Homeless

Chapter Ten

Vicious, wild cat… vicious, wild cat. The words of the reporter keep echoing through Sunita’s head. In her nightmare, she’s trapped, surrounded by angry cats, all six feet tall, with shaggy fur, sharp claws, and pointed teeth. Sunita tries to run, but no matter where she goes, she’s trapped. Suddenly the nightmare shifts and she’s the cat. She stretches her front paws, trying to run faster than ever before. Then ahead, a small, dark cave. She swerves and puts on a burst of speed, running right into the small hole. Then, bang! The trap door closes. They got her. She mews as loud as she can, calling for anybody to come and rescue her.

The sound of meowing wakes her up. Sunita sits straight up in bed. It’s her. She’s the one making the noise. What a strange dream.

Mother taps lightly on Sunita’s door. She walks in, saying it’s nearly lunchtime. She can bring in some soup. Sunita responds that she’s finally had enough sleep. She can go downstairs to eat. The dream still feels vivid. Mother plops a kiss on her forehead, and says she’ll have food ready downstairs.

Her shoulders are aching from the injections. Her hand is killing her. She wishes she could get dressed with her eyes closed. She sees cats all over her room. On posters, covers of books, and on the screensaver of her computer. Every time she sees one, it reminds her of the dream and feeling locked up. Is that how it feels to cats when they are trapped and taken away? Is that how Tiger felt? Is that why he bit her? It gives her shivers.

Sunita’s friends from Dr. Mac’s Place visit after lunch. David bursts through the hallway, saying it’s so cool that she made it into the newspaper. Sunita mutes the ice skating competition she was watching. Sunita says that she read it. The headline read “RABIES SCARE.” When Sunita saw it at the kitchen table, she didn’t feel like eating anything at all. The girls walk in, talking to Mother. Sunita’s five-year-old brother and sister are hiding in the kitchen, watching everything.

Sunita asks if anyone else called about Socrates. Brenna responds no. They went back to look for him again in the morning, but no luck. He’ll turn up. He probably found a nice person who’s feeding him caviar or something. Maggie says Gran is starting to get worried. He’s never been gone this long. Someone could have taken him in, or he could be sick, or he could have been hit by a—

Sunita says not to even say it. She agrees with Brenna. Socrates is coming back. Zoe asks about the trip to the hospital.

Sunita tells them all about her trip to the emergency room, trying to make it seem like the shots were no big deal. Mother contradicts what Sunita says, saying it was very serious. They’re keeping Sunita home from school for a few days. Sunita thinks it’s silly. She doesn’t need to recover from anything. But Mother and Daddy decided this during their car ride home from the hospital. Mother isn’t sure if Sunita will be going back to the clinic either.

Sunita asks how Tiger and the other cats from the railroad tracks are doing. Maggie grins. They’re loud. Gran and Dr. Gabe operated on all of them last night, and by breakfast time they were feeling well enough to howl. And Sherlock Holmes feels like he has to compete. No one can make louder noises than him. Sunita smiles, thinking of Maggie’s basset hound surrounded by a room full of howling cats. Apparently, the cats will be going back to the railroad tracks on Wednesday, and they’ll pick up the next batch of cats. Gran really likes doing this.

Sunita mentions to her Mother that some of the cats are strays. Abandoned. They’d really like to find good homes for them. Mother comments that it’s a very nice thought. Then, with a look at her watch, Mother says it’s time for her to go. She promised to take the little ones to the playground. Brenna says they should go, too. They all promised Dr. Mac they wouldn’t bug Sunita. Mother says that none of them are bothering Sunita. It’s very nice of them to come over.

Sunita watches her friends file out of the door, waving and calling goodbye, followed by Mother and the twins. Sunita moves the living room couch so she can look out her front windows and watch them leave. Maggie and the others walk in the direction of the clinic, while Mother and the twins get smaller and smaller as they walk toward Main Street. Sunita lies on the soft cushions. She’s tired. Maybe she should take a nap. She tries to sleep, but she can’t. Every time she closes her eyes, she remembers what it felt like to be trapped—the look in Tiger’s eyes, the look in the baby fox’s eyes. She hates this feeling.

Just then, Sunita realizes that she was wrong. There’s no way that she could turn a feral cat into a pet. If a cat has been raised in the wild, then it’s a wild animal. We can do our best to make wild cats safe and prevent them from having kittens, but we can’t make them into friendly pets. The worst thing about this situation is that her hope of convincing Mother to let her have a cat was totally ruined the second Tiger bit her. She doesn’t know how she’s going to get Mother to change her mind now.

Sunita remembers the book of information on TVSR that Dr. Mac gave to Gary. That book of information made a huge difference in Gary’s mindset. That’s it! Sunita doesn’t need Dr. Mac to gather any information for Mother. Sunita will write the book herself.