VALERIA

Chapter Eight.

Three days had gone by since the incident in the woods. Connor hadn't spoken a true conversation to Batty after she left his house that morning. Sure, he'd be civil, but it wasn't the same. He hardly looked at her anymore. Because of that, school had been hell. Cherrywood High was a typical public school; the rich kids and athletes were coddled whilst the less fortunate battled with truancy. Nothing was funded except the athletics program. Anything to make them look collegiate on paper.

The uniforms or grey suit jackets with cherry red undershirts. Sweater vests optional. Women had the same attire but with matching plaid skirts and knee high socks. They were permitted to customize their hair and shoes but the clothing must stay the same. Without Connor, these unfair living conditions were hard to bear.

Batty crossed her arms and sank into her desk chair. It was awful. She was currently sat in mathematics with the lamest teacher known to man — Mr. Quillsby. Batty and the majority of her class called him Quills because he looked like an old cartoon porcupine, with his angled nose and spiky grey hairs. He was about to begin a lesson on quadratics when a scratching noise came from one of the windows, long and shrill.

"Not again!" Sighed an overdramatic brainiac student from the corner. "Mr. Quills, it's that cat again. What me to get him?" That was another thing! Ever since the second day after the with massacre, that black cat wouldn't stop showing up. In the worst of times! Batty took a shower last night and it appeared! On her way to school, it follows her. Sometimes when she went to dance practice, the cat would be on the deck waiting for her. And she had a feeling she knew why.

"Nonsense, Teddy, I'll take care of him," Croaked Quills as he moseyed over to the window, giving the glass a few taps. "Away, you wretched thing!" But the cat only looked around the old teacher, his yellow eyes boring into Batty's. Connor, who had been placed a distance from his friend due to their excessive talking, looked across the room at the strawberry blonde. He looked troubled. Even frowned. Batty turned to look at him longingly. She missed him so, but after awhile, he looked away again, back to his work.

Quills returned to the front of class once the cat had finally relented and ran off. He uncapped a marker and began a demonstration on how to go about solving a quadratic equation. Meanwhile, Batty struggled to keep her mind focused. The cat wanted something. It wanted her to go back, she was sure. But how could she when Connor was so upset? He was right, what good would being a witch be if the risks were so high? Those ancient witches, witches who had been there long before the woods, had been slaughtered so carelessly. Years of wisdom loss by a whim. So who was to say that wouldn't happen to her too?

More than anything though, she just wanted her best friend back. The bell rang after some twenty minutes and Batty was one of the first to spring up, pushing out of the doorway. She had to find that cat and get him to leave for good. "Batty!" A voice called from behind. Her heart leaped. The girl turned around briskly. Through the stampede of kids heading to lunch, she could see Connor dodging through students to meet her. "Connor!" She cried as he got close. "I'm so, so sorry. I'm not going back to the woods again, I swear." Whatever Connor was about to say froze on his tongue. A slow smile tugged at his lips as his friend went on, "I'm throwing away my whole lunch break just to get rid of him for you. Your friendship, our safety, is way more important than some urban legend."

Batty hugged her friend despite the annoyed students trying to get around them. Connor threw his arms around her tightly. "I love you." She admitted quietly, muffled against his shoulder. "And I love you, Bats. I accept your apology . . " He retracted from her, smiling. "But . .  I think that maybe we should."

Batty's eyes widened, "No!"

"No? But the cat —,"

"Fuck that cat. No offense because I love cats," Batty frowned. "But seeing you so . . so lost. So scared? That freaked me out. I — I don't want to see you like that again, okay?" She grabbed her friend's arms. "Being a witch isn't worth it if my bestie isn't okay. So let's just go to lunch and be kids again." Connor stared into Batty's eyes for a long moment before nodding slowly. If she was truly fine with never going back, Connor was okay with that. He could do with some normalcy.