No Time for Hallie

by Catherine Hapka

  Zach hated waking up early. He always felt sleepy until almost lunchtime.

  But the next morning when he looked out his bedroom window, he felt wide-awake right away. A small black shape was sitting on the sidewalk in front of his house.

  “Hall Cat,” Zach murmured. He tapped on the glass, but Hall Cat didn’t hear him. She was watching a bird pecking at the grass nearby.

  Moments later, Zach was dressed and heading for the door. He almost tripped over Mulberry, who was sleeping on the kitchen floor.

  “Where are you going, dork?” his oldest brother, Josh, called out.

  “Back in a sec,” Zach said without slowing down.

  Hall Cat came running when she saw Zach. She purred as he picked her up. Her fur felt soft and warm.

  “Good girl,” Zach whispered, tickling her chin. “I’m going to take you home, okay?”

  Hall Cat kept purring. Zach carried her across the street. Even before he knocked on the door, he could hear the baby crying inside. A young man with a goatee answered Zach’s knock.

  “Hi,” Zach said. “I found your cat outside.”

  The man peered at him. “You’re one of the boys from across the street, right?” he said. “Hi there. Oh, and don’t worry about Hall Cat. She likes it outside.”

  “Maybe,” Zach said. “But it’s dangerous out there. Um, you know, cars and stuff.” He tried to remember what else he’d heard Janey and the others say.

  “No, it’s cool, seriously.” The man said smiling, but he looked distracted. “We’ve been putting her out whenever the baby’s awake, and she’s been fine.”

  Zach squeezed Hall Cat a little tighter, making her wiggle. He didn’t want the man to close the door and leave Hall Cat outside. But Zach wasn’t sure what to say to stop him. He wished Janey was there—she always had lots of things to say. Or Adam, who knew so much about taking care of animals. Or Lolli—people seemed to like talking to her, even grownups.

  “Um, how long have you had Hall Cat?” Zach blurted out.

  The man glanced over his shoulder as another loud wail came from somewhere inside. “Quite a while,” he said. He chuckled. “Longer than I’ve had my wife, actually.”

  “Really?” Zach said.

  The man reached out to scratch Hall Cat under the chin, which made her purr even louder. “I got her in college actually,” he said. “I was living in a fraternity house and found her huddled under the front porch. She was super-friendly, but none of our neighbors knew where she came from. So we kept her.” He smiled. “She sort of became our fraternity mascot and visited everyone who lived on my hall. That’s why we called her Hall Cat. After I graduated she stayed with me and the name had stuck.”

  “That’s pretty funny,” Zach said with a grin.

  The man grinned back. “Anyway, when I got married a few years later, Hall Cat came to live with us. My wife had never had a pet before, but she’s always liked Hall Cat.” He sighed and glanced over his shoulder again as the baby let out a loud squawk somewhere inside. “But now, with the new baby, she’s just a little overwhelmed and worried about what might happen, you know?”

  Zach didn’t really know what the man meant by that. Before he could ask, he heard a loud wheezing and clanking sound from the far end of the block.

  “Oops,” he said. “That’s the school bus. Gotta go!”

  He leaned to one side, tossing Hall Cat gently past the man into the house. “Hey!” the man exclaimed, sounding surprised.

  But Zach didn’t stick around to find out whether the man threw Hall Cat back out or let her stay in. His backpack was still at home, and he’d have to run if he wanted to grab it before the bus got there.

  Questions and Answers

  When Janey got to school, she headed to Leah’s cubby before even visiting her own. Leah was there putting her books away.

  “Did you find him?” Janey asked.

  As soon as Leah turned around, Janey could guess the answer. Leah still looked sad and worried.

  “No,” Leah said with a loud sigh. “I got up early this morning to search in the yard some more, but all I saw out there were wild birds and a few squirrels.”

  “Oh.” Janey chewed her lower lip. “Okay, try not to worry. I’ll figure something out, I promise.”

  She found Lolli at her cubby, which was right next to Janey’s. Janey told her friend what she’d just found out from Leah.

  “That’s too bad,” Lolli said. “Leah must be so worried.”

  “She is. And so am I.” Janey noticed that Lolli didn’t seem to be listening very carefully. She was looking at something over Janey’s shoulder. When Janey looked that way, all she saw was one of their classmates, a girl named Brooke.

  “Have you noticed that Brooke doesn’t seem like her normal self?” Lolli whispered.

  “Not really,” Janey said. “What do you mean?”

  “She’s usually so happy and outgoing. But lately she’s been a lot quieter. Today it even looks like she’s been crying!” Lolli took a step toward Brooke. “I think I’ll go ask her if anything’s wrong.”

  “Wait!” Janey said. “We need to figure out what to do about Sunny.”

  It was too late. Lolli didn’t hear her, because she was already hurrying toward Brooke. Letting out a sigh, Janey followed.

  “Hi, Brooke,” Lolli said when she reached the other girl. “Are you okay?”

  Brooke was short with long, black hair. Right now her hair was hanging over her face, hiding one of her brown eyes. But the eye Janey could see looked sad.

  “I’m fine,” Brooke said.

  “Are you sure?” Lolli put a hand on Brooke’s arm. “You seem kind of upset or something. If you need someone to talk to…”

  “No, really, I’m fine.” Brooke said again. “I have to go.”

  Grabbing one more book out of her cubby, she rushed off. Lolli and Janey stared after her.

  “She’s definitely not fine,” Lolli said. “Should we follow her and try to talk to her again?”

  “Veto,” Janey said. “We’re supposed to be helping pets, not people, remember?”

  Just then Zach zoomed up to the girls on his skateboard. “Hi,” he greeted them breathlessly.

  “You’re not supposed to ride your skateboard in the halls,” Janey reminded him. “Don’t let the teachers see you, or you’ll have to stay after school. And we’ll probably need everyone in the Pet Rescue Club to help search for Leah’s canary again today.”

  “Never mind that bird,” Zach said. “We need to help Hall Cat. I found her outside again this morning.”

  He told Janey and Lolli what the neighbor had said. Lolli shook her head.

  “I was hoping they’d let her come back inside after we talked to the baby’s mom yesterday,” she said. “I guess not.”

  “We need to convince them to take better care of Hall Cat,” Zach said. “Or else she might get hit by a car or something!”

  “I’m sure her owners don’t want that,” Lolli said. “They seem nice. Just kind of busy with the new baby.”

  Janey nodded. “Okay, we should definitely figure out a way to help Hall Cat,” she said. “But what about Sunny? If a cat is in danger outside, what about a tiny little bird? I think we need to find him first, then come up with a plan for Hall Cat.”

  “No way,” Zach said. “Hall Cat needs us right now!”

  “Wow,” Lolli said. “Now that we started the Pet Rescue Club, there are even more pets to help than I expected! I guess we need to figure out how to help two pets at once.”

  “Hall Cat will be fine for a few days,” Janey argued. “There really isn’t much traffic in our neighborhood.”

  “What if she wanders off and gets lost, though?” Zach argued back. “Or gets attacked by a mean dog, or eats something she shouldn’t? There are some plants and stuff that are poisonous to cats—not just onions, either.”

  Before Janey could respond, she saw Adam walking toward them with Ms. Tanaka, their homeroom teacher. Ms. Tanak
a was young and friendly and smiled a lot, which made her almost everyone’s favorite teacher.

  “Hi!” Janey called. “How’s Truman?”

  Truman was the dog that had inspired Janey and the others to start the Pet Rescue Club. With the help of the local animal shelter, the kids had worked together to save him from a neglectful home and help him find a new home with Ms. Tanaka.

  “Truman is great!” Ms. Tanaka said with a smile. “I took him for a nice, long walk after school yesterday.”

  “That’s awesome,” Janey said. Hearing how well Truman was doing made her more determined than ever to help more animals—starting with Sunny.

  Ms. Tanaka waved and headed into her classroom. After she was gone, Janey and the others told Adam what they’d been talking about.

  “Okay, it sounds like we have two pets who need our help right away,” Adam said. “Maybe we should divide and conquer.”

  “What do you mean?” Janey asked.

  Adam shrugged. “There are four of us,” he pointed out. “Maybe Zach should talk to Hall Cat’s owners after school, and Janey and Lolli can go look for the lost bird.”

  “What about you?” Lolli asked.

  “I’ll come help whoever needs me after I take care of my clients,” Adam said.

  Janey thought about Adam’s idea. It made sense. Zach was too hyper to be much help searching for Sunny, anyway.

  “Wait, so I have to go talk to Hall Cat’s owners all by myself?” Zach asked. “I was hoping you guys could help me convince them.”

  “Adam can come help you later,” Janey said. “I think his plan could work. Let’s do it!”

  Kitty and Cats

  Lolli usually liked school. But that day, she was happy when the final bell rang. She was worried about both of the pets that the Pet Rescue Club was trying to help. Besides, she’d had an idea she wanted to tell Janey and Leah about.

  She walked out of the classroom with the two of them. “Ready to go to Leah’s house and look for Sunny?” Janey asked her. “I already called my mom to come and drive us there so we don’t have to wait for the bus.”

  “Actually, I was thinking about something,” Lolli said. She turned to Leah. “Did you check with the Third Street Shelter after Sunny went missing? Maybe someone found him and took him there.”

  “I called them yesterday,” Leah said. “Nobody had brought him in yet.” She bit her lower lip. “Anyway, I doubt anyone except me could catch Sunny.”

  Janey nodded. “It’s okay. He’s probably still in your yard. We’ll find him.”

  Janey sounded very certain. Lolli had heard her friend sound that way a lot. Sometimes it meant that Janey was so busy thinking about her own plans that she wasn’t paying enough attention to what other people were saying. So Lolli cleared her throat and talked a little louder.

  “Even if nobody could catch him, somebody might call the shelter to report seeing him,” she said. “If you want, I’ll call home and ask if it’s okay for me to walk over there and check.”

  The animal shelter was only a few blocks from school. Lolli’s parents had let her walk there before, so she guessed they would say yes today, too.

  “That’s a good idea,” Leah said. “If someone reported seeing Sunny, it will help us figure out if he’s still in my backyard or if he flew somewhere else.”

  Janey blinked at Lolli. “Oh. Yeah, I guess that’s true. Are you sure you don’t mind going to the shelter by yourself?”

  “It will be fine,” Lolli said. “One of my parents can probably pick me up there and drive me over to meet you guys at Leah’s house.”

  She said good-bye to Janey and Leah, then headed for the school office to call home. As she’d guessed, her father said it was okay to walk to the shelter. He promised to meet her there in a few minutes to pick her up.

  As she walked down the sidewalk, Lolli spotted Brooke walking just ahead of her. Brooke’s head was down, and her steps were slow.

  “Hey, Brooke!” Lolli broke into a jog to catch up. “Wait up. Are you walking toward town, too?”

  Brooke stopped and waited. “Uh-huh. I’m supposed to meet my dad at his office,” she said. “Why are you walking this way? I thought you lived on a farm.”

  “I do.” Lolli and the other girl both started walking again. “But today I’m going to the animal shelter.” She told Brooke about the Pet Rescue Club and their search for Sunny.

  “Wow,” Brooke said. “That’s cool that you guys are trying to help animals.”

  “Thanks.” Lolli smiled at her. “Do you walk to your dad’s office every day after school?”

  “No, I usually take the bus.” Brooke sighed. “But everything is different lately.”

  Lolli leaned closer. “What do you mean? Does it have to do with why you look so sad?” She reached over and gave Brooke’s arm a squeeze. “Sorry, my parents tell me I’m too nosy. I just want to help if I can.”

  Brooke sniffled. Then she took a deep breath.

  “You’re nice, Lolli,” she said. “I guess I can tell you. My grandpa fell and hurt himself a few weeks ago.”

  Lolli gasped. “Oh, no! Is he okay?”

  “Not really.” Brooke shrugged. “I mean, his broken hip is getting better, but he still can’t walk by himself or go up and down the stairs. So instead of letting him go home after he got out of the hospital, they sent him to another place.”

  “Another place?” Lolli wrinkled her nose. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s called an assisted care facility,” Brooke said. “He has to live there while he does lots of physical therapy and stuff. Nobody is sure how long that will take.”

  “Wow.” Lolli thought about her own grandfathers. Her dad’s dad sold real estate, and her mom’s dad was retired but still played golf or tennis almost every day. “No wonder you’re upset.”

  “Not as upset as my grandma.” Brooke kicked a stone on the sidewalk. “She’s living in their house all by herself now. She says she’s fine, but I can tell she’s sad and lonely without Grandpa around.”

  “Oh, that’s terrible.” Lolli’s eyes filled with tears at the thought of Brooke’s grandma being so sad.

  Brooke nodded. “That’s why I’m going to my dad’s office. I’m planning to spend lots of time with Grandma to help her feel less lonely. Dad is going to drive me over there today.”

  “That’s nice. I bet she’ll love seeing you,” Lolli said. “Let me know if I can do anything to help, okay? I’m good at reading to people if she might like that, or I can bake her some cookies…”

  Brooke looked thoughtful. “Grandma can read to herself just fine,” she said. “But actually, maybe there is something you can do…”

  “Kitty?” Lolli stuck her head into the cat room at the Third Street Shelter. “The guy at the front desk said you were in here.”

  Kitty look up and smiled, spitting out a strand of blonde hair that was caught in her lip gloss. She was the Pet Rescue Club’s favorite shelter worker.

  “Hi, Lolli,” Kitty said. “What brings you here today? I didn’t see your name on the volunteer schedule.” She winked. “Did you come to adopt another dog to keep Roscoe company?”

  Lolli giggled. “I’d love to, but my parents would kill me.” She stepped into the room to pet a cute tiger-striped cat that was wandering around while Kitty cleaned out her litter box. “Actually, I’m here on official Pet Rescue Club business.”

  She told Kitty about Sunny. By the time she was finished, Kitty was shaking her head.

  “Sorry, no calls about a loose canary,” she said. “I’ll be sure to let you guys know right away if I hear anything, though.”

  “Thanks.” Lolli leaned closer to the cat, who had started purring as soon as Lolli started petting her. “Hey, I remember you from my first day volunteering here,” Lolli cooed. “You’re so cute! I can’t believe nobody has adopted you yet.”

  Kitty nodded. “Yes, Tigs is adorable,” she said. “But she’s also ten years old, and unfortunately, most pe
ople don’t want to take on a cat her age.”

  “Really?” Lolli couldn’t help thinking about Hall Cat. Based on what her owner had told Zach, she was probably at least ten years old, too. “Why not?”

  Kitty shrugged. “Older animals have a lot of love to give,” she said. “But I guess it makes people sad to think they might not have an older pet for as long as a younger one. I don’t know. But a cat of Tigs’ age will be lucky if anyone even considers adopting her—no matter how cute and friendly she is.”

  Lolli nodded, feeling a flash of worry for Hall Cat. Her owners said they weren’t planning to take her to the shelter. But what if they changed their minds?

  They won’t, she told herself firmly. I’m sure they’ll decide to keep her—and keep her inside, too. After all, the Pet Rescue Club is on the case!

  Different Strokes

  “How many more clients do you have today?” Zach asked, feeling impatient. “I want to get to Hall Cat’s house soon.”

  He’d decided to wait for Adam before starting his mission. Otherwise, he was afraid he wouldn’t know what to say again. And that wouldn’t help Hall Cat at all.

  “Just one more,” Adam said, pointing to a blue house up ahead. “It won’t take long, since I just have to walk the dog and not feed it or anything.”

  “Really? Why, is the dog on a diet?” Zach grinned.

  “Ha ha, very funny,” Adam said. “It’s because the owners just had twin babies.”

  “Twins?” Zach made a face. “I hope they’re not anything like my obnoxious twin brothers.”

  Adam smiled. “Actually, these twins are pretty cute,” he said. “But the mom has trouble walking the dog with both babies along, and the dad works all day in another town. So they hired me to walk the dog for them, at least until the twins are older.”

  “Oh.” Zach thought about that. It reminded him of Hall Cat’s owners, except they hadn’t hired Adam to take care of their pet. They’d put her outside instead.