The Animan Experiments

Chapter Four

"School is over for today!" I shout.

"Calm down, Catia. My goodness. It's like you are going to die if you stay any longer," Katie says, shaking her head.

"Easy enough for the one who loves school to say."

"For your information I only like math, choir, and lunch and that's because I can see my friends," Katie says, sounding slightly annoyed.

"I thought you said you didn't have any friends in math," I say smirking, knowing exactly why she likes her math class.

"I don't. Well, I kind of do. But I like the class because it's math. Math is awesome."

I hear Kaylaa sigh from behind us. "This happens almost everyday guys..."

I shake my head. "I'm still trying to figure out why she likes math. It's an awful subject. I don't know why she likes it." I feel eyes on me again, but I choose to ignore it. It's probably the dark haired girl I saw at lunch. I can't let her know I've caught onto her because you never know.

"Anyway, screw you, Catia. I'm going over to a friends house anyway." And with that, Katie walks off to join her friend. I don't know the friends name. I only know she has long, reddish hair.

"Be careful," Kaylaa calls after her, even though Katie was long gone by now. She then turns to me slightly. "Do you feel like someone is staring again?"

I nod. So it probably was that girl. "I wonder why she would be staring at us."

"I don't know," Kaylaa replies. "But I don't think it is anything good."

"I don't think it is either." It felt hostile. Not enough to be super concerned, but it was still unnerving.

"We better hurry then. If it is that girl then she'll probably follow us, so we have to stay alert."

I nod. This could prove to us if she really is following us.

"And don't seem suspicious. That will cause her to be cautious," Kaylaa warns me. I didn't even think of that. I nod, thankful that she is smart.

We continue to walk home. The feeling of being watched refuses to go away and it takes all of my willpower not to turn around. Why would she be watching us? We aren't interesting. We're a normal family, mostly.

Other than the fact that we are three teenage sisters living without parents. That's a bit weird. But there is a reason for that. It doesn't make us any different.

So what would make that girl interested in us?

I wonder if Katie is okay, too. If we are being watched then she might also be watched. If I remember I might ask her later. It would be a weird question to ask, though.

I didn't even realize we made it home because I was so lost in thought. Kaylaa asks if I'm okay, to which I reply I'm fine, just lost in thought. Kaylaa looks at me skeptically, but drops it. She heads inside and I follow.

I head up to my room and flop onto my bed, pulling out my phone and opening a social media app. I scroll through my feed, half interested in what's there. I start to lose focus on my phone and random, unrelated thoughts begin to play through my head.

'Did we have homework?–I wonder why that one teacher was out today–when was Katie supposed to be home again?–is that girl still watching us?–I wonder what her name is–what was the name of that one comic I told my friend I'd look up?–what was the song we played in class today?–I still have to practice my instrument–'

I snap myself out of my thoughts and try to focus on my phone again, but after a few minutes the same process began again. I sigh, sitting up and hopping off the bed. I might as well take a walk to get rid of some of my energy.

I put my phone in my jacket pocket and head downstairs, throwing a lazy answer to Kaylaa about where I'm going. I'm mostly just trying to get away from my thoughts and get rid of my restlessness. This happens a lot and it's really annoying. It's even worse today, though. Focusing is hard and I don't know how people do it. Being able to focus for longer than a couple minutes sounds impossible and amazing.

I don't even notice how far I've walked, or how late it is, until I nearly run into someone. I mutter an apology and try to zip past them, only for them to put an arm in front of me, stopping me dead in my tracks. I quietly curse under my breath. Human interaction, my one weakness.

"Watch where you're going, Little Red." A girl's voice. A voice I've never heard before. I look up, a retort on my tongue. It dies in my throat when I see who it is. Red eyes glare daggers into me. It's that girl. "You don't want to run into the wrong person."

I swallow my fear and shoot back, "It seems I already have." The girl's eyes narrow and she frowns slightly.

"Well that was rude," she says, though there is almost no emotion in her voice. That is freaky. After a few seconds though, she grins, revealing abnormally sharp fangs. I try to ignore how her red eyes, black hair, and sharp fangs combined make her look like a bat. That isn't a nice thought. "Don't worry about me. I'm not that bad." There was actual emotion in her voice this time. It sounded slightly strained, but not by much. Maybe she's just antisocial. "The name's Carly."

I still don't trust her, and I don't want to give her my name, but that would be rude. I force every bad scenario that could happen out of my head and I respond."I'm Catia." I try to hide the fact that I'm lying when I say the next sentence. "Nice to meet you, Carly."