𝐂𝐚𝐭, 𝐌𝐲 𝓥𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓮

VI

When I got into school, a group of kids were huddled around some poster pinned to the bulletin board near Sikowitz's classroom. Was there some new performance being put on this weekend? Hopefully it won't be anything like the last performance, Clowns Don't Bounce. I walked up next to Andre, still not sure what the excitement was about. "Hey, what's going on?"

Andre grinned. "See for yourself, man."

I made my way to the front of the crowd and read the poster. Wait, seriously? "Cat and I got callbacks? That's awesome!" I couldn't believe it. I looked over at Andre. "Does Cat know?"

Andre shook his head. "Nah, she's not here yet."

The door opened and Cat walked in, looking as cute as ever. "Hi!" She walked over to us and both Andre and I smiled.

"Hey Little Red!"

"Hey Cat!"

Cat waved. "Hi!" She frowned suddenly, noting the crowd of kids standing around the bulletin board. "Why is the bulletin board so popular today?"

I chuckled. She was so adorable. "Well, there's a poster on the bulletin board about our auditions for Natalie Jenkins' movie."

Cat's mouth popped into an "O" shape. "Did you get a callback?"

She was so sweet. "Yep." I was about to tell her that she also got the part she wanted, but I was cut off.

Cat squealed and wrapped her arms around my neck, jumping up and down. She had a little trouble with it since she was so small, but she tried her best."You got a callback! You did it!"

I smiled and wrapped my arms around her waist. "Yeah, I did. But do you want to hear something else?" Cat nodded eagerly but didn't let go. I smiled. "You also got a callback."

Cat squealed again. "We did it! We did it, Beck!" For some reason, her saying my name made me smile even more. "I can't wait!"

I smiled. "Me too." Cat let go of me as the bell rang and she, Andre and I walked into Sikowitz's class. Andre shot me a knowing glance as we took a seat and I just shrugged, trying to act casual. I hoped he wasn't piecing things together, but it was doubtful.

After another class, the bell rang and Tori came up to me while I was at my locker. "So, did you tell her yet?"

I shook my head. Wasn't she the one that had told me to talk to Cat after school? "Not yet."

Tori just nodded. "Well, just make sure you do it today. Since it's Friday, she'll have the whole weekend to think it over." She walked off as the bell rang and I nodded to myself. I followed Robbie into Sikowitz's classroom, mulling over what Tori said. She might be right. But I'm still not sure if telling her at all would be a good idea. I don't want to ruin our friendship, and I don't want to make things awkward for everyone else.

As everyone took their seats, Sikowitz looked over at Cat and I, who were sitting together with Tori and Andre. "So Cat, Beck Jade, Andre, Tori and Robbie got callbacks for Natalie Jenkins' movie! Bravo, children." He slurped from his coconut and turned back to the whiteboard. "Now, today we are going to be talking about method acting, which is a form..." Sikowitz talked about method acting for a while before the bell rang again. I quickly stood up, since I was really hungry and it was now lunch time. Sikowitz sat down and blew out a long sigh. I turned around and looked back at him, along with Cat, Andre, Tori, Jade, and Robbie.

"Hey, what are you buggin' about?" Jade frowned, looking almost concerned. Almost.

Sikowitz looked over at her. "I'm just disappointed. You children are just so boring. 'No Daddy Sikowitz, we won't do method acting!' I probably shouldn't be surprised, though, since it's only what professional actors can pull off. Sometimes I forget that you're all just amateurs."

I walked forward. "I really don't think method acting is all that hard." I knew that this was what Sikowitz wanted, but I figured that he would just make us a bet or something similar, as usual.

Sikowitz jumped up and pointed his finger at my face. "Then I issue a challenge!" We all just stared at him. "You'll all pick characters for each other to play, and then you'll all meet at my house for a sleepover! You have to stay in character from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM tomorrow morning."

Robbie raised his hand. "And what happens if we break character?"

Sikowitz didn't miss a beat. "You'll be banished from my home." We all nodded. "Okay, now. Tori will choose for Cat, Cat will choose for Robbie, Robbie will choose for Andre, Andre will choose for Beck, Beck will choose for Jade, and Jade will choose for Tori." He grinned. "Now go!"

The rest of the day went by normally and soon enough, everyone was in the black box theater to announce each others' characters. Sikowitz was sitting in the corner with a clipboard to keep track of everyone's characters. "Okay Tori, you're up first! Who will Cat be playing at the great Sikowitz Sleepover?"

Tori walked up to the front of the theater and pulled out a slip of paper from her back pocket. "Cat will be playing a cute, sweet, and very ditzy girl that loves cupcakes and glitter and all things pink," she added to Cat with an-almost evil grin. Cat just smiled and nodded, giggling softly. Man, I didn't understand how she didn't have guys lined up at her house to ask her on a date. Or maybe she does? I chuckled a little, but when Sikowitz gave me 'the look', I disguised it with a cough and turned back to attention.

"Okay Cat, who will Robbie be playing?" Sikowitz recorded Cat's character as she walked onstage.

"Robbie is going to be a rainbow sandwich!" Cat laughed; she looked absolutely adorable in her little pink dress.

Robbie just shrugged. "Roger dodger!" Man, Robbie could be totally weird sometimes. He got up and walked onstage, pulling out his piece of paper. "Andre is going to play a scientist that has gone mentally insane," Robbie grinned, obviously very proud.

Sikowitz nodded and looked over at Andre. "And who will Beck be playing, Andre?"

Andre got up and winked at Tori. Wait, they had planned something. Shoot. "Beck will be playing a super chill, laid-back guy with surfer-dude vibes and all of the girls love him. As in, all of the girls have to obsess over him," he added with a grin at Jade, Tori, and Cat. I frowned. That was basically just my regular self. Andre sat back down as I stood up.

"Jade will be playing a little nine-year-old girl that is obsessed with unicorns and mermaids, and never gets made about anything." Jade gave me a death-glare, but I just sat back down and fist-bumped Andre.

Jade stood up and walked to the front of the stage, grinning at Tori. "Tori will be playing a disgusting, socially-awkward, talentless high schooler that has a huge ego and terrible style." Tori looked horrified, but Jade just flashed a grin and sat back down.

Sikowitz recorded everything and stood up. "Well, this should be interesting. I'll see you all at seven!" He left the theater and as everyone else began to trickle out as well, I sat in my chair and thought. What kind of web had Tori and Andre trapped me in?