Chapter 29 – ChatCat – Holly Hayfield

So much for all the work Black Brittney and Megan put into not letting me know where I was taken. They left me all alone the moment Brittney walked out of our little torture session. She was so aggravated that she gave up on keeping this place hidden. When I walked out of the classroom I didn’t immediately know where I was. It took a few minutes of wandering around to find a familiar area.

I learned that they took me to one of the older, unused branches of the school. The school had many of these unused branches that looked just alike. The size of the school was once again thrown in my face. The school was just stupidly oversized. It took several more minutes of walking before I made it to the main section of the school.

By the time I made it to the cafeteria most of the place had cleared out. It looked like everyone was done with the whole student council meet-and-greet event. Someone was waiting for me outside the cafeteria when I walked out.

“There you are!” Jay said, “Val sent me to look for you! Can’t you bother answering your phone?”

“Sorry, it was on silent.” I said.

“Come on. Let’s go. Everyone’s waiting for us in the library.”

I pulled out my phone to look at my notifications. I had twenty unread messages, all of them from Val. She was going to be pissed. What would I tell her? If I told her about Megan and Black Brittney conspiring together and torturing me she might do something unreasonably violent.

Brittney had a stopping point, as I just learned first-hand. Did Val? Would she keep beating them until they were hospitalized the same way she did to Iris and Kate? I didn’t want to find out. I meant for us to continue our efforts with the student council election, despite Black Brittney’s threats.

When we arrived to the student council room in the library Valentina stood up out of her chair.

“Where were you?” She asked.

“I…” I started to say.

Being asked this on the spot put pressure on me. I didn’t have enough time on the walk over to come up with a valid excuse. Val, Jay, Lilith, and Sam were all waiting on me to say something. As I was coming up with something to say, I remembered something.

“I just remembered that I brought Malorie’s diary to school like you asked. You wanted to see it, right?” I asked.

“Where is it?” Val asked.

Lilith pointed out into the library.

“I have it in my backpack near the check-out desk. She gave it to me this morning.” Lilith said. “I was planning on transcribing it into a digital version before we gave it back to Malorie’s brother, Jacob.”

“I’d like to see it first.” Val said.

“I’ll go get it.” Lilith said.

Lilith passed me on her way out of the office room. Sam winked at me as I sat down across from Val. Sam was fully representing her affiliation now that she had been accepted into the student council. She was wearing her black surgical mask with the white rose on it. She was leaning back in her chair and her legs were propped up on the table. It looked like Val was only barely tolerating her.

“What’s that on your neck?” Sam asked.

“What’s what?” I asked.

She pointed at a part of her neck. I touched the same place on mine.

“Your neck is a little red. Is that a hickey? You weren’t out there making out with someone while we were waiting on you, were you?”

Sam said this playfully. I could see the outline of the grin beneath her mask. Val’s expression wasn’t playful, however.

“Were you?” Val asked seriously.

“I wasn’t! This is just a mosquito bite.”

“Here it is!” Lilith said.

Lilith’s timing saved me from further questioning. She was waving the diary around as she walked through the door. She shut the office door behind her and locked it. She handed the book to Val. As Val opened it Sam got up and walked around the table to get a look at it also. Even Jay leaned in to sneak a peek. Val flipped through, not spending much time on each page.

“It’s all in cursive!” Val said angrily.

For a moment I thought this was an irrational response, but then I recalled the fact that Val was a foreigner. A foreigner who spoke English as a second language could easily have problems reading Malorie’s archaic calligraphy. English was my first language and even I struggled to recognize some of the words she wrote. Val handed the book to Jay. Jay looked through it.

“Man this girl’s writing is fancy as hell.” Jay said.

“It’s okay.” Lilith said, “I can read it just fine. When I finish up the digital version I’ll send a copy to each of you.”

Sam went back around the table and took her seat.

“Have you all heard of ChatCat?” Sam asked.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s a group messaging app that Naomi and the girls all run. It has features like uploading files, sharing images, and voice chat. I was thinking we should create a group chat on ChatCat.”

“That’s a good idea.” Val noted, “It’ll mean we can share student council information without needing a meeting.”

Lilith pulled out her cell phone and started tapping.

“Let’s all download it right now. I’ll upload the digital diary as soon as it’s done.”

“Are you okay with that? That’ll be a lot of work.” I said.

“Don’t worry, I’m a fast typer. I’ll start typing it up on my laptop as soon as I get home. I just found the app. It says that one of us will need to create the ChatCat channel before we can invite the others. Which one of us should make it?”

“In Naomi’s group Naomi is the leader. She has a couple of other people as moderators.” Sam said.

“Then I’ll form it.” Val said and pulled out her cell phone, “Can you teach us how to use it?”

“Sure.” Sam said.

Once we all had the ChatCat app pulled up Sam started showing us how to use it. The application was more intuitive than I imagined it’d be. Luckily Sam had enough experience with it to show me how to use it properly. She put her arms around me and her hands atop mine to guide my fingers around the app interface. Val noticed Sam’s touchiness but couldn’t easily call her out on it while she was helping us. Val got back at her when Sam came over to help her.

“Can you show me the same way you showed Holly? Come closer. Do you think I bite or something?” Val asked.

Sam helped Val the same way, with her arms around Val. While she was doing so Val took the time to whisper something into Sam’s ear. By the way Sam gave up and jumped back I had to assume it was a threat. Val smiled at me as if nothing were happening. Sam shrugged it off and moved on.

Next, Sam went over to help Lilith. Lilith was sitting in the chair next to me exploring the ChatCat app. Sam snuck up on her and put her arms around her in the same way. Lilith popped up out of her chair, hitting Sam directly and causing her to bite her tongue. Sam stumbled back and fell into the small sofa that was against the office room wall.

“See…? I told you there’d be consequences.” Val said with a laugh.

Lilith rubbed the top of her head in pain.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing you idiot?” Lilith asked.

“That’s what I want to ask you!” Sam said, “Why’d you have to freak out over a little hug?”

“I don’t like being touched!” Lilith said.

I chuckled at the two of them. This made for a fantastic opportunity to tease Lilith a little. When she sat back down I put my hand atop her head and rubbed it caringly.

“Are you hurt? It looks like you’ve got a bump here.” I said.

“Take your hand off of me unless you want one just like it!” Lilith growled.

Jay laughed.

“Do it Lilith! Smack her right across the head!” Jay said.

“Hold on everyone,” Val said. “Check your phones really quick. I’m going to try to send a message in our group chat.”

Our phones all simultaneously made a ‘meow!’ jingle. That was the default message notice for ChatCat. I checked out our group chat to see Val’s message.

[QueenV]: “Can you all see this message?”

“Is that your screen name, Val?” Jay asked.

“Yep, you like it?”

[MayJay]: “I love it!”

Val pointed at me.

“What’s your screen name Holly?”

“It’s still Holly Hayfield. I don’t know what I want to change it to.”

“I just came up with mine. Check it out.” Lilith said.

[BlackCat13]: “This app is pretty cool. I’ve never used something like this.”

[QueenV]: “Your name sounds like bad luck.”

[WhiteRose]: “I like it.”

“Is that you Sam?” I asked.

“Yeah, it’s the same name I use in Naomi’s group chat.”

“Hmm…” I hummed.

It was hard to come up with a good screen name. Everyone else had a name that fit them pretty well. That being the case I wanted something that suited me similarly.

“I’ve got one.” I said.

[ShiroNeko7]: “What do you think?”

[BlackCat13]: “It looks like you just became my nemesis.”

“I don’t understand.” Val said.

Lilith smirked.

“Holly’s screen name means ‘White Cat’. She also added a lucky number.” Lilith said.

Val grinned at me.

“You decided to draw inspiration from her name and not mine? I’m jealous.” Val said.

I smiled while looking at my new screen name.

“It was something that I just came up with in the moment. I already love it.”

The final school bell rang while we were talking about the app. We were having so much fun that I didn’t realize how quickly time had flown by. The unusual afternoon schedule made it even harder to keep track of time.

“There’s the bell.” Sam said, “I’ll talk to you all later. I’m going to go meet up with Naomi and the others.”

“Give your boss my regards for the ChatCat idea.” Val said.

It was kind of funny to see Val getting used to having Naomi as an ally instead of an enemy.

“I’ll do that.”

Val tapped Jay on the shoulder.

“Do you have a ride home?” Val asked.

“Yeah, my mom is picking me up today. Thanks for asking. I’d better go out and look for her.” Jay said.

“I’ll walk with you to the main exit. I’ve got to stop at my locker first.” Val said.

“Okay.”

They both stood up and gathered their things. Val walked over to me and put her hand on my head. She then leaned in to plant a kiss on my cheek. Jay was disgusted by this but she otherwise ignored it. Maybe she was getting used to Val’s feelings for me. Val’s kiss felt friendly, unlike usual.

Usually it felt like she was forcing her will on me. When were just hanging out normally like this I had no qualms about being kissed on the cheek. My wish was that she could maintain this lighthearted demeanor. If she were always gentle like this then I’d accept her skinship. She looked over at Lilith.

“I’ll be looking forward to seeing your work.” Val said.

“I’ll keep you updated on my progress on ChatCat.” Lilith said, waving her phone.

Val nodded and she left together with Jay. I looked at Lilith.

“Can I help you put away library books before I go? I still have a few minutes before my ride shows up.” I said.

“Sure. I’m a little behind on putting away books. You’d be helping me out big time.”

“Then let’s get started.”

Lilith talked to me about Malorie’s diary while we put books away. She said that she was planning to call Jacob. She wanted to talk to him about the plans to digitize Malorie’s diary. She was getting hyped about this. She turned into a totally different person when she was excited.

Maybe that was part of why I wanted to be around her just then? She was easy to talk to when was like this. Out of everyone in our group she was the one I felt I could be closest to without being hurt. I wanted to feel that way about Sam. Now that Sam was part of Naomi’s gang it was getting hard to feel that way.

By the time Angel had arrived to pick me up we were mostly finished putting away books. Angel gave me a ride while asking me her usual questions about how my day went. Then I’d ask my usual questions about how her day went. I was careful not to let too much slip. It was nice to share talk with Angel, I did consider her my friend after all.

At the same time, she was dangerous due to how unstable she was. That meant I couldn’t talk to her about Black Brittney. I definitely couldn’t tell her about the fact that I was chasing information about Malorie. I couldn’t trust her with anything that she might use as an excuse to flip out. Therefore our conversations had to stay safe. Our conversations had to stay routine.

Creating and keeping a safe routine had become a goal of mine. Unlike Erica, unlike Brittney, unlike so many others, I came to Meredith’s School for Troubled Girls for reformation. That reformation was hard when it felt like the world was bearing down on you. After my student council group meeting I was feeling more optimistic. I was beginning to feel that I had a place to belong for the first time.

What could I do about Brittney and Megan’s little scheme without causing more chaos? Just when it felt like I was getting closer to my goal of creating a safe routine they were threatening it. A truly ‘safe’ routine would be impossible when I had to look over my shoulders for Brittney and her goons. My new situation with Black Brittney was stressful to think about. She’d eventually come after me again.

As soon as I finished making dinner at home I went to go take a nap. I wanted to hopefully rid myself of these dark thoughts. Recently I got into the habit of turning on soothing ambient music while alone in my room. When I focused on the music I could keep my mind out of the dark places that it so often wandered to. It was almost like peace through meditation. My nap was interrupted by the sharp sound of a ‘meow’ coming from my cell phone. I picked up my cell phone and opened up the ChatCat app.

[BlackCat13]: “Everyone! I just came across something huge in Malorie’s diary. Is anyone there?”

[QueenV]: “I’m here. What did you find?”

[ShiroNeko7]: “I’m here too.”

[BlackCat13]: “It turns out Malorie and Jacob had a little sister. It looks like she passed away when she was only six. Malorie’s little sister dying seems to have had a big impact on her. This part of her diary is depressing.”

[QueenV]: “Can I read that part?”

[BlackCat13]: “I can send you everything I have so far. I have to warn you though. I haven’t proofread anything yet. There may be spelling errors.”

[ShiroNeko7]: “Send me the file also. I’ll proofread everything you’ve written so far, edit it, and then send it back to you.”

[BlackCat13]: “Good idea. I’ll send you both the file. Give me a minute.”

While Lilith was uploading the file I decided to switch to my laptop. Downloading and logging into ChatCat was so much easier on a computer. I received the file shortly after. Lilith had managed to maintain the journal entry formatting where possible, being sure to put the time and date of entries in bold. Lilith went as far as scanning the images and embedding them in the document. That showed Lilith’s determination to archive Malorie’s diary.

Lilith highlighted the start of the story of Malorie’s younger sister. Her name was Annabelle. I thought the name was cute for a little girl. Malorie wrote only good things about her in the diary. The two of them were inseparable. Malorie wrote about how much she loved being Anna’s big sister.

Annabelle passed away while Malorie was still in middle school. According to her diary she never truly moved on from it. The diary had ‘letters’ that she wrote to Annabelle as if she were merely gone on a trip. She’d write to her with the closing ‘Hope to see you soon’, and similar lines. She’d spend a great deal of her time outside of school hanging out near Annabelle’s grave.

She wrote about spending time with Annabelle’s grave quite extensively. What was more interesting, that graveyard was close to where I lived. That gave me a sudden idea. I changed into my jogging clothes and opened up the diary file on my cell phone. I walked out of the room and headed into the living room. My mother noticed me putting on my shoes while I was in front of the door.

“Are you going out honey?”

“Yeah, I’m going to go out for a jog. I’m feeling restless.”

“Alright, be safe. Don’t forget about curfew. If you need me to pick you up somewhere just call.”

“Okay. I’ll be back soon.”

I didn’t waste time lingering around the house. The moment I stepped one foot off the porch I transitioned into a full sprint. I’d have to pace myself once I got onto the main road, but I wanted to make it there as soon as possible. My curfew was going to be annoying to keep track of. I wouldn’t have much time to check out the graveyard. The specific gravestone itself wasn’t going to be easy to find either.

I arrived at Davidson East Cemetery almost completely out of breath. Luckily the gate was still open even though the sun was starting to set. There was a small ‘Visitor’s Area’ building that had both its doors propped open. No one was inside, but that was okay. This small building had exactly what I needed.

It had an index of everyone buried there. The index showed which areas of the cemetery they were buried in. The only problem was that the index was confusing. It was my first time ever visiting that specific cemetery. I heard someone walk up behind me while I was searching for Annabelle’s name.

“Excuse me. I need help finding a certain grave.” I said, without turning around.

“We’ll look for it together.” A familiar voice said.

I turned around to see Val standing there. She was wearing a heavy black jacket and a helmet. She took her helmet off and stepped up beside me to look at the index.

“It looks like you had the same idea I did.” Val said.