Later that day at Robbie's
"you don't understand how evil this Cat girl is Beck, I don't care if Robbie likes her or not, his hair is part of his image, I don't believe the 'allergy' is real, last year she had her hands all over his head during detention, I remember him talking about how odd it was for her to pay that much attention to him" says Mr. Shapiro
"you want Robbie to be happy right, I assume you want grandchildren" asks Beck
"yes of course but the allergy has to be fake right, it feels controlling to me" says Mr. Shapiro
"my ex was at the hospital when they took Cat from his arms to do in depth tests, she said Cat's back was covered in painful looking hives and bruises, that's not something you can fake Mr. Shapiro, Cat's adventurous, she avoids getting allergy tests done because she doesn't like being told that she can't do something she likes doing, also Robbie admitted to having less than normal hair gel in his hair in detention that day, I talked to my dad, he works for an insurance company, he said it has been known that if the level of allergen is low enough it doesn't incite an allergic reaction, at least not one that is evident without closely looking at the person, they're testing the chance right now because he put less in after his shower, they're going to call me with the results the moment they get them" says Beck
"I still don't trust her, do you believe what your father said is true" says Mr. Shapiro
"he's an allergy doctor, that's what he went to school for so yes, when it comes to allergies I trust him, also Cat's behaviour is more about acting strange as a deterrent than anything else, she's borderline Bipolar and the meds she is on to stabilize her moods absolutely strip her of her ability to defend herself, last week Robbie's friend convinced him that Cat wanted him to forcefully stick his tongue in Cat's mouth and he did, she was completely defenseless, he pinned her on the floor and she literally froze, unwilling to move in case he would hurt her if she resisted, she's not the evil girl you think she is" says Beck
"Robbie never said anything about that, we had no idea" says Mrs. Shapiro shocked about this information
"probably because he knew that he wouldn't have done it if Sinjin hadn't convinced him Cat wanted him to do it, he likely knew you didn't approve of Cat, he tried so hard to make you proud of him but his desire to be treated as an equal among the few friends he does have is pretty strong and he tends to trust them, sometimes more than he should, nobody is perfect, not even me, I accused my ex of cheating and I'd failed to even ask her about it, as it turns out someone who the school had asked me to keep an eye on had raped her, I was careless with her safety, you have a choice to make, keep caring about optics or understand that your son loves her and he should be given a chance to make her happy" says Beck
"what about her being bisexual, that's what worries us the most, we're afraid that she'll cheat on him with a girl and make him feel like less of a man" asks Mr. Shapiro as he looks at his wife
"the number of girls she likes is pretty small, two in fact and one of them ended up being her half sister but she hadn't known that at the time they dated, only after her parents stopped them did they explain things, the other is Tori and they're at odds right now, trust me she's loyal to the people she dates, she'd only leave him if HE does something to make her leave" says Beck
"and you trust Cat" asks Mrs. Shapiro
"her and I don't see eye to eye but she can't defend herself nor attack people with enough force to leave a mark, she's not even a hundred pounds, compared to most people she's a fly, besides she's not a violent person" says Beck as Robbie calls his phone
"hey Beck, Cat's cleared to leave the hospital, less hair gel results in a lesser allergic response that does react to allergy meds, when we first arrived at the hospital she told me she wanted to meet my parents but ever since then she's been stalling, have my parents agreed to be neutral and not hate her" says Robbie as Mr. and Mrs. Shapiro nod silently
"they're willing to give her a chance" says Beck
"if Cat and I work out in the long run will they ask her to convert to Judaism" asks Robbie
"what's her stance on religion son" asks Mr. Shapiro
"neutral, she believes everyone has the right to practice their faith regardless of religion, she just doesn't like it when those beliefs are pushed on her, her family is Roman Catholic but she doesn't really believe in it" says Robbie surprised his father is being this open
"would she participate in a Jewish wedding if you make it that far" asks Mrs. Shapiro as Robbie whispers to Cat, asking for an answer
"only as long as it's a small event and I participate in a Roman Catholic wedding too" says Robbie
"that seems fair but only if it is also small and both events are purely religious and you go get a government marriage license, that seems like a workable compromise" says Mrs. Shapiro as Cat nods
"Cat and I agree that's fair, Tori and Jade invited us to Jade's house for a movie, Jade bought all sorts of food, we'll be stopping at her house to get pajamas then stopping there to get mine before heading to Jade's, Cat's interested in trying Kugel, is it possible to make for tomorrow night" says Robbie
"oh absolutely, we'd love to try some of her foods too" says Mr. Shapiro
"OOOOH awesome, I've been meaning to visit my cousins farm just outside Bakersfield" says Cat
"why" asks Beck having never heard of this cousin of hers
"most of the meat she sells is regular meat but she does keep a surplus for kosher requests, she has Jewish friends and they hired a Jewish butcher to show my cousin how to kill the animal in a certified kosher way, she doesn't get many Jewish customers though but when I last talked to her she said that the Jewish customers she does get pay her a lot more to make sure it's kosher" says Cat
"we can't afford to pay those kinds of prices so if your cousins price is firm or she expects us to pay that extra then we will have to find a kosher meal we can afford" says Mr. Shapiro
"they usually pay for the whole animal but she does part out if there are multiple buyers and for meat portions her price is a lot less, another option she offers is a pay as needed option, so you buy the whole animal and she prepares it as you want it to be and sells it to you as you need it, she's got a method that keeps meat fresh tasting for months, I'm not sure how she does it exactly, I just know it involves freezing it" says Cat
"so what we get charged twice" asks Mrs. Shapiro
"no, you buy the animal's meat as you need it but the whole animal is set aside as your purchase, she uses this method for those that can't eat regular processed meat from the stores for reasons that include money issues or issues with store meat quality" says Cat
"ahh I see so by use the pay as needed plan we get a certified kosher meat as needed but we get the whole animal" says Mr. Shapiro
"yes with the added benefit that if the meat goes bad before you need it again you get another animal in the place of the old one, she can do this because it's a pretty big farm, no animal enhancers either so her meat is also guaranteed by California as all natural, it makes it easier for people like me and my brother who have issues with store meat" says Cat
"ok can we get her number" asks Mr. Shapiro
"just look up Baker's always fresh farm online, I don't know her number off the top of my head, you're looking for Emma's phone number, oh and you can't say I referred you, there is no family and friends discount but there is a first time buyer discount, if Robbie and I start dating then their might be a discount but not before then, anyway Jade just got here, we will talk tomorrow" says Cat as she makes Robbie hang up
"Beck wouldn't she have her cousins phone number in her phone" asks Mrs. Shapiro
"probably but she doesn't do very well in crisis situations, she's also been tracking stuff that irritates her skin or nose so she likely handed her phone to the doctor prior to the allergy test so they knew what to test for, Robbie, wanting to show that he trusts Cat's judgment probably wouldn't have gotten the doctor to hand him her phone, he's really trying to show that he can be a trusting and loving boyfriend, will he make mistakes, of course, we all do in our first relationship, I need your word that you will trust them, no matter what happens" says Beck
"he's had feelings for Catarina for a long time, if she opens the love making door I don't think he'd be able to stop himself and he might get her pregnant, that does make us nervous because while his little sister is in cheerleading and gymnastics and she loves insects she can be quite impressionable and easily convinced of things, she was almost kidnapped twice last year because someone had convinced her that Robbie set them up to pick her up from gymnastics because we were all busy, luckily Robbie showed up at the last second both times but it does scare me that he might devote more and more time to Cat and leave his little sister vulnerable" says Mrs. Shapiro
"she's not allergic to latex so she can make him wear protection if it does happen, which I'm sure it will, just as I'm sure she will be glued to Robbie's side and not let him change his routine, if he picks up his sister from school or gymnastics, she'll tag along, she'll want to get to know his little sister anyway" says Beck
"by get to know, what do you mean exactly, Sara likes girls more than boys, she has a crush on one of her cheerleading friends, she asks us for advice but we don't know what to say, we'd hate it if Cat creeped her out" says Mrs. Shapiro
"I mean it literally, Cat did the same to Tori and her family, they too found it odd but Cat, she likes being informed about what people like or dislike, mainly for gift reasons, she knows better than to act flirty around people younger than her" says Beck
"would she help answer Sara's questions" asks Mrs. Shapiro
"not unless you said it was ok, she sees that kind of thing as a parent's job, she would feel bad if she acted like she was Sara's mom instead of you, she's very cautious about crossing that kind of line" says Beck
"fair enough, we will give Cat a chance" says Mr. Shapiro
The next day while Mrs. Shapiro is making dinner
"you seem nervous Cat, what's up" asks Robbie
"it's your sister, she's staring at me" says Cat
"I'm sure she's just never thought you'd actually be here" says Robbie
"then why is she staring at my chest" asks Cat
"fair enough, Sara stop staring at Cat please, you're making her nervous" says Robbie
"fine to my room I go" says Sara as she heads to her room
"Sara, stop, that's not what I meant, at least explain why you were staring, it might help ease her fears" says Robbie
"I'm jealous ok, you got everything you've ever wanted actually wanting to be with you and I'm over here almost getting kicked off the cheer squad because I get distracted by my cheer mate, she won't even talk to me Robbie, anyway let me know when supper's ready, I'll eat it in isolation" says Sara as she continues to her room
"wait she likes girls" asks Cat shocked
"girls more than boys, the girl she's crushing on is the head cheerleader but said head cheerleader isn't popular at school, she's simply head cheerleader because she has talent, mom and dad haven't really been able to help Sara understand her feelings let alone teach her how to ask her out, Sara is quite ashamed about how she feels as a result" says Robbie
"hey it's not our fault, it's not like we expected this and did research ahead of time, I see things as a guy and I'm straight so my advice wouldn't help, your mother only sees things as a girl and she's straight, what did you expect to happen Robbie, that we'd suddenly know how to tell Sara how to ask a girl out" says Mr. Shapiro
"do you have anything against Sara liking girls" asks Cat
"absolutely not but I'm sure she sees it that way, our track record isn't great, we used to confuse Robbie all the time, he's different and his doctor would change his meds every visit, without explanation or advice on how to explain any of it to Robbie, having a bisexual child is hard enough, being Jewish is even harder, being a Jewish bisexual is harder still, at least that's what we've been told after consulting with a therapist because we can't afford therapy for her even though she's asked for therapy for the past three years, we just don't have the money, if you're willing to help her understand things by all means help her" says Mr. Shapiro
"first I need to talk to this girls' mom, do you have her number" says Cat
"we don't know it" says Mrs. Shapiro
You know her, the girl is Kristina Green, her mom is Wendy Green" says Robbie as Cat winces
"What's wrong, you don't like her or something" asks Mrs. Shapiro
"Krissy is sweet as can be, it's Becca Green that's the problem, she was just put in jail for medication theft, the fact that Krissy might have died had Becca not done what she did doesn't seem to matter to the justice system" says Cat
"what do you mean Kristina might have died" asks Mr. Shapiro
"Krissy had developed an allergy to peanuts last year, her doctor saw it as temporary and said no to getting her an epi-pen, last month someone at the grocery store was an idiot and hadn't cleaned the grocery cart, the handle had peanut butter all over it for some stupid reason, Krissy touched it not knowing that and her throat swelled up, Becca thought quick and asked if anyone had an epi-pen, when she didn't get an answer she ran to the pharmacy and said she needed an epi-pen because her sister was going to die, she offered to pay for it, was told no so she broke in and took one, ran back to Krissy only to find Sara with an epi-pen already applied to Krissy's arm and the swelling had gone down, Becca swears Sara was nowhere in sight when she went to find an epi-pen and that's why she did what she did" says Cat
"Sara does have a way with finding Kristina wherever she goes but we don't even go to the same grocery store, I don't know how she could have been there" says Mr. Shapiro
"the flower shop mishap remember dad, it's across the parking lot from their preferred grocery store, Sara was missing for half an hour, you were about to call the cops and report her missing when she showed up again" says Robbie
"to be fair she's not an easy person to keep track of" says Mr. Shapiro
"true but she's lucky she had her epi-pen on her, do you know anything else about Kristina, Cat we'd like to know if she likes girls too" says Mrs. Shapiro
"I don't know for certain just that when Krissy came to they locked eyes for at least two minutes before Sara bolted, Krissy has been avoiding Sara since so we can assume that event had some effect on her" says Cat as she calls Krissy's mom
"a call from Cat, this is rare, what do I owe the pleasure Miss Candy queen Valentine" asks Wendy Green
"it's about Krissy, Sara like likes her, like really bad, Sara seems depressed" says Cat
"Krissy has also been depressed lately, something about a pending decision on whether to keep Sara on the cheer squad or not, on the feelings thing I can't be certain, she's been awfully secluded for the past month, she's not eaten homemade meals since the epi-pen thing, only. In and out burger food because when we first got the peanut allergy scare they cleaned their grill just so that there were no peanut traces so she's been asking for that ever since, the restaurant has been very accommodating but also very concerned about her" says Wendy
"I'm at Robbie's, we're having Kugel if Krissy would like to join us, Mrs. Shapiro, can Krissy bring in and out burger food here while the Kugel is on the table" says Cat trying to find options
"absolutely, as long as she doesn't touch the plate it's on" says Mrs. Shapiro
"is it too last minute to ask Krissy to come over" asks Cat
"I'd told her no take out tonight because I was getting concerned so she's locked herself in her room, you do know she's autistic right, if she agrees to go she might not look at anyone, however at least she'll get her meal, we'll be there in half an hour" says Wendy as she ends the call
"well the kugel is in the oven, it will be about an hour and twenty minutes, I'm going to wipe the table down and get it ready for dinner" says Mrs. Shapiro
"ok, Robbie and I will be on the couch" says Cat
45 minutes later as Kristina arrives
"my mom said Sara would be here, where is she" says Krissy very confused and nervous
"she went to change, she has a major crush on you, do you like her back" says Cat
"of course I do, she has real talent, just like me, her and I have a lot in common, unfortunately the school would never allow us to date, they have very strict rules about students dating students, she's very open at school about her being bisexual, that's not what the school has an issue with, they don't like people in sports dating because it gives them a clear bias, yes cheerleading is considered a sport at our school, I'm technically still in the closet about liking girls" says Krissy only talking to Cat
"what would be the consequences of you dating Sara at school" asks Cat
"she could be expelled, I'd be severely punished" says Krissy
"may I ask why you stopped talking to her, it's definitely affected her" asks Cat as Sara hides just around the corner
"it wasn't what I wanted to do but they wanted me to kick her off the squad because she's Jewish, I told them I wouldn't partake in their discrimination, maybe cutting it off at both ends was a bad idea but I didn't want them to remove me from the squad as well, they'd see me still talking to her as playing favourites" says Krissy
"can you keep a secret, because their might be a way around their stupid rules" says Cat coming up with a plan
"I mean I hate keeping secrets but if it let's me be with bunny buns then I will at least try" says Krissy as Sara basically melts hearing Krissy call her 'bunny buns'
"your dad's a cop, he can challenge the rules based on discrimination" says Cat
"he's tried that, they threatened to sue him and he backed off, he may be a cop but he's not a very strong willed one" says Krissy
"how big of a problem is it, like how many students are affected" asks Cat
"tons, that's why my dad even tried to call them on it, he was getting calls every day about the school discriminating against certain kinds of students, Jews are but one, athletes as a whole is another, the entire girls basketball team had to sign 'remain single' contracts before they were allowed to play, we all have trackers on our phones, force installed when you connect to the school Internet on your phone" says Krissy
"ok that last one is a breach of privacy, I'll talk to my dad after dinner, he hates when teachers or school boards breach student privacy, Sara come out, I know you've been listening" says Cat as Sara turns the corner, quite clearly blushing
"SARA BETHANY SHAPIRO, that is not proper dinner dress" says Mrs. Shapiro, clearly upset about Sara wearing her cheerleader outfit
"ok I guess I'll change again…" says Sara as Robbie stops her
"mom no, don't do this, that's their cheerleading outfit, she's wearing it because it's what her and Krissy have in common and she wanted Krissy to feel safe and secure, you don't want Krissy feeling unwelcome do you" says Robbie putting his foot down
"but it's so inappropriate, a girl her age shouldn't be wearing that kind of thing" says Mrs. Shapiro
"then blame the school, believe it or not their school uniform isn't any better, the girls uniform is literally designed to be sexual to keep the boys thinking about girls instead of other boys, Krissy has railed against the sexist policy before and does so regularly, the only reason she wasn't expelled is because every girl at the school is on her side and her father's a cop, even if an ineffective one, he's still a cop" says Cat
"ok fine but I don't like the whole 'bunny buns' thing" says Mrs. Shapiro
"Sara does, besides it's endearing, it's not meant to be sexual if that's what you thought I meant, on game days she literally puts her hair into bunny ear style buns, using hair gel and everything, she came up with really cool ideas to take people's eyes off our incredibly sexualized cheer uniforms, Sarah's a bunny, I'm a duck and one of the other cheerleaders is an eagle, the team's literally love it, which is the only reason they haven't expelled her, she's useful to them" says Krissy as she easily picks up Sara
"ok how is it possible that you just picked Sara up, she's not exactly light and you don't look strong enough to pick her up" asks Mr. Shapiro shocked
"I'm deceptively strong but not as strong as I used to be, though what I lack in strength I have in endurance, I'm always at the bottom of the cheer tower because of how long I can last before my muscles give" says Krissy
"that seems a little vain of you to assume what your body can handle" says Mr. Shapiro
"oh dad trust me she's the least vain person at school, she speaks the truth, her muscles really can last that long, acrobatics is her passion, she's trained every day since she was five for this, she's as innocent as I am" says Sara
"I have to admit she's not what I expected" says Robbie
"I could say the same for Cat" says Mr. Shapiro
"fair enough" says Robbie