29 Chapter 29 (1/2)
”So, what's it like being a half?” Jessica asks. ”I-I imagine there's a lot of troubles”.
”Sorry, I can't keep Mr. Maloney waiting for too long” Catherine says. ”I'll make a deal with you. You guys were nice enough to hear me out without judging, so I'll tell you guys about all of that later. I don't think it'd be fair to Mr. Maloney if I just have him stand there for a while. I'll be right back here when I'm done, alright?”.
”Oh, sure!” Jessica says. ”No problem”.
”Thanks guys... see you later, Jessica” Catherine says as she walks away.
”Later!” Jessica says as she waves at Catherine.
”So... now we're doing this?” Jackson asks. ”Are we just... waiting now?”.
”I haven't seen her in ages” Jessica says, ”of course I'm waiting for her!”.
”Alright” Jackson says, ”fair enough”.
”Still though...” Darren says, ”a half human, half laibah... Do you think she can shapeshift?”.
”No idea” Aeris says. ”Which is why I'm waiting here too. I really want to know now”.
”Yeah, I must admit” Wyatt says, ”I'm rather curious”.
”Mhm, me too” Emma says.
”You're just interested for other reasons, aren't you?” Jackson asks.
”Hm?” Emma asks.
”Nothing...” Jackson replies.
After a long while of waiting, Catherine eventually comes back out of the main doors of the school. ”I know the school isn't much” Refus says, ”but do you think this is the type of school you're interested in?”.
”Yeah” Catherine says, ”and sorry I couldn't bring my parents to speak with your principal today... my dad has troubles coming into the city”.
”Don't worry about it” Refus says.
”Oh, hey guys!” Catherine says as she looks at The Rejects. ”Before I go” Catherine says as she looks back at Refus, ”thanks again for everything”.
”Don't worry about it. It's no trouble at all” Refus says. As Catherine runs off towards The Rejects, Refus says to himself ”A lot of students have been leaving the school lately, but it also looks like a bunch of other students are coming in next year. A lot of them are laibah, but we're also getting human students that are aware of the laibah and seemed to have no problems with them. Maybe Ryan was right... maybe the world is slowly growing out of this age of fear and embracing a new, better tomorrow. Oh that's right, speaking of Ryan...”. Refus then walks back inside the school, to go to Ryan's office.
”So, do you like the school so far?” Jessica asks.
”Well... it's still a school” Catherine says. ”There's still work involved and all that usual tiring stuff, but other than that I think this place is fine. Your principal is really nice too”.
”Yeah, some of the staff here are surprisingly accepting of laibah” Darren says. ”The Principal is always talking about helping the laibah get a fair chance in life and all that”.
”It's a good thing this school is on the outskirts of the city” Catherine says. ”Otherwise, I don't think I'd be able to go here. It would be too far away if it were in the middle of the city, as well as all the humans... oh! N-not that there's anything wrong with you guys, J-Jessica! I-I mean-”.
”Pfft- ha ha! Don't sweat it!” Jessica says. ”We totally get it. Most of the humans stick to the innermost areas of the city, and I've had my fair share of getting pushed around by them too. It's not that all humans are bad, it's just that those people in specific are bad”.
”So which one is a laibah?” Aeris asks.
”Huh?” Catherine asks.
”Out of your parents, I mean” Aeris says. ”Which one is which?”.
”W-well” Catherine says, ”my dad is a laibah, but my mom is a human”.
”What's it like?” Jessica asks.
”W-well... it's not anything special...” Catherine says. ”My mom and dad are pretty average people. I have a little brother, and that's about it for our family”.
”Can you shapeshift?” Aeris asks. ”Do halfs have that ability?”.
”I-I do...” Catherine says, ”but I only have two forms... this form and my half form. I don't have a fox form”.
”Interesting...” Aeris says.
”Come to think of it” Jessica says, ”I've never seen any laibah use their fox form”.
”You probably have” Darren says. ”If you've seen a fox with a weird coloration of their fur, that was probably a laibah”.
”I've lived in the middle of the city before coming here though” Jessica says. ”Almost no laibah even set foot there”.
”That's also true...” Darren says.
”Anyways” Catherine says, ”since my mother is a human, I was born in my human form. I've also always had trouble shifting back and fourth between my two forms”.
”Do your ears or tail pop out at random?” Aeris asks.
”No, nothing like that...” Catherine says. ”Wait, is that the problem she has with her forms? Is she also a half?”.
”I-I'm not a half” Emma says.
”She has... a different problem” Aeris says.
”Well, my problem is I have to focus very hard to shift forms” Catherine says. ”What troubles does she have with her forms?”.
”Emma?” Aeris asks. ”It's the same reason she has purple fur and purple eyes. It's a part of her bloodline. The bloodline she came from had more than three forms, and were the dominant race of laibah a long time ago. However, she has less control over her human forms. So when she gets too nervous, excited, scared, et cetera, she'll sometimes accidentally slip into her half form. It's a survival instinct, I think”.
”More than three forms, huh?” Catherine asks as she looks at Emma. ”When you have kids, will they also have more than three forms?”.
”I-I-I don't know!” Emma says. ”H-how would I know that!? Why are we bringing up having kids!?”.
”Hm...” Aeris says as she brings her fist up to her chin and thinks. ”That's a good question. Things such as their eye color, fur color, and abilities ARE dominant genes... but there's no way to know for sure how many of those genes could translate to a human body. Say, Wyatt, do you guys plan on ever having kids?”.
”W-WHAT!?” Wyatt panics. ”I-I d-d-don't know! W-we haven't talked about anything like that!”.
”Can we not bring that up!?” Emma asks.
”Geez...” Aeris says, ”it was a simple question. You guys need to think more logically. Anyways, if you guys make up your mind, let me know. There are a few things I want to learn about this... dominant genes subject”.
”These two are red like a couple of tomatoes...” Darren says.
”You guys have no sense of decency” Jackson says.
”That's rich, coming from you” Aeris says.
”Hey, at least I'm not the one asking two people my age to have kids for the sake of science!” Jackson says.
”When you break it down like that...” Emily says, ”it sounds worse than it really is”.
”Jessica?” Catherine asks.
”Yeah, Cat?” Jessica responds.
”Your friends are weird” Catherine says.
Jessica sighs and says ”I know...”.