by Bentley, Sue
“There. I knew you’d be friends,” Rosie said.
As she sat next to the rabbit and the sleepy kitten, her worries about finding new homes for her pets seemed to fade for now. She had always loved animals and knew lots about them, but never in her wildest dreams had she expected to meet a magic kitten!
Chapter
* THREE *
“I love having you living here with me!” Rosie said to Flame on Monday morning as she finished putting on her school uniform in her bedroom.
“I like it here, too. I feel safe with you,” Flame purred. He was finishing the last mouthful of the sardines Rosie had smuggled from the kitchen.
There was a rustling noise from Daisy’s pen, where the rabbit was munching hay.
“I have to remember to put some more hay in for her before I leave,” Rosie said.
Flame was licking his whiskers clean. “I can do that for Daisy,” he mewed helpfully.
“Mmm? That’s nice of you,” Rosie murmured, only half listening as she ran around searching for her schoolbooks and gym clothes. “Now, where’s my schoolbag? Oh, there it is. I’m just going to the bathroom to brush my teeth, Flame. I’ll be back soon.”
A couple of minutes later, Rosie rinsed her toothbrush, put it back into the toothbrush holder, and came out of the bathroom. As she pushed her bedroom door, it seemed to snag on something that rustled loudly. Frowning, she pushed harder and managed to open the door just enough for her to edge into the room.
“Whoa! What’s going on?” she gasped as she found herself pressed against a thick wall of hay.
A huge haystack filled the entire bedroom. The bed, furniture, pets, and Flame himself were all buried beneath it. Silver sparks were shooting up out of the hay in tiny puffs like smoke.
“Flame! What have you done?” Rosie scolded.
“I seem to have used too much magic to make Daisy’s bed!” he replied in a muffled meow.
Mrs. Swales’s voice floated up the stairs. “Rosie! Are you ready for school yet? Jade’s here. I’ll send her up!”
Rosie heard Jade’s footsteps thudding up the stairs. “Do something, Flame,” she whispered desperately.
Suddenly everything went into fast-forward.
Whoosh! A big fountain of silver sparks shot up toward the ceiling. Rustle! The haystack began to melt away and the lumpy shapes of the bed and furniture became visible. Whisk! Every last wispy bit of hay was sucked into Daisy’s pen. And just in time—flick!—the hay arranged itself into a neat pile.
The last of the bright glittering sparks faded from Flame’s black fur just as Jade stuck her head around the door. There was a puzzled look on her face. “What’s going on in here? I heard some really weird noises.”
In a panic, Rosie glanced toward her bed, where Flame was sitting, calmly washing himself, but then she remembered that only she could see him. “I was . . . um, doing some exercises. Ready for school? Let’s go,” she said quickly, to avoid awkward explanations.
“You don’t do exercises!” Jade said, grinning as she went back out.
“I do now!” Rosie called, shouldering her schoolbag. “See you later,” she whispered over her shoulder to Flame. “You and Daisy have fun.”
Flame just purred and began washing his ears.
Rosie and Jade sauntered down the street. The trees in the gardens they passed were already bursting with bright green shoots. White flowers dotted the bare soil.
“So, why didn’t you come over yesterday afternoon?” Jade asked.
Rosie frowned. What was Jade talking about? Then, in a flash, she remembered. She’d promised to go and play Jade’s new game after she finished her pet chores, but in the excitement of finding Flame, she had completely forgotten. “Oh, sorry. I had more things to do than I thought,” she said sheepishly.
“You don’t need to make up excuses. No one was forcing you to come or anything,” Jade said quietly.
Rosie felt awful. Jade was obviously upset. “I was going to come, really, but then something happened . . .” She stopped, realizing that there was no way she could explain about Flame. “Look—why don’t I come over tonight? We can work on our recycling project.”
“I can’t have anybody over while I’m doing homework,” Jade said stiffly. “Mom says I mess around too much and never get anything done.”
Rosie grinned. “She has a point! We do play around a lot when we’re together!”
Jade’s face relaxed and she gave a short laugh. “I guess so.”
“How about tomorrow after school, then?” Rosie suggested. “No, wait. That’s no good, either. I’m going to look at our new house with Mom and Dad. Like I’m really looking forward to that—not!”
“Why not?” Jade asked, and then a worried look came over her face. “You’re not moving away, are you?”
Rosie shook her head. “No. The house is just across town. I’m staying at school and I’ll still be able to see you every day.”
Jade punched the air and gave a whoop. “Yay! That’s fantastic, isn’t it? So what’s the problem?”
Rosie put her hands on her hips. “The problem is that the house is a tiny dump, and my new bedroom’s going to be super small. You’re not going to believe this, but Mom and Dad said I have to find new homes for all my pets—apart from Daisy!”
Jade laughed with relief. “Is that all? You’ll be able to spend more time with me when you don’t have a million boring animals to take care of, won’t you?”
Rosie gaped at her. “My pets aren’t old toys that I’ve outgrown, you know! Why doesn’t anyone seem to get that? I bet you’d all be happier if I just threw them in the garbage!”
“Hey, don’t take it out on me!” Jade said.
“I’m not . . . ,” Rosie said, still feeling rattled. “I just thought you’d understand. You are supposed to be my best friend!”
“I am—” Jade began.
“Well, it doesn’t feel like it!” Rosie grumbled.
“Thanks for nothing!” Jade tossed her head. “Don’t bother calling for me when you go to look at your stupid new house!” She stomped off down the street, her shoulder bag bouncing with every step.
Chapter
* FOUR *
Rosie sat at her usual desk right at the back of the classroom. She was glad that Jade’s desk was two rows in front, so she didn’t have to face her again just yet.
She still felt upset after their fight. Maybe by recess they both would have calmed down.
Rosie put her hand in her schoolbag to take out her books and only just managed not to gasp aloud. There was something warm and furry inside! As she touched it, it began purring.
Oh no! Flame! What was he doing there?
Quickly checking that no one was watching, Rosie looked into her bag. Two mischievous green eyes glowed at her from the darkness.
“Flame!” she scolded gently. “Animals aren’t allowed in school!”
“Do not worry. No one will know I’m here,” he mewed.
Rosie wasn’t too sure that it was a good idea to have Flame in class. It could lead to all kinds of problems, but it was too late now. Flame leaped out of her bag, walked boldly across a line of desks, and jumped up on top of a cabinet.
No one took any notice, and Rosie began to relax. Besides, having Flame close by was making her feel a lot better after arguing with Jade.
“Rosie Swales—are you listening?” a cheery voice called out.
Miss Brooks, her class teacher, had spiky blond hair. She always wore bright dangly earrings. Rosie really liked her.
Rosie blushed as she realized that Miss Brooks had been speaking to the class. “Sorry, Miss Brooks.”
“You looked miles away. I hope it was somewhere nice,” Miss Brooks said. She smiled as a ripple of laughter filled the room. “As I was saying, as part of our project on recycling, I�
��d like you all to think of unusual ways of reusing packaging.”
Jade’s hand shot up. “I’ve got one, Miss Brooks! My grandpa cuts plastic soda bottles in half to make mini greenhouses. He puts one over each lettuce, and it stops slugs from munching on them.”
“What a great idea. Thanks for that, Jade. That’s just the sort of thing I mean,” Miss Brooks said. “So, get your thinking caps on, everyone.” She beckoned to Rosie. “Could you come here, please?”
Rosie got up and went down to the front of the class.
There was a new girl sitting there, whom Rosie hadn’t noticed earlier. The new girl had bronze-colored skin, and her black hair was braided in neat rows. She gave Rosie a nervous smile.
Rosie smiled back.
“Rosie, this is Uchena Nakuru. Will you work with her today and show her around?” said Miss Brooks.
“Sure. Hi, Uchena,” Rosie said.
“Hi, Rosie,” Uchena said shyly.
As Rosie and Uchena went back to Rosie’s desk, they passed Jade. Rosie looked toward her friend, but Jade kept her head down.
“So do you have any ideas about what we can do with cardboard boxes?” Rosie said, once they were seated.
Uchena seemed to be thinking hard. “How about a really gigantic cardboard model of Disney World?”
“Yeah right!” Rosie said, going along with it. “Or a model of our school with little mini cardboard schoolkids and a mini cardboard Miss Brooks!”
She and Uchena burst out laughing.
Rosie saw Jade look over to see what all the giggling was about. She could see that her friend looked miserable, and felt a pang of guilt for having so much fun with Uchena. But although she tried hard to stop laughing, Rosie’s lips kept twitching.
Then she had a real idea. She told Uchena what it was.
“Yeah, that’s cool,” Uchena said when Rosie had finished explaining. “Let’s do it.”
After helping themselves to cardboard, scissors, and tape, Rosie and Uchena got to work.
Rosie had to remind herself not to keep glancing up at the cabinet where Flame was dozing with his paws curled beneath him. By recess, the cardboard structure was really taking shape.
“All right, class, let’s stop for recess,” Miss Brooks called out. “You can continue with your projects afterward.”
Everyone began filing out of the classroom. “I need to go to the bathroom. I’ll see you outside,” Uchena said.
“Do you want me to show you where it is?” Rosie asked helpfully.
Uchena shook her head. “It’s okay. I’ll find it.”
Jade had hung back as the rest of the class left. She sauntered slowly over to Rosie’s desk.
“What’s that supposed to be?” She pointed at the lopsided cardboard tower that Uchena and Rosie had been working on.
“It’s a rat activity center for Midge and Podge,” Rosie said.
“It’s a pretty pathetic one if you ask me!” Jade scoffed.
Rosie usually would have seen the funny side and laughed along with her friend, but for some reason she found herself snapping, “Why do you care, anyway? It’s just another pet thing!”
Jade’s face darkened. She turned around to go, and her shoulder bag swung out in a wide arc. It swiped the activity center off the desk and onto the floor, where it broke apart into lots of small pieces.
Rosie gasped. “Look what you’ve done. That took us ages. You are so mean, Jade Ronson!”
Jade looked horrified. “I didn’t mean to—” She took one look at Rosie’s furious face. “Oh, what’s the point?” she said disgustedly and marched out of the classroom.
Flame leaped down onto Rosie’s desk. “I do not think Jade did that on purpose,” he mewed softly.
“No. Neither do I,” Rosie admitted in a small voice. “Jade’s not like that. I don’t know why I yelled at her. I’m just all mixed up right now.”
She decided to stay in the classroom with Flame during recess. As she sat stroking his soft black fur, she felt herself calming down.
After about ten minutes, Flame jumped off her lap and onto the floor.
“I will fix that thing you are making, and then you will not be angry with Jade anymore,” he mewed helpfully.
“I’m not sure you should do that,” Rosie warned, remembering the hay disaster.
But it was too late. She could already feel the familiar prickling sensation down her spine.
Silver sparks ignited all over Flame’s long black fur, and his whiskers crackled with electricity. He pointed a tiny silky black paw at the bits of battered cardboard, and a shower of bright sparks shot out, swirling around like a tiny snowstorm.
When the sparks cleared, Rosie saw that an amazing rat-size cardboard castle stood on the desk. “Wow! That’s so cool. It has windows and ramps and even a tiny drawbridge. Midge and Podge are going to love it!” she cried.
Rosie’s classmates began drifting back into the room as recess ended.
Uchena came straight over to Rosie. She spotted the tiny castle right away. “That’s awesome! How did you finish it so quickly?”
“I don’t know. I wanted to get an extra bit done and got carried away . . . ,” Rosie improvised as everyone else began crowding around.
She saw Flame dart beneath the desks, out of the way of all the legs and feet. He trotted across the room and then jumped up onto a windowsill.
“Look what Rosie did during recess, Miss Brooks!” Uchena shouted as the teacher came into the classroom. “She finished the rat activity center. It’s like something from a pet store!”
Miss Brooks came over to look at the castle. “Well done, Rosie. It’s very good indeed.”
“Uchena helped, too,” Rosie murmured, going bright red. She didn’t deserve all this praise, but there was no way she could tell anyone the truth. They’d never believe it, anyway. She left everyone still looking at the cardboard castle and started edging toward her seat.
But she almost ran into Jade, who was standing watching with her arms folded. “Jade! I wanted to say—” she began.
“Well, I don’t how you could have fixed it so quickly, but everyone’s really impressed with you now, especially Uchena,” Jade cut in. “I guess she’s going to be your new best friend!”
“No! I like her, but—”
Jade had already turned and gone to sit near another schoolmate. As Rosie sat down, her heart sank. Somehow, and without even trying, she had managed to upset Jade again.
Chapter
* FIVE *
“Rosie! Hurry up and get in the car,” called Mr. Swales. “The real estate agent’s waiting for us at the new house.”
Rosie walked across the front lawn at a snail’s pace with Flame trotting invisibly at her heels. The horrible ordeal of going to look at the new house could not be put off any longer.
She got into the backseat, and Flame jumped into her lap. As her dad drove across town, Rosie stared out the window, hardly noticing where they were going.
Ten silent minutes later, they turned onto Milton Street. Mr. Swales pulled up opposite a line of redbrick houses. The one on the end with a green door had a “Sold” sign stuck to the wall. Next to it, there was a big detached stone house with a front lawn and a fancy black iron gate.
“That’s ours with the green door and the ‘Sold’ sign,” Mrs. Swales said.
Rosie had figured that out for herself. Why couldn’t it be that big stone one next door, where all my pets could stay? she thought.
Mrs. Swales saw where Rosie was looking. “Mrs. Galloni, an Italian lady, lives there. We met her when we first found the house. She seems very nice.”
A man in a suit was coming over. Mr. and Mrs. Swales got out of the car and shook hands with him. The real estate agent unlocked the house, and Rosie and Flame followed him and her parents inside.
As she wandered through the downstairs rooms, Flame sniffed around, nosing into corners and looking at everything with his bright green eyes.
“What do you think of it? It’s horrible, isn’t it?” Rosie whispered to him.
He blinked up at her. “I think this house is a good, safe place.”
“Really?” Rosie said, cheering up a tiny bit.
It must be okay if Flame liked it. Maybe living here wasn’t going to be too bad, especially with Flame as her friend, and Daisy, too. If only there was some way she could keep all her pets.
Upstairs, the bathroom and bedrooms were neat and freshly painted. Rosie’s new bedroom had bookshelves on the white walls and a closet for her clothes. From the window she could see into Mrs. Galloni’s backyard with its tall trees and enormous garden shed.
Rosie’s mom came and stood next to her. “Well? What do you think? Do you like your new bedroom?”
“It’s all right. Except for it being the size of a shoebox.” In fact Rosie was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was, but she wasn’t ready to say so. “I bet I could squeeze Midge and Podge’s cage in here,” she said casually.
“Don’t start that again please, Rosie,” her mom warned.
“But I’ve hardly even said anything—” Rosie began indignantly.
Her dad appeared in the doorway. “Having a good talk, you two? Rosie, your mom and I have a few things to discuss with the real estate agent. Do you want to wait in the car and read your book?”
Rosie nodded. Flame followed her as she went downstairs and out into the street. She was about to cross the road, when she spotted a large orange cat sitting on Mrs. Galloni’s front step. It was wearing a bright blue velvet collar with a gold bell.
“Ooh, look, an orange tabby. Isn’t he gorgeous? Let’s go and say hello!”