Making Good, Chapter 2b
Eyes focused on her destination, Katherine pointedly ignored the stares and stage-whispered insults of her fellow students as she crossed the classroom and took her seat, relenting in her feigned indifference only long enough to return the smile Dr. McCoy directed at her. The history professor was a rarity at Chussets; the only animal-like faculty member she’d met thus far, he’d gone out of his way the previous day to make her feel welcome. But then, she supposed as rarities went, green skin paled beside blue fur and ape-like features, so perhaps he hadn’t even noticed she was anything out of the ordinary. In any case, she wasn’t about to argue it. Mr. McCoy was, thus far, her favorite professor.
“Now, correct me if I’m mistaken, but I believe that when we left off yesterday, we were discussing the final days of the reign of the late King Pastoria, may his rest be tranquil,” Dr. McCoy began after the whispering settled down. “Sadly, the king’s death left his infant daughter Ozma sole heir, and the war of succession followed, in which uncountable spurious claims to the throne were made by increasingly dubious claimants. Can anyone relate how the war of succession was ultimately resolved?”
Katherine’s hand shot up in the air, and Dr. McCoy nodded acknowledgement.
“The Wizard arrived, and became the first ruler of Oz to be chosen by popular acclaim,” she replied succinctly.
Dr. McCoy nodded and turned toward the easel on which he’d been outlining a rough map of Ozian history. “Correct, Katherine. The infant Ozma disappeared; none to this day know her ultimate fate. And the Wizard, supported by the good will of the populace, assumed the throne of Oz as its ruler. Now as one might imagine, Oz was in something of a state of upheaval.” Pausing, he flipped the page over the top of the easel to move on, but froze as he saw the saw the words written upon the next sheet. In large black letters, someone had scrawled the message, “Animals Should Be Seen and not Heard.”
A soft twitter from the back of the classroom was quickly silenced as the simian Professor looked up from the easel. “I don’t suppose that anyone would care to be forthcoming about the origins of this missive?” he asked casually. When it became apparent that a dead silence was to be the only response, he nodded. “In that case, I believe we’ll begin here tomorrow, once I’ve had opportunity to repair my visual aids. Class dismissed.”
Katherine stared at the crudely printed words, dumbstruck and angry, and hung back as the others scurried to collect their books and leave the room. Thus, she was the sole witness when Dr. McCoy’s shoulders slumped and he sank heavily into his seat.
“Are you alright?” she asked softly as she got to her feet and headed toward the front of the classroom.
“What? Well, as alright as one might expect I suppose,” he replied with a trace of the smile that had appeared on his face only minutes before. “Worry not, Katherine; I’ve seen and read far worse things throughout the course of my lifetime. And expect to see far worse still, before I meet my end.”
Katherine frowned as she approached his desk. “What do you mean? This is just…some sort of prank, isn’t it?” she asked, gesturing toward the easel. “Something along the lines of Illyana’s friends leaving barely recognizable sketches of lizards on my desk?”
Dr. McCoy took a deep breath, and met her brown eyes with his own bespeckled blue ones. “I fear not,” he admitted. “I’ve heard rumors of a movement throughout Oz to disenfranchise those of its populace who bear animalistic features. And while until now I’ve taken them with a grain of salt…well, it’s difficult to ignore that of all the Animals,” he used the slightly accented form of the word, one colloquially used to distinguish those who bore a resemblance to their animal counterparts from the animals themselves, “who once taught at Chussets, only I remain. Strange things are occurring in Oz, my dear. Throughout all its lands, not only here at Chussets.” He shook his head and removed his spectacles, buffing them off on his fur before returning them to his face.
Katherine stared at him, more than a little puzzled. “What sorts of things?” she asked.
He sighed and shook his head. “All manner of things. There are rumors of Animals suddenly losing the capacity to articulate their thoughts, if indeed their minds are still capable of such complexities. Of them becoming more bestial, their outward shapes gradually - or on occasion, abruptly - altering further so that they are no longer distinguishable from the creatures they resemble. Of them simply disappearing altogether. It’s all very troubling,” he confided, “but as yet, I’ve had no evidence to support the allegations.”
Katherine’s frown deepened. “Has anyone spoken to the Wizard about this?” she demanded. “I mean, that’s why we have a Wizard. Surely there’s something he could do…”
Whatever reply Dr. McCoy might have made was cut off by the arrival of Madame Frost, whose eyes paused at the words on the easel as she walked past. She shook her head.
“I just heard, Henry. Do you have any idea as to who might be the culprit?”
“None, I’m afraid. As I was just explaining to Katherine, I fear that the prejudice against those of my kind that has been rumbling throughout Oz is rearing its ugly head at Chussets.”
Instead of replying immediately, Ms. Frost turned to Katherine as if only just noting her presence. “Don’t you have somewhere to be, Katherine?” she asked coolly. “Perhaps you’re not as dedicated as I’d thought, if you choose to stand around rather than spending this extra time at your studies.”
“But, Ms. Frost - something has to be done about this!” Katherine insisted, then paused as she noticed the irritated expression on the headmistress’ face.
“I assure you, we shall take all necessary steps to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice. But that’s hardly your concern, is it?”
Outwardly bristling by the time the white-clad woman finished speaking, Katherine forced herself to take a deep breath and nod acknowledgement if not agreement. In fact, she couldn’t have disagreed less, but the threat inherent in Ms. Frost’s words was obvious. Apparently, this was considered a matter for the faculty, and students’ input was less than welcome.
While it would have never stopped her in the past, Katherine recognized that Ms. Frost held the upper ground. And, admittedly, there was nothing more she could do here.
“I understand,” she replied finally, then turned to smile over at Mr. McCoy. “I hope it turns out to be rumors.”
Dr. McCoy nodded without a great deal of conviction, and Katherine sighed, ignoring Ms. Frost’s impatient expression as she made her way to the door. Her mind was still reeling over the doctor’s revelations, and she didn’t know what to make of it. all. Or if she should do anything at all. With one last, supportive smile to the historian, she made her way out of the classroom. Given the muffled enthusiasms she could hear through the windows, it appeared that the Winkie prince had finally arrived and was making something of a stir. Maybe she’d go see how Paige was getting on. No doubt her sister would want to head downstairs and meet the new arrival as well, and there was no point giving her reason to complain to their father that she’d missed out on something just because Katherine wasn’t there.
By the time Katherine emerged from the building she was out of breath, and she found Paige rolling her chair up the ramp to enter. It figured. She’d checked all of her sister’s usual haunts (if anything could be said to be “usual” after only three days) to no avail. It stood to reason the younger girl would already be outside in the midst of it all.
“Oh, there you are!” Paige noted unnecessarily as she waved her sister to the back of her chair. “I have the greatest news!”
“Yes, I know,” Katherine replied with a definite lack of enthusiasm. Her conversation with Dr. McCoy was still troubling her, and listening to her sister enthuse over the new arrival wasn’t foremost in her mind. “New Winkie Prince student. Illyana was all over it,” she added in response to Paige’s questioning look, throwing in a roll of her eyes.
Much to her surprise, her sister shook her head. “Oh no, not that,” she said, then smiled. “Well, sort of that. Bobby’s having a party, and…well, I’m going!”
“Really?” Katherine asked, astonished. Her sister was generally well liked - well, far better liked than she was herself, at any rate, though that really didn’t mean much. But generally speaking, she was self-conscious about her disability and didn’t tend to go into many social gatherings. It was one of the few things the sisters actually shared in common.
“Really,” her sister replied, smile broadening for a moment until it faded and her expression became more stern. “And you know, you’re wrong. Illyana’s not bad at all. If it weren’t for her, Jono would’ve never gotten up the courage to ask me.”
“Hold it - what are you talking about, Paige?” Katherine asked, more than a little confused. She’d met Jono in class, and seen him tagging along behind Illyana like a puppy, but she couldn’t imagine what could have happened that would have inspired the Munchkinlander to invite her sister anywhere, unless he was trying to get Illyana jealous.
Her sister let out a dismissive sigh. “Well, he says he’s wanted to, but he was afraid I’d say no. Illyana talked him into it,” she explained.
“Paige, I don’t know if this is a good -“ Katherine began, but her sister cut her off.
“Oh stop. Can’t you just be happy for me for once?” Paige complained. “He invited me. Me. This is the first time I’ve ever been asked out, and it’s all because of Illyana. I owe her, and I have no idea how I’m going to repay her for this - I wish there was something I could do, but I can’t think of a thing. Can’t you understand, Katherine? This is exactly what I’ve always wanted.”
“I understand,” she replied quietly. Something in the back of her mind suggested there was more afoot than her sister thought, but she kept it to herself. She could be wrong. And if anyone deserved a good time at the party, it was her sister. Still…
“I need to go get ready,” Paige said, rolling past her. “Are you coming?” she asked as an afterthought. “To the party, I mean? It’s at the Oz Dust.”
“I really don’t think so,” Katherine replied with a shrug. An evening of people staring at her, making jokes about lizards and cabbages and actively trying to keep their distance didn’t sound like her idea of a good time. Actually, it sounded pretty much like every day, which rather took out both the “social” and “interaction” portions.
Paige simply nodded, a contented smile returning to her face as she rolled off down the hallway toward her room. Which left Katherine to wonder at Illyana’s alleged generosity, and how she could help Paige repay it.
She didn’t have to wonder long. She was barely halfway to her room (to which she’d decided to return, rather than listen to everyone ramble excitedly about the Winkie prince and his party and what they were going to wear) when Glinda ran up to her in the hallway. Well, she supposed it was as good a time as ever…
“Illyana,” she began. “Paige and I were just talking about you, and -“
“And I was just talking about you!” the blonde countered with barely concealed amusement, producing a pointed black hat she’d been holding behind her back. Despite the fact Katherine was the first to admit she knew next to nothing about fashion, it might well have been the ugliest hat she’d ever seen in her life. “I thought you might like this hat to wear to the party tonight,” the blonde said with a giggle that grated on Katherine’s nerves despite (or perhaps because of) the fact she’d been hearing it for days. “It’d look really good on you,” she added with mock-conviction, depositing the hat in question in Katherine’s hands before rushing off.
Despite herself, Katherine found herself staring after her roommate for a few moments as she held the black hat in her hands. And then began laughing as she set it on top of her head. If people were going to stare anyway, at least it would draw some of the attention away from her face.
In the meantime, she thought she might have found a way to repay her sister’s debt. Turning from the dormitories, Katherine headed off in search of Ms. Frost.
Elizabeth sighed and rubbed at her eyes. Despite having told Nic she’d finish this part, her hand was beginning to ache and her eyes were watering from staring at the page. A quick glance at the clock confirmed what she’d suspected; she’d missed dinner completely and it was getting late. Letting out a sigh, she reached over to pull a Twinkie out of her nightstand (stashing emergency food there was a lesson she’d learned early in life from Uncle Hank, though her mother never seemed to appreciate it) and peeled back the plastic wrapper. She was just too tired to finish tonight, despite the fact she knew exactly what was going to happen next. It was okay, though. More than likely, even if she slept in she could get it finished before Nic even crawled out of bed.
Sometimes, she reflected as she made quick work of her snack and tossed the empty wrapper at the trash can, it was good to have a friend who seemed to think morning started at noon. Now, if she could just manage to convince Josh of the same thing, she might actually be able to sleep in once or twice during vacation. It was totally weird that her younger brother seemed to think mornings started earlier during the holidays than they did during the school year, but she supposed it was no weirder than most things Josh did. Hopefully, he’d be too busy with the other kids to think of waking her.