Cat's Paw

Cat's Paw

Excerpts from 17 year old Riley Fernandez diary before she lost her right leg.

Dear diary,

What a weird day. Like it was good but it was also awful. Like it was good because I'm going to prom and Lucas is going as my date! Like, I can't really believe Lucas agreed to go to prom with me. He's so cute and so much more popular than me and I didn't even mean to ask him, but then he like, said yes so I am happy about that.

And tomorrow is my big driving test in driver's Ed and then I can get my license and drive myself and everyone else to prom! I'm so ready! I read the manual like 3 times and aced the writing part. And dad let me drive to his new apartment on Neilbold Ave. It's small but it has a pool and I can sleep on the pull out couch.

But then something really bad happened on the way back though, I think I maybe hit a black cat with Dad's van. I'm not sure cause it was so dark and I didn't see it in the rear view mirror but it dashed in front of the passenger side so fast. Dad didn't even look up at the tiny bump. But I didn't see it so I didn't stop. I hope it survives. I cried about it when he dropped me off and stupid Mom thought I was crying about her because she thinks everything is about her. I tried to tell her about the cat and she freaked out that he let me drive without a license. Then I cried about her yelling at me and when I am 18 I am moving out of here!!

Dear diary

All bad luck today. Woke up with the biggest zit in history in the middle of my forehead. Becky asked me if it needed it's own seat belt in driver's Ed. Oh! And I didn't get to take my driving test because my shoe sole literally fell off for no reason after 1st period and I had to go to gym and wear my stupid stinky gym shoes all day and was too late to class to drive. Lucas said maybe I am cursed. Becky and Lina laughed like it was the funniest thing ever. But it hurt my feelings! And then when I told mom my test got pushed back she refused to let me drive at all. Like it was my fault.

Dear diary,

No amount of skin cream is going to make this outbreak disappear by prom. My face is literally mount everest right now. It looks like I have some horrible skin disease. And at lunch, something super crazy happened! So I'm outside with Curtis and Lucas, Becky and Lina sitting on the field having lunch. My lap is full of left over lo mein. We're discussing prom plans, when from behind me this crazy woman walks up, like I didn't even notice till she was right there but Curtis said she walked up the sidewalk and crossed the field with the mortar and pestle in hand. She was muttering something I couldn't hear. Lina said it was Latin, like she would know what Latin sounds like. And Becky said she was wearing a black dress with a black trench coat and boots like a witch. She got right behind me and poured the mortar over my head. It was a super foul smelling, sticky liquid. It was hot and ran down my forehead. Then she put the mortar and pestle into her jacket pocket and pulled out something and dropped it into my lap. A cold dead cat leg. That's when Becky, Curtis and Lina screamed and ran away, Lucas just laughed. I was horrified into place. I touched the sticky liquid on my face, realized it's blood and that it smells so BaD and then I passed out. The next thing I know I'm laying in the school clinic and the nurse is on the phone with my dad. So I missed driver's Ed. I missed anatomy class and I got blood all over my shirt and had to throw away my favorite Weird Al shirt. Dad picked me up and drove me home without asking anything. He barely spoke at all except that there was no sign of any woman when the teachers showed up to the field where I passed out. He did come in and talked to mom while I showered but left before I got out. I wonder what happened to the cat paw. I couldn't get the awful smell out of my hair. Mom said it smelled like skunk pee over dinner and said I need to wash it in tomato sauce tomorrow. Ughhh.

Dear diary

The tomato thing didn't help. And I still smell bad. In fact I think I smell worse. And my skin is so bad! Like my acne has zits. Curtis said I smelled like a rancid body and refused to sit with me at lunch and of course Lina went to him which meant Lucas and Becky went to hang out with them too. And that made me so mad, I feel like no one understands how this is all like a curse or something. So I skipped all my afternoon classes and called every vet in the city until I found one who had a black cat hit and run with a leg amputation. The nice receptionist told me Luna was probably going to make a recovery but she did have to get her left rear leg amputated. And lost a bit of her tail too. I told her I was the driver and I was really sorry and I need to reach Luna’s owner to see how I can fix this. So she took all my information and now I'm just waiting on her to reach out. Maybe this time not in my nightmares.