Kate
Constance watched as Kate danced around outside, calling out commands to Madge, and slumped onto her bed. Kate looked happy and carefree, so why was she acting so harsh?
What she didn't understand was that things weren't always as they seemed. Kate, in fact, was upset. More than upset. She stroked Madge's feathers and murmured things to her, then told her, "Go back to the farm. I'm going to be here until dinner." The bird flew off in a cacophony of feathers and Kate tossed her gloves onto the ground. Sighing, she laid down in the grass and stared up at the sky. It was turning pink and gold, and she was startled, then dismayed, to discover she thought it was pretty.
Since when was pink an acceptable color? She tried to sort out the tumultuous thoughts in her mind, but the thing was, thoughts weren't the problems. No, feelings were. New feelings, for an old friend.
Reynie.
Why was he so special? She thought indignantly of Constance's looks at her. She was sure the little girl was picking up on something. And why in the world had she been so angry to find out that Reynie was thinking about other girls and not her?
"Kate?" It was Miss Perumal. She stepped outside. "Hey, is everything okay? We were looking for you."
"Yeah, I'm fine," Kate said hurriedly, getting up. "Sorry. Dinnertime?"
"Not yet." Miss Perumal tilted her head. "You sure you're okay?"
"Of course." Kate gave a small laugh. "I think I just need to process this whole high school thing."
"At least you have Reynie."
"Why do you say that?" Kate asked quickly. "I mean, yeah, I have him. Not have him. I'm with him. Not like that. Oh, I'm so confused." She covered her face with her hands.
Miss Perumal gently took her hands. "Kate, is it just me or has something changed between you and Reynie?"
"Not on his end," Kate said miserably. They sat down on the stoop. "I don't know what's going on with me. I think about him a lot more, whenever I'm around him I get a feeling in my stomach, and I get viciously jealous whenever he talks about other girls. It's terrible. I don't know what's wrong with me and I just hate it."
"This is perfectly normal," said Miss Perumal soothingly. "You and Reynie have been close for a long time. He's the boy you've known the longest time, I believe. You and Sticky are buddies, but you and Reynie have always been the leaders."
"But I'm not normal!" wailed Kate. "I'm not supposed to be! I'm supposed to be fearless, like Milligan, and climb mountains and solve crimes and jump from airplanes!"
"And you can – wait, when have you jumped from an airplane?" asked Miss Perumal in alarm.
"Okay, I haven't, but it's a life-long dream," Kate admitted.
"That's very valid. Would that I had that much courage. I'm afraid if that happened I would make a huge fool of myself. Regardless – you're still the same person. You're just no longer a girl. You're becoming a young woman. Trust me, you have a long way to go, but frankly, it's surprising you've gone this long without experiencing attraction to anybody. And when and if that happens – if it's already happened – Reynie would be the most natural choice. He's an excellent, sweet, sensitive boy."
"I know he is. I know all that. I'm just so frustrated!"
"Oh, darling, I know," Miss Perumal said, giving her a sideways hug.
Just then, Reynie conveniently appeared. "Hey!" he said, smiling at the two of them. "We didn't know where you'd gone. Constance is sulking in her room and won't let anybody in. We thought maybe you could help."
"Sure." Kate hopped up, feeling her old self return, albeit slightly. Her stomach growled – at least, she thought wryly, her appetite hadn't changed. As for the rest, she'd figure it out. Just because feelings were changing didn't mean anything, right? She was still Kate Wetherall. As she and Reynie headed back inside, she asked brightly, "Can we eat soon?"
That was probably an abrupt ending to this chapter, but I'm in this speed-writing mode. I may go back and edit/revise stuff later but I'm trying to make up for lost time, haha. Hope you're still liking the story!