Karkat woke up to Kanaya shaking him. He groaned, remembering it was Monday. School, and Terezi was still visiting her cousin. Four more days until she was home. Those four days were going to feel like an eternity to him. Kanaya went to get his slippers, which he had left in the front hall. Karkat sat up and looked around.
Nepeta was lying in his bed, sound asleep. He smiled and walked quietly over to her. She was hugging the blankets and breathing softly. She looked so cute. Her bruises on her face were almost gone and her eyes were looking better. But her fingers and arm were still broken. That would take time to undo. In the meantime he had to choose between turning in Gamzee's identity to the police or dealing with him himself. Karkat preferred the latter option.
"Karkat, come have breakfast." Kanaya whispered. Karkat nodded and put his slippers on. They were a normal grey and Kanaya had asked many times if she could embroider them. Karkat often told her she should design fashion. She would then point out that he was pretty much hopeless without her.
Alex was standing by the dining room table. He smiled to Karkat and waved. Alex was new and hadn't known Karkat's parents. The old chef; Gage, had passed away four months ago. So they got Alex as his replacement. While no one would be able to make crab cakes like Gage had been able to, Alex was a good cook and Karkat enjoyed the meals he prepared.
"Good morning Karkat! What do you want for breakfast?" Alex asked. He had a naturally loud voice.
"Waffles, I guess." Karkat said. "Make some for Nepeta too."
"Who?" Alex asked.
"A homeless girl Karkat saved from a gang last night." Kanaya explained. "She is sleeping in his room now, and I am not sure when she will wake up."
"I'll make some in advance and keep them in the oven so they don't cool." Alex said. "Y'know, maybe we should call you 'hero' Karkat."
"No thanks." Karkat said, but secretly the thought made him proud. He sat down at the table and Alex went to the kitchen to make the waffles.
"Did you do all your homework?" Kanaya asked.
"Yeah. And stay by Nepeta until she wakes up, okay? I'm worried she'll start wandering around and hurt herself if there isn't someone to watch over her."
"You are acting like her big brother." Kanaya said, grinning. Karkat shrugged.
"I've kinda adopted her, so I guess I am."
"True enough. I will go get your clothes ready." Kanaya walked back to Karkat's room.
Alex arrived with Karkat's waffles. There were four, all stacked and covered with maple syrup. Alex had also brought Karkat iced tea and some yogurt. Karkat thanked him and ate the meal quickly. He then went back to his room. Nepeta was still asleep and his clothes were prepared for him. He picked them up and went to the bathroom. He took a quick shower, then got dressed and then brushed his hair to the best of his ability and brushed his teeth and put on some deodorant. Kanaya always said he should put some on every day, just in case. He thought that was bullshit, but didn't complain.
Then he grabbed his bags and books and ran out the door. Kanaya wished him good luck before going to check on Nepeta. Dominic opened the gate for him and waved as Karkat left. While most people would assume Karkat would take his limousine to school, he felt that was like bragging. And it got pretty annoying after awhile when kids kept going ooh and aah whenever you drove to school. So Karkat walked.
On his way to school he passed by other kids who tried to have a conversation with him. He ignored them all as usual. But no matter how much he did they would still keep trying to get close to his wealth. And since Terezi was out of town visiting her cousin some girls even tried to flirt with him. He fingered them and told them to fuck off. He normally didn't swear because Terezi would tell him not to, but with Terezi not around he was in a bit of a bad mood.
Karkat got to school early enough to put his stuff in his locker and sat in the bathroom, waiting for the bell to ring. The bathroom was always the best place to avoid talking to people. When the bell rang Karkat went to homeroom and sat at his desk in the corner. Terezi's desk was next to his and was of course empty. Karkat pulled out his phone and tried texting Terezi.
CG: HEY, HOW'S VISITING YOUR COUSIN?
Due to dropping it too many times, Karkat's phone was permanently stuck on Caps Lock. Of course, Terezi had decided to add a quirk to her writing so that he wouldn't be the only one.
GC: K1ND4 BOR1NG. L4TUL4'S WON 4NOTH3R SK4T3BO4RD1NG COMP3T1T1ON. H3R3'S 4 P1CTUR3 OF H3R & TH3 TROPHY.
A photo of Terezi's thirty year-old cousin standing next to a trophy shaped like a skateboard popped up. Latula was really into skateboarding and being rad. Karkat thought she sounded rather annoying, judging by Terezi's description of her.
GC: SH3'S D4T1NG SOM3 TH1RTY-TWO Y34R OLD GUY N4M3D M1TUNA. 1 H34RD H3'S GOT BR41N D4M4G3, BUT SH3'S ST1LL TRY1NG TO T34CH H1M TO SK4T3BO4RD.
CG: MAKE SURE SHE DOESN'T KILL HIM.
GC: 1 W1LL.
Then Karkat's homeroom teacher came in. Karkat said a sweet goodbye to Terezi and shut his phone off. Karkat's homeroom teacher took attendance and started a lecture about how TV ruined kids' creativity. The homeroom teacher was always giving them lectures. He had a way of talking that made it so you couldn't ignore him. And he was always wearing the same red turtleneck sweater. Karkat often wondered if he ever washed it.
Karkat sighed with relief, as did the other students, when the bell rang. Karkat had English next. He grabbed his books from his locker and walked as quickly as he could. He ducked around people as they tried to talk to him or said hi to him. He didn't respond to them, just kept walking.
He walked into his English classroom and sat down in his desk, which was at the back. Looking around, he realized Feferi was in his English class. He had never noticed her before. His English teacher Mrs. Lalonde wasn't there yet. So Karkat pulled out his phone and started texting Terezi again.
CG: I FOUND THIS GANG OF CREEPS YESTERDAY IN AN ALLEY. GUESS WHAT THEY WERE DOING?
GC: WH4T?
CG: THEIR LEADER WAS BEATING UP A LITTLE GIRL.
GC: WH4T!
CG: THE LEADER TRIED TO BE MY FRIEND AND LEFT WHEN I CUT HIS HAND. I TOOK THE LITTLE GIRL TO MY PLACE. HER NAME'S NEPETA.
GC: 1S SH3 OK4Y?
CG: YEAH, PRETTY MUCH. HER BRUISES HAVE FADED BUT SHE'S GOT A BROKEN ARM AND FINGERS.
GC: SHOULDN'T YOU T4K3 H3R TO TH3 HOSP1T4L?
CG: NAH, WE CAN TAKE CARE OF HER FINE. WE'VE GOT ALL THE SUPPLIES. I JUST NEED TO GET HER SOME CLOTHES.
GC: GOOD LUCK W1TH TH4T. W1LL 1 B3 4BL3 TO M33T H3R WH3N 1 COM3 B4CK?
CG: YEAH, I'VE PRETTY MUCH ADOPTED HER.
GC: 4WW. 1 HOP3 SH3 C4LLS YOU 'B1G BROTH3R'.
CG: THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BE REALLY CUTE.
GC: Y34H.
GC: OH, 1 H4V3 TO GO-MUM'S C4LL1NG M3.
CG: KAY. LOVE YOU.
GC: YOU TOO.
Just then the door opened and Mrs. Lalonde walked in. Mrs. Lalonde had short blond hair that looked white and purple eyes. She was a fun teacher who was very nice, but didn't tolerate misbehaving. She was the teacher kids went to if they were being bullied. She had also written several fantasy books with wizards. Karkat put his phone away and took out his English binder.
"Hello students." Mrs. Lalonde said. "I heard we have a new student today." Everyone looked around the classroom, confused. There was no one new. "Oh, maybe he's not here yet." Just then the door burst open and someone walked in.
"That'd be me, motherfucker."
OH. HELL. NO! It was Gamzee. He wasn't wearing the clown makeup but he still had the black lipstick and the same grin on his face. His hair was even wilder than yesterday and he was wearing a black shirt and black pants with grey polka-dots.
"First of all, you do not curse in this class!" Mrs. Lalonde scolded.
"Sorry." Gamzee said, still grinning.
"Class, this is Gamzee Makara." Gamzee waved and Karkat saw the scar from the cut he'd made on his hand. Seeing it gave him some satisfaction.
"Heya motherf-" Mrs. Lalonde glared at him before he could finish his sentence.
"Well, this seems to be a good opportunity for a new seating plan." Mrs. Lalonde said. "Everyone, line up against the wall."
Karkat followed the rest of the kids and lined up against the whiteboard. Everyone wrote their name on a piece of paper and gave it to Mrs. Lalonde. Karkat did one for Terezi. When Mrs. Lalonde had all the names in a box she closed it and shuffled it. Then she took out a random paper and taped it to the first desk. She then did that with the next desk, then the next. Karkat crossed his fingers and hoped that he and Terezi would be sitting next to each other.
When Mrs. Lalonde had finished taping all the names the class took some time trying to find their new seat. Karkat found out he was no longer sitting in the back. He was now in the third row. But to his great satisfaction Terezi was sitting next to him. He sat down in his seat, glad that the seating plan hadn't made things worse for him.
Then Gamzee came and sat behind him. Karkat looked at the piece of paper taped to the desk, and it was written on it "GaMzEe MaKaRa." What was with that spelling? And he'd written it with a purple pen. Gamzee just grinned at Karkat. Karkat turned away from him and listened as Mrs. Lalonde read out a poem.
"Hey, Karbro." Gamzee whispered. Karkat flinched, causing Gamzee to chuckle. "Look happier best friend, I started going to school to see you more."
"Fuck off." Karkat snapped. Gamzee's grin faded.
"What happened to that little girl?" Karkat's hands clenched into fists and his knuckles turned white. "Did she die?"
"No she didn't!" Karkat whispered loudly. A few kids heard him and gave him a questioning look.
"She's still alive?" Gamzee asked. "Where is she?"
"Everyone, write a poem on something you did over the weekend." Mrs. Lalonde said. Karkat glared at Gamzee and took out a piece of paper and a pencil. Karkat stared at his paper, wondering how he should write about what he did.
I was told to change someone's life,
A feat I thought would be impossible.
But while I explored for those in need,
I found a crisis that had to be stopped.
Bad men were hurting,
A little girl.
I saved her and brought her home,
Where she could be cared for.
She'd had no home before,
But I changed that for her.
Now she has a place to come to,
At the end of the day.
A warm bed,
To sleep in at night.
I've saved her life,
Probably in more ways than I know.
So I accomplished,
What I thought would be impossible.
I changed someone's life.
Karkat thought the poem wasn't very good, but it showed what he'd done pretty well. He handed it in to Mrs. Lalonde and sat back down. As written on the board he took out the book they were reading "The Name of This Book is Secret" by Pseudonymous Bosch. Mrs. Lalonde would have them read books none of them had heard about. The last book they had read had been "The Theft & the Miracle" by Rebecca Wade. Karkat had enjoyed that book, though a few kids in the class had called it stupid.
When Gamzee handed in his poem Karkat glared at him. He didn't want to know what Gamzee had written. He doubted he'd be stupid enough to write about beating Nepeta, but he still didn't want to know. Gamzee smirked at Karkat as he walked back to his seat, and Karkat almost got up and punched him. But he restrained himself. He didn't want to get kicked out of school for fighting. After all, he had to be a good role model for Nepeta now.
While Karkat was at school, Nepeta had finally woken up. It took her a minute to remember where she was. When she looked at the couch Car cat wasn't there. Instead Kanaya was sitting on the couch, sewing something. Nepeta wondered what time it was.
"Where's Car kitty?" Nepeta asked. Kanaya looked up in surprise.
"Karkat is at school. Would you like some breakfast?" she asked. Nepeta nodded. She followed Kanaya out of the room and into the hallway. There were so many doors they passed by! This house was really big.
Kanaya brought Nepeta into a large room with a large table on it. There were four chairs, one of which was a bit smaller than the rest, with long legs to reach the table. In front of that chair was a plate with two waffles and a fork and knife. Kanaya had Nepeta sit down in that chair. Nepeta stared at the waffles.
"I can eat them?" she asked. Kanaya smiled and nodded.
"Of course. Karkat asked Alex to make them for you." Nepeta loved waffles, and she'd only had them once before. There was a brand new bottle of maple syrup and Nepeta picked it up and opened the lid. She tried to pour it slowly but it ended up spilling all over the plate and onto the table. Nepeta dropped the bottle of syrup and started crying.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she cried. Kanaya came up to her and Nepeta flinched. "I said I'm sorry!"
"I am not mad, it is alright." Kanaya said. She stroked Nepeta's hair and whispered "I am not mad." over and over again. Eventually Nepeta calmed down.
"You're not going to punish me?" Nepeta asked.
"Of course not. That was just an accident." Kanaya said.
"Really?" Nepeta asked. Kanaya nodded. Nepeta sighed with relief. She had been so scared. Daddy would have hit her for doing that. That was also why Nepeta had only had waffles once. Nepeta began to eat her waffles. They were amazing! Much better than the waffles Mommy had made. And Nepeta liked them completely covered with syrup.
When Nepeta had finished eating Kanaya took her back to the bedroom. "Wait here." she said and walked out. Nepeta looked around. There wasn't anything to play with that she could see. But there was a window by the computer. Nepeta climbed onto the desk and looked out the window. She could see a big field and a forest on the other side. Nepeta wondered if there were fairies and unicorns in the forest.
Then Kanaya came in, interrupting her fantasies. She was carrying some clothes. She put them on the bed, then picked Nepeta up. Nepeta squealed and protested, and Kanaya put her on the bed.
"I kept some of Karkat's clothes from when he was little. Let's see if they fit you." She had Nepeta try on some jeans first. They were a bit too long and wide on her, so Kanaya put a belt around them and rolled up the legs. The shirt she had brought was also a bit big, but that wasn't a problem. It had a picture of a red crab on it, and while there were words on it, Nepeta couldn't read them.
"What do the words say?" she asked.
"Oh, it says 'I'm Crabtacular!'" Nepeta frowned.
"That's a word?"
"No, it is the word spectacular, but with crab instead of spec, because there is a crab on the shirt." Nepeta just nodded.
"I can keep it?" Nepeta asked.
"Yes, until Karkat buys you your own clothes." Nepeta stared at herself in the mirror. The clothes were so clean! And comfy!
"Car kitty's really nice." Nepeta said, smiling.
"He is, but why do you call him Karkitty?"
"Because kitty sounds cuter than cat." Nepeta said seriously. Kanaya laughed.
"Yes, you are right."
Kanaya put the shirt and scarf Nepeta had been wearing in a laundry basket. Nepeta sat on the bed, kicking her legs. Kanaya looked at her feet and frowned. "Oh, we should trim your toenails." she said. She walked out of the room. Nepeta looked at her feet. Well, her toenails were long. But was that a bad thing? And what would she use to trim them? Mommy had used a small knife. Nepeta worried she would be cut. But when Kanaya came back in, she wasn't holding a knife. She was holding a small weird little thing.
"What's that?" Nepeta asked.
"This? It is a nail clipper." She sat down on the chair next to the bed and grabbed Nepeta's left foot. Nepeta gasped and tried to pull her foot out of Kanaya's grasp. "Relax. It will not hurt." Nepeta never believed people when they said that. She was sure they always lied.
Kanaya clipped one of Nepeta's toenails and she squeaked in protest. Kanaya held her foot tighter and kept clipping. While it didn't hurt that much after all, it felt weird and Nepeta didn't like it. She squirmed and tried to get Kanaya to stop. But Kanaya held her foot tightly. And when she'd finished with her left foot she grabbed her right and started on that. Nepeta whined and pleaded, but Kanaya just scolded her.
"You are only making this worse. It's not that bad, you just think it is." Nepeta didn't really understand what she meant and kept whining. Eventually Kanaya finished and let go of her foot. Nepeta pulled her feet up and sat on them.
"Please don't do that again." she said.
"You have to, otherwise they will grow too long and you will not be able to wear shoes or socks." Kanaya said. Nepeta whimpered.
"Nooooo." she whined. Kanaya sighed.
"Fine, we will do your fingernails tomorrow, alright?" Nepeta nodded, but was not okay with that at all. Kanaya went to put the nail clipper away. Nepeta felt her newly trimmed toenails. They were perfectly rounded, like they'd never grown long in the first place. How had Kanaya managed to do that? And it felt so strange, having short toenails all of a sudden.
While Nepeta was feeling her toenails, Kanaya came back in. Nepeta looked up at her, making sure she wasn't still holding the nail clipper. Nepeta now hated it.
"Well, what would you like to do?" Kanaya asked. Nepeta frowned.
"Do?" she asked.
"Yes, do want to draw, or play a game or watch TV or something else?"
"I can do those?" She hadn't had anything to draw with, or any games to play before, and her parents were too poor to own a TV.
"Of course you can. Karkat wouldn't want you to get bored." Nepeta thought for a minute.
"Ummmmm….I-I wanna draw!" she declared. Kanaya smiled.
"Alright, I will go get some papers and crayons." She stood up and turned to the door, but stopped and looked at the computer desk, frowning. She walked over to it and picked up a piece of paper. "Oh, darn."
"What's wrong?" Nepeta asked.
"Karkat forgot his homework." Kanaya explained. "I will have to go take it to him. You can draw while I am out."
"Nuh-uh! I wanna go see Car kitty's school too!" Nepeta cried, bouncing on the bed slightly. "Pleaaaaase?" Kanaya chuckled.
"Alright, I will go find some of Karkat's old shoes, and maybe some socks." Nepeta grinned.
"Okay!" she cried.
And there's Gamzee! Sorry about Karkat's shitty poem, I'm not too great at poetry and that was the best I could come up with.