The Day of the Iguana by Henry Winkler

go to sleep. She needs her beauty rest.”
    Emily started to leave, then she turned around. “I think Katherine would like a nuzzle from you,” she said. “It would make her feel loved.”
    Oh brother, the things a guy has to do to get a little privacy around here. I reached out and gave Katherine a pat on the head. She hissed and flashed her teeth at me again. That’s gratitude for you.
    I decided to take the cable box into my room so I could work on it in private. I disconnected the box from the TV, which wasn’t hard. I took it in my room and sat down. I noticed that there were four screws holding the top to the bottom. I unscrewed them and put them on the floor.
    No, Hank, I thought. You are going to lose these if you leave them here, and then you’ll never be able to put the box back together again.
    I got up and put all four screws in a little plastic box I keep in my desk drawer. I usually keep my special clear marbles in there, but I took those out and put them into another compartment.
    I jiggled the top of the cable box, and it came off very easily. Wow, things were going well.
    When I lifted the top off, the inside was not at all what I expected. It was jammed with circuit boards and microchips and lots of wires tangled up together.
    I took everything out of the box and separated the pieces, laying all the parts down on my rug. There sure were a lot of parts. I got so involved taking the box apart and inspecting every single piece that I lost all track of time. The next time I looked up, two hours had gone by. That happens a lot to me. Either I can’t focus at all, or I focus so hard I shut everything else out.
    Suddenly, I heard a toilet flush, then footsteps. They were coming toward my room!
    â€œHank?” my dad whispered from the hall. “What are you doing up?”
    I had to do something fast. I knew he’d come in, and my dad is not the kind of person who would be happy to see his cable box in a million pieces on my floor. I don’t know your dad, but I bet he’s not that kind of person, either.
    I flung myself down on the rug so my body covered all the parts. I heard a couple of things crunch under my butt. There was no time to check them out. I barely had enough time to hit the ground before my dad opened the door.
    â€œHey, Dad,” I said, in a very casual voice, like I always stay up until midnight on a school night lying around on my rug. “What’s up?”
    â€œYou are,” he said. “Go to bed.”
    â€œThanks for the suggestion,” I said, “but I’m not all that sleepy.”
    â€œHead on pillow, Hank. Now.”
    â€œOkay, Dad. I’ll be in bed in one second.”
    He clicked the door shut. I could tell he was standing outside, waiting for my lights to go off. I scooped up all the parts of the cable box in my hands.
    â€œN-O-W,” came my father’s voice, as he spelled out the word. When my father spells out words, that is a clue he means business.
    â€œRight n-o-w, Dad,” I spelled back.
    I opened my desk drawer and quickly tossed all the pieces in. Chips, circuits, wires, and other parts scattered everywhere. I kicked the top and bottom of the cable box under my bed and hopped under the covers just as my dad turned the doorknob and stuck his head inside.
    â€œSleep fast,” he whispered. “It’s late.”
    â€œI’m trying, Dad, but someone keeps opening my door.”
    He left, and I tried to close my eyes, but all I could see in my head were the bits and pieces of the cable box crammed in my top drawer. I had a bad feeling that box was never going to come together in the same way again.

CHAPTER 14
    I MUST HAVE FINALLY fallen asleep, because my dad’s voice woke me early the next morning.
    â€œOut of bed, Hank. Breakfast in five,” he called, knocking on my door.
    Usually, it takes several warnings to get me out of bed, but I jumped up and yelled back,