The Jellicle Learning Center
Yep. It's that time again. Time to irritate teenagers everywhere by sending them to what they call a legal torture chamber. Known to the rest of the world as high school.
However, this wasn't just a high school. It was also an elementary and middle school. It went by the name of The Jellicle Learning Center. It was mostly a public school, with a bit of homeschool thrown in. You still had to get up at semi-unfair times and go do work, but high school kids only went twice a week. Middle school kids usually went three times, and elementary kids varried. For these kids, a usual high school scheduel was four classes, each an hour long. But some kids had electives and/or other fun classes, also only an hour. Middle and high school kids had lockers, as they would in a normal middle or high school. Kindergarten still had naps and every grade still had homework. But the building was quite a bit smaller than any other school, and all of the teachers taught multiple classes of somewhat different subjects. For exmaple, a first grade math teacher may also teach eighth grade pre-algebra. A third grade language arts teacher could also teach Freshman English. But of course, everyone still freaked out about their first day. Especially Freshmen.
Victoria walked down the sidewalk alongside Etcetera. While Victoria was growling about getting up so early, Etcetera was happily bouncing, excited to make new friends. They were both Freshmen this year, so neither of them knew the school or the cats in it.
"I'm so excited!" Etcetera squealed. Victoria just stared at her sister and shook her head.
Electra silently made her way down the sidewalk, her mind drifting off into various scenarios of what could become of her first day of school. Jemima trailed next to her, happy but scared.
"Think we'll meet nice cats?" Jemima asked.
Electra stared at the ground. "I don't know, Jem. I hope so. I think Victoria and Etcetera are supposed to be there."
Mobs of teenage cats, some excited, some miserable, shuffled through the double doors that opened the school. Freshmen searched helplessly for their lockers, sophomores and juniors held bored and tired expressions as they easily found theirs- the school tried to give students the same locker they had the year before, made things less complicated- and seniors shouted and cheered about having only one year left.
"They say Freshman's the hardest year." Tumblebrutus sighed, turning toward Mistoffelees.
"Is that because you're brand new and don't know what's going on, because the work is hard, or because the jerks love to pick on you more than they do anyone else?" Mistoffelees replied, closing his newly found locker. As if on cue, Rum Tum Tugger sauntered over to the two.
"Look at that. Fresh meat." he smirked, leaning closer to the black and white tom. "Just stay away from all these lovely ladies, and we'll have no problems." With that, Rum Tum Tugger turned away, returning to his friends who just shook their heads at the situation.
Mistoffelees happened to glance to the right, towards the lockers by the front doors. A red and brown tortoishell queen smiled shyly at him after Rum Tum Tugger had left the hall. She ran off after looking at the clock on the wall, realizing that the cats had about three minutes to get to class. The teachers weren't too terribly strict about cats being late, but they weren't fond of it, either.