Paws and Whiskers Read Free

knew you’d make friends soon enough.’
    ‘We’re in a secret club,’ I said proudly. Then I paused. ‘Mum? Do you think I could possibly have a kitten?’
    ‘Oh, Leonie! You know Jumbo’s allergic,’ she said.
    ‘Yes, but a kitten’s only little, and I’ll keep it out of Jumbo’s way. And I know we haven’t got much money now, but I could buy all the kitten food out of my pocket money – and I could eat my cornflakes dry and the kitten could have my milk and—’
    ‘No,’ said Mum.
    ‘But—’
    ‘No. I’m sorry, love, but it’s just not possible. Maybe in a few years’ time, if Jumbo’s asthma gets better.’
    I didn’t need a kitten in a few years’ time. I needed a kitten right this instant.
    ‘They won’t let me stay in the club if I don’t have a kitten,’ I said.
    ‘What? Well, then, it’s a very silly club and you don’t want to be in it,’ said Mum.
    She didn’t understand at all. I desperately wanted to stay in the Pet Girls Club. I had to keep on pretending I had a kitten. If Keira found out I’d been lying, she’d be incredibly mean and crowing and have me kicked out in a nanosecond. Julie might protest, but she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
    I had to keep on lying. I couldn’t take a photo of Lulu because she didn’t exist. I wondered about saying we simply didn’t have a camera, but they’d all wonder why I couldn’t take a photo with Mum’s mobile phone. I decided to be crafty.
    After tea I spent a long time in my bedroom
drawing
a kitten. I don’t want to sound as if I’m boasting, but I am very good at drawing. I found the photo of Jenna Williams with her kitten. I copied Lulu very carefully, and then coloured my picture with my best felt tips. I spent ages with the grey pen, inking in hundreds of little dashes to make the kitten look extra furry.
    Jumbo kept pestering me, trying to see what I was drawing.
    ‘Go
away
, Jumbo. I’m busy – can’t you see?’ I said irritably.
    ‘Please let me look, Leonie,’ he said. ‘I love looking at your drawings. You’re so good at doing pictures.’
    Jumbo has this knack of saying exactly the right thing to get his own way. I let him have a look and he clapped his hands.
    ‘It’s ever so good. I love that little cat,’ he said.
    ‘She’s my kitten. She’s called Lulu,’ I said.
    ‘I like her. Can I stroke her?’ said Jumbo, and he very gently touched the drawing with one finger.
    ‘Watch out! Wipe your hand on your T-shirt, it’s all sticky,’ I said, but I let him stroke Lulu. I even made funny purring sounds. The good thing about having an odd little brother is that you can play all sorts of pretend games and nobody teases you for being babyish.
    ‘I want a pet too!’ said Jumbo. ‘Draw me a pet, Leonie, go on.’
    ‘I’m a bit sick of drawing now. My hand aches after doing all that fur,’ I said.
    Jumbo wouldn’t give up. ‘
Please
will you draw me a pet, Leonie? That way it’s fair – you can have one and I can have one. Go on. I’d absolutely love a pet.’
    You just have to do whatever Jumbo wants.
    ‘Do you want a kitten too?’
    ‘No, I want a
big
pet.’
    ‘A dog?’
    ‘No, I want a pet I can ride!’
    ‘A horse?’
    ‘Bigger than a horse. I want an elephant as a pet. Go on, Leonie, draw me a great big elephant!’
    So I had to draw him his elephant, and then I had to pretend to feed the elephant with buns and make trumpeting elephant noises until I was hoarse. I felt tired out when I went to bed and fell asleep almost immediately – but I woke up in the middle of the night worrying whether I would still be allowed into the Pet Girls Club without a photograph.
    I kept seeing Keira saying, ‘Push off, Leonie. You’re a wicked liar and we aren’t ever letting you into our club,’ while all the other Pet Girls shook their fists at me – even Julie. I had to climb into bed with Jumbo and hug him for comfort to get back to sleep.
    I took my drawing of Lulu to school