by C. A. Kunz
“What’s Olympic? The mansion?” Cat asked jokingly.
“No silly, the pool,” Kirsten replied, rolling her eyes slightly.
“So Catherine, what do your friends call you?” she asked cheerfully.
“My friends call me Cat, but you can call me Catherine,” she replied as Hannah giggled beside them.
Kirsten glared at Hannah and then forced a smile at Cat. “Okay, Cat it is then. Of course you know my last name, Fuller. My daddy owns the shipping company at Port Astoria.”
Cat smiled at Kirsten’s ramblings.
“Hanging with me, Cat, will open so many doors for you. I know we’ll be BFFs in no time,” Kirsten gushed.
Coach Hutchins spent most of the class having the upperclassmen demonstrate proper form for competitive swimming.
“I’ll make my decision about who’ll make the team by the end of the week,” Coach Hutchins declared.
The last twenty minutes of class, the students were split up into groups of four and were told they could swim one lap, doing the style of their choice.
Linked arm in arm, Cat and Kirsten stood waiting for their turn on the blocks. Cat groaned inwardly and rolled her eyes at Hannah who snickered at the sight of Cat and her new BFF. Jessica approached them to join their team but was shoed away by Kirsten. “Now Jess, you know you hate to swim next to me, now go.”
“But Kirsten,” Jessica moaned.
“No buts, just go!”
Much to Cat’s surprise she left and joined another group. Apparently, Miss Kirsten wields great power with her wealth, she thought to herself.
Coach’s whistle blew and Cat took her position on the blocks. The next whistle had her diving into the pool. Cat loved the water and swam like a fish. She saw the wall up ahead and stretched to reach it. When she emerged from the water, Cat saw a shocked look on Kirsten’s face.
“Well Miss Fuller, it looks like you might have competition this year. Miss Colvin was barely a second behind you,” Coach Hutchins said, standing in front of them.
“Well, I’m a little off today. I didn’t think you were timing us,” Kirsten huffed, her face flushed with anger.
“Don’t think, Miss Fuller, just do!” Coach Hutchins chuckled and told everyone to hit the showers.
Cat’s wet hair bothered her all through lunch, making her wish she had brought a hair dryer. Even though she used a towel to dry it, water still dripped down the back of her shirt. She borrowed a rubber band from the collection around Amanda’s wrist and pulled it up in a ponytail.
“Hey Cat, you should wear your hair like that more often,” Matt commented, and then smirked as he shoveled a fork full of pasta in his mouth.
“Why? Does it look okay?” Cat asked.
“Well, it doesn’t look bad,” he replied.
“I’ll tell you what does look bad, your table manners Matthew! Are you even chewing your food? I bet Neanderthals had better manners than you,” Amanda stated while rolling her eyes. Ignoring her, Matt continued devouring his food.
“Hey guys! Guess what? Apparently I’ve got a new BFF,” Cat interjected as four sets of eyes focused on her. “Yeah, Miss Kirsten Fuller,” she said with a mischievous grin.
“The…Kirsten…Fuller? You mean the leader of the Trifecta?” Matt’s eyes grew wide, ignoring the food that fell from his fork.
“The Trifecta?” Julie asked.
“Yeah, you know, the three hottest sophomore girls in school? Also known as Kirsten, Jessica and Tonya?”
“Well Matt, aren’t you a wealth of information,” Amanda muttered sarcastically.
“Yes, Matt, the daughter of your dad’s boss. I guess she feels I’m in her league or something,” Cat replied.
“Well, you better hope her mom doesn’t find out. Your parents aren’t exactly in the same social class as they are. My dad can’t stand the woman,” Matt quipped.
“I think Kirsten’s up to something anyways, I just don’t know what. But, if I’m wrong, then I guess I’ll have a new BFF. Aren’t you guys jealous?” she asked, causing her friends to laugh.
Their laughter carried across the room making Ryan turn his head. He realized it was the girl from the other morning. He continued staring, mesmerized by her obvious enjoyment.
“Hey Ryan, how’s practice going?” Amelia asked, trying to bring his attention back to the table.
“Fine,” he replied quickly.
“That’s it? Fine?” she echoed.
“Yeah, fine,” he stated and then turned his focus back to Cat. Amelia glared at the back of his head. Being Isaac’s girlfriend gave her power over their group. Ryan dressed differently than the rest of their group and treated others at the school, not with disdain, but respect. She hated his innate niceness. She also hated the fact that he wasn’t attracted to her like the other guys were. Their adoration pleased her. She thrived on attention, and when it came to boys, she had no problem getting what she wanted.
Amelia watched as Hannah approached Cat’s table, smiled and then sat down. How dare that little brat sit with them? Hannah should be Ryan’s sister! She’s a goodie-goodie just like he is. Well, I’ll take care of that, she thought.
“Isaac, look at your sister,” Amelia said sweetly. Isaac, who was on his cell phone and not paying attention to anything around him, ignored her. In frustration, Amelia tossed back her long blonde hair and dug her dark red fingernail into his arm while pointing at Hannah.
“Look!” she repeated. Isaac’s gaze fell on his sister and anger surged through him.
“Hannah, get over here now!” His voice echoed loudly throughout the vast room. Everyone went silent and turned toward him. He appeared not to notice.
“See you later,” Hannah murmured to Cat before hurrying over to her brother’s table.
“What an arrogant ass, I should go over there and give him a piece of my mind!” Cat whispered angrily.
Julie grabbed her by the arm. “Settle down, he’s not worth the effort. Plus, your brother told you not to mess with them.” Julie’s voice seemed to calm Cat.
Cat took a deep breath, “I don’t know why I let him get to me.”
As soon as the bell rang, everyone scattered. Ryan stood and stared at Cat. He watched as the mass exodus of bodies seemed to swallow her as she left the cafeteria.
Miss Amaya walked into her sixth period with a long brightly colored scarf wrapped around her neck. She wore a bracelet with tiny bells, smiling silver moon-shaped earrings, and a pendant on a silver chain engraved with the words: My Earth Smiles.
Cat instantly knew this woman would prove to be interesting.
“Hello class, sorry I wasn’t here with you all yesterday, I had some last minute paperwork that had to be dealt with.”
Picking up a piece of purple chalk, she wrote her name whimsically on the board, ending it with an exaggerated exclamation point. As she took the roll, she asked each student to say a little about themselves.
“Catherine Colvin…Colvin? I know a professor at Covington State College by that name, any relation?”
“He’s my dad,” Cat replied.
“Well, say hello to him for me won’t you? I took a few of his classes, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Especially the one about the history and application of witchcraft and wizardry, simply fascinating stuff,” Miss Amaya gushed.
After she finished the roll, Miss Amaya stood in front of her desk and spread her arms wide. “I know we’ll be fast friends this semester. That’s why I want you to call me by my first name. Of course, due to school policy, it has to be prefaced with Miss, but I can deal with that,” she smiled. “Now, open your textbooks to the first chapter. And welcome to Earth Science.”
Looking around the classroom, Cat noticed Miss Amaya’s effect on everyone. They were hanging on her every word.
Elle leaned over, “I’m really going to enjoy this class. She almost doesn’t seem real.” Cat nodded in agreement.
“You! Can you tell me how to do this equation?” Mr. Crawley asked, p
ointing his stubby, jagged-nailed finger at Cat.
“Umm, sir, we haven’t covered that yet.”
His angry eyes bored into her. “It’s in the next chapter…you mean you haven’t read it? Should I have to tell you to read it?” He approached her desk and put his hands on either side of it.
“I’m sorry, but we’re not like your old SNOBBY institution where you were spoon-fed information. We actually have to do our own work here.”
He backed up and glared at the rest of the class, still pointing his finger at Cat.
“Class, this is an example of a poor student. Not prepared, not thinking ahead, and has to be told what to do. Poor little spoiled girl, daddy can’t help you now.”
Cat bent her head toward her desk with the heat of embarrassment filling her face. Mr. Crawley walked back to his desk, sat down, and stared at the shocked faces before him.
“Get to work!” he said sternly as he picked up the daily paper and rustled it open.
After class, Cat walked down the hallway, her head hung low. Tears filled her eyes before she reached her locker. Suddenly, she bumped into someone. Without looking up she murmured her apology and waited for the person to move out of the way. Realizing they weren’t going to move, she wiped her tears, raised her head, and met the piercing blue eyes of Astoria High’s star running back, Ryan Beckford.
“Are you okay?” Ryan asked. His voice was filled with concern.
Cat stood shell-shocked. She wished he would just leave her alone. The last thing Cat wanted to do was to cry in front him. She didn’t cry prettily, her face always became blotchy and her eyes usually swelled.
“Cat, what’s going on?” Amanda asked, coming up beside Ryan, followed by Matt and Julie. After seeing the tear tracks on Cat’s face, three pairs of questioning eyes turned to Ryan.
“Oh, hi guys, I had something in my eye and it was bothering me,” Cat explained hurriedly. “Sorry I bumped into you, Ryan. Got to go, mascot tryouts you know.” He gave her a puzzled look.
“No, not me, a friend,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Come on, people, move it or we’ll be late.”
Cat grabbed Matt’s hand and practically ran down the hall with him in tow, and Amanda followed quickly behind.
Julie blocked Ryan’s exit, her hands on her hips. “What was that all about? Did you make her cry?”
“No, I didn’t. She ran into me. You better go after her, she seemed really upset about something,” he answered.
“This is a warning. If I find out you did upset her, things will not go well for you!” she said sternly and then stormed down the hall, not waiting for his reply.
What was that all about? That girl’s intense! I didn’t even do anything, he thought.
When they reached the gym, the four friends went inside. Surprisingly, it was empty. “Are you sure this is where the tryouts are?” Matt asked.
“Yeah, that’s what the flyer said,” Cat confirmed. “Let’s sit and wait a few minutes and see if anyone shows up. I hope we didn’t miss it. I promised Elle we’d be here,” she said.
A few minutes later, a door at the far end of the gym opened and a miserable looking Elle emerged.
“This doesn’t look good,” Matt whispered.
“Hey Elle, what’s wrong, did tryouts get canceled?” Cat asked as she came closer.
“No…no one showed up but me. So I got it…by default. I’m the new Panther, and I think I’m gonna be sick,” Elle said, looking more pale than usual.
“You’ll be great!” Cat said, putting her arm around Elle’s shoulder and giving her a light squeeze. “You’ll be the best mascot this school’s ever seen, and we’ll be your biggest fans!”
Elle’s smile was a little off. “Thanks, guys.”
Putting Elle in a headlock, and rubbing her head, Amanda exclaimed, “What are friends for?”
“Hey Elle, what happened to tryouts?” Hannah asked, coming up from behind them as they were exiting the gym.
“Well, no one showed, so I’m it by default…uh, I’ve got to pee!” she squeaked and hurried toward the bathroom at the end of the hall.
“Is she okay?” asked Hannah.
“It’s the nerves, she’ll be fine though. She just needs time to warm up to the idea of being in the spotlight,” Cat explained.
“Hey Hannah, how do you like our art teacher Mr. Rosenbaum?” Matt queried.
“He’s, uh, really cool, and uh, I think it’ll be fun,” she replied quickly, her nerves evident in her voice.
Oblivious to her embarrassment, Matt continued. “Yeah, I agree. I’m not much of a painter, but I’m gonna give it a try.”
“Don’t be so modest. Hannah, last year our Matt here won second place at the town youth art fair. Though, I couldn’t make out what he painted,” Amanda joked, punching him in the arm.
“Hannah, do you need a ride home?” Cat asked.
“No, my brother’s supposed to drive me, but as you can see he is nowhere to be found. Mom will kill him if he has forgotten about me.” She smiled. “I love it when he gets in trouble.”
Everyone laughed. Hannah quickly glanced over at Matt and her blush deepened. Cat was the only one who noticed. Matt turned in Hannah’s direction and she immediately dodged his stare.
“Hannah, what are you doing? Where have you been?” A harsh voice came from behind them.
“Oh Isaac, so nice of you to show up!” she replied with her hands on her hips.
Roughly grabbing Hannah by the arm and pulling her behind him, Isaac growled, “Let’s go, now!”
Hannah turned and waved, giving the group a mischievous grin. Cat laughed as she realized that she was not going easily, but instead was dragging her feet as Isaac tried to hurry her along.
“Poor Hannah,” said Elle, as she returned from the bathroom just in time to witness the incident. “I wouldn’t want a brother like him, he’s horrible. This is why I’m glad I’m an only child.”
After sitting heavily in the car, Isaac slammed the door shut and sat looking straight ahead.
“How dare you embarrass me in front of those cretins? What have I told you about talking to them? They’re not like us. Mortals are below us! What will it take for you to understand this?” he exploded.
Hannah turned and looked at him, her eyes blazing with anger.
“Me? What about your behavior? Acting like you’re a god and everyone should jump when you say jump. I’ve decided that I’ll make friends with whomever I want to and if you don’t like it, tough! Deal with it! What have they ever done to you to make you so hateful? You and mother are just alike, cold and unfeeling. I feel sorry for you,” Hannah said. “Now we’d better get home, otherwise we’ll be in big trouble. Remember mom told us to come home right after school.”
She turned and looked out the passenger side window trying not to show him the fear she felt. She had never talked that way to her brother before, but from somewhere deep, this other part of her had lashed out.
Isaac sat looking into the rearview mirror, his hands grinding on the steering wheel. Did she really just talk to me like that? My little, quiet sister? What have those people done to her? Without a word, he started the car and gunned it out of the parking lot.
Isaac and Hannah rode home in silence. As soon as the car stopped in the driveway, she jumped out and ran inside the house, slamming the front door behind her. Hannah made her way down the hall and heard noises coming from her father’s study. The door was propped slightly open. She peeked in and saw her father on his hands and knees looking under his desk. The room was in shambles. Books and papers were strewn about as if a tornado had just passed through. Hannah was surprised to see him awake and in such a state of panic.
Lucien Bancroft shoved his hand under the desk as far as his arm could reach. Coming away with nothing, he raised himself to his knees and put his face in his hands.
“Where could it be? It has to be here somewhere. I just saw it the other day. Where is it? Where is it? I must find it. Please
let me find it. I couldn’t bear not finding it. It’s all I have left of her,” he rambled on.
Hannah quietly walked into the room and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Daddy, what’s wrong? What have you lost?” she asked softly.
Lucien stiffened and then raised his head. His eyes were red and swollen. “Hannah, what are you doing home?” he asked in confusion.
“It’s time for me to be home, school’s over.”
“Oh, I must have lost track of the time, I-I need a drink. Where did I put that bottle?” he mumbled to himself.
Hannah watched as he found the bottle and took a large gulp. He then staggered over to the couch and fell onto it, spilling some of the liquid onto the rug. Sighing, she went over and kissed his cheek, realizing that he had forgotten she was there, and then quietly left the room.
Isaac stood outside the door, a sneer on his face. “Daddy dearest, inebriated as usual? Why does that always surprise you, sister? You think you’d have learned, how weak he truly is.”
Hannah glared at him and then stormed up the stairs, his laughter ringing in her ears
4
The Carnival
There was a garment explosion from Cat’s closet as she tore through it trying to find the perfect ensemble. After putting on numerous outfits, she finally decided on her first choice of a gray hoodie, a yellow frilly blouse, and denim capri pants. She could barely contain her excitement. For one, it was Saturday. Two, the carnival was in town. And three, there was going to be no parental supervision.
Unbeknownst to Cat, two floors below, Taylor was trying unsuccessfully to convince their parents that they should take her instead of him.
“Taylor, that doesn’t make sense. You’re going anyway. Amanda’s mom is bringing them home, so what’s the issue?”
“Mom, I need my space,” he blurted out, thinking how lame that sounded coming from him. Rachel, not amused at his response, looked at Sam for backup.
“Taylor, come on. How often do we ask you to take Cat anywhere?”
