Chapter Text
Tuesday
Bedroom
“Child. Child.” Something soft pressed against his nose and Kid opened his eyes. The Cat was sitting at his side, his tail returning to wrap around his paws. “Good. You’re awake now.”
“Cat?” Kid blinked a few times before the memories came rushing back. The principal, the monster under the school, saving Billy… “It worked? It’s Tuesday, right?”
“Yes child,” The Cat reassured him. “It is Tuesday now. Time for your first day at your new school.”
“Oh, right!” Kid sat up as relief flooded through him. His parents had gotten the call after dinner last night, telling them that with the principal gone, Kid would be going to a new school today. It was a relief, not having to go back to the ugly gray building where he’d died so many times. Kid shuddered and turned to get out of bed, only to pause. “Uh…Cat?”
“Yes child?”
“Why does my room look…weird?” Kid glanced around and then realized it. “Did you move my bed to the other corner?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” Kid blinked; he really hadn’t been expecting an honest answer. “Uh…why?”
“I wanted a better angle of the door.” The Cat flicked his tail. “I also turned the window shelf into a proper bookshelf.”
Kid looked at the shelf, which was now a lot taller. “Why?”
“We will need it.” The Cat placed a paw on his back and pushed. “Now go get dressed. We have much to do.”
“Okay.” Kid walked over to the closet, absently pulling out a shirt. “So, do you know what to do yet? Mom said the school said everyone from my last school would be at my new one.”
“Not yet.” The Cat laid down in a ball as Kid got dressed. “While we are better prepared than we were on the first Monday, I do not have enough information yet to deduce our path.” He looked at Kid firmly. “You will need to talk to everyone you can at the school today. Even the ones from yesterday.”
Kid shivered but nodded. He wasn’t looking forward to talking to the janitor again. Or Cindy. Or Buggs. Or Miss Applegate. But Lily and Billy were nice! And maybe now he could try and make friends with Nugget again! “Okay. Should I bring ten dollars again? I only brought $2.50 yesterday.” It was so weird to talk about Monday being yesterday with it being Tuesday instead!
The Cat thought for a bit, his eyes glowing, before shaking his head. “No. For every Tuesday, you will only need to take five dollars with you.”
“Oh!” Kid rushed over to his piggy bank to pull out the money. There was a familiar crunch as his apple vanished. “I can do that!”
“Good.” The Cat gave him a warm look as his tail flicked. The bedroom door swung open. “Now hurry along. Remember, contact me if you need to.”
“I will! See you later!” With a wave, Kid hurried out the door. This wouldn’t be so hard, right? He knew what he was doing this time! Tuesday was going to be a piece of cake!
Tuesday
School Yard
The new school was gray, but that was about all it had in common with the last one. The gray was even a different shade, much paler and shinier. There were even stairs leading up to the door! Kid paused for a bit to take in everything.
It looked like the new school had more than one floor, since there were two sets of windows. He could see a blond lady in a pink suit standing at the top, maybe she was another teacher? Miss Applegate was standing near her, along with a man with a huuuge head in a white doctor’s coat. Maybe he was the school nurse? The last school didn’t have one, but this one might!
Glancing around, Kid could see his classmates from yesterday, and some new students. But not all of them were there. Where are Billy and Lily and Nugget? And I don’t see Monty either… Maybe they were in the school already? Or somewhere else?
A little sad, Kid shook his head. He’d find them later. Right now, he should start talking to people. And the closest one was…Kid gulped as he approached the old janitor. He scowled and muttered to himself as Kid got closer. “Filthy…absolutely filthy.”
As much as Kid wanted to run away, he knew this probably wouldn’t be enough for The Cat. “Uh…what is?” he asked, making sure to stay out of mop range. Just in case.
“Are you blind?!” the janitor shouted, making Kid leap back. “Look at this place. That other no-name janitor over there has really let this place go to crap.”
Smile and nod. Smile and nod. Kid quickly nodded. “Yup. Bye.” Thankfully, the janitor didn’t seem to care; too focused on glaring at something across the yard. Kid hurried off and almost plowed right into Buggs. “Oh, hi Buggs.”
Buggs grabbed Kid’s shoulders and Kid had to fight back a scream as the bully shook him. “She took my knife! That little snitch! She just made a very unstable enemy!”
“W-wh-who are you talking about?” Kid managed to squeak out.
Buggs let go and pointed at a nearby blonde girl with her hair in a ponytail. “The stupid principal’s daughter! She somehow knew I had it on me and now I have study hall!” He kicked at a nearby rock. “This new school is so stupid!”
Honestly, Kid was a little relieved that Buggs didn’t have a knife anymore. He was dangerous enough without it. But he had a feeling that if he said that out loud, Buggs would get mad and maybe kill him again. So, Kid offered, “Maybe I could help.”
Buggs gave Kid a look. “Have you ever had something dangerous wrongfully taken from you?”
“Ummm…” Kid thought for a bit and shook his head. “Not exactly.”
“Then you wouldn’t understand!” Buggs huffed and crossed his arms, glaring angrily at the principal’s daughter. “I’ll get it back myself!”
“Good luck with that.” With that, Kid quickly walked away. He knew he’d probably have to help Buggs again, but maybe no one would die this time? A memory of Miss Applegate tumbling over, bleeding out, flashed through Kid’s mind and he fought the urge to throw up. It was a new day. That wouldn’t happen again!
Spotting someone he’d never met before, Kid worked up a smile and approached the boy. “Hi, I’m new.”
The kid didn’t seem to hear him and muttered, “I can’t believe it. It’s not fair.”
Kid’s smile faltered a little as he tried again. “What’s your name?”
Now the boy looked up and glared so angrily Kid stepped back. “I’m Ozzy and you’re one of those awful new kids,” he spat. “I can’t believe my friends got moved to new schools for this.”
“Oh.” Losing your friends sounded hard, and Kid felt bad. “How many were moved?”
“Three.” Ozzy huffed. “We got a bad deal if you ask me.”
Three was an awful lot, but maybe Kid and Ozzy could still be friends! So Kid smiled. “Well it’s been nice talking to you.” Ozzy didn’t answer, just looked away madly. Kid sighed, and then he spotted Jerome. Unlike yesterday, where Jerome had been relaxed and too cool, the boy was hiding near the corner of the stairs, crying. “Jerome? What happened? Are you-”
“Go away kid,” Jerome sniffled, rubbing at his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Kid hesitated; it didn’t feel right to leave him alone crying. But if he wanted that… “…If you insist.” That sounded fancy, like his dad said to his mom to make her laugh. But Jerome didn’t laugh. Sighing, Kid walked back around the stairs and spotted a familiar figure with blonde pigtails. “…Hi Cindy.”
Cindy, in contrast to Jerome, was in a great mood. She looked around at the school with a big smile on her face. “This new school is so much more my style, especially the new selection of boys! What do you think?”
Really? Kid stared at her blankly, remembering the horrible times of being her boyfriend. Nope. Nope. Never again. “I’m not gonna talk to you about boys.” Cindy rolled her eyes, and Kid quickly ran up the stairs before she could start talking or accuse him of rape again. He still didn’t know what that was, but it sounded bad. He looked up at the possible nurse and smiled. “Hi.”
The man looked Kid up and down. “Ah…one of the new…specimens. Not that we’ll be seeing much of each other.”
Kid blinked. That was a weird thing to say. “Why not?”
“I don’t let below average students into my classroom for morning time.” The man, Kid guessed he was actually a teacher, turned away as Kid’s jaw dropped.
“I...is that even allowed?” Kid blurted out. It didn’t feel like it should be.
“It is now!” The teacher puffed out his chest. “With all of the redistribution of children and teachers that went on yesterday, it was the perfect time to pitch my plan for separating the below average students!”
…Huh? That was a lot of big words. Kid’s head was spinning as he latched onto the biggest one. “Redistribution?”
“Yes…” The teacher gave him an odd look. “Why do you think you’re here? When one school shuts down, people get shuffled around. So now you’re here and 3 other kids aren’t.”
So only Ozzy’s friends left? Kid frowned; no wonder Ozzy was so mad. His head was still hurting, so he walked away from the teacher and went over to the lady in pink. Maybe she was actually the nurse?
She saw Kid walking over and beamed. “Hello! I’m the principal of this fine school! I’m so happy to have so many new students today!”
“Uh…” Kid felt nervous, seeing that big smile and backed away. He still remembered the principal pulling out his gun and aiming it at Lily. “That’s nice. Bye!” Kid ran down the steps and bumped straight into Miss Applegate.
The teacher turned to stare down at him, an odd look in her eyes. From this close, Kid could see her hair looked messier than yesterday, and her eyes were redder. “Oh…it’s you. How’s uhhhh…how’s it going?”
“Are you okay?” Kid blurted out. Miss Applegate was scary and mean and liked to watch kids fight, but she was acting differently from yesterday.
“I’m…I’m just great!” A creepy smile appeared on Miss Applegate’s face as she leaned down. “A little tired maybe…or something. You wouldn’t happen to have any of those pills you had yesterday?”
“The principal’s pills?” Kid had given them to The Cat once he’d remembered them in his pocket. The Cat had done…something and made them go away. Which was fine with Kid; he’d never want to take one of those! “Nope. Sorry.”
“Then stop bothering me!” The sudden shout made Kid jump back, tumbling down the last few steps. He gaped up at Miss Applegate, whose face was now red with rage. “The bell hasn’t rung yet so I don’t have to put up with you right now!”
Terrified, Kid just nodded. Then a small hand entered his vision. “Are you alright? You could have been hurt falling like that!”
“Y-yeah.” Kid took it and was nearly lifted off the ground as the principal’s daughter pulled him to his feet. Wow, she’s really strong! “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome!” The girl beamed happily. “My name is Penny! My mommy is the principal! You must be one of the new kids. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“You too.” Kid couldn’t help but smile back. After everyone else being mean, it was nice to meet a really nice kid. Impulsively, he asked, “Do you want to be friends?”
Penny gasped, her eyes lighting up. “I would love to be friends! Here!” She reached into a pocket of her dress and pulled out a pretty beaded bracelet. “You can have this friendship bracelet!”
“Uh, thanks.” Kid took the bracelet and slipped it on, jolting when he heard an apple crunch. The bracelet must’ve been important, even if it was a little weird that Penny was carrying them around.
“It looks so good on you!” Penny gushed. “I’m glad we’re friends. I’ll see you around!”
“Y-yeah. Sure.” Kid smiled and backed away. Penny was nice, but that felt…weird. Like she really really wanted friends. …Maybe the other kids had been mean to her? Poor Penny.
As Kid walked to the other side of the stairs, he passed a pair of identical boys in suits. They looked hot and scratchy, and Kid didn’t know why they were wearing them to school. They were having a whispered argument that got louder as Kid got closer. “I told you already, Teddy,” the one in blue hissed. “The plan is fool proof. Just do exactly what I told you and—”
“I know…” the one in red interrupted. “It’s just…I don’t know Felix. This whole thing seems so wrong. Ozzy hasn’t done anything to us.” Kid froze, why were they talking about Ozzy?
“It’ll be fine!” Felix huffed. “Quit being such a—” He froze, spotting Kid listening. Kid awkwardly waved. Felix coughed and stood up straight. “How long have you been listening to our little chat?”
“Not long,” Kid admitted, glancing from Felix to Teddy. Felix looked a little mad, but Teddy gave him a shy smile.
“Good.” Felix gave an odd smile, like his face didn’t know how to do it right. “I wouldn’t want Ted here to get into trouble.”
“Hey!” Ted gaped at his brother. “Why would I get into trouble? I didn’t do anything!”
“Which is just so typical for you Teddy.” Felix sighed. “I’ll just save our family’s company myself.”
For some reason, Kid just knew that he would be helping out Ted and Felix at some point. It felt too much like Monday to ignore. But that would have to be later so Kid just smiled and said, “Good luck with that.”
Spotting the last new girl, Kid walked down to her. She smirked as he drew closer. “Hey,” she greeted him. “You must be one of the new kids. I’m Carla. Do you have any…contraband on you?”
Kid blinked. “That’s a strange question.” Especially since he didn’t know what contraband was.
Carla shrugged one shoulder. “Well, these are some strange times. I’m just trying to save you some study hall. No one gets in or out of here with anything ‘dangerous’.”
Kid remembered Bugg’s taken knife. “They have a metal detector?”
“Yeah and her name is Penny.” Carla and Kid both looked over to the principal’s daughter, who gave a cheerful wave. “That blonde girl is the biggest snitch in the whole school and she has a knack for knowing who is carrying…stuff.”
Kid stared at the bracelet on his wrist. If the other kids thought Penny was a snitch, she must be really lonely. “How does she know?”
“No idea,” Carla answered in a way that made Kid think she was lying. “But it’s unwise to bring anything in these walls unless you have a special way of getting it in.”
Something about this conversation reminded Kid vaguely of Monty. Where was the other boy? But instead, he asked, “Can you get stuff in?”
Carla smiled. “Well,” she drawled. “If you want to get it past the living metal detector over there, I can offer you my services for a small fee.”
Kid thought for a bit and shrugged. It sounded like it might be helpful. “Sure, but maybe later. I don’t have anything right now.”
“Alright,” Carla waved it off. “Just remember if you ever need me. As long as you have the money for it.”
Kid nodded and turned away from Carla. There was only a couple of people left…As Kid approached the boy in the wheelchair, he heard something familiar. “HELP!! Nugget is traaaaaaapped!”
“Nugget?!” Whirling around, Kid spotted a familiar blond head behind a sewer grate. He rushed over and started tugging, but the grate wouldn’t budge. “How did you get down there?”
“Nugget was searching for a suitable place for the new Nugget Cave!” the odd boy explained.
Kid blinked. “So you crawled through a sewer grate?”
“No!” Nugget shook his head. “Nugget was searching for a suitable place to dig by the tree next to the handicap ramp. The ground started to shake! There was a cave in!”
Kid stared for a bit and then sighed. It did sound like a Nugget thing to do. “What can I even do about that?” he asked, letting his hand fall from the grate.
“Find help!” Nugget pled. “Ask teacher! Or Janitor! Or Principal! Nugget does not care! Just get Nugget out of here!!”
“Okay! Okay!” Kid backed away. Nugget sounded really panicked, and he wasn’t thinking straight if he thought the janitor was going to be helpful. Then Kid noticed a tall round man holding a mop standing nearby. Oh. Nugget probably meant that one.
The new janitor beamed as Kid ran over. “Hey there kiddo! I’m your friendly school janitor!”
“Nugget is trapped in the grate over there!” Kid blurted out.
“Oh no!” The new janitor looked actually upset at this. “That’s terrible! If only I had my trusty tool belt I could get him out of there! Go tell the principal! She’ll know what to do!”
“Okay then!” Kid turned to leave and then gasped. The boy in the wheelchair wasn’t a new student at all! Instead, Mony was sitting there, drumming his fingers lazily on one arm. “M-m-Monty!?”
“Hey…” Monty trailed off and grimaced. “Ugh. You looking to buy something?”
“Wha-what happened to you?” Kid stared at the wheelchair. Monty…Monty had been fine yesterday. He’d walked out of the school with them…why!?
Monty scowled over his shoulder. “That rotten janitor didn’t like that I corrected his spelling, but rest assured. He’s gonna get what’s coming to him.”
…What? Kid flashed back to Monty lying on the cafeteria floor, body broken and bloody from the janitor’s mop. But that only…and I didn’t…Monty was…Is…is it my fault?
“-id? Hey kid?” Monty waved a hand, looking a little worried. “You good?”
My fault. My fault my fault my fault. “I have to go!” Kid shouted, bolting right past the janitor. He could hear someone calling from a distance Get away. Get away and call Cat. Cat will know what to do.
Somehow, Kid stumbled his way to a door and fumbled with the handle. To his shock, it opened and Kid nearly fell into the hallway. “What’s this?!” Kid looked up at the squawk to see a woman with a lunch lady hairnet stalking towards him, a ladle in her hands. “No children are allowed in the halls before the bell rings!”
“I-” Kid stuttered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Your apologies do not appease me,” the lunch lady answered coldly. “You will be punished.”
“W-what’s my punishment?” Buggs only got study hall for his knife, so it wouldn’t be so bad, right?
“The principal recommends study hall,” the lunch lady admitted, making Kid sag in relief. “But I recommend death.”
“I’ll take study hall!”
The lunch lady nodded. “A wise decision, but your input does not weigh on my decision.”
A familiar sinking feeling found its home in Kid’s gut. He swallowed hard. “What’s your decision?” he whispered.
“Death.”
Kid retreated until his back hit the door, closing and locking it with an ominous ‘click’. “I’d prefer if you didn’t.”
The lunch lady didn’t respond, merely lifted her ladle. There was a burst of pain, and then Kid knew nothing.
Death 1: Killed by Margaret the Lunch Lady
Tuesday
Bedroom
I hadn’t missed this, The Cat thought as the child buried his face in his fur and sobbed his little heart out. He had hoped that with experience, the child would not die today. But it seemed it was not meant to be.
With a silent sigh, The Cat began to purr. “Shh, child. It’s alright. Death isn’t-”
“It’s not that!” The sudden wail nearly made The Cat jump. “Monty! It’s my fault!”
“Monty?” The Cat blinked. “Wait. Child, what happened? What happened to Monty?”
“He…he…” The child sniffled and rubbed his eyes. “Monty can’t walk anymore. He’s in a wheelchair because the janitor hurt him and the janitor only hurt him because I told him about Monty’s spelling…But I didn’t tell him yesterday!” The child wailed again, digging his fingers into The Cat as he sobbed.
“I see.” And he did see. The Cat sighed and swished his tail. “Child, this was not your fault. I believe it was mine.”
“Huh?” Thankfully, the shock was enough to get the child to stop crying, merely staring at The Cat. “But…huh?”
“Remember how I told you there must always be a way to end the loops?” The child slowly nodded. “Well, it appears that in order to end Tuesday’s loops, Monty must be in a wheelchair for some reason. So you need not blame yourself.”
The child was quiet for a bit. “But…why Monty?”
“I do not know why,” The Cat admitted, tail swishing. “The universe can work in odd ways. But I promise you that it will all end well, child.”
The child nodded. “Okay. I trust you, Cat. But…” He hesitated. “Can we help Monty first?”
“We’ll see. Did you talk to everyone like I asked?”
“Mostly.” The child rubbed his eyes. “I talked to everyone I could find, but I couldn’t find Billy or Lily.”
“Hmm…” The Cat hummed thoughtfully as the child began absently petting him. “You will. I’m sure of it. We’ll make do with what we can. Your hand?” The child held it out and The Cat wrapped his tail around the wrist and focused.
ToolbeltPinA+ChemicalLaserPlushieBombR??o?eAliceAliceAliceSaveAlive
“Alice.” The Cat opened his eyes and released the child’s wrist. “Alice is the one we will have to save today.”
“Alice,” the child repeated. “…Who’s Alice? I didn’t hear that name today.”
“I do not know.” The Cat hopped off the bed and padded over to the center of the room. “I suppose we will find out. But Tuesday will be more complicated that Monday.”
“How?” The child let his feet dangle off the edge of the bed. “And can we help Monty?”
“Not immediately,” The Cat admitted, focusing on the shelf. There was a flash and eight shadows began floating, four to a shelf. “It appears we will need to do three tasks first.” Three of the shadows flashed. “That will allow us to get these three items to do three more tasks to get three more items,” new shadows glowed, “to get these last two items to save Alice.”
“Oh.” The child frowned. “And Monty is one of the last two items?”
“Yes.” The Cat nodded. “To get the first three items, you will need to help either your old janitor, Dr. Danner, or Theodore Huxley.”
The child tilted his head. “Dr. Danner? Oh! Is he the new teacher with a big head who thought I was below average?”
“Yes, his head is quite large,” The Cat agreed.
“I don’t want to help him,” the child muttered, swinging his legs back and forth. “And I don’t wanna help the janitor either. So…Ted, I guess?”
“Very well. We have our plan.” The Cat hopped back on the bed and rubbed his head against the child’s arm. “You will be fine. Are you ready?”
The child took a deep breath and jumped off the bed. “Yeah. Let’s do it!”
Total Deaths: 11