Kit Kat & Katie Did

by Lauren T. Hart

  I let go of my phone and tried to focus on what Mrs. Wall was saying. I could call — or maybe just text, texting is best, less weird — my Dominic — after class.

  The rest of English class was okay. Still weird, definitely awkward. I focused extra hard on Mrs. Wall and everything she was saying and did my best to not to think about Dominic. Either of them.

  ・❀・❀・❀・

  Before the bell had finished ringing in English, my hand was on my phone texting Dominic. I’d been arranging it in my head for the past 45 minutes, so typing it up took seconds.

  KF: Just heading to lunch. I hope yours is something better than a candy bar.

  I hit send and waited. And by waited I mean I stuck to Dominic like a hawk on a fat mouse. Which is super gross to think about, but whatever. If he had a phone anywhere on him and it so much as buzzed even little bit, I’d know it.

  Nothing happened. I followed him to the Cafeteria. Still nothing. Watched him as he met up with friends, Ryan and some other guys, a couple of them were familiar from earlier classes, most of them weren’t. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, clicked around a bit and stuck it back in his pocket. I checked my phone. There was nothing. I scrolled up to the picture of Dominic. Eh, they both had features, nice smiles, but their coloring was different. My Dominic had lighter hair and darker skin.

  I was obviously grasping. It wasn’t him. It clearly wasn’t him.

  I breathed a sigh of relief.

  Not that it would have been a bad thing if it had been him, but I liked what me and my Dominic had, just the way we had it. Maybe one day I’d like to meet him and know him outside of the phone, but today was definitely not that day.

  Kimber popped up next to me. “Oh my gosh, Kat, I’ve been trying to get your attention since you walked in.” She looped her arm around mine and pulled me over to a table with a bunch of girls and introduced me. “You guys remember, Kat.”

  “I thought your name was Katie,” said a voice from behind me. It was Erin, from Biology.

  “I go by Katie at school.”

  “I go by Erin,” Erin gave a nod and kept walking.

  “You have a class with her?” One of Kimber’s friends, a girl with sandy colored hair asked, pointing after Erin. “She’s like way smart.”

  “Yeah. Biology.”

  “I’m Claire, by the way,” the sandy haired girl introduced.

  “Oh yeah,” Kimber realized she hadn’t made introductions. “I’m pretty sure most of you guys have met, but it was like my 7th grade birthday party so…” Kimber pointed at Claire. “Claire.”

  She pointed to the girl next to her who was heavyset, with dark brown hair and black eyes. We had basically the same haircut, even styled the same, except her pins had unicorns on them and mine had a flower and a circle. “Ambree.”

  She pointed to a girl with brown into blond ombre hair, deep brown skin and hazel eyes. “Jayla.”

  And then it was a girl with blond hair, blue eyes and a sprinkle of freckles. “Sara, but she’s really more Kayley’s friend, but Kayley and I share some friends, and she has first lunch and doesn’t really know anybody else here,” Kimber shrugged, quickly moving on to the last girl at the table who had warm brown skin, bleach blond hair and brown eyes. “And Mika.”

  “I remember you,” said Mika. “Do you remember me? I was scrawny the little gay boy at the party,” she smiled. “I used to go by Mike?”

  I bobbed my head trying to remember. I really only remembered that Julian had brought me, and someone threw up.

  “Were you the girl that threw up?” Jayla asked me.

  “No,” Ambree answered. “That was Mika. She was the girl who came with her boyfriend that wasn’t her boyfriend.”

  “Ooh, I remember him,” Mika beamed. “Is he still around? And single maybe?”

  “Yeah. He’s still gay, too.”

  “Just my luck,” Mika shrugged.

  “You and every other hetero girl to have laid eyes on him,” Kimber huffed.

  “I still have my boy bits, if that’s what he’s into,” Mika waggled a finger and batted her eyes.

  I thought she was joking. I even chuckled, but then I realized everyone was looking at me, expecting me to answer. I shook my head. “Nah. Sorry, not sorry, but you’re way too girly for him. He’s into serious dudes. Like big, burly dudes.”

  “So you’re saying, If I had a peen…” Ambree lifted a brow.

  “Do you not own a mirror, girl?” I huffed at Ambree’s obvious girlyness. “No, I mean like…” I glanced around the cafeteria and pointed to a table of jocks. “Guys like that.” A couple of the guys I was pointing towards grinned and waved at me. Ryan and Dominic, I realized. I waved back.

  “Omigawd,” Mika gasped. “Do you know who that is? Do you know them?”

  “Yeah we have a class or two together.”

  “Damn, girl. You know all the hotties.” Ambree shook her head at me.

  “No, Ambree, I believe the word you’re searching for there is assholes,” Jayla said.

  “So, do you have somewhere else you need to be or do you want to sit down and have lunch with us?” Claire asked.

  “Yeah, today I can.” I took the seat between Kimber and Mika. “I have Independent Study next and I hate homework, so I usually just eat fast and start on my homework. But I’m totally down to chill otherwise.”

  “I had Independent Study last period, Claire said. Maybe we have another class together, what’s the rest of your schedule?”

  “After IS, I have AP Spanish—”

  “I have that class, 7th period,” Mika said.

  “Yeah, and it’s just cheating,” Jayla cut it. “She already knows Spanish, she doesn’t need to take it.”

  “That’s not cheating,” Mika defended her bilingual nature. “That’s working smarter not harder.”

  “Yeah, that’s very smart,” I agreed.

  “Of course you agree, you’ve been speaking Spanish for ages,” Kimber huffed.

  “Oh, you got a Mexican daddy too?” Mika winked at me.

  “No. When I needed sitters, my mom always picked Latina women who barely spoke English hoping I’d pick it up. I did, because I had to. Obviously I still have plenty to learn, but it helped to know the basics going in.”

  “What do you have 7th?” Mika asked.

  “Life Skills.”

  “I have that!” Claire piped.

  “Me too,” said Sara. It was the first thing I’d heard her say. “So does Kayley.”

  “Maybe we can sit together?” Claire asked. It was weird the way she asked, like I might say no?

  “Yeah,” I nodded.

  5th period, Independent Study, with nobody really, it’s basically a free period. Those of us who used it as a study period mostly met in the library though, so, with Mrs. Hanson and Ms. Broadhurst I guess?

  Adria waved me over to the table she was sitting at. “I thought you had first lunch?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “Oh. Yeah. That makes sense,” Adria nodded as she figured something out. “I don’t usually eat in the cafeteria,” she explained. “I like to get a jump on things and I hate having homework.”

  “Yeah, me too, but I don’t have anything yet so, I figured I’d grab lunch in the cafeteria. And my cousin has first lunch, so I stayed and chatted with her and her friends.”

  “Oh, Kayley?”

  “Kimber, her sister, actually.”

  “Oh, Kimber Emerson?”

  I nodded.

  “She’s sweet.”

  “I like her.”

  My phone buzzed near the end of the period. Normally I wouldn’t check it during class but there was nothing happening. Adria and a couple of the other girls were doing stretches, a couple other kids had fallen asleep. I was rereading the handouts from English, since I’d basically spaced the entire class, worrying about something that was highly coincidental and still completely improbable.

  D?: It’s not bacon and eggs, but, it’ll do
.

  A picture of a huge — huge, three patties, all the toppings huge — burger, and a ton of fries popped up on the screen.

  D?: Were you worried about me again?

  KF: Maybe a little.

  D?: It’s sweet, but unnecessary.

  KF: Maybe I should stop?

  D?: Maybe not. I kind of like it.

  6th Period AP Spanish with Mrs. Ramirez.

  I got my first homework assignment. Everyone got a random paper to translate. It was due as soon as it was done, but before Friday. Not that it was actual homework, just that the assignment might take longer than class was. And she wanted it hand written, not typed.

  The paper I got read a lot like Batman vs. The Joker, except it was a suicidal cat versus a leather-clad veterinarian. It was super weird, but I think that was the point. You either knew it was weird or you were confused as crap. Or both. Both was definitely still an option.

  7th period, Family and Consumer Sciences also known as Life Skills, with Ms. Young.

  Before I even entered the classroom I could hear chattering and giggling. I was only a little bit surprised to discover one of the gigglers was Kayley, but very surprised to see one of the others was Sara, who had practically been mute through all of lunch.

  “We saved you a seat,” Kayley patted the chair next to her.

  This class didn’t have desks, it had long tables set up in rows with an aisle down the middle. Kayley, Claire, and Sara had already made claim to the front row, and saved a seat for me right on the aisle. 100% Not where I would have picked, but it’s not like I really cared enough to not sit there. Still, they were so chatty. I hoped sitting next to them wouldn’t become a regret. Just as I’d plopped down into the chair next to Kayley, Dominic walked through the door.

  “You just run from class to class, don’t you?” Dominic teased, stopping in front of me.

  Kayley, Claire, and Sara forgot how to talk. It was nice.

  It was the first chance I had to really get a good look at him from the front. For half a second I thought about pulling out my phone and comparing him to the picture, side by side. But ultimately I decided not to be a crazy person. This Dominic has soft brown eyes, framed by dark lashes, a well defined jawline, and a friendly smile. And now that I was chill about it I could see it definitely wasn’t the same guy. His skin was lighter, his hair was darker, his smile was different… “I came from Spanish, it’s literally two doors down,” I pointed toward the door. “I could have ridden here on the back of a turtle and been here already.”

  He chuckled, a real chuckle, hearty and light. “What’s the Spanish word for turtle?”

  “Tortuga.”

  He nodded, looking thoughtful. “I’m gonna have to take your word for it.” He continued past and took the seat directly behind me. Claire and Sara were frantically whispering between the two of them.

  “Who’s he?” Kayley asked.

  I lifted a shoulder. “He’s a guy I have some classes with.”

  Dominic was joined at his table by a couple of girls a blond and a brunette. One of them, the brunette, I recognized as Katlynn, from English class.

  “He’s way cute,” Kayley whispered, loud enough that it wasn’t actually a whisper.

  No way to deny that and not be a complete liar, so I nodded in agreement.

  Kayley turned around in her seat. “Hi, I’m Kayley. I’m a sophomore.”

  “Yeah, I know. I remember seeing you at orientation.”

  “You’re a senior?” Kayley cooed as if this were awe-worthy information.

  “Yep.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Dominic.”

  Kayley giggled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. I think she was trying to be flirtatious. It was kind of weirding me out. I wanted to tell her to stop, but I also knew it was best to just stay out of it.

  The bell rang and I hoped that’d be the end of it, but the teacher was talking with a student who seemed really confused about their schedule, and Kayley is 100% the kind of person who would wait for the teacher to tell them to be quiet before even considering that she needed to do so.

  “Well, it was nice meeting you, Dom,” Kayley gave a cutesy little wave.

  And I don’t know what happened, I knew this guy wasn’t my Dominic, but something in me snapped. “Ew, Kayley, don’t call him that. You don’t know if he likes to be called that. He told you his name was Dominic, call him Dominic.”

  “It’s all good,” Dominic said, “She can call me Dom if she wants to, I don’t mind.”

  So — sooo sooo sooo — not the same guy. I felt a sudden sense of relief, capped with maybe a smidgen — just a sprinkle really — of disappointment. But mostly it was full on near ecstatic levels of relief. My mind was completely settled now. All doubts were gone gone gone! This Dominic was 100% not my Dominic, and that suited me just fine, because my Dominic was awesome. And this Dominic… wasn’t him.

  “Yeah, Katie,” Kayley ground out my in-school name. “He doesn’t mind.”

  I put up my hands in surrender and reminded myself it really was best to mind my own business.

  I heard one of the girls sitting next to him say, “OMG, Dom, do you know her? She’s so uptight.”

  “Annabelle doesn’t seem to like her much,” said the other girl, that must have been Katlynn, from English class.

  I couldn’t tell if Katlynn thought that was a good thing or a bad thing. I considered glancing back to see if I could tell from her expression but Ms. Young had just ushered the confused student she’d been talking to off toward the office, and was starting class. “Eyes up here please,” she clapped her hands. “Eyes up here.”

  After the class particulars Ms. Young passed out our first assignment and encouraged us to assist each other if we needed help, before asking her. To Kayley this had the same effect as if Ms. Young had told her free talking was now permitted. Dominic tapped me on the shoulder a few minutes later. “Hey, New Girl, can I borrow a pencil?” he grinned.

  I thought it was a line. He had a cute smile, but it was one of those smirks that said, he knew he was good-looking and used it to manipulate people. But he got fidgety when I twisted back in my seat and leaned toward him. “You don’t have a pencil?”

  He shrugged. “Didn’t think I’d need one.”

  Just another confirmation that this was not my Dominic, because my Dominic wasn’t an idiot. Sure, this Dominic was in AP classes, but who thinks they won’t need something to write with in a class? Come on. I also noticed he didn’t ask anyone else in the class — someone he knew, for instance — so it was a safe bet that if I loaned him one, I’d never see it again. But I always have extras, and it’s just how I am, so I gave him one.

  I was kind of surprised when he handed it back to me after class, but then again, it was the only thing he had on him so I suppose it couldn’t have been that hard to remember it had been borrowed. “Hey,” he said still holding on to the pencil. “Don’t let Annabelle get to you. She’s… got problems. Misdirects her anger a lot.”

  I thanked him for his unnecessary tip. Annabelle was a full blown dramatic catastrophe, I’d already formulated a complete plan of action to avoid her all semester — and the rest of the year if I had to.

  Chapter 8

  Dear Diary,

  I’ve made a new friend.

  Her name is Adria Parker, she’s a cheerleader, a bit flighty, but also smart and friendly. We met during orientation and discovered we had Independent Study together. She invited me to join her after school study group. They meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I only go on Tuesdays because of work. I was worried at first, but they’re actually super legit. They call the group Parkwood Studies Inc. They have T-Shirts and everything.

  Adria introduced me by saying, “I’ve found some fresh meat for our group. Her name is Katie Franks.”

  Thought about telling them all right then to call me Kat, but then—

  In unison, they all said, “Hi, Katie,” like we we
re in some kind of addiction support group meeting or something. It was weird, but everybody is super nice.

  I did mention later that some people call me Kat, but I was quickly informed that there were three other Kat’s in our year and they were all s’bitches, which is Parkwood talk for super bitches. I haven’t had the pleasure but I did meet a crazy super bitch called Annabelle, who hates me for reasons unknown, so I’ve got that going for me.

  More importantly, unless I want to be called Katarina all year, which I don’t, I’m going to have to embrace being called Katie for yet another year — by everyone. It’s my senior year, I was hoping… But it’s no biggie. I’m used to it. Kit-Kat-Kan’t because she’s a hot dog cat, but Katie-Kan, so Katie-did, so… Yeah. Whatever. You remain unforgiven, Trevor Flynn.

  Overall, I think I’m going to like being at Parkwood.

  Happy school daze,

  -Fresh Meat

  ・❀・❀・❀・

  Adria invited me to the game on Friday. Not to go to the game so much as to see her cheer. I wasn’t sure I could swing it with work, which pointed out a serious flaw in my life schedule. I work practically every Friday, and this is my senior year. How was I supposed to have any kind of fun with that kind of schedule?

  I couldn’t swing a complete schedule change in a week, if it was going to be a permanent thing, parents would have to be notified and what not. Other people’s parents not mine. I wasn’t the most popular instructor at Arts In Motion but some people are oddly particular about who is doing the instructing. It’s super dumb really. It’s like demanding name-brand mac and cheese over Grandma Dani’s homemade, twice baked mac and cheese that’s made with actual non-powdered cheeses. Ugh. So good. Grandma Dani isn’t technically mine, she’s Kimber and Kayley’s Grandma, and Uncle Tate’s mom, but she’s family none-the-less.