Ashley untransformed and grabbed her backpack, not bothering to change back into her uniform (school bathrooms were gross, and loose clothes were comfy!). Walking down to the main lobby, Ashley found Edwin sitting on a bench, still in his halfway form.

Ashley stormed up to him leaning over the side of the bench. “What do you think you’re doing?” she whispered, looking around to see if anyone was watching.

“Waiting for Tabitha. What does it look like?” Edwin leaned away from her, confused.

“It looks like you’re trying to blow our cover! You can’t just loiter around here when we’re pretending we don’t go here! Hell, even talking to you right now is dangerous for me,” Ashley said, her whispers coming out more like a hiss.

“It’s not that serious! There isn’t anyone here, and it looks like I’m just waiting for someone to pick me up.”

“That’s a horrible cover story and you know it.”

“I don’t care. I’m not changing back. I thought you of all people would understand.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You obviously don’t get it, so why bother explaining. Go somewhere else if you don’t want to be seen with me.”

Ashley huffed, offended by whatever Edwin was trying to say (and assuming she was too stupid to even deserve an explanation). She walked across the lobby, pretending to be interested by the poster listing the values of good attendance.

After five minutes of silence, Edwin spoke up. “So what did Sarah want to talk to you about in private?”

“Nothing serious.” Ashley felt foolish talking to Edwin from across the room, so she begrudgingly took a seat next to Edwin on the bench. He wasn’t going to be the one to move, she thought, after his prior stubbornness. “Sarah asked if I wanted to go to an amusement park with her to pay me back for the interview.”

Edwin’s jaw dropped in response. “You’re going on a date with Sarah Ortiz? You’re joking, right?”

“What? No! It was just a friendly thing!” Ashley was shocked by Edwin’s accusation.

“Then why didn’t she invite me? We were both there.”

“Uh, maybe she only had one ticket?” Ashley realized how bad her explanation was as soon as she said it. “She never said it was a date!”

“It’s heavily implied!” Edwin groaned. “I cannot believe you are accidentally going on a date with one of the most popular girls at this school.”

“It’s not a date! I wouldn’t have agreed if I knew it was a date! For multiple reasons!” Ashley paused before continuing, quieter. “Like, it would be really rude given how you feel about her.”

For a second, Edwin was stunned by her response, but he soon laughed it off. “It’s not like I’m good enough for her, anyway. I’m no superhero coming to sweep her off her feet and save her life.”

“But you are! We work as a team”

“But Sapphire is a girl, which means I’ll never have the tiniest sliver of a chance.” Edwin sighed, leaning back on the bench and looking to the ceiling. “Don’t worry about me. Enjoy your date.”

Ashley’s eyes widened, a sudden realization hitting her. “Sarah’s a girl.”

Edwin raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“I’m going on a date with a girl.”

Edwin rolled his eyes.

“This is serious!” Ashley bumped him with her arm. “I’ve never been on a date, let alone a date with a girl! I don’t know what to do! And I’ll have to keep up my fake identity the whole time and I couldn’t even think of a fake name on the spot-“

“You can just not go if you’re already having so much trouble.”

“But I really want to go to an amusement park,” Ashley pouted.

“Hey guys!” Tabitha appeared from the main hallway, almost skipping over to where her friends sat. “What’s wrong with Ashley this time?” she asked, familiar with Ashley’s emotional outbursts.

“She’s too dense to notice when a girl asks her out on a date.” Edwin laughed, earning himself a jab to the ribs from Ashley’s elbow.

“You’re going on a date with a girl?” Tabitha scowled at her best friend. “Before me? I was supposed to be the gay one! I need five minutes to be jealous before I can be happy for you!”

“Oh, I can get rid of your jealousy right now.” Edwin smiled. “She’s going on a date with Sarah.”

Tabitha could only look at Ashley and blink as a rush of conflicting emotions filled her brain.

“I didn’t know it was a date!” Ashley placed both of her hands on her forehead, trying to combat the metaphorical headache her life had become. “She asked me to go with her to Magic Park after our interview and I really wanted to go!”

“Now that sounds like something you would do.” Tabitha laughed. “I’d ask if a rollercoaster was worth spending time with my nemesis, but I already know what you’d say.”

“But she asked Ruby to come with her. And if it’s a date, she’ll probably ask me a million questions and I can’t tell her anything that could get her to guess the truth.” Ashley groaned.

“Then stand her up!” Tabitha replied.

“What does that even mean?” Edwin muttered.

“You know, like when someone gets stood up. The active version of that. Anyway, my phrasing doesn’t matter. No Magic Park, no problems.”

“But it’s a free trip to an amusement park!” Ashley protested.

“It’s not free! You should pay for something for your date.” Tabitha crossed her arms. “See, this is why I should have been the first of us to date someone.”

Ashley sighed. “I need to think this through later, by myself. Can we talk about anything else?”

“The tenors got yelled at today for not paying attention again.” Tabitha rolled her eyes just thinking about the boys.

“That’s a given for any rehearsal, though.” Ashley chuckled, picking up her backpack. She started towards the door, her friends not far behind. Edwin looked to Tabitha in a silent agreement to keep their thoughts about the Sarah ordeal to themselves. Tabitha met his gaze, and then gave him a wide-eyed once-over.

“How long have you been a girl?”