was nothing in the S.E.A. for people with interests like her.

"Can't you program music into a computer for it to randomly generate? I've heard computers make up pretty good songs on their own. And if you have a database of basic dances, you wouldn't need dancers to record any steps," Marie said.

"Oh no. Oh no no no! That would be awful! Computers can only get you so far, Marie. Singing and dancing is a human experience and can only be created by the human mind."

"But what happens if the chip malfunctions?" Marie asked. "Wouldn't you need a scientist to figure out what's wrong with it?"

Mrs. Germain laughed. "The chip is easy to fix. The secretary at the front desk could figure it out."

Marie glared at the floor of the elevator but didn't say anything.

"What about levels seventy-six to one hundred?" Marie asked.

The slightest smile crossed her face. "Those are offices for Junior Official's, Officials, and President Arnold's office at the top."

Marie glanced at the numbers again. It seemed like a lot of offices, but then again, Marie figured almost half of Musical Land's employment was tied to the S.E.A. somehow. Mrs. Germain swiped her badge and pressed a number on the elevator.

"Now, when you come for your lessons on other days, there is a special visitor's elevator you can use. It grants you access to levels one though five."

Marie nodded as the elevator door opened.

"The classes here are smaller, so you will get the best attention. We've got you scheduled with our official over education, Mrs. Margaret Hamilton. Usually officials delegate things like this to agents, but Mrs. Hamilton insists on working one on one with students like you. She is the best of the best."

They entered the classroom late. There was a student at the front with the teacher, and everyone turned to see Marie and Mrs. Germain.

"Oh yes. We have a new student with us, class. Her name is Marie Curie, let's help her feel welcome," Mrs. Hamilton said.

There were four other students in the class, all had the second ear piece on. The looks on their faces reflected how Marie felt. She wasn't thrilled to be here another three hours either.

"You've come in time for our Friday singing activity," Mrs. Hamilton said as Mrs. Germain slipped out of the classroom. "We're all singing in front of the class one by one, and we're all giving the students ten compliments before giving them one piece of constructive feedback. Have a seat, Marie, we'll get to you soon."

The idea was nice. When it was Marie's turn, she sang a song. After her song there was a moment of silence, then another moment. She started to panic when a student gave her a compliment about how the stanzas at least rhymed. The class managed to say about five compliments before Marie felt like they were scrapping together five more. It cut Marie deeply.

"As for the one constructive criticism," Mrs. Hamilton said as all the students shot their hand in the air. "No, no, I shall give it. Confidence is key, Marie. You must stand confidently, relax your neck and jaw to get the note to come out better."

Marie nodded, feeling in a daze. She returned to her seat and stared at her desk as the other students went through the activity. It didn't take long, and they soon moved on to other activities, going over the basics and singing super dumbed down songs.

Dancing was no better. Mrs. Hamilton lead them to another room which was one large dance floor. Mrs. Hamilton turned on some music and told the students to walk to the beat. Marie felt ridiculous walking to the beat, yet even still Mrs. Hamilton had to show her how to point her toes while walking to give a delicate air and the precise way to simply touch the balls of her feet to the ground. By the time an hour and a half was done, Marie felt like she didn't know the proper way to walk and had been lied to her whole life. Mrs. Hamilton smiled at her.

"No one is a lost cause, Marie. We will make a dancer out of you yet."

Marie didn't know why it made her want to cry.

Six o'clock rolled around. Marie was driven home by a silent agent. Marie was fine with it. She wasn't in the mood to chat.

She opened the door to see her dad correcting papers at the table. He looked up and smiled when he saw her. He stood up, arms open wide.

"I'm so happy your home! I missed you!"

Marie didn't speak as she hugged her dad. It took her a moment to reorient and confirm that she was indeed home for the weekend.

Her dad broke out of the hug. "How was it?"

Building up their relationship would require honesty, so Marie was honest. "It was lame. Three more hours of super dumbed down learning while I have to go to high school for super advanced learning. I wish there was a middle ground somewhere."

Her dad frowned. "Yeah, but I think it's always important to return to the basics."

Marie didn't reply, she simply sat down to eat. Sophie said she was bringing some food, so she ate enough so she didn't feel starving. Thinking about Sophie's sleepover made her excited. It was the one thing she looked forward to all day. She finished her dinner when there was a knock on the door.

"That must be Sophie," Marie said, starting to stand up.

Her dad waved at her. "I'll get it."

Marie put her plate and utensils in the sink when her dad opened the door.

"Hi Dad!" came Sophie's overly happy voice.

"Oh. Hi, Sophie. Hello... boys."

Marie paused, then booked it to the door. She indeed saw Sophie at the doorway, and Abe, Albert, and Billy stood behind her.