Catnip

03 | In Which Caleb Makes a Deal With the Devil

For the first time in the entirety of his high school career, Caleb is lost.

Not physically lost. His sense of direction is impeccable, thanks very much, and besides, Jackson Hole High (or Jackson Hell Hole, as he prefers to call it) is hardly big enough to warrant confused seniors wandering through the hallways with a map.

In all honesty, he doesn't know how to categorise this feeling. All he knows is that he's standing in the cafeteria and Marnie's nowhere in sight, and the thought of eating lunch without her has left him hollow inside, an unfamiliar sensation stirring in his gut.

Marnie's known for her near-perfect attendance. When it comes to sickness and ill-health, nothing short of death will stop her from getting up on her feet and racing out the front door. He can barely remember a lunch period where Marnie hasn't been around to sit with him and make jokes that would turn a normal person's stomach, and now that the day has finally arrived (despite her being present in third period Spanish, the last class they shared together) he's clueless as to how he'll go about solving the dilemma. It's ridiculous (as if Caleb Diaz needs people to feel content) but it's also his current reality, and if he doesn't quit dawdling or figure out where the hell to park his ass within the next ten seconds, he's going to draw attention to himself and look like a downright fool.

Real smooth.

Gripping his tray with both hands, he sets off toward his and Marnie's usual table. It's nestled in the corner of the cafeteria beside the windows, empty bar a discarded bag of chips. People mill around the surrounding tables, laughing and joking and messing around, and the pang in his chest returns. Pathetic. He likes being along. He enjoys silence. What the fuck is wrong with him?

"Hey! Caleb!"

He's tempted to ignore the voice, and probably would if it weren't for his conscience waking from hibernation and making an overdue attack on his attitude. With a sigh, Caleb slows down and turns around.

"Hey, Daniel," he says, struggling not to smirk at the way the blond boy nearly stumbles over a chair in his haste to catch up. "Any idea what happened to Marnie?"

"Her phone ran outta charge during gym class." Daniel reaches him, all limbs miraculously still intact. "And she was gonna hunt you down to tell you but she didn't have time, so she said I should hunt you down and tell you, and I looked for you at the start of lunch but I couldn't remember if she'd said you were in calculus or biology, and then Britt said –"

"Do you plan on getting to the point before we graduate?"

"Oh. Right. Yeah." He rubs the back of his neck. "Well, Coach held the soccer team back after class. Something about this week's game, I think. And like I said, she was gonna tell you herself but –"

"Her phone died. Yeah, man, I got that part."

"Okay."

"Right. Well, thanks." Caleb nods and turns to leave, but he's barely moved an inch before Daniel decides to open his mouth again.

"Hey, you're still cool with me coming over tonight, right?"

The reminder sends his mood plummeting down a drop-zone, and any chance of him somewhat enjoying his lunch diminishes as his appetite goes to hell. All day long he's been praying Daniel would forget about the whole cat-sitting thing, or at least pretend to forget for his sake. But, alas, that would be way too easy, wouldn't it?

"I won't stay long," Daniel says, as if reading Caleb's mind is one of his newfound talents. "I can't stay long, anyway. I'm supposed to be having dinner at Britt's tonight."