Cats Middle School

Chapter 2: Cassandra

"How could you be wearing that today of all days?" I hissed. "I thought everyone knew that I bought that at a sale two weeks ago!

I had pulled Exotica into an empty classroom. The usually blinding fluorescent lights were switched off, casting most of the room in darkness. Everyone was gathering in the cafeteria, but I had some unfinished business with Exotica

Our clothes matched perfectly. It was a white shirt with lacy flowers sewn into the cloth tucked into a short jean skirt. The only difference was that I was wearing sandals, while Exotica was wearing knee-high boots

Honestly, the outfit looked cuter on her

But that was something Exotica was never going to learn- at least, not from me

"I don't see what the big deal is," Exotica said, rubbing her temples with one perfectly manicured hand. "Why can't we wear the same thing? We could be twins." Her black hair was in a pixie cut. If my parents weren't so uptight, I would love to cut my hair. It was just another reason to hate Exotica.

I snorted. "As if." I twirled my dark hair around my finger and stared at Exotica expectantly.

"One of us should wear a jacket, I guess," Exotica said, biting her lip. "But I don't have one."

"How can you not have a jacket?" I asked. "You don't have a sweater? Sweatshirt? Coverup? Nothing?"

Exotica shook her head slowly. "Sorry. I just don't get cold."

"What do you mean?" Didn't everyone get cold? This girl was absolutely crazy.

"I mean exactly that." Exotica shrugged, a smile twitching at the edge of her lips. "My family likes to travel a lot, so I've gone on long camping trips in freezing places."

Her eyes met mine. It was strange- I'd never seen someone with such distracting eyes. They were black, but looking at Exotica's eyes wasn't like staring into the void. It was more like looking up at a moonless sky. I could stare into them for hours.

I averted my gaze after a few seconds. "Um... I guess... Well," I stammered, "I guess I could wear my jacket."

"Sounds great," Exotica said. Her mouth curved into a natural smile, her glistening white teeth flashing in the fluorescent light. "See you around, Cass."

...

I caved in much too quickly. What was wrong with me?

And yet, thinking back to the panic that overwhelmed me as I gazed at Exotica, I felt that I had made the right choice.

These thoughts flew through my head as I tugged my jacket closer. The coat did not match the rest of the outfit, but it didn't matter.

Besides, it was cold in the cafeteria. Like, couldn't the staff shut off the air conditioner or something?

A sharp nudge from Bomba shook me from my thoughts. "Did you hear me, Cassie?" When I shook my head, she said, "I asked if you were okay. You're awful quiet."

"Oh, I'm fine," I said, wishing my voice hadn't cracked. I cleared my throat. "I'm perfectly okay."

Her brown eyes scanned my face. "Then what were you thinking about?"

"Nothing," I blurted. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I lied to my best friend. Quickly, I racked my brain for something to say. "Are you excited for the Jellicle Ball?"

Bomba's eyes brightened immediately. With a quick squeal, she started talking too fast for me to understand.

I squinted my eyes and said, very intelligently, "What?"

"Tugger asked me to the dance!"

"That's... that's amazing," I said. "I mean, you've had a crush on him for, what, three years now?"

Bomba nodded. "Since I met him at summer school." A guilty expression crossed over her gorgeous face, and, after a second, she said, "I'm sorry. I, um, I know that you sorta liked him too."

That almost made me crack up. Yeah, I'd told her that last summer when we'd had our sleepover. Bomba had been gushing on about him, and I had agreed with everything she said because that was easier for both of us. I guess she assumed I had a crush on him too.

But Tugger wasn't my type.

Like, at all.

Although I felt like giggling, I kept a straight face. "Yeah, Tugger's cute and stuff, but I would never have a crush on him since you like him." I added, "And you're basically dating now, so, just to make this crystal clear, I don't have a crush on him."

"I'm glad," Bomba said, her mouth twitching into a tentative smile. "That would have been awkward."

"Agreed," I said. "So, tell me everything."