Accidentally on Purpose

Chapter Seventeen

Imagine my horror when Jonah didn't come to school the next day.

It was Mr. Herberg's class; the seat next to me was empty and I was freaking out. How could he do this to me?! I get that he probably never fully forgave me for all the troubles I'd put him through but could he just NOT put me through this shit?

I was currently the only one in this class who hadn't gotten engaged yet. Mr. Herberg noticed the uneasiness on my face—especially as he glanced at the empty seat next to me—and he gave me an apologetic smile that didn't ease my worries away.

In a haste, after my conversation with Spencer yesterday, I'd rushed to the nearest costume store and somehow managed to find a cheap fake silver band that I'd snatched up even though I had no idea if it was even gonna fit Jonah's finger at all. Then I'd planned to just go fuck it and throw a half-assed proposal the minute I caught him in the hallway or something.

And then he just missed the class and now I had no idea what to do to save my grades.

Lunch was spent with me in complete silent as my best friend and her girlfriend tried to reassure me. But I kept glancing back at the lunch table Jonah always sat at, and wondered where the hell he might be.

At first, of course it was anger that I immediately felt burning inside me when I noticed his absence. How could he dare pull a disappearing stunt at times like this? But then anger turned into confusion, because I had never seen him skip school before. It quickly turned into worry once I realized that if he suddenly skipped school out of nowhere, it must have been because something happened to him. Or maybe it was just me being paranoid.

All I knew was that I hated his absence.

I took out my phone, and sent Jonah a text message, simply asking where he was. Ten minutes went and he still hadn't replied. I texted again, and when lunch ended there was still no word from Jonah. I contemplated calling him but refrained from doing so, because I was afraid that I would immediately go tongue tied if I heard his voice through the phone.

He still wasn't here during Chemistry, which I spent sullenly writing down into my book and avoiding Ms. Bishop's glare—and yes, she still hadn't gotten over the not-footsie thing and she probably never would.

During gym, Gina tried to cheer me up, as well as Spencer who was also in gym class with me. We were playing volley, and I managed to get myself hit in the head four times because I was distracted. Thankfully, I didn't get myself sent into the infirmary room, but my head sure hurt a lot.

I took a very long shower in the locker room after telling Gina not to wait for me. I took my time getting my body cleaned up and letting the slight headaches from the ball dissipate, and once I got out of the shower room, everyone was already gone. I shrugged and slipped into my fresh clothes, and then walked out of gym toward my locker in the hallway to grab some books that I needed to bring home.

When I was about a few steps away from my locker, I noticed something strange sitting there at the foot of my locker.

I quickened my steps, curiosity spreading itself all over my body. Once I got there and finally could take a closer look, I realized that it was a small carrier for animals.

I felt my breath hitch as I kneeled down in front of the closed carrier. I faintly heard a noise from inside of the carrier, and my hands shook as I opened it. I almost cried when I saw what was inside.

Inside was a fluffy, gray and white coated cat. Its coat was so thick and soft, and my face automatically morphed into a look of complete adoration as it meowed and rubbed its head against the back of my hand, seeming to have already fallen in love with me the way I instantly fell for its innocent eyes. My heart, oh god, my poor heart.

"Oh my god," I whispered at the cat, and took it out of the carrier. It was a female cat. "You're so beautiful. What are you doing here?" I cooed, scratching her head softly. She meowed in delight. I was almost breathless as I held her lovingly and carefully. I sat down on the floor and put her on my lap, and she settled itself there almost instantly.

I rubbed her in the tummy, and she meowed once again, twisting her body as if she was ticklish. I giggled and ran my fingers through her soft coat, until I finally felt the collar around her neck. I looked at the tag on the collar, which read Grace.

"Grace," I murmured softly. "Who do you belong to, Grace?"

Grace meowed softly, her voice one of the most beautiful thing I had ever heard, and I rubbed under her chin, making her meow again as she closed her eyes. From under her chin, I felt some kind of folded paper wrapped around the collar, so I took it. It was indeed a small folded paper, so immediately unfolded it, and my lips twitched to fight a smile as I read the boyish handwriting scrabbled on it.

School yard. Bring her with you. Let her loose when it's time.

P.S: Sorry it's not a kitten.