Katt flashed a wide, closed-lip smile at her friends as she entered the room, taking a seat at the group of desks they sat at.
Although on a normal person, a closed-lip smile would seem like a typical smile, Katt's was the equivalent of a Cheshire Cat grin. She had never been one to let a large, toothy smile show due to low self-confidence, but when one did show, she made it habitual to hide it before anyone could see. Her friends never had a hard time distinguishing the difference between her smiles though, as she was a very animated person, quite literally, and her expressions were very distinct.
"So, do you guys believe me?" Katt asked, her dorky smile taking up a large portion of her face.
“Of course.” Haela replied, leaning back in her seat.
“Nope, not at all.” Nik stated, glancing up from her phone, “I think you're just looney.”
Katt nodded and laid her head on the desk, “Fair enough.”
The trio sat in comfortable silence for a while, each tending to their own tasks.
Katt’s head still lay on the desk, her eyes averted to the floor and mind spiraling into deep thought.
Nik tapped mindlessly at her phone, opening and closing various apps. She hadn't come across anything of interest but kept tapping anyway, simply because she couldn't think of anything else to do.
Haela eyed a blank piece of paper before her, contemplating all the endless possibilities that could become of it. The paper was a canvas and she could paint on it any world she desired, however with so many to choose from, deciding was hard.
Suddenly, all three were interrupted as a loud buzzing sound came from Haela's bag. The girl turned in her seat and bent down, reaching inside the bag to grab her phone. As she came back up, she held the phone straight out in front of her like an adult who was unfamiliar with technology would have. Both hands cupped the phone protectively as her eyes flicked across the screen.
Katt shifted, moving her head to look up at Haela. The two had been friends ever since Katt could remember. They were basically two halves of a whole person. Their words, actions and even thoughts were often in sync, yet the two couldn't have been any different.
After scanning the screen, Haela wiggled the device in her hand and started typing into it. However, when she tapped the screen, nothing about it was mindless like Nik. It was all planned, every button was meant to be pressed.
Katt furrowed her eyebrows and drew her mouth into a tight line. This face was one she made so frequently that it had become her signature face and her friends often teased her for it. Some could mistake the expression for one of judgement, but for Katt, it was a face only made when she was unsure of something. She also used it when analyzing things and in this case, she was analyzing Haela.
She watched the girl as she typed. Not that Haela's actions were in any way interesting, but rather Haela’s very being was. Katt had never been one to like blue eyes, in fact it was more the opposite being as they usually made her feel uncomfortable.
Haela was an exception, though. Her eyes were a bright and unusual color of blue. When most people described blue eyes, they often used cliche similes like, ‘Her eyes were blue like the ocean.’ Katt disagreed, if anything, Haela's eyes were like the sky, brilliant yet overwhelming. Albeit, that was still a cliche, Katt had claimed it.
Throughout the years Katt had gotten used to them. Though sometimes she still found herself having to look away.
“Hello?” Haela asked, tossing the girl a concerned look.
“Hm?” Katt responded, snapping out of her thoughts.
“You were staring at me.”
“I know.”
Nik let out a chuckle and whispered “Trash.” under her breath, seeing to it that her voice was just loud enough for both girls to barely hear.
Haela shrugged, her long brown hair bouncing with her shoulders. “I'm staying the night tonight.”
“Ok, does that mean everyone is working, then?” Katt asked.
Once again, Haela shrugged, “I don't know, I just listen to the boss lady.”
‘Boss lady’ had been Haela's nickname for her mother, and from what Katt had seen, the description fit the woman perfectly.
Katt nodded nonchalantly and began to set her head back on the desk before she remembered something and her head jolted back up. “If you're coming over, then that means I can take you with me to see the pixie princess, Melia, tomorrow morning!”
“Trash.” Nik whispered again, making sure this time that both girls heard.
“You can come too, Nik. She's real, I swear I'm not looney!” Katt stood from her desk at warp speed, pounding her hands on the the desk closest to Nik, an expression of excitement seizing her face.
Nik jumped at first, but gave the offer some thought, taking the time to scratch her chin considerately as if thinking.
“No.” she quickly replied before looking back down at her phone, continuing to mindlessly tap. Somedays Katt thought she was a lost cause and today was one of those days. Next time, she thought, next time.
Once again, the room became silent. Only this time, the noise of Haela's pencil scratching against paper in short, brief strokes could be heard. There were pauses as the girl stopped to think where she would put her next line.
Katt laid her head on the desk again, this time burying her face in her arms.
A small, almost inaudible whisper came from her left.
“Traaaash.”
Katt twisted her head to the side, putting on her signature face again as she studied Nik, who was now talking to her phone, or that was what Katt hoped, anyway.
The girl’s hair was a paleish blue, sometimes taking on a grey tint. It was cut into a short, boyish haircut which was usually very unkempt. But Nik was never one for long hair anyhow.
Unless it was on other girls.
Her eyes matched her hair, reflecting a pale blue color back when looked into. Her pupils were also unusually milky and constantly had a torpid look. The girl's skin was also very pale, and like her hair, it sometimes looked almost grey. The best thing Katt could think of to describe her as was an arctic vampire simply because she looked the part.
However, Nik despised the cold. Instead she preferred to stay inside, bundled in mountains of blankets and sweaters, making sure to stay away from the light. Otherwise, Katt thought she might melt or explode and turn into a pile of ash.
Katt hadn't been as close to Nik as she was to Haela. No one could ever compare to Haela. Haela was Katt's other half, they did everything together and were partners in crime, thick as thieves, two peas in giant, rotting pod. But if anyone could come in second place, it was Nik.
Nik only saw Katt during school and as far as she was concerned, that was more than enough. Though even in the short hours they spent together each day, they became close and developed a strong bond build solely on dark humor, teenage angst and the various mental illnesses they shared. It wasn't the ideal friendship, but it was theirs and both girls valued it.
The bell interrupted Katt's thoughts and took her off guard, causing her to jump. This earned a soft giggle from Haela and a series of short, odd laughs from Nik.
Haela was never really one to laugh out loud, instead she usually smiled and laughed internally. But when the girl did truly laugh, it always made Katt happy and she found herself laughing, too.
As for Nik, her laugh was funny. It wasn't the type of laugh that sounded like music to the ears, but rather one that resembled the sounds a hyena might make. Very disturbing ones. Though Nik's laugh wasn't the best sounding, she laughed only at things she truly found funny, and they were always free-spirited laughs made without hesitation.
When she laughed, it also made Katt laugh. Not only because of the weird noises that were produced, but also because just hearing the girl laugh and knowing she was happy, even for a mere moment, also made Katt happy.
Katt smiled her closed-lip smile brightly back at the two. She was grateful to have people like them in her life and not a day passed when they didn't remind her of that. If there was a God, she would have to thank him later.
“Why are you smiling like that, weirdo?” Nik asked, a smile breaking out on her own face.
Katt's grin stretched, if at all possible, “Why are you smiling?”
“Because, you brat, your smile is contagious.” Nik retorted, trying to hide her own growing smile.
Katt snickered and followed the girls out of the classroom. She quickly remembered that the final bell had just rang, which was the one that dismissed them to go home. She scrambled back inside to grab a binder that she had needed. After finding the binder she was searching for, she bounded out of the room and into the hall. Haela and Nik had already both rounded the corner and left Katt to chase after them.
“Katt!” a particularly high-pitched voice screeched from behind. Katt turned to see a short Asian girl waddling towards her at a speed all too fast for Katt's liking. The girl quickly caught up to Katt, her dark hair laced with bright red streaks bouncing with every step. Her little feet moved so fast, Katt's mind had trouble comprehending them. Yet she still loved the girl, whose name was Alex.
Apart from being short and way too fast for her height, Alex was the definition of perfection. But being short wasn't really even an imperfection. In fact, it just added to the girl's well-developed character. But Katt liked to tease the girl about her height anyway being as there was really nothing else to tease her about.
Alex was a very well-rounded person and Katt looked up to her. She was intelligent, beautiful, kind and graceful, but at times like this, Katt was taken aback at the girl's dramatic change in personality. She looked down at the short girl waddling beside her. The girl instantly noticed and looked up, then proceeded to lock arms with Katt and let out a loud snort that echoed down the hall.
Kids walking in front of them turned their heads to see what kind of creature could have possibly made such a deeply unsettling noise. They sped up when they saw the gremlin-like girl's black eyes peering back at them from under pitch-black hair.
Yes, Katt thought, perfection at its finest.
“Are you coming to lessons this weekend?” Alex asked, admiring the flyers that were neatly posted throughout the hall.
“Yep.” Katt responded, popping the ‘p’ in the word.
“Ok, good.”
There was a second of hurried walking, Alex's tiny feet pitter pattering along and Katt’s taking giant lunges in an attempt to keep up.
“Can we slow down? You walk too fast for having such short legs.”
Alex removed her arm from Katt's and hitched up the bag hanging from her shoulder, “Don't dig yourself a deeper hole, my friend.”
This was usually the type of response she made when Katt joked about her height, but little did Alex know that Katt had already hit bedrock.
She patted Katt's back before parting ways and walking down another hall, leaving Katt to exit the school by herself and luckily at her own much slower pace.
She boarded one of the bright yellow buses waiting outside. They clashed with the otherwise dark colors of the surrounding trees and dull, grey concrete. Katt sprang up the bus steps and greeted the bus driver. Then, leaning to her left, she made sure her bag didn't collide with any of the bus seats. As she looked straight ahead, Katt disregarded all the younger children laughing and playing in the first few seats, then the sweaty middle schoolers with their bad hygiene habits occupying the middle seats.
Being the small school district it was, the buses drove students from the the entire district, including the high school, middle school, and elementary school.
Soon, Haela came into view, sitting alone in the back of the bus while clutching her backpack in her lap. She was staring out the window with a blank expression, her eyes almost glazed over. Katt plopped down next to the girl and let a goofy smile slide onto her face. Haela gave her a confused glance, but soon let the same goofy expression take over her own face.
She was used to her friend's randomness and had learned to embrace it.
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