Chapter twenty-nine: saving a friend

The bell of Four Meadows rang announcing the end of classes and the hallways were quickly packed with students getting ready to go home. Derek came out of a classroom with a wide smile on his face followed by Victoria who had a totally opposite expression.

"How did you do on your test, sis?" he inquired innocently.

She turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. "You have to ask?"

"You don't learn if you don't ask." her brother commented.

"Well, learn this: it's none of your business." Victoria replied.

"Don't get mad, I just wanted to know if your self-study session turned out effective." he said trying to calm her down.

The little Felinid folded her arms and looked away. "If you want to know so badly then no; it didn't work."

"Does it mean that you'll let me help you next time?" Derek asked her.

Victoria pouted and frowned, it wasn't that she didn't want him to help her study history (the subject she hated the most); in fact she considered it very kind of him but knowing her brother he probably had way much more knowledge than all of her books together or even more information than the professor Harper. The thought of spending hours hearing him talk to his heart's content was not very comforting.

While they were walking in the hallway they saw Rose chatting with a red-haired Felinid. When their sister saw them she said good-bye to her best friend and joined them. "Good afternoon dearest brother and sister, how did you do on your test?"

Victoria rolled her eyes and sighed; Derek covered his mouth to contain his laughter and whispered: "Don't ask."

The light brown-haired little one looked at Rose's friend. "It seems that Diana is still worried, she hasn't found her pet, has she?"

Her sister sighed. "No, not yet. It grieves me to see her like that; I've tried to cheer her up but she's awfully upset."

Derek arched an eyebrow. "She shouldn't have brought it for show and tell, let alone take it out to the garden."

"She didn't think it was going to run away." Rose replied.

"Sorry to tell you this but she hasn't got a chance of finding her pet." he mentioned. "That specie is very skilled finding places to hide, especially when…"

"You're not helping, Derek." Victoria intervened when she saw that Rose was starting to feel really sad for her friend.

The little Canid felt ashamed and stopped talking about it.

When they reached the main entrance they spotted Katherine, who was in a corner looking toward another hallway. Victoria called her but she didn't hear her so she approached her to get her attention. "Katherine, what are you doing?"

Her sister was startled; she turned around and put her hands behind her back. "Nothing, I'm not doing anything!"

Victoria looked at her suspicious. "Oh really, then why are you hiding?"

The dark brown-haired little one avoided making eye contact. "W-what are you talking about? I'm not hiding; I was just waiting for you, and look at the time we're running late, we better leave now or we're not going to…"

"Wait a minute, what were you looking at with so much interest?" her sister took a look around the corner and smiled widely. "Oooh, I see."

In the other hallway near the lockers was Edwin taking some books and putting them in his backpack. Derek and Rose got close to look but Victoria made a gesture with her hand to keep them behind her. They looked at each other and when the exchange student left, Victoria put her arm on Katherine's shoulders. "You should try to talk to him, who knows? You might become… good friends."

"Who?" Derek and Rose said at the same time.

"Edwin, the new kid, remember him?" Victoria answered.

The little Canid arched an eyebrow. "Good luck with that, I've tried to talk to him but he always walks away in a hurry and no one knows were he goes during the recess."

"You're not the only one," Rose mentioned. "my friends attend a class with him and they say he doesn't speak with anyone. Maybe that's why everyone is curious about him."

"Unfortunately, I think is the other way around; no one speaks with him because they're scared." her brother commented.

Katherine looked at him confused. "Scared?"

"I'm afraid so because he… is… half Procyon." Derek explained.

"Half Procyon?" the light brown-haired little one exclaimed.

Rose turned her head toward her because she thought her tune was completely inappropriate. "Victoria, I'm surprised at you! That's no way of treating someone just because of his race."

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against him," she defended herself. "but that explains a lot of things. My teammates are always asking me questions about him; I thought he was just that interesting but now I know it's because I'm the only one who dares to talk to him."

The blonde-haired little one snorted in disapproval. "Shame on them, how can they do this to him if they don't even know him? It's outrageous!"

"You're right," Victoria agreed. "a good kid like him shouldn't be treated that way, not after all the efforts he's been making to adapt. It's unbelievable but in just two weeks he managed to learn our language, you can't notice his accent anymore. He's also a great swimmer; I really enjoy competing with him in our team's practice."

"Poor Edwin," Katherine said looking down. "Procyons are not precisely popular but he must be feeling like an outcast and it's not fair."

Derek folded his arms. "I know, it's a nasty business but whether we like it or not, that's the way it is. However, I feel sorry for him too, I wish I could do something to help him."

"Perhaps he won't think that everybody hates him if we invite him to come with us to Uncle Jim's party." Katherine suggested nonchalantly. All of a sudden, her brother and sisters stared at her and she frowned because she didn't like it when they did that. "Now what did I do wrong?"

"Nothing, that idea is most magnificent!" Rose acknowledged.

Victoria playfully nudged Katherine and spoke like singing. "First flowers and now a party; keep that up and before we know it we'll be hearing you-know-what bells."

"Knock it off already." her sister replied.

"A good idea in theory" the little Canid admitted. "but it's too late to put it into practice."

"What do you mean by that?" Victoria inquired baffled.

"Edwin's father comes personally to take him home and he's always punctual. They must have left while we were talking."

Rose and Victoria looked at each other and Katherine felt disappointed. Although it was a good idea it was also pointless. Since there was nothing they could do about it, they went to their lockers to get ready their backpacks and they headed for the exit afterwards.

"By the way, how did you do on your test?" Katherine wanted to know.

Derek began to laugh, Victoria rolled her eyes and her shoulders slumped. The dark brown-haired little one didn't understand what was so funny but none of them said another word while they were crossing the western garden to reach the parking lot. All of their classmates were already queuing up to get on the airbuses and they joined them to board the one that had the route of their mansion. There they found Steven; Derek's human friend. He was chubby, tall and with short hair. Since he was with them working in a project for the professor Rachelle, he started to discuss what they were going to do for next week. Everybody was listening carefully except Katherine, who just nodded once in a while and let her brother and sisters to participate actively in the conversation. She leaned her back against the airbus, folded her arms and looked around without focusing on anything in particular. She didn't mean to ignore Steven but she couldn't take Edwin out of her head. She was trying to think of a solution for the situation he had to endure in Four Meadows (though her imagination occasionally showed images of his golden mane and his piercing eyes). Steven didn't mind that she didn't say a word or seemed distracted but then he asked her something to know her opinion about what he just said.

"Katherine, say something!" Rose reproached her when she didn't answer immediately.

"Huh?" her sister said waking up from her trance. "Oh… yes, yes, I agree with you, Stephen."

"STEVEN!" Victoria corrected her severely.

"What's wrong with your sister?" the human whispered.

"She's lost in space" Derek responded annoyed. "as usual."

"I'm sorry Steven." Katherine apologized embarrassed.

Victoria put her hands on her hips. "I thought you had got rid of that irritating habit."

"I said I was sorry." her sister replied getting angry.

Steven felt that they were being a bit harsh. "Hey, chillax partners, it's not big deal. Sometimes everybody acts as if the cat got their…"

"DO NOT… finish that sentence," Katherine warned him. "cat jokes really get on my nerves."

Her reaction surprised Steven. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy Kitty Kathy; I wasn't trying to make fun of you but forgive me if I upset you in some way."

The dark brown-haired little one sighed. "It's nothing personal, Steven; it's just that I don't get why everybody thinks it's funny to compare Felinids to cats. Wouldn't you feel insulted if I compare humans to those you call monkeys?" Victoria and Rose thought their sister was right to a certain extent.

"Hmm… I think I get your point." he reasoned. "I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

"Never mind, I know you didn't do it on purpose." she reassured him.

Steven folded his arm and looked down frowning. "Come to think of it, it's a weird coincidence that cats are so similar to your race since they're not from your planet."

Victoria suddenly drew a fake smile and clenched her teeth. "Steveeeeen, careful what you saaaaay."

"Actually, it's not a coincidence; it has to do with an interesting theory that explains how life scatters across the universe." Derek commented with enthusiasm.

Victoria slapped her forehead, luckily for her they were about to get on the airbus so she could sit with her friends away from him. Since they were not talking about the project anymore, Katherine looked around to distract herself again; it was then that she noticed something was going on. Her classmates were looking in the same direction and were whispering as if they were afraid of being heard. She stood on her toes to look over the crowd and spotted a mister wearing an elegant outfit standing next to a limo ship. She thought there was nothing unusual about him that deserved such level of attention until she heard someone saying that he was a Procyon. She remained watching him carefully; for years she had been hearing nothing but bad things about that race, she didn't believe in rumors but everyone else certainly did. However, the real reason she couldn't stop looking at him was because he was probably Edwin's father.

The Procyon took out a gold watch from his pocket and checked the time. Katherine looked up toward the big clock in the old bell tower of Four Meadows; a lot of time had elapsed since the end of classes and if he was there it meant Edwin was still around.

"…given that they share the same unicellular ancestor, it's completely comprehensible that life-forms from different planets evolve in similar ways." Derek continued. "As one might expect, the theory has its pros and cons. The doctor Bertram, for example, states that these microorganisms would never survive the impact of the asteroid; therefore it's not a viable way for them to travel from one planet to another. On the other hand, the biologist Arthur Benedetti is convinced that…" suddenly he stopped in the stairs when he was getting on the airbus. "I'm sorry but where's Mr. Wallace?" On the seat where his friend the driver used to sit there was a wolf-like creature called Lupid. Other students found odd to see him there too.

"He called in sick, I'm his replacement." the stranger said.

"He was perfectly fine this morning." the little Canid replied.

"Now he's not," the new driver cut him short. "you're coming in or what?"

"Why aren't you wearing the regulation driver uniform?" Derek inquired feeling that something was wrong.

"Listen brat, I ain't got all day, get up, sit down and zip it." the Lupid ordered him.

"Hey, don't talk to my brother like that!" Rose defended him. "Professor Yolanda!"

A Cragorian woman (a rock-like creature) approached the door of the airbus. "What's the matter, Miss Doppler, why did the queue stop?"

"The driver is being rude to my brother." the blonde-haired little one answered.

The professor looked at him from top to bottom. "Who are you and where's Mr. Wallace?"

"Sick, apparently." Derek said skeptical.

The Cragorian began to interrogate the stranger but he wasn't paying much attention to her, he only was glaring at the children. Then, Victoria realized that Katherine wasn't behind her anymore. She started to look for her, after a few seconds she spotted her in front of the Procyon and she quickly went toward her.

"Victoria?" Rose said going after her sister.

The little Canid followed them; the Lupid was about to do the same but the professor stood in his way. "Not so fast, I want to see your driver's license or I'm calling security."

Victoria stopped beside Katherine, Rose and Derek caught them a moment later. Their classmates were amazed that the Dopplers had gathered courage to approach the Procyon but he looked friendly rather than a scary person.

"Sorry for the interruption, these are my siblings." Katherine introduced them.

"Jhadi vezda knava." Edwin's father said smiling.

Rose and Derek exchanged glances and only Victoria responded: "Good afternoon, sir."

"Aleksei van derr Castell." he introduced himself bowing his head. The children told him their names and shook his hand.

"I think Mr. van der Castell has a bit of trouble speaking our language," Katherine mentioned. "but he understands very well everything you say to him."

The Procyon approached the light brown-haired little one. "I haf seen face ven I luk forr Edvin, Captain Victorria, da?"

"That's me but just Victoria, please."

"Edvin speaks verry vell of you." the Procyon commented. "By ze vay, haf you seen son someverre?"

"We saw him in a hallway twenty minutes ago." she answered. "We thought he had left but he must be still busy with something."

"I see. Sorry Miss Kazerrine, vat vas zat about parrty?"

Unexpectedly, they started to hear screams coming from the garden. "NOOOOO, GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Everybody turned around scared.

"I know that voice!" Rose exclaimed running toward the garden.

"Rose, wait!" Victoria called her running after her; followed by her brother.

Katherine didn't know what to do, she didn't want to miss the opportunity to talk to Mr. van der Castell but she didn't want them to go by themselves either.

"Go vit siblinks." the Procyon told her with a smile. She smiled back, said good-bye and left.

The children found a crowd making a circle. Rose, who was first to get there, saw her friend Diana kneeling in the center covering her face with her hands and crying. The blonde-haired little one grabbed her arms and helped her to stand up. "What happened, Diana?" her friend tried to answer but she was sobbing too much to understand what she was saying. Rose hugged her and patted her head to calm her down. At that moment, she noticed Diana's uniform was ripped in the shoulder and she had a deep wound. "Who did this to you?"

"It was the new guy, Edwin is it?" someone from the crowd said.

"Come again?" Victoria asked astonished.

"It's true, we all saw him," another student declared. "he approached her from behind and attacked her."

A second later the professor Yolanda arrived and demanded an explanation, when she found out what was going on, she took Diana to the infirmary. Rose refused to leave her friend alone so she accompanied them. Derek, Victoria and Katherine remained in the garden while their classmates began to disperse.

"I knew that kid couldn't be trusted." someone mentioned.

"Yeah, he's a Procyon; sooner or later he was going to cause some trouble." someone else said.

Victoria frowned feeling betrayed. "I cannot believe this, how could he do something like that? It makes no blooming sense! And here I thought he was a nice guy."

"Don't jump to conclusions yet," Katherine advised her. "we don't know what really happened."

Victoria went toward one of the classmates who had witnessed the incident. "Do you know which way the new guy took?" he pointed at the school and she headed for the entrance.

"Where are you going?" her brother asked.

She stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Edwin is in the swimming team and his behavior makes us look bad. He's not going to ruin our reputation; not if I have something to say about it." with that she left.

"We better follow her," Derek told Katherine. "I don't know why but I get the feeling that Edwin didn't want to hurt Diana."

The children started to search the school asking everybody they ran into the whereabouts of the exchange student. Their quest led them to the second floor where another group was gathering in the hallway. The children managed to make their way through the crowd and they found Edwin who apparently was in trouble again. A young Densadron; a huge being with a muscular torso and four arms, had him against the wall holding him by the shirt. That kid was a fool or he simply didn't know who he was messing with, that was Victor Leclair; the meanest bully in Four Meadows.

"Answer me, why did you shove me?" the Densadron demanded. "You think that was funny?"

Edwin didn't say a word because he was absolutely terrified. No one dared to intervene, not just because of his threatening appearance but because Victor's father was the biggest benefactor of the school and that, as unfair as it sounded, gave his son the right to do anything he wanted without fearing the consequences.

The Densadron raised the exchange student who could barely touch the floor with his feet. Then, the eyes of the kid began to fill with tears and Victor laughed cruelly. "What, are you gonna wet yourself too? Go ahead, maybe then I'll feel disgusted or amused enough to let you go."

"Release him, Victor; don't you see you're hurting him?" Derek ordered him and everyone turned around gasping.

The bully gave him a sidelong glance for a second. "Buzz off, tadpole; this is not your problem."

"I'm making it my problem now," the little Canid replied. "let him go or… else."

Victor focused his attention on him and put Edwin down but without releasing him. "Seems like someone has a lot of courage today, why, because you went to the gym or you took karate lessons and now you feel strong enough to beat me up?"

"Courage has nothing to do with strength," Derek commented. "but cowardice has everything to do with picking on those weaker than you."

The Densadron freed the kid who immediately ran away scared. "Are you calling me a coward?"

"I've never seen you messing with someone your own size." the little Canid responded.

"Derek, don't make him angry!" Victoria whispered.

"I know what I'm doing." he replied stepping back while Victor was getting closer.

"Alright, funny guy, you just won a free trip to the infirmary."

"You two go after Edwin." he ordered his sisters.

Katherine looked at him concerned. "But…"

"Just go! I'll be fine."

They obeyed and left.

Derek kept moving back until the wall stopped him. "Come on, Victor, we don't have to do this, there's probably a more civilized way to…"

"I hope you still have your milk teeth because you're gonna need to grow those back." the Densadron said cracking his knuckles.

Victoria and Katherine went to the third floor looking for Edwin. The light brown-haired little one ran in the hallway as fast as she could with her sister who could barely keep up following her. Finally, they reached a bifurcation and since there was nobody nearby or in the classrooms to ask for directions, they stopped.

"Victoria, slow down, I can't run as fast as you." Katherine complained with a hand on her chest and panting. "I get tired easily."

"You think I'm not tired?" Victoria said rhetorically. "That kid's legs sure are fast, no wonder he's a good swimmer."

Still trying to get her breath back, the dark brown-haired little one looked around. "Now what? We don't know which way to go."

"We could split to cover more ground." her sister suggested.

"I think we should go back," Katherine said. "I'm worried about Derek."

"We've come too far to go back now," Victoria replied. "our brother risked to save Edwin from something he probably brought upon himself, the least he can do is explain why he caused so many troubles. You take this hallway; I'll take the other one." Then, she ran and disappeared from view in seconds.

Katherine didn't have time to argue so she sighed instead. She explored the place calmly since she didn't need to run like her sister, but the pursuit had no longer meaning to her. Even if she could find Edwin, she didn't know what she was going to say to him. Then, she reached another bifurcation and no one was around so she decided to put an end to that foolish chase; she wanted to ensure that Derek was okay. But when she was about to leave, she saw something in the distance that attracted her attention. She went over there and found Edwin's backpack near a spiral staircase with a sign of "restricted area".

She had never been there before and despite her logic was telling her otherwise, she chose to follow her instinct, she picked up the backpack and went up. She started to hear the rhythmic sound of some cogs as she was getting close to the upper floor. Once there, she found a wooden door almost completely worn-out that was half-opened. She put her backpack and Edwin's aside and pushed the door which creaked loudly. Katherine entered a room with an extremely high ceiling. The only lights that could hardly illuminate were the ones coming from tiny holes in the structure. The most significant feature of the place was the gigantic bronze bell in the center of the room, connected to the mechanism of a clock. That was undoubtedly the old bell tower of Four Meadows; with emphasis on old. The brick walls were covered in cobwebs, the wooden floor had missing planks and there was dust everywhere. Rose would have been shocked if she had to enter such a deplorable room. Katherine, however, ventured further to check with caution. There were lots of materials around because the place was also used as storage.

"Edwin, are you there?" she called him and waited for a response. "I'm Katherine; Victoria's sister." she could only hear the cogs and the planks creaking under her feet. "Don't be scared, I just want to talk to you." suddenly, she heard something flapping its wings in the ceiling. They were probably pigeons but in a place like that it was more likely that they were… bats! That thought petrified her, how could she forget that a bell tower was a perfect nest for them? In her mind she didn't imagine harmless flying mammals but beasts with long teeth ready to bite her neck. As an ability she seemed to have perfected, she sharpened her senses to an ultrasensitive level. She could perceive the slightest movement around her; it was then that she felt footsteps in a corner where the light almost didn't reach. Still hearing the flapping, she struggled with the urge of running away and went toward the source of the footsteps. She stopped in front of a big empty bookcase and felt someone breathing agitated behind it. "It's that you, Edwin?"

All of a sudden she heard the racket of something breaking; the bookcase began to lean forward and Katherine jumped before it fell down. She would have been crushed if it wasn't for her quick reflexes. She couldn't believe that the kid had thrown it at her. They said that Procyons were treacherous but she never thought he would go that far. She remembered her encounter with the exchange student in the spaceport and felt like fool for letting him deceive her with his so called gallantry. She stood up; she cleaned her uniform as best as she could, she looked behind the bookcase and found Edwin lying on the floor face up. "Have you lost it, what were you trying to do?"

The exchange student looked up and protected his head with his arms. "Please, don't hurt me!"

Katherine frowned at him unsure of what to do next, but then she realized that the kid's leg was trapped under a broken plank. She looked at the floor where the bookcase was a second ago and saw it was destroyed. Apparently, it was an accident; he tripped breaking the planks and that's why the bookcase collapsed. She knelt to help him release his leg, once free he sat down and curled up on the corner frightened.

"Don't worry, Edwin, I know it wasn't your fault."

He didn't move a muscle and burst into tears.

"Hey, don't cry, I'm not mad at you." Katherine said with a soft gentle voice. She tried to touch his shoulder but he got away from her. Then, the dark brown-haired little one took a handkerchief out of her pocket and she offered it to him with a smile. The kid stretched his arm hesitant; he seized it and dried his tears. "Why did you come to this place, Edwin?"

"T-to… hide…" he answered sobbing.

The Felinid took a look around. "There are better places to hide."

"This… is my… refuge." Edwin said calmer. "Here I'm… safe."

She arched an eyebrow. "From what?"

"From everyone else…" he responded.

Katherine looked down sad because she knew what he meant. "I'm sorry you have to put up with this, Edwin, being half Procyon it's not an excuse for them to treat you that way."

"I don't mind, I'm used to it." the kid mentioned. "Ironically, I was always treated like this in my old school for not being one hundred percent Procyon. You see, lineage is very important for my people and it's considered disgraceful to mix with other races. My whole life I've been rejected but I can honestly say that I don't hold a grudge against anyone."

"Really, how so?" the Felinid inquired curious.

"The only ones with the courage to talk to me are kind-hearted people who don't care about what others might think. The most difficult part of leaving my planet was saying good-bye to my friends. I didn't think I would find someone like them here but your sister Victoria proved me wrong." he removed a tear from his eye. "Though after what happened today, I don't think she would want to be my friend anymore."

"Don't say that, of course she's going to be your friend!" Katherine exclaimed feeling so much compassion for Edwin that she almost started to cry. "And so will I."

The kid was surprised by her last sentence (and he felt more thrilled than he was willing to admit). "Thank you." he said smiling.

She stood up and helped him to do the same. He tried to give back her handkerchief but when she took it the tolls of the bell resounded in the room and she dropped it. They covered their ears and closed their eyes waiting for the deafening tolls to stop.

The room returned to be relatively quiet and she looked at the exchange student. "There are definitively better places to hide." When her ears stopped ringing, she heard a creature making a noise she had never heard before. At first, she got scared because she thought it was a bat, but then she realized that the sound wasn't coming from above but from a different corner.

Edwin heard it too and he immediately went toward that place. She followed him and when they got there, he started to remove some crates. Inside of one, resting on an old rag, there was a creature and even though she hadn't seen it before, it wasn't difficult for her to deduce it was a cat! So she finally was face to face with the animal that was the source of those human sayings that annoyed her. A closer examination revealed that it was a female cat, since there were four little kittens meowing beside her. Katherine remained watching them and after a while she couldn't resist the temptation of carrying one. The little feline had his eyes closed but he was shakily moving his head like trying to find out whose hand was holding him. She didn't blame cats for those sayings that caused so many inconveniences for her in the past; in fact she thought kittens were absolutely adorable. The mother began to meow, so she put the little one back in the crate.

"Is this your pet?" she asked Edwin.

"No," he answered. "she belongs to some girl called Diana."

Her amazement was clearly noticeable. "Is this Diana's lost pet?"

The kid arched an eyebrow. "You know her?"

"She's Rose's friend; my other sister." she commented contemplating the cat. "How did you find her pet?"

"She was already here when I came to this place a week ago." Edwin responded. "I didn't know it was lost until I heard that girl in the garden talking about it."

Katherine looked serious at him and decided to ask the question she had been avoiding to make. "What happened in the garden, Edwin? They said you attacked Diana."

"I didn't do anything like that!" he denied emphatically. "I'm innocent; I'm incapable of doing such a thing, I'm… I'm…"

"That's okay, I believe you." the Felinid reassured him.

"I was trying to speak with her but she got scared when I touched her shoulder." he continued. "She pulled it so fast that I accidentally scratched her, when she started to scream I was the one who got scared so I ran away."

Apparently luck wasn't on his side that day and he was just trying to do the right thing. Suddenly, Katherine heard a flapping behind her, she didn't think twice and pounced on the exchange student to hug him, closing her eyes frightened. The kid remained immobile with his hands up without knowing how to react. Since the Felinid put her head near his chest, she could feel his heart beating fast. When she realized what she was doing, she opened her eyes and quickly got away from him. "Sorry… it's just that… I'm scared of vampi… I mean, I'm scared of bats."

"Uh… no problem…" he said looking away and rubbing his forearm with his hand.

She could almost hear Victoria somewhere saying: "Nice move, sis." Before the silence was too awkward, Katherine made another question. "What happened after you ran away?"

The kid scratched his head. "It gets a bit confusing after that, I wasn't thinking straight and I suppose I instinctively wanted to hide in the bell tower. I was in such a rush that I didn't notice when I bumped into that guy called Victor."

At that moment she gasped. "Sacred Britana, how could I forget about Derek? We have to help him!" she grabbed Edwin's hand and made him accompany her. They came out of the room, picked up their backpacks, went downstairs and they didn't stop until the reached the second floor. The hallway was deserted and very quiet because the school was empty. Fearing the worst, there was only one place she could think of to look for her brother. They kept walking and soon they found the door of the infirmary. She opened it slightly to take a quick look and before going in she kindly asked Edwin to wait for her outside.

The infirmary was a medium-sized room with white walls and there was a medicine cabinet on one of them. There were four stretchers; two on each side separated by curtains. On the wall directly in front of the door there was a wide window where the western garden and the parking lot were perfectly visible. The first person Katherine saw was the nurse; Ms. Ardley, a young human with a long ponytail and a kind face. The little Felinid waved cheerfully at her because she admired her and she used to come often there to ask her about her job. The nurse, after waving back, began to check inside the cabinet. On the nearest stretcher was Rose seated beside her friend. It was obvious that Diana was still upset and her sister was trying to comfort her. Next to them, on the stretcher near the window was Derek and Victoria was standing beside him.

Katherine approached them immediately. "Are you alright, Derek?"

"Yes, don't worry, nothing happened." the little Canid reassured her.

Even so she wanted to make sure and she started to search him for wounds; the only one she found was a tiny bruise on his hand. It was insignificant but since she was so sensitive, seeing her brother hurt really saddened her.

"Hey, don't feel like that, he's going to be okay." Victoria tried to cheer her up putting a hand on her shoulder. "You think he looks bad? You should see the other guy."

The dark brown-haired little one turned around toward the opposite stretcher and she saw Victor lying there with a bandage around his head. The nurse got close to him; she hardly could make him drink a medicine (which was very bitter after seeing his face) and she took his pulse.

"Good heaven, Derek, what did you do to him?" Katherine inquired alarmed.

"Nothing, I didn't even touch him!" he replied. "Victor tried to punch me but I managed to dodge his fists, then he started chasing me and when he was about to catch me I tripped and fell down. Straight afterwards, he tripped over me and hit his head on the wall."

Victoria bit her lips to keep herself from laughing and snickered instead. Katherine frowned at her, there was nothing funny about it; Victor could have ended up gravely injured and now Derek would be punished for it.

The nurse went to check Diana's condition and the Densadron glared at the little Canid. "Just wait till my dad hear about this, he'll have you expelled."

"Ha! I would like to see your dad messing with my mom." Victoria replied.

The Captain was respected in Four Meadows. Actually, due to her leadership skills, she was nominated as president of the parents association on several occasions but since her job was too demanding she always rejected the charge. However, her influence in the school was strong and most people always listened to her when she had something to say. If there was someone on the same level as Victor's father, that was Amelia.

"Victoria, stop provoking him already," Derek warned her in a low voice. "don't you realize I'm on his blacklist now?"

"Yes, all thanks to our good friend Edwin." his sister said with sarcasm. "You should have let him get what was coming to him."

"Cut it out, Victoria!" Katherine scolded her. "Edwin doesn't deserve that; everything was just a misunderstanding."

"How are you so sure about it?" the light brown-haired little one inquired. "Did you talk to him?"

"As a matter of fact… Rose, could you come here for a second, please?" she asked her sister.

The blonde-haired little one patted her friend's hand and she told her that she would be back in no time. When Katherine got their attention, she proceeded to tell them what happened in the garden but she didn't mention why Edwin wanted to speak with Diana. Then, she asked Rose to convince her friend to let him talk to her. She accepted reluctantly because she didn't trust Edwin but at least she hoped Katherine knew what she was doing.

The exchange student was still outside pacing around without knowing what he was waiting for. Unexpectedly, he was paralyzed when he heard Diana's screams again.

"I DON'T WANT THAT PROCYON ANYWHERE NEAR ME!"

Then he heard Rose's voice. "Calm down, Di, he only wants to apologize!"

"Ladies, please, stop making a fuss inside the infirmary!" Ms. Ardley reprimanded them. "My patient needs silence."

Edwin thought of running away but he fought the impulse because he remembered that Katherine asked him to wait and he didn't want to disappoint the only friend he had left. Rose kept insisting (in a moderated voice) until she finally persuaded her friend. Then, the door of the infirmary was opened.

"You can come in now, Edwin." Katherine informed him.

The kid swallowed and started to walk slowly. Everyone followed him with their eyes till he stopped keeping a prudent distance from Diana. The first thing he did was to apologize to her but she just stared at him frowning. Rose and Victoria also looked angry which made him nervous and he didn't dare to say another word.

"Uh… Edwin, tell Diana why you wanted to talk to her." Katherine intervened.

"I know where your pet is." he mentioned.

Everyone was surprised; Diana got off the stretcher and approached the kid. "Did you find Felicity?"

The exchange student nodded and began to describe her features to know if that was the pet she was looking for. As soon as he was done telling her where to find her, she hugged him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He remained immobile again with his hands up wondering if that was a normal behavior for the girls from that school. After a while, Katherine cleared her throat, Diana released him and asked the nurse if she could go to find her mother and tell her about her pet. Ms. Ardley checked her shoulder for the last time and let her go.

Edwin suddenly remembered something and turned around toward Katherine. "I forgot to tell her about the babies!"

"It's alright; I think it's better that way," she said smiling. "she'll have a pleasant surprise when she finds out."

"What babies?" Derek asked curious.

"Felicity had babies." his sister told him. "Edwin has been taking care of them since he found her."

"No, I haven't. I brought her food every time I went there but that's all I've been…"

"You don't need to be so humble," Katherine interrupted him. "her babies wouldn't have survived if…"

"Kittens." Derek said.

"I beg you pardon?" she inquired.

"That's how you call baby cats." her brother commented. "You should know it by now, kitten; don't you remember that's the nickname Aunt Sarah affectionately gave you three?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, whatever." the little Felinid responded folding her arms. "The point is that Edwin is a good person after all. Rose, Victoria, don't you have anything to say to him?"

Her sisters blushed ashamed. They had jumped to conclusions and they felt like hypocrites since they were criticizing everyone else for doing that. They said they were sorry but he insisted there was nothing to forgive.

"No, I feel really bad for thinking you were a troublemaker. If there was a way to make it up to you…" Victoria was saying when she suddenly realized something. "Katherine, weren't you talking to Mr. van der Castell about something important."

"Something important?" she answered confused and her sister slapped her forehead. "Oh, right, would you like to come with us to a party, Edwin?"

The kid seemed perplexed. "A party?"

"Uh-huh, tomorrow our Uncle Jim is coming to Montressor and they're going to throw a welcome party for him." Rose mentioned. "It would be simply fabulous if you could join us."

"I… I… I don't know…" he said doubtful. "I've never been to a party before."

"All the more reason to come." Victoria said.

Edwin looked down pensive. "I'll have to ask my father."

Derek asked him to wait for a second; he went to fetch his backpack, took out a notebook and a pencil, he started to write something on it, when he finished he tore out a page and gave it to him. "If you decide to come, here's the address and the time of the party. I also wrote our address if you want us to take you there."

At that moment the door of the infirmary was opened and the professor Yolanda entered through it. When she noticed Edwin was there, she gave him a harsh look and he immediately hid the note in his backpack. The nurse, who had been taking care of Victor, approached to receive her.

"I've been looking for you young van der Castell, your father and the principal would like to have a word with you." the professor said while she was searching the room with her eyes. Then, she turned around toward the nurse. "Candida, I don't see Miss Gale anywhere."

"She left a couple of minutes ago to find her mother." Ms. Ardley told her.

"How is young Leclair?" the Cragorian wanted to know.

"He has a contusion and he's still a bit stunned but he's recovering well."

The professor Yolanda looked at Derek. "Stay put, young Doppler, once your parents arrive it'll be your turn to go to the principal's office. Now young van der Castell, follow me if you please."

"Wait, professor, this is just a mistake." Katherine suddenly said. "My brother didn't want to hurt Victor and Edwin was just trying to…"

"That won't be necessary." the exchange student interrupted her raising a hand to stop her. He was deeply grateful to her for being there to support him, but it was time for him to defend himself. He turned around toward the others and smiled. "I appreciate your kindness with all my heart and I want you to know that whatever happens, I'll never forget what did for me."

Derek got close and shook his hand as a gesture of solidarity. Rose and Victoria both hugged him at the same time, but this time the kid didn't remain immobile; he hugged them back. Katherine was really moved watching such a cute scene, and even though she knew her sister was never going to let her hear the end of it, she went toward Edwin to kiss him on the cheek and wished him good luck.

He stared at her open-mouthed and touching his cheek with his fingers. He smiled again and waved to say good-bye before heading for the door.

"Don't forget you owe me a rematch." Victoria reminded him. "We'll talk about kiss, I mean, we'll talk about this on our next practice."

Edwin turned his head and nodded before leaving with the professor. Katherine rolled her eyes and sighed annoyed.

The nurse advised Derek to wait on the stretcher, so he did and his sisters remained there accompanying him. Katherine noticed when she looked through the window that there was an airbus still on the parking lot, which was weird because they were probably the only ones in the school and drivers didn't use to wait for students. However, she decided to ignore it and sat down beside her brother. Suddenly, the little Canid stood up looking nervous.

"What is it, Derek?" Katherine inquired.

He didn't answer; he just began to look around the infirmary, breathing as if he was scared.

"What's the matter, darling, are you okay?" Rose asked him worried.

The Felinids gathered around him trying to calm him down. Then, he put his hands on his head and groaned in pain. Katherine called the nurse, she approached him but she couldn't make him tell her what was wrong, so she lied him down on the stretcher and went to the cabinet to find a medicine for headache.

His sisters stood beside him concerned. Then, Victoria whispered in his ear. "It's the voices again, isn't it?"

That was Derek's biggest secret. Since he had use of memory, he could hear voices in his head. Every time he did what they were telling him to he had troubles at home or at school. The only ones who knew about it were his sisters and he made them swear not to tell their parents because he was afraid that they would send him to a mental hospital. When he was ready, he would reveal the secret to his parents. Apparently, the voices only talked to him when there was some kind of danger nearby.

Ms. Ardley came back to the little Canid. He didn't have a headache but he suspected that she wouldn't leave him alone if he refused to take the medicine she was offering him, so he drank it without complaining. The nurse ordered him to rest in the stretcher. Then, she looked at his sisters and supposed they wouldn't want to leave him and out of consideration for Katherine, she allowed them to stay there. She went to attend to Victor and asked them to be quiet which turned out convenient for Derek because he needed to figure out why the voices were talking to him. It was then that they heard someone yelling outside in the garden.

"YOU MORON, HOW COULD YOU LET THEM ESCAPE?"

Derek stood up and quickly went to the window. The Felinids took a look too and they saw the Lupid from the airbus. There were five strangers with him; one of them was a Karzarius wearing a camouflage uniform. The security guard approached them but he was knocked down before he could even react and remained unconscious on the ground. Rose gasped while her siblings watched shocked. Then, the Karzarius led his minions inside Four Meadows.

"What's going on out there?" the nurse asked looking through the window and when she saw the guard, she exclaimed: "Hank!"

"Someone attacked him for no reason!" Rose declared horrified.

The nurse took her first aid kit and went to the door.

"Wait, Ms. Ardley, they are inside the school!" Katherine told her.

She stopped for a second to look at her and grabbed some keys. "I'll be right back." she told them and locked the door after leaving.

"They're looking for us." Derek suddenly said.

"How do you know?" Rose inquired almost about to cry. Katherine held her hand.

"It doesn't matter, we have to get out of here right now." her brother replied.

Victoria frowned. "And how are we supposed to do that? The door is locked."

"We'll have to break the window." he answered.

"Are you out of your mind?" she said laughing in disbelief. "it's security glass; not even a bazooka could break it."

Derek was starting to get mad at her for whining instead of finding a solution, but she was right pointing out that they were trapped. Then, they heard someone trying to open the door and Rose hugged Katherine tightly. The little Canid desperately looked for a way to save everyone; it was then that he saw the fire alarm and he quickly activated it. The alarm resounded in the whole school and whoever was trying to get in fled. Derek knew that the firefighters, the paramedics and the police would be there in a few minutes. He took a look at the window and saw the bandits while they were running away. They passed by the nurse, who was helping Hank, they got on a ship and disappeared.

Author's note: as a curious anecdote, the part of Katherine and Edwin in the bell tower came to me in a dream.