Bad Day for Badger

by Sarah Hawkins

  “Mum?” he called.

  “Lewis!” Mum rushed into the kitchen and swept him up in a huge hug. Lewis grinned as he breathed in the smell of cocoa butter and food and Mum all mixed together.

  “You’re squishing me!” Lewis wriggled out of the hug.

  “Stand back and let me look at you!” Mum exclaimed. She pushed Lewis back and looked him up and down. Mum was still dressed in her smart work suit, with heels and a brightly coloured scarf around her neck. Her hair was relaxed straight and cut into a bob. Long earrings swung at her ears and her hands glittered with her rings as she waved them around. “Yep, you’ve grown,” she declared. “You’re going to be as tall as your dad.”

  “I can’t have grown in two days!” Lewis laughed. “How come you’re back early?”

  “The conference finished sooner than I’d thought it would, so I managed to get an earlier flight back to my boys,” Mum explained with a grin. “How was your weekend with Dad? I want to hear all about your adventures. Honestly, I leave you two alone for one weekend, and all this exciting stuff happens!”

  Mum started sorting out her papers while Lewis explained all about the badger. When Lewis told her about Mrs Swan’s idea to phone the RSPCA, she jumped up excitedly. “What a good idea! We’ll give them a call now.”

  As she picked up the phone, Dad walked in the door. “Surprise!” Mum grinned, flinging her arms around him.

  “Hello!” Dad put his bag down and whirled Mum around until she laughed. “This is a surprise!”

  “What are you doing home already?” Mum asked, looking at her watch.

  Lewis felt just as confused as Mum sounded. Dad always worked late. He was never normally home before eight o’clock, and sometimes he didn’t get back until after Lewis went to bed. Lewis always lay awake until he heard the click of Dad’s key in the door, and his parents’ voices murmuring and laughing as they chatted about their days.

  “I didn’t want Lewis to be home on his own,” Dad explained.

  “I would have been OK,” Lewis protested. He’d been getting the bus to school on his own for ages, and letting himself in if he got back before Mum finished work.

  “I know.” Dad ruffled Lewis’s hair. “But it’s nicer to have company. I thought we could try out your new game.”

  Lewis brightened up. He couldn’t believe Dad wanted to play with him. “OK!” he agreed.

  “Oooh, this is lovely,” Mum grinned. “We can have a nice family dinner. The food at the conference was terrible.” She started bustling about with the pans on the hob. “We were just about to call the RSPCA to find out how Lewis’s badger is,” she told Dad.

  “Oh, I spoke to them earlier,” Dad said awkwardly.

  “What? How’s Bramble?” Lewis almost leaped out of his chair. Why had Dad phoned the RSPCA without him?

  “They said she’s recovering really nicely,” Dad told them. “She’s had to have staples put in her leg—”

  “Staples?” Lewis interrupted. “Like the ones we use at school?”

  “Yes, sort of,” Dad explained. “They’re just like stitches, they close the wound so it can heal. I think they use staples because they’re quicker to put in. She’ll be released back into the wild in a few weeks.”

  Lewis couldn’t help feeling sad that he hadn’t got to talk to the RSPCA people. “Can we call them again?” he asked. “I wanted to see if she’s OK. I thought they could take a picture of her for me.”

  “Not now,” Dad said vaguely. “They’ve got an awful lot of animals to look after, you know. Maybe we can give them a call tomorrow.”

  “But, Dad—” Lewis protested.

  “I said no,” Dad said firmly. “Come on, let’s have a nice dinner.”

  Lewis couldn’t believe Dad was being so mean. He knew how much Bramble meant to him.

  “How about that game then?” Dad suggested, taking off his tie.

  “No, thanks.” Lewis pushed back his chair crossly. “I’m going to my room.”

  He saw Mum and Dad exchanging glances as he stormed out of the kitchen and up the stairs, but Lewis didn’t care. He just wanted to know how Bramble was. He wondered about the staples – had they hurt? When Maddy had broken her arm she’d said it itched all the time. He hoped Bramble’s leg wasn’t itching too much. He thought about her stripy face and nose and felt like he was going to cry. He only wanted to have one photo of her. He bashed his pillow, then turned his Xbox on. It wasn’t fair!

  Alfie streaked past them and hid behind Granddad’s legs. “Come out, you daft dog,” Granddad chuckled. “It’s only a seagull!”

  Lewis laughed as the seagull flapped its wings and squawked smugly.

  “It was a big seagull,” he whispered to Alfie, giving him a stroke. Alfie gave a low whine, like he was agreeing.

  Granddad bent down and patted the old dog. “It’s a good thing Alfie wasn’t there when you met your badger – he’d have run a mile!”

  Lewis crouched down and stroked Alfie until his tail started wagging again. They walked down a slope and on to the seafront. Lewis breathed in the fresh air and grinned. He always felt lucky that they lived so close to the sea. Granddad walked Alfie along the beach every day, and Lewis loved coming with them. Sometimes it was grey and the waves pounded against the shore, crashing up against the stony beach and spraying the footpath with droplets of salty water. Other times the water was flat and calm, and so blue that you could hardly see where the sea ended and the sky began. Today it was windy, with bits of paper and crisp packets being whipped along by the breeze, and dozens of brightly coloured windsurfers out on the water.

  Lewis and Granddad walked along their usual route, with Alfie trotting next to them.

  “How is your badger?” Granddad asked. “Have you heard anything?”

  “Dad called the RSPCA but he wouldn’t let me talk to them,” Lewis grumbled, “and I didn’t get to ask them to take a picture of her. It’s so unfair.”

  “Now, now, I’m sure your dad had his reasons,” Granddad replied. “The important thing is, she’s getting better.”

  “I know.” Lewis picked up a stone and threw it out into the sea. “I just can’t believe I’m never going to see her again.”

  “Well, you’ve always got Alfie,” Granddad said with a chuckle.

  Alfie ran ahead, following a trail of invisible smells with his nose, but always glancing back to check that Granddad was following him.

  “I love Alfie,” Lewis grinned as Alfie sniffed a crisp packet, then jumped when the wind blew it. “But I wish I could have a pet of my own.”

  “You couldn’t have kept the badger anyway,” Granddad told him. “Wild animals are meant to be out in the wild.”

  Lewis picked up another stone. “But at least if I had a photo I could have kept that, and shown Maddy and my friends. Now it feels like it never happened.”

  Lewis threw a stone in the water and it disappeared with a splash. He wiped his wet face with the corner of his sleeve, not knowing if the water was sea spray, or tears.

  “I just wish I could see her again…” he mumbled sadly.

  “Don’t bring muddy boots into the hall, golden onions hanging on the wall, it’s Harvest Time, Harvest Time again!” the class sang.

  Lewis hid a grin as he stood onstage with the rest of the choir. The little kids from the baby classes were meant to be doing a dance, but instead they were messing about in their costumes. They were all dressed up as different vegetables, and they looked really funny. He glanced at Maddy, who was playing her recorder in the orchestra. She was laughing out loud as one of the leeks pushed a tomato, who burst into tears, his face going as red as his costume.

  Mrs Swan rushed over looking flustered, then stood in front of the stage and pushed her glasses on top of her head. “Gather round, class 8A! Thank you for being so well behaved.” She smiled as another teac
her led the little vegetables out of the hall. “That was really good. I think we’re just about ready for the performance, which is great, because I want to take some time off from rehearsing next week to do something really special.”

  Lewis glanced at Maddy to see if she knew what their teacher meant, but Maddy just shrugged her shoulders.

  “Before we go, I have an announcement,” Mrs Swan said with a grin. She waved through the glass panel on the hall door, and it opened.

  Lewis sat up and stared as his dad walked in. What was he doing here? Lewis felt a flash of worry. Was he in trouble? But Dad and Mrs Swan were both smiling.

  “Next week, we will be going on a class trip!” Mrs Swan announced. “I was so impressed by Lewis’s talk about the RSPCA’s amazing badger rescue, that I wondered if it would be possible to organize a visit. And the good news is that it was! With Lewis’s dad’s help, we’ve set up a class outing to go there on Monday!”

  Lewis sat in disbelief as his teacher passed around permission slips. Dad had helped set up a visit to see Bramble?

  “That’s why I didn’t want you to talk to the RSPCA the other day,” Dad said, coming over to Lewis. “I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.”

  “I can’t believe it!” Lewis exclaimed. “Will Bramble still be there?”

  “Yes,” Dad told him. “And the lady there said that she’ll take you and me on a special tour to see her. She can’t take the whole class, because having too many people there might scare Bramble, but I’ve sorted it out with Mrs Swan and I can take you off while everyone else is having their sandwiches.”

  Lewis could barely speak. His dad was coming on a school trip, and they were going on a special visit to see Bramble! “But what about your work?” he asked.

  “I’ve taken the day off,” Dad told him. “I knew you wanted to see your badger again so…” he shrugged. “After our adventure, I want to spend more time with you. Father-son time.”

  Lewis couldn’t believe it. Dad never had holiday. Now he was taking a day off work just to take him to see Bramble. Lewis jumped off the stage and flung his arms around his dad.

  “Whoa!” Dad said in surprise.

  “Thanks,” Lewis mumbled into Dad’s shoulders.

  “Right, Class 8A, we’re almost there!” Mrs Swan shouted. Lewis and Maddy stopped talking and turned to face her. They were all on the school coach going to the RSPCA rescue centre. Lewis’s dad and a couple of the other parents had come along to help, and everyone was very excited. Mrs Swan had given everybody in the class a clipboard, and they all had to write down information about the centre so they could do a project on it when they were back at school. As well as the clipboard, Lewis had Granddad’s fancy camera round his neck. Granddad had lent it to him specially. “Make sure you get that picture of your badger,” Granddad had told him.

  Lewis grinned at Dad as the coach pulled in through the gates. He was so excited!

  As they got off the coach Lewis looked around excitedly, hoping to catch a glimpse of his first animal. There were two huge buildings, surrounded by paddocks for the animals to run around in. Maddy grabbed his arm and pointed at a lady in RSPCA uniform throwing a ball for a dog in a nearby yard. All around there were people walking dogs, carrying animal baskets and rushing about busily.

  “Right, calm down, everyone,” Mrs Swan called through the noisy chatter, “and get into pairs.”

  Maddy grabbed Lewis’s arm, and they followed the rest of the class as they walked in a long line up to the door. A friendly-looking lady in an RSPCA uniform was there, along with a familiar-looking man.

  “Ray!” Lewis cheered, dragging Maddy and Dad over to see him.

  “Hey, Lewis.” Ray took off his hat and plonked it on Lewis’s head.

  “Are you coming on the tour?” Lewis asked.

  Ray shook his head. “I’m on duty. I’ve just got a call about a sheep that’s got its head stuck in a fence, so I’d better go.”

  “Cool!” Maddy grinned.

  “Cathy can tell you everything you need to know,” Ray told them. “Have a good visit.” He took his hat back and leaned down to speak to Lewis. “I think Bramble has been looking forward to seeing you,” he said with a wink.

  “Thanks, Ray.” Dad, Maddy and Lewis waved him goodbye.

  Cathy turned to the class. “I’m Cathy. I’m the education officer and I’m going to give you a tour of the centres we have here. We’re lucky enough to have both an animal centre and a wildlife centre.” She pointed to the two huge buildings at each side of the courtyard. “They’re both run separately, with different people working in each one. In the wildlife centre we work with wild animals that are injured or lost, like the badger you already know about.” She smiled at Lewis. “We can have up to eight hundred animals in the wildlife centre in the busy summer months, and about two hundred in the winter.”

  Lewis stared at the building in amazement. It was hard to believe there were so many different animals inside!

  “In the animal centre,” Cathy pointed at the other building, “we look after pets and domesticated animals and find new homes for them. Every animal that comes in has different needs. We have room for fifty-seven dogs and seventy-two cats, as well as rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs and farm animals! We try and limit the contact that the wild animals have with humans, so we’re only going to be touring the animal centre today,” Cathy announced. “All the animals you’ll see in here will be looking for new homes.”

  “But before you ask, we’re not taking any back with us on the coach,” Mrs Swan joked.

  “Now, if you’d like to follow me…” Cathy led them to the animal centre and opened the main doors. “Please be as quiet as possible, as a big noisy group will scare the animals. And don’t put your fingers in any of the cages – none of our animals want to hurt you, but they might think your fingers are a tasty snack.”

  Cathy led them inside and Lewis felt his tummy jump with excitement. He knew he wasn’t going to see Bramble yet, but he was still excited to meet all the other animals. Cathy swiped her pass on another door and held it open, putting her fingers to her lips to hush them as the class walked inside. Lewis clamped his mouth shut tight – he didn’t want to frighten the animals. The rest of the class quietened down too, whispering to each other and tiptoeing as they went into a long room filled with little pens. In each one was a different dog!

  “Awww!” Everyone in Lewis’s class oohed and aahed as they saw them.

  Maddy looked at Lewis in excitement. They went over to the nearest pen and peered inside. Inside was an old-looking dog with a white muzzle. As they looked at her, her tail started wagging excitedly, and she barked hello.

  “Maisie is a ten-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier whose owner couldn’t look after her any more,” Maddy read out loud from the sign next to the terrier’s kennel. “She’s looking for a quiet home where she can be given lots of love. Oh, I hope you find a home, Maisie!”

  Lewis’s classmates spread out along the kennels, bending down and peering at the dogs, or making notes about them on their clipboards. Lewis and Maddy walked along, going from pen to pen. There were so many different types of dogs – and they wanted to see them all!

  Even Dad seems to be enjoying looking at the animals, Lewis thought as he spotted his dad crouching down by a pen right at the end.

  As he saw the little dog his dad was looking at, Lewis’s heart jumped. He had white fur with black and brown splodgy patches all over, and a cheeky-looking face. But he didn’t look happy at the moment. He was lying with his head on his paws. When Lewis bent down, he looked up and his brown eyes were sad.

  “Pip.” Lewis read the sign. Pip was brought in after being hit by a car. His back leg was injured and he’ll probably always limp, but he’ll make a loving pet.

  “Poor little dog,” Dad said.

  “Pip,” Lewis called gently. Pip l
ooked up at him again, and his tail gave the smallest of wags. You’re just like Badger, Lewis thought. She was scared, too.

  Pip looked at him hesitantly. “Here, boy!” Lewis called. Pip’s tail gave the tiniest wag.

  “Come on,” Lewis said. Pip came over to him, limping on his back leg. He came right up to the wire and sniffed at Lewis’s hand. “Good boy!” Lewis said, and Pip’s tail started wagging again, fast this time. Lewis wished he could stroke him. He was such a lovely dog…

  “No,” Dad interrupted his thoughts. “I’ve seen that look on your face before, when you want a video game. We’re not getting a dog.”

  Lewis turned indignantly. “I didn’t ask for one!” But his heart sank a bit. For a second there, when he’d seen Dad looking at Pip, he’d dared to hope… Lewis gave Pip one last longing look, then turned away. He knew Dad would never let him get a dog. He and Mum had talked about getting one before, but Dad always said no. He said that dogs were a lot of mess and responsibility, and with Mum away so much, he’d end up taking care of it. Lewis had tried to tell him that he’d look after it, but Dad wouldn’t listen. Eventually, Mum had given Lewis an apologetic hug and whispered in his ear that they’d get one when he was a bit older.

  Lewis tried to hide his disappointment as Cathy took them round all the other enclosures, explaining about the rehoming process and talking to them about being a good pet owner. Finally, Mrs Swan gathered them in a circle. “Right, time for lunch, everyone,” she explained. “And Lewis and Mr Riley, Cathy will take you over to see your badger now.”

  Lewis felt his heart jump again and his bad mood vanished. He was finally going to see Bramble!

  “Say hi from me!” Maddy said.

  Lewis nodded. He held Granddad’s camera tightly as he and Dad followed Cathy out of the animal rehoming centre and across the yard. The wildlife centre was an even bigger building. Dad chatted with Cathy as they went, but Lewis was too nervous to talk.