Hey there, dear readers! I am back again with another new chapter of Hairball for you to, hopefully, enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Hairball (Chapter 5)

 

by

 

Elite Shade

 

 

 

 

"Excellent stitching, you seem to be a natural." I blush a little at Rebecca's praise, not entirely being used to it.

"Well, I kinda have to sew up tears and cuts and patch up holes in my clothes from time to time," I explain. We're both sitting on the large white couch in the spacious living room. On the pricey-looking cherrywood coffee table in front of us is a pile of my new clothes, and next to it is a neatly folded stack of the ones we've been able to modify so far.

"Hmm..." Rebecca said as she seemed to concentrate on the... skirt... that she had bought for me.

Oh crap, did I just say something weird? Rebecca's been asking me questions since we started sewing together, once we had relocated to the living room. A few times after I answered her questions, like what my old room was like back at the foster house, what my foster parents are like, and stuff like that, she would frown a little and not say anything for a bit. She was really quiet when I told her about the jerky I would stash under the loose floorboard so I could have something to eat when I got home... I thought that showed that I like to plan ahead...

"Have you had to do that often?" she asks.

"Every now and then," I say, a little on edge. When you spend the majority of your life trying not to be in any kind of spotlight, it turns out that answering questions about yourself makes you a little uncomfortable... or I guess it's at least that way for me.

"Hmm..." she says again, and there's that slight frown. We sit on the couch together, in silence, as we both work on adding the holes necessary for my tail to my pants and shorts and my... panties... for a few minutes.

"It really isn't fair..." I hear her say quietly, feeling my ears swivel in her direction.

"What isn't?" I ask.

She looks up at me, and flashes a smile. "Nothing you need to worry about, honey." I sit there, confused, as we finish up with my clothes. As we're both making our way towards the stairs, I can hear some more footsteps. I let out a little involuntary hiss and feel my tail swish at the reminder of Benjamin's very existence. Rebecca puts a calming hand on my shoulder, and my hiss just becomes an impotent grumble. We put away all of my clothes in my room, with Rebecca lecturing me on how to properly fold and hang up different articles of clothing to prevent wrinkles after seeing my usual method. I don't see what the big deal is about a few wrinkles, but I follow her instructions anyway without voicing this thought.

"There we go," Rebecca says, "the beginnings of your new wardrobe is properly put away."

My ears perk up a little in surprise at that. "That's only the beginning?" I ask. By my count, there were almost six pairs of pants and five shorts, and a few shirts.

"Well, of course that's just the beginning," she states simply, and also I feel like there's a note of finality there, but that could just be my imagination. I step back a little, intending to grab my backpack and start unpacking it, when I trip on it a little. I steady myself and look down to see that it's open and that the shoebox I keep my Sorcery: the Assembly cards in is sticking out a little, a couple of cards having spilled out onto the floor. I bend down and gingerly pick them up while setting the box down on my new bed. Rebecca looks at them, clearly curious, and picks up several from the now open box.

"Now what have we here?" she asks.

"Th-Those are Sorcery: the Assembly cards," I explain. I go on to explain how I collect them as I unpack the stuff I brought with me. I hope that this doesn't also make her think I'm some kinda weirdo... although that ship may have already set sail... Wait, why's she smiling like that?

"Alex, hun, I have something to show you that I think you're going to like." I'm picking up some excitement in her voice. I follow her out of the room and down the hall. We turn a corner and come to a set of double doors, where Rebecca pauses and turns to me.

"Nick's always loved fantasy and science fiction, especially in book form and, before today, he's managed to put together a little collection of some, mostly paperbacks, of his favorite books." she explains before turning back around and opening up the doors. Woah... so it would seem that, thanks to the wish, that collection's grown quite a bit. I think that this room is what's called a study, which I assume because of the desk with the sleek-looking computer on it near the far wall. The walls all seem to be bookshelves, each one packed full. I take a few steps inside and start reading the spines.

"The Ebony Spire, Dragon Gauntlet, The Gnome Diaries," I read aloud, "those are classics!" I've really got to work on keeping an even tighter lid on my excitement.

"Yup. I married quite the fantasy and sci-fi nerd," Rebecca says with a slight giggle.

"C-Could I... borrow one or two, to read?"

"Well of course, honey. I know Nick, and he would happily let you read anything you see." I immediately walk over to The Ebony Spire, and grab it and the next two books in the series. I want to start back from the beginning before I start in on the newer books.

"Just a little heads-up though. Once he finds out that you enjoy this stuff, he's going to talk your adorable ears off to no end about it." I wince a little at any part of me being referred to as being adorable, but I'm way too excited to care.

I take the books back to my new room and start reading The Ebony Spire. The rest of what what's left of the morning just kinda drifts by as I read about Dolan the Pistolwielder of the fallen Kingdom of Trillied. It's been years since I've been able to dive back into the dark fantasy adventure as he chases after the Man in the Dusky Jacket. ...Okay... maybe I'm a little bit of a fantasy and sci-fi nerd myself... But seriously now, the last time I got to read this book was, like, six years ago. A few pages were missing... as well as the last three chapters, and parts of it had been defaced. That's kinda what you get from the church-donated books sometimes.

Even so, I still loved the adventure of the story, and I held onto my copy for as long as I could... until the really super religious foster parents I was staying with at the time found it and later that very day burned it. I only stayed with them for about four months, before the cops came and arrested them for... something. I'm not really sure what, I just remember both of them screeching Bible verses as they were cuffed, telling the officers that they were gonna burn in hell and stuff like that. The knock on my door snaps me back to reality, if it can still be called that, as strange as it is. I open the door to a face that I wasn't expecting.

"What do you want?" I icily ask Ben, who stands there, unable to meet my glare.

"My mom told me to tell you that lunch is almost ready," he mumbles. I suspect that he didn't have much say in the matter of informing me about lunch. I turn away from him without saying anything further, my tail swishing back and forth. I stand there, crossing my arms, with my back towards the doorway, waiting for him to leave.

"Uhm..." Oh great, he wants to say something else. "A-Alex... I... uh... I just wanted to tell you... I mean... I..." I continue to stand facing away, I just want him to leave me alone.

"I... I didn't know about you being in f-foster care..." he says, lamely.

"So?" My voice is a little strained I guess.

"So I... I always saw you and... him... hanging out... and I guess I thought that... that you were another spoiled rich kid like... him." Both times he calls Adam, him, with that emphasis, I feel a tight knot form in my chest. Being reminded of how I was betrayed by the only friend I had is not something I want to think about right now... and I think Ben's picking up on it. I'm not sure how I know, but I just can tell that he's staring at my tail.

"And so, when I thought that you had... w-well, I mean... I just never thought that... Adam w-would know how to hack anything... or any of those other guys you both hung out with--"

"I never hung out with them!" I cut Ben off as I round on him. "They weren't my friends; I never had any friends aside from Adam!" I am not going to cry in front of Ben. I won't let myself... not even a little...

"I'm sorry." His voice is like a whisper, but I still hear the words. The tirade that I was going to unleash on Ben dies in my throat with a croak.

"... Sorry doesn't change a damn thing, Ben," I manage to say after a moment of very uncomfortable silence, before I brush past him, discreetly wiping my eyes on the back of my arm as I make my way down the stairs.

After Ben follows me down, and thankfully doesn't try to talk to me, we both sit on opposite ends of the kitchen table, eating in silence. Rebecca has made some grilled cheese sandwiches and a side of salads, which we both thank her for. We both eat in sullen silence while Rebecca sets her food down at the table.

"I've never been one for uncomfortable silences," Rebecca says, "so now might as well be the best time for us to discuss some things." And so the cheese sandwich was a trap... great... I should have known.

"First off, Benjamin," Ben winces a little at the stern voice of his mom, "for what you did to poor Alex, as well as for drinking, you are grounded for the next month." Ben lowers his head and Rebecca continues. "That means no games, no library, no TV; just going to and coming home from school, am I understood?"

"Yes, mom," he mumbles. Really? Only one month!

"Now, Alex," she turns towards me, and I can feel my ears going flat, "I've already made an appointment for you to see a doctor. So far you seem to be pretty healthy to me, but I want to make absolutely certain."

"... But..."

"Yes, honey?"

"I'm a cat now... not a human..."

"I'm aware." Rebecca smiles warmly at me. "But still, I'm certain that a medical professional will be able to properly determine if you're healthy or not."

"So when's the appointment?" It's probably in a couple of days or so.

"This afternoon." Okay, maybe not.

"You got a doctor to see me that fast?"

Rebecca nods. "Nick's having a friend of his performing the checkup."

"... So... do you think that there might be wrong with me?" Can turning into a catgirl give you cancer?

"Oh, honey, no," Rebecca says, reaching over to give my paw/hand-thingie a reassuring squeeze, "I think that you seem perfectly healthy! But earlier, you told me that the last time you went in for a checkup was when you were seven years old. You are long overdue."

"... Okay..."

"Everything's going to be alright, Alex." Since I'm not sure of how to respond, I say a quiet thank you and resume eating my sandwich in silence... or I try to... but I guess that Rebecca really doesn't like uncomfortable silences, because she keeps asking me questions about myself. She's not excluding Ben, however. Actually, I think she's trying to get him and me to talk to each other. For her sake, I speak to him a few times, after her prompting me to do so... but I'm making sure to be really terse about it.

Since my appointment isn't until four-ish, when I finish my lunch, and remember that it's normal to ask to be excused from a table, I head on back up to my room and pick up where I left off. Dolan has to shoot a couple of Plodding Monsters, which I always thought of as being zombies, in a cavern with a tiny natural bridge over an endless pit. Despite my anxiety of going back out into public looking like I do, reading this familiar story is really relaxing me. I lay there, sprawled on the comforter, just as a strand of sunlight slowly moves up my leg. My tail gives a twitch, and suddenly, I feel some weird rumbling in my throat. What the hell is that? Oh god... am I... purring? I sit straight up, and the rumbling... the purring... tapers off.

No... that was... just a shiver... yeah, that's just me shivering... With that settled, I just curl up a little and lay on my side, and dive right back on into the book. The sun beam strikes my legs again, and this time, I let out a yawn. I can feel my eyes drooping a little, and I try to keep myself awake but... I'm just so comfortable right now... maybe if I just close my eyes for a little bit...

"Alex, honey?" Rebecca's voice startles me awake from my... and once more, I do see the irony here, cat nap. I groggily raise my head just as she pokes her head in, smiling at me.

"I'm awake." Because everyone who says that in a groggy voice has ever been convincing in the history of people who've just woken up.

"I can see that," Rebecca says with a giggle, making me roll my eyes. "We should probably head on out now." I nod my head and sit up. At Rebecca's prompting, I run the hairbrush through my fur once, at least on the parts sticking out at odd angles because of how I fell asleep on that part of my body. Now that my bed-fur's all and taken care of, I guess it's time for me to head on back out into public... as a catgirl... oh boy...

I follow Rebecca downstairs, just in time to see her talking with Ben, who looks up at me coming down and looks away, blushing. I shoot him a glare as I pass them both on my way to the front door.

"You're sure that you don't want to come with us?"

"Y-Yeah, mom, I'm sure," he says.

"Alright, but remember, you're still grounded, so no--"

"TV, games, or computer except for school-related projects," Ben finishes.

"That's right. Now, Alex and I probably won't be gone for too long. I love you, honey." Rebecca kisses Ben on his forehead, making him blush as he looks back up at me before looking away again.

"I love you too, Mom," he mumbles. With that, we leave. As I walk towards the car, I can't help but admire the garden. All of the colors and the flowers. I smile down at a pretty red rose, sticking uniformly out of the side of a bush like so many others nearby. I guess I've always kinda liked plants, and roses are especially pretty. Not sure what my favorite flower would be though, I never really thought about it.
I climb into the passenger seat and buckle my seatbelt, just as Rebecca heads out as well. I stare at the fountain as we drive past it and out the front gate, which swings noiselessly closed behind us.

So far, so good. As we travel through the different intersections of town, there are a few stares. I guess some people think that they're seeing like a panther or a jaguar in the front passenger seat of the car as Rebecca drives us along. We stop behind a few cars at a red light and wait. I lean my head on my hand, sticking just a little bit out the window. Suddenly, I feel something rub against the top of my head in between my ears. I turn to look out the window to see a little girl in an SUV in the next lane, leaning out the window to pet me. I'm not good at guessing the ages of kids, but if I had to guess, I'll say that she looks to be around five. A little blonde girl with pigtails who, apparently, unbuckled herself from the carseat she had been strapped in.

"Hi," she says with a wide and happy grin.

"Hello," I say back, not sure of what else to say here.

"You're pretty." I'm not sure what else I should do here, but thankfully the light turns green and both lans start going. I turn to look at Rebecca, who smiles at me.

"She's right you know," and already I can feel my face heat up, "you're very pretty."

"I don't want to be pretty," I grumble.

"Aww, but I saw a gorgeous sundress that would look absolutely perfect on you." I whip my head to look at her.

"That's not funny," I say quietly.

"Then it's a good thing that I was only half-kidding." Still though, I think that it's going to be a long time before I can even get close to being comfortable enough with her to start joking around like that... wait... what did she mean by only half-kidding?

"Oh, we're almost there!" she sing-songs just as I open my mouth to ask her what she means, and turn to look at the hospital. It all seems to be just one floor, and looks more like a strip mall. Out front of the large parking lot are a lot of metal statues of coyotes and donkeys and some snakes. There's even a small black statue of a cat sitting next to a black saguaro cactus that catches my eye. Right in front of the statues is a gigantic water fountain. Seriously now, what the hell is with all these fountains in the desert?

"Alright, ready for your checkup, honey?" Rebecca asks while smiling at me.

"Yep." I have the distinct impression that this is going to suck. But, I could be wrong. I am willing to recognize when I'm being a pessimist. I just hope that I don't have to get any shots... I don't like needles... aw crap... I probably will. Rebecca and I exit the vehicle and start to make our way towards the entrance, with her draping a comforting arm around my shoulder.

"Don't you worry, honey, I'll be right there with you." Seriously, why is she acting so nice to me? That's what keeps throwing me off the most.

 

 

 

There you have it, readers! The fifth chapter of Hairball! I really do hope that you enjoyed it! Please, as always, feel free to let me know what you think with a review!

And, of course, I would like to thank my very good friend, Trismegistus Shandy, once again, for being an excellent proofreader! Please, if you haven't already, give their stories a read!