"304... 305... 321?" The gray tabby stopped in his tracks, brow furrowed in confusion. He looked back down at his schedule. "Room 307. Doesn't exist. Apparently."
School was starting in a week, and the house cat had recently moved into town just the month before. He had gotten registered, gotten his schedule, and had been dropped off so that he could get acquainted with the school set up before the year started.
It had gone fine at first, he had found his first three periods with ease, but now. Not so much.
"I don't get it," he sighed. "How does it go from 305 to 321?" He spun around and looked at the doors that had been behind him - perhaps they held the missing room numbers. But no. On the other side of the hall, only numbers in the 400s were displayed.
Puffing his cheeks out and brushing his pink hair out of his eyes, Taffy huffed. He was already tired of this school, which currently wasn't making a lick of sense.
"Need help?" A question, followed by a low chuckle, caused the tabby to spin around. He found himself greeted by the sight of a tall orange tabby cat.
"I, ah. Might have been watching for a moment there." He rubbed the back of his neck, then stuck out his hand. "I'm James. I'll be a senior here."
"Taffy," the smaller cat stated, accepting the handshake. "And yeah. I do." He eyed the tom. "My family moved here last month. So I'm new. And... just confused. Your room numbers make no sense. 305 isn't followed by 321." Reminded of his frustrations, Taffy huffed.
James chuckled again.
"Yeah, this wing is messed up. What room number are you looking for?"
"307." He glanced down at his schedule. "Physics? I think."
"Yeah, come on. The rest of the rooms are on the outside." James turned and led the smaller tabby out of the long building. "Physics. Are you a junior, then?"
"Yep," Taffy chirruped, in a much better mood now that he had some help. He didn't mind the company, either. James seemed nice enough, and wasn't too bad looking either. Taffy almost laughed out loud. The school year hadn't even started yet and he was checking out guys.
"Awesome. I'll probably see you around. Upperclassmen share the same lunch period, here." His words paused as he exited the building and began scanning room numbers on the doors outside. "Right there," he pointed, then walked over to the room, Taffy following. "307." The orange tom turned to Taffy and smiled.
"Thanks," Taffy almost purred. "I would've been looking forever."
"No problem," James laughed. "What do you have next?" Taffy nearly dismissed him, sure he could locate the rest of his classes himself, but paused. Having company would be more enjoyable than being alone.
"Aren't you busy?" Taffy asked slowly. While he wouldn't mind James' company, he didn't want to bother the other, either.
"Nah. I already know where everything is. I just came to talk to a couple teachers, which I've already finished up with." He smiled softly.
"Alright, then," Taffy smiled in return. "Next is... room 704."
------
"Thanks for all the help..." Taffy trailed off, staring up at James, who was reclining against the building wall, for a second before looking down at his feet.
The pair had gone all over the school; Taffy had ended up with a terribly back and forth schedule. While most of the time they hadn't really needed to backtrack, both had insisted that they did, 'just in case'. It was a good enough excuse to refrain from parting, both had silently thought.
"No problem," James stated. "It was my pleasure." His ears heated up. A blush formed, hidden under his fur. "It was pretty fun."
"Yeah," Taffy stated. He wasn't usually the shy type, but was for some reason at a loss for words. James was a stranger, still, but he was the closest thing he had to a friend here. He hadn't met anyone else yet. He was just unsure if the other house cat would actually want to be friends, though. Maybe the other had only helped him out of pity, or general kindness, and wanted nothing else to do with him.
"Want to hang out sometime?" James questioned, rather slowly and awkwardly. He found the other rather cute, though of course couldn't tell him that. He offered a half smile.
"Yeah!" Taffy looked up and mewed enthusiastically. He giggled a little, glad that he had confirmation that James actually enjoyed his company. "That would be great. You're kind of my only friend here so far."
"Ah, well. Could I see your phone? I'll just give you my number, you can call whenever." Taffy nodded, unlocking his cell and handing it over. The smaller tabby bounced slightly, happily, as the other keyed in his number. Smiling, James soon handed it back.
"I've got to head out. Need to pick my sister up from her friend's. But, uh," he rubbed the back of his neck. "Like I said. Just call whenever." Taffy nodded, and after an awkward goodbye, James headed out of the school, towards the student parking lot.
Taffy watched him go, a small smile on his face the whole time. Once James disappeared from view, the gray tabby headed towards the front of the school to wait for his mother, his mood light.
