Part of it could have been that I liked order and routine. When they were around, it was anything but. Disruption followed in their wake. Students forgot where they were and what they were doing—all clamouring to talk to them, making it hard for me to concentrate when I was there. Not that I was alone in that plight. With concentrating that was. No one with breasts and ovaries could when they were around, although my reasons were different from theirs. Or so I told myself.
Sure, they were tall, muscular agents, already decorated for numerous exploits even though they’d only graduated within the past decade. Names spoken in whispers by the male students who idolized them, wanting to be them. But to me they were bullies and snobs, always challenging answers, making snide comments about students behind their backs. I may not have been agent material due to my domestic cat animal, but watching and being invisible were things I excelled at. If I could have taken stealth courses, I was sure I would have rivalled the best. So I overheard many of those snide comments and their views on the other students. If there was anything I avoided at all costs it was bullies. So even if they didn’t disrupt my calm, orderly life at school, I still wouldn’t have wanted to climb in their presence.
Hefting my gym bag onto my shoulder, I smacked the rack that held all the flyers on the desk, knocking it to the floor with a loud crash. I bit her lip as my eyes slammed shut. Why, oh why do I have to be so clumsy around people? So much for a cat always landing on their feet. The last thing I wanted to do was to draw their undivided attention... again.
When, after three breaths, nothing happened, no rude comments or catcalls, my shoulders dropped in relief. Phew! It’s safe to leave. My leg hovered in the air ready to flee when I heard that deep voice that mocked me in my dreams. “What? Leaving so soon? Why did a scaredy-cat even come in here?”
“Well, they do say that cats have nine lives. Maybe she’s tired of having them?”
Each muscle in my body clenched. Words of anger rushed to the tip of my tongue, but I kept them inside, swallowing my need to defend myself. For as much as I hated to admit it, they were correct. I was a scaredy-cat when it came to confrontation or putting myself on display. Put me in front of a piece of tech like a computer screen and I came alive, but people... I preferred to be in the back.
Gary tried to stop my escape, wanting to comfort me from the look in his eye, but that would have only made things worse. No, a hasty retreat was in order. I’d head back to my dorm room to lick my wounds, leaving the climbing wall in their capable hands. My wall was about the only thing of mine that I’d trust them with.
But as I marched toward the door, something made me glance back over my shoulder at them. A pair of black eyes locked onto mine with a laser-like focus, watching my every move, while his face remained expressionless and hard. The weight of it sent a shiver down my spine. If I’d been in my fur, it would have been standing on end. This scaredy-cat was also a smarty cat who knew how to make a strategic retreat when I felt like prey. And prey was exactly what his stare told me I was. No wonder he was one of the best at stealth.
I just had one question though: How did the objects of his attention not run away in fear the moment his gaze landed on them? Because that was what my body and mind were screaming at me to do.
“Friday night?” Gary asked as I pushed open the door.
“Yes.” If I could make it that long. Within weeks of my arrival at the academy, my schedule had become routine, allowing me to cut back on my climbing to only two to three times a week. But since their arrival, the need to climb every day had ridden me hard, forcing me to put a firm time limit on my climbing to three times during the school week and once on the weekends. Friday couldn’t come soon enough for me even if I had to climb at some ungodly hour in order to be by myself.
As the door swung shut behind me, I heard laughter, bringing a tear to my eye. Why are they always so mean to me?
The wind tugged on my shorts and backpack as I raced back to my room, trying to beat the tears without success. By the time I’d shut the door to my room behind me, my chest ached with exertion. All I wanted to do was to curl into a ball and hide away, but I couldn’t. Until my backpack, shoes, and dirty clothes were put away in their proper spots, I wouldn’t be able to rest.
But the moment everything was where it belonged, I collapsed.
2
Kasim
“Why the fuck did you two say such shit to her?” I flexed my fingers to keep from punching my teammates Bae and Arin. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t knock the daylights out of my adoptive brother and our teammate.
They looked at me as if I had two heads. And it was no wonder. It wasn’t like me to stick up for someone else.
