Chapter Five

  Cali stared up at Piper from the bed where she'd just finished packing to leave, horror struck and frozen. Just when she had thought she'd finally found a friend in this terrible place, suddenly she was all but abandoned once again, left in the company of the person she feared the most. Piper shut the door once more and stepped lightly into the room; the quiet left her footsteps echoing in Cali's brain as she internally spun out, trying to think of how she was going to escape her wrath. She'd had all she could take for one day and she needed to get far, far away from this place. Coming here had been a mistake, she knew that now. All at once, she missed the quiet school life she had known up until now. She had been itching to go somewhere exciting, somewhere where things weren't always so safe and boring, but she ate those wishes now, and wanted nothing more than to curl up under a blanket in her old room in the countryside.

  As Piper continued her approach, she stopped and turned, smiling the most wicked smile as she looked to the nurse. "Nurse Janice," she cooed, "why don't you get yourself some coffee? You deserve a break," as she continued towards Cali's bed.

  Cali's heart sank. This was it. Her father would get a call within the hour to tell him how his daughter had been found, unexplainably battered and bruised beyond recognition and left in a ditch somewhere on the edge of the school grounds. Maybe in the woods, she thought mildly, her mind wandering as she tried to block out the events about to unfold. "No thank you." Nurse Janice responded, polite but firmly.

  Cali's head popped up again as she looked from one to the other, Piper's indignant surprise was written all over her face as she too looked back to the offender. She looked like a royal who had been told no by a lowly scullery maid. The audacity. Nurse Janice sat in her chair at the desk, facing Piper head on with the sweetest, mildest smile she'd ever seen. "You look well today dearie. As you can see, I have patients to attend to, so I won't be leaving. If you don't need anything, I suggest you make better use of your time than lingering around my office."

  Piper glared down at the old woman. Something unspoken was going down between the two of them. A battle of wills, Cali thought. Threats unspoken, and ignored. She couldn't make heads or tails of it, but she was glad, so, so glad, not to be left alone with Piper. She waited and watched as their battle silently cast sparks across the room. Moments passed while nobody made a move, but ultimately, the nurse didn't budge and Piper couldn't very well wait her out in her own domain. She turned on her heel with a click of her tongue. "Watch yourself Janice."

As Piper opened the door, she shot a glance at Cali. "Whenever you're feeling better, I'll be waiting right outside to escort you to your next class. We wouldn't want you getting lost on your first day after all." As she closed the door, Cali saw that that wicked smile had returned in full force.

The door finally clicked shut again and Cali breathed, only then realizing she had been holding it in as the battle of wills had waged and sucked all the air out of the room. She turned to the sweet old lady, now smiling at her. "I think you might regret that Miss." she said with a grateful smile. "Don't you worry about me now lassie. I've had my share of run ins with those two, and I've had just about enough of it, I think. I'll not have students telling me how to run my own office. They can take their petty fighting elsewhere." She thought for a moment and turned to Cali with a rueful smile. "Although I suppose a lesser woman might be happy for the job security they deliver."

  Cali was just starting to pull herself back up on the bed when the nurse cleared her throat. "Now you're more than welcome to rest here if you like, but if there's somewhere else you'd rather be," she whispered the last as she pulled the cord on the blinds, raising them well above the level of the window frame. Cali walked over adjusting her backpack, and peeked out the window.

The hedges that ran along the entire side of the building had a narrow split just outside of the nurses window, and, she noticed, a milk crate was tipped upside down just below her. Cali looked to the nurse again as she moved some papers from the top of a sturdy looking side table placed just below the window. "Me and the groundskeeper had a thing once you know, a very long time ago." She laughed, a much younger version of herself as she continued, "He tells the admins he needs access to that faucet on the wall there but it hasn't worked in years. Oh well. Surely one day they'll fix the old thing. Best to maintain the shrubbery until then." She winked at Cali as she pushed the window open and a warm autumn breeze floated in, lifting her spirits to soaring heights. She threw her arms around the nurse as a surprised chuckle escaped her. Cali nodded a final thank you before climbing out into the warm light.

  On the other side of the window, the bushes proved more difficult terrain than she had anticipated. They grabbed at her clothes, stuck on her backpack and held her in place as she tried to wriggle free. With a final yank, she twisted her backpack free of the bramble but lost her balance as a root caught her foot. Cali went tumbling out of the bushes, her backpack's weight throwing her onto her face. She could almost hear the familiar chuckling as the window closed behind her and the blinds fell back into place.

  Cali took a moment, groaning under her breath as she slung her heavy backpack off to one side and rolled onto her back. The autumn breeze was still warm on her skin here in the heat of the day, and she was exhausted. Class had already begun, so there were no sounds of teenagers laughing at her fall as she laid there in the soft grass recuperating. She closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh outdoor air, comforted by the sweet scent of greenery. Everything was peaceful, and she allowed herself to relax and enjoy it.

  A cloud rolled overhead as she was beginning to drift away, blocking the suns warm light from her face. She sighed as she realized she would have to go in or risk being soaked to the bone. Her peaceful rest had come to an end. Cali opened her eyes lazily to check the state of the impending rain, only to look up the shadow of a familiar face. There above her stood none other than the boy responsible for all her bloody bandages. Felix Klein. The name was now seared into the back of her skull like a branding. Her blood was still warm and lazy, and the alarm bells didn't ring through her system immediately like she knew they should. Like they had when Piper had cornered her. So she just laid there, staring up as his shadow clad face eclipsed the sun.

  "You gonna lay there all day?" He asked, almost unsure of himself. She could imagine him kicking her to get up if he really wanted to. It wouldn't be out of character at this point. But he seemed agitated. Fidgety. Anxious maybe, and uncertain. "I guess not," Cali muttered as she pulled herself up off the ground, keeping one eye on him as she dusted herself off. She felt like she would need to be hosed down to get all of the dirt off.

  "Follow me." Felix turned and headed out toward the football field, away from the rest of the school buildings. Away from prying eyes, Cali thought as she followed, and away from anyone else that might try to save her. She questioned herself, wondering why after everything he had done this morning would she be willingly following him to a desolate location. His demeanor was different now, she noted, and she assumed he was still jostled by what she had said just before she'd passed out. But of course, deep down she knew that she had more reason to trust him than he had to trust her. He just didn't know that yet.

  On they walked, in the shadows of the bleachers that lined the football field, and beyond. A small equipment hut sat unguarded to their right, and Felix rounded the corner and stopped; the building offered just enough coverage that no one on the school grounds would be able to see so much as a silhouette of them. He slid down the wall, exasperation clouding his face, until he sat comfortably atop a stack of athletic mats. He looked up at her from the brim of his hat, clearly annoyed that she was above him, and nodded to the stacks of tires on her right. They were probably used for dexterity training, she thought. Cali took a brief glance back toward the school, the field shining in the afternoon sun, before following him into the shade of the small shed. Delicately, she situated herself on the stack of tires and waited.

  Felix was already reaching behind the stack of rubbish for something when suddenly he pulled out a small metal container. Felix popped it open and stuck a small black cigarette, she guessed, in his mouth and lit it. His eyes flicked to her and back as he considered something, before putting the case and lighter back in their hiding spot. "Black and Gold." He said, as if she had asked him something. "It's in your best interest. Trust me." He continued, as he took a drag and blew it away from them both. The wind gathered and ran with it but the scent lingered. She had never been a fan of smokers at the best of times, but the scent of cloves was warm and welcoming. She could almost see the appeal. Almost.

  "Well." He said expectantly. She tilted her head ever so slightly and he went on, "Explain." Oh, she thought with surprise, of course. This was his way of getting more information somewhere he felt that he could gain it without risking being overheard. She breathed a sigh of relief at that, realizing she wasn't here to be tortured, and a small laugh escaped her. He looked up and watched her visibly relaxing and glared. "We can do this the hard way if you prefer. One way or another, you're going to tell me how you know about Jasper." She smiled wryly at him, realizing he was trying to take the gentleman's path, and decided to tease him- self preservation be damned.

  "So what happens if I take off running?"

  "I'll catch you."

  "What if I'm faster?"

  "You're not."

  She looked him over again, pondering that. She had never been any good at sports, besides perhaps having a slight edge with hand eye coordination, but he hadn't seen her run to know it. Instead she wondered if this was based entirely on his own physique. He wasn't tall, or at least, she was certain from the walk across the field that he didn't have more than half a foot on her, and she stood proudly at a height of five foot three (and a quarter). But the dark suite he wore was built to be slimming, and she only realized now the deception of it all. If you looked closely, there was no mistaking the well toned muscles hiding beneath. He might not be traditionally well built for athletics, but he was likely much more powerful than she had initially given him credit for. And yes, he could certainly tackle her before she made it back to the school, if she didn't fall flat on her face trying.

  "Well?" He continued to glare at her as her face turned pink, realizing she had been lost in thought sizing him up. "You mean about Jasper?" She said quickly, trying to get back on track, if only to control her wandering thoughts, "I know about him because I met him."

  "Bullshit."

  "It's true." She said, realizing it would take more than a name to convince him. "He's the cat that used to stay in your room every night."

  His voice dipped low as he murmured, "You'd better start telling the truth before this gets ugly. Again." She swallowed. The threat in his words was lethal. "That cat never left that room for as long as he lived." He looked away and she realized only then that she had brought his dead pet into this. "Cuz if my old man ever found out about him, he'd do exactly what he did. Now tell me how the fuck you knew about a cat that never left that room, 'cuz I sure as shit never had some psychotic little cupcake like you over at my Opas."

  Psychotic little.. did he really just call me a cupcake? Her mind whirled, there was alot to unpack there. She didn't know Jasper had passed- he had been so small when she last saw him. But Felix wasn't standing up, wasn't pummeling her into the dirt yet, and that told her everything she needed to know. He was holding back for a reason.

  "You already know the answer." She said cautiously. "You just don't want accept it."

  "What you're saying is impossible." He muttered, taking another drag. "Not you, or anyone else, not even Piper knows about that cat."

  "But I do." She continued, reaffirming what he already knew. He needed to accept it on his own terms, she thought to herself, because spelling it out for him would only make it less believable. Even she couldn't properly explain how she had done it. But she had met that cat, and that was the truth.

  He looked at her, eyes full of rage like he wanted to punch her, but looked away again just as fast, and sat there gritting his teeth. He was at war with himself, and it was plain to see. Perhaps his principles wouldn't allow him to take out his anger on her when he knew the answer already.

  "I'll tell you what." She said, standing up and brushing herself off. "I'll prove it. Tonight." She held out a hand expecting him to shake on it. It seemed like something he would do. Instead, Felix stood and walked right up to her, the cloves now permeating her senses as he glowered down at her, an inch from her face. He reached out and put his smoke out on the stack of tires.

  "Midnight." He said, "I'll be waiting. And if it turns out you're lying.." He grabbed the back of her neck, firm but not roughly. It was entirely enough to show her exactly how small her neck was in his hands. "Don't bother to come back. Cuz you won't make it a day before I drag you right back out here to finish this." With one final snarl, he pulled her aside and released her as he passed, heading back towards the campus.

  Cali took a moment to watch him, a dark silhouette on a bright grassy field. It was so bizarre seeing a guy like him not skulking around in the shadows. But alas, she thought to herself with a smile as she turned and headed toward the main road, leaving campus behind, maybe that is just the opinion of one solitary, psychotic little cupcake.