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Sky watched Lucy warily. Her voice sounded loving, but a little sad as well.Please don’t give me back… she mewed.I want to stay!

“Were you hiding?” Lucy asked slowly. “Because you didn’t know what was going on? Oh, Sky, I’m so sorry…” She reached out one finger, very gently, and rubbed Sky under her chin. “It’s all going to be fine now, I promise. No more pretending I don’t love you, because I really, really do. I know I do. Please come out!”

Sky stood up unsteadily on the pile of hats and gloves, and mewed again.I’m so hungry! she told Lucy.

“You must be starved,” Lucy muttered. Very gently, she picked Sky up, cradling her close.

Sky could feel Lucy’s heart beating as she carried her to the kitchen. Her own heart was thumping anxiously, too. Where would her basket be? She sat tensely in Lucy’s arms as she opened the door, and turned on the kitchen light. Then she howled in dismay. It was piled up on the counter still, with her bowl and food bag. They were still going to give her away!

“Hey, hey, Sky, what’s wrong?” Lucy asked. “Oh! Your basket. Does it look strange up on the counter like that? It’s all right, look.” Whispering soothingly and cuddling the tiny kitten in one arm, Lucy took Sky’s toys out of the basket and put it back in its warm corner by the radiator. Sky stopped crying, and leaned over Lucy’s arm to sniff it suspiciously. It seemed right. Good. Now all Lucy had to do was get her food bowl.

“Lucy!” Lucy’s mum was at the kitchen door, her dressing gown half-tied, looking worried. “What are you doing?” she said. “Oh, you’ve found her! Where was she?” She turned to Lucy’s dad, who had followed her downstairs. “Lucy’s found Sky!”

Lucy carried her kitten over for her mum to stroke.“She was in the cupboard under the stairs. She must have been there all that time!” She looked seriously at her parents. “I think she was hiding because she didn’t know whether we wanted her or not,” she said quietly. “But we really do, don’t we?”

“Of course we do,” said Mum.

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Her dad poured some food into Sky’s bowl. “I bet she’s starving.”

Sky started to eat, gulping down the food, then looking hopefully for more.

“It’s not that long till breakfast, Sky, don’t worry!” Lucy giggled. She looked up at her mum and dad. “Can Sky sleep on my bed?” she begged.

Her mum nodded.“If you get back to bed right this minute! In fact, I think we shouldall get back to bed!”

Sky rubbed her head against Lucy’s chin as she carried her upstairs. She could tell how happy Lucy was.

As Lucy snuggled up under her warm duvet, Sky curled up next to her on the pillow and purred loudly. There was no place either of them would rather be! Lucy and Sky were home.

19. SMUDGE THE STOLEN KITTEN

Chapter One

There was the sound of a whistle blowing.“Ben Williams and Rob Ford! Get down from there right now!”

Olivia looked up and groaned. Mrs Mackintosh sounded as if she’d yelled right in Olivia’s ear, even though she was on the other side of the playground.

“What have Ben and Rob done now?” her friend Lucie asked.

“Something awful, as usual,” Olivia muttered, as they ran across the playground to see what was going on. Her big brother Ben was always in trouble at school – which wasn’t fair, because all the teachers either thought that meant Olivia was naughty too, or that she ought to have stopped him. As if he’d listen toher! And his friend Rob was even worse.

“You’re very lucky you haven’t broken your necks!” the girls heard Mrs Mackintosh saying crossly. “What a stupid thing to do!”

“It isn’t in the playground rules that we can’t tightrope walk along the top of the fence, Mrs Mackintosh,” Ben said innocently, pointing to the poster on the side of the wall.

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“That’s because before you, Ben, no one had even thought of it!” the head teacher snapped. “We need to add an extra rule at the bottom of that list saying that whatever idiotic thing you two think of next isn’t allowed! You can miss the rest of play. Go inside and tell Mrs Beale that you’re to help set out the chairs for assembly this afternoon!”

Ben winked at Olivia as he and Rob went past on their way to the hall. He didn’t look as though he minded being told off at all.

Olivia sighed and Lucie gave her a sympathetic smile.“It’s probably better than having a brother who’s totally perfect – then everyone would ask you why you couldn’t be more like him.”

“I suppose,” Olivia sighed, kicking at a pile of leaves. “But I can’t wait till he goes to secondary school next year.”

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“Mrs Beale told me about what happened at lunchtime, by the way.” Mum eyed Ben sternly. She worked as a part-time teaching assistant at Olivia and Ben’s school.

Ben waved a forkful of spaghetti at her, looking hurt.“It’s so unfair! No one had ever said we couldn’t walk along the fence.”

“Sometimes I think we should just send you and Rob to join the circus.” Dad was trying to look cross, but Olivia could see that he was smiling.

“Excellent! No more school!” Ben grinned.