I am often compared to a cat. It's the eyes and the movement. I am said to be observant, sleek, and filled with purposeful grace in my movements. However, it is the phenomenal irony in my life, for I am extremely scared of cats.
This thought lingered in my mind as I clung onto the green school fence, shivering and holding an apple while staring at the small black kitten that was in the recycling bin below, curled up and sleeping in a cardboard box.
The irony clung to me as heavily as Singapore's humid air. With each eerily adorable exhale the kitten gave off, I would tremble in fear.
How should I give the apple? Do I simply throw it in? What if I hit the kitten? What if it wakes up and jumps onto me and… STARTS GNAWING ME WITH THOSE NEEDLE-LIKE TEETHSSSSS!?
I finally gathered the courage and threw it, but despite that, I missed entirely, rolling a few metres off from the recycling bin. I screamed. A sharp yelp of pure terror filled the air the moment the apple fell from my hand.
My scream slowly died down after a long moment, and almost instantly, I heard panicked footsteps.
"You. Evelyn." He exhales sharply with a worried expression after turning the corner. "What are you doing on that fence?"
"Jay…" My fingers dug deeper into the fence, but I still felt the sweat from my palms sliding me downwards, minutely but inevitably. "I know we despise each other, but… please help." My left hand hung loose, swayed in the general direction of a recycling bin, and squeaked. "There's a cat."
Jay looked at my fingers, still curled as if I was grasping onto an invisible apple, then at the apple meters away from the recycling bin. "Did you try to kill it?"
"OF COURSE NOT!" I yelped as my face flushed with embarrassment. "I was just trying to feed it!"
Jay stared straight into me. Straight into my eyes. "Are you dumb?"
Before I could even reply, Jay walked towards the recycling bin and peeked inside. "This black kitty needs milk, not a whole apple."
"I.. I am not dumb!" I blurted out, discontented. "I am the top student, you know?!"
Jay continued staring into my eyes, followed by a very long pause…
"Evelyn."
"Yes?"
"I am also the top student."
Right… It's always unpleasant when he reminds me of this. Our grades are always tied. Always. If I scored a ninety-seven, so would he. If I get a perfect score, so will he. This feels like a cruel joke that the entire universe likes to play on us.
Jay glanced at my white knuckles and shaky hands. "Get down."
"I can't," I simply answered.
Jay didn't argue. Instead, he did something really unlike him. He grabbed my legs and lifted them off the fence as I clung to the fence.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING?! AHHHH!" I shrieked like a broken teakettle.
"Calm down." Jay sighed, sounding more irritated than concerned. "You are acting like a feline yourself. A really terrified one."
"I am not acting like a feline!" I protested, now kicking my legs while still gripping the fence. "And let go of my legs, you pervert!!!"
Jay froze and stared at my legs, then my face, while still gripping my legs.
"…Pervert?" he repeated, blinking.
"You can see my…" I choked. I could not bear to say it. My legs are already compromised, and whatever is below my skirt, if the angle is wrong, would be next. Yet, he was still standing there with a neutral expression, not even bothered by it. "Just let go, you dumbass!"
Jay let go of my legs, causing gravity to capture my legs and plunge my butt to the ground. "Owie!"
Jay's eyes met mine, and he was met with a mix of dread and indignation as I whimpered. "Why did you let go of my leg!?"
"Because you told me to."
I pushed myself up, wincing as I tidied myself. Jay didn't move to help, of course he didn't. "You are still alive," he said as if confirming a hypothesis. "So the fall was not fatal."
Jay turned back to the bin and reached his hands inside. I immediately stumbled backward as my arms started windmilling.
"JAY.."
He reached deeper.
"JAY… DON'T YOU DARE…"
He ignored me once more, which, frankly, was kind of insulting.
"JAY!" I hissed. "IF THAT THING LATCHES ONTO YOU, YOU WILL GET RABIESSS!!!"
"Rabies…?" he repeated flatly as he retracted his hand. I could not help but feel a moment of tranquility and triumph until… I saw what he was holding in his hand. Consequently, I was once again… screaming, more like a broken car alarm now.
"STOP SCREAMING!" Jay snapped. His voice cut through my panic, and I froze for a second, my arms mid-flail before realizing the cat was still asleep. Unimpressed by my antics.
"It's… still asleep…" I whispered, my voice trembling and my heart hammering. "It's not… attacking you?"
Jay gave a long, exasperated sigh. "It's not a zombie or a vampire, Evelyn. It's a mere kitten."
The kitten opened its eyes. I was already ready to flee, with my ego broken, but my fear still sky high. However, it did not flee, jump, hiss, or even move an inch.
It just gave a soft 'mew' like it was mocking me. I flinched.
Yet, Jay does not even seem to be affected by the ball of fur on his hand. "Is this enough evidence that it's not rabid?"
"…It's… kind of adorable." I admitted, muttering under my breath.
"So, do you want to try holding it?" Jay asked, carrying a tone that suggested he was not asking a question and no way out.
"…Of course not!" I answered immediately."
"Jay raised an eyebrow. "You just said it was adorable."
"I said that this thing is kindof adorable." I corrected him.
Jay looked at me for a long second before, without warning, he stepped forward.
"JAY! JAY! DON'T YOU COME ANY CLOSER-" but before I could retreat, it wobbled forward in his hand, and I instinctively lifted my palms and felt its tiny paws on my skin.
I froze… Every part of my body had a crazy prickling sensation as my breath caught in my throat, and my heart hammered so violently that I think the kitten in my palms can hear too.
Finally… I can die happy… On this planet.
Not from overworking my cortisol levels, or my fanboys back in my class.
But from a ball of black fur in my palm.
"Jay…" I whispered, a single tear rolling down from my eye. "If I do not make it… do not ruin my image by telling everyone I screamed like that."
"What are you on?"
"And tell my parents I'm sorry for stealing money from the bakery's cash register."
Jay stared at me. "You what?"
"It was only fifty dollars," I said weakly. "I wanted to buy a limited-edition lip balm…"
Jay stared at me as if he was reconsidering every single minute life decision that led him to this very moment. "You're unbelievable. You stole from your own family business just for lip balm?"
"It's not a big deal, anyway! The business is doing well!" I squeaked as I felt my face getting hotter than the already blazing climate.
The kitten, entirely oblivious and unbothered by the human drama, gave off a soft, sleepy 'mew'.
I flinched. It's probably judging me, and I utterly forgot about the terror it inflicted on me. It's probably thinking, 'Seriously? Fifty dollars over a lip balm?'
Jay, however, moved on from my lip balm fiasco and noticed that the trembling in my hands had subsided. "You stopped shaking."
Did I? I blinked and stared at my arms, then the kitten on my palm, fingers cradled around the ball of fur as if protecting something fragile. Though my limbs were still tense, I could feel a sense of protectiveness.
The kitten shifted slightly in my palm, letting out another soft, sleepy 'mew' as if confirming my observations.
"I…" I swallowed. "I… I think… I like it."
"You… like it?" he repeated. When I looked back up at his face, he stared at me as if I had somehow broken the laws of physics.
"You were screaming about rabies a moment ago."
"That was a completely valid concern!"
"And now you're holding it."
I froze. I was not just holding it, but careful with it as well… being protective. This black kitten does not judge my ego, my grades, or the facade I keep as an unapproachable person.
"I… It needs a name!" I spouted off, trying to change the subject.
Jay blinked. "What changed?"
"Nothing." I nodded, firm. "A name is essential."
Jay stared at me for a long second, then sighed. "…Bin."
I instinctively held the kitten close to my chest. "Are you out of your mind? It does not need to be named after the place it was abandoned! It has dignity, you know?"
"It was found in a recycling bin-"
"Did you even hear what I just said!?" I cut him off. "He is Bean from now on! As in green beans…!"
Jay stared at me. "…You're serious."
"I am," I tightened my hold protectively. "And I'm bringing him home!"
Jay's eyebrows shot up and sighed. "You really are what people associate you with. But for all the wrong reasons. You should be known for bad omens, not the predator-like image you give off to your fanboys."
"I am what I am. He is Bean and now I am its owner." Bean let out a tiny, sleepy 'mew' as if approving my declaration.
I glanced up at Jay, who looked like he was debating whether to intervene or just accept me taking the kitten away. "I'ma head off now!" I said and skipped past him.
He blinked as I skipped off into the corner. "…You're impossible."