The Girl From Above [Ground: Zero, Book 1]

23: Cats are Annoying, Even Magical Ones

Ryan woke in the dorm. Sunlight bathed the purple stone like a sunset, casting oranges and yellows across the dorm like fire. The curtains hung lazily, blowing in the cool November winds.

She squinted. A calendar flew gently in the breeze. She slept for two days straight. She wondered how she wasn't dead yet after going into a mini comatose every few days.

As if to answer her question, her stomach rumbled.

She sighed and tried to pull herself forward, only to be stopped by a weight on her chest.

A cat batted at her nose, its wide blue eyes unblinking. Its white fluffy coat tickled her hand and a feathery tail brushed against her leg. It was the largest cat she'd ever seen, stretching down from her head all the way to her knees, its legs nimble and long.

Ryan extended her hand and ran her fingers through its coat.

"Ah, hi there kitty." She said, awkwardly sinking into her beanbag. "Can you get off of me?"

The cat blinked and kneaded its paws into her legs. It curled up into her lap, unmoving.

"Great. Now I can't move and it's your fault."

The cat flicked its ear and purred in response. It turned and stretched towards Ryan, it's tail flicking in her face.

The door creaked open and Zack peaked through.

"Oh, she likes you!" He exclaimed. "That's wonderful!"

He skipped into the room, his expression filled with warmth and buzz.

She pushed the cat's butt out of her face.

"This is your cat?"

Zack nodded. He scooped up the cat in his arms, hugging her close to his chest. He smiled widely, shoving his nose into her fur.

"I'm glad you met Pixel." He said. "She's pretty fickle about newcomers."

Ryan squinted at the cat. Fickle was one way to put it, she hadn't had much experience around cats, but even if Pixel did enjoy having her around, Ryan didn't know if she felt the same. Cat behind wasn't the friendliest first impression.

"Yeah, I didn't think most animals liked me to be honest with you." She said.

"Why is that?"

"I don't know, I just assume most things in general don't like to be around me. I'm not exactly a grass is greener on the other side type, y'know?"

Zack raised his head from Pixel's fur.

"I like to be around you." He said. "You're pretty cool to be around."

His words hung still in the air. They sat in silence for a few seconds. Ryan looked off to the side. Part of her believed him, but a drop of doubt still edged in her mind. She'd only known him two weeks now, but she felt like she owed him everything, and that alone scared her senseless. What if he only pretended to like her? What if he was just being nice and didn't want to tell her all that was wrong with her?

She ran her thumb across her fist. Why would Zack hate her? He saved her life! She couldn't be that selfish, the world didn't revolve around her, it wasn't that complex.

"Sorry, that was bold of me to say. I shouldn't have said something like that..." He said.

Ryan stood. "No!"

He squeaked and Pixel lept from his arms. His ears pressed flat against his cheeks.

"No." She said, "It's fine, really. Don't apologize for saying stuff like that. It's fine, I'm fine."