Chapter One
"Come on, guys! Catch me if you can!"
Cat skipped away in front of them, chasing a very unwilling mockingbird impressively fast in her high heels. With her hair tossed up in a high ponytail and her light sweater, she looked as out-of-place in the cold winter field as a bird of paradise in the Arctic.
"I still say it would have been easier to just buy a leash and take her to the park," Jade said flatly.
Beck sighed. "Babe, be nice."
"I'm just saying it's gonna be a bit awkward, don't you think, just you and me and her?"
"I already told you, Tori and André were going to come, but they couldn't make it, and Robbie had to take Rex on a date." There was a whole other conversation in that last part, but neither of them chose to pursue it.
"Still . . ."
"Babe, it's Cat, okay? Give it a rest."
She sighed, but didn't say anything. She couldn't really complain, after all. This whole date was her idea – a dinner picnic and a drive-in movie, to celebrate the last day of winter break. It had been a fairly mild December, and after two weeks of nothing some Frisbee sounded great. André had suggested the old field on the outskirts of Altadena, saying that he used to take his dog out for exercise. Of course, then he and Tori had to go fall in love and break off for some time alone. And then there was Robbie and Rex . . . but really, there was only so much to say about Robbie's psychological issues.
"So, where do you want to park this?" he asked, hefting the cooler.
"André said there was a picnic table right over by those trees," Jade said, pointing. "I think that's the place. We better hurry, though, it's getting kind of cold and we don't want to miss the previews."
"Ooh! Can I carry the food?" Cat asked brightly, taking her eyes off the bird for the first time in a good five minutes. Beck handed it over and she took off again, lugging the giant cooler behind her. The picnic tables were farther away than they thought, and by the time they got there they could barely see the truck anymore. Cat was still darting around like a spaniel, chasing anything shiny – including a reflection from Jade's necklace. Beck could feel Jade's impatience mounting.
"I swear if I don't end her by the time we get to the movies, it'll be a miracle," she hissed as she slammed herself down at a table.
Beck prayed for patience as Cat shrieked with delight at seeing something in the ground. "Please, please, all I'm asking is that you put up with her until the movie's over and then maybe we can –"
There was a scream, and the ground underneath them shook. Beck spun around – just in time to see Cat teeter on the edge of a gaping chasm and tumble backward.