Chapter Thirty-Two

Cat

"Yes this is Cat, the one I was telling you about," nodded Mrs Talbot, clearly unaware of the uncomfortable atmosphere she'd created. "She's having some difficulty with her final piece; would you mind having a look at what she has so far?"

"I don't need help," I said, pulling my portfolio toward me and throwing my arms over it to protect it from thieving hands. "I can do this by myself."

Travis raised a single brow at me. "What are you talking about, you just said you needed help."

"No I didn't," I snapped, throwing a look at him that said shut up.

"Let her help, she might pull you out of this mood of yours," he said, ignoring my look completely.

I made a disgusted sound in my throat. "I am not in a mood."

"Clearly."

Addie watched the back and forth between us with amusement. A smile began to grow at her lips, curling the red at the corners. Finally, she interjected, "I'd love to take a look at what you have. Hey, maybe some of my expensive tutelage can help you out here, my mother says I need to use it, or I'll have wasted the years of working her arse off for me."

"Yes, well," said Mrs Talbot with a lavish wave of her hand. "Take advantage of Addie, utilise her the best you can to aid you in this plight." And with that dramatic movie-sounding speech she walked away, her heels clacking on the floor as she went.

Addie, still smiling, leaned in close, putting a hand on the desk between me and Travis. "Show me what you have," she ordered.

I got a shivery feeling in my stomach. She was close enough to breathe in her spring scent.

"You can take my seat," said Travis, looking up at her, his eyes on her red lips.

"But we were talking," I said in disbelief at his betrayal.

Addie blew him a playful kiss. "Thanks darlin."

My mouth popped open as I stared between them. "But-"

"We can catch up later," he said, his cheeks tinged with pink. He started filling his bag with his books, throwing it over his shoulder as he stood. "You need all the help you can get right now."

He was right, I did need help, I just didn't want the help that the universe was throwing at me right now.

As soon as he left, Addie settled into his seat, and when she reached for my book, I pulled my arms away, relinquishing my hold to avoid her touching me. She carefully opened the front page and looked at it closely.

I sunk down in my seat. Why was this happening to me? It was like one of those nightmares where you're in class and you look down and you're completely naked, and worse, you have to stand up in front of everybody, with everything on show in order to escape the scenario.

"Dude this is really good," Addie said, turning the page and analysing another.

I covered my face with my hands. Maybe if I pretended this wasn't happening, I could will her to disappear. Or even better, maybe I could disappear.

"Oh wow."

I parted my fingers so I could see what she'd found. It was my piece on Mi'lady's Velvet Room. Of course it was a blur of neon and dancing girls, which could really have been anything. If you hadn't been there, with all the colour it could have been a piece focused on festivals. Addie worked there too, so she had instantly recognised it. She ran a finger across the page, tracing the bright swirls.

"Seriously, this is crazy good. Your teacher said it's your final piece you need some assistance with right?" She looked up at me then, peering at me through parted fingers. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know," I mumbled.

Her lip quivered as if she was holding back a laugh.

"Don't laugh at me, this isn't funny," I said, my hands dropping into my lap. "This is horrible."

Addie snorted. "It's a little funny."

"It really isn't."

Addie twirled a loose braid around her finger. "What do I call you then, I thought Honey was cute, but damn Cat is adorable."

I sighed. I guess the jig was up, there was no avoiding it now. "My names Cat, I just use Honey at work because I'm not supposed to be working there."

"So it's like a cover?" she asked. "Like you're a spy or something?"

I let out a laugh and ran a hand through my hair. "Yeah I guess."

"When you say you aren't supposed to be working there, is that because you're only sixteen?"

"I'm almost seventeen," I said so quickly that I shocked myself. "The school doesn't allow us to work, my parents also wouldn't like it, and I'm not sure if Vickie realises my age, but she'd get in trouble if anyone knew I worked there. The name protects everybody from the truth." I gazed at her, she had a dusting of gold across her cheekbones, I wondered if she usually did or if I'd just never noticed before. I glanced down at the table, then back up at her through my lashes. Did she think badly of me now? "Do you think I'm an asshole for lying?"

She shook her head at me. "No judgement here, I imagine you have your reasons."

I tried hard to keep the relief off of my face, but I struggled to keep away the smile. "Good," I said under my breath. "Can I trust that you can keep this to yourself?"

"Oooh I think you might be asking a lot of me there." Addie turned to me, her eyes bright, her smile as wide as her face. "If you want me to keep your secret, then I think we need to make a deal."

I'm filled with a sudden sense of dread and can hear my heart thumping hard in my chest. Badum. Badum. Badum. It's so loud that I'm concerned she can hear too. "What kind of deal?"

Addie rubbed her hands together in front of her like some kind of evil mastermind. "I promise to not spill your secrets as long as you promise you'll stop avoiding me and being weird."

My heart stills. "Oh."

Addie carries on. "I think we'd be awesome friends, if you'd only let me be your friend." She tilted her head to the side, giving me a look of delight. "I'll even sweeten the deal and help you find inspiration for your final submission piece. Your teach is right, I've been there, I know what they're looking for. If anyone can help you, it's me."

I frowned. I was backed into a corner, it wasn't like I could say no. "How do I know you'll hold up your end of the deal?"

"Nothing's ever achieved without first taking a risk." She grinned and held out her little finger. "If it makes you feel better we can always pinkie-swear?"

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