Marie had every intention of telling her dad what happened at school when she got home from the S.E.A., but the school beat her to it and called him, saying she'd been in a fight. When she checked her phone after S.E.A. dance class, she was shocked at all the missed calls and texts from him. She assured him she was fine, and when she came home, her dad was still distraught, hugging her tight, asking if she was okay. She explained what happened, though once again she found herself hiding what Adolf said to her. She couldn't bring herself to tell her dad.

Friday morning Marie immediately sought out her friends, specifically Albert. When she saw him, he had tape over his nose and stitches on his lower lip. His ankle had a bulge, one she assumed was from a wrap. She didn't know how many other injuries he had, but she was glad to see him not looking as dazed.

Abe and Billy were there too, but she was focused on Albert for now. Albert turned when he saw her.

"Hey," he said. "I'd smile, but the agent at the hospital suggested I-"

Marie didn't let him finish as she tenderly hugged him. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks. I'm glad you are too."

The friends chatted until the bell rang, then Marie and Albert made their way to Biology.

"What are you going to do tonight?" Marie asked.

Albert stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm going to the competition."

The shock she felt made her stop walking. Albert turned and gave her a look like he hadn't said something utterly confounding.

"Seriously?" Marie asked. "After everything they did to you, you're still going?"

Albert shrugged, then winced as he did so. "Not everyone in the Marching Band did this to me. Besides, I gave what you said some thought. It wasn't right to be a bully to Adolf, but I'm not going to stay inside tonight in a huff. The best way to beat them is to go tonight and enjoy myself."

Marie folded her arms, giving him a glare. "You must love competitions."

There was the barest hint of a smile before Albert winced and touched the place around his stitched lip. "It is pretty amazing. The music, the atmosphere. You should come."

Marie tried to look like she was considering it, but on the inside, she didn't want to go.

He gave her a gentle nudge with his shoulder. "Come on. I might need you to protect me."

To her surprise, she laughed. "Didn't work last time, did it?"

Albert gave her a pleading look, and she sighed.

"Oh fine. I'll come."

It took her off guard to see how bright Albert's eyes lit up. "Great! Text me when you arrive, I'll meet up with you."

Her eyes wandered to his bulging ankle. "Text me where you're sitting, and I'll come to you."

He followed her gaze and gave a small, defeated nod. "Yeah. That might be smarter."

They walked into Mr. Edison's class. He was helping a student, but looked up when he saw Albert and Marie walk in. Mr. Edison took in Albert's face with a deep sadness before returning to the student's question. Marie again remembered his warning to the principal as they sat down.

Marie pulled out her book, notebook, and pen, before turning back to Albert. "Are you scared it might happen again?"

His fingers gingerly touched the tape on his nose. "Depends. What did Adolf say to you?"

Embarrassed, Marie dropped her gaze and tapped her pen against the notebook.

"He said...he said you'd be brought under submission easier if he did something to me. He didn't say what, but he did imply how... well, if I was prettier, he'd know exactly how to hurt me."

Albert's knuckles turned white. "Then yes. There's a good possibility I will face Adolf again."

"Please don't cause trouble," Marie said before she could stop herself.

"You can't keep running away from your problems, Marie. They'll all catch up to you one day."

Instinctively, Marie reached out and touched his arm. "But they could..."

"What? Hurt me?" Albert cocked an eyebrow. "Already did."

Marie squeezed his arm, only semi-certain there were no wounds there. "This has now changed to my problem, Albert, not yours. We may disagree on how to handle them, but I don't want you getting any more hurt. And I will solve my problems how I see fit. Understand?"

The bell rang as Albert frowned. If she couldn't convince him, he'd confront Adolf again. "You know how you don't want me to get hurt? Well, I feel the same about you. This is officially the worst you will ever get hurt on my watch. Please don't let me go through it again."

Albert placed his hand on top of her hand resting on his arm. "Just... please be careful."

"I will."

She should have taken her hand back, but she liked the warmth of Albert's hand over hers. They didn't move their hands away from each other until Mr. Edison stood up soon after.

"I have your tests graded." He held up the small stack of papers.

Marie and Albert were quiet as Mr. Edison passed the tests back out.

"Good job you two," he said, placing their tests on their desks, face down.

Marie lifted her test and saw an A+ at the top of her paper. She gave a smile. It felt nice to ace a test. She glanced at Albert who also held his test. His had an A+ on it too. Marie showed hers. She lifted her hand to give him a high five but paused as she thought about possible injuries. Albert lifted his hand and barely touched hers.

"Good job, Marie," he said.

"Thanks! You too."

She could have sworn his hand lingered on hers.

The rest of the day felt pointless. The classes were shortened so everyone could attend the pep rally. Classes were laid back, the main thing they did was give back tests.

Her choir grade was posted on the door. She had memorized her student number and searched for her grade. She assumed she got an F, because if she imagined the lowest grade possible, even a small percentage of a grade better was at least something. She followed her finger to the letter grade and felt her soul shrivel as she saw she actually did get an F.

She got her test back in literature and saw a C+. As expected, her essay brought her grade down. After doing the math in her head, she figured she was barely passing her literature class and flunking her choir class. At least she was well above a passing grade in drama.

She tried to catch the school spirit at the pep rally, but she didn't care about competitions. Yes, she promised Albert, but she didn't have to enjoy herself.

The color guard came out and did their number, which caused Marie a heightened level of anxiety. She hated watching other people do flips and complex gymnastic moves on top of throwing sticks in the air. It was a horrible accident waiting to happen. Eventually she calmed down, and even got impressed at their skill, but when the color guard lead the auditorium in the cheer "Hound Dogs eat Beetles!" she couldn't bring herself to have the same vigor as most of the student body.

The marching band went through one of their songs. It didn't have the same feel to it, since there wasn't enough room on the stage to march. She figured it was a taste of what was to come later when they could see the shapes they'd create. She spent the entire time glaring at the brass section.

***

Marie met up with Sophie at the S.E.A. Even though she wouldn't endorse what Sophie did, Marie had to admit Sophie made the S.E.A. bearable.

"Have any plans tonight since my parents are trying to ruin our lives and cancel the sleep overs?" Sophie asked.

They waited at the door of the classroom. It wasn't time to go in yet, and the moment they stepped foot in the classroom, they were separated. This was the loophole they found.

"Albert invited me to the competition tonight."

Excitement filled Sophie's face. "He did?"

At first Marie was confused at the excitement, when the realization dawned on her. "It's...it's not a date. Abe and Billy will be there too. Besides, did you forget what the brass section did to Albert?"

When Marie arrived late yesterday, she told Sophie why. With Sophie, she immediately told her about Adolf and the total creep he was. Sophie was grossed out and agreed people like Adolf were disgusting and didn't belong in civilized societies.

Sophie sighed. "I know. But it's Presley vs. Lennon, the rival high schools of the city!"

"But part of the band beat up my boy friend and I have a sense of responsibility-"

"Wait, did you just say boyfriend?" Sophie asked.

Marie's face flushed. "Friend that happens to be a boy. Guy friend. Same thing."

She giggled. "And what about Abe?"

"Also a boy friend. Guy friend. Whatever! You are distracting me from the point!"

Sophie gave Marie a humorous look before turning serious. "Marie, I get it. Albert is special to you, and he got hurt, and he wasn't given the full justice he deserves."

Marie waited. "And?"

Sophie shrugged. "Do you honestly think the members of the brass section would have done it if Adolf hadn't suggested it?"

The thought made Marie frowned. "No. Adolf is the mastermind behind the mindless muscle."

"Then it's Adolf you have to seek revenge on, not the brass section."

With a sigh, Marie leaned her head against the door frame. "I don't know what to do about Adolf. This isn't the last time we've heard of him, and I don't want Albert to get any more hurt."

"With bullies, you just have to show you're not worth their time," Sophie said.

"By doing what?" Marie asked.

"It's different for every person."

She had hoped her friend had a better answer. She didn't know what to do. "I don't want to seek revenge. I just want him to go away."

There was a far off look in Sophie's eye. "Honestly, Marie, creeps like him won't 'just go away'. They seek out the insecure, so you have to show him you're not insecure."

"I guess," Marie mumbled. Insecurity was a constant companion for Marie and trying to be more confident was Mrs. Hamilton's go-to critique to throw at her.

Marie decided to change the subject. "Are you coming to the competition?"

Sophie frowned. "I would, but my parents would think it's a secret ploy to meet up with you, which it totally is, and my driver would never take me."

"Girls, class is going to start," Mrs. Hamilton said.

"I wish you were coming," Marie said as they walked in the classroom.

Sophie gave her a playful shove. "No you don't! You need to spend time with your boyfriends."

"Guy friends," Marie corrected.

Sophie simply laughed.

***

Marie returned home and greeted her dad.

"I thought you were going to Sophie's for a sleep over," he said.

It was then that Marie realized she failed to mention Sophie's psychotic parents were trying to force them to stay apart. She also failed to mention Sophie's tactic of being in the S.E.A. program so they could stay together. She was returning to her habit of not telling her dad much about her life.

"No, the sleep over was cancelled," she said. "By her parents."

Her dad gave her a questioning look. "Oh?"

"I'm going to change," Marie said.

Getting out of her uniform felt like a weight being lifted off. Though she wanted to get into sweat pants, she made a promise to go to the competition. She sighed, putting on her jeans and a sweater. It'd be cold, since it was the beginning of October.

She sat down at the table and started eating her lasagna. Her dad sat on the other side.

"You look warm," her dad said.

Marie glanced up. "Yeah, I was going to ask if you could drop me off at the competition tonight."

"Oh." Her dad looked pleased, then glanced at his watch. "What time is it at?"

"Seven."

"Will do. I'm glad you're going! Is Sophie going to be there?" her dad asked.

Marie sighed. "Unfortunately no. But Albert, Billy, and Abe will."

"Right. Your... um, the friends. The... guy friends? Is that what they're called?" her dad asked.

Marie glanced up from her plate and looked at her dad. Why did the wording have to be so weird? "Yes. Or, you know, just friends."

Her dad gave her a small smile. "Okay. Just friends. Are any of them going to stay that way?"

A snort left Marie, and her dad gave her a unusually large smile as she took another bite of her lasagna.

"I got an email about your grades," her dad said.

The lasagna churned in her stomach. "Do we have to talk about them at the dinner table? I might lose my appetite."

"You're doing pretty well, Marie."

She gave her dad a calculated look. "Really though? Did they not include my grade for choir?"

"Well, yeah, choir is concerning, but with how much you stressed about these tests, you're doing great! Presley is one of the most prestigious high schools in Musical Land. Give yourself some credit."

Marie tried to smile as she took a few more bites. "Thanks. You're right."

"And your science and math grades are amazing," her dad said.

Marie was struck with an idea. "Hey, have you ever heard of my teacher, Mr. Edison?"

Her dad thought for a second. "He doesn't sound familiar. Should I know him?"

"No, I just thought the science community was small enough everyone knew each other," Marie said.

Her dad shook his head. "No. Not that small."