Chapter 112: 88. Feeding the Rumour Mill

Me and Kaylee slept in on Sunday, and so did Nina. When we did finally get up our parents were a bit surprised we were all home, since we told them we'd be staying over at Cerys's place for the night. They didn't mind though, and mum even made us pancakes for breakfast.

So we all had a nice breakfast, and after that me and Nina did the dishes and cleaned up and stuff. Then around noon Kaylee decided it was time for her to head back home as well.

After that my sister and I spent some time doing homework and stuff, then in the afternoon there was a bunch of activity on the club's group chat. Nothing new, but we all got Melody filled in on what happened with Cerys's mom at lunch, then our experiences at Mrs. Ainsley's house overnight.

Unfortunately no-one had any more ideas or suggestions on how to deal with the situation. Paige and Kaylee were doing research though, to try and figure out how to block or stop astral projections. They were also trying to figure out how Mr. Ainsley got so good at it so quickly.

Monday morning started off the same as always, with me and Nina heading out for school. We met Kaylee on the way, and the three of us talked a bit more about the Cerys dad problem. None of us had any breakthroughs though.

I still thought we needed to go and speak with the guy in person, since that seemed like the best way to find out how or where he learned the astral projection stuff. And why he was using it to haunt Mrs. Ainsley.

Except there was no easy way to speak with Mr. Ainsley. Even if we could get to Gravenhurst I wasn't sure if the prison would let just anyone show up and ask to meet with the guy. And I definitely wouldn't suggest Cerys go and see him, that was probably the last thing she needed to deal with.

I figured it was a problem the whole club would be working on, so maybe we could discuss it at lunch time. Or maybe we'd end up having another club meeting after school or something, since it seemed like a serious situation that we couldn't just ignore and work on when it was convenient.

When we got to school me and Kaylee and Nina all went our separate ways, and I tried to forget about magic and astral projection and Mr. Ainsley for a while so I could focus on my classes. Which worked pretty well until lunch time.

After my second class I headed back to my locker, except as I approached I spotted a couple people hanging around there waiting for me. Kenzie looked like she was in excited bun mode again, pacing around and fidgeting and stuff. And with her was a petite Siamese catgirl, who wasn't as hyper but still looked a bit fidgety.

I got a sinking feeling in my stomach as I spotted her. I'd actually all but forgotten about the encounter with Kimmie on Friday. Suddenly it was all fresh in my mind though, and I couldn't help thinking I was about to deal with some more of those consequences and responsibilities my parents were talking about at new years.

Kimmie's face hadn't changed much, from what I could remember after our brief meeting on Friday she was recognizably the same girl today. And she still looked the same age, she was obviously a grade nine student.

Those were maybe the only things about her that hadn't changed though. Her eyes had gone from hazel to a bright blue. Her long dark blonde hair was now a short cream-coloured bob. She had a pair of chocolate-coloured cat ears poking up on top of her head, and a long chocolate-coloured cat tail stuck out at the back. And the most obvious difference was her height. When I met her on Friday she was as tall as Brooke, but now she stood no taller than my little sister. She'd basically gone from around five-foot-eight down to five feet even.

As soon as Kenzie spotted me she dashed over and asked, "Hey Cass want to have lunch with me and Kimmie today? She has some questions she wanted to ask you and I figured if you're not busy then maybe we could have lunch together and you can talk with her and maybe answer some of her questions?"

"Uh, ok?" I responded as I opened my locker. I put my books in and got my lunch out then asked, "So um, are you two getting along better now or something? I didn't think she liked hanging out with you."

The bunnygirl shrugged, "She still teases me about being smaller than her but at least she's not like a giant next to me anymore. And we had a lot of fun together over the weekend playing around with our plushies."

Kimmie smiled at her sister and commented, "I might not be as tall as I used to be, but I'm still taller than you. Pipsqueak."

They both had their lunch with them already, so the three of us headed to the cafeteria together. As we sat down at a table off to one side I spotted my sister and all my friends were sitting on the opposite side of the lunch room. I assumed they were probably going to be talking about the Mr. Ainsley problem again. I figured either Nina or Kaylee would fill me in on what I missed during our walk home after school.

For now I focused on my sandwich and the two demi-humans sitting across from me.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

Before either of them responded I added, "Actually where's Kirstie today? Doesn't she usually have lunch with you, Kenz?"

Kimmie answered, "Dad went out for lunch with mom today. She'll be back in time for afternoon classes. Probably."

"They asked us not to call them that anymore, remember?" the bunnygirl said as she frowned at her sister. "They're Kathie and Kirstie, not mom and dad. And if anyone asks, Kirstie is our sister and Kathie is her girlfriend."

"Whatever," the catgirl rolled her eyes then had a bite of her sandwich.

I ate some more of mine as well but I could hear mom's words in my head again, about responsibilities and consequences. I had a feeling all this stuff was going to get me in trouble one way or another, but at least it sounded like the Winters were all happy and having fun.

After a minute or so of quietly munching on her sandwich Kimmie addressed me again, "Anyways mom said if I wanted to get my school ID and health card updated with my new picture that I should talk to you about it? She said you took care of all that stuff for her and dad with your magic."

I almost cringed at how the catgirl just casually said that at normal volume in the middle of the cafeteria, while Kenzie glanced around nervously to make sure nobody was actually listening in on our conversation.

Meanwhile the bunnygirl hissed at her sister, "Kimmie! We're supposed to keep this stuff secret, not blab about it in public where anybody could hear!"

Kimmie rolled her eyes again and shrugged, "It's not like it's some huge secret. Thanks to her our mom and dad are both teenage girls. And anyways, people are already talking about her. I've been hearing the rumours going around, from a few different sources."

I nearly facepalmed when she mentioned her parents again like that at full volume, then fought off another cringe when she got to the part about the rumours. That was the last thing I wanted to hear, that people were talking about me. I dreaded what the rumours said, but at the same time some part of me felt curious, and almost amused.

After a second or two of uncertainty the curious side won and I felt myself putting on my calm relaxed confident act again. I looked at the catgirl and asked, "Tell me about those rumours, Kimmie? What are people saying about me?"

The catgirl was munching on another bite of her sandwich again, but after she swallowed she shrugged once more, "So um, first one is that your moms are witches and you've been stealing their spells or something? Cursing a few people around the school? Like some people think you cursed Kenzie to be tiny, or half bunny, or both. They say you cursed Kirstie as well. And I bet they're probably going to start saying you cursed me too."

"Another rumour is that it's not your moms who are the witches, but you and your friends?" she added. "Since all your friends are weirdos or gay or both, it's pretty easy for people to assume you're all part of some weird cult or coven or whatever."

"There's also another one that says you're all demon worshipers instead of witches, but maybe that kind of overlaps anyways? Like some people say witches and devil worshipers are all the same thing anyways," she added.

You are reading story Club Luna at novel35.com

Once again part of me was worried and upset, and I knew I needed to warn the rest of the club about what people were saying about us. I didn't panic or freak out though, I didn't even let on that this stuff might have bothered me.

Instead I kept up the calm casual act as I asked Kimmie, "Which one do you think is true? Or do you have some other theory of your own?"

She thought for a moment as she finished the last of her sandwich, before answering "I think your moms are involved somehow, since one of them came with you to meet with my parents back at new years? I guess the first one makes the most sense, that your moms are witches and you've been stealing their spells or magic. I know you didn't curse any of us, but I bet you could if you wanted to."

Despite how uneasy I felt inside I couldn't help smiling at Kimmie's answer. I asked, "So where do you think those magic plush toys come from? Are they something I came up with, or did they come from my parents as well?"

The catgirl looked thoughtful again, then shrugged "I know they used to be in a vending machine at the grocery store, that's where Kenzie got hers. I doubt you're the one who set all that up though? So maybe it's something else your moms did, that you got your hands on."

"Maybe it really was meant as a curse originally?" she added with a grin. "Maybe your moms are really evil witches who were going to turn everyone into cute little animals, but you messed something up and now in it's making people into catgirls and bunnygirls and foxgirls."

I actually laughed at that, "My parents are practically angels. They're definitely not witches, and they'd never curse anyone."

"So what's the truth?" Kimmie asked. "What are you really? And what are all your friends?"

I laughed again as I shook my head, "Nope. Not going to happen."

The catgirl pouted for a second or two. Then she asked, "So what about my student card and health card? Can you update that stuff at least?"

"Yeah. I'll do it overnight tonight," I told her. I didn't bother trying to make a deal with her, instead I simply told her what my help would cost, "In return you'll keep everything we've talked about, everything you've learned or heard about me and my family and my friends a secret. And you'll use your plushie a couple times a week, just like your sisters Kenzie and Kirstie, and Kirstie's girlfriend Kathie."

"Yeah whatever," Kimmie replied, as if she had no intention of sticking to any of my terms.

Meanwhile Kenzie grinned at her sister, "Next time me and Kirstie and Kathie use our plushies you can join us! It'll be even more fun with all four of us playing together."

At that point my phone buzzed with a text, and I missed whatever the catgirl said in response to her sister while I checked my messages.

I found a text from Paige on the group chat, announcing another emergency club meeting for tonight. It was going to be at our house, and it was set for six o'clock, which was a little later than usual. The text didn't say why we were meeting again today but I could guess it had something to do with Cerys's father.

I looked across the lunch room at my friends and noticed some serious looks on their faces, like whatever they were talking about it probably wasn't good news. Since Kenzie and Kimmie were both finished their lunch, and the bunnygirl looked like she was getting fidgety, I figured it was ok for me to leave and join the rest of the club.

"I'll see you both later," I said as I got to my feet. Then as I headed away I added, "You two have fun."

Kimmie replied, "Yeah sure. See you."

"See you in class later!" Kenzie added, before she hopped out of her seat and dashed out of the cafeteria.

My calm casual act faded as I approached the table where most of Club Luna were sitting. There was an empty seat next to my little sister so I pulled it out and sat down then asked in a worried voice, "What happened, why the emergency meeting tonight?"

"Mr. Ainsley showed up at Melanie's place last night," Paige replied in a soft, serious voice. "We figure he somehow tracked Cerys, after seeing her Saturday night at Mrs. Ainsley's place."

Kaylee added, "Brooke might know how he did it, since it probably involved some kind of scrying."

"We have to do something to stop him," Melanie stated in a low growl. "I won't let him start terrorizing Cerys."

I nodded in agreement, then glanced over at the blonde werewolf. She had her chair right up against Melanie's, so the two were practically cuddling again. Cerys looked anxious and uneasy, but she also looked guilty. Like maybe she felt bad about her family stuff becoming club business or something, which I could totally understand.

Then Nina told me, "I said it was ok to have the meeting at our house tonight. Paige said we might need to consult with our parents about this, since we don't have any way to confront Mr. Ainsley. And we're not sure how to stop him from doing this stuff."

"I already texted mom and mum so they know we're having the meeting and stuff," she added quietly.

It took me a moment to realize she was probably worried I'd be upset or something that she was the one to make that offer, since usually it came from me. I just smiled though and gave her a quick hug, "It's fine Nina. I'm glad you did that, since I was busy."

"Who's the new catgirl?" Kaylee asked. "I haven't seen her around before."

I grimaced, "Kimmie Winters. She's Kenzie and Kirstie's little sister. She asked for a plushie last week, so she'd fit in with the rest of her family."

Paige gave me a worried look, "Maybe you should stop handing those things out for a while Cass? At least to other folks here at school anyways. People are noticing, and they're starting to talk."

That made me cringe slightly, as I suddenly remembered what Kimmie said about rumours.

"Yeah," I sighed. "Good point."