This chapter is dedicated to VICTORIOUSRULEZ for inspiring me with Cat Valentine: Reborn
Our Lives, Victorious
Chapter Nine: Cat's Calling
Victorious
Thursday. December 8th, 2011. 8:45 A.M.
Outside Hollywood Arts, the sky was painted over gray. Dark clouds swarmed over the sun, shadowing over the earth. The air was cool and barren.
"Hey, have you talked to Cat lately?" Tori asked.
"No, I haven't seen her since Friday," Andre' answered. "I wonder what she's up to."
"Tori!" Trina called as she ran down the stairs and towards her sister's locker. "Tori, have you seen my sheet music?"
"No," Tori quickly answered. "And we were in the middle of a conversation."
Suddenly, the doors to the school gently slid open, letting in some light. Students casually glanced back at the girl who entered, then found they couldn't look away. The sight was so unusual, so unexpected, so shocking on so many levels. She displayed it modestly, like there was nothing abnormal about it. Some people laughed, others told stupid jokes, but many seemed amazed and stunned.
"So I was...whoa," Tori exclaimed, taken back.
"Hey, guys," Cat greeted her friends, flipping her long, red velvet hair behind her right ear, wearing a smile on her face. "What's up?"
No one replied, their jaws dropped somewhat. Walking closer to the three, Cat waved her hand in front of their eyes. "Hello?" she sweetly said, trying to snap them out of their trances. "Hello-oh."
"C-Cat..." Andre' finally managed to say. "What happened to your hair?"
"Do you like it?" the red-haired girl sweetly replied, fluffing her hair in the back. "I did it this morning."
"Why?" Trina responded, her voice expressing how weird she thought Cat's decision was.
"Trina," Tori scolded her sister. "It looks cool, Cat. Really creative."
"Thanks," Catarina said, obviously touched. "I did it for self-expression. I've always loved red velvet."
"You did a good job," Katrina replied, trying to sound supportive as she looked over the girl's hair. "Has your mom seen it yet?"
"No," Cat innocently answered. "I'm gonna surprise her after I get home from school. Hey, I need to come in early for Mr. Sikowitz's class. See yuh."
Later that day, Jade was throwing some books into her locker. Following the argument she'd had with Mrs. January the previous Friday, the girl had been stuck in in-school suspension. "Stupid witch," Jade snarled to herself.
"Hey, Jade!" Cat excitedly greeted her best friend.
"Hey, Ca..." Jade began, only to freeze when she saw the girl's new hair color. "W-what did you..."
"I dyed my hair," Cat answered. "Do you like it?"
"...If you like it, I think it's awesome," Jade happily answered. The dark-haired girl then embraced Cat with a warm hug.
"Thanks!" Cat shrieked. "You want me to do yours?"
"Um, I like my natural color," Jade replied, wanting to spare her friend's feelings. "Thanks, though." Dodged a bullet on that one, the girl thought with a sigh of relief.
"I'm gonna show my mom when I get home," Cat continued. "You wanna be there for it?"
"She didn't know about this?" Jade replied, growing concerned for her friend.
"No," Cat answered, her eyes becoming beady, her tone growing sad and hurt. "Why?"
"This might be kind of a shock to her," Jade explained.
"Oh, so you don't really like my hair?" Cat snapped, tears welling up in her eyes. "Then why'd you say you did?"
"Cat, I do," Jade replied, desperate to make her friend feel better. "I just don't know how your mom's gonna take it." Cat sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Come here." Jade wrapped her arms around her friend. "Will it make you feel better if I let you work on my hair?"
"You mean it?" Cat asked, her voice somewhat muffled in Jade's shoulder.
"Yeah," Jade replied, accepting her defeat. "But only in streaks."
"Yay!" the red-haired girl yelped. "Come on, let's do it now." Cat pulled her friend into the bathroom, and began working on her hair.
Later that day, Jade walked down the hallway, proudly bearing her black hair, which now had streaks of bubble-gum pink on her left bang and blue on her right. Wearing her usual scowl, the girl marched towards the exit. Several people stared, but Jade merely flipped her hair in spite of them.
"Jade?" Katrina asked, seeing the girl's colored hair.
"Like it?" Jade asked, her voice confident. "Cat's a master with hair." With that, the Gothic-influenced teenager kept walking.
Meanwhile, Tori and Cat were by the redhead's locker. "You ready to tell your mom?" Tori asked.
"It's not a big deal," Catarina gently answered. "She'll be cool with it. You know...I could do your hair too."
"Um, no, thanks, Cat," Tori politely replied. "I like this color."
"Jade let me do hers," Cat pleaded, not unlike a little kid.
"Maybe some other time," Tori replied, desperately hoping that would work.
"Well, okay," Cat accepted. "See you tomorrow."
"Later, Cat," the brunette said, a slight giggle to her voice.
With that, the girl threw her back pack over her shoulder, and walked out the door, headed for home. Several students snickered amongst themselves as the girl walked by: "Nice hair," they'd mockingly say. "Look at that stupid bimbo," one of the older girls snarled to her friends. "Could she look any dumber?" asked a girl with half her hair shaved off.
Unlike earlier, the air was warm and calm, and the sun was starting to come out. Cat started whistling "Sunshine", the song her and her mother used to sing every night when she was a child. I hope Mommy likes my hair, she thought, feeling the breeze on her neck.
By the time she reached her home, Catarina noticed the clouds were thickening again. Oh, poo, she thought. Oh well. At least now I won't get sunburn. "Mommy, I'm home!" the girl called, her voice happy and innocent as ever. Cat opened the door, and walked inside.
"Hi, Kitty..." Cat's mom began, only to stop dead in her tracks, and dropped her jaw. "What...on Earth?"
"Do you like it?" Cat innocently asked, dying to win her mother's approval. "I worked really hard on it."
"Catarina Valentine," Danielle snarled, furious at her daughter. "I do not approve of this kind of behavior. Am I that horrible of a mother that you have to act out like this? How dare you?"
Feeling an agonizing lump swell up in her throat, and hot tears form in her eyes, Cat attempted to defend herself; "But," she squeaked, barely able to speak. "But I..."
"No excuses," the woman ordered. "Go to your room!" Crying and letting out high-pitched squeaks, the teenager covered her eyes and ran up the stairs.
It was so devastating. How could her mom be so mad at her? How could she hate this? It was an act of expression. Besides, her hair was red velvet; the color of their special desert. I'm sorry, Mommy, Cat cried in her mind, her face pressed into her pillow; staining it with tears. I didn't mean to hurt you. Oh, I hate myself. Feeling her heart sink inside her, the girl curled up on her bed, buried under an ocean of sheets, and rolled the pillow tightly around her face. I feel so horrible. I was wrong to have ever done this.
After many agonizing hours, night fell over Los Angeles. The stars shined on the surface of the ocean, and the tears shined on Cat's red cheeks. Finally, the girl managed to slip into dreams; she was laying under a mushroom in an area that looked like the beach, trying hide her tears from the others. She was so ashamed of herself, so upset with everything she'd done. "Kitty," a familiar, calm voice said. "Kitty Cat." Suddenly, Cat woke up, and saw her mom standing by her bed.
"Hi, Mom," the red-haired girl greeted, still groggy.
"Hi," Danielle replied, sitting down beside her daughter. "Can we talk?"
"Sure," Cat answered. "...Unless you want to yell at me more."
"No, honey," Danielle replied, putting her arm around Cat. "I came to say I'm sorry...I had no right to yell at you like that. You didn't mean to upset me."
"That's okay," Cat replied. "I'll dye it back right now." The teenager got up, and started to head for the bathroom.
"No, Cat," Danielle said, gently grabbing her daughter's arm. "You worked hard on your hair, and you should be proud of it."
"Then why'd you get mad about it?" the girl asked, growing confused.
"Because...I was afraid," Danielle began.
"Afraid of what?" Cat asked, her eyes becoming compassionate.
"Afraid of what other people would think of you," Cat's mother answered. "People don't tend to see girls with red hair as normal. But it shouldn't matter what other people think. You're beautiful, and anyone who can't see that is at a huge loss."
"Thanks, Mommy," Cat happily replied, giving her mom a big hug. "It's really fun expressing myself. You know, I chose red velvet because of our special desert."
"I had a feeling," Danielle said, her voice warm. "That's one of the things I couldn't see at first...You're an amazing girl, Catarina."
"So are you, Mommy," Cat replied, her eyes closed. "...Can I share another idea with you?"
"Sure thing, angel," Danielle permitted. "Anything for you."
"Some people at school were teasing me about my hair," Cat said, her voice mellow. "I think they think I'm stupid."
"Honey, don't let other people bother you," Cat's mother comforted her.
"I'd really like to prove them wrong, though," the girl replied. "I think I have an idea..."
Friday. December 9th
Walking with her usual confidence, the red-haired girl entered the principal's office. "Excuse me," Cat said. "I heard the drama department needed an idea for a new project."
"Yes," the man answered. "Do you have an idea?"
"Well, yes," Cat replied. "Could I maybe do something kind of...unusual, though?"
Later that day, the entire school met in the auditorium. No one knew why they were called together.
"What do you think this is?" Andre' asked, turning to Tori.
"No idea," Tori humbly answered. "Hey, where's Cat?"
"Haven't seen her," Katrina answered.
"Excuse me," announced the school's ballet instructor, Ms. Fine. "Presenting, in her debut as a director, Catarina Valentine's "Moonlight Dreams."
As the room filled with casual applause, Tori, Andre', Robbie and Rex, and Trina exchanged confused glances at one another. Suddenly, the large red curtains parted on the stage, revealing two sets of female ballerinas clad in red velvet-colored tutus, and standing in horizontal rows of five. Behind them was a long strip of rice paper made to resemble a crimson and orange sun set. The girls all had their heads down, and their left arms curved into the air gracefully. Cat walked to center stage, clad in a long pink dress that gently stroked across the floor. Raising her hands, the girl instructed her dancers to begin their routine; they pulled apart, forming a circle. Extending their arms until their arms met in the center, the girls pulled themselves back, their heads dropping behind them. Shooting their arms back behind their heads, the ballerinas began spinning, forming a figure eight, then separated their legs, coming down in splits.
"La...la..." Cat gently vocalized. Responding to that, the dancers rose to their feet, and joined hands, their eyes closed. Gently putting their right arms outward, the girl gently dropped down their hands down, their left arms raising up behind them. Shooting their heads down to the left, the girls lifted their right hands into the air, then quickly brought them down as they pulled up their left arms. A new background sheet dropped down, showing a black and blue-hued night scape, and blue lights weakly shined down on the stage. With that, the girls froze in place, staring down at the floor.
Once the curtains closed, the auditorium roared with applause, with standing ovations from Tori, Andre' Jade, Katrina, and Robbie. Cat took a bow, feeling the shock she'd caused in the doubting public's minds. She was established; proven. It felt amazing, not that she needed it; she knew how special she was.
"Way to go, Cat!" Tori and Jade found themselves shouting harmonically. The two then looked at one another, then looked away.
"Wow," Andre' whispered, taken back.
Katrina just kept silent, clapping along with the others.
"More!" Rex screamed. "More!"
"Thank you," Cat yelled out, her red hair shining over her eyes as she took another bow. Thanks, Mommy.
