The doorbell rings, and I drop my mascara wand on the white carpet. I'm so excited, I can hardly stand still, and I had to wipe off my (arguably minimal) makeup three times because my hand was shaking so badly. I'm incredibly glad that John and Alex made me wear a junk shirt to put my makeup on.

"I'LL GET IT!" I scream, tearing down the stairs at warp speed. I trip over Koopa, slide down the last three steps on my butt, and crash into the door. Still dizzy, I slowly stand up and pull the door open.

Standing there in the doorway, grinning and holding sheet music, is a girl with a jagged blonde haircut and a giant green sweater on. She's got three earrings in one ear, and when she sees me, she drops her sheet music all over the floor in a cascade. "Kathryn!"

"Emilie!" I wrap her in a giant hug that feels as though it might never end. Hugging her, my very best friend, I lose track of myself, forgetting where my happiness begins and hers ends. "I've missed you so much!"

"You saw me last month, Kat." Emmy rests her head on my shoulder. Her sweater smells like the fabric softener that I remember Miss Falcon always using. It gives me an almost painful pang of nostalgia, that smell of rain and flower petals. When it was my turn to do laundry, I would sit there and sniff the capful of softener until I grew dizzy.

"I know, but that was too long ago. I'm glad to see you." I laugh softly and hug her again.

John comes downstairs, electric razor in one hand and four ties in the other. "Kathryn, have you seen my- oh, hello there!" He waves to Emmy, sending a yellow and violently pink tie flying onto the floor. "You must be Emilie."

Emmy grins and waves back. "Hello, Mr. Laurens! I've heard a lot about you." I notice that she doesn't even protest being Emilie.

He laughs and bends down to pick up the tie. "We've met once before, at the ballet, I believe?"

She nods. "For a very brief moment, but yes, we did. Now, Kat, will you help me pick up my sheet music?"

I kneel on the carpet and begin to pick up sheets of paper with little black musical notes and a thousand eraser tracks dotting the pages. I can read music passably well, and I remember the melody that Emmy wrote last year. I would spin and prance around the hall while she plinked away dutifully on the out-of-tune piano.

Alex calls from upstairs, "Hi, Emmy!"

"You want to help me get ready?" We used to get ready for school dances together, Emmy and I- doing each other's makeup and hair, laughing and taking pictures in the mirror and trading dresses at the last minute.

"Of course I do!" Emmy takes my hand. "I want to help you with everything. I'm glad I get to be here as your best friend, glad I get to play the music for you. Today is important for you, and I'm happy to be here."

I kiss her on the cheek exaggeratedly, and she laughs. We run upstairs, and she takes in my room with shining eyes. I see the mess of my room, laundry and homework on the floor and dresses layered on my bed. I see the splatters of paint that still stain the floor, that I forgot to pick up my dirty ballet tights last night after final practice.

"This is so nice!" Emmy spins around with her arms wide, letting the fading sunlight from the window throw its beams across her face. "Your room is so very you."

I smile and then point to the Gratitude Wall, where her name is written in robin's-egg blue paint. There are little flecks of black glitter in the paint, and I made sure to shape the letters the way she always does on paper. The 'M's spike up on the left side, and there's a little star after the 'Y'.

"I missed you," I whisper when she wraps me in another hug.

********

"One more picture," Alex calls. Emmy and I obligingly strike yet another pose at the foot of the stairs. The dress I'm wearing is very fancy and very black and very unlike me, but all of the students have to wear black today. I have my trusty sneakers on, as always, and some very fabulous black and white tights with stars on them, but I feel a bit uncomfortable. Emmy, on the other hand, has been having the time of her life. My parents are apparently a riot, because everything they say and do has been hilarious to her.

John shakes his head, laughing. "Alex, they're going to be late. Last picture." He straightens his tie and reaches over to take the phone away.

"Yes, you're right." Alex hands over the phone. "Come on, ladies, your carriage awaits." The carriage is just John's vaguely dented car that's covered in bumper stickers, but we all overlook that fact. Holding hands, Emmy and I run out and climb into the back of the car, giggling all the way to the school.

Theo and Harriet ambush us the second we get in the door. Harriet's red sneakers are sparkling in the flourescent lighting of the hall, and Theo has let her hair loose for the second time ever. There are little crystal beads slid onto different strands, and now every aspect of her is glittering. Both of them choke me in a hug, and I yelp, laughing.

"Hello to you, too," I say, when I finally get my breath back. "Oh! Theo, Harriet, this is Emmy. Em, this is Theodosia and Harriet."

Theo waves and smiles warmly. Emmy goes to shake Harriet's hand, and Harriet envelops her in a hug instead. Emmy stumbles back a little bit- Harriet's hugs are both dangerous and legendary- but then returns the hug with just as much passion.

Chad storms over to me. "Oh, there you are. Is your dance ready?"

I nod eagerly. "Ready to go, sir." I stayed up a lot of last night to detail and refine every step. I have six pages filled with notes and scribbles and little drawings of feet. "I brought my own music, as well."

Emmy waves from behind a stack of sheet music. "Emilie LaRue. I'm a composer."

Chad shakes her hand, then returns his gaze to me. "The first-year performance is going to be starting soon. I suggest you get ready."

Theo tugs on my arm. "Can I show you my stuff for the art show?"

I nod eagerly. "I'd love to see."

Harriet grins. "Hey, Emmy, want me to show you the music room? We've got a grand piano." The piano here at school really is unsurpassable, glossy and black with snowy white keys. It's always in proper tune, and it sounds pretty and looks pretty. It's one heck of a piano.

Emmy hops up and down. "A grand? Take me there!" She and Harriet dash off, running as fast as we're allowed to in the halls.

I follow Theo to the Visual Arts wing, somewhere that I only venture for my Basic Sketching class. It's full of fantastic color here, every locker painted and decorated by its inhabitant. Some have stickers on them, like everyone's do, but others are beautiful- graffitied walls or recreations of old art prints.

The Performance Arts wing lockers get decorated, sure, but it's more like covered in pictures or, sometimes, if your name is Harriet Hemings, red glitter paint.

The art show room is brightly lit and crowded with parents, including Mr. Burr and Zia. The portraits and collages that line the walls are each spotlighted, and as far as I can tell, all belong to juniors and seniors. The one that Theo leads me to, however, is better than all of them.

It's a collage of tiny drawings, each one a snapshot into a single moment of life.

There's a doodle of a very small girl standing in what looks to be a pit. She's calling out for help, but the people above her all have their backs turned. This drawing is isolated, at the bottom of the heart that the collage makes. Moving up on the next layer are all darkly shaded images, all carrying me through Theo's world. Slowly, the pictures lighten up, and more people enter them- a black man and a red-haired woman. There are adventures and happy moments in the collage now, and then, on the edges, there's a girl with curly hair and a giant red bow. She gets closer and closer until she is the center of a drawing, and I see Harriet. On the opposite edge is a girl with long, wild hair and toe shoes slung over her shoulder. As she is brought to the center, it's like looking into a mirror- I see my dark eyes and playful grin and little eyebrow scar.

My eyes well up slightly, and I press a hand to my mouth. "Oh, Theo!"

She grins and wraps an arm around me. "Don't cry, silly. It was supposed to make you smile."

"I'm smiling so much that it's falling out of me like rain," I say in a pretentious voice, then laugh. "Seriously, though, this is so pretty. Please tell me you won something."

Theo shrugs and fingers a light blue Honorable Mention ribbon tacked to the bottom of her canvas. "All the other kids are seniors. Besides, I bet Salvador Dali never won any art shows in middle school."

"Salvador Dali was probably insane anyway- whoever he was." I laugh. "You deserve all of the awards, Theodosia."

My phone buzzes, with a message from Harriet.

YellowBrickRad- Come to the music room,

ballyay- Why? Is something wrong?

YellowBrickRad is typing....

ballyay- Nothing happened to Emmy, right?

YellowBrickRad is typing....

YellowBrickRad- Gtg

I nearly drop the phone on the floor. "Theo, come on!"

She looks a little bemused, but humors me and runs along by my side to the music room. Harriet is perched outside the door, and cautions us to be quiet. Inside, I can hear voices through the door, which is very slightly open. Inside, Emmy is sitting at the piano bench and facing away from the door. Across from her, standing up and facing us is Miss Falcon. Her hair is swept back and she's all dressed up, and she's talking earnestly. I catch only snatches of conversation.

"-a long time, and I've really grown attatched to you, Emilie."

Emmy folds her arms. "Is this some big speech you give, when you're sending people away?"

Miss Falcon shakes her head. "Of course not! Why would you think that?"

"Everywhere I go, I get sent away. No one ever wants me." Emmy's eyes are full of tears.

"No, I didn't mean-"

"I get it." Emmy's voice is cold. "I know I'm a burden."

Miss Falcon holds up a hand to stop Emmy from talking. "If you would stop interrupting me, you would know what I'm trying to say. You remind me of the daughter I used to have, a long time ago. I felt incredibly upset when you went to that other family for a while- more so than I thought I would. I need to ask you a question."

Emmy stops with her mouth open. She slowly nods.

"I was wondering if you wanted to make this a more long-term arrangement. That is, I want to adopt you." Miss Falcon closes her eyes and exhales.

Emmy springs up from the bench and wraps her arms around Miss Falcon. The two stand together for a long time, unmoving, and when they finally pull back, both of their faces are streaked with tears. I feel a little like crying myself, but more than anything, I feel a rising, warm happiness in my chest. It's passion that I feel, but more importantly, it's excitement. Emmy has a family now, even if it's a small one. My phone beeps.

OdomSchoolOfficial- It's time for the dance students' performance. All dance students, please report to the Green room.

Emmy catches us looking through the door crack. She doesn't seem upset, on the contrary, she catches me in a hug. "Oh, Kat, I have a family!"

I return the hug, holding her tight. "I'm so happy for you." The words come out of me in a whoosh, as though I've been waiting to say them for years. My phone buzzes in my pocket again, and I laugh. "Time to play."

**********

We stand on the dark stage, my hands clasped nervously behind me. Emmy is seated at the piano, touching keys with a pale finger. She looks nervous, and I understand why- this song is her own composition. It begins very slowly, traditionally, spaced with flutters of allegro and then returning to slow. It's beautiful, and she slaved over it for almost a year.

The lights come up, and Emmy gives me a reassuring nod. She sweeps her fingers over the shining white keys before striking a single note, and I shift position. When she finds her place in the song, I begin to dance. The dance is with passion and happiness, and it's for Emmy. It's for my dads, and for Theo and Harriet, and for everyone here- but mostly, I dance for myself.

(A/N: Hey guys, it's me! I'm so, so incredibly sorry for the month-long delay between chapters. I hope I haven't lost my entire audience in that time, but that's okay. Hopefully, I can get updates up much more quickly now, and the next should be up in a day or two. I love you all!)