What's the Opposite of a Fairy Tale? | ONC 2024

15. Backup

After my little talk with Comet, I'd hurried back to the clock tower to meet up with Gabe and Olivia. The chimes sounding before the building was even in sight told me I was late. When I got there, I saw the two of them sitting on a bench not far from the entrance. Gabe was putting his inhaler back into his pocket. I hadn't seen him use that thing in years; I tried not to be worried about what that meant. Even from as far away as I was, I could hear him wheezing.

I sat down on the opposite side of the sidewalk and meowed to get their attention; I didn't want to get too close to him if I didn't have to. Olivia checked her phone before putting it back in her pocket.

"Where do you think he is?" she asked. Apparently, she hadn't noticed me yet. But with all the students still filing back and forth, I wasn't all that surprised.

"He'll be here, don't worry." Gabe said, his voice sounding scratchy.

"Maybe you should go back to the dorms and lie down," Oliva said. "You look kind of terrible."

She was right. His eyes were red, and I could still see that, despite the inhaler, he seemed to be breathing harder than normal.

"No way," Gabe shook his head. "I've known Evan for forever— I'm not going anywhere."

I really couldn't tell you how glad I was to hear Gabe say that. I'd been having a pretty rough time the past couple of weeks, and it was good to know that I wasn't completely alone; I had backup here.

"I know he's your best friend and everything, but I'm sure he wouldn't want—" Olivia started. Gabe put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head, stopping her mid-sentence.

"It's not like I've ever had to go to the hospital or anything for this," he said hoarsely. He cleared his throat and continued. "It looks worse than it is, trust me."

"...Are you sure?" Olivia asked, clearly trying to decide whether or not she believed him.

Gabe nodded, smothering a cough. I wasn't any more convinced than Olivia was, but Gabe's insisting that I wouldn't kill him did put my mind at ease. I hadn't actually realized how much the possibility was bothering me until then.

I meowed again, louder this time. I was starting to feel weird; it was like I was spying on them. Olivia looked up. When she saw me, she burst into a grin. Gabe looked over, following her line of sight. I got a good look at his face, and I would have sworn he was actually sick. But he still gave me a nod of greeting, trying to act like he wasn't feeling as bad as I was sure he was.

"Come here," Olivia said, motioning me over with her head. I hesitated, looking over at Gabe. Gabe nodded.

"I'm fine," he rasped.

I gave a short nod before darting across the walkway, avoiding the horde of feet trudging to and from the cafeteria.

"So, did you meet up with that Comet cat?" Olivia asked. She was clearly talking to me, but she was facing Gabe. I understood why she didn't want to be seen having a conversation with a cat, but I couldn't say I particularly liked it.

I gave a short nod. Olivia must have been watching me out of the corner of her eye, because she gave a nod of her own.

"Good," she said.

"Did he tell you how to revers—" Gabe broke off, coughing. Olivia was already getting out her laptop.

I started to nod, when something caught my ear. Chirping. And it was coming from the trees just behind the bench.

"Are you sure he's just a domesticated cat?"

Now, I'd been sniped at enough recently to recognize a bird's voice when I heard it. I looked casually around, trying to pretend I didn't know they were talking about me as I pinpointed their location.