“Yes, of course.” Maddy could feel her face going pink. She hadn’t been sure if Becky would be as friendly at school as she had been over the weekend.
“Do you think Mrs Melling would let you move tables, now that Kate isn’t here any more?” Becky asked thoughtfully. “There’s space for you to sit with me and Lara and Keri.”
“I suppose we could ask,” Maddy said, going even pinker.
“Cool.” Becky pulled her over to the little group of girls she’d been chatting to. “Have you got a photo of Biscuit in your bag to show everyone?”
“She looks different,” Becky said thoughtfully, later on that afternoon as the girls sat in Maddy’s kitchen, watching Biscuit sleeping in her basket.
“The scratches don’t look as bad,” Maddy suggested.
“No, it isn’t that. I think she just looks happier. I suppose she must have been feeling really miserable on Saturday.” She glanced at the door. “Did your dad get that special cat flap?”
“Yes. And then he went round and worked out the times Biscuit gets to go outside with Josh’s dad. He told Dad he’d already rung the vet. Tiger and Tom are booked in for Wednesday. Once they’re neutered, the vet said he was sure they’d be less fierce.”
“That’s amazing.” Becky grinned. “Aren’t you glad I made you go and ring their bell? Oh look, Biscuit’s awake!”
Biscuit opened her eyes and yawned, showing her raspberry-pink tongue.Then she looked lovingly at Maddy, and stepped out of her basket and on to Maddy’s lap. She gave Becky a curious stare.
“Can I stroke her?”
Maddy nodded. “She doesn’t seem as jumpy as she did before. It can’t really be the new cat flap, because she hasn’t even been out yet.”
“Maybe she’s just glad to be home,” Becky suggested.
Maddy smiled down at Biscuit. She seemed to be going back to sleep again, just on a warmer, cosier sort of bed.
Biscuit burrowed deeper into Maddy’s school cardigan, and purred softly with each breath. She was safe now. And she wasn’t frightened any more.
About the Author
Holly Webb started out as a children’s book editor, and wrote her first series for the publisher she worked for. She has been writing ever since, with over sixty books to her name. Holly lives in Berkshire, with her husband and three young sons. She has a pet cat called Marble, who is always nosying around when she’s trying to type on her laptop.
Other titles by Holly Webb:
Lost in the Snow
Lost in the Storm
Alfie all Alone
Sam the Stolen Puppy
Max the Missing Puppy
Sky the Unwanted Kitten
Timmy in Trouble
Ginger the Stray Kitten
Harry the Homeless Puppy
Buttons the Runaway Puppy
Alone in the Night
Ellie the Homesick Puppy
Jess the Lonely Puppy
Misty the Abandoned Kitten
Oscar’s Lonely Christmas
Lucy the Poorly Puppy
Smudge the Stolen Kitten
The Rescued Puppy
The Kitten Nobody Wanted
The Lost Puppy
The Frightened Kitten
Copyright
STRIPES PUBLISHING
An imprint of Little Tiger Press
1 The Coda Centre, 189 Munster Road,
London SW6 6AW
Text copyright © Holly Webb, 2012
Illustrations copyright © Sophy Williams, 2012
First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2012.
eISBN: 978–1–84715–332–6
The right of Holly Webb and Sophy Williams to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved.
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
www.stripespublishing.co.uk