When lunch finally came, every single cat in the school, even the teachers, was ready for it. Students stampeded down the stairs, across hallways, and through groups of other students to meet up with their friends.
Mistoffelees collapsed in a seat next to Pouncival who gave him a friendly smile. He was exhausted. He had followed Victoria around all morning, but she was no closer to liking him. If anything, she was trying to avoid him. Every time he smiled at her, she had turned to talk to someone or dove into the queen’s room. He wished he was allowed in there, just to be near her, but he knew that would not go over too well with some people.
Unwrapping his tuna sandwich, Misto looked around, trying to find her in the crowd. It was not hard to do. She was the only pure white queen in the whole school. She was in the very center of the room, sitting on the edge of the table, her legs crossed, her tail waving as she laughed and chatted with some other quittens. Her light blue shirt gave her a carefree, angelic look and brought out the pale green of her eyes. She tossed her head lightly as she laughed, then turned and looked right at Misto.
He nearly choked on his sandwich. He had to cough and swallow several gulps of milk to get it out of his throat. She was looking at him! He couldn’t believe it! But she just glared and turned away. Misto sighed. Why didn’t she like him? He set down his sandwich with a rusty sigh. What to do? Maybe she’d like to see his magic! He could make something for her. A rose perhaps. Maybe she’d like that. He got up and walked over to her, trying to look determined and handsome.
Victoria looked up and groaned as Misto stepped up to her and leaned lightly against the edge of the table. “Hi,” he said softly.
Victoria held back a snort of laughter. “What do you want?” she demanded.
Misto turned bright red as all the quittens at the table turned to look at him. “I… I wanted to give you something,” he said softly.
“Oh?” Victoria said, her tone snooty. “What?”
Encouraged, Misto took a deep breath and held up his paws. He slowly began to swirl blue strands of magic between his fingers. Victoria’s eyes grew wide as she watched him. Misto held back a mouthful of laughter. She hadn’t known he was magic. It was so funny to see her face. He folded the magic lightly between his fingers, stretching it out like a cat’s cradle, then twirling it gently into shape. Then the blue light faded, leaving a beautiful, white rose in his palm with a white ribbon tied in a bow around it. Misto slowly held out the rose to Victoria, his eyes hopeful. Maybe now she’d like him.
Victoria eyed the rose like it was going to turn into a snake. “What’s this for?”
“For you,” Misto said, holding it out again.
Victoria raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Cause… cause… well, just cause I want you to have it,” Misto said lamely. Did he need a reason to give her a present?
Victoria eyed it, then slowly took it in her paw. “Uh, thanks. Thanks a lot.”
Misto burst into a beaming smile. “Sure.” He gazed at her through his long lashes. “Want another one?”
“Uh, no,” Victoria said quickly. “One’s enough. Thanks.”
Misto smiled at her. “Okay.” He gazed at her for a moment, his eyes soft.
“Uh, don’t you need to eat lunch?” Victoria asked.
Best not to push his luck to stay longer. Misto smiled, turned, and walked away. Maybe he had been successful after all. But as he sat down, he was sure he heard her giggle to her friends, “Geek.”
Mungojerrie yanked open his geometry book and tore a piece of paper from his notebook. He had forgotten how long 20 problems could take. He began to work, but his mind was on slow motion, and he couldn’t get his brain to work as fast as his pencil. He ended up erasing half of the numbers he wrote. Why didn’t they make sense?
Teazer slid into her seat next to him, a candy bar clenched tightly in her paw. Jerrie looked up at her in surprise. “Where did you get that?”
“Larana gave me a buck,” Teazer said, setting down her books and peering over his shoulder at his geometry work.
“Why?” Jerrie asked suspiciously.
Teazer shrugged. “We’re friends.”
Jerrie nodded and picked up his pencil again, but he couldn’t help noticing how his mouth watered at the thought of chocolate. He was so hungry, but he knew better than to complain. Complaining never solved anything.
The silver wrapper crinkled promisingly as Teazer unwrapped the chocolate bar from its confines. She carefully broke it in half and held out one half to her brother. “Here.”
Jerrie shook his head. “Uh uh. It’s yours. You eat it.”
Teazer grabbed his paw and pressed it into his palm. “Jer, take it. You need it. Please?”
One look into her brown eyes, and he couldn’t say no. Besides, it did smell absolutely heavenly. Jerrie smiled his thanks to his sister and brought the chocolate bar to his mouth, taking only a moment to savor the rich, sweet smell before stuffing it in his mouth. Teazer giggled her high-pitched giggle. “You look like a chipmunk when you do that.”
Jerrie had to swallow before he could answer. “Gee, thanks. I feel good now.”
Teazer rubbed her nose against his. “I’m kidding, Jer.”
“I know. I know.”
Bom slid into her seat next to her best friend, Demeter. She looked around for Macavity. He had scarcely nodded at her in the hall when he had passed her earlier. Did he still like her, or was she just history now?
She spotted him in his little group with Munkustrap, Alonzo, and the others. He was laughing at something Rumpus Cat was doing. Bom groaned when she realized he was balancing a spoon on his nose. Toms. She sighed and rolled her eyes.
Demeter seemed extremely chipper today. She hummed softly to herself as she fished an apple from her lunch bag. Bom smiled. “You’re still happy about Munkustrap, aren’t you?”
Demeter looked up and nodded, her cheeks pink with delight. “Yeah.”
Bom grinned. “So, when are you two gonna get together?”
“Oh, I dunno. Maybe tonight. I’ll have to see.”
Bom raised one eyebrow. “You gonna do it with him?”
“No!” Demeter nearly yelled. She glanced around, embarrassed, but when she saw no one paid attention, she cleared her throat and said softly, “No. I’m not.”
“Oh, come on, Demi. Don’t you think it’s time you lost your virginity?”
“I… I don’t know,” Demeter said softly. “I was planning on waiting til I get married…”
“But what if you don’t get married to him?”
“Then I don’t.”
“But don’t you wanna know what he’s like before you lose him?”
“Who says I’ll lose him?” Demeter asked softly. “If… if that happens, I don’t want him to take my heart with him.”
Bom shrugged. “Suit yourself, but I still think you’re missing something good.”
Demeter bit her lip. “Have… have you ever slept with him, Bom?”
“Munkustrap? Heck no.”
Demeter brightened. “You haven’t?”
“Nope. Munkustrap’s like taken this vow of chastity or something. He tells me he’s a virgin too.”
Demeter’s eyes lit up like firecrackers. “Really? He said that?”
Bom nodded. “Yeah. Ask him yourself if you don’t believe me.”
“Oh, I do.” Demeter glanced over at Munkustrap. “I do.”
Etcetera collapsed in her seat with a groan. “Who hates math?”
“I do,” said Victoria.
“Me too,” Jemima added.
“Me three,” piped up Electra.
Etcetera grinned. “I rest my case.” She buried her face in her arms and growled softly.
Cassandra sashayed up to the table with the biggest smile she had, perfected by three years of cheerleading. “Hey, freshmen.”
The quittens all looked up at Cassandra with adoring eyes. The second most-popular queen in the whole school had talked to them. “Hi,” Victoria said, flicking her tail slightly. “What do you want?”
Cassandra grinned. “I have info about the first cheerleader meeting, if anyone’s interested.”
A series of me’s and I am’s met her request, Victoria, Electra, and Etcetera included. Victoria glanced at Jemima. Jemima shook her head. “I hate cheerleading. It’s not a sport.”
Cassandra shrugged. “Can’t win them all,” she said. She handed a purple flyer to the freshmen queens. “First meeting’s Friday. Hope you all come.” She grinned and sashayed away as gracefully as she had come.
Alonzo glanced over at where Jemima sat with the rest of her freshman friends. She looked so pretty in the bright sunlight from the overhead skylights.
Someone jabbed him in the ribs. He turned to see Munkustrap gazing at him. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You seem… preoccupied.”
“Do I?” Alonzo glanced back over at Jemima.
Munkustrap followed his gaze. “Do you like her?”
“Who?” Alonzo asked guiltily.
“That freshman girl.”
“Jemima? No.”
“Yeah you do.”
“Okay, fine, I do. So?”
“You gonna ask her out?”
“I dunno. She might already have a boyfriend…”
“Nah. If she did, she wouldn’t be so red around you.”
“Whatcha lookin’ at?” Macavity asked, tearing his gaze from Rumpus to follow their gaze. He whistled through his teeth. “Whoa. Lookit those queens. Man, we got some underage hotties this year.”
“Yeah,” Alonzo said softly. He gazed at Jemima again. “There’s… there’s a drama club meeting on Thursday after school. I… Should I… I could… ask her out…”
“Do it!” Munkustrap said, slapping his friend on the back. “The worst she can say is no.”
“Why does that sound familiar?” Alonzo teased.
Munkustrap grinned. “Cause you told me that yesterday.”
“Yeah.”
Lunch ended too quickly, and the students stampeded off to class like raging cattle. Most seniors headed off for gym.
Rumpus Cat crept into the biology lab, silent as a shadow. He looked around, then swiftly opened a box and grabbed something, stuffing it into a paper bag. He turned and raced out to gym.
Exotica waited until all the senior girls had changed into their gym uniforms and had left the locker room before swiftly disappearing into a stall. She closed the door and locked it securely, then dropped to her knees, leaned over the toilet, and threw up her lunch. Her stomach churned as she forced herself to throw up again. The vile taste lingered in her mouth, but she was used to it. She flushed the toilet and let herself out of the stall. She rinsed her mouth in the sink and stuck a mint in her mouth to hide any lingering traces of her forced sickness. She turned and walked out into the gym, praying no one found out her secret.
Rumpus looked around. No one was looking. He quickly opened a gym locker and dumped the contents of the paper bag into it. He slammed the door and raced out into the gym. Some freshman was in for a surprise.
Bom sat on the bench in the gym tying her sneakers. She hated gym. The boys got to wear royal blue, but the girls had to wear the ugly yellow color that was supposed to be gold. Talk about a fashion statement.
Macavity walked up to Bom and sat down next to her. “Hey, baby.”
“Hey yourself,” Bom teased, smiling at him, batting her eyelashes slightly.
Macavity slid an arm around her waist. “So, what time should I pick you up tonight?”
Bom looked up at him sharply. “We’re going out tonight?”
“Yeah,” Macavity purred. “I took the liberty of making plans.”
“I see,” Bom said softly. “Well, what are we gonna do?” Her voice lowered just a bit. “Go back to your house?”
“Afterwards we can,” Macavity said, his voice just as soft. “I’ll actually take you out somewhere, if you want.”
“Sure,” Bom said softly. She laid her head on his shoulder a moment. “Might be fun.”
Eventually the day ended. None to soon, most of the students agreed. Most were anxious to go home, do homework, and go do something fun.
Mistoffelees slammed his locker door, hugging his English book to his chest. He sighed softly and laid his forehead against the cool metal. He was so tired of following Victoria, but he couldn’t bear to stop. Why wouldn’t she just talk to him?
Slam! He grunted as a rough paw shoved his face against the locker door. He whirled around, rubbing his sore nose. Rumpus smirked and sauntered away, his tail twitching in the I-pulled-one-on-the-freshman way. Misto growled and lashed his tail, but he didn’t dare chase after the large senior.
“You okay, Misto?” asked a shy voice. Little Pouncival glanced over at Misto from his spot cowering by his locker, obviously trying to stay out of any of the seniors’ paths.
Misto groaned. “I don’t know. I guess.”
Pouncival shut his locker softly, as if it might attract undue attention. “Those seniors think they can do anything.”
“Well, we’ll be seniors one day,” Misto said softly, as if that would make it all better.
“In four years,” Pouncival reminded him.
Misto sighed again. “Good point.”
Macavity held the door open for Bombalurina, bowing playfully as she sashayed past him. “So, where shall we go?”
“Anywhere but here,” Bom said, her eyes glowing dangerously. “I hate school.”
“We know, sweetheart.” Macavity fished his car keys out of his pocket. “How does pizza sound to you?”
“Fine by me,” Bom said, swishing her hips lightly as she made her way across the parking lot to Macavity’s black Mewstang. She leaned prettily against the passenger door and crossed her legs seductively, her mini skirt swishing softly.
Macavity unlocked her door and held it so she could slide in, then went around to the driver side and got in. He closed the door and leaned back in his seat, sliding his arm around Bom’s shoulders. Bom purred and cuddled into his grip, resting her head on his shoulder. “Mmm,” she purred softly.
Macavity smiled. “Getting cozy?” he teased.
Bom smiled and licked his nose lightly with her long, pink tongue. “You bet.”
Macavity grinned and squeezed her shoulder. “Well, save it til we get home, kay? Cause I gotta drive.”
Bom pouted. “Aw.”
Macavity kissed her on the mouth, his whiskers brushing hers. “Hey, it’ll be worth it. I promise.”
Bom smiled and purred, rubbing her cheek on his shoulder. “Okay. I trust you.”
“Well, that’s good,” Macavity teased, turning the car on. He slid his seatbelt snugly around his shoulders, and Bom did the same. Macavity squealed the tires as he zoomed out of the parking lot.
Etcetera sighed as she fiddled with the lock on her locker. Tugger wasn’t at his locker, so she couldn’t talk to him. She opened the door and pulled out her book bag. She shoved her books into it and slammed her locker. Suddenly, Electra was by her side. “Hey, Etcy. Wanna do your homework at my house?”
“Sure,” Etcetera said softly.
Electra’s brow wrinkled a bit. “You okay? You seem… tired.”
Etcetera shrugged. “Not tired. Just… thinking.”
“About Tugger?”
“No!” Etcetera squealed, trying to giggle to show her friend she was all right. “About… cheerleading. Do you think I should try out?”
“Yeah, I do. It’ll be fun. We can make some new friends and go to football games. ‘Sides, with all your flips you can do, you’re for sure gonna get in.” Electra’s green eyes sparkled.
Etcetera giggled. “Okay. I will.”
“Come on,” Electra said, tugging on Etcetera’s paw. “Let’s go do our work so we can get a movie or something.”
“Okay,” Etcetera agreed. She wondered in the back of her mind if Tugger liked cheerleaders.
On to Chapter 5 already!
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