Chapter 14:

Eres ducked behind the school building. She sagged from exhaustion, having attended classes all day. She sighed. That bow-legged brat was probably looking for her. Honestly, when had Leo gotten so cheeky? She felt they’d been fairly evenly matched until recently. Eres wasn’t even a glass canon—Leo didn’t react to anything she did—she was just glass.

Her footsteps echoed between the school and the side building as she meandered. Ugh. Maybe it was better they didn’t share a room. They’d kill each other before the day was over. Rather, Eres would push him off the balcony. It would be his fault. She slumped against a wall, leaning forward a bit when she felt strands of her hair stick on the brick. 

The pulling sensation was somewhat addicting. She leaned her hair against it, peeled it away, and repeated the motion a few times as she chewed her lip. 

A sharp mew came from somewhere to her left. Eres looked, spotting a cat that laid on its side, rolling in the dirt. Pfft, what was that thing doing?

She pushed off the wall, and walked over slowly. The cat paused, stared at her as she approached, and quickly got to its feet. Eres froze, before lowering herself slightly, and extended her fist a bit forward. She clicked her tongue a couple of times.

The cat chirped, hesitant, but edged its way towards her with small steps. Eres nearly lost her mind when she saw the little toe-beans on its paw. Restraint, Eres. 

The cat sniffed at her fist a few times. It looked her in the eyes. “Mreeow~!”

Ah, so cute. Damn! Eres extended a finger. The cat looked at it, and bit it softly on the side a couple of times.

Eres pressed forward and scratched the cat’s chin. It leaned into the movement, and Eres smiled as she was finally able to pet the creature. She gently scratched it with both hands, and nearly stumbled when it pressed against her legs. 

Was this heaven? The cat let her admire it for a minute or two before it turned, dragging its tail across her shin, and bolted off.

Aw…

She watched it dart into a rather large box that had been set up on the nearby greenery. Being at the back of the school, there was a bit of a patch of grass and some small trees they’d planted for scenery. 

Eres tilted her head when the box moved after the cat ran into it. 

Could…cats make it move like that?

Eres approached, cautious steps drawing her closer. She leaned over, peering into the box.

Red eyes stared back. 

“…”

“…”

Eres waved at the girl who was sitting in the box. “Uh. Hi.” 

“Hi.”

The voice was soft, almost inaudible. The cat kneaded the girls legs before it laid down. 

“Do you…live in there?”

“No.”

Eres paused. She couldn’t see much of the girl, just her face, but she looked about Eres’s age, and she could see strands of white hair falling across her shoulders.

“Why are you in a box?’

“They don’t let cats in the dorm.”

“So you’re…living with the cat? Out here?”

Eres could see her nod her head. “Mmhmm.”

“You can’t live out here forever. Are you gonna be ok?”

She paused. “…I can’t leave her alone.”

Eres rubbed her forehead. Hah. She couldn’t leave a twelve-year-old girl living in a box. 

“What if I…help you take care of it? Feeding and stuff.”

The girl’s eyes opened wide. The corners of her mouth lifted a bit.

“Mm.”

She scooped the cat up and crawled out of the box. As she shifted forwards, two white ears popped out of the box first, before they were followed by body, then a fluffy white tail that came out last. 

The girl was still wearing her casual clothes, maybe from the first day, and she was absolutely covered in cat hair.

She used one hand to cradle the cat, and the other to dust hairs from her shirt. She softly smiled at Eres.

“Can you…feed her in the mornings?”

Eres blinked. A genuine, real life fox-girl. Ah. Weebs everywhere, eat your hearts out…!

“Uh, yeah.”

“Ok. I’ll feed her at night.”

She scratched the cats head and walked to Eres. As she moved, the cat wriggled from her grasp, flew to the ground, and darted into the underbrush. 

Recovering from her delighted shock, Eres extended a hand. “Hi, I’m Eres.”

“Eliza.”

They shook hands. Eres tried to let go, but the girl kept her hands squeezed shut.

“…”

Still no movement.

“You’re…supposed to let go.”

“…Oh.”

She quickly released her grip and her arm flopped down.

Was this girl really gonna be alright alone…?

“Do you know which dorm you’re in? I can help you find it.”

The girl nodded, but said nothing. Eres, at a bit of a loss, walked in the direction of the girl’s dorm and the fox-girl followed.

She held the door open, and the girl looked around for a bit, before heading upstairs.

Eliza walked and Eres followed, the path startlingly familiar. Oh. This must be…

Eliza stopped in front of Eres’s dorm, and pointed at the door. 

“Here.”

Ah. The case of the missing roommate—solved.

“Haha…Eliza, this is actually my dorm too. Looks like we’re roommates.”

Her eyes widened a bit, but she nodded. “That’ll make it easier to talk about Cupcake.”

“Cupcake?”

Her face flushed a bit. “The cat.”

Oh. Eres tried to hold back a snort. Ha~ such a serious girl had surprisingly adorable name sense. 

Eliza opened the door and escaped into the room.

Eres heard her other roommates erupt in surprise before she could even peak around the doorway.

“Oh my~!”

“So cute!!”

She walked in behind Eliza. Her smile twitched when she realized she was shorter than the new roommate. The three giants shook the room as they laughed and conversed. Was she destined to look upwards her whole life…? Damn you, Leo!

Eres closed the door behind, and helped Eliza unpack, fielding her roommates questions.

It was only after a very lengthy and descriptive conversation about Cupcake, that Eres was allowed to retreat from the social front-line and hop back up on her bed. 

The day was exhausting. But it was fun. In her last life, she hadn’t had nearly so many people to talk to. It was kind of…refreshing.

Eres turned over with a smile.