"Yes. I am right. And you should be jealous; my roar is awesome." Stepping out of the car and into the cold winter air, Lexie shivered a little, then turned back to look at Nick. "An assassin with a katana." She pretended to think about it. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds exactly like you." She nudged his shoulder, then put a hand on it, standing on tiptoe so she could whisper in his ear. Lexie knew, of course, that he would keep her secret. He always had been good at that, ever since they were little. She knew she could trust him. In some ways, she trusted him more than she trusted anyone, with the possible exception of her dad. "I applied to conservatory," Lexie whispered to him. "Master's programs, mostly. I sent audition tapes to all my dream schools." Rocking back on her feet, Lexie shifted, a little uncomfortable. "But I haven't told my parents because I don't want it to be a let down, you know?"
Lexie was too wrapped up in being ecstatic to really know if he felt weird, and as they entered the pet store she was positively beaming. She wasn't completely surprised by his reaction, but it still warranted a pretty solid nudge from her. "You're just saying that because you grew up with me," she teased. "Hey look! Hamsters!" Lexie zoomed over to the cage where the adorable hamsters were kept and watched one of them running around on its wheel. "There's one type of rodent for you!"