Silent Heroes: Wildcat

Chapter 39: Boys with Girlfriends

I couldn't sleep.  I tossed a turned all night long.  I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen now.  Where would we go?  What would we do?  Deanna had mentioned another level two shifter village in Greenland.  I wasn't much for the cold.  The winters back home were almost more than I could handle.  But, if I was forced to decide between Greenland and being cut off from this world completely, then my choice was obvious.

Despite all the problems and challenges I had faced since my arrival here, I had never felt more fulfilled.  I had never felt more alive.  It was like I had spent the first sixteen years of my life seeing the world in black and white.  And then, all of the sudden, everything was in technicolor.  Having never known about all these other amazing, spectacular shades, I never would have missed them.  But, now that I had seen their vibrant beauty for myself, I couldn't live without it.

Based on the constant noise coming from above me—creaking wood and rustling blankets—I guessed that Jewel wasn't sleeping any better than I was.  I wondered if she was mad at me. I wouldn't blame her one bit if she was.  The fact that I had gotten my friends chucked out right along with me was weighing heavily on my conscience.  It was so unfair of Kerry to punish them for what I had done wrong.  That was easily the worst part of this whole thing.  Not my loss of control or being yelled at and treated like a criminal.  But the idea that I had dragged three perfectly innocent people down with me.

As the sky brightened and the first rays of sunlight brushed the tops of the trees, I came to a decision.

I threw the covers off my bed and slipped quietly out of the room.  (Jewel finally appeared to be sleeping calmly).  As I made my way down to the bottom floor, I tried to enjoy my surroundings as much as possible.  The huge tree that stood in the center of the courtyard, branches reaching up towards the sky.  The gleaming slats of bamboo all around me.  The tiny particles of dust illuminated by the rising sun.

A deep ache settled below my sternum.  I missed this place like crazy already.

I climbed down the spiral staircase, crossed the courtyard and went straight to Kerry's office.  I wasn't even sure if she would be up at this hour, especially on a Sunday morning.  But, she struck me as the early morning, workaholic type.  I figured it couldn't hurt to try.

I knocked on the closed door and her voice responded almost immediately.  "One moment, I'll be right with you."

I stood there anxiously, chewing my lip and shifting my weight from one foot to the other.  Now that I was here, my nerves were getting the better of me.  Part of me wanted to walk away and never look back.  But, I wouldn't let myself do that.  I would see this through whether I liked it or not.

After a few moments, the door swung open.  I felt my eyebrows go up as Reza stepped out of Kerry's office.  A set of claw marks ran diagonally across his chest, freshly stitched, looking raw and red and sore.  He gave me a brief smile, nothing like his usual big, happy grin.

The knot in my stomach seemed to tighten.  He wasn't mad at me, was he?

"What are you doing here?"

I jumped and looked up at Kerry.  She did not look very pleased to see me.  Of course, I hadn't really expected anything else.

"I umm..." I stammered.  "I just wanted to talk you about something."

"You've been expelled from this school, Miss O'Connor.  My decision is final.  I don't think there is much else to say."

"Please," the word tasted bitter in my mouth.  "Please just hear me out."

Kerry sighed dramatically and waved me into her office.  She closed the door, marched past me and sat down at her big, oak desk.  She made a big production of smoothing out her clothes and fussily straightening the papers on her desk before she bothered to make eye contact with me again.