Introducing Cassie

ninety three

Keira stood in the hallway, standing outside of a plain white door, marked 9-3. She bit her lip nervously, and checked the piece of paper in her hand for the nineteenth time. She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and knocked lightly on the door. Her knuckles brushed against the paint making a hollow sound which echoed through the empty corridor, sending a chill up Keira's spine. She flicked her eyes to the stairwell at the end of the hall, then to each of the door in turn, along the corridor walls. Keira had tried multiple times to explain it, but it was hard to put into words. Her father had never been interested of course, but other girls at school, the teachers, even the bus driver had noticed it. Keira didn't know why she found it so hard to trust people. She couldn't grasp the reason she jumped at every sound, and found every little thing suspicious. Keira caught everything. She felt the eyes of her classmates bearing into the back of her head, she saw the small slips of folded paper being passed from hand to hand around the classroom, she noticed when someone didn't wear make up like they usually did, when someone wore different earrings, when someone wore long sleeves for a change, when someone had their hair differently, or when a girl walked to the locker rooms with a limp. Keira noticed everything, and everything she notice made her suspicious. The notes, the whispers, the snickers, the sudden an unexplained changes in behavior. Her whole life Keira had felt that the world was against her. Keira knew, deep down, that society hated girls like her, that even her next door neighbor wanted to cut her down. Her teachers had said she was getting paranoid. Her classmates had said she was crazy. The shrink had said she was getting worried over nothing. But Keira knew she was right. Keira knew that she had reason to distance herself from everyone else. She knew that she couldn't be blamed for feeling safest on her own, with the worlds prying eyes blocked off. Keira didn't know her neighbors. But she knew where they'd be and when. She knew that at 7:20 in the evening, all of the doors along her corridor would be closed and locked, the occupants of the flats at various commitments that Keira would never know. Keira didn't care where they were, all she was worried about was that they were gone. Out of her way. Keira knew that between 7:20 and 10:30 she could walk up to the roof, without anyone getting suspicious. Keira found comfort in that small fact. So when the door opened, she found herself surprised, then scared, as that one solid fact, that one piece of safety and privacy ebbed away slowly.

"Hello Dearie." The wrinkled old woman said.

"Uh..."

"Are you lost sweetie? Would you like me to call your parents? Do you want a biscuit? Is there something your looking for? Are you alright sweetie?" The old lady crooned, hobbling out into the corridor and clasping her clawed hand gently around Keira's wrist. Keira looked down at the hand on her arm. Thin and frail, covered in liver spots, probably riddled with arthritis. Keira protested as the woman dragged her into the flat, but she would hear nothing of it.

"But dearie, look at you! So pale and thin! A good cup of tea with a little cake would do you well." She said, placing Keira in a chair and limping into the kitchen. Keira sat at the table awkwardly, looking around the strangers flat. She felt something brush her leg, and stiffened, but then relaxed as she saw two bright yellow eyes staring up from between her feet.

"Hey there. Whats you name?" She said, as the jet black cat leaped up into her lap and snuggled against her stomach, purring. "Wh-what's the cat's name?" Keira asked politely, looking up at the woman in the kitchen.

"L-u-p-e. Pronounced Lou. She's lovely isn't she? Now, do you like carrot cake? Chocolate cake? How about a nice biscuit for you? And how many sugars do you want in your tea? What about milk?"

"Oh there's no need to fuss about me, I just wanted to see Cassie, that's all." Keira said modestly as Lupe started licking her hand.

"Hmm... sorry dearie what was that? I'm an old lady, I'm a little deaf?" She said, placing a steaming cup of sweet smelling tea and a ornate china plate with biscuits and cake on the table in front of her.