Cat Mummy (4 page)

‘What’s up, Verity?’ Sophie asked, putting her arm round me.

‘Mabel’s missing!’ I wailed, and I told her all about it.

Sophie was very comforting. She gave me half her Mars Bar from her lunch box and told me that Sporty and Scary and Baby and Posh’s mother once went missing.

‘She was gone for ages. She made herself a nest in the garden shed. That’s where she had her kittens. Maybe your Mabel’s having kittens too?’

‘Mabel’s much too old to have kittens.’

‘Maybe she’s just gone off on the scrounge,’ said Laura. ‘Our dog Dustbin does that. He goes into people’s gardens and barks piteously as if he’s starving and sometimes they fall for it and feed him.’

‘I don’t think Mabel would do that. She’s been a bit off her food recently,’ I said. ‘She keeps being sick.’ I put my head down on my desk. ‘I was horrid to her because I stepped in it, but it wasn’t her fault at all. Maybe she’s really, really ill.’

‘Our Licky is sick lots and lots. He eats grass, the silly boy, like he’s got this mad idea he’s a sheep. Does your Mabel eat grass?’

‘No, she just likes her cat food,’ I said, speaking into my desk.

‘Good morning, everyone,’ said Miss Smith cheerily, coming into the classroom. ‘Verity? What’s up with you, poppet? Are you sleepy?’

‘Mmm,’ I mumbled.

‘Did you stay up late watching television?’

‘No. I couldn’t sleep properly.’

‘Why’s that?’ said Miss Smith, coming up to my desk and squatting down beside me.

‘I had these bad dreams.’

‘Oh dear. Did you tell your mum?’

‘My mum’s dead,’ I said, and I sniffed hard.

Miss Smith looked very upset. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, as if my mum had only died yesterday.

I drooped in my desk while Miss Smith started the lesson, telling us all this stuff about the Ancient Egyptians. We’re doing them this term.

Miss Smith looks a bit like an Ancient Egyptian herself with her straight black hair and her big outlined eyes. We had to do an Ancient Egyptian picture last week. You have to draw all the people looking sideways. Sophie and I got the giggles wondering if the Ancient Egyptians walked about like that.

I didn’t feel at all like giggling now.

Moyra gave me a little dig in the back.

‘My pet snake Crusher’s gone missing too,’ she whispered. ‘I wonder where he can have got to?’

I knew what was coming. A few seconds later Moyra’s arm slithered over my shoulders.

‘It’s Crusher!’ she hissed.

This time I didn’t scream. I didn’t even flinch.

Moyra tried again, her arm wrapping right round my waist, but I still didn’t move.

‘Moyra! Leave Verity alone, please,’ said Miss Smith.

‘You’re no fun,’ Moyra whispered.

I knew I wasn’t any fun. I slumped further down in my chair, thinking about Mabel. I kept remembering how I’d shouted at her for being sick and the sad, shamed way she’d slunk off. I couldn’t bear it.

I had to find my hankie quick. I snuffled noisily. Everyone politely took no notice – until I got another poke in the back from Moyra. I thought I was under another Crusher attack, but she whispered, ‘Sorry about your cat, Verity. I’m sure she’ll come back. We always find Crusher when he goes missing.’

‘Moyra!’ said Miss Smith.

‘I was just saying nice stuff about Verity’s cat, Miss Smith!’ said Moyra.

‘She was, Miss Smith,’ I said, blowing my nose.

I’m not always good, but I
am
truthful.

The whole class looked astonished. Moyra and I are famed for our deadly enmity and yet here we were sticking up for each other. Even Miss Smith looked surprised.

‘Well, I’m glad to see you two being friendly for once,’ she said. ‘Still, we’re really supposed to be thinking about the Ancient Egyptians, not cats. Though as a matter of fact the
Ancient
Egyptians were extremely interested in cats. They kept them as special pets and looked after them very lovingly. If an enemy soldier held a cat as a kind of living armour the Egyptian soldiers wouldn’t attack because they were so worried about hurting the cat. They even had a special cat goddess called Bastet. They built a big cat cemetery in her name. When a cat died the owners would shave their eyebrows as a sign of mourning – and very special cats were even made into mummies.’

‘Mummies! Wow. Tell us about mummies, Miss Smith,’ said Moyra.

I stopped listening. I was saying a prayer to Bastet.

‘Please let me find Mabel, oh great cat goddess Bastet,’ I whispered. ‘Please please please let me find Mabel.’

I had my eyes tightly shut. When I opened them Miss Smith was holding up a picture of
a
cat. It looked very odd, long and thin, with no tail or paws, but it had a very distinct cat face and little pointed cat ears. It seemed to be made of cloth rather than fur so I thought it was maybe a toy cat.

‘This is a cat mummy,’ said Miss Smith, and she told us exactly how the Ancient Egyptians made their poor dead cats into mummies. And this time I listened.

CHAPTER FOUR

The Mabel Mummy

THE CAT GODDESS
Bastet granted my prayer – but in the worst way possible.

Gran met me from school. She had make-up on and she looked smart, but she was still sad. There was still no sign of Mabel.

‘But we’ve got to remember she’s been missing less than twenty-four hours,’ said Gran.

It seemed like she’d been missing twenty-four days. No, twenty-four
weeks
. When I went indoors I wished there was some magic way
I
could rewind those twenty-four hours so I could step in the sick in the hall but then pick Mabel up and cuddle her close and tell her how sorry I was that she wasn’t feeling well.

But the carpet was clean this time. There was no Mabel hanging her head in the hall.

‘I’ll make us a little snack,’ said Gran, though neither of us was feeling hungry.

I went trailing upstairs to my bedroom. Minnie was sprawled on my bed. I flopped down beside her for a minute. I kicked off my sandals and curled up as if I was going to sleep. Gran came to find me after five minutes.

‘Are you having a little nap, Verity? That’s a good idea. I’ll call you later on for tea, all right?’

Gran tiptoed away. I kept my eyes shut but I couldn’t sleep. I felt cold and shivery even though it was a hot day. I didn’t want to get right under the covers in my school dress. I suddenly wanted my cosy old winter dressing gown. It was made of blue furry stuff and it had a big black cat head on both pockets.