The Purr-fect Scoop

by Coco Simon

  It was becoming clear that Mrs. Shear not only didn’t love the idea but was actually pretty uncomfortable with it.

  “Gosh, girls. I wish you’d asked me first. There are really strict health code rules—state and local—about pets not being allowed in places that sell or serve food. I would lose my license if I were caught with animals in here.” She was shaking her head.

  I was crestfallen, but Tamiko was thinking on her feet. “Well,” she said, “it’s so beautiful today that maybe we could move a couple of tables outside and set something up out there? It’s worth a try. Even if only for an hour or so, right, Sierra?”

  I nodded along with her. “Yeah!”

  “Are your parents okay with this plan?” asked Mrs. Shear.

  I was really getting sick of lying. I wanted to tell the truth, but I also wanted to protect Isabel. And I wanted to make Tamiko happy.

  “Well,” I said, “they told me how important it was to handle and socialize the kittens.”

  There. It wasn’t a lie.

  Mrs. Shear tapped her chin, thinking. “Hmm. It might work. One of you would need to stay out there with the cats, though. If we get a rush inside . . .”

  “We work really well as a team. I think we can make this work,” said Tamiko, not wanting Mrs. Shear to discuss every possible thing that could go wrong. “If it’s a total fail, we’ll call Isabel and tell her to come get the kittens earlier than planned. Okay?”

  Allie appeared then. “Hey! What’s in the box?” she asked.

  Her mom turned to her and smiled wryly. “Looks like we’re hosting a kitten café here today,” she said.

  “No way! You have the cats in there?” she said, trying to peer into the box. “Oh, Mom, you won’t believe how cute they are. Like I told you, they remind me so much of Diana when she was a baby!”

  “It certainly is lucky that you girls were early today. Now you can use the extra time to get set up,” said Mrs. Shear, smiling.

  I realized that Allie hadn’t told her I was late the week before. I reached over and squeezed Allie’s hand, and she understood, squeezing back.

  “Thanks,” I whispered.

  “Sometimes you do things for sisters,” Allie whispered back.

  Tamiko had already propped open the door and was moving some chairs outside.

  “Should we take this table together?” I asked Allie, and so we did.

  Soon all the furniture we needed was outside, and Tamiko had arranged it so that people could sit and watch the kittens.

  “I don’t have a sidewalk permit,” said Mrs. Shear anxiously.

  Tamiko said, “If you get a bucket and a mop and put them inside the door, we can just say we moved everything outside because . . . someone threw up and we needed to clean the floor!”

  Mrs. Shear laughed and made a disgusted face, but she shook her head. “No. I won’t lie. I don’t think that the inspector will come here during this particular hour on a Sunday.”

  “Now, we need someone to stay out here with the kitties,” said Tamiko. “Also, I’ll make a sign so people know they’re up for adoption. Allie, do you still have that big roll of white bakery paper?”

  “Yup. It’s in the storage closet off the kitchen. Hello, Scotchy!” she said, lifting the towel off the box and peeking her head in.

  “Allie, I think you should be the one to sit out here with the cats,” I said, still feeling grateful to her for covering for me. Sitting with the cats would be fun for her. “Tamiko and I will handle everything inside.”

  I helped Allie get settled with the kitties, making sure we had a barrier set up so that they couldn’t get too far. I set up water bowls for them and made a little bed out of the towel in case they needed to take a nap. Then I went in to help Tamiko do the signs. Mrs. Shear stayed behind the counter until we were ready to take over our real job—serving ice cream.

  Soon we had three signs saying ADOPT A KITTY! and two saying KITTEN CAFÉ: PAY TO PLAY! $5. ALL DONATIONS GO TO THE BAYVILLE ANIMAL SHELTER. I brought Allie a clean ice cream pint container to use for collecting money, and a minute later she had three people gathered around her, all eager to play with the kitties.

  Tamiko and I assumed our spots behind the counter and watched through the big plate-glass window as tons of people stopped to say hi, check out the kittens, and come in for ice cream. Whether they were coming in anyway or whether the cats lured them in, it was hard to say, but business was good. Tamiko took a break during a lull and snapped pics of the kittens—a few with adorable little kid customers with their parents holding them—and posted them on social media with all kinds of hashtags.

  Allie had each kitten settled in a chair outside with a customer, Tamiko was scrolling through the social feeds for Molly’s to see how people were reacting to the kitten posts, Mrs. Shear was in the back in her office doing paperwork, and I had texted Isa to come—whether she’d found Naga or not—in ten minutes. Everything seemed to be going perfectly, when the shop bell jingled and in walked two unexpected customers: my parents.

  CHAPTER SIX

  I’M SIERRA THE SNITCH

  “Are those kittens out there?” my mother stage-whispered indignantly as she approached the counter.

  My father was giving me the hairy eyeball.

  “Sierra, why don’t you go on break? I’ll cover,” said Tamiko, her eyes wide.

  “Thanks,” I said gratefully, gulping. “What are you guys doing here?” I asked my parents sweetly.

  “We thought it would be nice to come see you at work and have a Sunday treat. We had no idea what we’d find!” said my dad sternly.

  My mother steered me outside and a little past the cat café, out of earshot, and I braced myself for the coming storm.

  “Sierra, what are you thinking, taking these kittens out of our house? It’s so dangerous for them! They’re still so young! We don’t even let them out of the kitchen when we’re not home!”

  “Mami! I was in a pinch. I couldn’t watch them—and anyway, you said they need to be handled by people to get them socialized.” I was rambling, grasping at straws, but I couldn’t really think straight. I’d never considered that I might get caught.

  “Yes, but handled by people who know what they’re doing, in a safe indoor space. Not every random person walking down the street!” protested my mom.

  “What about Isabel? Had she left the house?” asked my father, his brow furrowed.

  I sighed heavily. I was going to have to come clean, for both or us. “Isa couldn’t watch the kittens, and I couldn’t leave them there alone because . . .” I cringed, dreading divulging the information that would cause me pain in more ways than one.

  My parents looked at me expectantly.

  “¿Si?” prompted my mom.

  I took a deep breath. “Because Isa has a pet snake and it got loose in the house and she had to find it. So we couldn’t leave the kittens there unattended.”

  “What?!?” cried my father. “There’s a snake in my own house, and I didn’t even know it? Sierra! This is serious! What kind of snake?!”

  “It’s—it’s a corn snake!” I stammered.

  “How can you be sure, Sierra? Corn snakes look just like copperheads, which are highly venomous and dangerous!” said my mom.

  “I . . . uh . . . the girl told her . . .”

  “And who exactly is this girl?” asked my dad.

  “Uh . . . Francie?” I said, realizing that I knew exactly zero about Francie, or about Naga’s origins.

  My parents looked at each other, their mouths in matching grim lines. Suddenly I realized how serious this Naga business was.

  “We might have to call animal control,” said my mom.

  “Isa should get out of that house,” said my dad. He sprang into action, his fingers flying over his phone screen as he called home. He stared at me with the phone to his ear, waiting and waiting.

  “No answer,” he said, stabbing at the screen with his thumb to disconnect the call.

  “Tr
y her cell,” I suggested. “She might be on her way here now.”

  “If she wasn’t bitten by a copperhead!” scolded my mom.

  My dad punched in Isabel’s cell number and put the phone to his ear. Just as he was about to hang up, Isabel answered, while at the same moment she rounded the corner right in front of us.

  “Hello?” she was saying.

  My dad looked at her and hung up the phone.

  Isabel’s eyes grew wide, and she looked to me to read the situation.

  “They know,” I said flatly. “We’re in trouble.”

  “Isa! Did you find the snake?” asked my mom urgently.

  Isabel nodded, her face a mask of shock.

  My parents both breathed a sigh of relief. “It didn’t bite you, did it?” asked my dad.

  Isabel shook her head. “Corn snakes don’t bite.”

  My dad huffed in aggravation. “Assuming it is a corn snake. Let’s go,” he said.

  He marched us back up the block to the cat café setup. He nicely told Allie to wrap it up. “The kittens are probably tired,” he said, “so we should get them home.” He directed me to take down the cat signs and for me and Isabel to help put the furniture back while he and my mom went in to say hi and explain everything to Mrs. Shear.

  Once we were alone outside, I whispered to Isa, “I’m sorry, but I had to tell them!”

  She wouldn’t even look at me.

  “Isa! It’s not my fault! I told you that you should have told them from the beginning!”

  Allie watched us with wide eyes but didn’t say anything. She was always fascinated by the sister thing because she only had her little brother, Tanner.

  “Isa! Say something!”

  Nothing but silence.

  We quickly put the furniture back, all without a word from Isabel, and then we went back outside. Allie had wrapped up the play sessions by then and was counting the money. We’d made fifty dollars in an hour! That was at least a silver lining. It would all be donated to the animal shelter.

  Shortly my parents came out with Mrs. Shear, chatting and friendly. It gave me a false sense for the moment that they weren’t really mad at us, but my dad’s eyes were hard when they met mine. Eeek!

  “I think we all learned something today,” Mrs. Shear said, looking at me. I could tell from her face that my parents had told her we’d cooked up this plan without their permission. I could also tell she was disappointed in me.

  I looked down, then looked up and met her eyes. “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “I can take a lot of things, but not lying,” said Mrs. Shear. “Lying always makes it worse, Sierra.”

  Allie looked at me like she wanted to help. “Well, on a happy note, we made fifty dollars for the animal shelter.”

  “Wow. That’s wonderful!” said my mom. “Doing acts of kindness is always a good thing.”

  “Maybe after we all think about it, there’s a way to do this the right way,” said Mrs. Shear. “As long as everyone is on board.”

  “I’m sure the shelter would love to send their adoption van over,” said my mom, sipping her shake. “We can help coordinate that.”

  “The one with all the little habitats inside, with the cats and dogs for adoption?” asked Allie.

  My mom nodded. “That’s the one. They’re always looking for venues to get the needy animals in front of people.”

  “Great idea. Then we wouldn’t have to have the animals inside the shop or our furniture out on the pavement. Allie, why don’t you look into that?” suggested Mrs. Shear.

  Allie nodded.

  “I’ll check into the ordinances with the town and figure out if we can have it here again, all on the up-and-up,” Mrs. Shear added.

  “We’re dropping Isa and the kittens at home and then heading back to the clinic,” said Mom. “Sierra, we’ll see you straightaway when you’re finished here, right?”

  I nodded.

  “We’ll talk when we all get home,” added my mom.

  My parents and Isabel wheeled away the laundry cart with the box full of kittens.

  I felt so guilty about having betrayed Isabel and the fact that she had to face the wrath of my parents alone. But at the same time I was soooo relieved to not have to deal with them until later, when they’d hopefully cooled off a bit.

  We went back inside to work. Unfortunately, Tamiko’s social media blitz had been a little too successful. Seven more people stopped by to see the kittens, and we had to explain that they’d left for the day. We also said we hoped to have another event soon.

  “But they should be back soon. We’ll post in advance if so. Meanwhile, wouldn’t you love a kitten sundae to ease your disappointment?” Tamiko asked.

  She’d invented a kitten sundae, just as Allie had predicted, and it was supercute: a huge scoop of ice cream in a dish, with two blue M&M’s for eyes, a red M&M for a nose, two halves of a wafer for ears, and chocolate syrup from a squirt bottle to create three whiskers on either side of the nose.

  “Cute idea, Miko,” I’d said enthusiastically when I saw it.

  “It would be cool to charge a little extra for these and put the balance in a jar for the animal shelter.”

  “I like that idea, but I think we’ve had enough innovation for the day,” I said wearily.

  During a lull I went to the bathroom and texted Isabel.

  I’M SO SORRY, I wrote, and pressed send.

  No response.

  ARE U MAD AT ME? I wrote.

  No response.

  DID THEY YELL THE WHOLE WAY HOME?

  Still no response.

  And finally, WILL YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

  But there was still no reply from her when I’d finished work and had said my good-byes to head home at the end of the day. Allie and Tamiko promised to stay near their phones in case I needed them, and Allie hugged me fiercely.

  “I am trying really hard not to say ‘I told you so,’ ” said Allie into my shoulder.

  “Then don’t say it!” I joked. “But thanks for not telling your mom I was late last week.”

  “And I forgive you for not taking my advice and telling your parents about Naga earlier!” Allie said, giggling.

  Tamiko rolled her eyes. “See, I told you it would all work out!”

  “Well,” I said, “we don’t really know how it will work out.” I took a deep breath. “Wish me luck, sisters. It’s time to face the music.”

  For the first time ever, I dreaded going home.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  PIZZA AND PUNISHMENT

  I beat my parents home by ten minutes. The kittens were locked in the kitchen, so my first stop was to see if Isa was even home. Her door was closed and she didn’t answer when I knocked. When I tried the handle, it wouldn’t turn. We didn’t have locks on our doors, so that meant that she had her desk chair wedged under the doorknob. If that was the case, I knew better than to keep trying.

  Back in my room I took a minute to Google “copperhead snake” and “corn snake.” Um, yeah. They did look alike. I shivered.

  “Hello!” my mom called from downstairs. I heard the door to the garage slam.

  “Girls!” called my dad.

  I steeled myself and called back, “Coming!” Then I stopped by Isa’s room and knocked softly again.

  “Isabel! They’re back. You have to come.”

  I wasn’t waiting to see if she’d come. I slowly walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. There was a large pizza box sitting on top of the stove. I didn’t dare ask if they’d bought garlic knots, too, which were Isa’s and my favorite thing, and something my parents wouldn’t always get for us. I was pretty sure they weren’t feeling too kindly toward us right about then.

  “Get a slice of pizza and a drink, and let’s all meet in the dining room,” directed my dad.

  I turned and saw that Isabel had materialized in the doorway. I looked away. Now I was mad. I was in big trouble, and this was all her fault! If she hadn’t had the stupid snake in the first place
, or if she’d at least told my parents about it, I never would have had to cover for her or take the kittens to work, and we never would have gotten into this situation.

  I grabbed a slice, poured myself some ice water, and stalked into the living room, not meeting anyone’s eye.

  My dad had left the door open between the rooms, and the kittens started to migrate into the dining room after us. Soon Marshmallow and Cinnamon were tussling on the floor.

  I sat in a chair on my own; I didn’t want to sit next to anyone on the couch. I didn’t even wait for everyone to be served before I started eating. I just gnashed into my slice and started chewing, watching the cats play. Right then I was wishing I were a cat. I bet Honey never yelled at her kittens. I bet Cinnamon never brought home something inappropriate and made Marshmallow lie about it!

  My dad joined me, and we sat in silence and chewed, and then my mom and Isabel arrived, my mom sitting next to my dad and Isabel opposite me.

  My mom sighed heavily, then bit into her pizza.

  My dad finished his slice and cleared his throat.

  There was only the sound of chewing for a few seconds.

  Luckily, just then Cinnamon came flying off the cabinet, kamikaze-style, and landed on Marshmallow on the rug below, and we all laughed. The tension was broken, and my parents began to speak at the same time.

  “You girls have broken our trust—” began my mom.

  “Mami and I are very upset—” said my dad.

  They each gestured for the other to continue, while Isabel and I sat there in dread.

  My mom began again. “You girls have both broken our trust. Isabel, you defied our ‘no pets’ rule and brought an animal to live under our roof without our permission or knowledge. You did it knowingly and sneakily, and with great risk to you and the animal, and we are very angry about that.”

  My dad nodded and swallowed his bite of pizza. Then he took over for my mom. “And you, Sierra. You went along with Isabel’s bad decision and secret-keeping, and you also made decisions on behalf of the kittens today that were not your decisions to make. You put them in danger.”