AN: Okay now the story really starts! I know the previous chapter doesn't make much sense on its own, but I promise everything will be explained with time :)
13 years later
Kat could see her breath in the chilly morning air as the young girl made her way to the new school that she would be attending. The sound of her shoes echoed against the sidewalk, creating a rhythmic beat that sliced through the silence like a blade. As a particularly strong blast of wind blew past her, she pulled her dark blue beanie further down her head so that it covered the ears turning red from the cold. The new-found warmth from the beanie's new position caused her glasses to fog up, so she took them off and began to wipe them clean on the hem off her shirt. Her now blurry vision somehow managed to make the scenery less miserable.
That's probably because I can't see how horrible this new city is, Kat thought to herself. At first, moving all around the world because of Dad's job was fun. Now, it's just annoying. Now, I get dragged around while Dad goes to meet a bunch of different scientists to do who knows what kind of random experiments or studies. Now, I know that I'm never going to have a normal life not to mention friends that last longer than two months.
Kat continued to mull over her thoughts for a few more minutes until she realized that she was still absentmindedly rubbing her glasses on the bottom of her shirt. She placed them back in front of her eyes just in time to see a wide, rectangular building that was only two stories high. Dozens of kids were rushing through the doors placed in the center of the building as buses and cars dropped off even more kids. A large sign that read "SKOOL" in large letters stood above the doors.
I don't know why I'm still surprised. It seems like the intelligence of the population diminishes with each city we go to. Of the twelve schools I've gone to in the past three years, I think only two of them spelled school correctly, Kat remembered as she walked up to the school's entrance with all of the other children. And then, everyone at those two schools constantly complained that the spelling of the school was too complex. Even the teachers made complaints to their respective principals! I can understand why Dad insisted on teaching me everything himself over the weekends. Not that it stops him from sending me to these hell holes in the first place.
The inside of the school was horribly rundown. Cracks spread everywhere across the filth-ridden floor and ran up the equally disgusting walls. Most of the yellow fluorescent lights that lined the ceiling were either burnt out or flickering on the verge of being extinguished. Occasionally, an ear piercing scream could be heard from underneath the floors that sent chills through Kat's spine. The other children either didn't hear it or simply managed to ignore it.
Pushing her way through the mindless crowd, Kat finally found her classroom. Turning the doorknob and stepping inside, she was immediately face to face with who she could only assume to be the teacher, Ms. Bitters if the nameplate on her desk was any indication. She looked more like a demon than an elementary school teacher. Her face seemed set in a permanent scowl as she loomed over Kat, sending a jolt of fear through the younger of the two. Hesitantly, Kat pulled a note out of her jacket pocket and handing it to Ms. Bitters. It was snatched up in a skeletal hand that was far too fast for human reflexes. She quickly glanced at what was on the note, and then dragged the startled girl to the center of the class in one swift motion.
"Hello, class. It seems we have a new student today. You!" Ms. Bitters said as she pointed one of her bony fingers at Kat. "Tell the class your name. Then be quiet!"
"My name's Kat," she managed to say once she recovered the ability to speak from under Ms. Bitter's death glare.
"Well then, Kat," she said with as much malice as possible. "I suppose I need to find you a place to sit. Now let's see… who am I tired of the most today?"
She looked at all of the students, and then finally pointed to a girl in a seat at the front, second from the left.
"You there! You are being transferred to the underground classrooms! Away with you!" As soon as Ms. Bitters finished her last sentence, the floor opened up beneath her desk, and the girl fell through the hole with a terrified scream. The floor and desk returned to their original position as soon as she was gone. The other students did not seem to react to what just happened, leading Kat to the horrible conclusion this was an ordinary occurrence. Then Ms. Bitters turned her attention back to her. "Sit."
Not needing any other reason to get away from the teacher, Kat practically ran to the newly vacant seat, but hesitated before sitting down. She dropped her backpack down on the floor next to the desk and eyed the piece of classroom furniture like it was about to explode. After nothing happened, she decided it was safe enough and sat down.
As soon as Kat had moved toward her desk, Ms. Bitters turned towards the chalkboard. She began to write "doom" in large letters and seemed to be making an effort to have the chalk sound as loud and screechy as possible while she wrote.
I guess these underground classrooms are where I heard the screams coming from. Is this a school or a torture facility? I wonder how often people get sent to there. Definitely often enough for no else to react to this, Kat thought before she was pulled out from her musings by the boy to her left trying to get her attention.
"So your name is Cat? Like the animal?" the boy asked. He had black hair styled in the strangest way Kat had ever seen and his black coat with its upturned collar reminded her vaguely of the early 21st century version Sherlock Holmes. The blue shirt underneath the Sherlock-esque coat had a grey, simple, neutral face on it.
"No, it's spelled with a 'K.' It's short for Katelyn," she answered, slightly irritated at the cat comment.
"Oh. My name is Dib, by the way."
"Hi, Dib. So that girl who was sitting in my desk a moment ago…Where did she go?"
"Oh…no one really knows, to be honest. The underground classrooms aren't something anyone's really allowed to talk about…" Dib trailed off, obviously nervous about the current topic. Kat wondered if something traumatic had happened to him underneath the school. "So, um, where did you move here from?"
"I just came back from Australia, actually. My dad's job makes it necessary to travel all around the world. I never really stay anywhere long, though I am glad to be back in North America, at least."
"Really? What's your dad do?" he asked.
"I really don't know that much. As best as I can gather from all the partial explanations he's given me, he collaborates with a bunch of other scientists on a bunch of stuff. He still won't explain why he has to be there in person and can't just video chat or something." She said. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't even be trying to explain her constant traveling, but Dib didn't seem to be like the rest of the people and it seemed he could actually hold a conversation that lasted longer than two seconds.
The two continued to talk about their lives. Dib told Kat about his dream to become a Paranormal Investigator and all his run-ins with Bigfoots, ghosts, and everything in between. Kat told Dib about her how her dad had taught her more about science and history in one month than she had ever learned in school and her uncle (well-not-really-my-uncle-but-I've-always-called-him-that) who introduced her to centuries old literature that she soon became obsessed with. Conversation between the two was effortless, and they both clearly enjoyed having a sort of equal to talk to.
"You know, Dib, you seem like the first person that I can actually have a decent conversation with. It seems that everyone is an idiot."
"I'm not sure I would go that far, but yeah, a lot of the people here can be alarmingly ignorant. They just don't notice things right in front of them, even when I point it out EVERY SINGLE DAY!"
"Dib! Be quiet!" Ms. Bitters shouted and then continued her speech about how the universe was going to rip itself apart by going too fast without waiting for a response.
"Whoa, calm down. Did I hit a nerve there?" Kat asked, slightly worried about the sanity of this boy. Maybe he wasn't as normal as she had originally thought.
"Um, sorry," he said as a faint tinge of red made its way to his cheeks out of embarrassment. "See the green kid over there in the seat closest to the door?"
"Green kid?" Kat asked out of disbelief. Realizing that she hadn't even seen any of the other kids while she was distracted by the creepy teacher, she looked around the room, saving the desk by the door to examine last. Sure enough, there was a student with green skin exactly where Dib had said. His skin color wasn't the only peculiar thing about him, though. He didn't have ears or a nose. How did I not see that when I came in? "Okay, wow, there is a noseless, earless, green skinned kid. What's the story with him?"
"He's an alien" Dib sad simply.
"An alien? I take it back; you're just as much of an imbecile as everybody else." Kat responded. Birth defects? Not very likely. Mutated by the pollution on this planet? Extremely likely. Alien? Well, I guess there could be more ludicrous explanations.
"Come on, just LOOK at him. How can that thing be human?" Dib asked. "He has antennae under that wig and everything!"
"I guess it is possible. What has—um, what's his name?"
"Oh right, his name's Zim"
"Thanks. What has Zim said to explain his green skin and everything?"
"A skin condition."
"What about his missing ears and nose?"
"He still goes with the skin condition excuse."
"Seriously? I don't think a skin condition can do that. He's definitely hiding something."
"Yeah, he's hiding that HE'S AN ALIEN!" Dib shouted again, this time standing on his chair and pointing at Zim as he said it.
Numerous outbursts of 'you're crazy,' 'stop being so weird,' 'shut up, big-head kid,' and 'I'm sorry the new girl has to sit next to him' erupted from everywhere. Ms. Bitters made no attempt to stop the students, and even gave a girl with spiky, light purple hair an A when she threw a crumpled up piece of paper at Dib from her seat behind Zim. Zim took the opportunity to stand up on his desk and join in.
"ZIM IS NORMAL!" he began to shout, but the sound of the lunch bell drowned out his voice.
Kids ran out of the classroom in a mad dash to get to the cafeteria. No one noticed Ms. Bitters fade into the shadows behind her desk and disappear. Not particularly caring if she was the last to exit the classroom, Kat made no hurry to leave. Plus, she didn't want to pass by Zim, who was waiting at the door and glaring daggers at Dib. Alien or not, that kid is really…weird. It's not that he's stupid. He's just really…weird, but that's not the right word. Inhuman. There we go, inhuman. That actually fits perfectly. Maybe Dib is right. If he is, it must be torture to him the way everyone else seems to be convinced he's insane.
Seeing Kat's hesitation, Dib walked up to her. "He's not going to do anything to you. Zim is actually pretty harmless most of the time."
"Most of the time? That's reassuring," Kat replied sarcastically. "That wasn't what I was thinking though. Do people always treat you like that? You may be right though, about Zim, I mean. Come on, let's get some food and you can tell me all about his species."
"Yeah, they do. I guess I just get used to it. Wait, you actually believe me?" Dib looked completely shocked as the two crossed the classroom.
Kat opened her mouth to say something, but Zim beat her to it.
"So I see you have a kitty-pet, Dib-human. What's wrong? Can't fight your own battles anymore? Is the inferior human scum too weak to fight The Amazing ZIM?" he taunted, interrupting whatever Kat was about to say. Then, the most-definitely-an-alien-but-there-is-still-the-possibility-he-is-just-insane Zim turned his attention towards Kat. "Don't believe the Dib-filth! He speaks LIES about the ALMIGHTY ZIM!"
Kat turned to Zim with a look so vicious that he visibly flinched. Dib said he wears a wig? I'll see about that.
"First: if you ever call me a 'kitty-pet' again, I will personally rip your limbs from your body one by one and then throw what's left of your bloody body into a pool of acid. Understand? Good," Every word that escaped her lips was calm, but the fury in her eyes betrayed her true emotions. "Second: my name is spelled with a 'K,' not a 'C.' I am not a cat. And third: saying you are human, but then calling Dib 'inferior human scum' are conflicting statements. I think you need to take a deep breath before you talk and think about what comes out of your mouth."
Before Zim could react, Kat quickly reached up and grabbed his hair. Only slightly surprised to feel it move, she yanked the wig off his head and revealed two long, black antennae sticking out from the top of Zim's head. Half out of shock and half out of fear from the alien's furious look; Kat threw the wig across the room and landed on the floor next to Dib's desk.
The wig was on Zim's head then gone under a second, and the next second saw the two humans running from the classroom and the alien running to retrieve his disguise.