Leap Year

Chapter Sixteen - Protectiveness

"Kitty!" a voice whines. I roll over and wave her off.

"Go away," I groan, my voice raspy from the lack of sleep.

"Wow, you sound weird with a raspy voice," she claims. I immediately jump out of bed, glaring at her with my now wide awake eyes.

"What'd you just say?" I growl.

"I said we have school!" she blurts nervously.

"That's what I thought." I rake my fingers through my bedhead hair.

"Please get up," she begs.

I sigh and walk over to our dresser. "Training?"

"I don't think so." She walks over to our calender that's hanging between our desks. She crosses off the day's date. August twentieth, 2296.

"So, our normal attire?"

"Well, what we'd wear just in case something happened."

I give a brief nod and pull out comfortable clothing that I'd fight it. Since it's May, I have jean shorts, black sneakers, and a loose, red tank top. I brush out my hair, taming it, and brush my teeth as well.

"You ready?" Carter asks, leaning on the bed frame. Her uniform covers her body, fitting like a charm. Her hair brushes just past her shoulders now that it's grown longer.

"I thought we didn't need uniforms," I say with a frown as I walk past her and toward the door.

"Yeah, but I like my uniform," she replies, snuggling into herself with a satisfied smile. "Plus, it's like I'm wearing everyday clothes."

I chuckle. "Let's just go." I walk out of the dorm with her at me heels.

***

"So, how's everyone's day been?" I ask, breaking the unsettling blanket of silence that lay upon my friends and I.

"The girl's won't leave us alone," Lilli murmurs, pushing her salad around with her fork.

"Th-they said I was fat," Sapph recalls, tears in her eyes.

The moment the words travel through my ears, I jump to my feet. A growl emerges from my throat as my eyes flicker around the field, looking for the now only seven girls that have hated us since we trained in the park and "stole" two of their girls, as their ringleader would put it.

"Oh look," a voice demands sweetly from behind me. "It's the little brat and her friends." The tone suddenly grows cold and dark.

I turn around to find just the girls I was looking for and a group of dudes. They're big and muscular, plus extremely tall.

"Who're you calling a brat?" Carter snaps back.

"Her, obviously," the second in command sneers, pointing their finger at me.

"She has a name, y'know," Luke butts in.

"We don't care what it is, though, now do we?" the ringleader claims.

"You should be nice to them, Kate," Lilli mutters. "They're a lot tougher than you think."

"Pfft! As if! Boys!" The brunette takes a step back as the group of boys step up to me. I stare up at them with the urge to punch them tingling through my body.