Nora Davis was weird. Granted, Eli Leonger had known that from the beginning, but only recently had weird turned into something more... endearing. Still, there were certain things she did and said that made him question what was going on inside that head of hers.

Her actions were so contradicting it made his head spin. And yet, it also made him want to delve deeper, to find out why, especially when it came to music—she proved to be incredibly more dynamic. There were so many hidden depths to her, he may never reach the bottom.

As Eli and Ian Leonger walked into Jostlin the next morning, Eli was still thinking about her. Why would someone who clearly had a talent and a love for music not write songs? Or develop a portfolio? Nora said she'd sometimes wrote songs. But the way she was able to break down his piece and immediately reconfigure it spoke of someone with a lot more experience than "sometimes."

So why wouldn't she be open with him about it?

He understood her not having a Musetunes account. It was a lot harder for songwriters to move anywhere on the site if they weren't personally singing the songs. Though he had seen a few that had other artists perform the song with credit to the writer. So it was possible.

Nora was such a hard worker. He couldn't imagine her not wanting to dive into something she had a passion for. But then, when she was at the palace eating dinner with them, she hadn't mentioned Focusing in anything either. Maybe she had passion and drive, but was afraid of commitment?

That didn't seem to line up. There was definitely something—

"Eli!" Someone jogged up next to him.

He glanced over. "Felicity. Hi."

Felicity's blonde hair was fashioned in loose curls that bounced as she walked next to him. "Hey," she said, slightly out of breath. The smile she gave him was bright and welcoming. "I was afraid I wouldn't catch up to you in time."

Were they walking fast? Eli glanced at Ian who shrugged, gave his shoulder a pat, and disappeared – probably off to find Havana. "What can I do for you?" he asked her.

The moment the words escaped him, he inwardly flinched. That was never a good question for him to ask. People always had somethi—

"Nothing," Felicity said. "I just wanted to catch up. Nora said you both were hanging out later, and she invited me along. I hope that's okay."

He and Nora had plans to go to the ice cream shop near the school after classes let out. He was hoping to use the time to ask Nora more about music.

Every time he thought back to Nora at the palace and the way her eyes lit from within when she talked about music, his chest flamed. Her reaction was addicting. He wanted to experience it again and again.

If Felicity was joining them, the dynamic would be different. He might not be able to ask Nora more about music. It was hard enough for him to get her to talk about herself. If Felicity was there, it would only prove more difficult.

Still, if Nora invited Felicity, then she obviously wouldn't mind having her there.

"Sure," he said. "Yeah, that's fine. We're meeting at the ice cream shop near Grammon's. You know where that is?"

Felicity beamed up at him. "I do. I'll be there."

"Great," he said, only half-meaning it. The warning bells for first period chimed. "I've got to go grab my stuff before class. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Eli," she wiggled her fingertips.

❄︎❄︎❄︎

F. 

An F.

Nora stared hard at the Geometry quiz Professor Hamilton slid onto her desk. There, in big fat red pen, was a giant F.

She'd never gotten an F before in her school career. It wasn't her. She did all her homework and studied hard for tests beforehand. Usually. She hadn't been able to study for this one because she'd been working with Felicity on her Daxton Cavenaugh contest entry and then on Sleepy's Winter Showcase song. She'd barely had time to use the restroom, let alone study.

She bit her lip and flipped the quiz over as Professor Hamilton moved on with class. She couldn't bear to have the dreaded letter stare back at her. Whatever they were learning about next, Nora didn't hear it. Everything in her head was nothing but a dim drone. Her body felt numb.

She knew she'd bombed her Chemistry quiz earlier today too. That, combined with the grade in Geometry... she was on a straight path to losing her scholarship. And if that happened, she could kiss Jostlin goodbye. All the music classes, all the songwriting knowledge she could learn from the teachers here would be gone. With her not attending university, that meant this would be the last few opportunities she'd have to learn about the craft.

The thought alone made her heart heavy.

The final bells chimed. Nora blinked and slowly, achingly, piled her notebook and book into her broken backpack. The zipper was ripped, but she was at least able to finagle it so it closed halfway.

"Nora, a moment, please," Professor Hamilton said.

Some of the kids making their way out of the classroom sniggered.

Her cheeks heated as she stopped in front of the teacher's desk.

Professor Hamilton waited as the rest of the students left and then folded her arms across the desk. "Is everything alright?"

Nora nodded before the question even registered.

"I need you to start focusing on this class," Professor Hamilton said. "You're smart. You know what you're doing. So I don't understand why your test scores are slipping. Is everything okay at home?"

She nodded again. She didn't trust her voice to be steady.

Professor Hamilton took a deep breath, her eyes tracing over Nora. After a moment, she said. "I don't usually give students a heads up but, the mid-semester grades are due next week to the office," the professor leaned forward, meeting Nora's eye. "You need to do well on this next test, otherwise I'm afraid your grade will slip too far. If that happens, your scholarship might be in trouble."

"I know," she said quietly. Her fingers curled into a fist at her side.

"You need to start evaluating what's really important to you," Professor Hamilton continued. "School, or a boy. School is much more important in the long run, I can assure you."

Nora flinched. She knew information and rumors swept through Jostlin like a wildfire. Even the teachers knew she was hanging out with Eli Leonger?

"This is only your second year, and your scholarship, your schooling, is much more important than a boy. Do you understand?"

Throat tight, Nora nodded, "I'll do better."

"Good," Professor Hamilton tapped the desk and leaned back in her chair. "Now, you better head to your next class. The bell is about to ring."

❄︎❄︎❄︎

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Despite the warning from Professor Hamilton, Nora still couldn't focus. All she could think about were the two songs for her artists that were due by the end of next week. Daxton Cavenaugh's contest entry window had opened earlier this week. Although it would remain open for the next three weeks, she still had some finishing touches on her own piece before it was ready for another set of ears.

When the final bell rang, she'd finally gotten her stress levels under control. Like Professor Hamilton said, she needed to evaluate what was more important. And when she really thought about it, she knew what her decision had to be. She liked Eli Leonger. But the time they had right now was a weird fluke. Eventually, he would get tired of her. He would leave her behind.

Her chest ached at the thought. But she needed to think about her future. And right now, she needed to focus on her studies. Because she couldn't lose this scholarship.

Couldn't.

She was supposed to meet Eli at the ice cream shop a few blocks from the school. She would tell him then.

Mind made up, she headed to her locker and dialed Sleepy's number.

Nora held the phone between her ear and shoulder as she grabbed her books. She's arrived at Jostlin early this morning to clean up the now dry toilet paper rolls and any other remnant of the cruelty of Sarias' elite. Despite the horribleness of the situation, today, her anger and embarrassment were hardly more than a dim discomfort in her gut.

She prayed it stayed that way.

"It's all set to go," Nora told Sleepy when he picked up. "I've got it geared up to release at midnight tonight."

Her locker closed with a tinny slam. She adjusted her backpack strap over her shoulder and switched the phone to her other ear.

"What about the, uh, messaging, or whatever?" Sleepy asked in his slow drawl.

Garth always talked slow, as if he weren't in a hurry to do anything. Which was fine, but occasionally it transferred over to their recording sessions. Her songs with Sleepy took almost double the time the other artists' did. He never applied himself, never listened to her comments, and took his time singing the songs. Half the time, she wasn't sure he knew what he was even singing. And he was always late for each of their sessions because he was out napping somewhere.

Just last week, she'd had to call him seven times before he picked up. When he did, his voice was groggy. He'd been sleeping in the Jostlin student lounge after classes let out and missed half their session.

Nora held back a sigh. "I'll post something once it goes out. But you've been teasing this all week."

"I have?"

Sometimes, she didn't think there was much difference between Sleepy and Dopey. But at least Dopey had heart. Meanwhile, Sleepy just didn't care.

His parents sure did. Otherwise, they wouldn't have reached out to Mallory about kickstarting his music career.

"Yes, Garth. You have."

"Great," he said through a yawn. "Great."

The hallways of Jostlin always cleared out fast after class. As Nora walked through the emptying main hall, the tall head-height windows cast bright winter sun along the tiles. It was bitter cold today, but at least the sun was out. "You're set for this month," Nora told him. "And your Showcase entry will be out next month."

"Awesome." He hung up.

Nora shook her head and glanced down at her phone as it pinged a second later. What—

She collided with a hard form and got knocked a few steps back. "Mmph." Her phone clattered to the hard tile floor.

"Ohmygoodness, I'm so sorry." A hand landed on her arm to try and steady her. "Are you okay?"

Nora automatically fixed her crooked glasses and scooped her phone off the ground. The back and the battery had come completely off. She hurriedly clicked it all back into place and snuck a quick glance at it. A giant spiderweb crack took over the black screen.

Shit.

Havana Green, Ian Leonger's Destined, looked at her, eyebrows together.

Nora conjured up a polite smile, "I'm fine. Totally my fault," she said, "I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention."

Havana tilted her head, her long brown hair cascading over her shoulder. "Takes two to run into each other. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Havana?"

Ian Leonger appeared at Havana's elbow. "Are you alright?"

He put his hand on Havana's shoulder. Then he grabbed her books and her backpack. A part of her melted. Trust Ian Leonger to immediately relieve someone of their burden. Even if it came in the form of books.

"I'm okay," Havana reassured. "I ran into..." She dropped off as she looked at Nora and bit her lip.

"Nora," she supplied. "Nora Davis."

Ian frowned at Nora. "You're still here? Eli was looking for you a moment ago."

Her heart gave a traitorous thump. "Was he?"

"He just headed off with Felicity," Ian jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "Felicity said something about meeting you at the ice cream shop."

Her stomach turned to stone. "Oh. Great. Thank you." She adjusted her glasses. "Sorry for the collision," Nora said to Havana.

Havana waved it away. "No worries. It was nice to meet you."

Nora tried to summon up a smile, but even that was too challenging. "You too."

She walked off, feeling much like a battered soldier off to another war.