Wonderland

Maddi's P.O.V. (Three weeks into the school year)
"So, how are you and Alex? Still not talking, besides when absolutely necessary?" Kitty asked as she hung upside down from a branch of the apple tree directly behind the old hotel. I sighed, putting down the basket I had been using to collect the tree's fruit in. We were supposed to be picking apples for Alice to make pastries out of, not talking about my sad love-life.
"Yes, but if you don't mind, I would like to not talk about Alex at the moment. Can we do that?" I asked my older sister, reaching up and picking an almost perfectly spherical apple. Kitty sighed.
"Sadly, no, we cannot," she said, fixing her alignment. She was getting ready to climb back down. I quirked my head to the left slightly, a questioning look upon my face.
"What do you mean? Why not?" I asked the cat. She reached for the branch under her legs and gripped it with her long, often terrifying claws. She pulled herself into a sitting position atop the thick branch. She then twisted around and swung herself forward, flinging herself from the branch of the abnormally tall apple tree. Landing on the dirt ground, she didn't stumble at all, as always.
"I mean," she began, slowly walking over to me, "you guys have been together for a long time, and everyone thought that you two would be together forever and all." She picked one of the apples from the basket and tossed it between her hands. She continued, "But we're all just unsure what's going on with you two. We all want you to be together, but we don't know if you are anymore. It's no fun being in the dark, especially about something that has to do with your baby sister."
I sighed, catching the apple as she began to toss it higher and higher in the air. I placed it back in the basket, which was beginning to fill. "I don't know, okay? I'm confused. I don't want to end it with him, but I can't stand the way he's been acting with the whole 'Quincy Situation', ya know?" I asked, putting air quotes around "Quincy" and "Situation". She nodded, jumping up and grabbing a big, fat apple from a higher branch that I, in my small stature, couldn't reach. I scoffed. "Showoff," I mumbled.
Kitty smirked, saying "You know it!" with that smile. I laughed slightly. I heard a quiet patting on the ground, seemingly coming closer. Kitty's ears twitched, probably catching on to what it was before anything else could.
"Whitney's coming," she explained. I nodded and waited for the white rabbit to appear. Seconds later, there she was, running up and smiling.
"Kitty! Maddi! Kitty! Maddi! Kitty! Maddi! Guess what! Guess what! Guess what!" she squealed cheerfully, hopping up and down, pigtails bouncing.
"What, Whitney? What, Whitney? What, Whitney?" Kitty mocked kindly. I chuckled at this. Whitney knew it was an act of affection, so she continued.
"We're all going to the Wonderland Dance at school!" she squealed. I furrowed my brows.
"The what what?" I asked. Kitty turned to me.
"The dumb dance that was announced to the school on Monday. Remember?" she asked, reaching out and touching my shoulder. I shook my head. Just then, I felt a heavy daze wash over me. My eyes were open, but they began to see something different than what was in front of me. It went like this:
"~
"Hear me! Hear me!" shouted Ashley, as she stood on the bench in front of the fountain. "Listen here and listen well, or I shall put you under a spell! Magic and mischief are in the air! We shall party without a care! We will dance in Wonderland for the two go hand in hand! Yes, instead of our usual Halloween costume party, we are having a Wonderland themed ball! Everyone should dress up as the characters from the story, and the best dressed will win. Since we can't have prom just yet, we are going to crown the king and queen of the ball! Have fun!" she finished, not yet climbing down. I noticed her shooting a glare at Maddison. Maddison huffed and began to mumble softly.
"Hear her as she boasts and brags, saying we best not be dressed in rags. She is one to talk. Make her as wet as a mop!" Just as Maddi finished, there was a gust of wind. It flew up and around, hitting Ashley square in the stomach. She fell backwards, into the fountain. Screaming, she splashed around until someone helped her out.
"Maddi, Maddi, I'm proud of you writing your own spells, but you know what Alex said," I whispered in my sister's ear as I passed her. "See you at lunch, Mads! I'm off to bio!" I shouted when I got further away. She flipped me off.
I walked leisurely to class. The bell rang just as I entered the room. "Hello, Miss Charleston. Would you care to tell the class why you are late?" asked Mr. Smith, my first period biology teacher. I stood at the front of the class and looked him in the eye as I spoke.
"Well, quite honestly, someone told me to go to Hell." I paused as the class anticipated my snarky answer. "At first I couldn't find it, but now I am here." I said as I went to my seat. The class was in awe of my ability not to run out of sarcastic comebacks. The teacher rubbed his temples.
"You know that's a demerit, right?" he asked the obvious question. I sat down and nodded. "That's five, which means I will see you in detention this afternoon, Miss Charleston." I nodded once more. I sat down in my seat and put my bag on the floor. ~"
That's it. I shook my head loose from the image. That wasn't my life I just witnessed. It was Kitty's. I looked to my sister, who was now holding her head and crouching down close to the floor. Whitney was between us, fright and worry clear on her face.
"Are you two okay? What happened? You just both kind of dazed off, and then Kitty was gripping her head. What happened?" she asked, pleading with her eyes for an answer. I looked from her to Kitty, who was still on the floor.
"Kit, you okay? I asked. She mumbled, but nodded. I smiled a little, happy she was well enough to lie. "What was that?"
"I don't know. I wanted to remind you. I tried to remember what happened, and my head swam. My brain feels like it just melted," she explained. I nodded. I thought and realized something.
"I saw what you remembered. It was like I was in your body, and mine was on autopilot. I think it's your telekinetics at work," I shared. She sighed and stood.
"Well, that's a useless skill," she stated. I asked why, and she said, "'Cause it makes it feel like someone just took my brain and cut out my cerebral cortex, played basketball with it, and then tried to glue it back on sideways." I shook at the thought.
"Thanks for that very colorful image now in my head. That's weird. I'm kinda fuzzy now," I said. She nodded in agreement. Whitney visibly calmed.
"Okay, I'm just glad you two aren't hurt," she said, clinging to me like a baby. I remembered what I saw, the visual image quickly fading away, but the information it had given me staying put. I scowled.
"When will you stop being so mean to that old man? He has enough to deal with without you being snarky. And, Cheshire is gonna kill you if he finds out you're getting detention, Kit!" I warned and reprimanded. She gave me the hand wave that said "yeah, yeah, yeah". I grumbled at her.
"I heard that," she told me. Whitney looked between us, looking at me when I spoke and at Kitty when she did the same.
"Yeah, I know. I just didn't want Whitney to hear it," I told her. Whitney's head quirked. She seemed confused.
"But I heard it anyways. I'm a bunny, remember?" she explained. Kitty laughed.
"Yeah, she's got better hearing than I do. Isn't that right, my little fluff-ball?" Kitty cooed as she lifted her from the ground and swung her around onto her back.
"Mhm. I don't think it's nice to call someone a c********** r**** c*** b*****, Maddi," she repeated. Both Kitty and I just stood with our mouths open in awe of the straight profanities that had just spewed from such an innocent mouth. Kitty busted out laughing. I whacked her on the back of her head.
"Don't teach her those words!" I scolded. She whined, annoyed.
"I didn't! YOU DID!" she rebuked. She was right. I tried to think of a better argument.
"But YOU shouldn't ENCOURAGE it!" I yelled. Kitty laughed.
"She's fourteen. I started when I was much younger," she said. I smacked her again.
"Well, not everyone is a blasphemous demon like you!" I shouted, swiveling around and picking up the basket of apples. I huffed as I began to take them back to the house.
"It's not nice to hit people either!" Whitney called after me. I heard some whispering, and then she added, "Butthead!" I gasped.
"KITTY!" I shouted, turning back around. There was a quick moment when they weren't there, but then the cat and rabbit sped past me. Even though Whitney was very small in human form, she was a giant hare when she changed. Like, she was about three feet tall as a rabbit. That's BIG.
They sped by me so quickly that I twirled and fell over, dropping the basket. I put my hands in front of me, and the apples bounced away from me. It was a small trick my dad had taught me before the first war. He said it was to keep me safe. It helped to protect me physically, by repelling apples, but not emotionally, by not repelling people. If it had a heartbeat, I couldn't repel it.
"I swear to Madness, I'm gonna shave her head while she sleeps someday..." I mumbled to myself, sitting up. I groaned, seeing the apples everywhere, some of them bruised. I got to my feet, brushing the dirt off my skirt. I had fallen in the wet dirt of the garden. The skirt had some brown discoloration on it. It was nowhere near as bad as my white shirt. It had turned brown in large patches. Trying to dust it off would have just rubbed the stain in more, causing it to probably never come out. "Jesus fricken Christ. Kitty!" I shouted. My sister ignored the call.
"Oh, my! Maddi, are you okay?" I heard a concerned voice ask from behind me. I turned around and saw Alex, eyes locked on me. I blushed a little at the undivided attention of the blonde boy.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Kitty's just a jerk sometimes, ya know? Doesn't help that Whitney is following in her footsteps," I mumbled the second part. He tried not to smile.
"Yeah, I know. Here, let me help you," he said, crouching down to pick up apples. I sighed, not wanting the help, but in fact needing it.
"Thanks," I said, pulling my long orange locks back into a messy bun and leaning down to pick up the dropped fruit. In a few minutes, the apples were all picked up, dusted off, and placed back into the basket.
"So, did you hear about the whole dance?" he asked me. I froze for a split second. He didn't seem to notice. I picked up the basket.
"Uh, yeah. The one announced on Monday? Yeah. What about it?" I responded. I started towards the house. Alex ran in front of me, grabbing the basket from me. Usually, I would have fought him on that, but it was heavy. I didn't want to carry it all the way back.
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to be my date," he voiced. I stopped. He kept walking for a second, before spinning around to face me.
"Um, well, the thing is: I already have a date to the dance," I lied less than easily. He seemed to darken at my words.
"Really? Uh, who?" he asked. I thought.
"Um, Mateos, from my third period math class. He thought.
"Oh, yeah, I know him. Good guy. I didn't know he liked you like that."
"Me neither. I guess he did, though," I tried to save myself.
"Okay. Well, um, I wish you two a good time. I hope you two have fun together," he said, almost genuinely.
"Yeah. Thanks," I responded. We made it back to the house in complete silence. I gave the apples to Alice, said my goodbyes, and ran upstairs, screaming for Kitty to follow me.
"What's up?" she asked, already in our room and scaring the living shit out of me! She was lounging on her bed.
"I need your help!" I shouted. I explained to her what had happened, and by the end, she was giving me her famous "are you f****** kidding me?" look. "I am not kidding! This is serious!"
"Why would you lie like that?" she asked.
"I don't know! I just---I wanted to make him feel bad. I don't know..." I said sadly. I slouched down on my bed, head in my hands. Kitty got up and sat next to me, placing her hand on my shoulder.
"Alright, I'll help," she said, and I brightened. "BUT! You have to make me food for the next three weeks," she bargained.
"Deal!" I agrees without really thinking. We shook hands.
"Alright, right now, let's focus on your dress. It's basically sophomore prom, right?" she asked. I nodded. "Then, let's get started," she said with a smile. We hadn't done this in years. We hadn't made clothes together in what felt like forever. I was so happy I squealed and hugged her tightly. "Hohkay, can't breathe here, Mads," she said, a little strangled. I let go.
We began.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Six Hours Later (it's Saturday night/Sunday morning)
"Done!" I sighed, looking at my masterpieces. We had gone all in and made clothes for everyone. We made Whitney and white dress, Butterfly a green dress, Quincy a read suit, Alex a blue suit, Kitty a pink-and-purple dress, and a purple-and-green dress for me. Now, all there was left to do was ask Mateos to go along with the lie.
We had all gotten phones the week before to stay in touch in the new world. I had Mateos's number. I texted him. I had no doubt that he would be awake at this hour.
You: Hey, Mateos, what's up? (read at 12:58 am)
Mateos: Nothing much Hattie. Hbu? (received at 1:00 am)
In my third and sixth hour classes, I went by my middle name, because it was a change in pace. I saw no harm in it, and it made me feel closer to my father. So, why not?
You: Same. I was just wondering if you could do me a favor...? (read at 1:02 am)
Mateos: Sure thing, chili bean XP wassup? (received at 1:05 am)
You: Haha, thanks. I was wondering if you could go with me to the Wonderland dance...? (read at 1:06 am)
Mateos: ... (received at 1:10 am)
Mateos: Like...as ur date...? (received at 1:10 am)
You: No, no, no, no, no, no!! I meant as a favor!! Xo (read at 1:11 am)
Mateos: Thats a weird favor Hat... (received at 1:11 am)
You: Look, I lied to Alex saying that I was going with you, so I couldn't be his date.... I just don't know, but I don't want him to know I lied... Please, say you'll do it... ;...; (read at 1:12 am)
Mateos: I dunno Hattie... (received at 1:12 am)
You: Please. If you do, then I'll give you my lunch for the next two grading periods! (read at 1:13 am)
Mateos: ...and do my bio hw for the next mnth?? (received at 1:14 am)
You: Fine. DEAL!! (read at 1:15 am)
Mateos: Deal I'm gonna go as mad hatter btw (received at 1:16 am)
You: Awesome! I was planning to go as my mom, so we'll match!! (read at 1:16 am)
Mateos: ??? (received at 1:17 am)
You: Oh, I meant "Mad Hattress". Sorry. Dumb auto-correct!! XP (read at 1:17 am)
Mateos: Oh ok lol k night hattie :) (received at 1:18 am)
You: Nighty-night, Mat. :) (read at 1:18 am)
If I could remember correctly from Kitty's fading memory in my brain, the dance was the coming Friday at eight till midnight! I confirmed this with Kitty, just to be sure. That night I slept a little less soundly than I would have hoped, but more so than I expected. I guess it was an even trade.
As morning came again, I realized how faulty my plan really had been. I woke up Kitty, frantically asking her what to do!
"Kitty! Kitty! He's gonna find out I lied! He'll think I'm the worst person in the world! What do I do?! AAAAHHHH!!" I shouted at my sister, who was still half asleep. I gripped her shoulders and shook in a futile effort to wake her up. It was already past dawn. If Kitty doesn't wake up with the Sun, she wakes up with the moon. Such behavior was no longer acceptable with our new "responsibilities", if you will. She opened her eyes halfway, glared at me, and spoke, moving my hands away from her shoulders.
"Kissed," she stated simply.
"What?" I asked her. She sighed, sat up, and repeated herself.
"Kissed: K I S D," she explained slightly. I quirked my head to the side, sitting back on my heels on her bed.
"Come again. I don't think that's how you spell it, too," I requested. She sighed again, and drew her hands down her face, pulling the loose skin around her eyes down slightly.
"Kissed. K: keep. I: it. S: simple. D: dumba**," she stated, slowly and clearly. I was taken aback, though I'm not really sure why. This was how she was. I had lived with her for most of my life and knew her the entirety of it. I should have seen it coming.
"I think it's KISS. Keep it simple, Stupid," I tried. She shook her head.
"No, this is the improved version, my version," she said, lying back down and smiling to herself. I grinned as well at my sister's pride in the little anagram.
I knew she was awake now, but she wasn't going to get out of bed for a while, since the Sun was shining through the open window directly onto her, warming her. She was a cat after all. She was going to take this chance to sunbathe.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Monday Afternoon
Kitty's P.O.V.
"Kit, watch this," Mason called as he attempted to climb a small tree in the grove. I had made a few new friends with the drama club and choir kids. They weren't the most popular, but neither was I. They were the weird ones, my kind of people.
"Okay, be careful," I warned, and he nodded. He began to climb up and up and up. He made it to the top, sat down on a branch, and looked down. His face paled.
"Um, I regret this!" he squeaked, scared. Tom, Nate, and Eugene and looked up.
"He's stuck," Tom said.
"Not coming down," said Nate.
"Let's go get the dean... Again," added Eugene. The three departed, leaving me on the ground and Mason in the tree. This was the third time this week he had gotten caught in something.
The first time, it was a banister on the second floor of the office building. He tried to squeeze through to the other side so he could jump off down to the first floor landing. He wasn't tall enough to climb over it easily, but he though he was skinny enough to go through. He was wrong. His hip got stuck, and the fire department had to come with a saw to cut the metal bares and free him.
The second time, he thought he could avoid class by going through the air vents. Let's just say the outcome was less than perfect. By a long shot! He got stuck above the cafeteria. Luckily, no fire men or police were necessary. I just popped in there, grabbed him, and popped back out again. I had to convince him he had passed out from heat exhaustion. He went home after that and didn't come back until the next next day. That was interesting.
This time, he was up a tree, both figuratively and physically. I sighed, rubbed my hands together, and started to climb. I was by his side within seconds. His eyes were shut tightly, and his arms hugged the tree's trunk with all his might.
I touched his shoulder, and before he could open his eyes, we were back on the ground. He immediately fell over.
"You good? You fell that last bit," I lied. He looked up at me.
"What?" he asked, basically hugging the ground.
"I went up to get you, but about halfway down you slipped and fell to the ground. You okay?" I lied again. He looked down at himself, seeming accessing his own physical well-being.
"I fell? But...I feel fine... I feel like I just...appeared down here..." he explained. I sighed.
"You passed out as soon as I got up there. Probably why you didn't really realize it," I tried. He looked to me, then to the ground, then back at me. He nodded.
"Makes sense, I guess," he said, standing up again. The other boys finally came back with the dean. I explained to him what had happened (or rather what I had convinced poor Mason of). The dean nodded and patted my shoulder, thanking me for being a "good" student. Once he left, I laughed at the thought.
"What're you laughin' at? I coulda died, y'know?" Mason pouted. I looked at him and smiled, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"I know. That's why I am laughing, Mas," I said to him, laughing. He pouted some more. I heard feet pounding, the sound of someone with a heavy foot trotting over to us. It was coming from somewhere left of me, but I couldn't really place where, since Mason was whining so loudly. "Oh, shut up, ya big baby. I can't hear!" I warned him. He stopped his childish actions and began to listen, too. The others tried in vain to hear what I heard, as well. "Incoming Mad Witch. Nine o' clock," I mumbled, turning towards the sound as it neared.
"How do you do that?" Tom asked. Nate, Eugene, and Mason nodded. I scoffed. I brushed the question off, as I had answered it for them many a time before. I squinted to see my sister but was unable to. It wasn't in fact my abnormally angry sister who ran, heavy-footed, towards the five of us. I smelled the air.
"Here comes trouble," I mumbled to myself, realizing who it truly was. I turned my back to the approaching figure, crossing my arms. Nate, Tom, Mason, and Eugene followed suit, all turning their attention away from the intruder.
"Well, if it ain't the emo club," Oscar said, voice accusing and annoying. I laughed. I turned back around, the boys still facing the opposite way.
"What do you want, Grouch?" I asked the blonde. He scoffed. Swaggering over to me, he turned his back on the boys who refused to look at him and put an arm around my waist.
"Ain't it obvious, Princess?" he asked, looking down at me. I looked up, one eyebrow raised. I swear to God I was ready to beat the living daylights out of that jerk.
"'Ain't' isn't a word. Move your arm before I rip it off of your body. And, no, whatever you think you have so cleverly shown me is not very obvious -- not that I think you know what that word means in the end," I stated, calmly and evenly but perhaps a bit quick. He looked down at me still, seemingly a little perplexed. He scoffed.
"Well then. What I thought was so obvious is in fact quite hard for you to see, now isn't it?" he asked, like I was stupid. I'm not stupid. I rolled my eyes.
"Just say it already before I kick you in the nuts," I warned. He moved his arm from my waist. He stood before me, arms crossed over his chest. He was a bit taller than me, so he leaned down closer to my face.

"I think you're hot," he said. I heard the snickering and failed attempts to stifle laughter behind me. I glanced back at the boys who were not so secretly listening to the entire interaction.
"I will beat you with your own arms," I growled through gritted teeth. The snickering stopped and the four stood still. I looked back to Oscar. Sticking a hip out, I asked, "So? What does that have to do with me?" He seemed a little taken aback by my response. I guessed he was used to getting whatever he wanted, but I wasn't going to give him it so easily.
"So~" he began, putting his arm back around my waist and making me cringe, "I want you to go with me to the Wonderland Ball this week." More stifled laughter. I scoffed.
"Since I got here, you have been nothing but rude and vicious to me, and now you're asking me out?" I asked a little angry.
"Look. You're at the lowest level here at this school. Hanging out with Tweedle Dee, Dum, Doo, and Dunce isn't helping ya. Going with me to one dance will be a huge boost. You'd finally get a boyfriend--" I stopped him there, raising my hand for him to shut up.
"Do I look like I need a boyfriend to you?" I asked him angrily. My tail began to swing behind me. Good thing they couldn't see it, thanks to Maddy's spell.

"Every girl needs a boyfriend, hon," he said. I swear to Wonderland, I nearly slapped that boy. It took all the will in my body not to drop kick his ass.
"I'll get back to you," I said, just wanting him to leave. He smirked, nodded, and left. The boys behind me surrounded me once the grouch had left.
"What the fuck do you mean 'I'll get back to you'? You're not thinking about going with that douche, are you, Kit?" Mason asked me. I scoffed.
"Oh, ye of little faith. Dost thou hath no faith in your leader?" I asked. They all stepped back.
"She's doing the old English thing again," one whispered to the other.
"She's got a plan brewing~" another answered.
Maddi's P.O.V.
"So, who ya goin' with?" Mary asked. We were laying on the roof of the supply shed at school, just out of sight from those on the ground.
"Mateos," I answered. Mary looked at me.
"Mateos?" she asked. I nodded. "I would have thought Alex would have asked you," she mumbled. I looked at her this time.
"What are you talking about? He and I are not together. Why would he ask me?"
"Well, it's just... It's the way he looks at you. It's like he's a parched tree, and you're water. He looks at you like he needs you. I guess he got too nervous to ask you." I cast my gaze down, back at the roof. I sighed.
'Alex has been... looking at me? How? When?' I asked myself. I looked back at Mary. "When? I've never noticed. He and I have never really talked," I lied, for reasons I didn't know. She laughed.
"All the time! Whenever he's near you, he just stares. He looks like a lost puppy. He just stares. He almost looks sad, really. But whenever you glance his way, he looks down and hides his face," she explained.
A sense of guilt sat deep in my stomach, like I had swallowed an anvil. I felt heavy and sad. My head sank back down to the roof, bumping against it.
'Why do I feel this way? It's not my fault he did what he did. It's not my fault he was a jerk. But then why do I feel like it's my fault he's sad?' I asked myself again. I sat back up. "I gotta go, Mary," I said quickly, sliding off the roof and stumbling a little once I hit the ground.
"Oh, okay! See ya, Maddi!" she called after me as I began jogging to the front of the school.
[TBC]