Cat couldn't wait to get started. She had waited her whole life to get into this school. She wasn't going to fail.

Her mother had begged and begged Cat to stay, but nothing could change Cat's mind. Her father, John Vivece, had gone and said that they were the best years of his life. Her mother, Lacey Vivece, hadn't gone and hadn't wanted to. Lacey never wanted a big life and never felt as if she fit under one of the categories.

Cat followed the ocean of grey and yellow students down the hallways and finally into a classroom. The classroom was a simple grey with a neat chalkboard and perfectly aligned desks. Boring for some people, but for Cat it was perfect.

She took a seat in the back row because 1) the other seats were taken up and 2) she didn't like the feeling that people were behind her and could be watching what she was doing.

The teacher, a middle aged man with sharp features, walked to the front of the classroom with no expression on his face. For the first day of school, he looked pretty bored.

"Alright class," he started. "My name is Mr. Watson and I will be teaching you about magical lifestyles and creatures."

He paused, looking around the room as if looking for some kind of reaction. He sighed, clearly unsatisfied.

"All the categories will be taught this class. I don't have any free periods except for lunch. So I suggest you pay attention and get good grades in this class, because you will not be able to see me for extra help," he snapped.

The classroom broke into tiny whispers of worry. Cat frowned. She loved outside help from teachers.

"Quiet quiet," he said. "Now, when I call your name, stand up and stay up."

"Curt Wallace."

A boy with messy brown hair stood up.

"Alice Luqui."

A fragile girl with light blonde hair stood up.

The list went on and on until everyone except for Cat.

"Am I forgetting anyone?" Mr. Watson asked.

Cat raised her hand slowly. "Um, me."

Mr. Watson turned to face Cat. "And what is your name?"

"Cat Vivece," she said in a small voice. How could her name not be on the list? Was there some sort of mistake?

He looked at the the list over and over but kept on shaking his head. "There's no Cat here. Maybe you're in the wrong class?"

Cat shook her head. She could feel all eyes on her and she hated the feeling. "I have my schedule right here," she said and handed him the list.

He looked at it and shrugged. "Well I'll be darned. Welcome to class Mrs. Vivece."

Mr. Watson walked back to the front of the room and wrote something on the class list, probably her name.

Cat sat back down along with everyone else, but she could hear the whispers.

"Doesn't belong here," one person said.

"Isn't a Smart," another whispered.

"Should just go back home."

Cat could feel her eyes fill up with tears. She belonged here. She knew she did! She had to.

Mr. Watson brought the attention back to him. "Now, a Walabeast is-"

---

After class was let out, people kept on giving her strange looks and avoiding her. Cat hadn't talked the entire class, even though she knew every answer.

Her next class was science of weapons and armor. She was hoping her name would be on this list. Her hopes were soon crushed.

Mrs. Woolworth went through the same list, which had no mention of Cat Vivece. Cat was forced to show her schedule again, and the whispers increased.

With every class, more whispers and looks came Cat's way. With every class, Cat felt like she didn't belong. 

By lunch time, Cat was relieved to go and sit with Maritime, Ember, Ivory, Aaron, and Peter at their outsider table.

Cat sat down and smiled at everyone. "Hi everyone," she greeted.

"Hi Cat!" Ivory said with a beam.

"How were your classes?" Maritime asked.

The question Cat had been dreading.

"Oh, they were fine," she replied quietly.

Ember raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Cat attempted a smile, but her disappointment washed over her. "No. It was absolutely awful. My name wasn't on any of the lists and everyone thought I wasn't supposed to be there."

Aaron shrugged. "There are mistakes everywhere. It couldn't have been that bad."

As he said that, Cat saw Smart students looking at her and whispering to one another.

"Yeah," Cat muttered sadly.

Peter smiled at her. "Cheer up. I'm sure they'll have fixed everything for your next classes."

Cat nodded, trying to feel better. Everything would be fine, she had to believe it.