A Week with Katherine

Day Four

The next day, our fourth day together, Kat did not come to my house in the morning.

And, I was worried that somehow she was still upset about what happened the day before. I couldn't stop thinking it was my fault. That I had said the wrong thing.

I had managed to hide my new hair from my mom by wearing a hat but I knew I couldn't hide it forever.

That morning after waiting a while to see if Kat would come, I went to school.

I had decided that based on Katherine's mood when I saw her I would either apologize or pretend as if nothing happened.

As soon as I got to the building I went to my locker, the whole time I kept checking to see if I would notice Katherine in the halls.

It was at my locker when they approached me. Someone pulled my beanie off my head from behind.

I quickly turned to see two girls and a guy standing around me. The girls I recognized from my algebra class.

At the time, I didn't know who they were but it was Bridget Williams, Sara Park, and Andrew Andrews.

Why someone would name their child that, I'll never know.

"Well don't you look cute," Sara said sarcastically as she held my hat. "Just adorable," Bridget added.

"You kinda look like a member of BTS, now," Andrew said casually.

I couldn't figure out if he meant it in a racist way or not. So I chose to ignore his comment most of all.

"Can I have my hat back?" I asked, ignoring what they had said. Sara just rolled her eyes at me.

"You've been hanging out with Katherine, right?" She said as she held my hat further away.

"What's it matter to you?" I asked curiously.

See, until that moment I thought it was just standard bullying of the new kid. But when they mentioned Katherine I knew whatever problem they had wasn't actually with me.

"We just wanted to warn you that you shouldn't be. Who knows what people might start saying." Bridget said with fake concern written all over her face.

"Or worse, you might catch something." Andrew snorted under his breath.

Again, although Andrew's comment bothered me the most I chose to ignore it.

"I can pick my own friends, thanks," I muttered reaching for my hat again. And just like before Sara moved back to hold it further from me.

"Don't be so surprised when she drops you then. Using people is kinda Katherine's thing." A hardness in Bridget's green eyes.

"Especially dumb guys," Sara added with a mean smirk and a glance toward Andrew.

It's kinda crazy thinking about that day in the hall, especially because I don't think anyone was crying more at the funeral than Bridget.

I didn't get a chance to reply before Katherine caught our attention as she walked down the hall. Her eyes flicked from me to the three around me before landing on Bridget and frowning.

The packed hall parted like the sea around her. I didn't know it yet, but when the halls parted as Katherine walked through it wasn't because everyone else was in the same awe of her that I was.

"Nice hair." Bridget laughed as she noticed Katherine's awkward choppy pink streaked bob.

"Seriously? That's the best you've got? Your personality is becoming a cliché." Kat replied not backing down.