upsetting, right?”
“Right,” I agreed.
“Then you stole a black cat from the pet store.”
“
I
stole it?” I cried. “I thought
we
stole it.”
“Yes, but
you
did the actual running out the door stealing thing,” Amanda replied. “And I think you’re very messed up about that.”
“True,” I said. “And then the new Bella acts totally weird. Sweet and gentle one minute. Then like a fiendish monster the next minute.”
Amanda nodded her head. “Yes. And it all has you totally wired and freaked out,” she said.
“So?”
“So … that explains why you’re hearing cats all the time, Mickey. And why you’re seeing cats everywhere.”
“I get it,” I said. “You think I’m crazy.”
“Not crazy. Stressed,” she replied. “Totally stressed.”
“You’re wrong, Amanda,” I said. “I’m not imagining any of these things. What about my goldfish? Do you think I chewed my own goldfish to pieces? I’m not imagining any of this. It’s real. It’s all real.”
She stood up. She patted my shoulder. “If it’s all real, Mickey, how come you’re the only one who heard the cat in class this morning?”
My mouth dropped open. I wanted to answer that. But I had no answer.
“I have to get some lunch,” Amanda said. She patted my shoulder again. “Take a deep breath. You’ll be fine.”
I rolled my eyes. “Awesome advice,” I muttered. But she was already on her way to the lunch line.
Okay
, I thought,
so she doesn’t believe me.
She’d believe me if I showed her what was floating in my goldfish tank.
I started to feel a little angry. I mean, this whole cat switch was Amanda’s idea. And now she didn’t want to hear what was really going on. She just wanted to believe that I was imagining things.
I realized my stomach was growling again. I slid the backpack closer. I peered inside before I reached in and tugged out the brown paper lunch bag.
I started to unfold the bag. But I stopped when I felt something weird. Something lumpy and hard inside the bag.
A sour aroma floated out. Something
stank.
I reached inside and wrapped my fingers around it. I tugged it out—and tried to scream.
But it’s impossible to scream and gag at the same time.
24
A dead mouse.
My hand was wrapped around a dead gray mouse.
Its body was stiff and hard. Its eyes had sunk into their sockets. I saw deep bite marks on its back.
The smell was sickening.
The mouse fell from my trembling hand. It thudded on the table and bounced onto the floor.
I jumped to my feet. Was the dead mouse a gift from the cat? It was the kind of present a cat would leave.
I couldn’t think straight. I knew I couldn’t eat. I smelled my hand. It reeked of dead mouse.
I tossed the lunch bag in the trash. Then I hurried out of the lunchroom. I heard Aaron calling me. I just waved to him and kept walking.
I didn’t really know where I was going. I needed to find someplace quiet and try to figure this out.
Or maybe I needed to tell someone what was happening. Maybe tell my parents the whole truth.
I had gym right after lunch. I wandered into the gym. But no one was there yet.
Two volleyball nets had been set up in the middle of the floor. Bright lights made the polished floor gleam.
For a moment, I thought I saw someone sitting in the bleachers at the far end. But it was just a blue jacket someone had draped over a bench.
I made my way to the locker room to change into my gym clothes.
I pulled open the door and stepped inside. About twenty degrees hotter in here. The locker room air smelled damp and sweaty.
I felt something soft under my shoe.
“Ohhh!” What did I step on?
A cat?
No.
I jumped back. A balled-up pair of gym socks.
Take it easy, Mickey.
Maybe Amanda is right about you.
I heard water dripping in the shower room. “Anybody in here?” I shouted. My voice echoed off the tile walls.
No reply.
My locker was near the back, across from the shower room. I stepped up to it and grabbedthe
“Right,” I agreed.
“Then you stole a black cat from the pet store.”
“
I
stole it?” I cried. “I thought
we
stole it.”
“Yes, but
you
did the actual running out the door stealing thing,” Amanda replied. “And I think you’re very messed up about that.”
“True,” I said. “And then the new Bella acts totally weird. Sweet and gentle one minute. Then like a fiendish monster the next minute.”
Amanda nodded her head. “Yes. And it all has you totally wired and freaked out,” she said.
“So?”
“So … that explains why you’re hearing cats all the time, Mickey. And why you’re seeing cats everywhere.”
“I get it,” I said. “You think I’m crazy.”
“Not crazy. Stressed,” she replied. “Totally stressed.”
“You’re wrong, Amanda,” I said. “I’m not imagining any of these things. What about my goldfish? Do you think I chewed my own goldfish to pieces? I’m not imagining any of this. It’s real. It’s all real.”
She stood up. She patted my shoulder. “If it’s all real, Mickey, how come you’re the only one who heard the cat in class this morning?”
My mouth dropped open. I wanted to answer that. But I had no answer.
“I have to get some lunch,” Amanda said. She patted my shoulder again. “Take a deep breath. You’ll be fine.”
I rolled my eyes. “Awesome advice,” I muttered. But she was already on her way to the lunch line.
Okay
, I thought,
so she doesn’t believe me.
She’d believe me if I showed her what was floating in my goldfish tank.
I started to feel a little angry. I mean, this whole cat switch was Amanda’s idea. And now she didn’t want to hear what was really going on. She just wanted to believe that I was imagining things.
I realized my stomach was growling again. I slid the backpack closer. I peered inside before I reached in and tugged out the brown paper lunch bag.
I started to unfold the bag. But I stopped when I felt something weird. Something lumpy and hard inside the bag.
A sour aroma floated out. Something
stank.
I reached inside and wrapped my fingers around it. I tugged it out—and tried to scream.
But it’s impossible to scream and gag at the same time.
24
A dead mouse.
My hand was wrapped around a dead gray mouse.
Its body was stiff and hard. Its eyes had sunk into their sockets. I saw deep bite marks on its back.
The smell was sickening.
The mouse fell from my trembling hand. It thudded on the table and bounced onto the floor.
I jumped to my feet. Was the dead mouse a gift from the cat? It was the kind of present a cat would leave.
I couldn’t think straight. I knew I couldn’t eat. I smelled my hand. It reeked of dead mouse.
I tossed the lunch bag in the trash. Then I hurried out of the lunchroom. I heard Aaron calling me. I just waved to him and kept walking.
I didn’t really know where I was going. I needed to find someplace quiet and try to figure this out.
Or maybe I needed to tell someone what was happening. Maybe tell my parents the whole truth.
I had gym right after lunch. I wandered into the gym. But no one was there yet.
Two volleyball nets had been set up in the middle of the floor. Bright lights made the polished floor gleam.
For a moment, I thought I saw someone sitting in the bleachers at the far end. But it was just a blue jacket someone had draped over a bench.
I made my way to the locker room to change into my gym clothes.
I pulled open the door and stepped inside. About twenty degrees hotter in here. The locker room air smelled damp and sweaty.
I felt something soft under my shoe.
“Ohhh!” What did I step on?
A cat?
No.
I jumped back. A balled-up pair of gym socks.
Take it easy, Mickey.
Maybe Amanda is right about you.
I heard water dripping in the shower room. “Anybody in here?” I shouted. My voice echoed off the tile walls.
No reply.
My locker was near the back, across from the shower room. I stepped up to it and grabbedthe
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