The Bat & the Cat
Chapter 10: Sleep Together
December 20, 2013
Chimera Prep Cafeteria Courtyard
“All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places
Worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere
Going nowhere
And their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression
No expression
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow
No tomorrow
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you
‘Cause I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it’s a very very
Mad world
Mad world
Mad world
Mad world
Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy birthday
Happy birthday
Made to feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen
Sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me
No one knew me
Hello, teacher, tell me what’s my lesson?
Look right through me
Look right through me
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you
‘Cause I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it’s a very very
Mad world
Mad world
Mad world
Mad world
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you
‘Cause I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it’s a very very
Mad world
Mad world
Enlarging your world
Mad world.”
“Very good,” Roderick said as he removed his acoustic guitar. “It’s incredible to think you’ve only been practicing for seven months.”
“Thanks,” Megan replied with a soft smile. “I really enjoy playing. Besides, it’s not like I have much else to do with my spare time, anyway.”
“What about that woman you’ve been seeing? What’s her name? Maggie?” Leo asked, sparing a glance up from his Computer Programming textbook.
“Maykere,” the bat answered, correcting her new friend. “I mean, she and I hang out now and then, but I have my job and the band, and she’s busy running her own business. It’s not like we live together or anything like that, so I still have a lot of time to myself.”
“What’s the status with her, anyway?” the lemur boy questioned as he packed his instrument away in its case. “Are you two getting serious or what?”
“No,” Megan answered with a slight shake of her head. “My mind’s still too fucked up right now. I’m still trying to get over Ross, and figure out who Kristin claims to have gotten pregnant by me. Maykere knows that. For now, we’re just friends with benefits. That’s all.”
“Why won’t Kristin tell you?” Leo asked.
“She’s offered, but the price is too high,” the teen herm replied. “She wants me back, and that’s the last thing I want. She doesn’t love me, no matter what she thinks. I’m just an object to her, a toy.”
“Excuse me?” a soft, sweet voice called out to her left. Turning their heads, the trio saw a younger, green-furred tabby staring back at them with a gentle smile on her face. “Ohayoo-gozaimasu, Llyulf-sempai,” she said cheerfully. “I am sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if you would like to be my date to the Winter Formal dance?”
“Hi,” the male wolf said, returning the girl’s greeting. “Midori, right?”
“Hai,” the younger feline answered with a broad smile and a slight bow.
“Sure thing,” Leo responded, accepting the invitation. “What’s your number? I’ll add you to my contacts and give you a call later so we can work out the details.”
Megan and Roderick watched on patiently as the pair exchanged contact information. Despite having just met the canine boy a few months earlier, Leo - short for Llyulf Kalayo - was quickly becoming one of the bat’s closest friends. He had just transferred into Chimera Prep from North Florida, despite being a senior. Since he didn’t know anyone, he opted to isolate himself out in the courtyard during lunch to study. Once she and Roderick had taken to the courtyard for her bass lessons, he slowly moved closer and closer to where they played, enjoying the music while he read, until they eventually invited him to sit with them.
As Midori walked away with a playful bounce in her step, Megan regarded the wolf boy with a smirk. “You know, she’s one of the most notoriously promiscuous girls in this school, right?”
Leo gave a dismissive shrug. “So? I was going to go to the dance anyway, just to watch you and your band perform. Besides, just because I’m escorting her doesn’t mean I have to sleep with her.” Glancing at his watch, he gave a sigh. “Lunch is about over. I’m so not ready for Miss Fargo’s class.”
“You’ll be fine. You’re one of the biggest computer geeks I know,” Roderick reassured him. “No offense. But it is kind of messed up that she scheduled a quiz on the last day before Winter Break”
“It’s not that,” the wolf said as he packed his textbook away. “I know the material, but that woman is so random and unpredictable; I have no idea what to expect on this quiz. I spent all week reviewing the last three chapters, but she’s just as likely to change her mind about giving the test altogether.”
“Ethan has her for digital art,” Megan said as she stood up and slung her guitar case over her shoulder. “He says the only thing you can do is expect the unexpected with her.”
“Yeah, well, wish me luck,” he said as the bell sounded.
“Relax,” the bat added, draping an arm over his shoulder. “The more you let her get inside your head, the worse off you’ll be.”
“See you guys after school?” Roderick asked as they stepped inside.
“I’ll be free for a little bit,” Leo said.
“Not me,” Megan answered. “I’m supposed to meet up with Jack and Vivy to practice. But we’ll get together sometime over the break.”
“Sounds good,” the two males replied in unison as they all parted ways: Megan heading for Miss Waters’s Philosophy class, Roderick going to Chemistry, and Llyulf marching bravely towards whatever fate awaited him in Liliana Fargo’s Computer Programming class.
