Pickle Puss (2 page)

Emily wanted to pop her right in the mouth.

Beast came out from the backyard. “What's going on?”

Jill came out too.

“I'm going home,” Dawn said.

“Don't do that,” Beast said. “We can't play with only three kids.”

Emily's little sister, Stacy, jumped off the steps.

“I'll play,” she said.

Emily looked at her.

Stacy had red all over her mouth.

Ketchup.

They had eaten hamburgers for supper.

“You can't count,” Emily said in a low voice.

“I can so,” said Stacy out loud. “One, two, four, eight, five.”

Just then they heard a whistle.

It was Beast's father.

“Time to go home,” Beast said.

Emily started back up her path. “Come on, Stacy.”

“Make up with Dawn,” said Beast.

Emily turned around. “Want to make up?”

“Maybe.” Dawn said. “And maybe not.”

Emily stared at Dawn.

Dawn still had a fresh face.

“Not,” said Emily.

“I'm going to have a pile of fish,” said Dawn. “You'll probably have none.”

Emily stamped up her steps. “Watch out
for cobras” she said. “They'll spit in your eye.”

“Pickle puss,” said Dawn.

Emily stuck out her tongue.

She slammed into the house.

Emily held her nose. She took a deep breath.

She jumped into her pool.

The water was cold.

Freezing.

She came to the top. “Yeow,” she screeched. She hung on to the side.

Her little sister, Stacy, looked up from her dirt pile. “Mommy said to turn on the hose in front.”

“Do it for me,” Emily begged.

Stacy shook her head. “Can't. The turner-on thing is too hard.”

Emily sighed. She climbed out of the pool.

She ran down the driveway on tiptoes.

She had to watch out for sharp stones.

She looked up. Jill was coming toward her.

Jill had yellow bows on her braids today. Her bathing suit was yellow too.

She looked like a fat yellow beach ball.

“Hi, Emily,” she said. “Can I go for a swim?”

“Sure. Go ahead,” Emily said. She scooted around Jill.

She bent over and turned on the sprinkler.

Dawn Bosco passed by on the other side of the street.

“Hey, Dawn,” she yelled.

Dawn didn't answer. She started to run.

Emily watched her.

Dawn had two books in her arms. One fell on the ground.

She stopped to pick it up. “I'll have a fish today,” she yelled.

She turned the corner.

Emily made her neck fat. She jerked her head forward. “Right in the eye,” she said.

She went back to the yard.

Jill was floating in the water. Her bows were floating too.

Stacy was pouring water on a pile of dirt. “Mud-mud-muddies,” she sang.

“Don't talk to me,” Emily said. “I'm going to read.”

She sat down on the grass. She picked up her book.

She read the last five pages.

Snakes were pretty good, she thought. They had to watch out for mongooses though.

Emily looked at a picture of a mongoose.

It was a long, skinny thing with fur.

It looked a little like Dawn Bosco.

Emily closed her book. “I saw Dawn,” she told Jill.

Jill gave a tiny kick. “Dawn's going to have a hundred fish.”

“Dawn's a pickle puss,” Emily said.

Stacy stuck her lip out. “Mommy said don't call people pickle pusses.”

“Get lost, Stacy,” Emily said.

“Mommy,” Stacy screamed.

“Besides,” Jill said. “Dawn called Emily a pickle puss too. Remember?”

“Snaggle doodles on Dawn,” Emily said. “She's not going to beat me.”

“Good,” said Jill.

“Get out of the pool,” Emily told her. “Let's go to the library.”

Jill squeezed out her braids. Water dripped
off the ends. “I'll go home and get dressed.” She climbed out of the pool.

“I'm going to get a fish” Emily said. “I finished my snake book. And I'm going to get more books too. The skinniest minniest—”

“Can I come?” Stacy asked. Emily frowned at her.

“All right,” said Stacy. “Dawn's a pickle puss. Dawn's a double pickle puss.”

“Well …” Emily said.

Stacy slammed her pail on her dirt pile.

“Pan-pan-pancake,” she sang. She stood up.

“I'm ready.”

Emily rushed up to her bedroom.

She threw her bathing suit behind the bed.

She put on her shorts and her blue freckle-dot shirt.

She could hear Stacy singing, “Going to the li-li-li-berry.”

Emily went downstairs again. She'd show Dawn Bosco.

If anybody had a hundred fish, it wouldn't be Dawn.

It would be Emily. Emily Arrow.

Emily crossed the street.

Jill and Stacy walked right behind her.

Beast was kneeling under his tree.

Emily went closer. “What are you doing?”

Beast turned around. He had a cat in his arms. “Look what I found.”

The cat was black. It had one white ear. It had a white tip on its tail.

“I saw him last week,” Emily said.

The cat wiggled to get out of Beast's arms.

Beast put it down. “I found him in my tree.”

Emily reached out to pet the cat.

The cat put its back up in the air. It took a dancing step.

“He's a brave one,” Emily said. “That's the best kind.”

Stacy began to sing. “Tough-tough-toughie.”

The cat grabbed one of Emily's sneaker laces. It began to pull.

“What's his name?” Jill asked.

“Cat,” said Beast. “I want to keep him.” He raised his shoulders in the air. “But my mother said no.”

“I'll take him.” Emily crossed her fingers. “If my mother says.”

“I'm feeding him,” Beast said. “Milk and potato chips.”

Jill tossed her braids in the air. “You can't give a cat potato chips.”

“This cat likes them.” Beast poured some out of the bag.

He licked his fingers. “I like them too.”

“Let me hold him,” Emily said. She picked up the cat.

It began to chew on her collar.

“He should have a nice name,” Emily said.

“A name like—”

“Blacky,” Jill said.

“Tippy,” said Beast.

Emily shook her head. “Maybe—”

“My turn,” said Stacy. “Let me hold him now.”

“Wait,” Emily said.

“Come on, Emily.” Stacy pulled on her arm.

“I'd take him,” Jill said. “But I have a dog.”

“Em-i-ly,” Stacy said. “I want the cat right now.”

“Don't squish him,” Beast said.

“I won't,” Stacy said. “What do you think— I'm a baby?”

Emily tickled the cat's chin.

She gave it to Stacy. “Just for a minute.”

The cat licked Stacy's cheek. Then it pulled on her hair.

“Ouch,” Stacy said. “Pickle Puss.”

Just then Freddie passed by. “Nice cat,” he said.

“He's Emily's,” said Stacy. “Maybe.”

“How's the book?” Freddie asked Emily.
“Five Children and It.”

Emily thought about the book. She remembered putting it on the cart.

She couldn't tell that to Freddie.

“It's very good,” she said. She crossed her fingers.

“I knew you'd like it.” Freddie crossed the street. “See you later.”

“Give the cat back now,” Beast told Stacy.

“He wants potato chips. Nice salty ones.”

Stacy shook her head.

Beast reached for the cat.

The cat jumped out of Stacy's arms.

It raced down the street.

Beast raced after it.

Emily started to run too.

“Get him,” Stacy yelled. “Get my cat.”

“What about the library?” Jill called.

Emily kept going.

She turned the corner.

She dashed up the street.

She had to get the cat.

Suppose he got lost again?

They might never find him.

Emily wiped her face.

She was dirty. Filthy.

She had run all over the place. She had crawled under a dozen bushes.

The cat was gone.

“Poor, poor cat,” said Stacy.

“No home,” said Jill. “No food.”

“Not even potato chips,” said Stacy.

Emily felt a lump in her throat. “Sad,” she said. “Maybe Beast will find him.”

She opened the library door. “I'm going to buy cat food. Just in case we find him. I have my tooth money.”

Inside, Emily looked at the fish for a good book picture.

Then she looked at the chart.

Lots of kids had a fish next to their names.

Dawn had a red one.

Emily picked a tan fish. She tacked it next to her name.

It looked a little bigger than Dawn's red one.

Dawn Mongoose Bosco.

Stacy looked up at her. “I wish I had my name up there.”

“Next year,” Emily said.

“Too long,” said Stacy. “And I don't even have a cat anymore.”

Mrs. Baker went past. She patted Stacy on the head.

“Did you see a cat?” Stacy called after her.

“When did you lose it?” Mrs. Baker asked

“Two minutes ago,” Stacy said.

Mrs. Baker shook her head. “I'm sorry.”

“He's this big,” Stacy said.

She bent down.