“He did! The thought of that dog licking my bowl! Ick!” Honey Buns shuddered with disgust at the thought.
Obi did not want to appear unsympathetic, but she really was desperate for advice. “So does anyone have any thoughts on what I can do about Kenobi?”
Sweetie Smoochkins glowered at Obi. “Don’t interrupt, Fuzzball!” she snapped. “Can’t you see we’re having a serious cat discussion here?”
And with that, the three cats plopped down on the carpet and began to share their horror stories about Kenobi.
Obi had no idea that the cats felt this way about Kenobi. Well, at least she wasn’t the only one who disliked the puppy. Then it dawned on Obi that this was a perfect opportunity for her to escape from the cats.
Being ever so quiet, Obi got up and took a small step backward. Then another small step. Then, quickly, she spun about and dashed across the room toward the little hole that led into the secret passageway. Obi dove headfirst into the hole. The three cats were still huddled together griping. They were so busy complaining about Kenobi, none of them had even noticed that Obi was gone!
Obi turned to head back to Rachel’s bedroom. Anxious to get back to her cage, she walked quickly through the dark secret passageway. But when she got to the little hole to Rachel’s bedroom, Obi changed her mind. Instead of exiting, she continued down the secret passageway to the next small hole—the one that led out into Craig’s bedroom.
Chapter Nine Craig’s Bedroom
Obi always stayed clear of Craig’s bedroom—and for good reason. His bedroom was a dangerous and forbidden place. It was off-limits to Obi, and to all the Armstrongs. Craig’s bedroom door was nearly always shut, and the outside of his door was plastered with the most threatening and unwelcome signs imaginable:
NO TRESPASSING!
KEEP OUT!
HIGH VOLTAGE!
WARNING—DO NOT ENTER!
BEWARE OF DOG!
Despite what this last sign said, Craig didn’t really have a dog. He had a dimwitted corn snake named Boa and a very excitable tarantula named Jose for pets.
The curtains on Craig’s windows were drawn, which made the room quite dark. But Obi had no trouble seeing. In fact, she was sorry she could see as much as she could. Craig’s bedroom was a mess. His bed was unmade, and his clothes and schoolbooks were strewn all over the floor. If Rachel were to ever to leave a mess like this, Mrs. Armstrong would have a fit!
Boa and Jose lived in separate aquariums up on Craig’s desk. The two aquariums were lit with small bulbs, whose cords dangled over the side of the desk. Obi grabbed one of the cords and climbed up to the top of the desk. Craig’s desk was covered with papers, books, spiral-bound pads, scissors, pencils, pens, an electric pencil sharpener, gum wrappers, a Kleenex box, crumpled tissues, an iPod, plus a laptop computer.
Obi went to the closest aquarium and peered in through the glass. It was Jose’s aquarium. The tarantula’s home consisted of nothing more than a big flat rock and sand! Jose was lying on the rock, sunning himself under the bulb. Obi tapped on the glass and said, “Hawo, Jose!”
Startled, the tarantula sprang high into the air. Then, on all eight of his legs, he scurried over to that part of his aquarium where Obi was.
“Señorita Obi!” he cried from the other side of the glass. “What are you doing here?”
“Ohh-bee is here?” said a melodious voice from inside the second aquarium. It was the corn snake, Boa. There was a loud thud! as Boa’s head banged against the aquarium glass. Apparently, in his excitement to see Obi, Boa forgot there was a glass wall that separated him from Obi.
The snake wasn’t hurt, though. Indeed, he started up a cheerful chant: “Bo-waa … Oohh-bee! Bo-waa … Oohh-bee! Bo-waa … Oohh-bee!”
“Hawo, Boa!” said Obi, and waved. His aquarium was also in need of some serious decorating. It was a bleak landscape of dirt and a small log.
“Señorita Obi, what brings you here?” asked Jose.
“I need advice,” said Obi.
“Advice!” exclaimed Jose. “Well! You’ve come to the right tarantula! I am an expert at giving advice! Isn’t that so, Boa?”
“Yes, that’s so,” agreed Boa.
“If you recall, Señorita Obi, I’ve been giving Boa lots of advice on how to be a predator and not a sap. Right now, he’s in my advanced novice class.”
Obi glanced over at the snake and said, “Good for you, Boa!”
Pleased, Boa grinned. “He’s the best, this spider!”
“Tarantula!” Jose corrected him.
“You say tarantula,” said Boa. “I say spider.”
“I’m not a spider!” cried Jose, becoming annoyed. “I’m a tarantula! Ta-ran-tu-la! How many times do I have to tell you that, Boa?”
The snake shrugged. “Spider … tarantula … what’s the diff?”
“There’s plenty of diff, you moron!” cried Jose. “A spider can be an itsy-bitsy spider. But I’m not an itsy-bitsy spider! I’m a hairy, scary tarantula! This is why you’ll never ever get beyond my advanced novice class!”
Then as quickly as Jose had gotten mad, he calmed down. Turning to face Obi, he gave her a serene gaze, smiled, and said, “So, anyway, Señorita Obi, how can I help you today?”
“Well, it’s like this,” Obi began. She proceeded to tell Jose and Boa about Kenobi and Rachel and the un-happy predicament she was in. Jose listened carefully, holding his chin in a thoughtful manner with the end of one of his furry front legs. Boa also listened attentively.
Finally, Obi said, “So, guys, what do you think I should do?”
“I know exactly what you should do!” replied the tarantula.
“Tell me!”
“You need to poison the puppy.”
“Poison him?” cried Obi, horrified.
“Sí,” said Jose, nodding his head. “You need to bite him and poison him. That always does the trick.”
“You want me to poison Kenobi?!”
The tarantula nodded. “You need him out of the way.”
“But—but I can’t poison him!” cried Obi.
The tarantula, in exasperation, threw two of his eight legs up into the air. “You come to me for advice and you don’t take my advice!” he cried. “I can’t help you!”
“I know what you can do,” said Boa.
“Oh, is that so?” said Jose, and gave Obi a “this ought to be good” look.
“What should I do, Boa?” asked Obi.
“Hide!” he said.
“Hide?” said Obi, puzzled.
The snake nodded. “That’s what I did once. Remember what happened, Jose? Master Craig got so worried about me.”
“Hoo-boy, did he ever!” said Jose, chuckling. “He thought Boa had escaped from his bedroom and that Mrs. Armstrong would find him and have a heart attack. Master Craig turned the whole house upside down.”
“And the whole time I was hiding under his bed,” said the snake with a loud, goofy laugh. “You should try hiding, Obi. If you did, maybe Rachel would get all worried about you and forget about Kenobi.”
“You know, Boa, that’s not a bad idea!” said Obi.
“I taught him everything he knows,” said Jose proudly, taking credit for Boa’s idea.
Just then, the bedroom door flew open. Obi’s heart stopped. She spun about and saw a boy with long, hair and wearing a T-shirt and jeans walk in. It was Craig. He came straight over to his desk. Obi quickly hid behind the laptop computer.
Obi’s heart was beating furiously. The boy was only inches away—she’d never been so close to Craig in all her life. Craig began typing on the computer keyboard. Obi could hear the tap-tap-tap of his fingers.
Obi glanced over at Boa and Jose. They were staring at her, wide-eyed, obviously wondering what she was going to do now. It was a good question. Obi gave them a little goodbye wave. Then, quietly, keeping to the shadows, the gerbil crept across the desk. She grabbed hold of the cord to the electric pencil sharpener, slid down to the floor, and scurried across
the bedroom carpet to the little hole that led into the secret passageway. If Craig’s room hadn’t been quite so dark, the boy, in all likelihood, would have spotted her. But Craig never saw a thing.
“Thank goodness for dark bedrooms,” murmured Obi as she disappeared into the small hole.
Chapter Ten Discovered!
As she hurried back through the secret passageway, Obi couldn’t stop marveling at Boa’s suggestion. It was such a simple yet clever idea.
That’s what I’ll do! Obi said to herself. I’ll hide!
Obi got excited as she envisioned how it would play out. Rachel would discover Obi gone, grow sick with worry, and then realize just how much her little gerbil meant to her. Then Obi would come out of hiding. Rachel would be so delighted to see Obi again. Why, she might even give Obi a little kiss on top of her head—the way Obi had seen Rachel do to Kenobi. Things would go back to the way they used to be before that darn puppy came into the picture! Obi couldn’t wait! Who would have guessed that, of all the Armstrong pets, it would be Boa who offered such good advice!
Obi got to the little hole to Rachel’s bedroom and crawled out. Unlike Craig’s dark bedroom, Rachel’s room was a cheerful oasis of bright sunshine that streamed in through the windows. Obi was on her way toward the dresser when, from the upstairs hallway, she heard footsteps.
Human footsteps! Then a voice—Rachel’s voice!
“Stop squirming, Kenobi!”
Obi froze. Rachel was close, very close—like just-outside-Rachel’s-bedroom-door close! There was no way Obi would be able to reach the dresser, climb up the lamp cord, and get back into her cage before Rachel walked into the room!
Obi couldn’t be caught out of her cage! In a panic, she glanced about the room for a place to hide. Her gaze fell upon Rachel’s dresser, and Obi remembered something: there was a narrow space in the back of Rachel’s dresser by the wall. Obi was able to see it from her cage. She could hide there!
Heart pounding, Obi rushed over and squeezed into the narrow space.
From her hiding spot, Obi heard Rachel’s footsteps as she entered the room. Then she heard Rachel say, “I’m going to put you down on the floor now, Kenobi. You be a good dog, okay?”
It was quiet for a moment. Then Obi heard the puppy’s four little feet dash excitedly about the bedroom, racing this way and that. Didn’t this dog ever calm down? Then Obi heard something that made her heart beat quicker.
The puppy was sniffing the carpet near the side of the dresser. The dog had caught Obi’s scent!
“Oh, no!” groaned Obi.
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Obi noticed the puppy’s wet, black nose and two curious eyes peering in at her.
“Is that you, Obi?” asked the puppy.
“Yes, it’s me!” whispered Obi. “Now go away!”
“What are you doing back there?”
“Nothing! Now go away, will you!”
Kenobi turned his head in the direction where Rachel must have been in the room. “Hey, Mom!” he cried. “Guess who’s behind the dresser? Obi!”
It was a good thing that Rachel, being human, wasn’t able to understand Dog any better than she could understand Gerbil.
“Guess what, Obi?” said the puppy, returning his attention to the gerbil. “Guess what Mom and I were just doing? She was throwing me a ball! I love chasing balls! Hey, do you have a ball? If you do, I’ll chase it! Do you? Do you? If you do, throw it! I’ll go get it!”
“I don’t have a ball,” whispered Obi. “Now go away!”
“How about a stick? Got a stick? I’ll run after a stick, too!”
“Calm down, will you!” exclaimed Obi. “I don’t have a stick, either!”
“Well, how about a—oh, my gosh!” Kenobi suddenly did a double take. Something over by Rachel’s music stand had caught the dog’s attention. His eyes widened with excitement.
“Hey, I see a ball! It’s a big ball! I’ll go get it! You can throw me this ball, Obi! Stay here! I’ll go get it!”
Kenobi dashed off.
Obi sighed. A moment later, she heard some thing rolling in her direction. Then she heard something smash against the side of the dresser. It made Obi jump. The crash sounded hard and brittle, like something made of hard, brittle plasti—
“Hey, that’s my Gerbil Mobile!” cried Obi in horror.
With his two front paws, Kenobi rolled the big, clear plastic globe in front of the narrow opening so Obi could see it. “Look, Obi, I found a ball!” cried Kenobi. “It’s a big ball! You can throw me this ball! Come on, Obi, throw it! If you throw it, I’ll chase it!”
“That’s not a ball!” snapped Obi. “That’s my Gerbil Mobile! Leave it alone!”
“You throw! I’ll chase!”
“NO!” cried Obi, angrily shaking her head. “Didn’t you hear me? That’s NOT a ball!”
But Kenobi was so eager to be thrown a ball, he didn’t hear a word Obi said. The dog suddenly pounced on the Gerbil Mobile. This caused the plastic globe to shoot out from under him. With a loud crash, it bashed against the wall and then bounced off, rocketing across the bedroom. Kenobi took off after it.
Obi was furious, just furious! How dare that blasted dog play with her Gerbil Mobile! The Gerbil Mobile wasn’t a doggy toy—it was a serious form of gerbil transportation! Obi was so beside herself, she forgot that she was in hiding. She scurried out from behind the dresser and ran across the carpet toward Kenobi who at that moment was attacking the Gerbil Mobile as if it were a wild, dangerous creature.
“Stop it, Kenobi!” cried Obi. “Did you hear me? Stop it this instant!”
“Obi?!”
Obi froze. She peered up. Rachel, who had been seated at her desk in front of her computer, stood up. She stared down at Obi with the most startled and incredulous expression on her face.
“Oh! Hawo, Mom!” said Obi, which, of course, Rachel, being human, was unable to hear. All she heard were a couple of squeaks.
“What are you doing out of your cage?” Rachel asked.
Obi remembered the cute, sad-eyed puppy dog look that Kenobi always used whenever he got into trouble. So Obi gave Rachel her cute, sad-eyed little gerbil look.
But alas, Rachel’s face did not soften the way it always did when she saw Kenobi’s sad eyes. No—instead, an angry frown came over the girl’s face. “How did you get out of your cage?” she demanded as, bending down, she picked Obi up off the floor. Handling Obi roughly, Rachel returned the gerbil back to her cage. “I bet I know how you got out of your cage!” she declared.
Oh, no! Rachel now knew that Obi knew how to escape from her cage!
Obi expected Rachel to announce this, but she didn’t. Instead, she hurried out of her bedroom, shouting, “Mom! Mom! Betsy and Susie have been in my bedroom! They let Obi out of his cage!”
Obi stood there, dumbfounded at this unexpected turn of events. Down on the carpet, Kenobi looked bewildered, too.
Then Kenobi turned and made a dash for the door. “Hey, Mom, wait for me!” he cried. As he ran out of the bedroom, he glanced over his shoulder at Obi. “Don’t worry, Obi!” he exclaimed. “You and I will play ball later!”
Chapter Eleven The Last Straw!
Downstairs in the kitchen, Obi heard loud, angry voices. Rachel was accusing Betsy and Susie of taking Obi out of her cage. The twins were vehemently denying they had done such a thing.
“We didn’t go in Rachel’s bedroom!”
“How did Obi get out of his cage, then?” demanded Rachel.
“I don’t know!”
“You took him out!”
“I did not!”
“Well, then, Susie did!”
“No, I didn’t!” cried Susie’s voice.
More heated accusations and denials followed, and then Mrs. Armstrong’s voice said, “All right, girls, what’s done is done. Betsy and Susie, I don’t want you going into Rachel’s bedroom, okay?”
“But we didn’t go into Rachel’s bedroom!”
Obi felt
bad that she had gotten the twins in trouble. Now that the argument in the kitchen was over, she expected Rachel and Kenobi to return to Rachel’s bedroom. But they didn’t. Obi waited. And waited. What could be taking them so long? Then, to her surprise, Obi heard a strange man’s voice downstairs. Curious, she strained her ears to listen.
It was definitely not Mr. Armstrong’s voice. This voice was too deep, too dark, too creepy. Whoever he was, he seemed to be having a lot of trouble breathing. Obi could hear the man sucking air in and out. As Obi listened, it dawned on her whose voice it was.
It was the voice of evil Darth Vader!
Someone in the TV room was watching a Star Wars movie! It wasn’t Rachel, was it?! Obi certainly hoped not, not without Obi! Obi’s most favorite thing to do was to watch a movie on TV in the comfort of Rachel’s lap. And Star Wars movies were Obi’s all-time favorite movies.
The more Obi listened, the more anxious she became. She had to find out who was watching Star Wars. Obi stepped over to the front of her cage, rose up on her hind legs, and pushed open her cage door.
A few moments later, Obi was in the dark secret passageway, rushing downstairs. Arriving at the little hole that led into the TV room, Obi peeked out. She spotted Betsy and Susie—the humans, that is, not the goldfish. The girls were flopped on the floor in front of the TV, their eyes glued to the TV screen, an absorbed look on each of their faces. Obi’s gaze shifted from Betsy and Susie to the couch.
And that was when Obi’s heart nearly collapsed. There was Rachel—on the couch. And there was Kenobi—on her lap! Worse, Rachel was stroking Kenobi’s head, just the way she always stroked Obi on the head when the two of them watched TV together!
Obi had never felt so stricken, so hurt, so betrayed! Tears filled her eyes. The really infuriating thing was, Kenobi wasn’t even enjoying the movie! No! In fact, he wasn’t even watching it! He was busy chewing on a rawhide bone. The Star Wars movie was completely wasted on him!
Clearly, things were out of control here! This was the last straw! Something had to be done about Kenobi! Star Wars movies were something special that Obi shared with Rachel! They were not a Kenobi thing! It was becoming increasingly and painfully clear to Obi that she needed to take action! She needed to do something about this nuisance of a dog who was destroying her life!
Gerbil on a Mission Page 4