Project: High School

Chapter 18 - "Did you really have to yell so loud?"

After crying herself to sleep, curled up in Richerson's arms, Katy slept so deeply that she didn't even move when Richerson moved her off him.

He sat there for a few minutes, looking at her peaceful, albeit tear-stained, face. A sad smile crossed his face as he planted a small kiss on her forehead.

"Just what am I going to do with her, Tyler?" He whispered as he left the room quietly. "How am I supposed to help her when I'm scared for her?"

-The Next Morning -

"Rise and Shine girly!!"

Katy jumps out of sleep at the loud voice, hitting the ground hard. Completely dazed, she simply sits there for a few seconds before shaking herself out of it. She looks up at the woman who had woken her with a bitter expression.

"Did you really have to yell so loud?" She asks. The woman reaches down and pulls Katy to her feet.

"How else am I going to wake you up without worrying about being punched?" She raises an eyebrow, clearly expecting an answer.

Katy opens and closes her mouth a few times, racking her brain for something to say but comes up blank. Without saying anything, she turns away and starts searching for something to wear in the closet.

"Nothing to say? How odd," The woman steps close and places her hand on Katy's forehead. "Are you feeling okay, love?"

Katy brushes her hand off, "I'm feeling fine, Nelly. Really. Now let me get dressed."

Nelly laughs as Katy gently pushes her out the door, "Okay, okay. Pick something suitable for going out in public, love. Me and Robert have a surprise for you."

"Yes Ma'am!" Katy gives Nelly a goofy salute and shuts the door. She waits for the sound of Nelly walking away and slides down the door to sit on the ground.

With a sigh, she rests her forehead against her knees, running her hands through her hair. She stays like that for a few, finding a quiet peace in the moment. The moment, however, is interrupted by her stomach making itself known. With a loud and prolonged growl, her stomach, empty for nearly 36 hours at this point, protested against sitting around.

"Fine, fine. I'm going. I'm going," She shakes her head and slowly gets up. Rummaging through the closet and finding nothing she deemed appropriate, she turns toward the chest of drawers.

Spending several minutes digging through the crazy amount of clothes, most of them from different places around the world, Katy finally settles on an oversized baby blue t-shirt and some form fitting blue jeans. To top it all off, as she walks out of the room, she grabs her favorite leather jacket.

Stepping into the hallway, her nose picks up on the scent of coffee. Almost comically, she allows her nose to lead her toward the kitchen.

"You know, you'd look a lot less ridiculous if you weren't dressed up." Richerson falls in step with her. "And you'd definitely be more popular with the boys."

Katy snorts, straightening as they enter the kitchen, "Ever wonder if that is the exact reason that I act the way I do?"

There's a clank of mug being set on the counter, pulling the two's attention over to Nelly, who's standing in front of the coffee machine with a pan in her hands. She narrows her eyes at the duo, slowly pushing the mugs farther down the counter.

Katy simply raises her eyebrow at the size of the mug, and opens the cupboard above her head. Inside are a collection of collectors mugs and shot glasses, among many other collectibles. Right at the front in a massive black mug, that could hold about 5 normal mugs worth of liquid, that clearly gets used on a regular basis.

Nelly purses her lips slightly when Katy replaces one of the small mugs with it, "I really don't understand how you can stand black appliances. They seem to suck the life out of the kitchen."

"Come on, darling. We've talked about this," Richerson pulls Nelly against his chest, not only allowing Katy to reach the coffee but also allowing him to place a kiss on her cheek. "Her black appliances are a reflection of her soul."

"Or my lack there of," Katy points out, taking a long slurp of her coffee. "As some people likes to tell everyone."

"Or your lack there of. Well said. I would love to give whoever came up with that a handshake," Richerson says with a small smirk as he fills his mug.

Katy simply rolls her eyes as she pushed aside the curtain and walks into the living room.

The apartment that she had spent the night in is not the largest. It has a total of 3 rooms to make it up, with nothing more than a curtain separating the kitchen and the living room. With one bedroom and one bathroom, any guest finds it a little hard to imagine a 17 year old living in such a place alone.

However, the apartment is not where Katy lives most of the time. In fact, the address of the apartment is on all her paperwork even though it's not her home. This is something that Katy decided herself ever since her mother passed. She had a target painted on her back for a while, so she lived on base in the apartment as she went house hunting.

After finding a house that was only a five minute walk, or a 2 minute run, from the base, she'd bought it with cash. She paid in cash to make the payment untraceable and she put her distant Uncle's name on the paper work, mainly because he owns 12 other properties in several other countries and it blended in perfectly.

Katy winces as she steps into the living room, the TV quite loud for how early it is. On the screen is her home.

Or what's left of it.

Even the news reporter expresses his amazement that the blast did very little harm to the other houses. Even the trees in the backyard were unscathed.

Nelly walks into the room, "Yes, it truly the mystery of the ages."

Katy snorts, "Give them some credit. Even the HOA doesn't know how much I invested into the house."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I am very, very sorry for the delay. But I promise that I will get the next one out within the next two weeks.

Why did the turkey cross the road twice?

To prove that he wasn't no chicken.

Happy New Year, I'll see you in 2024!