Crap. You know when people say 'This day could not get any worse'?
News flash for you all, it can ALWAYS get worse!
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Mr. Adam Campbell on a date with Miss Stinky Cat-Lady." Russel Cooper sneered at us and Adam heaved a deep sigh. "Coop, please, don't do this. Don't call her that."
Russell was captain of the football team, feared by most because of his size, his ferocity, and popularity. He was tall, big, and thick like a brick wall.
He was as smart as one too.
"Why? I call her that all the time when we're out with our friends. Why should I stop now?" He smirked down at me, looking like a constipated moose.
I shot a hurt look at Adam. So, he and his friends liked to talk trash about me and call me names. I don't know why I was even surprised to hear that now.
"Yeah, and I always tell you to quit talking about her that way." Adam snapped at his friend, while Lucky started to growl on my lap.
"So what's going on here? Are you seriously on a date with this loser, Adam?" Russel asked.
"This is not a date. We just bumped into each other here and started talking, that's all." Adam quickly replied.
He sounded like he was ashamed to be seen with me, and even more ashamed to have people think he was dating me. Lucky's growl turned gradually louder and I wrapped one arm around him to calm him down.
"Why are you even talking to her? She's so pathetic, it's pitiful!" Russell spat out. "I don't know what came over me to even consider asking her out. I must have been temporally insane. Why are you wasting your time with that frigid lesbo anyway? She doesn't even like dick, bro."
Adam stood up and moved between us to avoid a confrontation. "That's enough, Cooper. You better leave now."
Adam's feeble attempt to protect me only pissed Russell off more. He pushed Adam out of his way to throw more abuse at my face.
"All you care about is these stupid fleabags." He barked at me. "It's disgusting how you have sick cats hanging on you all the time. You're a health hazard, Atkins. You should be kept in quarantine forever. And these stupid animals you love so much should be all put to death!"
He made a move to shove Lucky out of my lap, but the Deadly-claws-of-vengeance made their epic return, rewarding Russell's temper tantrum with a nasty slash.
I think it even drew blood. Good kitty. I was so proud.
Lucky growled loudly and jumped to the ground, with his back arched, his fur standing on end, ears flat against the head, and teeth on display, clearly showing he was not on friendly terms there.
"Son of a b-" Russell howled in pain, holding his bleeding hand. "He attacked me!"
"You attacked him first! He's only defending himself!" I shouted, standing from my seat.
"Oh, you wanna see attack? I'll show the little shit what's an attack." He threatened and tried to kick Lucky, but the cat was as fast as any I've ever seen. Russell's shoe didn't even get close, while Lucky shot towards his leg like a deadly arrow.
I didn't get to see what even happened before Russell was yelping and holding his leg in pain. He was wearing shorts, like Adam, and his leg was free game and a clear target for Lucky's menacing revenge.
"My leg! It got my leg too! I'm gonna kill that freaking thing!" Russell shouted enraged and charged toward Lucky like a furious bull.
I stepped in front of him. "NO! You stay the hell away from him!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "You touch one hair on his fur and I'll beat you senseless, you asshole!" I grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt in my trembling hands and pushed him back, as hard as I could.
I don't know what came over me. It was like someone else had taken over my body for a moment there. I had never threatened to beat up anyone in my life! I wasn't a violent person. I was quiet, weird, Mia, the loner loser that only wanted to be left alone. Who was this fearless girl roaring back at a hulk of a boy three times taller and stronger than her?
I had no idea. Never seen her before in my life, to tell you the truth.
Russell stumbled back and clenched his fists, threatening to hulk up in my direction, but Adam finally decided to intervene and shoved his friend back hard.
"Cooper! What the hell man! Stop right now! Are you going to hit a girl, is that what you're planning to do? What the fuck is wrong with you?" He shoved Russell's chest with force, making him stumble a few steps back.
A few people had stopped to watch the scene we were making in the middle of the Pier and suddenly, I felt very self-conscious and embarrassed, so I decided I'd had enough of this.
I grabbed Lucky, who was still growling menacingly at the two boys and pressed him protectively against my chest. "Come on, Lucky. We don't need this. Let's get out of here."
"Wait, Mia..." I heard Adam calling out to me but I didn't let him finish.
"I'm leaving now. You tell Frankie I had to go." I stormed away with Lucky climbing over my left shoulder to hiss at them over my back. He kept hissing even after we had walked far away from the shore. He only calmed down when the ocean was not in sight anymore.
I reached my building, stepped down the stairs to the basement and when I was inside, I gently put Lucky on the kitchen counter. My hands still trembled from all the stress of the fight at the Pier. He meowed softly to get my attention but I glanced away and wiped at the corner of my eyes to try to hide that I was almost crying. I don't even know why I felt so ashamed and embarrassed.
"Well, guess people are right, Lucky. I shouldn't leave home," I said quietly. "Next time I'll make sure to stay locked in here. It's better this way. Outside is not even that great, right?" I tried to joke, but my voice came out flat and humorless.
I shuffled to my armchair and plumped heavily on it, rubbing my face and trying to keep it together. I jumped startled when I felt Lucky rubbing on my leg.
He 'mrrow′ at me, as if asking 'You okay there?′ and I smiled weakly at his worried face. "I'm fine. Well... not exactly. I don't like fights. I actually kind of hate it. And all that boy at the beach does is try to fight me. He's mad because I said no to him and he doesn't take no for an answer. Especially from girls. And now he wants to make me pay for his wounded pride. Every time he sees me, he tries to make me pay. How fair is that?" I asked and stared angrily at the floor. "I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know why I'm even telling you this... I guess you wouldn't really understand this, it's just some silly people's problems..." I mumbled and watched him tilt his head to the side as if saying 'Do go on, I'm listening.'
I chuckled and the tension in my shoulders relaxed a little. "You act like you know what I'm talking about. Like you had your fair share of stupid people doing stupid things in your life."
He nodded as if saying 'You don't even know how true is that,' and sat on the floor next to me. We both stared at the wall on the other side of the room in silence for a moment.
I shook my head and chuckled again, this time in embarrassment. "I know it's silly to want to believe we can talk to each other. I know I'm just lonely and need someone to talk to." I muttered, breaking the silence. "It feels nice to have someone listening for a chance... Don't get me wrong, Frankie is a good friend, but she's not the best at listening. You are though. If you could talk, you'd probably say I'm a loser anyway."
He meowed in a tone that felt eerily like a 'Nah' and leaned against my leg in a comforting gesture. I guess this was a big improvement in our relationship, since a day ago he was clawing my arm off. Maybe with time, he'll trust me enough to let me pet-- Wait, no. Hold on. What I was even saying? There was no such thing as 'with time'. He was not staying. He wasn't even supposed to be here now.
I shook my head, getting my thoughts back on track. I shouldn't have let my guard down just because I was upset. I couldn't let another pet sneak its way into my heart again.
One time had been painful enough.
"Listen, Lucky, we need to talk," I told him and he glanced up curiously. "I know you have a trick to get in and out of here, but you can't stay. I'm sorry, but I'm not taking you in, okay? I just... I can't, alright?" I sighed and stood up from the armchair. The sun was already setting, leaving only a faint orange light brushing past the window, and I decided I was done with this crappy day. "I'm going to make some instant noodles to eat and then I'm hitting the bed. I don't have cat food in here, so you need to leave now and go hunt for your own food, okay? It's time for you to get on with your life. Out of here." I gave him a pointed look and he gave me an offended one back as if saying ′How dare you not feed me! After all I've done for you!′
"Yes, I can give you some of my noodles,′ I replied to his look. "But that's not really 'cat food', is it? And if I keep feeding you, you'll never leave. And you have to go." I explained. "You have to."
He didn't make any indication of moving his butt out of that floor.
He did make, however, a whole lot of angry protests when I was about to eat my dinner. It started relatively low, but at the time I had the fork of noodles near my mouth, he was full-on wailing in the loudest, high-pitched, hellish scream I have ever had the displeasure to hear a cat make.
"Lucky! Shut it! Are you crazy? People will think I'm murdering a small child in this basement if you keep this up!" I shouted at him but he continued even louder than before, if that was even possible.
Soon the intercom joined in, with a buzz that could barely be heard over the cat's insanely loud howling. Marie had the intercom installed when I moved down to the basement. It was our way of communicating without any of us having to climb up and down those stairs all the bloody time whenever we wanted to say anything. We were both kind of lazy gels.
I pressed one finger to one ear and the phone to the other, to hear better over the insane rumpus Lucky was making. "Emilia, what in God's name are you doing down there?" I heard Marie's upset voice shouting at the other side of the line.
"Erm... it's Lucky, Marie. I think he's hungry."
"Well, bloody feed him then, before he wakes up the entire neighborhood!"
"Yeah, b-but the thing is, I'm trying to get him to lea-"
"Feed the damn cat, Mia!" she shouted and hung up on my face while Lucky still kept protesting in the background.
"Hey! Fine! I'll get you some food!" I caved into his sonorous blackmail. "You shut up now!" He magically subdued until he was mumbling an impatient 'wrow-wrow-wrow' as if to say, 'I had no choice but to do this, you forced my paws here, now hurry up and go get my food.'
"Jeez... you really are the most temperamental cat in the world," I muttered under my breath while I raided the mini-bar, looking for something cat-edible. "I have some frozen fish sticks here. What do you think?" I popped my head over the fridge's door to see him licking his nose with his ears perked right up. "Guess that's a 'yes' then. I'll heat this up in the microwave for ya."
He jumped on the small counter table where the microwave was and sat there, dutifully guarding his dinner as it heated up. The second the microwave pinged, he started howling again and I hurried to get his food out before Marie called again to shout at me.
"Okay, okay! There you go." I put the plate with the heated fish sticks in front of his hungry whiskers. "Now, remember, this is just this one last time. After your belly is full, it's time for you to leave, okay?"
He gave me a silent meow (when cats move their mouths but no sound comes out of it), the one they use when they are trying to beg for something. "No, no, no. I told you before. You can't stay. Now eat your food and get ready to bounce."
He did not bounce.
And I didn't make him.
What? It's not like I'm a spineless git! But we were still eating when some heavy rain started to pour outside. I couldn't cast him out of the basement in that weather! I'm not spineless but I'm not heartless and cruel either!
"Look, this is just for tonight then, okay? Tomorrow you have to go. I'm serious about this." I told him as he circled over a spot on the carpet a few times before settling in a small curling ball, his face tucked cozily into the soft carpet.
I sighed again. No way in hell he was going to leave tomorrow. No wonder he wasn't taking me seriously, I didn't even sound convincing to my own ears.
But I had to keep trying. Tomorrow I was going to try harder.
I was NOT taking him in.
I was not having a new pet.
And that was final.
...