Surprise (continued)

Katrina Swete
Her quarters
the morning after finding the kitten
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Katrina opened her eyes. For a few moments, the events of the night before
were completely oblivious to her. She simply continued to hug her pillow as
she always did in the morning.
Then the memories came back to her. She sat up in bed, checking to make sure
she wasn't crushing the kitten. She looked under the blanket and around the
room. No sign of it.
She looked back at the grill. It was still open. The kitten must have taken
her advice and left after she had fallen asleep.
Katrina replaced the grill and put in the screws. She was slightly saddened.
That poor kitten was bound to be found and destroyed, as was the JMC's rule
with unquarantined animals.
She went about her business, still thinking about the kitten. She made her
bed, picked up her dirty clothes and threw away the tray from her dinner. She
then noticed the unoccupied bunk above hers had a lump in the blanket. She
took a step, and the lump moved.
"Oh no," Katrina groaned. She went over and pulled the blanket back. The now
clean white with black spots kitten looked up at her. "Oh, you pain in the
ass. I'm gonna get in so much trouble. I have a smegging pet now!" She
paused. "Wait, that's what I'm gonna call you. Pain In The Ass, or PITA, for
short." She picked the small animal up and snuggled it. "Oh, I'm gonna be in
so much trouble."