School progressed slower than ever as days turned into weeks. Before long, September was over, and it was the first of October. But, as most students do, the student body only saw 8 more horrible months stretching before them. But for several students, those months would be the most life-changing months of their lives.
To call or not to call. That was the question. Bombalurina fingered the telephone, her mind a-whirl with a million different thoughts. She wanted to talk to Cassandra… or she could call Demeter… No, that wouldn’t do. Demeter didn’t need to know. It would only upset her…
Bom growled and sat down on her bed again. Around her she had her calendar spread out, as well as several pieces of paper with numbers all over them. She grabbed her calendar up again and began to count the days in September again…Over three weeks…
“Dammit!” Bom nearly cried. She grabbed a Kleenex and blew her nose violently. What could she do…? She grabbed her car keys off her dresser and headed downstairs, past her parents who were curled up on the couch watching TV, out to her car. With a growl of anger, she started the car and peeled out of the driveway, headed for the drug store.
The twins peered inside cautiously. Nothing moved. They slid in the door and closed it silent as mice. They headed for the stairs.
Whack! A heavy blow sent Mungojerrie spinning to the floor, scattering his books over the living room floor. Jerrie hit the ground face first. He rolled onto his back and stared up in terror at his dad who glared down at him.
Rumpleteazer skidded to her brother’s side and planted herself by him, her eyes scared as she sank to her knees next to him.
“Move, Rumpleteazer,” Roth commanded, his voice slurred.
Jerrie’s scared, brown eyes shifted to his sister’s. Go, he told her mentally, hoping she got his message. If you get hurt… Teazer stood up and backed away, fear and guilt written all over her face.
“Go upstairs,” Roth hissed. Teazer turned and fled.
Roth turned back to Jerrie who cowered, feeling vulnerable on his back on the floor, unable to get up, legs and arms sprawled in all directions. His dad’s eyes blazed fire. “Get up!” he ordered.
Jerrie scrambled to his feet and stood, trembling, in the middle of the floor. Roth glared down at him, then grabbed Jerrie by the collar of his shirt. He shoved him against the wall and held him there with a strong grip. “You two are late,” he growled, referring to them being home late from school.
Jerrie’s ears pressed flat to his head, not sure what to say. It hadn’t been detention. He had been very careful not to get one of those after his dad’s last threat. He and Teazer had been stopped by Mr. Jones to talk to them about their science grades, and since they didn’t take the bus, that didn’t stop the tom from keeping them for a lot longer than they should have been there. Jerrie wasn’t sure what to answer to his dad, but he didn’t get the chance anyway. A heavy paw landed across his face. Jerrie was knocked into a chair, smacking his temple against the armrest. He cried out as blood started to drip from his nose and the corner of his eye.
His father snatched him up and punched him again and again, in the stomach, across the face, in the chest, across the back. Jerrie couldn’t stop the hot, bitter tears on his face, mixing with the blood.
His father’s fingers closed around Jerrie’s temples, and Jerrie let out a shriek and twisted sharply. The sudden motion threw his unsteady body to the ground and landed a harsh kick to his side. Then he felt the harsh sting of leather on his scarred skin like a whip on a horse. He cried out and struggled to protect his face.
Suddenly he was snatched up and thrown against the wall. The back of his skull connected with an ugly crack, and the world went black.
The next thing he knew, Jerrie was lying on the couch. A cold cloth was behind his head, and something was washing his face. He felt really hot. His swollen eyelids opened with much effort to see a blurred version of Rumpleteazer leaning over him. “T… Tea?”
“Shh. Shh, I’m here. I’m here.” Teazer swabbed the wet cloth over his bloody nose. Jerrie winced. “Sorry.”
“It… it’s okay. Where’s… where’s dad?”
“Out. He told me to take care of you and left.”
“Oh.” Jerrie closed his eyes. Teazer gently washed his bruised eyelids. “Are you okay, Tea?” Jerrie asked softly, keeping his eyes closed.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Teazer said, touching the wet cloth to the corner of his lip where a trickle of blood ran down his jaw. “Are you okay, Jerrie?”
“Yeah, I… I think so. My chest hurts really bad.” Almost in response to that, he began to wheeze, then to cough, each one shaking his small body.
Teazer waited til his coughing had calmed before gently unbuttoning his flannel shirt. Beneath his red calico fur were huge bruises that were an ugly purple color, like Jerrie’s eye. “Oh, Jer,” she moaned, gently touching them with her fingertips. Jerrie yelped and curled into a ball. Teazer burst into tears.
“Don’t… don’t cry, Tea,” Jerrie said, reaching up to stroke her cheek gently. “Please don’t cry.”
“Oh, Jerrie, you can’t live like this,” Teazer bawled. She brushed his forehead tenderly with a paw.
“Don’t cry, Teazer. Don’t. I’ll be okay. I’m not leaving you.”
Teazer choked on a sob and lay down next to him, holding him tight. “Please don’t ever go.”
“I won’t,” Jerrie promised, holding her close though his arm and his chest ached fiercely. They laid in silence for about twenty minutes before the door opened and their father walked in, followed by a black queen in really tight, way to small for her red spandex.
Jerrie sat up with a hiss and pushed Teazer behind him on the couch, wrapping his shirt around his abused, beaten body. Their dad glared at them as he slammed the door. “Get off the couch!”
They did, tumbling to the ground in their haste to obey. Jerrie helped Teazer to her feet, his body painfully reminding him he was injured. He broke into a fit of strangled coughing that ended when his dad shoved him to the ground. The black queen gave him a sickening smile, then turned back to Roth. “Come on, sweetie.”
Jerrie watched the pair carefully as he got to his feet, pulling Teazer close to protect her. He gave her a gentle push, and the two raced up the stairs into Jerrie’s room. Jerrie wished for the life of him that he had a lock on his door as he slammed it shut. He leaned against it and sobbed for no reason, just to cry. Teazer hugged him around the waist, resting her cheek on Jerrie’s shoulder.
After that, they grew quiet. They sat down on the bed and just held paws. The house was quiet. Jerrie held his sister close, purring to calm her, praying this night would be over soon.
Back from the pharmacist, Bombalurina locked herself in the bathroom. In her purse she had a box she had picked up. She gazed at her face in the mirror for a moment as she slit the box open with a claw. Please, she prayed.
Please don’t let it be true. She pulled out what she wanted and moved to do her business, wondering how this might end.
Bom stared at the test results in her hand. It… it couldn’t be… It just couldn’t be true… This couldn’t happen. Not to her! With a scream of terror she flung the object into the trashcan and yanked out the other tab in the packet. She wanted a second opinion. But the second one revealed the same as the first. With a sob, she crumpled to the floor of the bathroom, curling into a ball with a cry of pure sorrow. Oh, sweet Heavyside, what would she tell him?
“Who are they?” Victoria asked. It was lunch the next day at school, and the freshmen queens had spotted Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer across the room for the first time since school started.
Cassandra rolled her eyes. “School troublemakers. They keep to themselves. I’ve never seen them with anyone but Macavity. That’s probably why they don’t have many friends. They always sit together at lunch. No one’s really sure what they do. Mungojerrie’s in my computer class, and he doesn’t talk to anyone. Everyone thinks they’re mean. They sabotage the school and get in tons of trouble.”
“So, they sit like that every lunch hour?” Jemima asked.
Cassandra nodded. “Yeah. Ever since Jerrie came to school as a freshman he’s sat at that table, never talked to anyone, and never lets anyone near him. After his sister came, his sophomore year, they sat together, and they’ve been that way ever since. Everyone is convinced they’re planning something.”
Etcetera looked over at the pair. “Like what?”
Cassandra shrugged. “Who knows. Some say they are going to blow up the school. Others say they are gonna take over the world. Those are just silly stories. I personally think they are planning all the ways they can cause trouble at school. You know, their escape routes, how to avoid teachers, and so on.”
“But no one really knows?” Electra asked.
Cassandra shook her head.
Mungojerrie sighed and slammed his math book shut, giving an angry hiss. “I give up! I’m going to flunk geometry again this year!”
Rumpleteazer looked up from her book for English. “Jerrie, don’t say that. You’ll get it eventually.”
“When’s that?” Jerrie sneered. “I have until the end of first tri to bring my grade up to an A, or I get my tail kicked. Literally.”
Teazer gave her brother a reassuring hug. “Jerrie, you’ll be okay.” She opened the book up again. “Come on. Let’s try it. Please?”
One look into her soft, brown eyes, and Jerrie couldn’t say no. He sighed. “Okay, okay. One more time. I hafta finish my geometry before next period, or I get a detention. If I get any more, I… I don’t know what will happen... to you…”
Teazer flinched, then slowly reached over and squeezed his paw. “Come on. Cheer up.” She tried to smile, though her whiskers quivered, handing him his pencil. “Okay, you start here, at the radius…”
“See?” Cassandra said, pointing none too hidden. “I told you they were planning something.”
“Then why is Mungojerrie’s math book open?” Electra demanded.
“Any number of reasons,” Cassandra said, shrugging. “But look at them. They just look so suspicious.”
“No, they don’t!” Victoria said. “It looks like Rumpleteazer is helping Mungojerrie with his math.”
Cassandra shook her head. “Who knows. I guess one day we’ll find out.”
“Hey, Exotica, who are those two?” Jemima asked, looking over across the lunchroom to where two multi-colored cats that could have been carbon copies of each other sat reading a chemistry book.
Exotica, Cassandra’s cousin, glanced up from her textbook, following Jemima’s gaze across the large room. “Oh, them. That’s Coricopat and Tantomile. They’re twins, obviously. They’re the brains of the school. Extremely quiet, but they’re really nice once you get to know them. Aside from being protective of each other. But they’re really smart. Ask them anything, and they can tell you.”
“Cool!” Electra exclaimed. “Can we go talk to them?”
“If you want,” Exotica said, sipping at her milk through her straw daintily. “At least we know they aren’t going to blow up the school or take over the world, even though Heavyside knows they have the smarts to.”
Victoria, Electra, Etcetera, and Jemima jumped up and walked over to the twins, leaving Cassandra and Exotica alone with their lunches.
“Hello,” Victoria greeted the intellectual twins. The two looked up in perfect sync.
“Greetings,” they said, their voices perfectly matched like an alto and a soprano in a duet.
Not quite a normal response, but it was good enough. The four freshmen looked at each other. Now what?
“We uh…” Electra cleared her throat. “We heard that you two are the smartest cats in the school,” she began.
The twins nodded. “That has been said,” they replied, though their voices were very humble, as if they did not wish to be recognized for it.
“Um, we… we were wondering… if you could answer a question for us,” Etcetera said shyly.
“We will answer anything as best we can,” the twins chorused.
The four freshmen exchanged glances. What could they ask? They couln’t just say We’ll-get-back-to-you, because they had already asked if they would answer them. Electra finally spoke up. “Um, well, we were wondering if… if you knew anything about biology. We have a big report coming up soon, and we’re not really sure what to do.”
The twins smiled softly. “You’re lying,” they said softly.
Electra blinked. “Huh?”
The twins smiled knowingly. “Freshmen do not take biology. Freshmen take Physical Science. Right now, you would be studying static electricity.”
The four blushed and nodded. Coricopat and Tantomile set down their chemistry book and gazed at the clustered group before them. “If you would like help in Physical Science, we can help you,” they offered.
“Could you?” Victoria asked, her pale green eyes lighting up. “I really need help. My grades have been slipping already, and it’s only been a month.”
The twins smiled and nodded. “Very well. Tomorrow at lunch we shall help you in whatever way you need.”
The four grinned. “Thanks,” Jemima said, smiling gratefully.
The twins smiled a bit. “Of course. We love to help others.” They picked up their book again.
Electra nudged her friends. “Come on, girls. Let’s get back to eating.”
Victoria, Etcetera, and Electra left, but Jemima hung behind. The twins glanced up at her. “Yes?”
Jemima blushed. “I… um… I was just wondering if you could tell me… what those two do at lunch.” She pointed across the room to Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer.
Coricopat and Tantomile looked over at the calico twins. They shrugged in unison. “Their homework.”
“You mean… that’s it?” Jemima asked, her eyes wide.
The twins nodded. “Yes. What else would they do?”
“Well, I… I’ve heard rumors,” Jemima said softly.
“Oh, you’ve heard that they’re planning to blow up the school or take over the world,” the twins said, two small smiles forming on their faces.
Jemima nodded, a slight blush rising in her face.
“They are just doing their homework. They do not like to talk to others,” Tantomile said.
Jemima was surprised they actually spoke apart from each other.
“They are shy,” Coricopat added. “They do not like to talk to anyone at all, even their teachers.”
“Oh,” Jemima said softly. That seemed very strange to her, but she was not one who easily tried to make friends. She smiled at the marble-patterned twins. “Thanks.”
“Our pleasure,” the twins said, smiling perfect smiles. Jemima headed back to her table.
Demeter called Bombalurina as soon as she got home. “Are you sick?” she asked as soon as Bom picked up.
Crumpled Kleenex surrounded Bom as she was curled under her covers. “No,” Bom croaked, his voice scratchy from all the crying she had been doing all day.
“You weren’t in school today,” Demeter said. “Is something wrong?”
Bom debated telling her best friend her horrible secret, but why tell her if it wasn’t going to happen? “N… no… I just… I just felt sick this morning… but I felt fine by lunchtime… I just didn’t come.”
This seemed to satisfy Demeter. “Okay. Will you be back tomorrow?”
“Sure. I’ll be back.”
“Okay. Well, Munkustrap’s coming for dinner tonight, so I have to go.”
“Okay, have fun.” Bom hung up the phone, then curled back under her blankets. She had convinced her mom she needed to stay home from school with a headache and an upset stomach, and it had worked. She just couldn’t go to school. Not with this horrible news. She couldn’t face Macavity… But… he’d have to be told at some point…
The phone rang again. Bom picked it up. “Hello?”
“You okay?” was the first thing out of Macavity’s mouth. Bom nearly dropped the phone at the sound of his voice.
“Uh… yeah… I’m feeling much better now…”
“Good. Well, just wanted to check on you. I’ll let you go.”
“Wait!” The word tumbled from her mouth before she could stop it. There was expectant silence on Macavity’s end of the phone. Bom bit her lip and softly whispered, “Will you meet me for ice cream later? I… I wanted to tell you something…”
“Sure,” Macavity agreed, smiling slightly. “Anything wrong?”
Bom didn’t answer for a moment before she said, “I’ll tell you tonight. Seven o’clock.”
“Okay,” Macavity agreed. “See ya, Sugar Bom.”
Bom smiled at his words. “Bye.” She hung up and yanked her blankets over her head. Why me? Why?
“Etcetera! Telephone, dear!”
Etcetera looked up from her English homework. “Is it ‘Lec?”
“No, dear. It’s some tom.”
Etcetera sat up with a tiny shriek. She raced past her mom and down the hall, grabbing the phone from its perch on the hall chair. “Hello?” she gasped.
“Sounds like you’re happy to hear from me,” Tugger teased on the other end.
Etcetera turned bright red. “Well… I was hoping you’d call…” She whispered shyly.
Tugger grinned on the other end. “Well, I did.”
Etcetera prayed Tugger couldn’t feel the heat from her face over the phone. “I know.”
“So, I was wondering if you wanted to do something later this week or something? Hang out?”
“You… you wanna hang out with me?” Etcetera asked, wishing her voice hadn’t squeaked.
“Of course. Why else would I call?”
Warning bells went off in Etcetera’s head, but she ignored them. “I… I’d love to.”
“Great. We’ll talk about it in school, cause I gotta go now. I’ll talk to you tomorrow at lunch.”
“O… Okay,” Etcetera giggled, winding the phone cord around a finger shyly.
“See ya later, kitten.” The phone clicked sooner than she had expected. Etcetera held the phone to her ear, listening to the dial tone buzzing in her ear. She bit her lip and smiled a bit, then cradled the phone and stood gazing at it, as if that would make him call back. But it didn’t. With her face bright red and her thoughts swimming, she headed back to her room.
Macavity met Bombalurina at her house at seven, and the two headed out the door to the ice cream stand. Bom was silent all the way, and Macavity wisely chose not to say anything. He slid his arm around her and pulled her close, but he could tell she was not feeling well at all when she did not return his embrace or even look up. He brushed his cheek against hers. She glanced up at him and tried to smile, but it was obvious something was wrong.
They reached the ice cream parlor. Macavity ordered ice cream for them both, then escorted Bom over to the benches, waiting for her to sit down before handing her her ice cream cone and sitting down next to her. Silence reigned for several minutes while the two licked their ice cream. Macavity seemed perfectly content to stay quiet and eat.
As she ate, Bom wondered what Macavity would think of her decision. Would he support her? She didn’t know. She had never known him to be violent, just troublesome. “Maccy baby, I need to talk to you,” she began, using his favorite pet name. She lowered her ice cream and forced herself to gaze into Macavity’s green eyes.
Macavity looked over at her. “Okay?”
Bom took a deep breath. She felt her whiskers, then her lips, quiver. Tears welled in her eyes, threatening to spill over her lashes She took a deep, shuddery breath and licked her lips slowly. “I…” Her voice broke, and she began to sob. “I’m pregnant.”
Macavity stopped in mid-lick and stared at her. Bom gazed back, tears streaming down her face. Her mascara had streaked on her pale cheeks. She looked pitiful. “I… I was… was gonna… but… I… I wanted…”
Macavity’s gaze grew even more penetrating as he gazed at her. Bom began to shiver under his stare. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I… I wanted to… to get… an… abor… abortion, but…”
“No!” Macavity stated loudly.
“What?” Bom asked, surprised by his sudden outburst.
Macavity’s eyes pierced into her own. “Are you positive you are?”
Bom nodded, the tears still flowing. “I… I took a… an early pregnancy test. Twice. Both times it… it was positive.”
“So you’re sure you’re not just late?”
Bom nodded her head. Macavity got to his feet, his eyes blank. Bom felt a shiver run through her body. She stood up next to him and swallowed deeply. “I… I’m gonna abort it.”
Macavity suddenly reached over and grabbed her wrist in an iron grip. Bom nearly lost her grip on her ice cream, but she righted it and stared at Macavity. “Macavity, you’re hurting me,” she said, her voice a small, scared whimper.
“Sit,” Macavity commanded, using his grip on her wrist to push her back onto the bench. Bom sat heavily as he steered her down, her eyes frightened as she stared at him. Macavity sat down next to her and gazed deep into her teary eyes. “Bombalurina, you listen to me, and listen real good.” Bom’s ears lay flat on her skull as she stared into Macavity’s flashing eyes. “You are not getting an abortion, Bombalurina. You’re not. I won’t let you.”
Bom stared at him. That didn’t sound like the Macavity she knew. The cold, mean, heard-hearted tom that didn’t care about anything except queens and trouble?
He had scared her. He knew it. He swallowed and moved closer. “Are you sure it’s mine?”
Bom nodded slowly. Macavity exhaled slowly. “How do you know?”
Bom blushed slightly. “You… you were the only tom I slept with since my last cycle.”
“Oh.” Macavity glanced down at her stomach, then looked up at her again. His voice was cold and very firm. “You aren’t aborting this kitten. You’re going to keep it.”
“Oh, Macavity, I can’t!” Bom nearly wailed.
“You can, and you will!” Macavity’s grip grew tighter.
“Ouch!” Bom meowed. “Macavity, let go!”
Macavity released her wrist roughly. Bom rubbed it tenderly, getting a better grip on her ice cream. “You’re going to have this kitten,” Macavity said firmly, his eyes dead serious. Bom swallowed and nodded slowly, her tears making her cheeks tingle and her throat tight.
Silence reigned for several moments as their ice cream melted in their cones. Finally Bom licked a stray trickle on her fingers and asked softly, for fear of him getting upset at her again, “What will I do with it?”
“Keep it. Love it. It’s your kitten.”
“It’s yours too!” Bom defended.
“I didn’t say it wasn’t,” Macavity said simply, sucking the final bit of ice cream from his cone.
Bom looked down at her ice cream, not feeling very hungry anymore. She got up and tossed the soggy cone in the trash, wiping her paws on her jeans. Macavity crunched his cone between his sharp teeth and swallowed it. He wiped his paws on his shirt and got to his feet. Bom wondered if he was going to say anything to her, but he merely took her arm in his paw and began to lead her home. She followed, her body numb. She looked up at the side of his face. His jaw was firmly set, as if he were clenching his teeth. She swallowed and reached for his paw, squeezing it gently. “Macavity…”
He ignored her. His eyes narrowed slightly. Bom shivered and looked away. After a moment, Macavity looked over at her. “Do your parents know yet?”
Bom shook her head slowly. Macavity sighed under his breath. “Geez.” He thought a moment, then shook his head. “Guess we’ll have to tell them.”
“We?” Bom questioned, looking up in surprise.
“Yeah. We. They’ll wanna know whose it was, won’t they?”
In that moment, Bom knew he cared if he was willing to face her parents with her. She smiled just a bit, wiping her drying tears away and laying her head on his shoulder. “I… I love you.”
There was a soft silence for several moments before Macavity finally answered, very softly, “I love you too.”
Facing her parents turned out to be the easy part, Bom decided as she trudged in the door of Jellicle High. She glanced back at Macavity who gave her an encouraging smile before disappearing down another hallway. Bom sighed and found her locker. She spun the combination and opened it, loading her books into it.
“Bomby? You feeling better?” Bom looked up to see her best friend standing only a few feet away.
“Yeah, Dem. I’m… feeling better.”
Demeter smiled softly. She looked so trustworthy… Bom swallowed and touched the other queen’s silky arm. “Can… can I talk to you? In private?”
“Of course,” Demeter said softly. “At lunch?”
Bom nodded. “At lunch. I… have something to tell you.”
Demeter nodded in agreement.
Mistoffelees sat at his lunch table, lazily chewing his pear. He was so tired. For over a month he had followed Victoria around. He had made magic cards that sparkled with light and had put them in her locker. She had then put tape over the grids so he couldn’t slip them in anymore. Then he tried taping flowers to her locker door. She had tore them down and tossed them away before school started. He had tried to sit next to her in every class he had with her, but she always managed to manipulate herself to sit surrounded by other queens. He had tried to approach her at lunch, but she had always escaped to her locker or to the bathroom. He was dog-tired, and he was no closer to her than he had been on the very first day of school. In fact, he felt like he was driving her away from him.
Pouncival landed in the seat next to him. He had an angry look on his face and bits of macaroni salad stuck to his sweatshirt. “Whoa. What happened to you?” Misto asked softly, swallowing his mouthful of pear.
“That darn Rumpus Cat!” Pouncival nearly yelled. “Tripped me in the hallway, and I fell into the trash can by the lunch room.”
Misto sighed and twirled his straw around in his milk. “Someone needs to teach him a lesson.”
“Speak of the devil,” Pouncival muttered, glancing at the door. Rumpus Cat was just entering, a tray in his hand. He headed for his normal table with Munkustrap and Alonzo and their usual crew. He sat down and instantly struck up a conversation with Alonzo.
Misto sighed and took another bite of pear. “It’s unfair he’s so popular.”
“Yeah.” Pouncival grabbed a napkin off of Misto’s pile and started to wipe the salad off his sweatshirt. “Kinda makes you sick, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Misto swallowed and glanced over at Victoria again. She was actually sitting in a chair for once instead of on the table, very unlike her. She had on a gorgeous, dark gray sweater that accentuated her white fur beautifully. He sighed softly. “She’s so beautiful, isn’t she?”
“Yeah,” Pouncival agreed, knowing Misto wouldn’t accept any other answer. He glanced over at Rumpus’s table again and was surprised to see Rumpus watching Misto with strong intent. “Hey, Misto, three o’clock. Look.”
Misto looked up at the clock. “It’s only noon, Pounce.”
“No, no. Look over at Rumpus.”
Misto glanced over at Rumpus Cat and instantly wished he hadn’t. Rumpus’s scary, red eyes were focused on him in the most awful stare he had ever received. He turned away in terror, shoulders shaking. “He’s planning something.”
“How can you tell?”
Misto didn’t get a chance to answer because Rumpus suddenly got up from his seat and made a beeline straight for Misto. Misto ducked in his seat and tried to move away, but Rumpus clapped a paw firmly on Misto’s shoulder, pinning the smaller tom in his seat. Misto froze. Pouncival seemed to shrink down in his chair in an effort to hide.
“Do you honestly think you have a chance with her, geekwad?” Rumpus asked, his voice holding an ugly smirk.
Misto struggled. “Lemme go.”
Rumpus Cat grinned and released him roughly. “Watch and learn, freshman.” He patted Misto condescendingly on the head and sauntered away as Misto rubbed his shoulder gingerly. He watched Rumpus make his way over to the table where Victoria sat with Jemima, Electra, Etcetera, Cassandra, and Exotica. He gasped and held his breath. He wouldn’t! Would he?
“Excuse me, ladies,” came a suave voice nearby. Victoria looked up to see a tall, black figure with penetrating, red eyes stranding next to her. She smiled up at the tomcat as the others looked on.
“Hello, Rumpus.” She knew of the mighty senior, mainly because he seemed to enjoy defending her from the annoying, black, magic freshman geek.
Rumpus smiled at her and leaned against the table, his eyes focused on her. “So… Victoria. Has that freshman geek been bothering you again?”
Victoria smiled shyly and moved closer to him. “He has, but you’ve been helping a lot.”
“Well, that’s my job, angel. Defending pretty girls from annoying nerds. Glad to have helped.” Rumpus leaned closer to her, his paw moving to rest on her shoulder. Victoria smiled brighter. “So, I was wondering if you might need a little more protecting. You know… after school, on weekends…?”
Victoria heard Cassandra giggle, but she ignored it. “Are you asking me out?” she asked, narrowing her eyes prettily.
Rumpus grinned and laid his paw on her thigh. “I guess you could say that.”
Victoria grinned and shivered at his touch. It was gentle, and she naturally didn’t mind it a bit. After all, he wasn’t the only guy to ever be “interested” in her. There had been one in seventh grade and two in eighth. No reason why high school should be any different. His touch was very soft and gentle and made her feel good. She smiled shyly. “Well, I suppose I could.”
Rumpus grinned and squeezed her leg gently, then turned and shot ‘the look’ right at Mistoffelees. Then, when he was sure Misto was watching, leaned down and kissed Victoria square on the mouth.
Misto felt a wave of nausea hurl its way up his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut to block out the horrible image. His stomach churned and twisted, then lurched. He leaped to his feet and raced out of the lunchroom, plowing his way through a group of juniors, and stumbled into the bathroom. He slammed the door of the first stall, leaned over the toilet, and threw up his lunch. His stomach seemed to twist in his body, and he had to fight back another wave that assaulted his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut, but still he felt hot tears prick his eyes and run down his face. He cleared his throat and swallowed painfully.
Tap, tap. “Misto, are you okay?” It was Pouncival. Misto quickly got to his feet and flushed the toilet. He wiped his mouth quickly and tried his best to rub away the tears on his face. He brushed his face fur back in place and opened the stall door to face his friend.
“I’m… I’m okay,” he said softly, stepping out and letting the door swing shut.
Pouncival’s usual cheery smile was replaced by a look of concern and a little bit of fear. “You sure? You look awful.”
Misto brushed his cheeks again to clear away any tears left and nodded slowly. “I’ll be okay.”
“Well, if you’re sure.” Pouncival turned and led the way back to the lunchroom. Misto trailed him, his heart aching more than his stomach as it shattered into a zillion shards in his chest. That Rumpus Cat! He’d be sorry! If only he could figure out how…
Mistoffelees wasn’t the only one doing some throwing up at lunch. As soon as she had finished her lunch, Exotica excused herself to the bathroom and forced herself to throw up yet again for the third time that day. She quickly flushed the toilet, then vomited again as her stomach told her that is was not doing very well. She groaned and held her stomach tightly. No matter how many times she did this, it never felt good.
Suddenly,- “Ex? Are you okay?”
Her cousin, Cassandra! Exotica got to her feet and summoned enough strength to answer back. “Yeah, Cass.” She flushed the toilet and made her way out to her cousin.
Cassandra looked concerned. “You feeling all right?”
“Yeah,” Exotica said, a little too brightly.
Cassandra raised a brow. “You sure?”
Exotica nodded. “Yeah. Just a little nausea. It’s gone now.”
Cassandra still looked worried, but she nodded. “Okay. If you’re sure you’re okay.”
Exotica nodded and headed back to the lunchroom. Cassandra followed her, praying her concerns were unwarranted.
Later that evening, Victor was at home with his parents, eating dinner. He pushed his lamb chops around on his plate, debating asking the question that he already knew the answer to. He had not gotten together with Plato since the beginning of September, since school kept them both so busy. Now it was October, and he missed seeing his best friend. He set his fork down and turned to his mother. “Mom, can Plato come over tonight?”
“Well, dear, I don’t see why-.”
“Absolutely not!” his father snapped, his fork clattering onto his plate. Victor flinched at the familiar sound.
“Hector, don’t raise your voice.”
“He is not inviting that boy over here!” his father fumed, as if Victor was not even there.
“Why not?” Victor demanded. This was a familiar argument, and he knew what the answer was.
“You know perfectly well why not!”
“You’re not being fair!”
“Life’s not fair!”
“Hector, calm down. Victor, don’t argue. Please, let’s discuss this calmly, like a family should.” His mother’s voice was annoyingly calm.
Appetite lost, Victor glared at his half-eaten dinner. “He’s come over before. Why can’t he come now?”
“Because we have put up with this gay business long enough!” stormed his father, flinging his napkin into his lap.
Victor suddenly stood up, towering over his father like a giant. “Gay business? You think that’s all it is? You don’t know! You don’t know anything!” He turned and raced into the living room. He flung himself onto the couch and sobbed into the pillow, shaking with anger. Why couldn’t they understand?
After a few minutes, someone sat down next to him and began to rub his tensed shoulders. It was his mother. “There, there, sweetie. It’s all right.”
Victor sobbed harder, clinging to the pillow with his claws. “Dad doesn’t understand. I love Plato. Why can’t he accept him?”
“Shh, darling. It will be okay. Hush now.”
All grew silent minus Victor’s sobs and the soft sound of cloth on fur as his mom rubbed his back. After a few minutes, he heard his father enter and sit in his chair nearby, facing them. Victor lifted blurry eyes to gaze at him. “What?” he growled.
“Victor, be polite,” his mother scolded.
His father glared slightly, tapping his fingertips together like a mad scientist. “You may invite that boy over, but I want no shenanigans around your mother or I. You two will stay out of our sight as long as he is here. Is that understood?”
Victor glared, but he nodded slowly. After a minute of pulling himself together, he got up to go call Plato.
Plato arrived right on time. Victor made sure he was the one who answered the door. “Hey,” he greeted.
“Hey. You okay?” Plato asked gently. Victor had sounded rather distressed on the phone.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I just… just had a rough evening.”
“Your dad?” Plato asked softly, glancing over Plato’s shoulder towards the living room.
Victor nodded slowly. “We just gotta stay out of his sight.”
Plato nodded. “Okay.” He smiled at Victor. “That’s fine.” He set his bag inside the door, and the two embraced, Victor resting his head on his friend’s shoulder, just as his dad walked by. Victor winced at the growl that emitted from his dad’s throat.
Plato released Victor and bobbed his head respectively at the growling tomcat. “Sir,” he acknowledged politely.
“Plato,” he acknowledged back. That was the only time he would ever call him by his name. Any other time, he was just “that boy”. He glanced between the two teens, as if expecting to see some sexual act committed right there in the entryway, but when neither of them moved, he turned and stalked away.
Plato sighed softly with relief. “Damn. Sometimes I feel like he’s gonna stare a hole through me.”
“Sorry,” Victor said, snatching up Plato’s bag. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before he comes back.”
Plato had no argument. The two headed up the stairs and down the hall to Victor’s room. Victor closed the door, and the two collapsed on the bed with soft sighs. Plato curled against Victor’s chest. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Victor purred, hugging his friend gently.
Plato looked up at Victor. “Have you had any more dreams recently?”
“No. Not since June. I hope they don’t come back, but I know they will.”
“Well, you know you’re safe at my house.”
“I know.” Victor curled into Plato’s arms. “I know.”
Nighttime fell. To some cats, it brought relief. To others, it brought terror. The blackness closed in around London’s streets as cats cuddled under their blankets to face the most evil month of the year. And much more was still to come.
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