Ticktock Love

[12] Easy F

Both the kitten and my sister were fine. Better than fine, actually – Maddie's scratch had been grossly exaggerated, and the kitten was unharmed, although it did wake up half the neighborhood once the firefighters succeeded in pulling it out. Its pathetic hunger cries had tugged at our heartstrings, inspiring us to sacrifice some weird, tasteless salmon pâté our mom liked to eat for breakfast. It devoured the entire contents of the tube and then proceeded to beg for more, even though the whole portion probably equated to a third of its weight.

"We're not keeping it," I warned Maddie once Grace and her brothers had left. "We're taking it to the shelter first thing in the morning."

"But it's so cute," Maddie whined, stroking the baby animal and giving me her best puppy eyes. Looking at the wobbly little tuxedo kitten, I found myself agreeing.

And so the cat had stayed the night. Mom didn't even realize we had a guest over – it spent the night in Maddie's room, and after making us promise we would visit a vet later, Mrs. Sánchez agreed to take care of the critter while we were in school. I had no idea how this was going to fly with Mom, who had reiterated the no-pets rule about a hundred times, but the morning events managed to push the thoughts of the cat completely out of my head.

Just as Grace had predicted, the Empire had indeed struck back, announcing a three-day suspension for anyone who dared to break the dress code rules. The news was received with groans and a number of spirited complaints, but Jeffrey refused to budge. Rather than slackening the rules, he had sent a dozen students home before the lunch break.

"Do you think Lynch is making us read 'The Scarlet Letter' on purpose?" I asked Julia as we entered the school library.

The smell of old books permeated the air, marking the exact moment we crossed the threshold. Nobody seemed bothered by it – in fact, I could have sworn the rich scent helped the cramming students focus better. The mid-day sunlight colored the tiny dust particles that floated above everyone's heads, giving the spacious room a sort of magical aura.

"Why?" Julia yawned, stretching her taut muscles. I suspected she had spent the entire night practicing drawing vegetables again, but I decided against inquiring about it.

"Well, spoiler alert—"

"Liz. I'm writing my essay based on CliffsNotes," she noted in a singsong voice. "Do you really think I care about spoilers?"

"Fine. So, the main character sleeps with a guy who's not her husband, gets pregnant, and then has to wear an enormous red A which is sewn on her clothes." She raised an eyebrow, so I spared her the effort of stressing her vocal folds. "The 'A' stood for 'adultery'. I bet Jeffrey is planning to make us wear D's for Dress Code."

"Damn, I wish," she looked through the window almost wistfully. "Just imagine everyone wearing shorts and screaming at Jeffrey, 'Give me the D! Give me the D!'"

I choked on the air and chortled. A senior gave us a dirty look, and I noticed him scouting the room for the absent librarian before returning to his studying material.

"Why did you do that?" I groaned. "Now I'll be thinking of Jeffrey's... assets while reading the book."

She snorted. "Assets, you say?"

I slapped her forearm. "You're horrible! Eww!"

"Shh," the serious guy hushed us, his thick eyebrows furrowing so much that they looked like two fluffy caterpillars fighting. He took a sip of his effervescent mineral water, his beady eyes challenging me until I eventually relented.

"So if you don't plan on reading the novel," I said to Julia in a much quieter voice, "Why are you borrowing a copy?"

Having located the G-H row at last, I victoriously pointed the sign out to her. We entered the illuminated labyrinth, finally safe from the creeper.