Monday. There's a new student in Annie and Kat's class, a boy out of uniform with long-ish hair. Winsbury tells him he's in the wrong classroom, and makes fun of his hairstyle and clothing. The boy responds that he didn't realize this was some sort of fashion advice seminar, and Kat tells Winsbury to leave off just before Mrs. Donlan comes in. She introduces the new student as Alistair, and informs the class he'll only be there for a week.
Kat and Annie introduce themselves, and he tells them to call him Aly. Kat offers to show him around, and he accepts.
Kat and Aly turn out to have a lot of common interests, and they get on famously. Although, as Kat tells Annie that evening, his favourite album from their favourite band is different than hers.
Tuesday. Aly is building a model of a house out of popsicle sticks, because he doesn't have to do much work as he's only staying a week. Kat asks him if he's going to a new school, and Aly says he doesn't have a clue, to which Kat laughs.
Wednesday. Aly is sitting out gym class, wearing a scarf and gloves. Winsbury makes fun of him for this, and Aly pays him back by doing an impressive slam-dunk with his basketball, to the awe of the other students. He winds up hanging off the basketball hoop, and Mr. Eglamore has to help him down, telling him he doesn't want to get hurt two days before his parents arrive. Annie asks Aly to pardon her, and lifts him up off the floor by his shirt. After putting him down, Annie notes that he's very light, which must be how he can jump so high. Kat is mortified by Annie's behaviour.
Thursday. Annie is climbing down the ladder in the girls' dorm when she hears crying from Kat's bunk. She enters to find Kat has attempted to wear makeup to impress Aly, and it looks terrible. Annie offers to help her, and removes all the makeup, telling Kat that Aly likes her just as she is. Kat apologizes for the way she acted towards Annie the day before, but Annie's okay. Kat starts to ask Annie why she wears makeup when the bell rings. The first period is study, and so Aly, who has now added a toque to his clothing, sets off with them to the library. Once in the library, Annie takes off to find a book, and Aly comments on her lack of subtlety. Kat asks Aly if he's hot wearing all those clothes, and he answers in the affirmative, but says he has to wear it until he leaves tomorrow. Kat and Aly are both sad that he can't stay longer.
Friday. Aly comes up to Kat in the morning and says he has to say goodbye, because he has to leave now. She asks him for contact information, but he says he won't have any where he's going, and abruptly departs, to Kat's shock. Annie is sorry for her. In the early afternoon, Annie's finally had enough, and drags Kat off to see Aly one more time before he leaves.
Aly's been sleeping in a tower room, and Kat opens the door to see a figure huddled on the floor, shrouded in blankets. Annie has an idea: Shove Kat inside and close the door. Aly is shocked to see Kat, because he didn't want her to see him the way he is now: the blanket falls away to reveal Aly is turning into a bird. Annie sees this through the crack in the door, and is equally surprised. A pair of large birds land on the windowsill, and Aly introduces them as his parents. They passed a test and were given new bodies, and Aly's changing because they wanted to take him with them. Kat asks if they gave him a choice, and Aly reveals his mom asked him while he was distracted playing a video game, and had unwittingly agreed. Kat's not impressed, and Aly agrees, but the Kershaws are off to live in Gillitie Wood now.
Aly tells Kat she can have his stuff, and she gives him a big hug. Aly completes his transformation into a bird, Kat kisses him on the head, and he and his parents fly away. And Kat never saw him again.
Annie tells Kat she doesn't have to hide her tears, and Kat tells her:
Tropes:
- Call-Back: Aly's parents were given new bodies as birds when they passed a test, which is like the fairies from "Broken Glass and Other Things".
- Commonality Connection: Kat and Aly have a lot of common interests.
- Cosmetic Catastrophe: Kat tries to wear makeup to impress Aly, but she's not good at it.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Kat, as the episode focusses on her relationship with Alistair.
- Didn't Think This Through: Aly turns into a bird because he wasn't listening when his mother asked him if he wanted to, because he was focused on a video game.
- Flashback Cut: The reveal of how Aly agreed to become a bird.
- Foreshadowing: Aly's slowly-increasing amount of clothing.
- Interspecies Romance: Played for laughs when, in the aftermath shown in the bonus strip, Kat is shown to have developed an appreciation for the appearance of birds.
- Metamorphosis: The Kershaws permanently transform into birds.
- Morphic Resonance: The feathers the Kershaws have on their heads in bird-form mimic the hairstyles they had as humans.
- New Transfer Student: Aly's only going to be at the Court for a week.
- No Social Skills: Annie casually grabs Aly and lifts him up easily to test a hypothesis that he managed an effortless dunk because he's unusually light. Kat, with her burgeoning crush, is utterly mortified and snaps at Annie for embarrassing her in front of him.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Aly and Kat are only together for a week, because he's permanently turning into a bird. The chapter ends with the words "And she never saw him again."
- Tragic Keepsake: Aly gives Kat all of his stuff.
