Chapter Two

"Okay class!" Mrs. Barker, Cat's costume design teacher said, her voice alight with excitement as she floated around the room, watching as some of the students began to quickly dot down ideas and sketch. while others rushed to choose their fabrics and textiles.

"This final costume will count as 50% of your final grade." She warned as she pointed to the screen, "As described above, this is a costme for you so your measurements have to be exact, if you make them too big... I suppose that gives you an excuse to over-eat. The theme is "something sweet", so it can be anything you want, as long as you stick with the theme. Please be creative! When you finish stand on top of the podium and hit the buzzer."

The sound of an air-horn indicated the beginning of the task, "Make me proud!" Mrs. Barker

Caterina adored costume class, she loved the bright colours of the fabric that were lined up in a row at the left side of the classroom, yarns and yarns of it that she could wrap herself up in and pretend she was in her own cocoon. She excelled in this class, and everyone knew it, those who were in this class with Cat detested her because she always finished her costume first and she always received the best grade. They loathed the way she seemed to zip from section to section, cutting her material in one expert swipe of her scissors; she somehow managed to do it with such grace, that the fine satin material did not snag or fray at the edges. Then she would twirl over to the sewing machines, her hands flying over the material as she kept her foot constantly on the pedal, stopping only for a micro-second to cut the thread. Classmates always stopped to watch Cat as she created, they could not understand how she could move so quickly, she was a hummingbird; moving with such grace and agility that she almost seemed to blur as she moved, as if her body was constantly vibrating.

By the time Cat had formed the underlining of her costume, her classmates had only finished their designs. Caterina loved the chosen topic: "Something Sweet", she had an insatiable sweet-tooth, she always had hidden candy, today she had red liquorice stuffed down her bra (but that was only for her, so no one could know about it). Giggling as she plopped herself down on one of the many stools she began to perform some hand-stitching, fastening shreds of emerald, forest, lime, of green chiffon. Grinning down at the shredded skirt she had just created, she laughed delightedly as she continued, her fingers moving even quicker this time as she added more colours; purples, pinks and red.. This dress needed more red.

Her classmates where furious by the time Caterina reached the embellishment table. As usual she was the only one there as she glued small twinkling gems on her dress, opening one of the boxes that held small plastic daisies and posies and stitched them on to the dress. With a squeak of glee she leaped over to the penultimate section: accessories. She grabbed a small plain gold crown and stuck it on her head, diving into the large box that was filled with dressing up treasures that Caterina wished she could take home with her; she found what she was looking for, little green wings and a wand. Soaring over to the little secluded curtains, in a matter of seconds Caterina had thrown on her outfit.

Pulling back the curtain, she smiled as she squealed, "Last section!" to her classmates before bounding over to the makeup section.

She jumped on Tori who was standing by the mirror with the light bulb banner, waiting with a makeup brush in one hand and a palette of eye shadow in another. For every design student there was one make-up student who was taking their exam; which was to do their make-up as commanded by the designer of the costume.

Immediately Cat brought her ears up to Tori and whispered one word before she was forced to stay as still as possible as Tori worked on her face. Bolting her eyes shut she twisted her hands together as she waited.

"Hey Tori." She began; trying to strike up a conversation just as Tori was about to waiting to apply the pastel coloured lipstick, "Did you know the elephant is the only mammal with four knees?"

"That's very interesting Cat." Tori replied patiently, as if she was talking to a child. She scrunched her eyes together in concentration, "Just keep still while I apply your eyelashes."

Cat yelped opened her eye slightly and saw the small tube of glue, reminding her of their horrible ordeal that occurred a few months ago. Tori smiled when she noticed the redhead's apprehension.

"Don't worry." She reassured her as she pressed the eyelash to her closed eye, "This will easily come off."

As soon as the last eyelash was applied, Tori beamed proudly at her work as she clasped her hands together, "You are done!"

Cat's eyes flashed open and she gazed in the mirror, she gasped at her reflection and beamed her smile all white teeth and gums, "I love it! Thank you Tori."

Leaping over to the podium she slammed down on the buzzer, screaming, "finished." as she threw her arms up in the air, expecting to a shower of coloured confetti to rain down on her.

Some of the class members cursed under their breaths at the tiny eccentric girl as she twirled around on the podium, the streams of material flying out around her as intended.

"Cat, will you explain to the class what you are attempting to depict." Mrs. Barker urged, as she watched from the back of the classroom.

"I am a fairy of course." Caterina answered as she swished her wand merrily through the air, "I bring peace to everyone with love and candy!"

Then she pulled out a piece of red liquorice from her bra and chewed on it, before turning a scarlet colour, "I most definitely do not have red liquorice stuffed in my bra."

Mrs. Barker clapped for Cat as she approached the podium, the class joined in with scattered applauses, "Well done Caterina!" she praised as she studied the dress closer, "The stitching is flawess, it fits you perfectly and it demonstrates the traits of a fairy very obviously."

Caterina finishing her liquorice, swallowed before replying, "So I got my A?" she asked, as she bounced up and down on the spot.

Mrs. Barker nodded, "Of course you did, to finish this in under thirty minutes is... astounding, I have never seen anything like this before." She mused as she handed Caterina her card with her marks on it. The bell sounded, marking the end of another period.

"Okay that's lunch." Mrs. Barker announced as the students fled to the door, "Those who haven't finished their costumes I expect you back here after to complete them!" she barked as they all piled out of the classroom.

"Yay lunch!" she squealed as she jumped from the podium and rushed out of the classroom, shouting a fleeting goodbye as she ignored Mrs. Barker's question about whether she was going to change out of her costume.

Of course she was not going to change out of her new dress-up costume, not when it made her look this cute anyway, she pranced around the halls of Hollywood Arts handing out pieces of liquorice to those she passed, after receiving her A she was feeling much more generous with her treats. Spinning around, students had to swerve to avoid crashing into her. But most knew to avoid Cat when she was loose in the halls... apart from that boy with the puppet.

She pouted as she abruptly stopped spinning, that boy had overpowered her thoughts once again; she thought she had expelled him from her mind after they played improv in Sikowitz's class. But like a foul smell, he was back and more forceful than ever. Before she made her way to the asphalt café to sit with Tori and Jade she slipped into the Hollywood Arts girl's bathrooms and was surprised to see that every single artistically painted cubical was empty. Moving quickly over to the mirror she glanced at the makeup Tori had created and smiled, she adored the soft shades of green that surrounded her eyelids, it complimented her eyes; making her eyes a richer shade of brown. The expert brown flicks at the side of her eyes looped and swerved to create a vine image that surrounded her eyes like a mask. But what amused Cat the most was the elaborate lashes that looks like small fluttering feathers when she blinked quickly.

Then something that Caterina could only describe as strange occurred, her forefinger began to burn, bringer the finger to her mouth, she sucked on it in an attempt to cool it, but that only made it burn more intensely. It felt as though a million tiny knives where poking at this single finger. The intensity of the burn made her jerk her hand away.

Then the piping started to speak to her. That is the only way she could explain it, they began to groan and croak, the noises getting louder and louder. Caterina turned around just in time to see the room explode, water shooting out of the toilets and soaring from the taps. She screamed as the room began to quickly fill with water, she felt feet slipping as she crossed the tiles to the exit. Pulling the door open; she rushed out of the room as a small puddle began to form in the halls of Hollywood Arts.

Lane the guidance counselor was standing in the halls when he saw a drenched Caterina exit the bathroom, her face covered as she tried to save her pretty makeup.

"Cat!" he exclaimed as he rushed to her side, "What happened?"

The girl squeaked, "Pipes exploded, not my fault" as she ran away to the asphalt café; she would not take responsibility for the faulty facilities in Hollywood Arts. Rushing out the doubles door, she found Tori and Jade sitting at the usual table; Tori was munching on a salad, a piece of lettuce sticking out her mouth as she chewed like a rabbit, while Jade had donned a pair of sunglasses as she sipped on her forth coffee of the day. Cat didn't like it when you could not see Jade's eyes; it meant that you did not know how angry she was until she attacked you.

Collapsing beside them she sighed deeply before meekly saying, "Hi." Her wet red hair dripping onto the table as she looked down, "Oh I forgot to get food." she mumbled as she stared at the table.

Just then Sinjin passed by the table, his eyes trained on Jade, Cat bounced up and swiped his tray, "Thanks Sinjin, I love chicken salad." She said happily as she handed him some money and sat back down. Neither of the girls' said anything, they merely rolled their eyes at their peculiar friend.

"Cat." Tori began after she swallowed a mouth of leaves, "Why are you soaking?"

"Oh there was an explosion in the bathroom, all of the water in the toilets where like fireworks, only instead of lots of colours there was only gross, dirty water." She paused, "Hey did you know—"

"Cat, no one wants to hear another fact about animals." Jade replied sharply as she stormed away to Festus' grub truck.

Tori glanced sympathetically at Cat, whose lip had just dropped, she sighed heavily, "Do you want to finish your fact?"

"No." Cat mumbled as she took a bite of her stolen lunch, "That's okay."

"So the toilets just... exploded?" Tori asked her eyebrows arched sceptically.

Cat merely shrugged, "That's what happened." She spotted André who was carrying over his electric keyboard and grinned, "Tori there's André!"

"I can see him sweetie." Tori said as she smiled at him, "Hey. What up with the keyboard?"

Winking at the pair, his lips curled into a grin as he plonked it down on the table, "I have to finish my song but I have no idea what to write it on."

Cat raised her hand, waving her wand manically at André, "Oh! Write it about me!"

He laughed slightly, "Maybe I could write it about you; the little pixie."

Cat's eyes bugged, "Are you implying I am small?" she demanded, a sudden anxiety taking over her.

André placed his head in his hands, "No Cat I was just trying to—"

But she had already focused her attention on something else, or rather someone else. Sitting two tables across from them with a table all to himself, was the mysterious boy from this morning, the one who liked to carry the puppet that was almost a smaller version of himself. She could not believe what she was seeing, when did he arrive? She was certain that he had not been there when she glanced over a matter of seconds ago, and yet he was there, his curious eyes staring at her, and then flicking away quickly when he noticed she was staring back.

Immediately she jumped up from the table and marched over to him, her wings flapping furiously behind her as she sat down at the table. He picked at his food, one hand still firmly grasping his puppet who glared at Cat, his unmoving and never-changing expression making her feel slightly unhinged.

"Hi!" she said as joyfully as she could, but she had to admit that this brooding boy was making feel self-conscious. He did not look up to greet her, his gaze fixed on his pasta based lunch that he was picking at woefully with his fork.

"Em, sorry I bumped into you today!" Trying once more to start a conversation she said, "I'm Cat, what's your name?"

The boy didn't speak and Cat noticed that people around her were beginning to stare at her, it made the tops of her ear scorch with embarrassment. They were all laughing at her because this socially awkward boy refused to acknowledge the biggest oddball to ever walk through the front door of Hollywood Arts High School.

Finally the boy muttered one word, "Robbie."

Cat smiled triumphantly as she dug into her bra, "That's a nice name, do you want a piece of candy?" she asked extended the piece of liquorice to him.

For a moment she thought she saw the side of her mouth tug upwards slightly as he glanced furtively at the piece of food, "No thanks." Was all he had to say as a response.

Caterina sighed as she plopped the piece of candy into her mouth, "Your loss." She mumbled, her words lost to some extent because of the food in her mouth.

A light wrap on her back made her turn around. Swirling her body around she smiled up at Beck, who surprisingly, was not smiling back at her. Instead his eyebrows were woven together, his lips pursed with confusion.

"Cat what are you doing?" he asked, his eyes darting around the lunch tables, everyone was watching them.

"I was just talking to my new friend Robbie!" Cat explained as she gestured to the boy sitting beside her.

"But Cat," Beck looked past the girl, frownig in bewilderment, he leaned over and quietly murmured, "There is no one sitting across from you."

Instantly Cat swivelled around, her eyes widening when she saw the empty space beside her, all that remained was the tub of uneaten pasta. She did not understand it, he was there and he spoke to her.

Standing up from the table, Beck protectively put his arm around his confused little cat as he lead her back to their normal table, as the Hollywood Art students watched on and as far as they were concerned. They were completely convinced that Caterina Valentine had officially lost the plot.


Hey guys! I am really enjoying writing this story and I bet I have left you all confused... (As intended) :D

So mysterious.

Anyway I am tired so I am off to sleep!

Bye guys

xoxoxo