The Breeze Trials

Chapter 1

I heaved a sigh as I opened my locker, glad that it wasn't hard to get the damned combination anymore. It was embarrassing having to try it three times in a row before the lock released its little pop sound. After classes I still hadn't come close to understanding, the school day was finally over. The teachers always said things like, "just like you learned last year," or "in elementary school," as if I hadn't barely learned what elementary school was.

 I grabbed my library book and began the long trek home. Apparently, some kids took this huge thing called a bus, but I lived on the very edge of getting that luxury. While I walked, I scanned the pages, softly humming the tunes my old friends used to sing while weaving moss together. This novel was about a girl who was deserted by her family in an unknown place for one reason or another, which was exactly how I felt.  I was always alone ever since I'd moved here, no friends or people even close to that, mostly because I had a secret that was beyond most human belief.

Most of my life was lived out with a coat of fur and sharp claws. Not too long ago, I was a cat in a tribe. After the change occurred,  I didn't have ears or a tail, like some of the shorter stories I'd read to get used to the whole idea of reading in the first place. Those features went away with the change, leaving only the hint of my sharp canines and 'cat terminology', as it had been called, something I used less and less as the days passed. 

I was so zoned out reading that I bumped into someone. 

"O-oh, sorry." I stepped back and looked up. I sucked in a breath. This was no ordinary someone, this was the handsome, charming, sweeter than honey, Jay. He met my eyes and smiled a smile that made my heart flutter.

"Hey Breeze, distracted much?" He laughed a bit. 

"Oh, yeah, it's a good book... and I didn't expect you to be going this way. Not that I know which way you usually go, I just haven't seen you on my way until now." I just looked down, too afraid to meet his ice-blue gaze any more than I already had. He put a hand on my head, and though I'd never admit it, I loved it. 

"Maybe it's because you never look up on the way home, Bookworm? Though I guess I'm usually at basketball practice." He looked thoughtful for a moment, piecing things together.

Whenever we talked, he usually ended up mentioning whatever that sport was. I imagined it was kind of like a game I'd played when I was a kit, when my litter-mates and I  would toss around a clump of wet moss or a pine cone. I'm sure it was way more taxing than that though, judging by Jay's muscular physique. I smiled slightly, glad he wasn't mad about our collision before.

I guessed he could see my thoughts on my face, because his gaze softened slightly.

"Look, no need to look so worried; it's alright, nobody got hurt."

"I can be so mouse-brained sometimes and I don't check where I'm going a lot. You're right though, all is well that ends well." I began playing with the sapphire necklace around my throat while he spoke. A silence began to stretch between us.

"Well I gotta go. See you tomorrow?" I nodded in reply as he walked toward the group of stores nearby. Once he was out of sight I sighed loudly, both to release my nerves and because he always took my breath away. According to someone I asked about the new feelings I had, it was called "liking him". I guess it was similar to having romantic feelings toward a cat you considered as a potential mate, but it never seemed to be this strong between cats.

Either way, seeing him reminded me that the winter dance was almost upon us and I was really hoping I could ask Jay, but I was a coward. I heard my classmates giggling about some guys asking them, but I figured if I'd make it passed all his other interests, I'd have to make the first move.