Chapter Eight
Cat on the Roof
If there is one thing I pride myself on, it's my recorder. I played one since I was ten. Aside from the marching, band is pretty much my favorite subject in school. Why? Well, I figured the answer would be quite obvious.
Rehearsal went by quicker than I would have liked. It usually did. Time sure does fly when you're not bored out of your mind. I was packing up my recorder, Josh trying to crack another joke that would make me laugh, when a girl came up to me. She had thick glasses and long, greasy hair.
She'd been in band for as long as I have, but I still couldn't put a name to her. Yeah. I'm pretty sad.
"Ah, Tonia?" she asked uncertainly, and I knew I wasn't the only one iffy about names.
I looked up at her, but didn't say anything.
She seemed a little uncomfortable, and glanced at Josh and Brian.
"See you around." Brian said and he and Josh filed out of the room with the rest of the students.
"You know Jessie Loran, right?"
I nodded.
She was still edgy. I didn't think I was that nerve racking of a sight "Did you see her at school today?"
I shook my head, and frowned.
"Well, I'm supposed to give her, her homework, but no one has seen her." She looked off towards the door. "Some said she might be with Justin, but, well, I can't find him either."
I didn't think Jessie would be with Justin, but she didn't seem sick yesterday. She was pretty adamant about ignoring him. Though, that could have been for show.
"Anyway, thanks for your help." She hurried off after the others.
I slung my backpack over my shoulder and left the room. Outside the building, I looked towards the tree where we'd seen the ghost, but it wasn't there. Maybe I should have been more curious. Josh and Brian had talked about the ghost a great deal before everyone else showed up for band. Another person might have felt compelled to tell them about the weird bird and the man that Sarah and I saw, but another person probably would care more than I did.
I looked at my watch to see how much time I had till my next class, but it wasn't working. It was all pixilated with its numbers and kept jumping around. I guessed I needed new batteries. Wait, this watch was fairly recent, given to me only a few months ago.
I couldn't say what made me do it, but I looked up, scanning the rooftops of the school buildings. Strange though it was, I wasn't at all surprised to find a cat sitting down in a way a human would, gloved paws braced on the roofs edge, feet hanging down. She was looking into the cloudy sky.
I don't know if it was a she or not, but it was white, and a cat. Quite a large cat actually. And for some reason I knew she was the cause of my watches digital tantrum.
She turned her head, and though she was too far to make out much of her features, I knew she was looking at me. That was when I realized I had stopped walking to stare at her. I pulled my eyes away, keeping my gaze on the ground, and continued on to my next class.
Oddly, I felt sad