v2.0 C10.1.2

Um, this is the updated version of C10.1. I’ve included a brief description of Kevin’s hair, and also of the pens, as yong suggested previously.

Oh, and I’ve added in another section. (Phearsa: When I told you cheese featured in this chapter, I meant it.)

-

Chapter 10 – Cheese it.

-

It’s weird. Hell, everything’s weird lately.

Let’s start with yesterday. Mr Takeda was acting all jumpy during Karate, a really bizarre occurrence. I’ve never seen him being even remotely uneasy before. I swear he was nervous when he asked where Katherine was. Though of course he didn’t stutter at all. And he kept looking towards the doors throughout the whole session with that weird expression on his face. It’s as if he were expecting someone formidable to come through them.

And school was pure madness today. It is spirit week, yes, but I never expected… Katherine was so pissed that she missed school when I told her what the teachers did. The theme was stars, I think. Predictably, almost everybody was in silver or gold. Erica came to school with a ridiculously large pair of sunglasses. At this point Katherine closed her eyes really tight. I think she was trying really hard not to roll her eyes. When I told her that Mr Chancery was sporting an Elvis Presley-esque hairstyle while chatting about cell division, and that he even sang a song or two (he changed the lyrics to fit whatever he was teaching) in that mellow tenor voice of his, her reaction was really peculiar. She sort of blinked, then said, “Okay.” in an accent that’s almost American. Well, almost. It’s been two months since the start of school after all.

And the highlight of the day? Ms Ross bedecked in a weird shiny star-shaped costume, glittering for all she was worth all through assembly. She was practically sequined from head to toe. It was a refreshing change from her usual monotonous grey apparel. And she sang. Sang. Her voice was so beautiful! I never knew she could sing. Neither did Katherine, apparently. Her expression was so comical. And the way she said “Are you serious?” was even more so.

Later in the day, both her parents came to visit Katherine. Unfortunately, she was asleep then, so they hung around and asked me some questions. They seem to be friendly folk. And I realise that her mannerisms are almost exactly like her father’s. Though she’s less forthcoming. Definitely more reserved.

*

My brother ran his fingers through his hair. In my humble opinion, he looked rather like a porcupine, with random spikes of hair sticking out of his head. He stuck his fingers into a huge vat of gel and proceeded to coax the spikes to lie flat on his head. Then with a few deft flicks of his hands, he styled his hair into something very professional-looking. If I didn’t know better I’d have thought he’d copied it off some fashion magazine. Glancing at me in the mirror, he complained, “It’s so not fair. Why aren’t you going to the dance?”

I leaned back on my chair, grinning idiotically at my mathematics assignment. Oh, life was so wonderful. “Because,” I stressed, ” I have a lot of work to catch up on, and the doctor specifically told me to rest.” I looked up just in time to see him frowning as he straightened his collar. He turned back to glance at me, scowling. When he turned back, he tweaked his collar again.

“Blasted thing,” he cursed, glaring at the collar. “It’s still not fair. I don’t get to see you dance.” He smirked at me in the mirror.

I started attempting the first question. Ooh. Differentiation. Fantastic. “Look at the bright side. I won’t get to see you dance either.”

“There’s no bright side to this at all. I won’t get to see you in a dress.” He grinned evilly at me in the mirror.

Gritting my teeth, I retorted, “What makes you think that I’d have worn a dress?” I considered for a moment. The aerodynamics of my 0.05mm waterproof pen would be better than that of my turquoise marker. Then again, that green gel pen would work just as well. Oh, who cares? He was absorbed in his reflection again, now was my best chance of messing up his hair. Randomly, I grabbed three pens from my table and threw them at him in rapid succession.

He dodged the first two easily enough. The third one hit the back of his head and bounced off harmlessly, barely making a dent in his hair; he must have used a considerable amount of gel.

“Hey! You’re going to mess up my hair.”

“That was my intention.” Time to change the topic. “You’re going with Sharron, aren’t you?”

“Who told you that?” Bro’s expression was guarded.

“Oh, that’s easy to figure out. Being in hospital for five days hasn’t muddled my mind that badly.”

“Right. I was there one day when you weren’t awake, and you were talking absolutely crap in your sleep.”

I froze. “Oh? And what did I say?”

“You kept talking about this grey man. And you kept saying sorry. It was utter rubbish.”

I frowned. “Ah. Must have been a bad dream.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Chris told me that he couldn’t sleep one day because you kept muttering about this ‘grey man’. Who is he, anyway?”

“I don’t know.” I frowned.

Bro seemed slightly disappointed at my words. Then his eyes gleamed. “In any case, how’re you and Chris getting along?”

Cursing my stupidity, I feigned disinterest. “He’s a good friend.” I shrugged.

Bro raised his eyebrows. “A very caring friend indeed. Do you know that he tried to stay overnight at the hospital every day? I heard him argue with his father on Sunday.”

I frowned. “No, I was asleep.”

Bro rolled his eyes. “In any case, I expect he’ll be quite dejected, seeing as you’re not going to the dance.”

“I don’t think so. He’ll just go with someone else.” I reached for a pen and started flipping through the worksheet.

“Aha. So he did ask you to the dance.” He smiled at me triumphantly.

“No, he didn’t.” Somehow, I managed to keep my voice devoid of emotion.

My brother frowned. “I know he was intending to ask you, though.”

I merely raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”

He sighed, exasperated. “Look, sis, you…”

“Kevin! We’re leaving in five minutes!” Ma hollered up the stairs. He paled instantly.

I smiled. Now I was beginning to enjoy this. “Oh, you’ll be fine. Sharron won’t mind too much about your appearance. Just be yourself and everything will be all right.”

“What if…”

“Oh, forget what-ifs. Sharron’s probably worrying about the same things. No sense for both of you to worry, is there?” I ushered him out of my room, following him downstairs. Feathers met me at the ground floor, wagging his tail madly.

“Finally!” Ma exclaimed, wiping her hands on a rag. “What took you so long?” Father was standing beside her, appraising his son’s appearance. His eyebrows rose slightly as his eyes fell upon Bro’s hair.

“Nerves.” Bro grimaced. “Butterflies too.”

“Don’t worry so much, it’ll turn out just the way you want it to.” Casually, she threw the rag behind her. It landed perfectly on a side table. Must be years of practice.

“Thanks, Ma.”

They headed towards the garage.

“Good luck.” I grinned evilly as Bro looked back at me.

“I can’t wait for prom,” he threw over his shoulder as they disappeared through the door.

“Ugh.” I grimaced as the door clicked shut. Feathers whimpered by my side.

Then the door opened again. Father stuck his head in. “I know the doctor told you to rest, but take Feathers for a long walk, will you? He insisted on staying home when you were in hospital. I couldn’t drag him out of the house.”

“Okay.”

“We’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Probably more. Can’t wait to see Sharron. I bet your mother’s none too happy about this.” He grinned, green eyes glinting in mischief. I could almost imagine him strutting to a dance in his teenage years. He’d look a lot like Bro, I realised. Except for the eyes. “She’s so conservative. Traditional Chinese values and all that.”

I smiled as he shook his head, closing the door behind him.

*

Feathers strained on his leash, barking merrily as a hodgepodge of witches, aliens and bizarre monsters headed towards him. And was that a hunk of cheese? I blinked.

“Doggie!”

A bright yellow Swiss Emmentaler streamed ahead of the rest of the group, with a mummy trailing after.

I allowed myself to be pulled along as Feathers bounded towards the child. The puppy was smothered by yellow cloth as the girl threw her arms around his neck.

“Eree, you’re going to hurt him,” the miniature mummy exclaimed. “Let go.”

“Erin, Cara, stop harassing that young lady this instant.” A strict voice cut through the evening like a shard of glass.

I gritted my teeth, fuming slightly. Why did everyone call me “young lady” or “girl” these days? It must be time for a haircut.

“But this is Kathy.” Erin pouted, hugging my knee.

“We know her.” Cara provided, patting Feathers, who was obviously enjoying the attention.

“I’m sorry miss, they’re quite a handful.” An old granny who was accompanying the children tried to pull Erin away, but she wouldn’t budge an inch.

“It’s okay. We do know each other.” I ruffled Erin’s hair slightly.

She beamed at me. “Are you visiting us later?”

I paused. “Perhaps.”

“Please?” She looked up at me with enormous green eyes. Cara stared at me with hers too.

“Girls…” the granny began.

I caved in and groaned. “Oh, alright. I’ll be there at nine.”

They whooped in joy. “Can you…” Erin began.

“Erin! Cara! You won’t get any candy if you don’t come with us,” the old lady threatened.

Erin hugged my knee one last time. “See you later!”

I waved, grinning madly. “Bye!” As they retreated into the distance, I shook my head, chuckling. Hunk of cheese?

-

The pens are a bit… well, I didn’t really describe them in detail… As I’ve been trying to tell everyone, I’m not Katherine. For one, I’d never throw my 0.05mm waterproof pen at my brother. It’s too precious. I’d probably chuck something considerably bigger if I wanted to mess up his hair anyway. (Like a dictionary. No, just kidding.)

v2.0 C10.1

Sorry! I haven’t been posting much, have I?

Previously…

Yelling, the girl tried to pull away from the hand. It let her go abruptly, and she fell into the snow at an awkward angle.

When she looked up, the strangers were gone. Even the boy.

All that was left was pure white snow all around her.

Now for chapter 10!

Chapter 10 – Cheese it.

-

It’s weird. Hell, everything’s weird lately.

Let’s start with yesterday. Mr Takeda was acting all jumpy during Karate, a really bizarre occurrence. I’ve never seen him being even remotely uneasy before. I swear he was nervous when he asked where Katherine was. Though of course he didn’t stutter at all. And he kept looking towards the doors throughout the whole session with that weird expression on his face. It’s as if he were expecting someone formidable to come through them.

And school was pure madness today. It is spirit week, yes, but I never expected… Katherine was so pissed that she missed school when I told her what the teachers did. The theme was stars, I think. Predictably, almost everybody was in silver or gold. Erica came to school with a ridiculously large pair of sunglasses. At this point Katherine closed her eyes really tight. I think she was trying really hard not to roll her eyes. When I told her that Mr Chancery was sporting an Elvis Presley-esque hairstyle while chatting about cell division, and that he even sang a song or two (he changed the lyrics to fit whatever he was teaching) in that mellow tenor voice of his, her reaction was really peculiar. She sort of blinked, then said, “Okay.” in an accent that’s almost American. Well, almost. It’s been two months since the start of school after all.

And the highlight of the day? Ms Ross bedecked in a weird shiny star-shaped costume, glittering for all she was worth all through assembly. She was practically sequined from head to toe. It was a refreshing change from her usual monotonous grey apparel. And she sang. Sang. Her voice was so beautiful! I never knew she could sing. Neither did Katherine, apparently. Her expression was so comical. And the way she said “Are you serious?” was even more so.

Later in the day, both her parents came to visit Katherine. Unfortunately, she was asleep then, so they hung around and asked me some questions. They seem to be friendly folk. And I realise that her mannerisms are almost exactly like her father’s. Though she’s less forthcoming. Definitely more reserved.

*

“It’s so not fair. Why aren’t you going to the dance?”

I leaned back on my chair, grinning idiotically at my mathematics assignment. Oh, life was so wonderful. “Because,” I stressed, ” I have a lot of work to catch up on, and the doctor specifically told me to rest.” I looked up just in time to see him frowning as he straightened his collar. He turned back to glance at me, scowling. When he turned back, he tweaked his collar again.

“Blasted thing,” he cursed, glaring at the collar. “It’s still not fair. I don’t get to see you dance.” He smirked at me in the mirror.

I started attempting the first question. Ooh. Differentiation. Fantastic. “Look at the bright side. I won’t get to see you dance either.”

“There’s no bright side to this at all. I won’t get to see you in a dress.” He grinned evilly at me in the mirror.

Gritting my teeth, I retorted, “What makes you think that I’d have worn a dress?” Then I threw three pens at him in rapid succession.

He dodged the first two easily enough. The third one hit the back of his head and bounced off harmlessly; he must have put a considerable amount of gel in his hair.

“Hey! You’re going to mess up my hair.”

“That was my original intention.” Time to change the topic. “You’re going with Sharron, aren’t you?”

“Who told you that?” Bro’s expression was guarded.

“Oh, that’s easy to figure out. Being in hospital for five days hasn’t muddled my mind that badly.”

“Right. I was there one day when you weren’t awake, and you were talking absolutely crap in your sleep.”

I froze. “Oh? And what did I say?”

“You kept talking about this grey man. And you kept saying sorry. It was utter rubbish.”

I frowned. “Ah. Must have been a bad dream.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Chris told me that he couldn’t sleep one day because you kept muttering about him. Who is he, anyway?”

“I don’t know.” I frowned.

Bro seemed slightly disappointed at my words. Then his eyes gleamed. “In any case, how’re you and Chris getting along?”

Cursing my stupidity, I feigned disinterest. “He’s a good friend.” I shrugged.

Bro raised his eyebrows. “A very caring friend indeed. Do you know that he tried to stay overnight at the hospital every day? I heard him argue with his father on Sunday.”

I frowned. “No, I was asleep.”

Bro rolled his eyes. “In any case, I expect he’ll be quite dejected, seeing as you’re not going to the dance.”

“I don’t think so. He’ll just go with someone else.” I reached for a pen and started flipping through the worksheet.

“Aha. So he did ask you to the dance.” He smiled at me triumphantly.

“No, he didn’t.” Somehow, I managed to keep my voice devoid of emotion.

My brother frowned. “He was intending to ask you, though.”

I merely raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”

He sighed, exasperated. “Look, sis, you…”

“Kevin! We’re leaving in five minutes!” Ma hollered up the stairs. He paled instantly.

I smiled. Now I was beginning to enjoy this. “Oh, you’ll be fine. Sharron won’t mind too much about your appearance. Just be yourself and everything will be all right.”

“What if…”

“Oh, forget what-ifs. Sharron’s probably worrying about the same things. No sense for both of you to worry, is there?” I ushered him out of my room, following him downstairs. Feathers met me at the ground floor, wagging his tail madly.

“Finally!” Ma exclaimed, wiping her hands on a rag. “What took you so long?” Father was standing beside her, appraising his son’s appearance. His eyebrows rose slightly as his eyes fell upon Bro’s hair.

“Nerves.” Bro grimaced. “Butterflies too.”

“Don’t worry so much, it’ll turn out just the way you want it to.” Casually, she threw the rag behind her. It landed perfectly on a side table. Must be years of practice.

“Thanks, Ma.”

They headed towards the garage.

“Good luck.” I grinned evilly as Bro looked back at me.

“I can’t wait for prom night,” he threw over his shoulder as they disappeared through the door.

“Ugh.” I grimaced as the door clicked shut. Feathers whimpered by my side.

Then the door opened again. Father stuck his head in. “I know the doctor told you to rest, but take Feathers for a long walk, will you? He insisted on staying home when you were in hospital. I couldn’t drag him out of the house.”

“Okay.”

“We’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Probably more. Can’t wait to see Sharron. I bet your mother’s none too happy about this.” He grinned, green eyes glinting in mischief. I could almost imagine him strutting to a dance in his teenage years. He’d look a lot like Bro, I realised. Except for the eyes. “She’s so conservative. Traditional Chinese values and all that.”

I smiled as he shook his head, closing the door behind him.

-

It’s unedited, so there’ll probably be typos. >.<

Anyway, from 10.2,

Feathers strained on his leash, barking merrily as a hodgepodge of witches, aliens and bizarre monsters headed towards him. And was that a hunk of cheese? I blinked.

v2.0 C9.3

Previously…

He smiled ruefully. “Actually, he’s a surgeon.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologise.” He sounded amused. “Now, sleep. I’m going off to see if the Boss needs help.”

And now…

Happy birthday, boonny and yongie!
Here’s your belated/early present:

-

The room was really dark. Or rather, the only source of light was the pale, silvery moonlight coming from the open window. Outside, a pale shimmering crescent moon hung motionless against the backdrop of night. It made the walls seem like smooth blue silk. Or fresh snow viewed at night.

Snow?

The girl looked over her shoulder. She sped down the hill as fast as she dared. So far, the grey man didn’t seem to be catching up. He still looked like a blob of grey paint on the snow.

She concentrated on the path before her. It was littered with some branches from the nearby trees. She swerved away from them, sending powder flying all over as she plunged into a pile of fresh snow. Then she heard a shout behind her. It didn’t sound like the grey man, she thought as she chanced a glance behind her.

It was then that the accident happened.

For a moment, she was disoriented as her world turned white and gravity went haywire. Then everything became still. She wiped her snow goggles and sat up hesitantly. Nothing seemed to be broken. Why did she feel so much pain then?

“Ow!”

The voice came from beneath her. She shifted slightly, and the voice responded again.

“Hey!”

Someone was trapped underneath her. She executed a backward roll and got to her feet clumsily. A boy stared back at her, eyes flashing.

“You just steamrolled me,” he accused.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that…”

Someone shouted behind her. Her eyes widened. “Great,” she muttered, pulling the protesting boy up.

“I’m really sorry, but…”

Then a giant hand clamped down on her arm. She yelled.

Pain exploded somewhere on my left arm. I gasped, jolting upwards and looking around the room in confusion. My eyes locked onto a shadow cast on the double doors: someone was crouching in the open window. I whipped my head around.

The silhouette was gone.

I blinked. Had I been dreaming? Was this whole episode a dream? Rubbing my face, I looked at the clock. 02:58. Bloody hell. How’d four hours gone past so fast? And why hadn’t Chris gone home yet? I frowned as I noticed him dozing beside the bed. His face was pallid, almost white – or rather, pale blue – in the moonlight, and his fair hair was a slight shade darker. Curled up on his chair as he was at present, he seemed so still that I had an insane urge to touch his face, to make sure that he was still alive. That thought made me shudder – but was it in disgust or delight? I gritted my teeth.

Then something dark flashed in my peripheral vision.

I tensed. Throwing off the covers, I crept out of bed and looked out of the window. The ward was five floors above the ground, and the person wasn’t anywhere in sight. I turned back to clamber back into bed, rubbing my eyes. Had I been dreaming about the silhouette?

Then the window behind me closed with a loud thud.

I whirled around just in time to see a shadow hurtling downwards. What the… Frantically, I crossed over to the window and tried to open it. Heck. It was jammed shut. I tugged harder; pain blossomed in my hand. Then I heard a slight creak behind me.

“What are you doing?” Chris’s voice was pitched low, calm and soothing. A hand reached for the edge of the window and jerked it up. Cold air invaded the room.

“If you need fresh air…” he began. Then he gasped, leaning out of the window. There was a dark stain on the windowsill. He looked back at me, frowning.

My mind was still reeling from what I had just seen. “There was…” I whispered, gesturing out of the window.

His eyes widened immediately. “What did you do?”

He crossed the room in a few strides, reaching the door a few seconds later. I stared at his back in confusion.

Then bright light seared my eyes. I turned away from the source and towards the window. Through narrowed eyes, I saw that the dark patch on the windowsill was deep red.

“Why did you pull out your catheter?” He demanded, almost tearing a cupboard door apart as he reached for its contents. He slammed it shut a moment later. Thankfully there weren’t any other patients in the ward, else they’d all have woken up. “Sit down.”

I stared dumbly at a large bloody gash on the back of my left hand. How the hell…?

“Will you just sit down, please” he exclaimed, exasperated. He dragged me over to the bed and scrambled to apply some liquid to the back of my hand. I winced slightly. Then I opened my eyes wide as I saw that blood was pooling in the metal basin under my wrist.

“Where’s your catheter?” He asked.

When I didn’t answer straightaway, he jiggled the basin slightly. “Katherine? Where is it?”

I quailed slightly under his steely gaze. “I don’t know.”

“Didn’t you pull it out?”

“No.” I stared at my wrist in horrified fascination. A bruise was starting to form around the place where the catheter had been inserted.

“Look at me, Katherine.”

I stared into his clear blue eyes and felt my face heat up. Heck. “I’ll ask again. Did you pull out your catheter?” He looked dead serious.

“No, I didn’t.”

He stared back at me in confusion. “Then how did… Are you a sleepwalker?”

“No.” Now I was the one who was confused.

“Are you sure?”

“No.”

He stared back at me incredulously.

“How’d you know if you’re a sleepwalker if you sleep like a log?” I retorted.

“Well, I’d…”

“Is everything alright…” A nurse poked her head into the room, then gasped and closed the door. Mere seconds later, the Boss strode into the room, demanding, “What happened?”

“Wanda, her catheter…”

“Let me tend to her,” she said tersely. Chris passed the basin to the nurse. He hovered around her for a moment, and then went to examine the stain on the windowsill. After a few seconds, he closed the window and began to scour my bed for the missing catheter.

“It’s not here.”

The Boss frowned slightly, pressing a wad of gauze over my hand. “Search under the bed.”

Chris complied, but the search drew a blank as well.

“Do you know where your catheter is, dearie?”

I frowned, staring at my hand. “No.”

I felt her glance up at Chris. “That’s alright, dear. Now come over here and rest.” She led me to another bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. “Just rest. You’ll be alright in a while.”

Chris followed her out of the room.

After about ten minutes, when I was finally about to doze off, he entered the room. I began to sit up, then winced, hissing softly as pain registered in my hand. He hurried over and examined the gauze. Then he placed my hand gently on the bed.

He hesitated. Then, solemnly, he asked, “Why were you at the window?”

“I… there was someone there.”

He frowned. “Were you sleepwalking?”

“Um, I suppose so.”

He looked at my gauze-wrapped hand, mulling over my answer. Then his eyes flicked over to mine.

“So what were you dreaming about?” He asked as he dragged the chair that he had previously been sitting on towards the bed.

“I forgot.”

He arched an eyebrow coolly, studying me intently.

“Well… I dreamt that someone… fell.” I shuddered, reining in my imagination. That was surprisingly easy to do when I was looking into his piercing blue eyes. They narrowed slightly as he spoke.

“Then you must have been dreaming. There’s no one down there. But we did find your catheter downstairs. The Boss thinks that you’re a sleepwalker and you somehow ripped your catheter out from your wrist at the window. And slammed it down loud enough that I woke up.”

I closed my eyes, feeling confused and sleepy. Loud enough that I woke up? Did that mean that he slept like a log too?

“But there were bloodstains on your sheets and on the floor,” Chris murmured. “So the catheter must have been pulled out there. But why did you pull out your catheter? Katherine?”

When I didn’t answer, he sighed and adjusted my covers. Then I heard a sharp grating sound as he went over to lock the window.

*

Yelling, the girl tried to pull away from the hand. It let her go abruptly, and she fell into the snow at an awkward angle.

When she looked up, the strangers were gone. Even the boy.

All that was left was pure white snow all around her.

-
I shall not be evil, I shall not be evil, I shall not be evil…
Muahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
I shall just stop here. (:
(Sorry. Going through a bit of… well never mind.)

v2.0 C9.2

In C9.1:

“Okay, people, you heard her!” Danvers shouted over the hubbub. “Alpine boards over to the left, Freeride, centre, Freestyle, right. We’re going off in five minutes, hurry up, everyone!”

-

I bent my knees further, leaning my weight on my left foot, increasing my acceleration. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, making me feel energised and refreshed. It was exhilarating. I wished it would never end. I took a sharp turn and fresh snow blasted my left side. I whooped as a slight bump in the terrain made propelled my board into the air for a few precious moments. Oh, the pure joy of snowboarding.

Then someone zoomed past me, spraying snow all over me. The person made a sharp turn ten metres away, then accelerated towards me again. This time he – or she – passed within two metres of me, sending a wave of cold snow towards me.

“Hey!” What exactly was he trying to do?

The dark blue figure came back, gathering speed and aiming straight at me.

“Are you out of your mind?” I bellowed. Fear coursed through my veins. I managed to slow down my board to avoid the potentially disastrous collision. But the snowboarder expertly manoeuvred his board and veered towards me again. I gained speed, trying to outrun him.

It didn’t work.

Skilfully, the snowboarder banked his board, sweeping in front of me. That sent fresh snow spraying right into my face, blinding me effectively.

“What the hell…?” I wiped my snow goggles.

There was a flash of dark blue. Then I pitched forwards. My momentum must have flipped me over because all of a sudden I was staring at the dismal grey sky, pressed up against an extremely hard and cold surface. A few seconds later, my mind caught up with me, and I tried pushing myself up. Stars filled my vision, but not before I saw a figure zooming away. That idiot. Was he trying to get me killed? Who was he, anyway? I scrambled to get up, but collapsed almost straightaway. My head hit something hard. Was it bark? Why were there trees around me? I was vaguely aware of a searing pain in one of my shins. Soft sinister laughter. Then a louder sound. A shout.

Why was there snow on my face?

Then everything became blissfully black.

*

The little girl watched, wide-eyed, as the grey man rose from the snow. His face had the pallor of death.

“Are you afraid of me?” He asked.

The child shivered in response. The other stranger fidgeted, placing himself in front of the girl.

“You can’t possibly be afraid of me, can you, brave child?” The grey man stepped out from the trees.

She shook her head slightly, edging away bit by bit.

“You’re scaring her.” The stranger stated almost protectively.

“That’s the general idea.” The grey man took a step towards the girl.

She looked upwards at the stranger. His expression was bleak. He’s scared of the grey man, she thought in wonder. Then the grey man lunged towards her.

She shrieked as his green eyes came to a stop several centimetres from her face.

“You won’t be afraid…”

With another shriek, she pushed off, hurtling downhill as fast as she could.

Laughter came in sporadic bursts from behind her.

*

“No one saw what happened?” A voice demanded. When the silence dragged for far too long, the voice rose slightly. “Well, what do you think happened?”

“She might have leaned forwards too much.”

“No, she wouldn’t have done that. She’s not a total beginner.”

“Well, what else could have happened?”

“I don’t know…”

I blinked. Then I shut my eyes tightly. Why was the room so bright?

“Shh, she’s coming around.”

I felt several people crowding around me. I blinked again.

“Katherine?” The voice was so gentle that I almost didn’t recognise whom it belonged to.

I blinked again. “Anne?” My voice came out softer than I’d intended it to. “Why are you…”

“Shh. Don’t speak.”

Someone handed me a glass of water and supported my back. I gulped half the glass of water down. The water soothed my parched throat considerably. Then the person – Ms Daniels- carefully lowered me back onto my bed.

“Thanks.” Then I opened my eyes fully, having finally adjusted to the overhead lighting. How long had I been asleep? Why was I asleep in the first place? I looked out of the window on my left. It was dark outside. Wasn’t it bright before? I turned my face to see the rest of the ward. The other beds were empty.

Someone gasped. Yelena. I focused on her, blinking rapidly.

“Your eyes…” she murmured, “your eyes, they’re blue and green.”

“I know,” I muttered.

“You mean you didn’t notice…” Anne spluttered in mock indignation.

“Uh, I didn’t either.” A new voice. I looked to my left and saw Kelly. Worry was etched into her face. It made a strange change from her usual cheery demeanour.

“But first things first. How are you, Katherine?” Bethany asked on my right.

“Um… fine, I think.”

“Fine? You cut your arm, bruise your shin, and bang your head against a tree trunk and you still say you’re fine? Are you outta your mind?” Yelena gazed at me in disbelief.

I laughed helplessly at her tirade.

At that moment, the door creaked open.

“Shh. I could hear you from… Oh.” Chris stuck his head outside the ward for a second, then stepped into the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

“How are you feeling? Do you need a nurse?” He strode towards my bed, rubbing his face. He looked dog-tired, but then, so did every one else, I realised.

“No, I’m fine.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Dr B. said you had a concussion.”

“Yeah. You hit a tree, remember?” Kelly managed to keep her face straight for a second, then broke into a wide smile.

I raised my eyebrows at her, making her dissolve into a fit of laughter. “Did I? Really? Well, I’m fine now. Who’s Dr B.?”

He frowned slightly. “Your doctor, Dr. Raymond Baker. Quiet, Kelly, the Boss’s outside.”

“The Boss?” I whispered.

“Matron. She looks like a mushroom, though she’s not at all like enoki mushrooms. Actually, she’s more of a button mushroom. Oh, wait, she’s poisonous as well.” Anne provided.

That drove my confusion up a notch. “What?”

“Anne,” Ms Daniels began, exasperation in her voice.

“Shh, she’s just down the corridor,” Chris reminded.

“Right.” Ms Daniels glanced at Anne. Then she enquired, “Do you feel up to answering some questions, Katherine?”

I shrugged. “Shoot.”

“Okay. Do you remember what happened?”

I blinked. Ah, the snowboarder in dark blue. “There was a snowboarder… He collided into me, I think.”

Yelena frowned. “We didn’t find other snowboarders near you.”

“He didn’t get hurt badly.”

“Do you remember what he looked like?” Ms Daniels peered at me, her amber eyes solemn.

I shook my head slightly. “Didn’t get to see his face. But he was wearing dark blue.”

“So he collided into you and escaped unscathed?”

I inclined my head.

“It was intentional, then?”

I frowned. Had it been intentional? “I don’t know for sure. He, or she, may have lost control.”

“Are you…”

“Excuse me, visitor hours are strictly over.” The stern voice belonged to a grumpy-looking nurse. Somehow, she had managed to sneak into the ward without anyone noticing. It was a great feat, considering how massive she was. She was almost six feet tall, and looked to weigh over 150 pounds. I didn’t see any resemblance to mushrooms, though. Except maybe her hair. It did make her head look rather like a mushroom. Her face was just a big beige blur, though; my spectacles were nowhere in sight.

“Nurse Wanda… I’m sorry but…”

“Chris Kendrew. I told you to lead all visitors out fifteen minutes ago.” Her eyes flashed.

“I know, but Ms Daniels had to ask Katherine some questions, and she hadn’t woken up then. It’s urgent.”

“This is a hospital, Chris, and patients are our first priority. Patients need rest. Now – Ms Daniels, is it – I’m very sorry but you have to leave immediately.”

“I’m sorry, Nurse Wanda. We did have to ask Katherine some urgent questions…”

I saw Chris shake his head slightly from the corner of my eye. Ms Daniels stopped mid-sentence, then began to pack up her things. The whole group was out in under ten seconds.

The Boss turned back to face Chris, crossing her arms. “I’m going to have to report to…”

He frowned. “Does it even matter…”

“If this happens again I’m going to make you scrub toilets in block D. And if I’m in a foul mood you’ll wish block B never existed.”

Chris grimaced. “Alright, Nurse Wanda.”

“Be sure this doesn’t happen again.” The matron turned to address him as she opened the door to the corridor.

“Yes, Nurse Wanda.” He held the door open for her, thoroughly exasperated.

As the door to the ward closed with a soft click, Chris sighed deeply. “That went well,” he muttered under his breath.

I blinked rapidly. Now that the excitement was over, I realised that my eyes were really dry. I closed my eyes, trying to sleep. My brain kept buzzing with questions, though. Of paramount importance was, where exactly was I? Which hospital was I in?

I heard a chair being dragged across the floor. Then a slight creak as Chris settled down on my right. I wondered why he was still here after the others had left. The Boss obviously knew him personally. Did he work here? And…

“What’s so bad about the toilets in block D?” I asked suddenly.

I could sense his muscles tensing even without opening my eyes.

“I thought you were asleep.”

I cranked open my eyes slightly. “I’m just not used to the light.” I closed my eyes again.

“Then why didn’t you say so?”

He switched off the main lights, leaving a wall lamp casting a warm glow in the room. “Better?”

“Loads. Thank you. So, which block am I in?”

“Block C. The toilets here are much cleaner than those in Block D.”

“Oh. Would I want to know why?”

“No.” He shuddered. “The exact details are… well, gruesome.” He grimaced.

“Why do you need to clean the toilets here, anyway? And how did the Boss know you?”

“She’s been threatening me with toilet-cleaning duty ever since I started helping out here. My father works here, and so does my mum sometimes.” He fumbled with something on the bedside table.

“Your parents work here?”

“Yes.” He was oddly unforthcoming. I decided not to press him for details.

He glanced at me as the silence dragged on. “You’re not going to ask anything else?”

“No. You did tell me the other day that your mother’s a nurse and that your father’s a doctor or something.”

He smiled ruefully. “Actually, he’s a surgeon.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologise.” He sounded amused. “Now, sleep. I’m going off to see if the Boss needs help.”

-

And from C9.3:

A boy stared back at her, eyes flashing.

“You just steamrolled me,” he accused.

v2.0 C9.1

In the last episode… (don’t mind me, I’ve always wanted to say that. (: )

The middle-aged coach raised his eyebrows. “You should join us.”

Michel whistled. I gaped at the coach for a second. Then I blinked. He was really being serious.

I bowed hastily. “Gladly.”

Right. Here’s the latest fix:

-

Chapter 9 – “Laughter”

-

Coach Takeda’s back from Japan. I don’t quite believe it. I thought I’d never see him again, when he left the dojo two years back. I was only fourteen, fifteen max. Thought I’d never go for karate lessons again.

He’s changed somewhat, but in what way? I just can’t put my finger on it. But he hasn’t lost any of his verve, or his strength. And he’s still as ruthless as he ever was, if not more. I was hoping that he’d get soft as the years go by. Yeah, I know, fat hope. Now I’m aching in all sorts of places from being beaten to pulp yesterday. He was brutal. He knew that I hadn’t been practicing for two years, and yet he batters me with half of his strength (which is more than most people will ever achieve), in the most vicious manner possible. Absolutely ruthless. I had half a mind to stop Katherine from joining his class. I hope Mr Takeda gives more leeway for beginners, or Katherine’s going to be dead meat. Seriously.

*

I’ve no idea why, but father’s in a really bad mood, and so is mother. Perhaps they argued earlier; both of them seem to be more irritable this fall. But somehow I still feel really excited, I can’t wait for tomorrow. Hopefully, this season’s snowfall will be plentiful. I don’t get why this year’s visit to Summit Central’s so early, though. It’s usually scheduled the week before Halloween. Speaking of which… Erin’s getting some seriously weird ideas for Halloween. Better see what she’s up to before she wrecks her room.

-

“Alright, people. We’ll be here for the next half hour, and we probably won’t be coming back this way, so buy everything you need now. Assemble at the main entrance at 9:30 am sharp, and try not to be late. Got that? Good. Freshmen, come with me.” Ms Daniels led a hotchpotch of brightly clad students over to the clothing department. I began to follow.

“You’re downgrading yourself, you know? Are you sure you don’t have mental capacity of a freshman?” Anne remarked drily as she strode towards me. She steered me away from the crowd. “Come over to see the boards. This store is excellente, this season’s boards are all on sale. Danvers’s practically drooling over them.”

I was dragged over to where the majority of the juniors were. Danvers was there as well, and he was swooning over the shiny snowboards.

“Oh my god! This is the latest in the…” He was admiring a sleek blue snowboard, an alpine or carving board. Apparently, there was some graffiti on the board that he found appealing.

“You have such taste,” Anne cut in rather acerbically, crossing her arms with a crooked grin on her face.

“Hello? This board is magnifique, it’s…” Danvers retorted indignantly.

I felt someone move towards me. Turning, I saw Yelena grimacing as the intensity of the duo’s verbal jostling escalated.

“I think you’ll like some of the boards over there.” She gestured at a random section of the store.

“Let’s hurry over, then, shall we?” I whispered, careful not to let Anne hear me.

We went over to look at some mid-range boards. Some had ridiculously exorbitant prices, while others were more reasonably-priced. But they were still slightly on the expensive side for me. Ma had barely given me enough to buy a decent board and basic attire. She had been reluctant to let me go for the trip, as it was.

“So, are you going to buy this board?” Yelena asked.

I realised that I had been staring at the board in front of me. It was a freeride board, painted a bright cheery yellow with some white graffiti near the tail. I picked it up, testing its weight and rigidity. It was surprisingly light for a freeride board. It was just about right for my height, albeit slightly longer for my taste, reaching up to the tip of my nose. No matter, that would just give me a slight boost.

“Hey, Katherine? I asked you a question.”

“Whoops, sorry. I’m still trying to decide.” I flipped the snowboard over to the underside, inspecting the smooth surface of the board. Then my eyes flicked over the price tag.

“Um, perhaps not.” I muttered.”It’s a wee bit too expensive.”

“Oh. What’s your budget?”

“About…”

“Oh, forget about the budget, Katherine.” Anne approached with Danvers beside her. “Just buy it.”

“But…”

She crossed her arms. “The board agrees with you, yes?”

I nodded hesitantly, eyes narrowed slightly.

“Then buy it! Cheaper boards are usually of lower quality.”

“But…”

“Ugh! How much does it exceed your budget?”

“$24.95.”

Anne blinked at me incredulously. Yelena and Danvers were both looking at me with odd expressions on their faces.

“Okay. It exceeds about $25. What’s the big fuss about?”

“If I use that up, I’m only left with $100 to buy the rest of my equipment.”

“Then why didn’t you bring more money?” Anne rolled her eyes as she grabbed hold of my arm and led me to the cashier.

*

“Do you need an instructor, Ms Brown?” Ms Daniels approached, loose strands of hair flying all over her face.

“No, I can manage, I think.” I was dressed in a snowboarding jacket that was in the same shade as my new board. Much too bright for my taste, but I didn’t have much choice: it had been Yelena’s and she’d bought it when she first joined Winter sports. It was slightly too small for her now, though. Presently, she was outfitted in a bright orange one that she’d just bought, strapping her soft boots into the bindings. Together, we attracted a lot of glances. My face was probably beetroot-red now. Part of my mind noted that they were all warm colours.

“Ok then, have fun!” The teacher hurried away to tend to some of the freshmen.

I began adjusting the bindings on my board.

“Can you really manage?” A Hispanic girl beside me asked in concern. The sophomore had been introduced to me in the first session, I recalled. Kelly Carlos. She was in an awkward position, with both feet strapped in.

“I should be fine. I can do most of the basics. No aerials for me, though.” I began strapping my shoes onto the board.

“So, how long have you been snowboarding?” She had a nice smile.

“I first tried it when I was six or so.” I frowned. Had my parents actually let me go snowboarding at such a young age? “We went to the French Alps. But I can’t remember much.”

“Wow. The French Alps?” Yelena seemed awed.

“Yes. I think I managed to collide into someone though. My father didn’t let me go snowboarding for the next six years.”

Kelly started cracking up. “That… must have been… serious.” Then she began to laugh even harder.

“Did I miss a joke?” Anne piped up, smiling wryly. She was dressed in a dark blue jacket, carrying a dark, almost black alpine board, every inch the professional snowboarder. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a tight ponytail.

“Duh!” Yelena exclaimed, grinning widely. “Katherine collided into someone on her snowboard when she was six, and her dad banned her from snowboarding for six years,” she provided. Kelly started snickering again.

Anne rolled her eyes. She was about to say something in response when she caught sight of me strapping my shoes onto the board. “Danvers!” She called over her shoulder. “I told you Katherine’s goofy!”

“She is?” He appeared, dragging Chris along with him. Then he sighed theatrically, slinging his arm over his friend’s back. “There goes your status of being the only goofy junior, Chris.”

Chris smiled wryly, shrugging. “It was bound to happen someday.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Nice jacket, by the way. It goes really well with your board.”

“It was Yelena’s,” I replied testily.

“Hey! What’s wrong with my jacket?”

“Nothing,” I replied hastily. “It’s just slighter brighter than what I’m used to.”

“What’s wrong with being bright?”

“Um… I don’t really wear bright yellow clothes.”

Yelena narrowed her eyes, appearing slightly put out. A slight smile escaped her a few seconds later, though. “Why not?”

I shrugged, standing up rather clumsily. The bindings were a bit too close together for my comfort. “Um, probably because…” I repositioned the bindings, pausing slightly. “Well…”

“Andre!” Ms Daniels looked harried as she hurried towards the annoyed President. “The Freshmen are going off, we’ll be meeting you at around four at the usual place, got that? Organise the rest of the team into three groups and all that, you know the drill. Have fun!”

With that, the teacher swept past us and hurried back to the Freshmen.

“Okay, people, you heard her!” Danvers shouted over the hubbub. “Alpine boards over to the left, Freeride, centre, Freestyle, right. We’re going off in five minutes, hurry up, everyone!”

And here’s a teaser:

“If this happens again I’m going to make you scrub toilets in block D. And if I’m in a foul mood you’ll wish block B never existed.”

- Nurse Wanda

Another random poem

This post was shifted upwards (i.e., originally, this was published on 23 April, but now I’ve tweaked the settings and well, you know when this is supposed to be published.)

Yep. From the marvelous author herself.

-

frogs love spring! it brings fresh rain and puddles, colour and drizzles.
and then there’s summer! all the fun games and hopping, laughter and croaking.
so much that
the life of a frog is so carefree.
it’s so enjoyable, don’t you see?
says all people, whether he or she,
“how i wish it were me!”
frogs are happy. it is a mantra and nature, code and signature.
frogs are spring and summer.

-

Man. I love frogs.

v2.0 C8.3

So sorry about not posting this sooner.

-

From the last post:

I turned back to face Erin. Innocent green eyes peered up at me.

“I was just picking some flowers.”

And now for C8.3:

-

“Bye Kathy!” Cara called over her shoulder, walking towards a rowdy group of children who were all wearing pure white karategi, the karate uniform.

“Bye! Can you come home with us later?” Erin stared at me innocently, eyes wide and appealing.

“Erin,” Chris warned, frowning at her in disaproval.

I almost sighed. Why was it so hard to say no? “I’m afraid I can’t. Ma won’t be happy with that.” Please don’t cry.

“Oh.” Her face fell, and she bit her lip. “But…”

“Eree! We’re waiting for you!” Cara yelled impatiently.

“Okay, I’m coming! Bye!” Erin smiled sweetly, hugged my knee, and hurried over to Cara. She ran surprisingly fast for someone her size.

I sighed, loosening my muscles as we walked towards the corridor that led to the exit. Children were so hard to manage. I wondered how my parents had fared when we were young. We must have been quite a handful.

“You know, I’ve never seen them this happy,” Chris commented.

“Really?”

“Yes. They really adore you. Especially Erin.” He smiled slightly, glancing at me.

To my mortification, I blushed slightly. “She adores people.”

Chris began hesitantly, “Usually. Not…”

“Chris! There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you. You’re later than… Oh, hi, Katherine. I didn’t know you did karate as well.” Danvers was grinning as usual, his dark brown hair slightly ruffled. There was a black belt tied at his waist. Impressive.

“Hello, Danvers. I’m not here for karate, actually.” I was as surprised at his presence as he was at mine.

“No? Pity. I was hoping to spar with you.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Michel appeared beside Danvers, grinning. I’d never known that he was into karate either. But then again, I’d never really talked to him during AP art.

“Why would you want to do that?” Incredulity stained my voice.

He grinned, green eyes twinkling. “Your fame precedes you, you know? Anyway…” He turned to Chris, who was smiling slightly as well, and continued, “Coach Takeda wants to meet you.”

“Takeda? He’s back?”

Danvers nodded. “Yes. And I hear he’s teaching again. Only his old classes, though.”

Chris frowned momentarily. Then ecstasy lit up his face. He looked radiant. I’d never seen him so happy before.

“Um, I’d best get going, then.” I smiled tentatively, taking a step back. My goodbye died on my lips as I felt someone approaching my back. I was just turning when something hurtled past me and slammed into Chris. What the…

He staggered forwards. The man in white moved in a blur, attacking Chris relentlessly. I looked at Danvers and Michel in alarm. They merely smiled at me. What were they playing at?

Miraculously, Chris managed to block the oncoming punches. The speed and ferocity of the man’s attacks were amazing. Chris didn’t even have time to consider a counter-attack.

Suddenly, there was a lull in the fight. It almost seemed as if the man was goading Chris into launching his own attack. Instead, Chris jumped a few paces backwards, assuming a defensive stance.

My mind was still in a state of shock when the man began to relax, stretching like a cat. “You pass,” he said to Chris. “You may resume training this Sunday.”

Chris bowed, concealing a wide grin on his face.

“But your blocks have become weak, my pupil,” the middle-aged Japanese man warned.

I caught sight of Danvers smirking smugly. Apparently, the man did so too, for he turned to address him.

“And your blocks, Mr Danvers, are pathetic.”

Danvers stared at the ground glumly. “I will train harder, Mr Takeda.”

“Be sure that you do.”

Danvers bowed as well.

“Good.” Then he turned to me.”My apologies for not greeting you earlier. What is your name?”

“Katherine Brown, Mr Takeda.”

He blinked, looking at me, then the trio in rapid succession. “How are you related to my pupils, Ms Brown?”

I was slightly taken aback at the question. “We’re friends from school.”

He raised his eyebrows. His face was emotionless, but I sensed that he was highly amused. Then, shrugging, he asked, “Do you have an interest in Karate?”

I stared at the stocky Japanese. “Um, yes, I suppose so.”

“You suppose so?”

Then his right fist shot out at an alarming speed. I leaned backwards, trying to evade the punch. Instinctively, my right hand moved upwards to intercept his arm. It would have been of no use, though. His hand would have hit me really hard had he not stopped an inch from where my ribs had been.

“You’ve had training,” the instructor stated, surprise in his voice.

“No…” I frowned. “I’ve never done karate.”

Chris frowned at my answer. The middle-aged coach raised his eyebrows. “You should join us.”

Michel whistled. I gaped at the coach for a second. Then I blinked. He was really being serious.

I bowed hastily. “Gladly.”

Now for a tidbit from chapter 9:

…”Yes. I think I managed to collide into someone though. My father didn’t let me go snowboarding for the next six years.”…

- Anon

The person who said this should be fairly obvious.

v2.0 C8.2

From C8.1:

Yelena’s eyes narrowed, but her lips curled up slightly at the corners. “Hey, are you playing baseball?”

The girl flashed the ball that she’d been sent to retrieve in front of Yelena’s face. “Yep.”

“Count me in! Oh, wait. Maybe not today. Are you playing tomorrow?”

“Every Tuesday afternoon. We play on Wednesdays sometimes. But it’s getting cold, so maybe we’ll stop for a while.”

“That’s great! Now I’ve gotta go, my bus’s coming!” Yelena dragged me out of the school.

“See you, Katherine, Yelena!” The girl waved, baseball in the air.

“Bye!”

-

I sighed. Spirit week was just round the corner, and homecoming dance came straight after that. Erica was getting on my nerves, pestering me every other hour that I needed to go shopping for clothes in preparation for the upcoming festivities. Festivities. Somehow that word did not bode well.

The current situation that I found myself in wasn’t very appealing either.

“So, what are you going to wear to the dance?” Sharron peered at me inquisitively as we walked along the street.

I grimaced. “I told you, I’m not going to the dance.”

“No way. You are going to the dance. That’s final.” Sharron intoned. “I disagree with some people that high school’s all about boys and dancing, but hey, there are dances and it’s all part of life at high school. You can’t escape from life.”

Her reasoning was sound, I couldn’t fault her there. But still…

“I just can’t go.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

I groaned. She had me there. “I’m skipping the dance.”

“No, you won’t. Fine, I’ll stop Erica from dressing you up.”

“Oh?” I frowned at the pavement, scuffing my feet on the concrete.

“Yes. We can go together and you can pick your own dress and everything. Fair enough?”

“My own dress?” My voice went up an octave. I forced myself to relax. In a normal tone, I added, “No. No dresses or skirts.”

“But it’s a dance. A dance is a dance! You’ve got to wear something…”

Her voice trailed away as someone forced his way between the two of us.

“Hey!” Sharron exclaimed, brushing herself down. She glared at the shadowy figure that was dashing away.

I stared at the person’s back, stunned momentarily. Then I blinked. For a brief second, when the sunlight had fallen directly on the person, I had seen a bright flash. A bright flash near the boy’s left hand.

Intuition told me it was a knife.

The weather seemed really cold all of a sudden.

*

Having finished all of the important assignments my teachers had set me, I leaned back in my chair, gazing out of the window. The trees were losing the first of their leaves with the onset of autumn. They fluttered in the air, almost like butterflies, finally free to go wherever they wished. There was a certain beauty in death that was unsullied by fear, that was wholly natural.

Presently, a few leaves crunched against the glass of the window pane on my right, startling me from my reverie. I focused on the leaves. The colours were so beautiful. I smiled slightly; I’d always liked autumn, as it heralded the arrival of winter, and with winter came snow. Lovely, brilliantly white snow.

I wondered what my brother thought of autumn. He probably didn’t like the season much, seeing as it affected the growth of most of his plants. Well, those that were deciduous, at any rate. He probably hated winter too. But at least the greenhouse kept out the worst of the season. I wondered what he’d do with the plants outside the greenhouse. Let them be exposed to the elements? Highly unlikely.

I stared at the organiser in front of me, which was bathed in the warm yellow glow of the desk lamp. Hmm. I’d yet to read the notes Mr Grimm had handed to me. Oh, and the essay on Andy Warhol too. That was due on Monday. But most of my weekend would be spent at Summit Central. Excellent. Or not quite. I fervently hoped that the snowboarding trip the day after tomorrow would be full of snow.

“Katherine!” Ma called. She was speaking in English. That was unusual.

“Yes, Ma?” I hollered through the open door.

“Your…” I heard a slight commotion downstairs. That must be Feathers. Then I heard a yelp. Yes, most definitely Feathers.

I sighed ruefully. What was he playing at now? “Feathers?” I shouted.

Almost immediately, something golden and furry hurtled into my room, almost crashing into my table. The dog practically went berserk in my room, jumping around in a frenzy.

“Whoa. Slow down, Feathers.” I bent down to stroke his soft thick coat.

I heard a slight scuffle near the staircase landing. “Doggy?”A high sweet voice intoned. Feathers tensed at the sound of the voice. Wasn’t that Erin? What was she doing here? I turned to look out of the door just in time to see a small figure heading into my brother’s room. Oh heck.

“Stay, Feathers. Stay.” I petted him one last time before heading out of the room. He whined as I went out to the landing.

“Flowers!”

I winced as the squeal resonated throughout the house. Bro was going to slaughter me if Erin did anything to his beloved orchids.

“Erin?” I called, hoping desperately that she would get distracted and come out of the room.

“Kathy!”

I breathed a sigh of relief as a tiny figure came out of the room almost immediately. “Thank goodness you…”

I halted in midstride, staring at her sphagnum moss-covered hands. “Flipping heck,” I muttered with emotion.

The sound of footsteps from the staircase behind me heralded my mother’s arrival. I heard her gasp.

Then another small voice piped up, “What did you do, Eree?”

I glanced backwards and saw Cara sighing. She looked older than six. Chris appeared to be both embarrassed and apologetic behind her.

I turned back to face Erin. Innocent green eyes peered up at me.

“I was just picking some flowers.”

Random Poem

No, I didn’t write this poem. Catfish/amoeba/yongie wrote it.

Random poem
by the great me

I feel daunted
not by challenges
but by traps.

I feel trapped
not by darkness
but by constraints.

I feel constrained
not by chains
but by time frames.

But in fact,
you know that,
the truth is,

I like challenges
testing yourself:
exhilarating.

I like darkness
quiet solitude:
peace.

I like chains
solid reminders:
duty-bound.

But time frames,
time frames,
time frames…

Are open boundaries,
not rivers,
but trees.

Linked to others,
by branches,
and leaves.

Hence they are,
fairly crossable…
I think?

Ahhh. No doubt inspired by the amount of homework and the time frames that come with them.

Sighs. I like the rhyme… “(Time frames) Are open boundaries, not rivers, but trees. Linked to others, by branches, and leaves.”

-

Category changed.

It isn’t exactly macabre, but well, you get the gist.

v2.0 C8.1

Sorry this took so long to get posted.

Anyway, Ruth Vaughn is now Lynn Briare. (I hope you like your new name, Boonny.)

-

Chapter 8 – Beginnings

-

Coach Reynolds is extremely irritating. First he tells me off for bringing Erin and Cara to the dojo five minutes late, then he turns to Katherine and demands why she’s there. Demands. In that nasal voice he reserves for talking to kids. I tried to explain to him what happened, but did he listen at all? No. And he actually had the cheek to ask Katherine to join his other classes. Thank goodness she just told him that she’d consider.

If only Coach Takada didn’t retire… Perhaps I won’t need to deal with that creep. I’m sure Erin and Cara would have liked him much better.

-

Katherine keeps surprising me.

For one, her cell phone’s five years old. It’s about the same age as Erin, for heaven’s sake. I don’t know how she lives with that.

*

The snow was fresh, white and inviting. Clad in bright blue gear, the child fiddled with the straps on her snowboard. She seemed unperturbed by the presence of the stranger beside her.

“You have to tighten the straps, like so,” the man instructed, bending down.

The child pulled the straps in a good imitation of the man’s, but lost her balance and fell backwards into the snow with a plop. As she picked herself up, she caught sight of a slight movement in her peripheral vision. There was somebody crouching in the undergrowth in the nearby forest, she felt sure of that. Or perhaps it was an animal; the thing looked vaguely like a pile of rags. But she couldn’t see anything through her snow goggles. They tended to make everything look greyish-blue.

The man beside her noticed her looking at the copse of trees.

“What are you looking at?” He asked, blue eyes twinkling as he smiled.

“Nothing,” she murmured, never once taking her eyes off the spot where she’d seen the movement.

“Come now. You can tell me.”

The girl cocked her head to one side. Then the pile of rags moved. Her mouth opened in a small “o” as something grey rose from the snow.

The grey man.

I woke up to Bro’s horrendous wailing in the bathroom. Blearily, I turned to look at my alarm clock. It was still early. I groaned, turning over to face the wall. Grey… Something grey had made me wake up. What was it again?

The more I struggled to remember, the less I could recall. It was deeply frustrating, and I gave up after a while.

*

Oh. Holy… I stared into the dark space in my locker. It seemed as if a small tornado had ravaged the space. Someone had sprayed ink all over the locker and my books were all soaked.

“Hey, Katherine, guess what? I…” Erica stopped abruptly as she saw the inside of my locker.

“Oh my god. What happened?”

“Someone did this… I have a good idea who.” I closed the locker and locked it, changing the combination. Curse Geoff. I felt like banging my hand into the locker beside mine, then though the better of it. First off, it would hurt quite a lot, and secondly, there was no point in damaging Alison Baker’s locker. Besides venting my anger, that is.

“Who?” Erica dogged my steps as I walked to the Physics block, where Ms Daniels’s classroom was located.

“Don’t you have Theatre to go to?” I asked, pointedly ignoring her question.

“Don’t change the topic. I asked you…”

“Erica! We’re going to be late for Theatre!” Someone yelled from behind me. I turned to see Sharron clutching a ridiculously feathery hat and hauling a big bag full of props. She flashed me a cheery grin.

“Sorry, Katherine, gotta go!” She grabbed hold of Erica’s arm and started pulling her along the corridor. Erica stood her ground, however. “You’re going to tell…”

“Please, Erica, Mr Slocan will skewer me if I’m late again.”

Erica frowned, shrugging. “Later, Katherine.”

I heaved a sigh of relief as the duo disappeared down the corridor.

*

“So, are you goofy?”

Goofy? “I beg your pardon?” I frowned as Anne sighed, exasperated.

“Ugh. You are in Snowboarding, oui ou non?”

“Oui,” I replied.

“Bien. At least I’m not talking to the wrong person.” Her hazel eyes narrowed. “So do you ride with your left or right leg in front?”

“I forgot.”

“You what?” She spluttered.

“Hey, take it easy on her.” A senior came over and sat on my desk. “Are you a freshman?”

She seemed friendly enough, or at least, she was smiling really widely. Her dark brown hair fell over her shoulders in a messy heap. She was wearing something quite distinctive. A black T-shirt with the slogan “Take the Mickey outta me!” imprinted on the front contrasted sharply with the colour of her skin.

I wondered why anyone would want to wear that shirt. “No,” I replied. “Do I look like a Freshman?” I enquired mildly.

“She’s in my year, Yelena,” Anne provided, rolling her eyes.

“Oh. Uh, sorry,” the tall, extremely pale girl muttered sheepishly. Then she brightened, saying, “Hey, so you were saying that you forgot whether you’re goofy or not?”

“Yes.”

“Ah. Do you feel more comfortable riding with your right foot in front?”

“I don’t know.”

Anne sighed at my reply, rolling her eyes at Yelena. The latter jumped off the table, motioning for me to get to my feet as well.

“Come.” She strode towards the door, looking back at me.

Frowning, I followed.

She grinned. “Now slide towards me.”

“What do you mean, slide towards you?”

“Just slide.”

“Which leg first?”

She banged her forehead with the back of her hand. “You weren’t supposed to ask that.”

“Oh.”

“It’s alright, I saw her take her first step with her right leg.” Another senior strode towards me. At least he looked like a senior, being rather tall.

“Oh yeah, Danvers? Yesterday, in AP Art, she took her first step with her left leg. She’s goofy,” Anne countered, crossing her long arms casually.

“She did so with her right two days ago in Biology.” Chris appeared beside me, handing me some papers. “Some forms from Ms Daniels. She always likes to know a bit about each student.”

I stared at the four of them, my mouth agape.

“Close your mouth before I stop resisting the urge to throw something into it,” Anne snapped.

“You’ve been spying on me these past few days?”

“Obviously.” Anne rolled her eyes.

“Because we’ve not not been spying on you. Duh.” The tall girl shrugged.

“Oh, stop doing that, Yelena.” Anne shot her an exasperated look.

“What? I’m not doing anything!” Yelena protested with a completely straight face.

“Excusez-moi? You’ve been…”

“Stop, guys.” Danvers said. “Um, gals.” He amended at Anne’s cocked eyebrow.

“What’s goofy?” I finally managed to ask.

“Good question.” Anne rolled her eyes. “I have one too: are you sure you’ve done snowboarding before?”

“A goofy-footed rider is someone who rides with their left leg behind. The rest are so-called “regular”, they ride with their right leg – their dominant leg – behind,” Chris answered.

“I still think she’s regular.” Danvers frowned at Anne.

“No way! She’s not…”

Yelena grimaced. “Let’s scram before things get more fiery.” She led me over to the desk I’d been sitting at.

“Fiery?” I muttered absent-mindedly as I scanned through the forms Chris had handed me. There was an entire page dedicated to what my favourite food, drink, colour, etc., was. I scanned through the page briefly. She wanted to know what my favourite cloud formation was? Did I hear Chris say that Ms Daniels wanted to know a bit about every student?

“They’re a fiery couple.”

“Really?”

“Anne’s French. Of course she’s fiery.”

I chuckled, rummaging in my bag for a pen.

I heard someone place a something on the desk. I glanced up to see Yelena grinning at me.

“Thanks.” I picked up the pen and started writing.

“Don’t thank me, thank Bethany.”

“Bethany? Oh.” I looked up to see her handing forms to some Freshmen a few tables away. She turned and winked at me.

“Bethany’s in snowboarding?”

“No, actually. She’s a skier.”

“Is Geoff in Winter sports too?” I cast my gaze around. He didn’t seem to be anywhere around.

“Uh huh.” She didn’t notice my frown. “And Ms Daniels’s here.” Yelena took the seat on my left.

I looked up to see a teacher with an athletic build walking towards the teacher’s table. Her light golden hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

“All right, people!”

I decided right then that I liked Ms Daniels. She had a voice that managed to make me think of fun, joy and laughter.

“We’re going to go through some safety precautions you’ll all have to take on the trips we’re organising this year. I know this’ll be boring for most of you, but please try not to speak too loud for the next five minutes.”

“She says that every year.” Chris dropped into the seat next to mine.

“Does she?” I returned the forms to him.

“Thanks.” He smiled.

“You’re welcome.”

“Anyway, we’re going on an unofficial trip to Summit Central this weekend. I know it’s a bit too early, there most probably won’t be too much snow, but it’s for newbies like you,” Anne announced, sitting on my desk.

“Yep. It’ll probably last the whole Saturday, though,” Danvers added.

“Andre? Anne? Are you bugging Ms Brown?” Ms Daniels called from the front of the classroom.

“It’s Danvers, Ms Daniels.” Danvers replied.

“No, we weren’t…” Anne began.

“She hasn’t heard my pep-talk before, unlike you, Anne.” Ms Daniels pointed out. “And Andre, you’re supposed to be President. Don’t distract Ms Brown.”

“Yes, Ms Daniels,” Danvers replied through gritted teeth.

*

“You’re going for the trip, right?” Yelena caught up to me as I reached the school gates.

“I don’t know…” I frowned.

“Well, we’ll be looking at some boards first, you know, buy some equipment. I hear Danvers found some cool stuff on sale or something. You have a board, right?” She peered down at me.

“Actually, no.”

“No?” She exploded. “How can you not? Snowboarding’s so fun! It’s…”

I missed out the last bit as something hit my back hard, knocking me forwards a few paces. It also forced my breath out of me.

“Ouch.” Yelena winced, supporting me and shooting a dark look over her shoulder.

“Sorry!” Someone hollered.

I turned to see a girl running towards us. Her long ponytail bobbed along as her feet pounded against the concrete ground. Was that Lynn playing baseball?

“I’m so so sorry. My friend told me to throw the ball a bit further, but I never thought it’d come this far. I’m… Katherine? Did it hurt? I’m so sorry!”

Yelena regarded the new arrival with raised eyebrows.

“Um, Yelena, this is Lynn Briare. She’s in my Art and US History class. Lynn, Yelena Devenish, from Winter Sports.”

“Pleased to meet you, Yelena.”

“And I, you.” Yelena’s lips curled up slightly at the corners. “Hey, are you playing baseball?”

Lynn flashed the ball that she’d been sent to retrieve in front of Yelena’s face. “Yep.”

“Count me in! Oh, um, maybe not today. Are you playing tomorrow?”

Lynn shook her head. “Every Tuesday afternoon. We play on Wednesdays sometimes. But it’s getting cold, so maybe we’ll stop for a while.”

“That’s great! Now I’ve gotta go, my bus’s coming!” Yelena dragged me out of the school.

“See you, Katherine, Yelena!” The girl waved, baseball in the air.

“Bye!”

-
I really hope you like your new name better. Does it beat Opal (Valona)?