《Kitty Love》 Kitty Love ¡°There he is, his beautiful, flushed face shining in the moonlight. He gazes at me and- what¡¯s this? H-he¡¯s leaning in closer to me, is he gonna-¡± Just then, a sharp pain hit me in my side, ¡°Ouch! Hey! What¡¯d you do that for!?¡± ¡°Looks like someone¡¯s daydreaming again.¡± Maple smirked as she removed her elbow from my side, ¡°Now, would you please pay attention, Faith, your daydreaming is distracting me.¡± I rubbed the side of my belly and pretended to listen to the rest of the poetry class, but continued to daydream about him. Before I knew it, the bell rang. We started to leave the classroom and make our way to the cafeteria for lunch. I gave him one more loving glance before I left the classroom and walked down the hallway with Maple who was still irritated with me, ¡°Why do you even take this class if you¡¯re not gonna pay attention?¡± she asked with curiosity. As she asked, my face started to glow a bright crimson, ¡°Oh¡­ I see! It¡¯s about that new boy, isn¡¯t it?¡± she smiled slyly. ¡°N-no!¡± I hissed reluctantly, ¡°I¡¯m just trying to find a fine art that suits me, that¡¯s all!¡± ¡°Calm down, no need to get defensive,¡± she attempted to calm me, ¡°I just find it strange how you were never interested in poetry until you heard Flynn was taking that class.¡± ¡°Well, coincidences happen, Maple! Not everything happens for the reasons you want them to.¡± I lied. ¡°Then why¡¯d your face turn bright red when-¡± As she was speaking, Amelia tackled her with a bear hug, ¡°I¡¯m so happy to see you again, Maple!¡± she let out with pure joy as she kissed Maple on the cheek. ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you too! But it¡¯s only been a few days.¡± She replied while trying to push Amelia off of her. ¡°I know! A few days can feel like forever when I¡¯m not around you two!¡± she said while letting go of Maple and giving me a less excited hug. We started walking to lunch together when Amelia asked me, ¡°So, how¡¯s poetry class going for you?¡± ¡°Amazing!¡± I replied with no hesitation. ¡°How can it be, ¡®amazing¡¯ if you don¡¯t even pay attention?¡± Maple interjected. ¡°I do pay attention, it¡¯s just that sometimes I get a little distracted.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ a little.¡± She mocked. We arrived at the cafeteria, where we sat down together and started to eat. While we ate, I saw Flynn from across the room. I stared at him admiring his long brown hair, his well-trimmed face, and his pretty hazel eyes. I gazed at him with hearts in my eyes for about a minute until Maple spoke and said, ¡°And here¡¯s a perfect example of what poetry class is like.¡± As she said this, I instantly broke out of my trance and started eating my tuna and rice again. ¡°Oh, so she¡¯s in love with that new boy?¡± Amelia asked. ¡°Correct!¡± Maple replied. ¡°Incorrect.¡± I protested with a mouthful of rice. ¡°Give it up Faith,¡± Maple started, ¡°He¡¯s never gonna like you. You know why that is?¡± She asked as if she expected me to answer, ¡°It¡¯s because of these!¡± She said while pulling at my cat ears which made me yelp in pain, ¡°You know it¡¯s taboo for humans and catpeople to be friends let alone be in a relationship.¡± Her words completely shattered my heart. How could Maple be so heartless toward me? She never bullied me before, she only started this behavior when I started to go to poetry class. I sobbed over my plate of tuna while trying to suppress my sorrowful moans. My attempts were pointless; I couldn¡¯t help but let the whole cafeteria know I was crying. ¡°That wasn¡¯t very nice of you, Maple!¡± Amelia said with tears starting to form in her eyes as well. ¡°I don¡¯t care! She has to learn what¡¯s socially acceptable in his world and someone¡¯s gonna have to teach her.¡± ¡°Who hurt you?¡± Amelia asked, but Maple refused to answer and continued eating her plate of salmon. My crying started to become too much to the point where I grabbed my backpack and ran off to the restroom, leaving my delicious tuna behind. I sat on the floor of the bathroom stalls wiping my eyes and nose with the one-ply toilet paper waiting for my tears to stop flowing. Later I heard two pairs of footsteps, ¡°I¡¯m not allowed in there.¡± I heard a deep voice say nervously. ¡°Shut up and come on. She needs you.¡± I heard Amelia¡¯s sweet voice reply. I listened and tried to stop my crying as the steps got closer, ¡°Faith, come out¡­ please, you¡¯re gonna miss class.¡± ¡°Would you give me just a few more minutes?¡± I groaned in reply. ¡°I can but, I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s comfortable being in here for much longer.¡± My ears twitched in interest, ¡°W-who?¡± ¡°It would be easier if you just came out. You wouldn¡¯t believe me if I told you.¡± I slowly swung open the door and saw the two standing there, Amelia and Flynn ¡°Hey Faith,¡± he started with his handsomely deep and powerful voice, ¡°would it be too much trouble if we took this conversation to the hall.¡± I nodded in agreement and followed them out of the restroom. As I followed them out, my heart started to race, my face started to burn, and the butterflies in my belly started to go crazy. I felt so happy and so nervous at the same time, I finally get to talk to the boy I have been daydreaming about for weeks. When we reached the hallway, he leaned against the locker doors and said in a relaxed voice, ¡°I heard from your friend here that you had a love for poetry.¡± he pulled his hair from the front of his face and tucked it behind his ears, ¡°How would you like to write some together sometime?¡± My heart started beating out of my chest, ¡°Yes! I-I mean of course that would be so much fun!¡± I said with joy. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Great,¡± he replied, ¡°Meet me at the library after school, then we can write together.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a date!¡± I blushed, realizing what I said, ¡°W-well not that kind of date. What I meant was-¡± ¡°I know what you mean,¡± He said in a cheerful voice which calmed my embarrassment, ¡°I¡¯ll see you around.¡± He said and started walking down the hall. ¡°See you too!¡± I replied with an awkward and unnatural giggle. Amelia and I waved goodbye to him until he turned down the corner when she said with excitement, ¡°Won¡¯t it be super fun! You and Flynn, writing poetry together; why, it¡¯s just like a romantic anime!¡± I turned to her with fear in my eyes, ¡°Are you crazy!?¡± I shouted in horror, ¡°I know nothing about poetry!¡± ¡°But, don¡¯t you take poetry class?¡± ¡°I do, but Maple was right,¡± I started to cry again, ¡°The only reason I took that class was so that I could look at him.¡± ¡°Oh my¡­ This isn¡¯t good,¡± She started biting her nails, ¡°Well I guess¡­ Oh, I have an idea!¡± A look of excitement overtook her face, ¡°We can ask Maple for her help, I know she¡¯s really good at poetry and literature!¡± ¡°You really think she¡¯d help me with this?¡± I clenched my teeth, ¡°You saw what she did to me in the middle of the cafeteria! She completely humiliated me!¡± ¡°She¡¯s our friend, I¡¯m sure if you explained it to her she would be happy to help you!¡± ¡°Forget it.¡± I replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be hurt by her again today.¡± ¡°But Faith.¡± Amelia grabbed me by the hand and pulled it close to her heart, ¡°This could be your only chance; not just for the two of you but possibly for the whole school! A catperson and a human have never gotten together, you and he could finally break the stereotype of us being lower than humans; we could finally be treated equally. Please faith, do it for me.¡± she smiled and shed a tear. ¡°You really think we could be treated as human?¡± ¡°Yes, I truly believe it. Flynn is a nice boy, he is one of the few that has actually treated me as an equal.¡± ¡°Then yes, I¡¯ll do it.¡± In an instant, I was entangled by her arms and nuzzled by her cheek, ¡°Thank you so much! I knew you¡¯d do it!¡± I smiled and wrapped my arms around her happily and walked with her to class. After I finished all my classes, it was finally time to ask Maple if she would help me with poetry. I met with Amelia outside of the biology classroom, Maple¡¯s last class, and waited for her to emerge from the classroom. Finally, after a few minutes of waiting, Maple came out of the classroom along with the other students quickly spotting us and rolling her eyes knowing we were going to ask her a favor. She put a smile on her face and greeted Amelia with a hug, ¡°What are you guys doing out here?¡± ¡°Waiting for you of course!¡± Ameilia quickly responded with a shimmer of nervousness in her voice. ¡°Oh?¡± a smirk appeared on her face, ¡°And what do you guys want?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Amelia started, ¡°Faith needed-¡± ¡°I need you to teach me poetry before Flynn¡¯s last class is over!¡± I blurted out interrupting Amelia¡¯s response. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll he-¡± ¡°And I know you don¡¯t want us to be together but please help me I¡¯m begging you! Amelia told me it could help all catpeople and we could finally be treated as human!¡± Maple laughed, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll help you; I¡¯ll always be there for you, that¡¯s what friends are for.¡± Amelia was just as surprised as I was at this response as we said in unison, ¡°You will?¡± ¡°Of course, I will. It¡¯s clear that I can¡¯t stop you from wanting to be with him so, Might as well not let you embarrass yourself. Now, let¡¯s get to the library; there¡¯s a lot to learn in thirty minutes.¡± I winced at the thought of only having thirty minutes to study. We rushed to the library and sat down at a round table, ¡°Alright wait here for a few minutes and let me grab some books.¡± Maple said while running off and disappearing behind the shelves of books. Not long after, Maple returned with a small stack of poetry books. ¡°Hm, where to start,¡± She pinched the bridge of her nose in concentration, ¡°I got it! We can start off with Haikus, they¡¯re my personal favorite. Do you know anything about them, Faith?¡± ¡°I remember a little about them,¡± I started, ¡°They¡¯re the Japanese poems that have three lines and a certain amount of syllables in each line.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct!¡± She said with a big smile on her face, ¡°They¡¯re a form of poetry focused on nature. Nature is what makes it a Haiku otherwise it would become a Senryu¡­¡± She continued her lesson while I zoned out thinking of how strange her change of heart was. Earlier this morning I felt as if she hated me, but now I feel as if we have never been closer. My heart had never felt more confused, I didn¡¯t know how to feel about her kindness. While I was deciding how to feel, I snapped back to reality when I heard her say, ¡°Faith? Are you still daydreaming even when you want to learn?¡± ¡°No, not daydreaming,¡± I decided to be honest for once, ¡°I was just thinking of your outburst earlier; how could you be so mean? But now you¡¯re being so nice, it just doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± She giggled a little and kept a steady smile in her mouth but, I saw in her eyes that it looked as if she were about to cry, ¡°I know, I confuse myself too faith. I shouldn¡¯t have lashed out at you like that and I am so sorry I did. The reason I did was that I didn¡¯t want you hurt, Faith.¡± ¡°Hurt? How?¡± I asked in curiosity. ¡°Hurt by Flynn or any other human for that matter¡­¡± She paused for a moment wiping away a few stray tears that streamed down her beautiful crimson cheeks, ¡°You know, I had a human boyfriend once.¡± ¡°You did not!¡± Shouted Amelia in disbelief. ¡°Shh, you gotta be quiet,¡± I told Amelia gesturing to the people reading in the library. ¡°Sorry.¡± she covered her face in embarrassment, ¡°You did not.¡± She whispered in a quieter tone. ¡°I did, it was long before I met the two of you. In my freshman year, I started coming to this school, and just like Faith, I fell in love with a super cute senior guy. I dreamt of being his wife and loving him with all my heart for the rest of my life. Eventually, I finally mustered up the courage to ask him out in this library. When I did, I expected him to be happy to take me as his beloved girlfriend. Unfortunately, I was foolish enough to believe this. Instead of a simple yes or no, he threw me to the ground and stepped on me telling me I was just as worthless as the dirt he walks on every day. After that, I couldn¡¯t stand up, why would I after having my heart torn into pieces? And that¡¯s when I met you, Amelia, that¡¯s when you came looking for a book on science and saw me crying in the aisles of the bookshelves. You asked if I was okay and why I was crying; of course, I lied and told you I tripped and hit my head pretty hard on one of the shelves. You were so kind and loving that I instantly fell in love with you; you were the only one who picked me up from off my butt and onto my feet and I could never thank you enough for that. I¡¯m sorry for keeping all this a secret, I just felt as if I couldn¡¯t live with the humiliation. But now, I see that you two need to know why I acted the way I did in the cafeteria.¡± She stopped and held her face in her hands in the same manner as I did in the cafeteria. I quickly grabbed her around her shoulder and whispered, ¡°Thank you for thinking about me,¡± I sniffled, ¡°You¡¯re the bestest friend I could ever hope to have.¡± Amelia wrapped her arms around her as well, ¡°So that¡¯s why you were crying that day?¡± she sobbed gently, ¡°I would have understood, you know I¡¯m understanding with stuff like that.¡± Maple threw an arm around each of us, ¡°You guys are the bestest friends I could ever hope for too!¡± she wiped away her tears, ¡°Okay, now that that¡¯s cleared up, we only have ten minutes left to learn all the other types of poems and literary devices.¡± she dug through the piles of books and handed me a thesaurus, ¡°Here you go, this¡¯ll be one of the most important tools at your disposal.¡± I grabbed the thesaurus and held it close to my heart as I listened, and yes, really listened for the first time to Maple¡¯s lessons on, Haikus, Senryus, Acrostics, Tanka¡¯s, and many more poems. Before I knew it, Flynn sat down with us all. We learned that this was his first time going to a public school and that is why he was happy to make a couple of friends. Eventually, came out that I knew nothing about poetry but he was happy I was willing to learn and share the same interest as him. After talking for a while with him, Maple and Amelia had to go home. They waved happily to us as they walked out of the library. After that, Flynn and I started to write our hearts out.