The next day, during the last hour of school, Sarah was busy scribbling away in her notebook s the substitute teacher for Mr. Cooper went over assignments.
Note after note after note of ideas of how to confront the Goblin King were crumpled up or saved for later. There were a thousand and one questions she wanted answers to. But the question that she kept coming back to was why hadn't Dan woken up yet? Why had he gone into the forest in the first place? And what did she need to do to fix all this mess?
She thought about the strange occurrences that have happened since he was set free.
Telekinetic powers for MJ, Britney being nice to Emily (although Jareth's involvement hadnt been proven...), Basketball champion for Sean, Attacking owls for her enemies...
That just left Stacey, Taylor, and Luke. And Dan, of course, but the Goblin King didn't seem to be doing him any favors. And she needed to talk to Luke about the snake to see if that had any correlation-
BRRIIIIIIINGGGGGG!
Sarah shoved her mess of papers and notes into her backpack and headed for the door where Luke just passed through, not bothering to wait for her. They were all heading to the parking lot. It was time to get some answers.
Sarah pushed open the school doors and headed left towards the parking lot. But when she rounded the corner, she stopped; shocked to see that an unwelcome addition had been made to the group…
"What the hell took you so long, Sarah?" Britney scowled.
Sarah raised her eyebrow in surprise. Charming...
"What's she doing here?" Sarah turned to the gang, not bothering to respond to Britney.
"Good question," Taylor said, glaring at the nuisance.
"She didn't suffer a major concussion and wander here in a semi-conscious haze… I already asked." MJ drawled, leaning against Stacey's car.
Britney rolled her eyes, "What I'm doing here is leaving, don't worry. I just came by to…"
She hesitated, and Stacey nudged her with her foot. She scowled even deeper and continued through clenched teeth, "to invite you to my party at my house this Saturday."
Everyone stared at her.
Taylor broke the moment first, "Wow. Did not expect that."
Sean turned to MJ seriously, "You sure about that concussion?"
Sarah couldn't help her astonishment, "Uh, you're inviting us to your party?" Suspicious much?
But Sarah could clearly see that Britney was wishing she could crawl into a hole somewhere. Sarah realized that this could be a wonderful opportunity to get Britney back for being a complete jerk to everyone. I am SOOOO not letting this opportunity pass by!
"Wow, Britney! Sounds fun! You know, I don't think I've ever been over to your house before!" Sarah grinned, enjoying her discomfort.
Britney glowered, "Wow, imagine that."
Sarah's smile grew wider.
Stacey glowed as she looked at the group, "Come on, guys! Britney told me she's trying to turn over a new leaf and stop being such a jerk to people. Right, Brit?" She smiled and nudged the uncomfortable girl beside her.
If looks could kill, Stacey would be dead as Britney answered, "Yeah. Totally."
"Well!", MJ shrugged off of Stacey's car she was leaned against, "This is just a bunch of 'more weird' to add to the 'weird pile'. Are we sure this isn't the Goblin King—"
Taylor nudged MJ hard in the ribs, jerking his head at Britney.
MJ crossed her arms, glaring at him, "Ok, but we're gonna have a talk about this later."
Sarah had to agree. Britney listening to Stacey? Things were getting weirder. What about the blackmail?
"Yeah! We'll talk about that, uh, school project…For that class we have…That Britney isn't in." Sean tried miserably to cover up MJ's slip up.
Britney watched all this take place.
"Okay, whatever you're talking about? Yeah, I super don't care." She rolled her eyes and flipped her brown hair.
"We're… really all invited to your party?" Emily asked, barely containing her excitement.
Britney looked at Emily, her expression softening a little. "Yeah, really. Does that mean you're coming?"
"O-of course! I would love to!" Emily proceeded to float up into the clouds from excessive happiness…
"Great! Well, I'll see you there!" Britney beamed. With a final glare at Stacey, Britney stalked away.
Sarah pulled Stacey aside, lowering her voice so the others can't hear..."Okay, what the heck just happened?! Either I got transported into opposite land, or—"
"I got her phone Sarah!" Stacey whispered excitedly to her, "The video's gone now!"
"What?!" Sarah was so happy, "Stace, that's amazing! You're finally free!"
"How in the heck did you get her phone?" Sarah asked excitedly, wanting to know all the dirty details.
"That's…uh, kinda the complicated part…" Stacey was suddenly nervous. Huh?
Before Sarah could ask, MJ came between them, "Not to break up this fun whispering thing you've got going on…. but visiting hours are over in, like ninety minutes."
Taylor piped up, "Yeah, we gonna go see Dan or what?"
"Sorry! We're coming!" Sarah called back. She looked back at Stacey, but Stacey didn't meet her eyes.
What's getting into everyone?
"I can fit five in my car…Luke, can you drive Sarah?" Stacey asked as she walked over to her blue hyundai sonata.
Luke had been standing there, silent this whole time, and jumped at the sound of his name. He looked around.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure." He said, distractedly.
Stacey unlocked her car, letting MJ, Sean, Emily, and Taylor pile inside. Sarah felt like Stacey had pushed her away on purpose and couldn't deny feeling confused and hurt. She could hear Sean and MJ arguing: "Yo, MJ, lemme trade you for the front. These shoulders don't like the backseat…", "Fight me, Kang." MJ grinned, buckling her seatbelt.
"Guess that means it's you and me, Luke." Sarah sighed and looked over at Luke, who looked like he was off in outer space. At the sound of his name, he gave another start, like he had with Stacey and stared wide-eyed at Sarah.
"Hm? Oh, okay."
Luke too!? Sarah realized it's a good thing she and Luke had this time to talk. She needed to ask about the snake. Sarah got into Luke's car and they followed Stacey out of the parking lot. The inside of Luke's car was silent as Luke stared through the windshield, watching the forest go by, hardly noticing Sarah was there.
Sarah looked hard at him and finally noticed his bloodshot eyes. He looked exhausted. "Hey… are you all right?" She asked gently, cautiously.
"I'm fine."
Sarah tried again, "Are you sure? Because you really don't seem fine." Smooth, Sarah. Real smooth.
Luke sighed and glanced over at Sarah, a slight frown on his face. "I wasn't, but…I'm keeping it together. Really."
This reminded Sarah of her conversation with Dan last year. She needed to go about this gently and kindly, like opening a flower, instead of stomping all over the garden.
"You know you can talk to me, right? I'm a part of this too. I know what you're going through right now." Sarah said gently. She relaxed into her seat, trying to get him to relax too.
A bitter laugh escaped Luke, and he shook his head as if trying to clear it, "Sorry. Just… I don't think you can help with this." Sarah wondered what he could mean by implying that she, in particular, couldn't help him. His words began coming out fast, "I screwed up, Sarah. I screwed up badly, and I…I'm scared of what you and the others would think of me if you knew what I've done."
Sarah felt a cold stab of dread in her stomach. What could possibly be so bad? Luke's hands shook on the steering wheel. He sniffed, reaching up to quickly wipe at his eyes.
"Sorry, would you hand me a tissue?" he asked.
Sarah nodded a little, scared, "Yeah, of course! Are they in here, or…?"
She opened the glove compartment.
"Wait, no!"
Luke lunged over to stop Sarah, yanking the steering wheel in the process! The car swerved toward the right lane.
"Luke!" Sarah shrieked, feeling adrenaline pump through her heart like a missile. She grabbed hold of the steering wheel on reflex and jerked it to the left again, just managing to stay inside the left lane. Phew!
"What the HELL, Luke?! I was just looking in the…" Sarah paused, her gaze drifting down to the now open glove compartment. Inside, she could see several small plastic bottles with white caps. Luke put his head on the steering wheel.
"Don't…" He begged, but Sarah's already picked one up, turning it to read the label. Adderall?
"Luke, are these…focus pills?" She asked, confused.
"Yes… but—"
"The label has your mom's name… why'd she prescribe so many? There are, like, five bottles in here!" She counted.
Sarah didn't know much about narcotics, pills, ect. While lots of teenagers sought stimulants to get "high" and "escape" the mundane or even experience the "supernatural", Sarah Marie Williams was busy trying to escape the strange and exotic and just be normal (something she would have been appalled by as a child). But she DID know that Adderall and Ritalin, both focus pills for ADHD kids, could be dangerous…and they were illegal.
The conversation that she had overheard between Mr. Cooper and Luke a few weeks ago was starting to make sense…
"She…" He hung his head and sighed, "She didn't. Last month I…I stole a page from her prescription pad."
"Tell me what happened with Mr. Cooper." She ordered, not wasting anymore time.
Surprisingly, Luke did. He sighed and said, "I was at school early because Principles Flores asked me to record a P.A. message about the bear attack that happened to Ben the other night. Mr. Cooper called me in to have a 'chat'" Luke swallowed nervously, thinking back. "He's been doing that a lot, and was upset about how many extracurriculars I have."
Sarah watched him talking. Why DID Luke feel the need to have so many extracurriculars? She spoke up, "How many extracurriculars DO you have?"
Luke scratched his hair, "Well, I tutor."
"That doesn't seem like a lot." Sarah crossed her arms.
"I show up to class early, turn every assignment in on time, I do extra credit, I ace every essay or exam, and on top of all of that I have my student council duties…among other things." Luke sighs again, and it seemed as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Anyways, Mr. Cooper got suspicious. He suspected that I was using medication to get through my classes. I was caught. I knew that, but I kept on denying everything. It felt like I was going to throw up. And then he…he asked me outright if I was taking anything to give me an edge over the other students."
Luke paused, staring ahead. Sarah watched him, anxiously.
"And then… the lights started flickering." Luke said, his tired eyes growing wide. "And He appeared…"
Sarah took a deep breath through her nose. He showed up. Just like in the library. And in the parking lot. It was as she thought.
Dan was right. Somehow, going back into the woods had allowed him access to them out here in the real world. Would she ever be able to get any answers from Dan about WHY? Maybe asking Jareth WAS her only option.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I just didn't know what to say. Plus, I didn't have the opportunity until now," Luke said, misjudging Sarah's expression.
"I'm fine. What happened next?"
"Well, he suddenly appeared right behind Mr. Cooper. I'm surprised that Mr. Cooper didn't notice my expression and turn around. I was so afraid that I couldn't move. It was the first time I've seen him in 10 years..." Luke shook his head. "But Mr. Cooper just continued on talking, I don't remember much of what he said. I was too focused on the Goblin King behind him. I just remember that he said he was going to call a meeting with my parents and the principle and if they found anything…." Luke shook his head again, "I was going to get suspended."
"What did He do? Did he look different?" Sarah asked, not being able to help herself. She felt like it was an unhealthy obsession she had. Every time someone mentioned him, she couldn't help but focus completely. It was all she ever wanted to talk about but had forced herself not to. She didn't want to scare her friends who would prefer not to ever bring him up.
Luke turned to look at Sarah, meeting her eyes. His eyes looked…guilty…and afraid. "He looked just like we remembered him. Shrouded in darkness. Black armor, blond white hair, scary eyes, and teeth. He smiled at me before putting a finger to his lips and winked at me. I knew that Mr. Cooper was in danger, somehow, but I…" He gripped the steering wheel, to stabilize himself. "I wanted him to get hurt, Sarah. I wanted something…someone…to shut him up for good! I wished with all my heart that no one would find out about the pills." Luke let out a choked sob. "And so the Goblin King did help."
Sarah was without words. She just sat there, aghast. Luke wished for the Goblin King to protect his secret…at the expense of Mr. Cooper.
"You-you have to understand Sarah! When you get suspended or use….. study aids… it ALL goes on your record! Every University or prospective employer to see. All my hard work; All my sacrifices, and efforts…wasted. I've worked so hard because this is my dream, Sarah! It's all I want!" Luke's eyes are pleading as he begs for her to understand. To understand why the means justified the ends. To understand why he allowed the Goblin King to help him…"Then, Mr. Cooper opened up his desk drawer and a black snake came out and attacked him!" He wiped at his eyes. "Mr. Cooper yelled, but before I could do anything, the snake bit him in the chest! He was in a panic, saying he had been bit and he needed a doctor, and then….he-he passed out. Right there on the floor." Luke's eyes were haunted as he murmured, "It all happened so fast."
"Did the Goblin King say anything?" Sarah asked suspiciously.
Luke nodded. But doesn't say anything else. Sarah waited. And waited. But Luke is either in his own thoughts or was refusing to tell her.
"Luke!"
"Don't." Luke said, his voice hard. "Don't ask me Sarah."
Sarah leaned away from Luke, "What's wrong with you? What aren't you telling me? WHY aren't you telling me!" She was almost in tears now.
Luke didn't say anything. He just gripped the steering wheel and shook his head. Sarah felt like she didn't even know Luke anymore.
"All magic comes with a price, Luke." Sarah spat out at him, angrily. She saw him flinch and she turned her full fury on him. How dare he NOT tell her? A biggling little voice in Sarah's head told her she was being extremely hypocritical, but she was too upset to listen, "You are now in his DEBT! Did you think about that?! Did you think about what might possibly be motivating him to help you?" She asked. Sarah was scared for Luke. Luke was going to get himself killed. Just like Jessica... But part of Sarah selfishly was worried about herself. What did this mean for her?
Luke looked at Sarah with a strange expression on his face, "Don't you think I know that?! You have no idea! I know NOW, that it was stupid of me. This morning Principal Flores called me into the office to tell me that Mr. Cooper is in a coma…just like Dan."
Another person in a coma?!
Luke continued, "Part of me knew there would be a cost. But at the moment, there seemed to be nothing worse than to be banned from every major university or employment position that actually is WORTH something. I've worked too hard for it."
"Luke, why is all that the most important thing to you?" Sarah choked out, ready to cry.
"Sarah, my mom came to the U.S. when she was nineteen, and she had nothing. She worked three jobs to put herself through college. She got a full ride to Harvard Medical. That's where she met my dad, who already had three patents under his belt. Now? He has twenty."
"So your parents are geniuses… what's that got to do with this?" Sarah said, not getting it, "I assume that an actual excuse is coming up?"
"I….I know nothing can excuse what I did. I just want you to understand…" Luke looked sadder than Sarah's ever seen him before, "Everything I do is measured against them. 'At your age, I'd won an international prize for science. At your age, I'd started my own company.' I'm already so far behind them, and…and they can't hide how disappointed they are. I can see it every time they look at me."
Wow. His parents seemed to be amazing professionals…. but downright crappy parents. Luke was only 18.
"So… you decided that this was the solution?" She said gently, holding up a pill bottle. She understood why he did it. That didn't make it ok. It wasn't the right way to deal with it. But she did understand. And now that she understood, she had to see how they could fix this.
"I couldn't think of anything else to do. I was already overloaded on classes. I wasn't sleeping… I was at my limit, and I could feel myself slipping, I had to get some… help." He shook his head, "The first week… it was AMAZING! I had so much energy, and I never got distracted. I finished two college apps in one night! But…" He sank back within himself " ..it didn't last. Suddenly, I was paranoid all the time, and I couldn't sleep, even when I tried. So, Mr. Cooper noticed how anxious I was being…"
"So, the Goblin King put that snake in Mr. Cooper's desk to….what? Protect you?" She tasted the words in her mouth. That didn't seem right when he had been threatening them before... Why would Jareth go out of his way? What was he playing at?
"Yes," Luke gripped the steering wheel tightly. "It's my fault that Mr. Cooper in the hospital, and it'll be my fault if he dies. Same goes for Sean with Ben."
WHAT?!
"Hold on... what do you mean!?" She asked, rounding on him in utter shock and worry.
"Sean didn't tell you?" Luke looked over at Sarah, eyes
"No! I mean…he mentioned the Goblin King…but you make it sound like he wanted Ben to get hurt..." She leaned back into her chair, nauseous.
Luke jumped right into the story, apparently happy to be talking about someone OTHER than him, "Sean told me that he confronted Ben after basketball practice about never being able to play on the team and always sitting out with Tom. And Ben acted nice at first, but then was a total jerk and told him that he should do all the team a favor and quit and that no one likes him on the team."
"But!" Sarah protested, shocked, "The NBA has tons of Asian players!"
"Yeah, and those guys still have to deal with racist crap. People yelling slurs during games, teammates not passing them the ball…"
Sarah's mind unwillingly went back to when no one passed him the ball during the game… What a stupid team captain!
"Ben said the only reason he made the team this year is because it was an 'affirmative action hire and that it looks good for photos'." Luke shook his head in disgust.
Sarah's heart pounded and her stomach clenched. Poor Sean…
"And Sean…well, you know Sean," Luke smiled ruefully for a moment, "He obviously got pissed. He followed after Ben, into the parking lot, planning on getting into a fight with him, when he saw the bear running over to him and Ben! It bore down on Ben, lunging down and yanked him off his feet and dragged him across the yard towards the woods by his arm!"
Sarah stared at Luke in horror.
"But suddenly it lost interest. It released Ben and looked around as if coming out of a daze…" Luke looked at Sarah worried. "And it looked at Sean, then turned and wandered off into the woods!"
"So why did Sean think the Goblin King had anything to do with it?" She asked, horrified.
"Because he was there, Sarah!" Luke said, turning his head to look at her. "He appeared at the edge of the woods, where the bear was walking towards him. But the bear did a number on Ben's arm. His PLAYING arm. And so Sean was able to play starting forward during the game." He finished the story.
"First the owls, then the bear, then the snake…." Sarah said to herself.
"Owls?" Luke asked, confused. He pulled into the hospital parking lot.
Sarah quickly told him about the owls that saved them from Cody and Jocelyn. And how there was an owl that was now officially hanging out in her shed. Sarah stopped as she suddenly realizes that her story and Lukes weren't all that different. She had also wished harm upon Jocelyn and Cody. She wished that they would stop...that they would HURT because of how much they hurt her by pushing her down the hill. And as they were being pecked to death by birds, she didn't raise a hand to stop it. She felt a little ashamed at her outburst at Luke. She was selfish too, just like he had been. The only difference had been that Jareth hadn't shown up when she had wished with the birds. And he hadn't talked to her in the library when she hadn't called for him. Why had he talked to Luke and Sean? And what had they talked ABOUT?! Luke was refusing to tell her.
Something suddenly occured to Sarah…did Stacey get the phone back with the Goblin King's help too?
"So, what are you gonna do now?" she asked as Luke looked around for a parking space.
Luke's gaze turned to Sarah and studied her for a long moment before he nodded to himself, "I'm going to get rid of the pills, and I'm going to do whatever I can to stop the Goblin King from hurting anyone else. After that…I don't know." He parked the car and turned fully to face Sarah, "I'm so sorry, Sarah. I know I have no right to ask anything of you, but…but please, don't tell anyone what I did. Please give me some time to fix this."
"Will you tell me what the Goblin King wanted from you?" Sarah folded her arms, and looked hard at him. She didn't mean to act like a child. But she felt belligerent.
Luke sighed, and sat back in the seat while putting his hands on his head, "Probably the same thing he wanted from Sean..."
"What's that?" Sarah was worried.
Luke looked over at her with a haunted look in his eye, "Sarah, please, just...let ME figure this out, ok? For once, just trust your friends and let ME settle this...and then I PROMISE I will tell you everything. Everything's going to be fine, Sarah. No one else's going to get hurt, I promise."
"But I'm worried about you Luke!" Sarah said, fearful and upset, "I don't want anything to happen to you or Sean!"
Luke shook his head and whispered, "You need to be more worried about yourself, Sarah." Sarah's felt the blood drain from her face.
But Luke quickly continued, "Just...promise you won't tell anyone?" He nodded towards the pills in her hand.
Sarah sighed and shook her head, at a loss, "Of course Luke. I won't tell a soul. Your parents held you to an impossible standard. It makes sense that you cracked under pressure. It doesn't excuse what you did…but you deserve a chance to make things right."
Luke sighed, and looked at her gratefully, "Thank you, Sarah. You're a great friend. I swear, I'm going to do everything I can to fix this."
Sarah nodded stiffly, still upset about being kept out od the loop, and got out of the car. She didn't like being in the dark about anything, but even more so when Jareth was involved. Part of her couldn't help feeling entitled to any and all information the group had about him. After all, she met him first before anyone else. Sarah internally berated herself though, reminding herself that that was her pride talking and she didn't OWN the Goblin King. But still...it was hard not to threaten Luke with telling people if he didn't tell her. She just couldn't do that to him though. She had to trust that he would tell her before it was too late.
Stacey's car was parked partway down the block, but the gang is nowhere to be found.
"Looks like the others beat us here. You ready to head in?" Sarah asked.
"Hang on." Luke's muffled voice made her turn back to the car.
She saw Luke loading the pill bottles into an old McDonald's fast-food bag. "There's something I have to do first." He gave her a forced smile and turned and walked away. Sarah followed him.
In a narrow alley across the street from the hospital, Luke stuffed the bag of pill bottles into a large green trashcan amidst a bunch of dumpsters. The smell of new and old food wafted up from the restaurant on the other side.
"There. I'm done taking shortcuts." He dusted his hands off for good measure.
"Good." She put her hand on his shoulder, "I'm really proud of you."
Luke grinned.
Both Sarah and Luke jumped as someone cleardx their throat at the end of the alley.
"Soooooooooo… you guys know Dan's not in that garbage can, right?" hands on her hips, MJ smirked at the duo.
"Jeez, MJ! What are you doing out here?!" Sarah asked, angry at her for making them jump.
"Uh waiting for you guys? So I can lead you to the weird back room they've got Dan in? What are you doing in this creepy–"
They're interrupted by a sudden noise from inside one of the garbage cans. A muffled, insistent scratching…
"What on earth…" Luke backed away, scared.
"It…It's probably just a raccoon or something, right?" Sarah asked nervously.
MJ walked up to where they stood and said, "Are we thinking regular raccoon? Or supernaturally-controlled-attack raccoon?"
Sarah glared at her, "Not. Helping."
"Should we…check?" Luke glanced at the trashcan.
They all looked at each other for a moment.
"One of us should…." Sarah prompted.
"Probably, unless you want some poor, unsuspecting waiter to get a faceful of evil raccoon when he's taking out the garbage," MJ smirked again.
Sarah again glanced between MJ and Luke. They did the same thing. This is getting ridiculous.
Sarah finally rolled her eyes, "Ugh, fine! I've got it, you guys." She took a deep breath and braced herself. She strode up to the trash can and flung back the lid before she could second guess her courage.
"Oh…my…gosh…" Sarah slowly said.
"W-What? What is it?!" Luke asked, more nervous because of her reaction.
Wordlessly, Sarah beckoned her friends over. They edge up to look, and there, nestled among the crumpled newspapers and takeout containers is a…
Meow?
A black kitten with white paws looked up at them, tiny as can be.
"Oh…" Sarah said
"My…" Luke said
"KITTY!" MJ shrieked happily.
The kitten flattened her ears and backed away, baring tiny fangs.
"HSSSSSSSS!"
"Whoa! It's okay, kitty, we won't hurt you, promise." Sarah said gently. She reached out, holding her hand very still as the kitten crept forward to sniff her fingers. Watching suspiciously, the kitten put one white paw on her hand…then the other. When nothing terrible happened, she climbed into Sarah's palm. "See? You're okay." Sarah smiled, elated. Much easier than an owl!
The kitten's purr rumbled softly against her hand as she gently lifted her out of the garbage can.
"Kittyyyyyyyyy!" MJ cooed.
"I think we broke MJ." Luke chuckled at MJ's behavior.
"Did you guys know that cats can sense the supernatural? Like evil spirits and stuff? Also, wookit her wittle paws!" She baby talked as she pet the kitten under the chin
"She's so skinny…I think she's a stray." Sarah felt her ribcage. She was obviously not as wild as other cats though.
MJ sighed, "Okay, as much as a black cat is SUPER on-brand for me, my dad is crazy allergic."
"Ugh, our terrier hates cats… maybe the vet's office down the block can find a home for her?" Luke suggested.
"No way! Sarah is going to take this kitty home and also let me come over and play with said kitty every day. Possibly twice a day." She looked over at Sarah, "Right, Sarah?"
Sarah looked down at the kitten in her arms, thinking. The kitten looked back up at Sarah with her big yellow eyes.
I can't though, can I? I mean...Karen will freak when she eventually gets home…but Toby might be able to convince her though. She'd do anything for Toby. But I'm already building a freaking zoo in dad's shed with Merlin and Daphnee, so I really shouldn't. But still… three is a magic number, right? And although I'm more of a "dog-person"; Merlin isn't MINE mine. So he'll be gone when Mark eventually comes home...and Daphnee is a wild animal and comes and goes as she pleases so it's not like she's MINE mine either...and there's plenty of mice and bugs in the shed to keep her occupied...
But what MJ had said about evil spirits was what really made her decide "yay" or "nay". Could she really warn me when supernatural forces like Jareth are nearby?
"Looks like I have a cat!" Sarah shrugged and grinned at Luke and MJ. "For now…but if Karen drops the guillotine, I will just have to fatten her up and find her a new home."
She held the kitten up to her face, and she headbutted Sarah softly in the chin.
Luke melted, "Alright, that's pretty darn adorable. What are you going to name her?"
Sarah looked at MJ for help. She started spouting off names, "Cattywampus! Grimalkin! Ooooh, what about Jiji?"
Jiji? Huh. "What about…JuJu?" Sarah asked, thinking.
Luke scrunched his nose, "What? Is she French or something?"
"No! Like, 'good juju'. Basically, because I'm saving her from the dumpster, I get good karma and luck." She scratched the top of her head. "I need all the good juju I can possibly get."
"I like it!" MJ nods.
"C'mon, Juju, we're gonna go visit our friend Dan," Sarah said, starting to walk toward the opening of the alley.
"Uh, I don't think you can bring a cat into the hospital," Luke said doubtfully.
Unzipping her backpack, Sarah gently placed Juju on top of her textbooks, then closed the zipper partway.
"Cat? What cat?" She grinned at Luke.
"I don't see any cat. Are you feeling okay, Luke?" MJ put her hand on Luke's forehead and he swatted it away, laughing.
"Fine. But when security comes to throw us out, I don't know ANY of you people."
Giggling, Sarah turned and headed with Sean and MJ across the street toward Westchester General Medical.