by David Lubar
“Well, that was fun,” Jan said as she put the last parakeet back in its cage. “Maybe we can do it again next week.”
“Ouch!” Something sharp was digging into my calf through my jeans. “Well, hi, there,” I said, looking down at the cutest little face. A solid black kitten with green eyes had fastened itself to my pants. I tried to pull it free, but it wouldn’t let go of my leg. And once I’d touched it, I didn’t want to let go, either. It felt so wonderfully soft and alive.
“Seems like someone wants to go home with you,” the owner said.
I shook my head. “I don’t think my parents would let me.”
“You never know until you ask,” Jan said.
“You’re right.” As I spoke those words, the kitten released my leg. I noticed the sign next to the cages. Kittens were only ten dollars. Like many of the puppies, the kittens had been rescued from shelters, so the store didn’t charge a lot for them. Still, it was amazing—who’d have thought you could buy total happiness for so little money?
“You have excellent taste,” the owner said. “She’s the prettiest kitten in the store. I had a feeling she’d end up with someone special.”
“She?” I asked. Now I knew I had to take her. We girls needed to stick together.
“Wrap her up,” Jan said.
“Jan!”
“Just kidding. This is great. I’ll even treat for some food or something.” She pulled a five-dollar bill from her pocket. Then she looked at the owner and asked, “Do you sell mice?”
“Jan!” I said again before I realized she wasn’t serious.
Even with Jan chipping in for the food, I still ended up spending a lot more than ten dollars. I bought a small litter box, two bowls, a collar, and three cat toys. It all just fit in my backpack.
“Hang on,” Jan said as we left the store. She stopped at a gumball machine. A sign on the front of it said: YOUR DONATION HELPS AID PEOPLE IN NEED. There were machines like that all over the mall. I watched as Jan pulled four quarters from her pocket and started putting them in the coin slot. With each twist of the knob, she got two or three pieces of gum.
“Hey, isn’t that your last dollar?” I asked.
Jan shrugged. “It’s a good cause.” She looked down at the gumballs in her hand. “Want some?”
“Nope. They look like those hot cinnamon ones.”
“Yuck. You’re right.” She turned toward a little kid who was running by. “Here,” she said, handing him a double fistful of gumballs. “All yours. Go wild.”
“Thanks, lady,” the kid said. He took the gum and dashed off. I guess to a little kid, seventh-graders like Jan and me were old enough to be ladies.
“I like sharing,” Jan said with a grin. “Especially when I’m sharing something I don’t like.” Then she pointed at my new pet. “So, what are you going to call her?”
“I don’t know.” I held up my kitten and looked in her eyes, trying to decide what her name should be. The owner had wanted to put her in a cardboard pet carrier, but I needed to hold her in my arms. “Something special. I’ll know the right name when I think of it.”
We walked back through West Mall toward the Hub.
“Uh-oh,” Jan said, looking toward the donut shop. “There’s May.”
“She’s busy window-shopping,” I said. I figured we could sneak past without attracting her attention. She probably liked teasing kittens as much as she liked picking on kids.
Then I saw that May had spotted someone else, and I knew there was going to be trouble.
Five
BULLY FOR HER
As I looked into the Hub beyond West Mall, I saw Katrina plop down on a bench. I guess she’d come back from the park. May turned away from the donuts and headed toward her target.
“She’s doomed,” Jan said. “This is like those nature films, where the bunny is sitting on the grass, all peaceful and happy. You know, then the camera pulls back and there’s a hawk or a fox getting ready for dinner. The poor kid is about to get pounced on.”
“We have to do something,” I said. “You distract May, and I’ll get Katrina out of there.”
“Me?” Jan asked. “No way. You distract her.”
“I thought of it first,” I said.
Jan shook her head.
There wasn’t any time to argue. I rushed past May and ran to Katrina.
“Hi!” I said, grabbing her hand.
She looked up at me, startled.
“Come on,” I said, tugging at her. “Time to go.” I got her on her feet. It wasn’t easy with a kitten in one hand and a loaded pack on my back.
Jan ran over to join us. She grabbed Katrina’s other hand. “Hurry.”
We dragged her along as fast as we could. Then I looked over my shoulder.
May was still following us. It reminded me of those scary movies where the victim keeps running away, while the monster slowly chases her. Somehow, the monster always catches up.
As I looked for the best way out, I saw three things that had nothing to do with each other—yet somehow they connected in my mind. The little kid with the gumballs was running wild through the Hub. Near May, a mall worker was struggling to carry a large pot of flowers. Between us and May, a worker at the edge of the fountain was tightening a water pipe with a wrench.
“That kid can’t keep running forever,” I said.
“What?” Jan asked.
“Nothing.”
Just then, the kid stopped running. He stood there, panting. But he made the mistake of standing right in front of May. She reached out and pushed him away. He shouted and threw a handful of gumballs at her. They just bounced off May like pebbles off a battleship and scattered across the floor. The guy carrying the pot slipped on one. The pot went flying. It landed with a crash in front of May, spilling dirt in a pile.
The man with the wrench must have been startled by the crash. He jerked too hard and broke the valve. Water shot from the pipe, spraying right into the pile of dirt. It turned into instant mud that splashed up and covered May with a sheet of brown goo.
“Let’s go,” I said, dragging Katrina to the edge of the Hub and down Main Mall. I kept going until we were out of sight of May, but I didn’t think she was following us anymore. She had other things on her mind. And on her face, and on her clothes …
“Hey,” I said to Katrina. “Don’t you know when there’s danger heading toward you?”
“That girl is not nice,” Jan said.
For the first time, Katrina spoke. “The girl back there? I don’t think she’d do anything to me. Did you see her shirt? You know, she always wears the prettiest clothes.”
“Yeah, right,” I said. “Look, we have to get going. Just be careful, okay?”
Katrina looked down at the ground, then back at me. “Beautiful kitten,” she said. “Isn’t she a darling?”
“Yeah, she is,” I said. As Katrina walked away, her words caught in my mind. “Darling…” I studied my kitten. “What do you think?” I asked her, lifting her up so we could see into each other’s eyes. “Are you Darling?”
“Mewwww,” Darling said, telling me she liked her name.
“I guess I’d better go home. Want to come over?” I asked Jan.
She shook her head. “No thanks. I don’t want to be around when you explain this. Your folks will probably blame me. The way they act, you’d think I was always giving you bad ideas.”
“Well, what about the time we used my mom’s roasting pan to tie-dye T-shirts? Remember? That was your idea.”
Jan shrugged. “I still don’t see the problem. So what if the next roast chicken came out with purple gravy? Purple is such a pretty color.”
“And how about the time you said we could make a great drink with orange juice and baking soda?” I asked.
“That was years ago,” Jan said. “Besides, it should have worked.”
I shuddered as I remembered the way it had foamed up and splattered all over the counter. “I’m still finding sticky spots in the
kitchen.”
“Okay, maybe I’ve given you one or two bad ideas. But you can’t say that about your little Darling.”
“Nope. You’re right—she’s definitely a great idea.”
Jan walked with me down to the end of Main Mall. “Mellon alert,” she said when we reached the exit.
I watched as Clem and Clyde tried to come inside. They were fighting over who was going to go through the door first. Every time one of them started to step in, the other would grab him and yank him back. People were staring at them and walking around to the other doors.
“At least they never bother us,” I said to Jan. I was pretty sure those two had no idea who I was, and I liked it that way.
“Yeah. They’re too busy bothering each other,” she said.
I said good-bye to Jan, then crossed the street and headed home.
Just my luck, when I reached my house, I ran into Sebastian. His friends call him Splat, for some reason I don’t remember. I call him a pest. Sometimes we get along, but he’s always picking fights with me.
“Hey,” Sebastian said. “Is that a cat?”
“Hey,” I said back, “I guess you really did learn something in school. Maybe next week they’ll teach you to recognize doggies. Duh.”
“I see one right now,” he said. “Woof, woof.”
“You are such a child.”
“And you’re in so much trouble.” He turned toward the house. “Angie has a cat,” he whispered. “Angie has a cat,” he said a little more loudly. Then he said it again, even louder.
“Stop that. Don’t ruin this for me.”
He said it again, almost shouting.
“Stop. I’m warning you.”
He smiled and shook his head. Then he took a real deep breath, like he was going to scream at the top of his lungs.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I said.
“Angie has—!”
I grabbed his shoulder. “Stop!”
There was no question about the shock this time. It knocked my hand away from Sebastian. I looked at my fingers, expecting to see some kind of burn marks. But everything was fine. I looked back at Sebastian.
He wasn’t there. My brother had vanished.
Six
THE PERFECT BROTHER
“Sebastian?” I called. “Come on. Stop hiding.” He couldn’t have run off that quickly. But he must have. There was no other explanation. At least he wasn’t going to spoil my chance to tell Mom about Darling. I started to walk toward the porch.
“Yeeeoowwrrlll!” Darling let out a screech and dug her kitten claws into my shoulder.
“Hey! That hurt.” That’s when I glanced down. I’d almost stepped on a doll. A doll? I knelt and stared at the doll that was lying on the ground. It had a rag body and a porcelain head. And it looked like Sebastian. It looked exactly like him—same clothes and everything.
“It can’t be…,” I whispered.
“Mewwwp,” Darling said.
I touched the doll with one finger. I almost expected it to be warm and breathing, but it felt like any other doll. “Sebastian, is that you?” I asked.
It didn’t answer. I don’t know what I would have done if it had talked. I couldn’t leave it outside. I picked up the doll and headed toward the front door.
“Hey, is Splat home?” a voice called from behind me.
“No!” I spun around, thrusting the doll behind my back. “He’s not here.”
It was Sebastian’s friend Norman. The kid was smart. Actually, he was more than just smart. He was stuffed so full of knowledge, I figured he’d explode someday and fill the air with flying numbers and millions of facts. Maybe everyone in the neighborhood would grow a little bit smarter if that happened.
“That’s weird,” Norman said. “You were obviously entering your house, not leaving it. How could you know Splat isn’t there?”
“Sisters just know this sort of thing. He’s not inside.”
Norman shrugged. “Nice cat. American shorthair variety, I’d say. Probably female. Well, if you see Splat, tell him I came by. He’s supposed to come over. We’re going to go online and chat with people in Hong Kong tonight. It will be very cool.”
“I’m sure it will be fascinating.” I turned back toward the house and sneaked inside, making sure Mom wasn’t in sight. I rushed up to my room and put the doll on my dresser.
“This is crazy,” I told Darling. “That can’t be my brother. There’s an explanation. Right?”
Darling didn’t give me an answer. I put her on the bed. She padded over to my pillow and plopped down. “Welcome to your new home,” I said as I took her bowls and litter box out of my backpack. “At least, I hope it will be your home. We’ll find out in a minute.” I wanted to tell Mom about Darling right away. Then I could try to figure out what to do about the doll.
I picked Darling up and went downstairs.
“Mom?” I called.
“I’m in here,” she called back.
I followed her voice to the living room. She was dusting the stereo speakers. Her back was to me. I took a deep breath. “Need any help?” I asked.
“Thanks, but I’m almost finished.”
“Can I get you a glass of juice?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No thanks.”
“Want me to make dinner tonight?”
“It’s already made.”
“I could polish the silverware.”
“I polished it yesterday.”
“Like my new kitten?” I asked. “Her name’s Darling.”
“She’s adorable,” Mom said as she glanced over her shoulder. She turned back toward the speakers. Before I could even start my escape, she whirled around. “Kitten! What’s going on here?”
The words spilled out. “Oh, Mom, she’s just so cute and she wouldn’t let go of me and when I looked in her eyes, I knew I had to bring her home and didn’t you ever feel that way like when I was a baby or something and she’s so sweet so pleeeaaase can I keep her if I promise to do all the work?”
Mom sneezed.
I had a terrible thought. “You aren’t allergic, are you?”
She pointed to the speakers and said, “Just to dust.”
“So can I keep her?” If she said no, I knew I was doomed. But maybe she’d say the other thing.
Mom spoke. “We’ll have to see what your father says.”
Yes! I knew what that meant. This was Mom’s way of giving me permission without actually admitting she was giving me permission. Even better, Dad was away until Wednesday. That meant Darling had plenty of time for Mom to get attached to her. By Thursday, we’d be one big, happy, cat-loving family.
“Thanks, Mom. I mean it. Really. This will be great.”
She held up a hand. “Don’t get too excited. We have to ask your father.”
“Sure. Yeah. I realize that.” But I knew exactly what Dad would do. He’d sigh and look at Mom, and then say, Well, if it’s okay with your mother, I guess it’s okay with me.
“By the way,” Mom said as I left the room, “have you seen Sebastian?”
“Isn’t he going to Norman’s?”
Mom nodded. “I hadn’t realized he’d already left.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for him.” I headed toward the stairs.
As I reached the first step, my little brother Rory called out from the top of the landing, “Angie, where’d you get this?”
I looked up and gasped. Rory was dangling the doll over the banister.
Seven
SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE
I put Darling down. “Don’t drop it!”
“Where’d you get this?” Rory asked again. “It looks like Sebastian.” He swung the doll back and forth by one leg, then tossed it into the air and said, “Wheeeee.” He caught it by an arm.
I raced up the steps. Rory tossed the doll again, higher than before. It bounced out of his hand when he tried to catch it. I leaned over the railing and made a grab. I just managed to get my fingers around one foot.
I glared at Rory. “Who said you could go into my room?”
“Sorry.” He started to get that rubbery look on his face like he was going to cry.
“Hey, that’s okay. I’m not angry,” I said. “Just ask first. Look, want to see my kitten?”
“Kitten?”
“Her name’s Darling.” I pointed to her as she climbed up the steps. She padded over to Rory and batted at his perpetually dangling shoelaces. He giggled. I went to my room and put Sebastian back on the dresser, then returned to the hall. Darling and Rory were getting to know each other.
Rory looked up at me. “Did Mom say you could keep her?”
“Mom said she’d have to ask Dad.”
Rory grinned. “That means you can keep her.”
“I know.” I grinned, too. But then my grin faded. I felt great about Darling, but I was worried about the strange stuff that was going on. I’d turned Sebastian into a doll. Normally, that would be a useful talent, but I really wished I knew how to turn him back. He could be a huge pain, but he was my brother. And I guess we’d gotten closer after that vampire thing that had happened to him a few months ago.
Maybe that was it!
Maybe I hadn’t caused the change. It could be some side effect from what he’d been through.
The doorbell rang. “Rory,” Mom called a moment later, “Becky is here.”
“Got to go,” Rory said. “We’re building a rocket ship so we can fly to Mars. Thanks for letting me play with your kitten.” He ran down the steps to join his friend.
“Life’s so easy when you’re little,” I told Darling as I scooped her into my arms. “That kid doesn’t have a problem in the world. Just eat, sleep, and play. Kind of like you.” I held her next to my cheek and felt the gentle rumble of her purring. “Now, I, on the other hand, have problems.”
I went back in my room and closed the door. “Okay,” I said, looking at the doll, “change back.” I touched it on the shoulder with my right hand. Nothing happened. I touched the other shoulder. I tried using my left hand.
“Abracadabra,” I said, feeling more than a little foolish. “Hocus-pocus. Ala kazam.” No luck. The doll was still a doll.
