Its been a two weeks since Kathryn has heard back from Charlie. Now that she was jobless, she would have to rely on her parents money even more so in order to get gas in her car and other amenities. Something that she was trying to avoid since working at the Cool Beans.
Word of her incident at the coffee shop had spread around Trinity High. And by lunchtime, she was known as a heart breaker and a man abuser. Kathryn was just happy that regardless of what has been happening with her lately, Shane was still around.
"Another Deli sub?" Ethan questioned with a nauseating look.
"I'll stop eating subs if you stop drinking chocolate milk."
"Chocolate milk is good calcium," he protested.
That was basically how lunch with Kathryn's friends always started. An aimless argument that had everyone laughing by the end of lunch. Shane or Paige would usually be the voice of reason and that's how most arguments ended on mutual agreement.
After lunch Cora accompanied Kathryn to her locker where they ran into Victor and Vanessa. She wasn't surprised to see them going out. Through various sources, Kathryn discovered that Victor and Vanessa were hooking up for months now. He was supposed to find the right time to break up with Kathryn, but never got around to do that. Those were a few reasons why Vanessa and Victor never got along around her.
Not like Kathryn cared.
"Hello Kathryn and...friend," Victor said as she was pulling out her history book.
"What do you want Richie Rich?" Cora questioned with a scowl. Kathryn never knew how much Cora hated rich people until she saw the way that Cora reacted to all of Victor's friends. Though her anger was usually saved specifically for Victor.
"None of your business. How about you scurry back to the hole where you came from?"
"How about you high tail your vagina out of here," Cora retorted. Kathryn admired the way that Cora stood up for herself. She didn't care what anyone thought of her and only looked out for those she genuinely cared for.
Setting his gaze on Kathryn, Victor grabbed a hold of her hand and let his thumb run over the back of her hand. She always thought it was weird when Victor did that. Now that they weren't a thing anymore, it just felt downright creepy.
Releasing her hand, Victor blew a kiss at Kathryn's direction and casually threw his arm around Vanessa who seemed at a loss for words. It wasn't like Vanessa to stay silent for so long; but Victor was an asshole who still thought that they were both together even though he was currently dating Vanessa.
How did that work?
Once Kathryn collected her books, she followed Cora to her locker who was uncharacteristically quiet. As Cora threw in her combination, Kathryn switched her books to her other arm to make herself more feel comfortable. A flyer floated down to her feet when Cora reached for her textbook and what smelled like yesterday's lunch.
"What is this?" Kathryn asked as she read the flyer. From the looks of it, it looked like a volunteering service for a little tyke's ballet class.
"I need community service," Cora explained closing her locker. "So my mom thought it'd be good to sign me up. Do you wanna tag along?"
The bell rang for the end of upperclassmen lunch as Kathryn mulled over the idea of being surrounded by little kids in tights. She adored them and being able to assist them on their dreams didn't seem like a bad idea. Even though she had enough hours, it wouldn't hurt to add a little more to over 200 hours that she logged.
"Sure when?"
"Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. But you'll have to change into proper clothes."
She smiled at the thought of shopping for a suitable ballet outfit as she and Cora parted ways. Entering history class, she took her usual seat and was soon a big blur as her teacher rambled about the amendments. Opening her notebook, she flipped to a clean sheet and soon started doodling her name with Shane's.
She couldn't help but think about a boy that had showed no interest in her. Was this how all girls felt around a boy that they truly liked? Was this the type of affection she's been missing out because she was stuck with Victor.
Kathryn shook her head as she closed her notebook and watched Ms. Spencer choose her to pass the work for today. She didn't miss the way Vanessa was staring daggers at her as she handed her the worksheet.
Within twenty minutes, Kathryn had gotten seated, finished her work and was now sketching a portrait of Shane from memory. She was always fond of the arts and tried to go to as many museums as she could. She remembered someone recommending that she major in art; but when she brought the subject up to her dad, he told her that she didn't have to worry about college since she was rich.
The bell ringing cut Kathryn from her thoughts as she packed up for her next period. What she didn't expect as she exited the classroom was Shane waiting for her.
"Shane!" Kathryn said before cringing. She sounded way too perky. Playing it cool, she tilted her head up and tried to act nonchalant as she approached him. Though the butterflies inside her stomach were erupting with so much intensity that she felt like puking.
"Hey," he answered with an easy smile. If he kept on smiling like that, Kathryn swore that she would kiss him right then and there.
"What brings you here?"
"My teacher let us all out early and I thought it'd be cool to walk you to your next class." As he talked, they started walking to Kathryn's math class. She couldn't believe that Shane thought about her while he could've been doing something else.
Did that mean he liked her?
Her smiled bigger at that prospect wondering how he new what her class was. Once they arrived, she waved goodbye but Shane did something that caught her completely off guard. He stepped forward and hugged her.
Kathryn's hands immediately wrapped around Shane's waist. He was really tall now that they were so close and she loved it. Separating, he waved again before disappearing around the corner.
"Stupid Mexican," one of Victor's cronies hissed out.
But not even he could ruin Kathryn's too good of a mood. Strolling into class, she couldn't help but feel that she was walking on cloud 9.
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Cora's house was more of an apartment as Kathryn pulled up on the complex. She never knew that Cora lived so close. She quickly plotted their future sleepovers as she slid out of her car and made sure that all of her doors were locked.
Jogging to the building, she walked up the stairs and walked down the halls until she reached room 403. Knocking on the door, she patiently waited before a little girl opened the door. Kathryn stared in awe at how beautiful she was. Her hair was half done as she lightly touched her newly done braids. She was wearing a pale pink dress with strappy white shoes.
"Yes?" The little girl asked politely smiling. Kathryn noticed the gap on the little girl's mouth where there used to be two front teeth she supposed.
"I was wondering if you could tell Cora that I'm ready?" Kathryn said.
"Cora! Some Spanish girl is at the door!" The girl yelled out before slamming the door. Kathryn jumped at the noise and heard a few pushes and a 'leave me alone's' before the door opened again.
"Hey Kit Kat!" Cora said with a smile. "Come on in!"
"Kit Kat?" Kathryn repeated as she entered the room. Cora's home looked very comfortable as she took a seat on a couch.
Cora shrugged in response. "I'm still working on the name. Let me just wash the hair grease from my hands and will go--"
"What about my hair?" The little girl demanded as she crossed her arms in frustration.
"Just wait for mom to come home Jamie. I need to get this done," Cora responded as she tunred off the faucet, sink water pouring through her hands.
"Mom isn't coming home until eleven tonight!"
"Corey then? He's upstairs and is doing nothing better but playing GTA." With that, Cora grabbed her bag and blew a kiss at Jamie who just stuck her tongue out. Kathryn followed her out and waited until Cora locked her front door before heading down stairs.
"Whose Corey?" She asked climbing inside her car.
"My twin."
"Your twin? You never talked about he before," Kathryn answered spectacle. She never knew that Cora was a fraternal twin. Though inside of explaining herself, Cora just played with Kathryn's stereo and started singing to Kent Jones, Don't Mind.
It was a quick drive to the ballet studio as Kathryn waited for Cora to leave her car before she locked it. They both made their way inside and was greeted with the scent of lilac.
A smile Chinese woman greeted Cora and asked who the fuck Kathryn was.
Damn. She thought as Cora introduced her to Mrs. Chang. Following Mrs. Chang, Kathryn was able to meet with all twenty of the little girls who were more than ecstatic to be able to show off their new moves to someone who never got to see them.
Once the pleasantries were exchanged, Mrs. Chang ordered the girls to warm up as Cora leaned back munching on a bag of Doritos. Kathryn watched the girls go through a rigorous workout wondering when the hell was their water break.
However, she was too scared of Mrs. Chang to voice her thoughts. That woman may be tiny, but she had a mean face and an even meaner stick. There wasn't one girl who was whacked on the ass with Mrs. Chang big stick.
Or as Cora liked to call it: the ass whipper.
For the most part, neither one of the girls did anything besides fetch some water and towels. Though Kathryn did have to help with a stunt that the group was working on for nationals. She jogged over to the girls and held Chyna up while the other girl, Emily did an air split next to her. Kathryn felt some wetness between her thighs as helped Chyna down. Dismissing it as sweat, she continued to stay out of Mrs. Chang's way.
Mrs. Chang started snapping in Mandarin at Yanelle or Yasmine. Kathryn couldn't tell since they were identical from their straight raven black hair to the color of their nail polish--a plum purple. She supposed that one of the didn't complete a formation to their instructors specifications. They had to redo it or they'd feel the big stick.
As practice was coming to an end, Mrs. Chang decided to huddle up the students. As they were all assembling in a group circle, someone yelled out, "there's blood on the floor!" They all looked at the few blood spots that littered the ballet floor.
Kathryn wondered what poor sap had their period when she felt the wetness between her thighs once more. It was a lot more thick between her legs and she couldn't help but let the color drain from her face as she knew exactly whose blood was on these very floors.
As if reading Kathryn's mind, all of the girls zoned in on her and the string of blood running down her right leg. An awkward silence filled the room as the girls all complemented at the fact that on her first day, Kathryn fucked up.
She felt like crying.
She had never been so humiliated in her entire life. That last time she ever felt embarrassed, was in seventh grade. As a late bloomer, Daphne advised that Kathryn stuff her bra with tissue paper to make her boobs look bigger.
Daphne explained that all the girls in high school did it. So Kathryn caved in and let Daphne stick tissue paper in her bra. While she was running the track one of the tissue came loose and rolled down her shirt.
That moment in seventh grade was how Kathryn exactly felt. But unlike her seventh grade self, she took a deep breath and held in the tears as Cora pulled her off to the side and shoved a tampon into her hands. Kathryn walked to an empty stall and cleaned herself up before inserting the tampon.
What made her so frustrated was how even as she left, the room was still deadly silent. Her period wasn't even supposed to come for another week. Cora slid a pair of undies and told Kathryn that they was an unopened pair that Mrs. Chang had.
They were tight but at this point, Kathryn didn't care. She slipped on a pair of gym shorts that Cora owned and stayed in the bathroom, silently crying at her demise. She knew it was just a couple of little girls, but she felt too embarrassed to see them.
Finally, Kathryn flushed the toilet, slipped her soiled underwear and tights in a Wal-Mart shopping bag and thoroughly rinsed her hands until they were pruned. She took a deep breath undoing the ponytail that Daphne spent thirty minutes perfecting. The smell of shampoo, conditioner and Daphne's favorite mousse lingered around her nose as she exited the bathroom and entered the floor.
Her blood was cleaned and the smell of pin soil was evident as the girls started packing up for the day. Kathryn grabbed her car keys and rushed out of the building before any of the girls noticed that she had left the bathroom.
All she wanted to do was go and cry her embarrassment onto Daphne's shoulder.