AN: A huge thank-you to Lycanthropia and Rattyrowe. Changed the title; I like this one better.
Chapter 3
"Patrick, phone!" Mr. Verona shouted.
"Listen," Patrick said in an annoyed tone, picking up "you'd better stop this right away. You don't know who you're messing with."
"A child who can't even bail himself out of detention?" Kat suggested, sniggering. "What the hell is up with you?"
"Oh, hey Kat," Patrick said, a little less feisty out of relief "I thought you were someone else..."
"Obviously. Stalker?" Kat asked.
"More like sad person," Patrick said uneasily "keeps uh... pranking me and Dad."
"Dad and I," she corrected him "call the conncection center and ask them to divert the person's calls elsewhere."
"Nah, I'll just threaten that asshole, a hell of a lot more simpler," he contradicted.
"I'm sure he or she will be so intimidated, that they'll come groveling all over your feet." Kat said, sarcastically "anyway what you up to?"
"Homework," he answered, "I've just been accepted into 3 colleges. One, the fourth one, that I've applied to rejected me. So I gotta boost my grades up a little to keep my options completely open. You?"
"Nothing," she sighed, thinking it's an inappropriate time and place to discuss Sarah Lawrence "my dad wants to meet you. He found out that I went over to see you yesterday."
"Ok," he said heavily "when?"
"Tomorrow?" she asked, "you have to make a good impression. You know how he is..."
"Yeah," he said, "let me guess, you want me to cut my hair. I'm sorry babe I'd do anything for you... but... but my hair is all I have, you have to understand."
"I'm getting used to its untidiness. Kinda sexy, if I do say so myself."
"Wow. I'm honoured. A complimenent from you."
She giggled softly... a tear falling down her cheek. She might not see him, his hair for at least 2 years if when she attends Sarah Lawrence. And what if he finds a new love interest? What if she gets attracted to someone new?
"You there?" He asked "it's been unusually quiet for around three minutes."
"Mmm, I'm here." She said, trying to maintain her strong voice "uh, so I'll expect you at say, six? 'coz we've both got work to do."
"Ok but fix me dinner."
"Deal. Although you'll probably regret it. Bianca is the worst chef ever."
"Then you prepare it."
"Now there's a thought," she said, "I'll make you your favorite, baked peas."
"Gag me!"
"You know I'm joking. And umm... I rented this movie, Kangaroo Jack... no I'm not insane. I also thought it was about a talking animal made for kids but it's a funny comedy set in Australia. And I'm interested in Australia, it's actually an awesome place."
"Of course it is, I'm Australian."
She snorted "so you wouldn't mind seeing it? 'Coz you strike me as the action/thriller movie thriller type."
"Nope, I'm into comedy as well," he said "our school male population are action, thriller and maybe even horror fans but I'm unique, as you very well know."
"A little too unique."
"Special."
"Keep telling yourself that," she said, "only don't make it a habit- remember that liars go to hell."
"Hoohoo," he said offhandedly.
"Anyway I have to go,"
"Yeah, all right, see you tomorrow. Kisses?"
"Kisses."
She hung up, feeling a tight knot in her stomach. She didn't want to loose him. She lost her mother. She lost the man she trusted with her virginity, the bastard Joey. She lost lots of people whom she thought were her friends back when she was popular as they thought she'd 'stolen' Joey from them. And now to loose Patrick?
She hugged her pillow and moaned softly. 'You can't blame me for the attitude I've attained towards people...'
She gazed at the phone. Mandella. The one person she knows she'll always be best friends with.
She dialed her number.
'Hello-' Mandella's mother's voice came.
'Hey Mrs.- '
'We are unable to answer the phone right now, but if you leave a brief message, we'll get back to you as soon as possible.'
She ignored the beep and hung up. 'Damn answering machine, why do people insist on installing one and can't simply go for missed calls instead?'
There was a knocking on her door.
"Come in," she said gloomily.
"Hey, you blue?" Bianca said sweetly "looks like you need someone to talk to."
She plopped right next to her on the bed.
"No," Kat said "but I do need someone to fix my hair."
Bianca almost dropped the tray of muffins she was holding. "You want to get dolled up?"
"Well," Kat said, "now that I've got a boyfriend... I have to keep him interested."
"Keep him interested?" Bianca echoed "I'm not slow... you're vague."
"Well, this morning a bunch of ninth graders loitering in the toilets were gossiping about me. I nearly died of shock- not... I wasn't upset until I heard them mention Patrick. They think I'm not good enough for him and that they're more worthwhile."
She imitated someone in an exaggerated enthusiastic and super-girly voice "ohhh he's soooo dreamy... he's sooooooo muscely... he's sooo tall. Awww dammmnnn you Straatfooord!"
Bianca laughed a bit at the far-fetched imitation. "Hey Patrick shouldn't be falling for anyone else for their looks. If he's really the guy for you he'd look at what's inside."
"Oh he does," Kat said dismissively "but I just wanna show these people that I can become prettier than all of them with a little effort. I'm worth my man and no one will steal him from me."
"Right," Bianca said, excited "I'll go grab some hair products from my room. Eat some muffins while I'll be right over."
"Thanks," Kat said to herself, eyeing the muffins suspiciously after Bianca's departure "but I wanna live and I don't feel up to being shifted to any emergency room."
Next day...
"Katarina Stratford," her dad said angrily when she arrived home "you're half an hour late."
"Yeah I was just getting humped. No biggie. It'll be nice to have a baby around the house, and you'll finally get to experience the joy of grandfatherhood..."
He sighed wearily. "I'm getting tired of this, please just go to the kitchen and assist your sister in making fried chicken... Guess who's coming for dinner?"
"Hmmm... a psychologist coming to lecture us on teens that became pregnant?"
"I wish. No, Mrs. Smithers."
Kat dropped the corndog she was nibbling onto the floor. "No way! You told me to get Patrick over."
"When's he gonna show up?"
"Sixish."
"Well... he can just linger."
"'Linger'?! We are going to watch a movie. That's why I ran a little late, I've picked up 50 First Dates on my way home."
"Wow, I actually came through to you then," Bianca said, emerging from the kitchen in an apron. Then she turned to her father "they were actually going to see Kangaroo Jack. How sad is that."
"Kangaroo Jack would've been fine," he sighed. "Did you get around to any hallway making-out lately?"
"For your information, he mysteriously wasn't at school today, not that you need to know my personal details." she said, accompanying Bianca in the kitchen "Mmm... chicken smells good. I'll bake an apple-pie for dessert myself."
"No. Why don't we make cheese-cake instead?" Bianca said in her sugary-tone "Who doesn't love cheesecake?"
Five o'clock...
There was a rapid knocking on the door.
"Are we all ready?" Mr. Stratford asked, fixing his tie by the mirror "Ok here goes..."
He opened the door.
"Mrs. Smithers," he said, greeting a skinny middle-aged woman by kissing her cheek. "Some of us age. Some of us, ahem you, turn youthful."
She stepped in, with a nineteen-year-old son in tow.
"Hiya sir," he said politely, shaking Mr. Stratford's hand, while Mrs. Smithers hugged Bianca and Kat.
"Oh, look at you!" Mr. Stratford gushed, eyeing Mitch approvingly "last time I saw you were a snotty boy riding your bike in our backyard- 12, were you? And now you're a fine boy. A fine boy indeed."
"Your daughters are gorgeous themselves, Walter." Mrs. Smithers said, grinning broadly "ahh the feeling of proud parents, watching their blazing children grow older. Oh, Bianca sweetie and Kat, did I introduce you to Mitch?"
Bianca exchanged smiles with him and shook his hand.
"We were introduced before, I remember, nine years ago." He said charmingly "But since there's been an interaction time gap I think this requires for a new meeting."
Kat merely held up her hand and waved it casually when he extended his hand to hers "Yo, watchu been up to?"
"Now that you ask," Mrs. Smithers said, taking a seat "he's working on his art portfolio- he's been accepted at Sarah Lawrence, you see, it's a prestigious art school."
"What," Kat said in a daze, shooting her father dagger eyes "dad, I must have a word."
"Shouldn't we pass on that for the time being, dear?"
"Now."
"Uh... fine, Bianca, tea."
Kat pulled him aside.
"Oh nice try, dad. Really nice."
"What are you talking about?"
"You're judging Patrick before you've even met him. This is harsh prejudice, dad. Very harsh. You invited Mrs. I've-been-ignoring-you-since-you've-become-motherless here with her dopey son hoping some magical bond will frizzle between us, in hopes of me forgetting about Patrick which will never happen?
"Kat, now really isn't a good time for this. We should be out there attending to them. I swear I didn't know he's going to Sarah Lawrence with you... and I'm against any frizzling occurring between you and anyone of the opposite sex, quite frankly. So quit the accusations. Besides, wouldn't it be nice to have a friend to accompany you to a school far away from home humanly imaginable?"
"Sarah Lawrence is still in America dad, you can travel by train there. And I don't need to worry about making any friends. All I need is one or two and I can captivate them by being nice if I want to. 'Besides', I'm not going there to socialize and have fun, but to focus on my work. I want to be thriving with a great qualification, isn't that what you want?"
"I want you to stay away from bad influence. But if you think you know what you're doing, I surrender. Now please go see to our guests and at least pretend that you're enjoying their company? You're making a bad impression."
Kat put on a face "No."
"Think of your poor sister out there ALONE with them. Do it for her. She's responsible for your new look, or should I say 'hairdo'... don't you think you owe her?"
She let an exasperated growl. "Whatever."
She stumped into the living room with an obvious fake smile "It's been too long, Mrs. Smithers."
"Auntie Karen. Call me that. Remember how you use to refer to me by that back when I use to come by, when Mummy and I were best buddies?"
"It's a shame that when your best buddy 'Mummy' left little Auntie Karen was too busy to stop by to check on weenie little Bibi and mee..." she said sarcastically, while Bianca looked mortified from humiliation "because you were spending cozy moments with the bachelor next door, Kyle? Too bad you're cheating on your husband with him... but hey he's cheating on you himself. Not your poor oblivious husband, Kyle I mean. He's seeing this preppy blonde bombshell from Russia. Looks like someone's developing aids."
What seemed like 5 minutes of shocked silence followed this.
Walter broke the silence "Kat!"
Mitch stood up, purple in the face "How dare you accuse my mother of this bullshit!"
Kat stood up and eyed him with daggers "Whassamatter, dork? Too scawed to face the truth about your supposedly saint mamma?"
"Bite your tongue and keep your zippers shut, bitch!" He yelled furiously.
"Language!" Walter called, still stunned "Kat be the bigger person and let someone, for once, have the last word."
"Why not?" Kat said, taking a seat but still fuming "I'm not wasting any energy on delusional dufeces."
Bianca looked hesitant about what to do. She looked inquiringly at her father. But he was looking at 'Auntie Karen' with indignation. She turned her stare to her.
Mrs. Smithers looked paralyzed. Her face was red.
"Oh mother," Mitch said, practically shaking "tell me this isn't true... tell that imaginative cow that she's wrong and let's get out of here..."
But Mrs. Smithers, silently wailing now, faced Kat "how- how did you know?" her voice had changed from sunshiny enthusiastic to soft and fragile.
"WHAT!" Mitch bellowed.
"My God," Walter said, shaking his head "you- of all people? Karen Smithers?"
"I think I'd better go..." she said, getting up.
"DAMN RIGHT YOU WILL!" Yelled Mitch, ashamed of her "and you're to confess to dad immediately! And drive right off to the hospital for a medical check-up. Man, and to think you're obsessed with a 'good family name'".
They left. Kat slammed the door behind them. She looked at her dad.
"So much for respectable unimpregnating people."
"Now, we mustn't blame the boy. He reacted right." Walter muttered..
"You and 'the boy'" Kat practically screamed "Patrick's gonna be here and thank god they've left. He wouldn't have known what to think if he'd seen your pathetic set-up attempt. Luckily it was unsuccessful. I don't want to lose him, dad!"
Walter shook his head and proceeded up the stairs "I'll be- just call me when he arrives. Why would Karen behave like an animal, why? I need a drink."
"Drink? And he expects us to follow his 'good example', go figure." Kat said, turning to Bianca "what's with you?"
"I feel guilty," she said "I was checking out Mitch. And... I dunno, there was a sparkle. But I shouldn't have. Cameron is my boyfriend now."
She slowly arose went to the bathroom, slamming the door.
"Kat," a deep familiar voice called from the door "if you're there, open up!"
Relieved that someone tolerable arrived, Kat quickly opened the door and embraced a stunned Patrick, whom had looked disgruntled before her surprising movement.
"Your hair. Looks amazing." He said in awe.
She smiled at him "Like it? It's the new me."
It was shoulder length and permed straight. And dyed auburn. She was wearing a bright red dress she borrowed from Bianca to match it.
He stepped in and Patrick placed something in her palms. A bottle of whine.
"For your dad," he explained, "where is the guy?"
"Upstairs. But I don't want to see him now... I missed you," she pulled him into another tight hug.
"You ok?" Bianca said, coming out of the bathroom "you're emotional. Unlike the cat-like behavior society's used to from you."
Kat ignored her. Bianca and Patrick exchanged smirks over her shoulder. This was definitely not Kat.
"Maybe it's the improved hair," Bianca answered herself, going to her bedroom "shall I... call dad now?"
"No. Later." Kat said, finally pulling away.
She eyed Patrick questioningly "Where were you today? You weren't at school."
"Trying to avoid someone." He said, "Should we sit down? We need to talk."
They did so. He looked her in the eye.
"Umm... someone showed up yesterday. When I got the phonecall when you were over... I wasn't expecting this. It was... it was my ex, Stephanie."
"'You' have an ex," she said, smiling cunningly and so braking the serious moment "dreaming on, are we?"
He slugged her.
"Continue, please."
"She was furious. I'd walked out on our relationship when I left Milwaukee. So she came back, blackmailing me. Saying I'd played her on. She... she was pregnant."
Kat was taken aback by this.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" She wanted to know.
"I just found all this out yesterday. She said she would to confront me at school. So I avoided her by going to Jeyhood. It's a bar in central Seattle I usually go to. And she's here as an exchange student, leaving tomorrow. So I figured I wouldn't have to worry about her anymore if I dodged her."
"She was pregnant... with your child?" Kat asked, shocked "So... what happened?"
"Her parents got furious and said that they'd support her financially but wanted nothing more to do with her anymore. She flew off to Australia and wept to my mother. My mother, concerned about us both- we're too young to be parents, she'd urged her to have an abortion. And now apparently, she's furious at mother for goading her to do that as she says she was 'vulnerable' at the time and that mum 'took advantage' of her in order to protect me,"
"She's upset," Kat said incredously "she wanted to keep the child?"
"Now she does," Patrick said, biting his lip. "She's threatening me. She says her conscience is getting to her, and the least I can to to avenge her for what my mother did, is to reimpregnate her."
Kat backed away from him.
He came closer to her "but I wont do it of course. You're the only woman in my life now."
"The slut wants you back now?" She asked slowly.
"No... she wants me to impregnate her and she promised she'd leave me be. If I didn't, she'd set some hitmans on me. Lunatic."
"Assassinates?" Kat asked. He nodded in response.
"I don't know what to do Kat," he said "my life is messed up. Should I just go along with what the whore wants and... do it? She assured me she'd leave me alone if I did."
Tears flowed down Kat's eyes without her consent. Why do all her relationships stink?
Just then someone descended the stairs. "Here we are... having a hearty chat? About what, when Mr. Long-hair can ask for permission to fuck you up?"
Kat looked appalled at her father's embarrassing behavior. She didn't need this right now. "You're drunk. Go back to your room and take the liberty of coming back down when you're sober."
"You look too old for my Kat," he informed Patrick, his voice quivering.
"By a year, now go up or I'll run-off with him. Up to your room. Go on! UP!"
Strangely, he obeyed.
"Come here," Kat told Patrick quietly, taking him by the hand and leading him up to her room "I have something to show you."
They went in and Patrick took a seat on her bed. Kat pointed to a small vacant corner of her poster-filled wall, where only a small sketch was stuck.
"See that?" she said, pointing at a portrait on the top right-hand-corner of the sketch "that's you. Apart from your eyebrows being a little too bushy it's actually realistic. Next to you," she pointed at a profile next to the portrait, "that's meant to be me. I think it's pretty accurate too. The American and the Australian. And this," she pointed at a picture under the first two pictures of what appeared to be a toddler in a nursery "is our unconceived offspring. I mixed our genetics. See, he's got my American wavy blonde hair, your Australian eyes, my mum's American mouth and your dad's Australian nose." She laughed a bit "he's anti-social, of course, see how he's snatching a bottle from that girl in one hand and with the other he's banging his rattle on this little guy's head?"
She turned to him, sadness in her eyes. "It wont happen for us now. You've screwed the girl's life up. If you want to give her the child she's desperate for... you must be part of the child's life."
Patrick looked absent-mindedly at the sketch, wavering.
"I've been doing a lot of sketching lately," Kat added, sincerely "I'm... I'm going to an art school once semester's over. Sarah Lawrence."
Patrick looked horrified at her. And for the first time, his eyes were shining.
"So that's it, then? Huh?" He asked, getting up.
Kat looked at the floor. She didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry. Looks like fate is against us."
He opened the door, deciding to exit.
"Please don't go just yet," she said, beginning to whimper softly "just... have dinner. Then you can go. I... I'm not ready to say goodbye just yet."
"I'm not hungry,"
"Pretend you're eating then," she said viciously.
"Kat Padua's over for us in two days. Two days! After these two days I'm never to see you again? These past two weeks we've spent together... we should act like it never happened?"
"I won't look at another guy," she cried "it's only going to be you. Always. But... things are all wrong, Patrick. They don't have to be. But we're not good at combating."
He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to face him "don't say that... we are. We're fighters. We can pull through this. We're the rebels, right?"
"Let's just go downstairs and get our heads straight." She suggested.
Bianca had laid the food on the sofa; Kat felt a warm feeling towards her. She's had a great sister all along and she mistreated her all these years. And now they're both going to go their separate paths. Another foreign tear flew down her cheek. And to think that her periods ended three days ago!
"Let's just watch the movie while we're at it," she said, grabbing a plate and sitting in front of the huge screen TV.
While only half-watching the movie, she awaited her dad to come down, meet Patrick and support their relationship, by a miracle taking a liking to him. But he never did appear. Patrick did motions by wanting to put his arm around her waist when they laughed simultaneously, but she prevented him from doing it. By the end they were both tittering. Kat switched the DVD player off, looking at Patrick with the corner of her eyes, unsure of what to say.
"Liked the cheesecake?"
"The chicken was better."
She slugged him, slowly breaking the tension.
"You prefer Bianca's cooking over mine!"
"The girl's got it all going for her. Looks, cooking skills... I wonder if I should ask her father permission to date her... think he'll allow it?"
"Sure," Kat said, "go right ahead. By the way, stay at least 15 feet away from her sister. She hates stinky pigs, you see. And it aint pretty when she's near something she hates, I can guarantee that."
He chuckled, pointing at the DVD cover "Imagine if I had to convince you to date me all over again every single solitary day. We'd never get anywhere. Man you were a hard woman to woo."
"You'd be a millionaire, if that were the case..." she said under her breath, painfully recalling the incident with Joey paying Patrick to take her out.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"Bianca!" Kat called "can you get it?"
"No! I'm in the shower!" Her voice called back.
Grunting, Kat slouched towards the door and answered it.
Mitch stood before her.
"And you are here because-?!"
"of an apology," Mitch said self-bitterly "I... I said some stuff I shouldn't have and I am terribly sorry. I was wrong, my bad. And I figured since we're both attending the same school I should make things cool between us to avoid any hostility."
"Whatever," Kat said, "anything else? I'm busy now."
He extended his arm, smiling warmly "friends?"
Kat shook it impatiently.
"What's going on?" Patrick asked, turning up behind them and seeing them in an awkward exchange.
Kat opened her mouth but Mitch quickly did the talking.
"You see, Kat and I are going to Sarah Lawrence so-"
"I see," Patrick said, eyeing Kat "I have to be off."
"Patrick, don't be stupid and hear us out. It's not what you think. PATRICK!"
But he was stubbornly walking away.