Chapter 7: The Adopted Cat-Teen
(Sarah)
"Do you ever wonder...like where time goes? Like we grow up so fast, Dianah. I remember being a kid and just doing kid stuff, toys, cartoons, etc. now I've got so much to worry about: class, homework, guys...time of the month- but anyway. Do you remember when the most complex thing we had to worry about was who was going to be the wife and who was going to be the husband when we played house?"
"I only got to play wife twice. I think you cheated during the rock, paper, scissors."
"How does anyone cheat at rock, paper, scissors?"
"I don't know, how did you?"
"Hey, I'm not the one who could see things."
"No, you're the one with the cute cat ears and tail."
"Meow, Dianah, me-ow."
"Whatever. I noticed that you didn't add the phrase 'weight gain' in your list of worries."
I put the rest of the muffin, I had been picking at, in my mouth before answering. "That's because I don't gain weight. Last week, when we went to that buffet, I pugged out and weighed myself the next day and actually weighed half a pound less than I did."
"Lucky, if I even look at a chocolaté gâteau, I end up gaining five pounds...and it all ends up building up in my ass too. I thought that your boobs grew first?"
"Don't ask me."
"Some help you are."
"Google it, girly."
"Speaking of 'girly'... Did Matt ask you out?"
"No, was he going to?"
"No, nothing... I mean: I don't know."
"Oh my God! When is he going to do it?"
Dianah groaned and squealed before blurting out. "Today or tomorrow, oop."
"Get out!"
"Sarah! Get off the phone, I've got to call your aunt!" My mother yelled from downstairs.
"Okay!" I yelled and covered the phone's receiver. "Look, dude: I've got to go. Are we still going to Vanilla tomorrow?"
"Sure. Wait..." She said and paused for a few seconds.
"What?"
"I see mustard...and ketchup..."
"Hotdogs?" I asked.
"No... I'm sure it's nothing. Anyway, goodnight."
"Goodnight." I replied and hung the phone up. "Okay, mom!"
"Thanks, sweetie!" She yelled back.
I sighed and turned my laptop on and sat there as it booted up.
"Sarah, can I ask you something?" A boy's voice came from my right side.
I turned and saw my 14 year old brother, Leo standing by the door and looking at me with his large dark blue eyes.
"Leo, come in. What's up?" I said and rolled over on my chair and finished opening the slightly ajar door.
"Well..." He began while walking into my room, in a voice that lightened and deepened in pitch. "Dad said that I'm at the point in time where girls will be more appealing to me."
"Yup, you've finally hit the big 1-4." I replied and opened my Internet browser and clicked on the Facebook icon on the start page.
"But there's this girl, you see." He continued.
"There always is. Listen... You're at the point in your life where your body changes, we all go through it. Mom went through it. Dad went through it. I went through it. Lisa and Lana will go through it. It's normal. I know you're confused, but trust me: it gets easier." I said and patted his copper ginger hair.
"I won't grow boobs will I?" He asked, honestly concerned.
"Sure hope not. I'd have a lot of questions if you do."
He laughed then stared at me. "Pedro, says that girls have cooties and boys could...die if we get it. But Gene says that there's a way to protect boys from getting it. Is that true?"
"Sure is!" I said and turned around to get a pen. "Hold still." I pulled him closer to me and drew a bolded C on his forehead then drew a circle with a line going across it. "Done! Now don't wash that off until tomorrow night and you will be permanently immune to all forms of cooties."
"Really?"
"Yup. Don't tell anyone if they ask though. I'm not supposed to tell you."
He made a zipper motion over his mouth then thanked me then walked out.
"I'm a good older sister." I said.
Then spent the next hour replying to messages and checking my games on Facebook before I got started on my AP homework.
I had to write a five page autobiography and had three weeks to do it. Better late than never, I guess. I tapped on the keys and typed random characters then stopped and deleted them all, one at a time.
My name is Sarah Cera. I am 17 years old, 18 on March 30th. My father's name is Carlos Manuel Cera and he's a senior draftsman for Unified Homes. He is 42 years old but still acts like a teenager whenever he wants. My mother's name is-
I heard yelling coming from the hallway so I opened the door and was greeted with a face full of ketchup. I gasped and involuntary hissed.
My father was covered in mustard as he held one of my mom's pan lids in one hand like a shield and a red bottle of store brand ketchup. He laughed as be squirted some ketchup passed me as some mustard was shot out of a toy mustard gun that each of my younger sisters had. They were both covered in mustard and ketchup and giggled as they did their best to hide behind each other and shoot my father with mustard.
"What are you guys doing?" I asked as I wiped some ketchup from the top of my chest and shirt.
"He started it." My twin sisters said, in unison, at the same time as my father said "they started it." A round of "did not" and "did too" began.
"You guys are crazy." I said and walked back into my room. "Damn in, Dianah." I muttered and wiped some ketchup off me.
"Hey Sarah, can I talk to you for a second? Shh, shh." My father said from the other side of the door.
"No! Go away!" I laughed out. I knew exactly what he was planning, he had done it before.
"No really. It's about the C you drew on Leo's forehead." He replied.
"It's to protect him from cooties." I said.
"Can you stop feeding him that nonsense?" He replied in his fatherly voice.
I sighed and opened the door to talk to him.
"Chingensela!" My father let out and I gasped as I was covered, from head to toe, with mustard and ketchup.
"Stop! Stop!" I let out and tried protecting myself with my hands.
"What?" One of the twins asked.
"Sepa." My father replied.
"That's it." I said and let my cat ears and tail extrude from my body. I extended my hands which turned into medium sized white paws as my nails sharpened to become claws.
"¡La gata salió! Run!" My father yelled and picked my sisters up and ran into their room.
I stood by my door as I head them laughing. I admired the light blue walls with lashes of randomly splashed ketchup and mustard.
"Mom is going to freak." I said and blinked a few times as my cat parts disappeared then walked back into my room to finish my report after a quick shower.
I pulled out a muscle shirt and some shorts then undressed in my room and walked down the hall and into the regular bathroom then locked the door when I got in. I began to remove my bra when I heard my mother shriek as she walked up the stairs.
"HOLY MOTHER OF CHRIST! CARLOS! LISA! LANA! GET OUT HERE!"
-0-
I woke up the next morning and stretched as my Wolf and Spice alarm clock went off. I pressed Holo's head and the alarm stopped abruptly. I blinked heavily a few times then closed my eyes and extended my hand and counted down in my head.
"4:59, 4:58, 4:57..."
I snapped awake 15 minutes later and flew out of bed then changed to the underwear and clothes I laid out the night before. I spent five minutes arranging my hair and applying eye liner before I shook my head wildly and was satisfied with how my hair ended up.
I walked out of my room and saw Lisa and Lana frowning as they both cleaned the walls and floor.
"Morning." I said in my best bubbly tone.
"Morning." They groaned as they wiped with the rags.
I ran down the stairs as my father headed out the door. "Have fun at work, dad!" I said and hugged him.
"You too, Racoon-Chika." He said and kissed my forehead before walking out. He always made that joke whenever I had eye liner. He stopped yelling at me to take it off and just made jokes.
"Hungry, Sarah?" My mother asked as she put a plate of Cocoa something in front of my brother who dug right in.
My mother was a 5'4" ginger. Slender body and all around small woman but you didn't want her yelling at you. Her long wavy ginger hair was wrapped into a ponytail.
"Sure." I said and pulled a seat out and sat down.
"Okay. Your roots are starting to grow out, by the way." She replied.
I smacked my lips and pulled out the small make-up mirror from my pocket and examined my hair. "At least it doesn't look bad." I said.
I constantly dyed my hair red, like my mother and sisters who were all long haired gingers. My brother had more of a copper shade and slightly darker skin, not as dark as my father's caramel complexion, but not as pale as my mother's.
I was neither a ginger, like my mother, or a Mexican, like my father (at least when it came to physical traits). I am 50% Mexican and 50% Caucasian, according to my parent's heritage. Although if you wanted to be technical: there's some Scottish and British on my mother's side and some German in my mother's mother's side. There was Mexican, on my father's side, and Mexican on his father's and mother's side. Funny thing is that my hair is brown and I have fair skin so all their genes must have skipped me completely. Which is fine for me as I'm an English and Spanish speaking white girl. You would not believe the amount of times I've caught girls talking smack in Spanish because they think I don't understand.
"Lisa, Lana, come eat!" My mother let out and placed a bowl of cereal in front of me too.
I dug in as my sisters griped about cleaning. My sisters were both six. They were, by far, the youngest of the four of us. Leo is 14, three years and two months younger than me.
-0-
The bell rang for lunch and I walked out of the classroom and into the corridor where it wasn't as packed as people would think. The second floor of the O building, which is where I am, is reserved for the AP classes so only those students attending classes were ever here. The bottom floor was used for the offices and two English classes so it wasn't ever full either.
I walked through the end door and down the exterior stairs that led down into the grounds and passed where three girls were standing around and hushed each other as I passed.
One girl was Stephanie Andres: a dark haired girl who stood about two inches taller than me. We never really got along so we just kept to ourselves. I didn't know who the other two were but all three of them are always together.
I passed by without saying anything.
"Puta." Stephanie said.
I stopped and tired around to look at her.
"What?" I asked her. Not as a question but daring her to say it again.
"You heard me, puta. You think you're all smart, going to them smart girl classes and shit." She continued and walked towards me.
"I think you need to chill out, Stephanie. What's your problem?" I replied.
"You're my problem, pendeja. How about you walk away, little adopted girl." She replied.
The other girls made daring noises and mocked me.
"Fuck you, Stephanie. I'm-" I began but stopped when she slapped me.
I stepped back and held my cheek then walked forward. She dared me to slap her back but I just pulled my hand back and punched her in the nose as hard as I could.
She cried out and fell to the floor as she held herself and looked at me.
I never believed in the whole slapping and hair pulling and tearing clothing off style of fighting. I've never been in a cat fight, no pun intended. I got beat up when I was a kid a few times so I asked my father to teach me his "putasos" style of fighting.
One of the other girls grabbed my arms behind me and I jerked my head back and hit her. She let me go as the other girl walked towards me and I elbowed her across the face. Stephanie walked over and scratched me in the arm with her nails.
"You want to play like that?" I asked and let my fingernails shift into claws.
"Stephanie, Sarah. What's going on?" A voice asked from behind me.
Stephanie immediately straightened up and looked passed me.
"Matt, hi." Stephanie said and smiled gingerly as she forgot all about me.
"Sarah, are you okay? Let's go." He said and started pulling me by the arm.
"Matt, don't touch that adopted piece of shit." Stephanie shrieked.
"Just ignore her, Sarah." Matt said as we walked away.
"I saw the file on the office, Matt. Her real name isn't Sarah!" Stephanie let out.
I broke out of Matt's hold and used my cat's speed to run up to her and punched her in the face. She hit the floor and held herself and crawled backwards.
I tried yelling at her but I just whimpered slightly and just turned around and walked passed Matt who glared at Stephanie.
I saw Dianah standing at the end of the building as she had been waiting for me but walked over to see what was going on.
"Sarah, are you okay?" She asked.
"I'm fine." I said and sniffed loudly as I kept walking.
Matt and Dianah had to rush to catch up with me.
"Sarah." Matt said. "Can you wait for a second?"
"You're cousin is a bitch, Matt. I'm sorry to say that, but she is." I said.
"I know, Sarah. I'm sorry. She was waiting for me to take her to lunch and I got caught up talking to my friend. I'm sorry. It's my fault." Matt said.
"It's not your fault..." I said and breathe deeply. "I'm sorry that I decked your cousin. She has a way of getting underneath my skin."
"Sarah. She deserved it, trust me. I've felt like doing it sometimes. It's cool if you're adopted, I don't think any different of you." Matt said.
I stared at him then turned and walked away.
"What?" He asked. "What did I say?"
"She's not adopted." Dianah said and began running towards me.
"Shit..." I heard Matt say but didn't come after me, which I was grateful for.
"Sarah, wait up." Dianah said as she caught up and held my hand.
"I'm not adopted." I said and sniffed lightly.
"I know." She said and turned me around then hugged me. "Stephanie is just a bitch; don't pay any attention to her."
"She said that she saw a document saying I was." I insisted.
"She says a lot of things. Remember when she said that she was going to steal your dad's car?" She said.
"Yeah."
"Did she do it?"
"No."
"See. She's just jealous of your relationship with her cousin." Dianah said and started walking.
I sniffed and nodded.
"Don't cry. You'll mess your mascara if you cry." she said.
I chuckled lightly.
"Listen. I don't care if you are or aren't. You're still my best friend and that's all that matters. Your parents would have told you if you were and it's not like you would have forgotten, you remember you parents wedding and that was when you were what? Six? Seven?"
"Two."
"See, wait you can remember from when you were two?" She asked.
I laughed and shoved her but she never let go of my hand, which I was grateful for.
"And why the hell did they call you Sarah? I mean it's a pretty name, but Sarah Cera? I don't think that they thought that trough." She said as we walked.
I simply chuckled as we showed our passes to the security officer who let us out. I was an AP student so they let me out for lunch and Dianah had one because her mother, my mother, and the principle all had the same yoga class and were all friends.
I ordered a double cheese and bacon burger with large fries and some tamarindo while Dianah ordered a regular burger with a medium cherry coke.
"You always order the greasiest and fattening thing but you stay skinny as a twig." Dianah said when we sat down in a table that just got empty.
"You know why that is." I said and ate a fry.
"Man I wish I was like you. Imma have to jog for an hour to level this." She said and bit into the burger. "You have a stalker." She added with a mouth full of food.
I turned around and saw Matt standing by the ordering window and looking around.
"What's he doing here?" I asked when I turned around.
"Who knows. Matt!" She let out over the all the other conversations.
Matt turned in our direction and walked over.
"Sarah. Listen, I'm sorry that I was being a jerk earlier." He began.
"You weren't being a jerk." I replied.
"No I was. Here." He said and dropped a file on the table. It was a yellow file with at least one hundred pages inside. The name on the tab read "Cera, Sarah" and my birth date.
I looked at Matt.
"I know you, Sarah. You're going to let what Stephanie said bug you until you find out. Here's your file from the school. I haven't looked at it, so don't worry."
"Where did you get this?" I asked and placed my hand over it.
"Took it from the files. I'll put it back later or something. Just give it back before tomorrow." He said and walked out.
"He likes you." Dianah said.
"Hmm." I said. "How did he get here anyway? He doesn't have a pass."
"Girls use passes, guys jump the fence." She said.
We finished our meal with ten minutes to spare so we decided to sit under the tree outside of the main building and look at the file. I snacked on a second order of fries as I opened the file. It had a lot of records of clubs and things I participated in.
"Nerd!" Dianah let out. "You were in the chess club?"
"For a month. It was during my freshman year and I needed school friends." I said.
"We're the same age, and yet you're a senior. How dare you skip a grade without me?"
"Hey, we've bathed together, at least let me have that." I replied.
"Oh yeah..."
The file was out of order: it should have had the student's information up front and all other info behind it but the record was somewhere in the middle. We looked through old pictures and information of events that I helped with. It's not that I had school spirit it's just that AP students were expected to participate in stuff.
The bell rang and we both stood up and headed back inside. It was fifth period and the last class for today, so we both headed to the library.
Students needed some sort of service work to graduate so Dianah and I both volunteered in the library this semester.
We both sat up front and looked through the file and whispered about what we found in the file. I put it away as a class came to check out books and do research. Some had to sign up for cards, which meant that their student ID needed to be registered. One girl owed over 23 dollars in late fees so I deleted them for her and almost wish I haven't because she thanked me at least 10 times and even promised to do my homework for the rest of the semester. I told her that it was cool and to not let it happen again.
The class sat down in the different tables: some read while others talked quietly, so Dianah and I continued looking at the file.
We flipped the pages and finally came to the file with my student info and read it in silence.
Name: Sarah Cera
Sex: F
Height: 5'6"
Birthdate: March 30th
Status: Senior (AP)
Expected graduation date: (the date was crossed out as I had skipped a grade)
Parents/guardians: Carlos Manuel Cera and Elizabeth Cera (Belmont)
Siblings: 1 brother(s) and 2 sister(s).
Status: US citizen
Student ID number 88022616
Special classes/extracurricular activities:
Chess club
Band
AP classes
School fair
"Band?" Dianah asked.
"Hey, dad bought me a flute and I wanted to see if I could play it better." I said.
"Well that settles it. She was lying."
"Yup." I said and quickly flipped through the rest of the pages and got to the back of the file with nothing extra.
"Why does the back feel so bulky?" Dianah asked.
"Don't know." I said and pulled the back of the file slightly and it folded out as the fake end opened. A brown file was there. It had light white stripes (that looked like it was copied while hair was over it).
We pulled it out and the title read: Cera, Sarah. Level B CLASSIFIED.
I looked at Dianah who mouthed the words.
"What's Level B classified?" I asked.
My mom says that it's a secret file that people...like us...have. Level B is supposed to be way up there and people could get fired just for looking at it.
"Wow." I replied and opened it.
"I don't think that we should be opening it." Dianah said. "We could get in trouble."
"Nobody is going to know, plus it's my file." I said.
She smiled gingerly and nodded.
I opened the file which had three pages; the first one was just an empty page with a QR barcode and the other two were document stating the same thing that Dianah had just told me.
"What's that?" Dianah asked me.
"It's a QR code. You scan it with a special reader to see the information." I replied and pulled my phone out.
I downloaded the QR reader, and knew that mom was going to kill me because I didn't have an Internet plan, but I just had to see what it said.
It took me about five minutes to scan the document with my phone and laughed out when it finally read. The web browser opened and it took me to a blank page with a space to type something.
I shrugged and typed "Sarah Cera" and hit the "go" button. It loaded for a second then said "wrong password". I tied random words, including the word password, and nothing.
"Try password." Dianah said.
"I did." I replied and put Belmont, my mother's maiden name, and still nothing.
"Excuse me, can I check these out?" The girl who owed 23 dollars asked as she placed four books on the counter.
"Sure." Dianah said and took the books. She scanned them one at a time. "So what kind of books are these? Fiction?"
"No, they're more like research. This man talks about people with powers to control elements and other things." She said, excitedly.
I stared at the thinnest of books. It was a blue book with the title in golden letters: Animal People... Myth or Reality. I cocked an eyebrow and opened the first page. It had a 1970's picture of a man in a tux.
"Walter Z. Bohemi" was written underneath the picture. A short bio was written underneath but Dianah took the book from me to scan it.
I typed the name into my phone and it was still incorrect. I tried the first and last name individually and still nothing.
"Z?" Dianah asked. "What guy name starts with Z?"
The girl shrugged. "Zed maybe." She suggested and took the books.
"Make sure to bring them back on time." Dianah said while I typed Zed into the space.
The screens froze for a second before a cartoon cat-girl smiled at me and my screen went dark. A separate search bar came on the screen and I touched the search button.
I typed Cera, Sarah in the search and it populated the screen with people whose name included the words Sarah and/or Cera.
I sighed as Dianah looked over my shoulder. "Try putting your name in quotation marks so it only searches for that.
I did and it took about a minute before it show a single result.
I clicked on my name and waited for my cell phone to load and thought about the fortune that the data will cost at the end of the month.
The page finally loaded and the first thing I saw a picture of me and Dianah walking to lunch a month or so ago.
"That is creepy... God my hair looks terrible!" Dianah said.
I chuckled and scrolled down but the goosebumps I felt never went away. Especially when I began reading the profile.
Name: Gale Wilmingson
Adoptive or given name (if applicable): Sarah Cera
Date of birth: March 30th.
Parents: Andrew and Felicity Wilmingson
Adoptive or given parents (if applicable): Carlos and Elizabeth Cera.
I dropped my phone onto the counter and just sat there, staring at nothing while my mind raced.
I heard Dianah calling out to me, but it sounded distant. She finally snapped be back to normal.
"Are you okay? What happened?" She asked me.
"Stephanie was right..." I said as her face turned white. "I am adopted."
She picked my phone up and read the same thing I just read.
"This must be a mistake... Maybe it's another Sarah Cera..." Dianah suggested.
"With the same Parents and birthdate?" I asked.
"Um... Maybe it's a different town or something. I mean how rare could it be for someone to have the same last name." She suggested.
"The profile has a picture of us, Dianah." I said.
She began to say something then quieted down, I really wish she hasn't.
I took my phone back and continued reading.
"Gale Wilmingson, Sarah Cera, was born into a really interesting line. Her mother and father were the pets of a Green Land couple, by the name of Wilmingson (where Gale's last name originated from). Not much is known of the couple or how Andrew and Felicity ended up in their care but the young cat couple were confiscated from the Wilmingson's possession after Andrew attacked a security officer in an airport while the older couple was boarding a plane to Europe. The cat couple (Andrew and Felicity) were brought to a classified facility, sister company was Huyton Industries (see Huyton Industries for history), where they resided for about two months when the mother gave birth to her litter. Gale is one half of two children of that litter, with Kaleb being the other half, and were both removed from their mother after two days. Kaleb was the only one allowed to see their parents three times a day (during feeding times) while Gale was in intensive care for unknown reasons.
Andrew and Felicity attacked a new team of caretakers and escaped two weeks later. It is assumed that they wanted to recover their children but ended up running into the streets where they died of an unknown disease. Felicity passed away first and Andrew lived for a day and a half later, after we found him by his partner's side. Treatment was given to him but he died anyway. Both were cremated and the ashes were kept by Kyle Deliriotti (see Kyle Deliriotti for full bio).
Gale was finally deemed clear of any danger, a month later, and was cared by Kyle Deliriotti (preferred alias Kioril, reason unknown), and by Janet Lovegood (quickly replaced by Xiochitl J. Rána, after she retired due to stress), from there on out. Kioril took care of both Gale and Kaleb for a year and a half when both suddenly went missing. It is speculated, but not confirmed, that Kilril might have had something to do with both of the children's disappearance. All investigations regarding Gale's and Kaleb's disappearance were dropped in the summer of 2016.
Kaleb was returned to the facility three months later after he appeared in the hands of The Sisters of St. Jude's orphanage, while Gale's whereabouts were unknown until a few weeks ago where it is believed that she was located. Figure A. shows who we believe to be Gale Wilmington walking by a high school with another girl (see Dianah Willis for full bio). No attempts to recapture Gale have been made as she is almost an adult but if Preparation ElopeV3 does not go as planned then that might change.
-END-
I stared at the text on the screen for a few seconds before Dianah put her arms around me.
"Sarah. I'm so sorry." She said.
"Gale... My name is... Gale... Gale... Wilmingson..." I muttered.
"Sarah, listen to me." She began. "You are Sarah Cera, okay. Say you are adopted, who cares, and if you were broken out of whatever facility you were in then who cares."
"I care, Dianah. I care." I replied. "I need a moment."
I walked out and headed into the girl's bathroom and made sure that nobody was there. I sat on the stool and lifted my feet until I sat there with my knees touching my chin. I stared at the stool door and thought about what I read and began to sob before I started to fully cry.
I read the text again and again and thought about my parents, my real parents. I never met them and I never will. Why would mom and dad hide this from me? I have met a few students that were adopted and they knew. Their parents had told them when there were younger.
What would I say to my adoptive parents? Should I even say anything? How should I react around them if I do?
I sniffed loudly and just sat there before crying again.
"Sarah?" Dianah asked as she slowly opened the girl's bathroom door.
"Gale... My name is... Gale." I let out and cried out loudly.
"Sarah… Sarah listen to me." She said and stood by the stool I was in. "I... I dreamt this. I remember that I was talking to you in here."
"What?" I asked her and sniffed.
"Last week... I fell asleep in math, big surprise I know, but I dreamt that I walked in here and you were crying and I...well I don't remember what I said, but I remember telling you that I will help you if you wanted to find that facility and who you really are."
"Would you do that?" I ask.
"Yes. Yes I would, Sarah. Because you're my best friend and I want you to be happy." She replied.
I lowered my feet and stood up then walked out of the stool and hugged her and cried...and so did she...and I was grateful to have her. The one thing I was still sure of in my life.
We both wiped our tears and walked out and back into the library, about five minutes later where the entire class was lined up and ready to check their books out. Dianah and I chuckled and took our spots behind the desk and helped them out.
-0-
I called my... mom so she wouldn't come pick me up and instead rode with Dianah's mom as she dropped us off at the mall where we shared the world's largest Banana Split.
We talked about stupid stuff but always ended up talking about my situation. We bought some new clothes and some pizza pretzels. I also bought some churros, nachos and a large horchata.
Dianah stared at me open mouth as I wolfed it down.
"Hey don't give me that. I just found out that I'm adopted, remember?" I said.
"When you're like 35 or something, your stomach is just going to burst open because you eat so much. You should eat a salad." She suggested.
"Salad, my butt." I said. "Plus I'm a cat remember? Our digestive systems run on overdrive!"
"Yeah, yeah. You're a feline and I'm able to dream...great trade off." She said.
"My parents were also cats." I said.
"No, you're parents consist of a Mexican man-child and a ginger woman." She replied.
"My real parents." I said.
"Your real parents are the ones who raised you. Plus how would you be if you would have been with your quote unquote real parents?" She asked and took some of my horchata. "You read the file; they were cats...just some elder couple's pets. You would have been their pets too. You would be living your life just like Alex."
"Alex has a great life." I replied.
"Yeah but that's only because mom spoils him. That fur ball eats more than I do." She continued. "All he does is eat, sleep and crap on his stupid litter box, which I end up having to clean up."
I laughed. "Sounds like a great life. I should go live with you guys."
"Sure, come on. We'll get you a mat on the floor and your own extra-large litter box, don't think imma be cleaning that though."
We both laughed loudly and finished the large amount of food in front of me.
It finally came time for me to head home so Mrs. Willis gave me a ride home. I said goodnight to Dianah and her mother and walked to the door and sighed heavily. I reached for the door knob and was surprise when it turned and opened by itself.
"Where have you been missy?" My mother asked as I stood outside. "Your father and I were worried sick about you!"
My father walked by the kitchen eating some ice cream and not looking worried at all.
"Weren't we worried, Carlos?" She asked.
"Huh? Oh yeah, sure, really worried. Don't do it again." He said.
I chuckled and silently thanked dad for the comical relief.
"Carlos, you could be more supportive, you know!" My mother snapped.
"Hey, she called twice, she made it home before curfew, she was with who she said she was, she's not drunk or pregnant. Are you?" He said.
I laughed out and shook my head.
"There you go. I've no real problem with it. I know you were worried, Lizzy, but I'm sure that she'll tell us if she's going somewhere. She has before and I trust her completely. Unlike Lisa and Lana who sprayed ketchup and mustard all over the walls."
"Hey you helped!" Lana replied.
"Ap-ap-ap-ap-ap! Bed time, muchachita.
"But it's Thursday and Mrs. Sanchez isn't going to be there tomorrow so there won't be class." Lana replied.
"That's right... So what are you doing here? Let's continue watching the movie." My dad said and bumped Lana with his hip.
"He has a point...don't tell him I said that." My mother said. "Get in. Just... Make sure to talk to me when you change plans and don't just leave a message, okay." She said.
"You got it...mom." I said and smiled then hugged her.
I walked over where my dad was sitting on the couch with both Lisa and Lana on his lap. He was covering both their eyes as the montage scene from Dawn of the Dead was playing. It was the explicit version so it showed the woman in lingerie having sex with that other guy. It was just there for a second or two but my brother didn't let the two girls watch. He also wouldn't let Leo watch but he only had two hands.
"Wanna watch?" My mom asked as she sat on the couch and folded her legs onto the sofa.
"Sure." I said and sat on the end of the sofa with Leo sitting on the floor in front of me. I wasn't too big on horror movies. I remember my father watching them and I would want to be with him so I would watch them too and would have to sleep with someone that night because I got scared and just a little squeamish. I especially hated when they cut or hurt someone's eyes, so I stuck to action and all that.
I thought about that whole me being adopted thing as we watched the movie and I didn't really mind it. I mean it's obvious, if you think about it; my physical traits are different than my families, I am half cat and they aren't, I can remember things from when I was younger that nobody else can. In fact: my father forgets what he says ten minutes after he says it. It was just how life was, and I didn't mind as they were still my family.
-0-
A week passed and tried to not think about it. But the truth was that it was eating me on the inside. Even now, while standing in the shower and staring down at my feet as water ran through my body. It's easy to think while taking a shower: there isn't anything to distract you or to remind you of anything.
Someone knocked on the door and I jerked my head towards it. Someone said something but I couldn't hear it over the water so I let my cat ears extend.
"What?" I asked.
"Chika! Can we talk to you when you get out?" My father asked. "Just meet us at the kitchen table, it's kind of important."
My heart skipped a beat but I managed an okay.
He walked away and I stood in the shower a little longer before thinking about rinsing the shampoo. I heard my parents talking about something downstairs but it was muffled and I couldn't make it out. I realized that my cat ears were still out and I caressed them with my right hand. I let my tail extend and I waved it around slightly.
It's a weird feeling, moving your tail. It comes natural to me now but it's still an odd feeling, when I think about it. My ears pretty much stay where they are, on top of my head, and move when someone makes a loud noise. But my tail is still odd, kind of like being able to move your hair or fingernail. I felt my tail between my hands and pulled on it lightly and felt it tug on my lower back.
"Pain..." I thought. "That means that it's a part of me." I squeezed my tail slightly then let it go and curled on the edge of the tub with the water falling on me and began to cry.
It was about 10 more minutes before I wiped my tears and walked out, slipped slightly and changed into my pj's and walked out of the bathroom and down the stairs and passed the living room where my brother was playing a video game. I headed into the kitchen, where both my parents were already sitting down and hushed each other as I walked closer.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Were you crying?" My mother asked.
"No." I lied.
"We have to talk." My father said.
"You're not in trouble or anything." My mother added.
"I think I know what it's about." I said and felt my heart sink. "Can I just ask a question?"
"Sure." My father replied.
"Who's Kyle Delitiorri?" I asked.
"Oh, he's the guy who... He's the... I don't know who that is." My father asked.
"You guys might know him as Kioril?" I added.
Both my parents' faces went pale white, more noticeable on my father as his caramel complexion faded fast while my mother just seemed shocked.
"K-Kioril?" My mother began. "Where did you hear that?"
"I read it... On a file at school... My file... My... Darkstalkers file." I replied and felt my heart stop when my father buried his face into his hands.
"I guess it is time to have that talk, Sarah." He said. He hasn't called me by my name in years... Except for when I'm in trouble or he was yelling for me. But he hasn't ever used my name in regular conversation.
"Mom... Dad..." I began. "Am I adopted?" I asked and secretly crossed my fingers. A useless gesture, I know, but I had to do something.
My parents both sighed deeply then looked at me.
"Yes... Sarah yes you are." My father said, his voice breaking slightly.
I heard a gasp and turned to see both Lisa and Lana overhearing by the entrance of the kitchen. Both girls quickly moved back and hid behind the door frame.
"Lisa, Lana, Leo... Get in here... Why did we name all three of with names that start with L, anyway?" My father asked.
"I was not about to call Leo, Sancho." My mother said.
Lisa and Lana popped out of their hiding place and walked into the kitchen. Leo took a little longer as he had to pause his game. We all sat around the table about five minutes later.
"Guys... It's time we told you... Sarah is adopted." My father said.
Lana, Lisa, and Leo all looked at me. I gave a weak smile back at them. I wasn't crying. I already did. I wanted to know the story.
"Can you tell me the story? My file wasn't all that clear." I said.
My father sighed deeply and reached out to hold my mother's hand. She took it and squeezed lightly.
"It all started 16 years ago. It was August... Right?" My father asked my mother.
"Late August, early September." My mother replied.
"Yeah... No I'm stupid. It was October 3rd. I remember because we were going to take her to CPS on the 5th." My father said.
"CPS?" I asked.
"Child Protection Services. Here's the story..." My father began. "It was a normal Saturday and you mother was working in her newsstand.
"I did have a newsstand... I forgot all about that!" My mother said.
"I went out and... Hold on..." He said and stood up then walked into the living room and pulled down the United States quarters poster. He pointed at Arizona as well as a Mount Rushmore quarter glued on the side. "You mother sold me a copy of the newspaper and an anime magazine and gave me these two quarters as change."
"I remember that!" My mother said. "An old man paid with those and I knew that you needed those two so I held them for you." My mother said.
"Yeah... All I need is Illinois and Washington D.C. Anyway... I went to buy some breakfast and it began to rain when I headed back and I passed by an alley where a cat-eared baby was crying." My father looked at me. "Sound like anyone you know?"
I nodded slowly.
"That baby would soon be called Sarah, after your mother's late sister." He said and smiled weakly at me. "I took her back to your mother who helped me settle her in."
"Wow... So you and mom were that close back then?" Leo asked.
"No... I was actually getting married to another woman." My father said.
"Wow dad! How many girls have you been with? A million?" Leo asked.
"Son, I've been with them all..." My father joked then flinched when my mother glared at him. "But I gave them all up for your mother." He added quickly and kissed her apologetically."
"Who was she?" Lana asked.
"Shannon Keri..." My mother growled.
"Yeah. But we broke it off soon after...anyway! Your mother and I contemplated on leaving baby Sarah in the care of CPS. I mean I was 25 and your mother was 24. Neither of us had children or knew the first thing about them. We were headed to the CPS building when we purposely got distracted by a yard sale."
"Yard sale?" I asked.
"Yeah... Well it was a moving sell. We talked to the couple there until we had to go back to my place for some reason."
"Xena." My mother informed him.
"Oh yeah! We bought the box set for Xena Warrior Princess." My father said.
"Who's Xena Warrior Princess?" Leo asked.
"That is a story for some other time, Leo." My father said. "Anyway... We ended up keeping Sarah for another day, then another week, then another, then a month then a year. And before we knew it. She began to speak and call me Dad and your mother Mom, she called your uncle a cabron."
I chuckled as Leo, Lana and Lisa laughed out loud.
"Uncle, Roberto? I did not!" I protested.
My mother chuckled. "Yeah, you did. He laughed it off though. That's why she calls you... Ama... Amla... What does he call her?"
"Alma de Dios." My father said.
"God's soul." I said.
"Now you could see the irony. Anyway... How many times have I said 'anyway' anyway? Anyway, we had already decided to keep her."
"Why did you keep me?" I asked.
"Well you see... My dog had just run away and my bird just got eaten by some alley cat so I needed another pet." My father began.
My mother smacked him in the arm. "Stop that, can't you see she's being serious? No honey. We kept you because we loved you and your father had asked me to marry him in February and it just felt right with the three of us."
"We got used to you being around and loved you as our real daughter. And you just grew up and up and it became harder and harder to tell you. We were going to tell you eventually but we never really saw a good time. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I guess I kind of already knew." I said. "I mean I'm not a ginger or Mexican. I'm half cat." I let my cat ears and tail extend.
"You, Sarah, don't have to be anything other than what you are." My father said.
"What am I?" I asked; honestly curious.
"You're Sarah Cera. Carlos and Elizabeth Cera's daughter...our daughter...and nothing will ever change that. Do you know why?" My father asked.
I shook my head.
"Because we love you. I love you. Your mother loves you. These mixed race freaks love you." He said and gestured at Leo, Lisa and Lana.
My three younger siblings nodded happily.
"We all love you, sweetie." My mother said. "And nothing will ever change that."
I began to sob lightly.
"Get your ass over here, Chika." My father said and stood up to walk closer to me.
I stood up and ran into his arms and cried. He held me and stroked my hair with one hand and patted my back with the other while making soothing noises.
"Llora, m'ija, llora, it's okay. Daddy's here." He said.
I nodded quickly and let my tears fall into his shirt. I move my tail to caress his hand and it slowly wrapped around his arm, almost if by instinct. I didn't stop it. I just let my tail wrap around my father's arm as my mother came over and hugged me from behind. Leo, Lisa, and Lana came over and joined in.
"Thank you." I sobbed. "Thank you for being there for me."
"You got it, Chika." My father said. "We will always be here for you. That's what family does. Funny thing is that we were just going to ask you to not hang out with your friend tomorrow and go with your mother to her eye doctor so she doesn't have to drive with blurry vision."
I laughed out loud and pulled him closer to me. "You got it...dad."
-0-
A month passed and I lay on the edge of Dianah's bed as we watched a movie. I had told her that I was adopted and she didn't make a big deal out of it. That detail would surface once in a while but it wasn't anything that changed our friendship. I played with Alex, their family cat, while Dianah was more interested in the current issue of Cosmopolitan magazine.
"'How to make a guy have an orgasm they won't forget'" Dianah read.
"Ew! Why do you read that stuff? You don't even have a boyfriend." I said.
"No, but I'll be prepared when I do." She said.
"You've turned down the last three guys that have asked you out. I think there's something that you're not telling me." I said and put a chocolate covered strawberry in my mouth and threw Alex up in the air slightly. I've done it to him so much that he doesn't even flinch or scratch me anymore.
"Like what?" She asked.
"Like why would you want to spend all your time with me, a girl, instead of...I don't know, Marcus Drood." I said.
"Marcus Drood? He doesn't like me." She said.
"So why did he ask me for your number yesterday?" I replied.
"Oh my God! Did he? Details!"
Someone knocked on the bedroom door and Dianah quickly hid the Cosmopolitan magazine under her bed. Mrs. Willis walked in with a smile for one and all.
"Sarah, your mom is here to pick you up." She said.
"Thanks Mrs. Willis." I said and smiled back at her.
She gestured and closed the door. I got on my knees and stretched, a lot like a cat would. It was involuntarily and I normally only did it in the company of people I knew, but it felt right.
"Let's go Ms. Kitty." Dianah said.
"Meow!" I said and rolled of the bed and raced Dianah out the door. We both got there at the same time and we both fought for the knob so I extended my nails into claws and hissed at her. She flinched and I opened the door while laughing and shifted my claws back to nails.
"No fair!" Dianah said.
"You should have seen that coming." I replied and ran down the stairs.
"Shut up." She said and grabbed my hand.
I stopped immediately as Dianah's younger sister walked out from around the corner with her goldfish in a fish bowl. If Dianah wouldn't not have stopped me, then I would have run right into her and probably both be hurt.
"I saw that..." Dianah said.
I stuck my tongue out to her and let Ana, Dianah's kid sister, walk passed us as she headed for her room.
We walked into the living room where my mother sat in the couch and sipped some tea with Mrs. Willis and talked about yoga.
"Hi, mom." I said and walked over.
"Ready to go, Sarah?" She asked.
"Sure. Goodnight, Dianah." I said and hugged her.
"Goodnight! Text me later and tell me about the Drood situation." She said.
"Maybe." I said and followed my mother out.
We got into the minivan and drove off.
"Mom, can I ask you something?" I asked.
"Sure." She replied.
"What attracted you to dad?"
My mother chuckled and inclined her head. "He was always confident. When I first met him, and don't tell him this, he was with another woman. She was a control freak and he would do stuff just to make her mad. I was 22 and barely started working in the newsstand that was outside of his apartment building. I saw him and her walking out: going out somewhere. Your father passed by and smiled at me; it was a smile that meant little more than 'hi' but it was nice. Everyone else only saw me as the newsstand girl and nothing else. He turned back and bought an anime magazine just because he knew that the woman he was with would get annoyed. He paid me and walked off. I was gone when he came back but he would come down to talk to me most mornings, saying that he was only there to buy a newspaper and/or another anime magazine. He would always make that excuse to come down and talk to me; even for a few minutes. Sometimes twice a day."
"That is so cute!" I said.
"Yeah it is. He even began to come down to see if I had quarters he didn't, to fill that map. I traded him when I did and apologized when I didn't but he would always talk to me. He always liked to talk, which one thing I liked about him and now I can't get him to shut up half the time. I know for a fact that he started collecting those quarters after we met. Whether he started it to talk to me or if he collected them and just talked to me as a bonus, I don't know. He won't tell me either, he did say that he will tell me if I help him finish it."
"Cute! How close is he to finishing it?"
"He just needs Washington D.C. and Illinois"
"We need to find those quarter."
"Look in my purse." She said.
I turned the light on and opened her purse and looked through the coin compartment and found a single quarter. It had the words District of Columbia on the top.
"You found one?" I asked.
"Yup, bought a cup of coffee on the way here and got it as change." She said and smiled at me.
"That is so cool!" I said and looked at the quarter.
My mother stopped the van as fast as she could so I instinctively shifted my fingernails into claws and dug into the seat.
"What?" I asked.
"I saw somebody. I don't think I hit him." She said and looked around.
I looked but I couldn't see anything other than the night and the headlight beams. I looked around but still nothing. Most of the street lights were on but the moon wasn't out so it was still fairly dark.
"Imma check it out." My mother said and unbuckled then walked out. There wasn't any traffic, there never was at night.
I looked at her as she walked over to the front of the bumper and quickly put her hands over her mouth.
I gasped and unbuckled then put the quarter on the cup holder and walked out as something jumped from the front of the van and tackled my mother to the floor.
"Mom!" I yelled and ran over to see a figure standing on top of her.
The figure jerker towards me and hissed loudly. The car's headlights illuminated the figure and I was able to see the reflexing in his eyes. The same cat eyes I get when I shift my vision over to cat form. I saw some cat like ears coming out of his head, but wasn't able to see what color they were. He was a cat-man; he was a Darkstalkers, like me.
I shifted my hand to extend my claws and hissed loudly back at him as my ears and tail came out. He flinched and I kicked him in the head. He rolled off my mom and I helped her up as he shook his head violently. I ran into the van and helped my mom in, who looked a little shocked, and closed her door then looked around but didn't see the figure. I looked around and made my way to my side of the van without seeing the figure then opened the door and quickly looked back as the figure now stood about half an inch away from my face. I stared at him in fright and he grabbed my arm and threw me back.
I rolled twice and quickly landed on all fours and stared at him. He snarled at me then jerked forward as my mother kicked the door open.
"Sarah, get in!" My mother yelled.
I ran forward and started to get in when the figure grabbed my leg. I kicked him with my other leg and he let go. My mother took off as fast as she dared and I looked back at the figure that stood up and began to run after us. He leaped once and fell on all fours and actually continued running. He was catching up as my mother gained speed.
"Go faster!" I yelled.
"I'm trying!" She replied and forced the pedal further.
She had to slow to make a turn, which gave the man cat enough time to catch up. He jumped and smashed through the back windshield and hit the middle seats. My mother turned wildly and made him hit the side door. I reached back to try and open the door, to make him fall out, but he just slashed at my hand.
I wasn't able to retreat my hand in time so blood flew out when I pulled it back.
"Sarah, are you okay?" My mother asked.
"Yeah." I said and gasped when he reached over the chairs and grabbed my hair and pulled.
I was forced onto the seat and exclaimed in pain. My mother tried swerving to make the guy let go but he just held on to my hair.
I reached over and lowered the seat quickly so his grip loosened. I rolled back and lifted my leg and kicked him in the head, it hurt to do that but I needed to do something so he would let go.
He dropped back into the seat then jumped forward at me. I ducked enough so he would hit the dashboard; I then rolled back until I sat on the back seat. He landed on my seat and I punched him once. I was doing all this on instinct, but I didn't know if it was the human's or the cat's.
He grunted then punched me once, which made me sit back down on the back seat as my dizziness disappeared in time to see him reach for me. My hand slashed forward by instinct and I was able to cut him.
He grunted then rolled backwards and wrapped his feet around my midsection as my mother turned the car quickly and made him knock his head on the glass, but it didn't break. He was a lot more nibble than I was which meant that I would have to outsmart him.
I opened the door when I felt his grip loosen and he fell out of the car. I then sighed and began to close the door but it wouldn't budge. I looked at it and saw the guy that had dug his claws into the door and held on. He reached up and grabbed my hair again then let go of his grip on the door and fell out as he dragged me with him.
We both hit the road pretty hard and rolled several times, regardless of what I did to try and stop it.
I gasped for air when we finally stopped and I heard my mother's van wheels screech as my mother tried stopping.
I began to stand up and was forced down by the guy who had his car foot on my back. My mother had now turned around and drove back towards us. The guy let go of my back and I forced myself up then groaned loudly as he dropped his foot on my head, making me hit the pavement.
The world span for a while as the guy threw me over his shoulder and ran off into the night and into the very light traffic. A cop had seen the guy as he carried me off and turned his cop car around and blared his siren.
The guy flinched, as if he didn't really know what to do, and ran faster.
The cop car approached us and I silently cheered him on as my head began to level. I saw a man in front of us crack his knuckles and stepped aside and into the street in front of the oncoming cop car that screeched as his tires locked in an attempt to stop. The man thruster his hand forward as the cop car reached him. And to my surprise, the cop car actually jerked to a stop and tilted up about a foot in the air and fell back down. I thought I was just seeing things until I saw the officer, who still sat in the driver's seat but bleeding from his forehead. He sat in his car, dazed and confused, as my vision focused and I blinked several times then pulled my foot back and kicked the cat guy in the stomach as hard as I could.
He folded over and loosed his grip on me so I hit the floor on my ass and stood up but lost my balance and fell over on all fours.
The cat guy stood up but hunched as he held himself as he walked towards me. I forced myself up and ran at him as steadily as I could. He flinched and didn't react as I knocked him to the floor and bit his shoulder blade as hard as I could, with my extended fangs.
He howled and hissed and tried to push me off but I held on with all the strength I could master. I shifted my fingernails into claws and dug them into the cat guy's side.
He yelled out hit me in the back twice with his fist but I refused to let to.
"Cecil ramb! Kad ran uvv sa!" He yelled out and I felt something grab my waist and squeeze tightly.
I gasped in pain as the other man, who had stopped the cop car, crushed my midsection. I yelled loudly and let go of the cat guy's shoulder and he quickly shoved my arms aside which made me release my claws from within him.
The man bear hugged me as he dragged me into an alley and out of view as I felt my midsection being crushed.
I groaned loudly as they I coughed up blood.
"Cecil, cdub ed, oui'na gemmehk ran!" The cat guy said.
"Cunno, Kaleb" The bigger man said and let me go. I hit the floor on my side and gasped in pain but didn't dare move, in case something was broken.
I looked up to the cat man who looked at me. His face covered by the darkness of the alley by I could see kindness in his eyes. He gave me a weak smile and wiped some booed from under my lip.
I was too weak to protest so I turned my head away from him, in time to see a van drive by quickly and muttered the word "mom..." Before I blacked out.
