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It took Maddy ages to get to sleep. She tossed and turned, thinking about Tiger and Tom, and then about school tomorrow and how lonely it was going to be. Somehow it all got wound up into her dreams when she finally fell asleep, so that she was sitting doing numeracy with Tiger and Tom (in school uniform) on either side of her. Tiger was just telling her that she was stupid and she’d got her multiplication wrong, when Tom started wowling in her ear. Maddy twitched, turned over – and woke up. That wasn’t in her dream – the sound was coming from downstairs!

She flung herself out of bed and dashed down the stairs. The noise was louder now and it was coming from the kitchen. Maddy couldn’t understand – it sounded like more than one cat, but only Biscuit was meant to be in there. She shoved open the door, and saw Tiger and Tom by Biscuit’s food bowl, gobbling down the chicken crunchies she’d left out.

[Ęŕđňčíęŕ: img_19]

“Go away!” Maddy yelled. “Out! Bad cats!” Tiger and Tom hissed at her, but hightailed it out of the cat flap. The cat flap – of course. That’s how they’d got into Maddy’s kitchen!

“What on earth…?” Dad appeared in the kitchen doorway, looking sleepy.

“The cats from next door! They came in through the cat flap, Dad; they were eating Biscuit’s food!” Maddy crouched down by Biscuit’s bed. She looked terrified, and as Maddy gently picked her up, she could feel how tense the kitten was, as though she was ready to leap out of Maddy’s arm and run away at any moment. Her whiskers were twitching, and her little face seemed all frightened eyes.

Mum had been worried that Biscuit might end up making a mess in Maddy’s room if she slept upstairs, but Maddy couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her on her own.

“Dad, please can I take Biscuit upstairs to sleep with me?” she begged. “I know Mum said she should stay in the kitchen, but she’s so scared.”

Dad sighed.“I suppose she is very well house-trained now. And she’s got pretty good at the stairs, hasn’t she? She’ll be all right to come down if she needs her litter tray. I’m going to put a chair in front of the cat flap, in case Tiger and Tom come back.”

Maddy nodded. Biscuit was relaxing into her arms a little now, but she was still looking around nervously. Maddy hurried upstairs and fluffed up her duvet into a cosy kitten nest at the end of the bed. It didn’t leave much duvet for her, but she didn’t mind.

Biscuit stepped cautiously into the warm nest and padded at it with her paws. Maddy was here. She was safe. Tiger and Tom wouldn’t be able to come upstairs, she was sure. And if they did, Maddy would chase them away.

Maddy slid into bed and sighed. She’d wanted Biscuit to sleep on her bed ever since she’d got her, but she wished it hadn’t happened like this.

Maddy was just falling asleep again when she felt determined little paws padding up her tummy, and a soft wisp of fur brushed across her cheek as Biscuit curled up next to her on the pillow. Maddy giggled. Biscuit’s tail was lying across her neck and it tickled.

“We’ll sort those horrible cats out,” she told Biscuit sleepily. “It’ll be OK.”

[Ęŕđňčíęŕ: img_20]

Chapter Five

[Ęŕđňčíęŕ: img_2]

“Time to get up!” Maddy’s mum pulled open the bedroom curtains.

“Mmmm. Oh!” Maddy suddenly remembered that Biscuit was upstairs with her, although she was no longer asleep on her pillow.

“Your dad told me he’d let you bring Biscuit up here. I suppose it isn’t doing any harm, as long as you make sure she doesn’t get shut in. We don’t want her weeing on your bedroom carpet!” She looked around. “Where is she? Has she gone downstairs already?”

Maddy sat up.“She was sleeping next to me.”

“She’s here!” Her mum was crouching down, peering under the bed. “It’s all right, Biscuit, I’m not scary. Oh dear, Maddy, she looks very nervous.”

“Maybe she heard you coming in and thought it was Tiger and Tom again.” Maddy hopped out of bed to look underneath.

Biscuit was squeezed as far back as she could go, pressed against the wall. Maddy could see her whiskers trembling.“Biscuit! Come on, it’s OK.”

Very slowly, Biscuit crept out and let Maddy pick her up. But she flinched when Maddy’s mum tried to stroke her.

“She’s usually so friendly,” Maddy’s mum said sadly. “Perhaps she’ll feel better after some food.”

[Ęŕđňčíęŕ: img_21]

“I hope so.” Maddy carried Biscuit downstairs with her once she’d got dressed. She could feel Biscuit tensing up as they came down the hall into the kitchen. She was practically clinging on to Maddy’s cardigan, and she didn’t seem very interested in eating even when Maddy filled up her bowl.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on her while you’re at school,” Mum said. “How are things going, anyway?”

Maddy shrugged.

“I know you’re missing Kate, but I’m sure there are lots of other people in your class that you could chat to,” her mum said persuasively.

But none of them are as nice as Kate, Maddy thought.And none of them want to chat to me. It just isn’t that easy…

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