AN: I want to start this chapter off with a short apology. I know at least a couple of you were probably looking forward to Chloe going to the lake with the others, and Bee meeting Ally's cat, and whatever else they did over the summer. Unfortunately, to keep the story moving this chapter pretty much jumps right into D2, with the new school year and everything. The last chapter was mostly to give a glimpse into what the VKs did over the summer. There will still be mentions of their summer activities within the next few chapters, though, which I think you'll all enjoy.
Ch 17:
Chloe took a deep breath when her name was called. She stood up from her desk, quietly telling Motley to come. Motley walked at Chloe's side up to the front of the classroom. When Chloe stopped behind the podium, she quietly commanded Motley to 'down, stay', which the Dalmatian obeyed instantly, her loyal, brown eyes fixed up on Chloe.
Fiddling with her note cards atop the podium, Chloe nervously glanced around the room to find about twenty-some pairs of eyes staring up at her. Her throat felt dry and her hands were clammy. Her eyes glanced back toward her desk, where she found a few reassuring smiles. Sitting all around her desk were Carlos, Jane, Ally, and Bash, all giving her their silent support, and it helped a bit.
But she still hated this Public Speaking class, and this was only the third speech of the term.
Chloe glanced toward the teacher's desk in the back, where Genie, Jordan's father, gave her a nod to let her know she could start.
Taking another deep breath, Chloe looked down at her notes. "By now, it's not much of a secret that I have a service dog." she started, glancing up before looking back down. Sure, she'd get docked points for lack of eye contact, but it was easier for her to just pretend she was talking to herself. "It's usually the first thing people notice when they see me at this point, as most of you have probably noticed." she added, gesturing to the dog laying at her side. "What a lot of people don't realize is all the different things services dogs can do."
"There are some of the more well-known kinds of service dogs; guide dogs who help lead the blind, or mobility dogs that help people in wheelchairs or with a variety of disabilities. But it doesn't end there. Service dogs are known to help with all kinds of physical health problems, as well as mental. Dogs have been known to smell changes in a person's body, they can smell cancer, or a drop in blood sugar in someone who's diabetic. Service dogs are also known to help people with mental disabilities, such as PTSD, Autism, or Panic Disorder."
"It takes anywhere from 1 to 2 years to fully train a service dog, and can be an extremely expensive endeavor depending on what you need in a service dog. They can be trained in anything from alerting their handler of low blood sugar levels, to helping their handler stand up or get dressed, to protecting a handler during a seizure, and that's only scratching the surface. Does anyone have any questions?" Chloe looked up from her cards, bringing her awkward, rambling speech to an end as she glanced around the room. She hoped desperately no one had any questions. Of course, she wasn't that lucky.
One of the guys in the back raised his hand, and Chloe awkwardly pointed at him.
"Yeah, what do you need a service dog for?" he asked, leaning back in his desk chair.
Before Chloe could answer, Genie spoke up from his desk. "Remember, only questions about the speech topic, not personal questions. The About Me speeches were last week." he reminded everyone sternly.
The guy lifted his hands in a slight shrugging gesture. "Well, she mentioned the fact that she has a service dog, so it technically is a question about the speech." he pointed.
"It's okay." Chloe interrupted Genie when he opened his mouth again. "I've been diagnosed with Panic Disorder." she admitted. "I have panic attacks, and I'm training Motley to help with that."
"Why do you have panic attacks?" another guy asked, having raised his hand but not waiting to be called on. "Is it because of your life on the Isle?"
"Okay!" Genie called. "The next person to ask a personal question like that gets detention. Everyone was specifically told before we started speeches to keep the questions strictly about the speeches. Was that not clear the first time?"
Everyone fell silent for a long moment apart from the guys in the back grumbling. Just when Chloe thought she could return to her desk, another hand went up. She relaxed slightly when she saw it was Bash. She pointed at him.
"Um, what does Motley do if you have a panic attack? If you don't mind answering." he mumbled quietly, just loud enough for Chloe to hear him.
"Well, I'm still early in that part of Motley's training, but by the time she's done with her training she should be able to recognize the signs of me going into a panic attack. Then she'll try to distract me or get me to focus on her, maybe by pawing at me or licking me. I'd also like to train her to do a sort of deep pressure therapy, where she'd basically lay on my lap or torso. I've noticed with my cat and my other dog that it calms me down when they do that. I'm also considering training her in crowd control. Being in crowds sometimes triggers my panic attacks, and it's possible to train a dog to stand between their handler and other people to gain some personal space, which I think would help me a lot."
Bash nodded, smiling slightly. Ally raised her hand, and Chloe was almost nervous when she called on her. Ally could sometimes be a little blunt, though not unkind in anyway.
"Could a cat be a service animal?" Ally asked curiously.
Chloe blinked. "Um,…I'm not sure." she admitted, trying not to chuckle. "I've heard of miniature horses possibly being service animals, but I don't think I've ever heard of cats."
A couple other students asked questions, thankfully focusing on service dogs in general and not Chloe's personal life, before Chloe was allowed to return to her seat with Motley, who tucked herself under Chloe's desk. She glanced over at Carlos seated next to her, and he gave her a grin, which she returned in relief. She could tell she was going to hate this class if she had to give a speech every other week.
There was enough time for three more speeches before class ended for the day, and the dismissal bell sent everyone off to the rest of their classes. Chloe had a couple more classes without Carlos this term, due to them choosing different electives. Chloe had no desire to take a politics class just like Carlos didn't have any desire to take any art classes.
"I just feel really bad, always bothering her, but we need to get these last minute details figured out." Jane rambled anxiously as they headed back toward the dorms after their last class.
"Jane, I'm sure Mal understands." Chloe assured her. "These things need to get done within the next couple days, and you need her input. She might get stressed, but she's not mad at you."
"Are you sure?" Jane fretted. "I just feel like I'm making her mad every time I talk to her."
"It's not you, I'm sure. She just has a lot going on." Chloe pointed out as they reached their door. With the new school year, Chloe and Jane had requested being roommates, which Fairy Godmother was more than happy to accommodate. Chloe guessed it was a combination of a VK having a close Auradon friend, and the fact that her daughter was actually making friends, something Jane always struggled with.
"I know." Jane nodded, though she didn't look like she really believed it.
Chloe opened the door, leading the way into their dorm. She was heading toward her bed across the room when she heard, "Um…"
Chloe looked back toward Jane, who had paused just inside the doorway. Chloe followed her gaze to look at the bottom drawer of Jane's dresser. The bottom drawer was open, Jane's clothes scattered around the floor, and Beelzebub was in the middle of trying to drag her favorite old pillow into the drawer.
"Beelzebub!" Chloe scolded, making the cat pause. Chloe sighed, crossing the room and scooping her cat up into her arms, causing the cat to yowl and complain. "Sorry, Jane. I don't know what's gotten into her." Chloe apologized sheepishly while Bee snuggled affectionately under Chloe's chin.
Jane laughed, waving Chloe off. "It's fine. I'll just have to start locking my drawers shut somehow." she joked, putting the clothes back in the drawer. Chloe took Bee's pillow and carried both over to her bed. She set the pillow down next to her own pillow, and set the fluffy cat atop it. Bee grumbled, but settled down on the pillow.
"She's never been this bad." Chloe went on, unclipping Motley's leash and vest. Motley instantly shook herself out and bounced across the room to settle down with her favorite chew toy. "I mean, she never pulled out my drawers last year. And she certainly never moved her pillow around. Her pillow was under the vanity in our old room on the Isle, and that's where it stayed. If me or Carlos moved it, she glared at us and moved it back."
Jane laughed again. "That sounds about right." She sat on her bed and glanced curiously across the room at the cat. "Under the vanity might have been a bit darker and more enclosed, maybe a safer-feeling place. Maybe she's looking for a place like that?"
Chloe sat on her own bed, looking thoughtfully down at her cat, who was already dozing off again. "Maybe." she agreed thoughtfully, briefly scratching Bee's head before pulling out her homework to work on. Jane turned on the TV for some background noise, only for the news to start talking about, what else, Cotillion.
Chloe blinked up at the flat screen for a moment, taking in the scene of Mal being accosted by a mob of reporters. "Is that from today? I think Mal was wearing that dress today?" Mal was wearing a nice white dress, her mostly-blonde hair pulled into a bun to the point you couldn't really see the purple ends unless she turned around.
Jane glanced up at the TV. "Oh, yeah, Mom was complaining about that. A bunch of reporters managed to get on school grounds and managed to track down Mal. You know, asking her the typical questions: 'How's it feel to become a Lady of the Court? Do you like having blonde hair more than purple? Is your mother still a lizard?' You know, the usual."
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Better her than me." Chloe commented, partially joking.
There was a knock on the door, and both Chloe and Jane called for whoever it was to come in. The door opened and Anthony stepped inside, holding a large box under one arm.
"Hey girls. Jane, I brought this back." Anthony told her, holding out the box.
"Oh, great! Thanks. You can just set that on the floor, somewhere out of the way." Jane told him, pointing vaguely at the flood by her bed. Anthony set the box on the floor before sitting on the end of Chloe's bed. Motley hurried up to him, setting her ball in his lap excitedly. Anthony gently rolled the ball across the floor, careful not to break anything.
"So, what's in the box?" Chloe asked curiously, glancing away from her homework to briefly watch Beelzebub stretch and hop down from the bed.
"Oh, just a bunch of Cotillion stuff. I don't need most of it, it was more from the early planning stages." Jane explained.
"I just asked to borrow it." Anthony added. "Ben asked me to perform some music at Cotillion, so I was just looking through that in the hopes it might give me some ideas or inspiration."
"Did it?" Chloe asked curiously, her gaze on him.
Anthony smirked slightly at her. "Guess you'll have to wait and see."
Chloe blushed and instantly searched for a change in topic. She did not want to talk about Cotillion any more than she was forced to, and she certainly didn't want to talk about it with Anthony.
Her eyes landed on the TV screen again. "Oh, come on, how many times are they going to play that footage?" she asked, hoping she sounded natural and not painfully like she was trying to change the subject.
The news was doing yet another story about Mal, showing footage of her and Ben having dinner with Aladdin and Jasmine. Chloe lost count how many times she'd seen that footage after about the fifth time. Agrabah's festival had been the final event in the Celebration of Auradon, leading up to Cotillion in a few days.
"Yeah, they're definitely not doing Mal any favors there." Anthony agreed as they showed Mal spitting food into a napkin.
"Of course, they don't show the footage of Mal playing with those little kids, or her and Ben actually enjoying the festival." Jane agreed, shaking her head.
They were interrupted by a thump and the rustling and crinkling of papers, causing them to look down.
"Beelzebub!" Chloe cried in frustration when she saw that her cat had jumped into Jane's box, crumpling her papers under her paws. "I'm sorry again, Jane." she apologized again, sitting up.
"It's fine." Jane waved her off, getting up and lifting Beelzebub from the box. She paused before holding the cat to her chest for a moment. "Has she…Has she gained weight?" Jane asked hesitantly.
Chloe's brows furrowed thoughtfully. "She might have. Actually, she has been demanding a little more food lately, and I'm convinced she's been getting food elsewhere, also. I should probably put her on a diet."
Jane's brow furrowed before she sat down on her bed, laying Beelzebub down on the comforter next to her. She gently stroked the cat, earning loud purrs until Bee actually rolled onto her side and then her back, wiggling closer to Jane in an effort to get more attention. Chloe and Anthony watched curiously as Jane gently petted Beelzebub's belly.
"When was the last time you took her to the vet?" Jane asked curiously.
"Um,…the only time she's ever been to the vet was when we first came to Auradon. So,… about five months ago?" Chloe shrugged uncertainly. "Why? Is something wrong?" she asked worriedly.
Jane shook her head slowly, looking thoughtfully down at the fluffy cat. "I don't think so. I'm not a vet by any means, but…I think Beelzebub might be pregnant."
Chloe's jaw dropped open in shock, her eyes flying to her content cat. "Pregnant? Like…like she's going to have kittens?"
"That's usually what that means." Anthony pointed out lightly.
"But…how?" Chloe stuttered.
Anthony grinned slightly. "Do I really have to explain that to you?"
Chloe shoved his shoulder, making him laugh. Motley, meanwhile, came over and began pawing at Chloe's knee. Chloe looked down at her dog and realized she'd begun to gasp a bit. Not enough to really be considered a panic attack, but Motley must have noticed the similarity. Chloe scratched her dog's ears, smiling slightly as she tried to wrap her head around her cat being pregnant.
"It must have been Dino." Chloe commented, looking at her cat again. "Ally's cat. We had…I guess you could call them kitty play dates. Bee and Dino hit it off, so we got together several times over the summer. And there were a few times Bee disappeared during the night and came back the next morning."
"Ooh, the walk of shame." Jane teased before clapping her hands over her mouth, blue eyes wide and cheeks red. "Forget I said that!" she mumbled through her palm while Chloe and Anthony laughed.
Chloe's laughter quieted thoughtfully. "So,…now what? Should I set up another vet appointment for her? Should I feed her more? Or less?"
"Well, first things first, I'd probably set up a vet appointment." Jane agreed. "I'm sure she'll be fine, but just to be safe. And I think I might understand why she's been digging through my drawer. I think pregnant cats go through a nesting period."
"Nesting? Like birds?" Chloe asked uncertainly.
"Sort of. They want to make a warm, dark, safe place to have their litter." Jane shrugged. "Like cats in the wild do. That's probably what she's trying to do."
"So,…should I just let her, or is there anything I can do?" Chloe asked.
"I'm not sure. But we can look it up." Jane suggested, digging out her laptop.
"Well, while you girls do that, I've got a couple songs to work on." Anthony announced, standing up. "See you tomorrow, Chloe."
Chloe returned Anthony's smile as he made his way toward the door.
"See you tomorrow." Chloe called.
AN: So? Does this chapter make up for not showing more of their summer? I hope it does. Are you guys excited for Beelzebub to maybe be a mom?
Let me know what you all thought of this chapter! Thanks!