Dear Ocean Sky

Chapter 13 | Kata

Kata slowly got out of her seat. She was in ILA and they were about to choose groups for a month-long project. No more than four people to a group and no less than two.

Kata spotted Zoe, one of her acquaintances as her mother would call it, talking to Alex. Kata decided to walk over to them.

Kata and Zoe had been family friends since elementary school but they didn't become actual friends until sixth grade though, Kata wasn't sure she could call them that anymore. They had sort of drifted apart.

They became friends through orchestra, which was something Kata had no interest in. She loved music, but cello wasn't exactly something she enjoyed doing. Zoe, however, loved orchestra and was a "prodigy" among the orchadorks. She had joined the top orchestra, symphonic, when she was in sixth grade which was almost unheard of. When Kata made it into the symphonic orchestra in seventh grade, Zoe was the leader so to speak, of the violin section. She quickly realized that Kata had no real interest in what she was doing so she convinced Kata to let her help. Kata agreed stubbornly, and though she wanted to walk out of their free period lessons not infrequently, Zoe was persistent and soon she had Kata playing with a new appreciation for her instrument. She didn't still didn't enjoy playing, but she appreciated the fact that she could make amazing sounds out of her instrument. Zoe had said this gave more "life" to her playing. Kata had never met anyone willing to put up with her that long so even when Zoe said she had graduated from their weekly lessons Kata still came to hang out with her. Plus it knocked some time off her practice log. However, that had stopped this year when Zoe had more friends in her grade because eighth grade was generally the year you made top orchestra, so the two didn't talk very often anymore.

"Hey Kata, wanna join us?" asked Zoe.

"Yeah," she answered with a smile. Kata looked at Alex. Alex gave her a small tentative smile. Kata did a gesture of her head in return, then ended up smirking thinking of the fun they had yesterday before Alex ran off. Alex tried to keep a laugh of her own from bubbling up, but when Alex looked away from her, Kata saw the smile teasing her lips. Kata stared at Alex as she talked with Zoe, until Damini, a small perky girl, walked up behind them.

"Hey, Zoe! Can I join your group?" Damini asked. Kata looked at the small girl longingly. How was this girl always so cheery? She wished she could be like that. She tried but she felt like she failed most of the time. Zoe turned and started talking to Damini. Kata thought she heard Zoe say something about Alex, and then she saw Damini throw a glare in Alex's direction. Kata clenched her fists, but quickly relaxed them when she saw that Alex caught the look and just gave that little smile back. Kata laughed in spite of herself. Alex seemed to have no clue what that look meant, and that little smile she gave people was so...that and her eyes. Her eyes were open wide like she was scared. The whole thing made her look a bit like a baby bunny. Kata could have sworn she didn't seem this bunny-like yesterday.

"Hey, y'all!" A girl named Oaklynn came up to the group. "Can I join someone? I don't have a group yet."

"Yeah of course!" said Zoe. The huddle in which Kata now stood consisted of eight people: Oaklynn, Aadya, Zoe, Zoe, Damini, Megan, Alex, and herself. She really wanted to get to know Alex. She still wasn't sure why, same as the day before.

"Oaklynn, who do you want to join? I think Zoe, Kata, and Damini are a group, and Olive, Aaya, and Megan. I was going to join Zoe, Kata, and Damini, but if you want to join them I'll just join this group." Alex said quietly, stepping in, presumably to make things easier for everyone by offering to be wherever they wanted her to. Kata looked at her, and then before she knew what she was doing she took Alex by the arm and dragged her over to where she was standing.

"Alex is with us." she declared.

Alex looked at Kata in shock but smiled. Kata would have looked at herself in shock too if that was possible. What had she just done? She didn't really know Alex yet she had just decided she wanted her in her group as opposed to Oaklynn whom she knew a lot better. Not well by any means, they weren't friends, but still better than she knew Alex seeing as Oaklynn was very social.