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Spring - Lingering Cold - 3 (Glorious Morning)
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With the prized possession of cat food in her backpack, Josie had rushed back.
Her haste had paid off, letting her reach the stop to catch the earlier, much emptier bus. She had chained her trusted red bike to a small tree near the bus stop, hidden from the street’s view by a tangle of shrubs and bushes. An uneventful bus ride later, she arrived at her school in Lordfield’s Crossing. Josie rechecked the time on her phone to confirm that she still had three-quarters of an hour left before her first class. Taking a deep breath, she jogged past the still empty school yard and rounded the corner of the red brick wall. The bench, where the boys had cornered the cat yesterday, was almost obscured by the shadows of the trees. Commuter traffic had picked up a bit, and after crossing the street with caution, Josie entered the park. She hesitated. Should she put cat food under the bench? Or, better yet, by the bushes she had seen the cat running towards yesterday? To make sure the cat would at least find some of it and didn’t have to go hungry, she decided to leave food at both places.
Unbeknownst to her, the eyes of two secret onlookers tracked her actions. The pair of sterling grey eyes were Caleb's, standing on the curb across the street, right where he had exited his father's car. The second set watching the scene was slanted and of a pale, green colour. None of the two children was aware of them following their every move. The eyes belonged to the cat, its red tail twitching while it was sitting in the safe shadows under a parked car. Perky ears went back and forth to check for unusual noise to make sure it wasn’t ambushed or cornered again.
Josie had entered the park and sat down on the bench, opening her backpack to retrieve Mrs. Wolfe’s recommended chicken kibble, ignoring the canned food for now. Crouching down, she slid some pebbles into her hand, crawling under the bench to reach the earth hole between the roots. Relieved to find the ground halfway dry and clean, she ignored the cold creeping through her parka. The hole was way deeper than Josie had anticipated - but empty at the moment. She let the kibbles fall into the darkness and left the confines under the bench. She stood up, patted the front of her parka to get rid of any dust and dirt, and shouldered her backpack once more, the already open pack of kibbles still in her hand. Crossing the distance in determined strides, she then stood in front of the vast row of bushes and tried to pick a good spot for leaving the food. She wanted to make sure that the cat would find it, the little animal being her sole focus right now.
Would people pass by right at this spot? Walking their dogs? Dogs would steal the food, she was sure of it.
The kibbles were very stinky, and if Josie could smell them, so could dogs. On the other hand, it was still so early that not many people were around. Looking for an opening and deciding on a spot, she put down her backpack on the lawn and got down on her stomach again. Repeating her earlier actions, she left food under a big evergreen bush with more robust branches, guessing they would keep bigger dogs away. Josie hoped the cat would at least get some of it. She couldn’t even imagine having to steal food or to hunger instead. By what she had seen, the cat was very small. Josie was concerned it wouldn’t survive out in the cold with an empty stomach. This time, under the bushes, the ground had not been as dry. The tired grass of the lawn had left a few wet smears on the front of her parka, but that couldn’t be helped right now.
image [https://i.imgur.com/w5utfTH.png] Josie thought she heard someone say, but a look around confirmed she was still alone in the park.
She shook her head and once more inspected the stains on her parka. They would dry over time, Josie thought. After closing the convenient zip of the kibble bag and tucking it away in her backpack, she checked the time with a look on her phone. Her timing today was great! Half an hour left until her first lesson. As she reached the street, Josie noticed Caleb on the other side and froze.
He was watching her. How long had he been there - and why?
Maybe he was still mad about yesterday. Josie suspected that none of the boys liked her much after yesterday's events - especially after Danny had sent the lie about her to the group chat. With this still fresh in her mind, Josie wanted to avoid talking to Caleb at all cost. Trying to stay clear of him, she angled to cross the street, but the boy intercepted her.
“What were you doing in the park?” he enquired without preamble.
Taken aback by this, Josie took a nervous glance at Caleb. The intense look in his eyes almost startled her as she took in their piercing, grey colour. His stature appeared somewhat lanky, indicating an imminent growth spurt and that Caleb would grow quite tall in the future. Taller than he already was, that is.
He and Danny had quite a few things in common, Josie thought.
He had scrunched up his shoulders, and the tip of his well proportioned straight nose was red because of the cold. She looked away, still uncertain about how to act. Even if Josie had studied his chiselled features longer, she wouldn't have been able to read his expression. She just didn’t know him well enough. He didn’t seem unfriendly, but she couldn’t be sure. Unbidden memories about the rather crude treatment by the Stefnies came to her mind, and Josie tensed subconsciously. In an instant, her own anxiety convinced her that Caleb’s question sounded like the opening of an interrogation and not like normal conversation. Her gut threatened to become a knot, and the familiar lump returned to her throat.
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“Leave me alone, Caleb,” Josie mumbled, careful to look anywhere but at him.
“You were looking for the cat, weren’t you? What did you put there?” he asked, but she decided to fix her eyes somewhere over his shoulder.
The boy stepped in front of her with an unexpected, graceful motion, but to her surprise, Caleb didn’t try to stop her. Instead, he continued to walk backwards in front of her, and she could feel his inquisitive gaze as he studied her. This all felt very strange for Josie, and she wished he would just leave already.
“Why won’t you tell me? I’m just curious,” Caleb said, but she met him with adamant silence.
Maybe if she just ignored him long enough, he would take the hint. He was panting a bit at this point, and Josie imagined that walking backward at this pace wasn't easy. Still, he didn’t seem inclined to leave. What did he want?
“Did you leave something for the cat? Tell me!” he exclaimed and surprised Josie with an exasperated little laugh.
This was getting tedious, and Josie was already nearing the end of her patience. She had other things on her mind.
“Hey, if this is about yesterday, don't worry. We can just talk to Danny, clear the air. I know he can be a bit much - but he means nothing by it most of the time,” Caleb prattled, and fury bubbled up in Josie.
What was Caleb trying to say - Danny had meant nothing by it?! Defending his friend after Danny had lied about Josie - to their entire grade?! How dare he!
“Josie…?” she heard Caleb say, but was deaf to his tentative tone.
Finally, Josie met his eyes. She could feel her anger reaching a boiling point. Enough already.
“Leave. Me. Alone!” she spat at the boy and slipped past.
Oblivious to his puzzled expression, Josie started to run and glanced back, but Caleb wasn't following her. He had seemed very determined, and it wouldn't have surprised her if Caleb had tried to keep up. Relieved that she had got away from him at last, Josie slowed down at the school's main door, where she was able to get lost in the mass of other students entering the building.
There were places Josie knew that felt vibrant, embracing, and full of life, like a meadow in summer, or Mrs. Wolfe's convenience store and - most of all - Veilwood. The school was nothing like those places. The gloom of the entrance hall swallowed Josie, the hum of conversations around her doing nothing to alleviate the rather sullen atmosphere. Not even one aspect of the school building was inviting or charming; with its concrete walls and low ceilings, it felt rather oppressive, dark, and cold. It appeared as if the world was stretched too thin here, like bubblegum or dough, almost transparent enough to see through. If Josie had cared enough to ponder this, she would have realized that the entire surrounding area felt like this, but that it was concentrated in the school's buildings. The main body of the school buildings were just stacked concrete blocks, their windows so tall and narrow that they gave the impression of an afterthought. They looked like someone had cut them into the walls after finishing everything else, someone who couldn't care less.
Even though the place felt anything but inviting, Josie didn't hate the school itself, but the mix of feelings being here induced in her. While the girl enjoyed the process of learning itself, she struggled with the dry methods of some of her teachers and, most of all, with how some of her peers were treating her. The classroom for her first lesson was on the first floor, and Josie, still a bit breathless, marched up the stairs; her fists still clenched tight after the interaction with Caleb. When she went into her classroom and was about to sit down at her usual place, her teacher, Mr. Spinner, called Josie to the front desk. The classroom's sad interior consisted of the students' desks and chairs sitting on top of an repulsive, coarse green rug. Josie felt it crunch beneath her soles. As she neared the headboard behind her teacher, the familiar scents of chalk and the cleaning sponge filled the air with an unpleasant stench. The obnoxious Stefnies had already taken their seats near the back of the room and were snickering behind their hands; the entire scene bathed in the pale white of the room's overhead fluorescent lights. Josie tried to ignore them, she just didn't have the patience to deal with them now, too.
“Josie. You are to report to the principal's office right away,” the teacher said while he took papers out of his leather briefcase.
That didn't bode well. What now? Josie suppressed a sigh.
“Of course, Mr. Spinner,” she answered instead. “Can you tell me what this is about?”
“I can not. Best be on your way now.” the man snapped, and turned away from her. Josie couldn't interpret it as anything else than disdainful judgement for being cited to the headmaster.
She despised lessons with Mr. Spinner, or maybe even the teacher himself? In general, Josie didn't mind if teachers were stern and kept a rigid atmosphere during their lessons, but Mr. Spinner's attitude towards the students was very dismissive. She wasn't sure about the exact reason for her discomfort about the man, maybe the subject itself was the reason - Maths being Josie's least favourite of all. Somehow she had lost the connection to it and struggled to keep up with the material. Never mind that now, she chided herself and turned to leave.
Josie exited the room under the gleeful chattering of the Stefnies, her shoulders tense and her guts - yet again, in a very tight knot.
She kept her back straight and her head high, though.
What a glorious morning this already was.
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