Chapter 22

July 27, 2000

The following Saturday, Frank wanted to shop for a laptop, and he had saved up enough to buy one. Mark joined him, and they went to a shopping centre close to where their friend Victoria lived.

Victoria was home, so they went to her apartment before leaving the area. Frank spoke to Coralis a few times during the week, but they hadn't seen each other since their date, so he hoped to see her there.

Meanwhile, Coralis and Eva wrapped up the case they'd been working on all week. Coralis was covered in werewolf and vampire blood. She dropped off Eva where she lived, then headed straight home.

Victoria didn't know when her roommate would be home, but looking at the time, she became worried that she'd return while Frank and Mark were there, covered in fluids she wouldn't be able to explain to unknowing humans.

She didn't want to have to explain to Frank that his new girlfriend wasn't human if he happened to see something he shouldn't. She knew that eventually, Coralis would have to tell him about their world, but not like that, and not to his best friend Mark.

"I'll get more snacks from the convenience store down the street. I'll be right back," said Victoria, using the empty bowl of peanuts as an excuse to walk to a secluded spot to call on Coralis' hologram.

She could have gone to her room and locked the door behind her, but couldn't find a believable reason to do so and their bathroom wasn't soundproofed. She walked to the wooded park near her apartment to find a shady corner away from prying eyes.

As Victoria approached the spot she had in mind, Coralis landed on their rooftop and shifted into Cheetah. Seeing that her friend wasn't in the kitchen, she scratched the window and waited.

"Did you hear that?" said Mark.

"I heard something coming from the kitchen, yeah."

Coralis was hoping that her friend would be home. She didn't want to have to go to the park to shift back and frighten the neighbourhood with her appearance. Even with an invisible cloak, it was risky business: someone could run into her by accident or see rocks being kicked seemingly on their own.

She didn't care if she'd had to fix the window. The guys got up and went to check what was happening in the kitchen.

"Did Vic get a cat lately?" said Mark.

"Not as far as I know."

Mark opened the window to let the black cat in. Coralis wasn't expecting to see Frank and Mark there, so she stayed on the ledge instead of going in, wondering what to do next.

Making sure that no one could see her, Victoria pulled her hologram out and tried to connect to Coralis'.

"Ooh look, it's purring," said Mark.

"I had no idea Vic had a cat, she must have gotten it this week. Coralis didn't say anything about it the last time we spoke."

She knew that her hologram was trying to go off and was glad its auto-projection was off. She hoped that it wasn't the EBEE trying to call her, because if their call wouldn't go through, they would page her and the guys would then question why this black cat was beeping.

Not knowing what was happening, she was about to jump off the window's ledge to leave when Frank picked her up. She twisted and turned, so he put her on the ground and closed the window. She ran out of the kitchen.

"Maybe it's just a cat Vic is feeding," said Mark.

"I don't know where it went. Let's see if there's cat food somewhere then."

While Frank and Mark were searching Victoria's pantry, Coralis considered sneaking into the bathroom, thinking she could try to soundproof it and take a shower, but there was the risk that the guys would need to use it while she was locked in it.

When Victoria returned to the apartment, she saw her friends searching her kitchen.

"What are you looking for?" said Victoria, dropping a bag full of cookie boxes and popcorn on the counter.

"Did you know that you still had peanuts and crackers? We're looking for cat food," said Mark.

"Yeah, but I was in the mood for chocolate cookies. Why are you looking for cat food?" said Victoria, before realizing that they must be referring to Cheetah.

She walked out of the kitchen, trying to find Coralis.

"We saw a black cat by your kitchen window, we could hear it scratching it from the living room. When Mark opened the window, it wouldn't come in, so I picked it up to bring it in. It didn't seem happy about it. You didn't tell us you got a cat."

"It even purred for us when I opened the window."

Victoria struggled to keep her laughter in.

"I see you met Cheetah," said Victoria, spotting her friend above a tall bookshelf in the living room, in a sitting position.

She went back to the kitchen and pretended to search the bottom shelf of the pantry.

"Seems like I'm out of cat food. I'll tell Coralis to pick some up on her way back," said Victoria, carrying snacks to the living room.

When she saw them entering the living room, Coralis changed position to lie down, all stretched out on her side, hoping she wouldn't be seen.

"Speaking of her, do you know around what time she'll be back?" said Frank.

"She could be back at any moment, but I'm sure she'll call you when she can. Miss her already?" said Victoria as they sat in the living room again.

"Kinda always I'd say," said Mark, teasing his friend.

Frank shrugged.

"So you two are a thing now?" said Victoria, knowing her friend was there to listen.

"I'd say so," said Frank, remembering the last time they were together.

"Obviously," said Mark.

Twenty minutes later, Frank and Mark got up to leave.

"We need to get going. Can you please tell Coralis to give me a call when she gets home? Doesn't matter what time it is."

"Sure can do," said Victoria, glancing at where she saw her friend earlier.

As soon as Frank and Mark were gone, Coralis jumped off the bookshelf and landed in her mage form.

"Was about time, I was considering asking you to let me out of the window and go wash up in some shady corner."

"I tried to call you on your hologram, but it seems I was too late."

"Oh, it was you? I was hoping that it wasn't the EBEE. Anyway, I'll go hug the shower, then I guess I'll call Frank… and uh, I'll glamour our elixirs to make them look like cat food."

"Please do. I have to go to my parents' tonight, for my dad's birthday. I would like it if he didn't call me just to ask if you're home. You should consider getting a cell phone. Awesome idea for the cat food, I don't want to have to explain to them why I never have cat food in stock."

While it was Victoria's turn to shower, Coralis called Frank and agreed to go on a movie date with him and watch X-Men. She was conflicted about what to think of the movie, but couldn't tell him why. After the movie, they went to her apartment, and he stayed over for the night.

Victoria returned home at 1:00. Both of their bedrooms were soundproof, so she didn't know Frank was there with Coralis. In the morning, while she was making coffee, Frank walked out of Coralis' room, only wearing shorts.

"Oh, good morning, Frank! Didn't know you'd be here, but I guess I should start expecting you here in the morning."

"Uh sorry about that, it wasn't planned. She's not here at the moment. She said something about having to go to an emergency meeting with Eva, but that I didn't have to leave just because she had to."

"It's fine, don't worry. Coffee?"