Inhibition

Chapter 33

Cat finished getting ready while Finley and Midge munched on toast in the kitchen. That was pretty much all they had in their kitchen, besides Cat's pounds of Chinese food that no one was allowed to touch. Ever. Under any circumstances.

"Or else they will feel my wrath!" Cat shouted, shaking her fist at the heavens.

Midge peaked into her room. "Are you done yet?"

"Yep-pers, just one sec while I put on my socks. And shoes. And jacket. And find my book bag. Never mind. That "I'm ready" statement was a total lie."

"Alright-y, then." Midge just smiled and skipped away.

Cat went back to getting ready. She pulled on her green knee high socks, and her brown workman-like boots. She made sure her blue T-shirt was still tucked into her flowery skirt, and then left her room to hunt down her book bag.

"I have seriously got to start packing my stuff up the night before," Cat muttered to herself as she found her biology textbook on the coffee table, her math binder next to the kitchen sink, and her actual  book bag in the bathroom. No idea why that's in there. By the time she had everything she needed Midge and Finley were walking out, having decided to leave her behind.

"Hey, wait up!" Cat called as she raced out of the room, her book bag over one shoulder, one hand grabbing her jacket on the way out and the other hand waving at Midge and Finley.

When they arrived at the tree, everyone was waiting outside. Teachers and students alike milled about aimlessly among the roots. Curious, Cat walked up to the first person she recognized.

"Aubrie! Hey, Aubrie!" Cat shouted as she waved and ran towards her. She might have had to shove a few people to get through, but all's fair in . . . curiosity. Yeah, Cat didn't think that made sense either. And that's saying something.

"Oh, hey Cat." Aubrie absently greeted, going up on her tippy toes at random intervals to see if this would be the time that she could actually see over everyone else's heads. Alas, the curse of being short.

"What's up?"

Aubrie looked up questioningly. "Um, the sky?"

"No," Cat sighed, "I mean, what is going on?"

"Oh, yeah, I don't know either."

Cat turned to see Wyatt a couple of people over, with Ruth standing next to him. She and Aubrie approached them to see what they knew.

"Honestly, we don't know anything either." Ruth answered in response to their questioning. Wyatt grunted in affirmation.

After asking (well, Ruth and Aubrie asked. Cat was still frighteningly disliked and it was too early to function for Wyatt) a few more people, they realized that nobody knew what was going on. They had all just come up to a reasonable crowd of people and inferred that they were to join. As no one stopped them, it seemed that they had inferred correctly.

Before Cat and her crew could push their way to the front, to the people who had originally been told to stand outside and wait, a screeching noise sounded.

The screech devolved into words.

"ATTENTION ALL ACADEMY STUDENTS. ATTENTION." The voice boomed from everywhere. Cat nearly dropped her book bag to cover her ears and saw Midge clasping her hands over her own ears. Even Aidan winced a little.

"Students, this is your Headmaster speaking." The volume was adjusting to a more comfortable level, but the voice still reverberated through the air. Now that the voice was at a lower intensity, Cat could make out the components that made the voice Headmaster Sharpe's. The clipped words and the deeper tone, as well as the slightly . . .  snarky edge. She could also just barely make out his gleaming white suit and white blonde hair over the sea of students.

"It has come to my notice that certain . . . factions of our wonderful school have decided to be a tad rebellious."

Cat leaned over to Midge. "Really? Introduce me to them!" Cat made her voice so shocked, but kept the volume low. Her instincts told her this wasn't the time to draw attention to herself.  

"I feel that the campus rules have become too lax in practice. Public displays of affection are not allowed. Teachers will no longer tolerate tardiness. And for your own safety, from this point on, outside contact is forbidden. That means no calls, no letters, and absolutely no visiting."

There was a pause. Cat swore she could almost hear the internal outrage from her fellow students, no matter how quiet they were acting.

"Intense training will also start today, and all students are asked to participate. Again I warn that no leeway will be given for lack of skill, or kind-hearted hesitation. These exercises should be taken as seriously as possible for the exercises themselves are serious. And by serious, I do mean lethal." There was another loaded pause.  

"That will be all." Headmaster Sharpe sounded downright perky at the end.