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arrival has left you without a match,” he said.
    Oh god, this just got awkward. So much for timing it right.
    The girl next to me nudged my arm. “You lucked out. Every girl here was hoping for Troy as their partner.”
    Really? Were they willing to trade, because I’d take it. I smiled thinly. “Huh. Lucky me.”
    “It’s the art of storytelling and it’s as old as time,” Troy continued. “Find your own creative direction and process and move with it. We’re taking it beyond the sock, people.” Everyone laughed.
    I felt like I was sitting in on a secret club meeting, and I was the only one who didn’t know the language.
    “We’ll be covering Breath and Movement, Puppet Building, everything from Monster Puppets to Hand and Rod style.”
    The girl next to me snickered and I rolled my eyes. She had to have been at least eighteen to apprentice here, but come on, giggling over hand and rod? This was going to be my summer?
    “Performance, Acting and lastly there’s Design. Consider things like balance, weight, material movement. How do you want them to feel on the stage in relation to the story?” Troy pointed to me. “Nora?”
    Crap , I didn’t even realize that was a real question. My mind went blank. “I uh, I guess it depends? On the backstory, I mean.” Actual beads of sweat trickled down my back.
    He held my gaze long enough for people to start gawking at us, then he clapped once. “Yes. Exactly. That’s what we need to explore. It’s about relationships and all relationships have history. What we use how we use it, all piece together to convey an emotion. And that’s what’s at the heart of human existence. Emotion.”
    I wasn’t a student, there were no grades to pass, and yet I was literally sweating under the pressure.
    “That’s it for now everyone, I’ll see you back here in a couple of hours.” He rose his voice over the din of people leaving. “Take up the tour guides on their offer, it’s a huge place and you’ll need to know your way around. Especially those of you who are new.” His eyes wandered back to me. I froze. Like, deer in the headlights froze.
    “Nora. If you wouldn’t mind staying after, I have a few things to go over with you.”
    I swallowed and nodded, ignoring the whispers of the girls around me. Juveniles. It was like junior high all over. Except back then, I wasn’t the one being called out by the cute boy.
    He waited for everyone to clear out before he leapt down from the stage with the agility of a gymnast, then sat in the folding chair next to me.
    “You’re new to this aren’t you?”
    Was it that obvious already? “Pretty much. But I’m a quick study.” I added, sounding more confident than I felt. Inside my head was filled with insecurities. Stuff like please don’t fire me. And of course the inner monologue vacillating between thank god he doesn’t remember me, please don’t let him remember me, and why the hell doesn’t he remember me.
    “Well, it’s a lot like acting, art and sculpting combined. You up for that?”
    “I guess. I can honestly say I’ve never considered puppetry that way before.”
    “You’ve never considered it at all, from what I understand.”
    Grace must have told him about my pathetic interview. I still have no idea how I was even here. I hung my head, a little ashamed. It’s true I knew nothing about this discipline. Didn’t even know it was one until Kenzie brought it up. And I admit I mocked it mercilessly at first. But now, I was growing to see how much magic it really entailed. The movement, and music, the grace and feeling, it really was enchanting and I could see why not only children but adults too were riveted by the beauty of the performances.
    “Don’t worry Nora. I’m not calling you out. Sometimes the most reluctant trainees turn out to be the best.”
    “Even the desperate skeptics who are selfishly only in it for the money?” I chewed my lower lip.
    “Especially the desperate skeptics. They