Catalyst Page 9

  Pipsqueak perked up. “Let’s go right now!”

  And that felt like balloons popping.

  Zoe opened her mouth to say she couldn’t get Pipsqueak to New Hampshire. But Pipsqueak was purring so hard she sounded like a motorboat. The words I can’t stuck in Zoe’s throat.

  It’ll never work! She silently panicked. Her parents would never let her visit her aunt with a giant talking cat. They’d freak out as soon as they saw Pipsqueak, never mind any mention of Aunt Alecia. She couldn’t tell them. How, though, was she supposed to just skip off to another state without them noticing she was missing?

  Harrison. Maybe he’ll know what to do.

  Certainly I don’t.

  “I’ll be back,” she told Pipsqueak. “There are just a few things I have to do first. Please, stay here. Don’t be seen. Just . . . wait for me, okay?”

  “And then we’ll find your aunt and she’ll fix everything?” Pipsqueak asked. “We’ll go together? You and me?”

  “Yes.”

  Pipsqueak purred.

  “Not right this second, though. Just . . . wait.” Retreating across the lawn, Zoe felt Pipsqueak’s gaze boring into her. There was absolute confidence in that gaze. Zoe had said they’d go together, so Pipsqueak didn’t doubt it. I can’t disappoint her. But I can’t go.

  She fled to Harrison’s house, panting when she swung open his back door.

  Surita was at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal. “Ugh, it is too early for me to be on babysitting duty. Couldn’t you at least wait until your parents are at work before coming over? And are you still wearing PJs? You know you don’t actually live here, right?”

  “You don’t either,” Zoe said, feeling her cheeks blush bright red. She’d forgotten about her PJs. They were sort of like a T-shirt and shorts, but the shirt had a picture of a sleeping llama on it and the shorts were soft plaid. Her legs felt like giraffe legs, sticking out awkwardly from her shorts. She should have taken a few seconds to dress. Too late now. She headed across the kitchen.

  “Yeah, whatever,” Surita said. “I’m just here until Sunday.”

  Just past the fridge, Zoe stopped—a seed of an idea was forming. “You’re leaving for camp this Sunday? It’s a sleepaway camp, right?”

  “Yeah. I’m a counselor this year, so I even get paid, though I also have to help tiny campers find the bathroom in the middle of the night. It’s a tradeoff.”

  “How long is a camp session?”

  “One week. Check-in Sunday. Eat a lot of s’mores. Go home Friday.”

  “And it’s in Vermont?”

  “Yes.” Surita narrowed her eyes. “Why are you acting so . . . intense?”

  If she went to Surita’s camp, she’d have almost an entire week before her parents began to worry about her. Could she get to Aunt Alecia’s and back in a week? How far away was Aunt Alecia’s house? Half a day’s drive, maybe? It might be possible. “Because . . . I think I want to go to camp.”

  Pivoting, she ran out of the house and burst back into her own kitchen. Everyone was awake now. Mom was eyeing the toaster, and Alex had helped himself to more cereal. Dad was taking a bite of a banana.

  Seeing her, Mom demanded, “Were you outside in your pajamas, young lady? Pajamas are inside clothes. Get yourself dressed.”

  “I want to go to camp!” Zoe said.

  Mom blinked, caught off-guard. “Okay, that’s new. You still need to get dressed.”

  Alex was beaming at her as if this was his idea—which to be fair, it somewhat was. Dad also seemed pleased. “What changed your mind?” he asked.

  Aunt Alecia said I had to bring my cat to New Hampshire, and if you think I’m at camp in Vermont, then I can sneak away to see her! Zoe pointed at her brother. “Alex! It was his suggestion. And I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” Zoe gushed. “Surita is leaving this Sunday to be a counselor for a sleepaway camp in Vermont, and I’m sure she could drive me there, if I ask. Great opportunity for new experiences. Can I go?”

  Mom pressed her lips together. “A sleepaway camp? It’s an extreme leap from spend time at home all summer to I want to go to Vermont. What about all those library programs you said you’d do? Or how about a local camp? A few hours a day playing basketball or doing arts and crafts. I’m sure there are a few that still have room. Or at least one, if we call around—”

  “I think sleepaway camp is an excellent idea,” Alex chimed in. “It’ll give Zoe something that’s new. Something she can be excited about.” He smiled at her. “She doesn’t really want to spend the summer party planning for me or listening to us drone on about my fall courses. Plus she won’t have to put up with the endless hammering of the workmen on the new laundry room. You said camp starts Sunday, right? Construction starts Monday. So that’s perfect.”

  “Yeah,” Zoe said. “It will be easier on me if I’m not here for any of that. You know I’ve been having a hard time lately, and . . . I really want to do this. Please, Mom, Dad! It’s a great camp.” She realized she had no idea what it was called or what campers did there. “Surita can tell you about it.”

  Mom was frowning, but she was wavering. Zoe could tell from the crease in her forehead. It was the same kind of crinkle Zoe got when she was thinking hard. Mom had never liked the idea of Zoe lazing around all summer, and if she went to camp, there was a whole week that Mom wouldn’t have to work from home while Surita was away. “It would depend on the cost and if they have any availability on such late notice, but it is a reputable camp. Also, with Harrison’s cousin there, you would know a counselor. She can help keep an eye on you.”

  Zoe held her breath.

  “You’ve thought this through?” Dad asked her. “This is something you want? You’ve never been away from home for more than a night. You might get homesick. And Pipsqueak will miss you!”

  “I’ll find a pet sitter,” Zoe promised. “You won’t have to worry about her. I’ll take care of everything.”

  They didn’t look convinced. Dad said, “When we mentioned camp, we were thinking of something more local, as your mother said. Are you sure you want to do this?”

  She wasn’t sure at all, and she hadn’t thought it through. There were a million details she hadn’t even considered: how she was going to sneak away with Pipsqueak without anyone noticing, how she was going to keep the camp from reporting that she wasn’t there, how she was going to prevent her parents from instantly realizing she’d lied, how she was going to travel with a giant cat, and, most important, whether Aunt Alecia would really be able to help them. She hadn’t specifically said she could shrink Pipsqueak, but what else could she have meant? Making Pipsqueak small again was the only way Zoe and Pipsqueak could stay together, and Zoe would try anything to make that happen.

  “Camp will keep her too busy to be homesick,” Alex said.

  Zoe nodded vigorously.

  “I’m proud of you for considering something new,” Mom said. “This is unusual. You are growing up.”

  Springing across the kitchen, Zoe hugged her. “Thanks, Mom.”

  Mom patted her back. “Don’t get your hopes up yet. We’ve barely discussed this, and there are a lot of ifs and maybes to consider. I’d be happier if you knew other kids who were going.”

  “I can ask Harrison,” Zoe said.

  * * *

  After she tossed some clothes on and inhaled breakfast, Zoe met Harrison in the shed with Pipsqueak. The cat was reading another book, The Incredible Journey, which had two dogs and a cat on the cover. Quickly Zoe filled Harrison in on Aunt Alecia’s letter, what Zoe had promised Pipsqueak, and her plan to use camp as an excuse to leave home.

  “Please say you’ll come,” Zoe begged.

  “You want me to lie to my parents, lie to Surita, sneak away from camp . . . Do you have any idea how much trouble we’d get into if we’re caught?”

  “A lot?” More than they’d ever been in. She was trying not to think about that.

  “How do we sneak away from camp? And then sneak
back? Or are you planning to sneak away from Surita during the drive? Because I think she might notice.”

  “I . . . haven’t figured out the details yet. But Aunt Alecia says she knows about extraordinary creatures! She can help Pipsqueak!”

  He read the letter again, for the fifth time.

  “She’ll know what to do,” Zoe said. “We just have to get to her house.”

  Harrison looked at Pipsqueak, who filled half the shed. Using her claw, the cat turned another page in her book. “Your aunt could explain why this happened and how . . .” he said.

  Please say yes! “Come with me,” Zoe begged.

  “Okay, whoa. I know you’re impulsive, but seriously? This takes the cake.”

  “You’ll get answers.”

  He opened his mouth and then shut it.

  Zoe took the letter back and waved it at him. “She promises to explain everything. Everything!”

  “But . . . Our parents will know the second we ditch summer camp. Someone will tell them. And how’s Pipsqueak supposed to come with us anyway?”

  He’s considering it, Zoe thought. She could practically see the gears turning in Harrison’s brain, figuring out the challenges.

  “I mean, it’s not like she’ll fit in a suitcase,” he said.

  Pipsqueak didn’t look up from her book. “I’m stealthy.”

  “She won’t even fit in a car,” Harrison said.

  “I’m fast,” Pipsqueak said.

  Harrison snorted. “You’re going to run alongside Surita’s car all the way to summer camp? Yeah, and then the news will be filled with reports of a giant feline on the Mass Pike. You’ll be filmed by one of those traffic-reporting helicopters, and everyone will be talking about the Unexplained Mystery of the Car-Size Cat. If we’re going to do this, we need a plan that will actually work . . .”

  Unexplained mystery, Zoe thought. “We tell Surita the truth.”

  “What?” Harrison said.

  Pipsqueak looked up from her book. “She called me a rodent.”

  “But she’ll keep you secret,” Zoe said. After what Surita had said about Bigfoot, Zoe was certain of it. “She’ll want to help. This is a good idea.” Or at least it wasn’t as terrible an idea as hiding a giant cat in a shed and thinking it was a long-term solution. And it wasn’t as terrible an idea as just running off with a giant cat with no plan for handling their parents. “She can pretend to leave with us, then cover for us while we slip away on foot to New Hampshire. It’s a better idea than sneaking away from camp, where there are lots of adults and counselors watching. If Surita helps us, no one at camp will even know to miss us. Honestly, without her help, I don’t think we’ll even last a day.”

  “On foot?” Harrison said. He thought about it. “Yeah, on foot. Can’t fit in a car, right. Unless you’re planning to steal a van or a truck and drive it yourself—which, for the record, is a really bad idea, especially since I’ve seen you play Mario Kart—we’ll have to walk. To New Hampshire. Oh! Now I know why you need me.”

  She needed him because there was no way she was doing this alone, and he was her best friend.

  He pulled out his phone and began to type. “Camp is a two-hour drive northeast. Mostly east. It’s not on the way, so you’re right, leaving from here makes more sense. Your aunt’s house”—he typed more—“is four hours north from here by car. Fifty-five hours by foot, according to Google Maps. Seventeen hours by bike. But that’s probably for professional cyclists. We’ll be slower than that. And we certainly can’t do it without stopping. We’ll need to camp along the way for at least a night or two. And my grandma”—his voice stuck, and he swallowed—“she taught me everything I know about camping.”

  Zoe nodded. It wasn’t Everest, but it wasn’t a stroll down the lane either. Or a bike ride to the library. Or whatever. “Do you think we can do it? If Surita agrees to cover for us? My parents already said yes to summer camp. If we stay away from highways and towns . . .”

  Pipsqueak had lowered her book and was watching the entire conversation as if they were birds twittering on a tree branch. Zoe wondered if the cat had been only pretending to be calmly reading.

  “We can do it,” Harrison said. “Maybe. If we take our bikes. And camp. And prepare for our muscles to be really, really sore.”

  Zoe took a breath and asked the most important question: “Should we do it?”

  “Absolutely!” Pipsqueak said. Her ears were laid back. “I hate being afraid all the time. I hate that you’re afraid. I want to know what’s happening to me and to stop it. I want to be able to come back into your house and curl up in your bed. I want to fit in your bed. I want everything to be back to normal. I don’t want to stick my head in the sand, like the ostrich in World Biology, Volume 1, as my body keeps changing and everything gets steadily scarier!”

  Zoe put her arms around Pipsqueak’s neck and hugged her, burying her face in the cat’s soft fur. “Okay. We’ll do it. Stay here while we talk to Surita.”

  As she walked across the lawn to the fence between her house and Harrison’s, Zoe rehearsed what she was going to say. Harrison hurried to keep pace with her, talking partly to her but mostly to himself: “Definitely need sleeping bags. If it isn’t going to rain, we can skip the tent, but if there’s any chance of rain . . . I’ll look at the weather. We’ll need canteens. Food. Trail mix. I think we can pack so it looks like we’re packing for summer camp, because camp. Figure on two days’ travel. I’ve never biked that much . . .”

  He was still babbling when they went inside his house, but he shut up by the time they found Surita, who was playing video games in the living room.

  “Surita . . .”  Zoe began.

  She held up a hand.

  They waited while she blasted a spaceship. She paused.

  “You’re back,” Surita said. “And you’re dressed. Don’t tell me. You need a ride somewhere. Well, the taxi service is off duty today. Sorry. It’s one thing to keep an eye on you. It’s another to be your chauffeur. I’m not being paid enough for that.”

  “Actually, it’s about summer camp . . .”  Zoe started again.

  “And a giant cat that’s hiding in Zoe’s shed,” Harrison burst out. “Zoe’s aunt says she knows about unusual animals and knows how to help them, and since a massive, horse-size cat is way unusual . . . Whoa, I shouldn’t have told you this way.”

  Surita was staring at him, halfway between confused and angry.

  Zoe jumped in. “Remember when we asked what you’d do if you found Bigfoot in your backyard? Yeah, that wasn’t just a random conversation. My cat . . . Well, it’s better if you come see.”

  Surita turned back to her game. “I hate pranks. Especially ones on me.”

  “It’s not a prank!” Harrison yelped.

  “Please, Surita,” Zoe begged. “Just come see. If we’re pranking you, then you can say you knew it all along. But if we’re not . . . Isn’t it worth it to see if we’re not? Real unexplained incredible thing on the other side of the fence?”

  They’d almost convinced her. Surita paused the game again.

  “She talks too,” Harrison added.

  Surita flopped back and resumed playing.

  Zoe took a deep breath and stepped in front of the TV screen. “Come out this once, and we promise we’ll leave you to play in peace and won’t ask for any rides anywhere the rest of the summer.”

  “No more taxi service?” Surita said.

  “Promise. Unless you want to, which you might.”

  Sighing, Surita tossed the controller onto the couch, then followed them outside. Zoe felt so nervous that she had to keep herself from running full tilt to the shed. She shot a look at the house to make sure all her family were safely away from the windows. The cars weren’t in the driveway. Everyone must have left for work.

  Zoe and Harrison led Surita to the shed.

  “I feel like there should be a drumroll,” Harrison said.

  Zoe knocked on the shed door. “Pipsqueak, it’s me! I
t’s safe!” She opened the door . . . and the shed was empty. What— No! She searched it, though that took three seconds, looking inside the boxes and behind the potter’s wheel.

  In the doorway, Surita was tapping her foot.

  Slowly turning back to face her, Zoe opened her mouth to say she didn’t know where—and she saw Pipsqueak on the roof of the house. Wordless, she pointed behind Surita.

  Harrison turned. So did Surita.

  “Whoa,” Surita said.

  “So you’ll help us?” Harrison asked.

  Staring at the massive cat sunbathing across half the shingles, Surita nodded. “Oh, yeah.”

  * * *

  Getting a ladder out, they all climbed onto the roof. It wasn’t a bad place to hide, Zoe thought. On the back of the house, Pipsqueak wasn’t visible from the road or from any of the other houses.

  “She’s not dangerous?” Surita whispered.

  Pipsqueak opened her eyes and said, “Are you?”

  Surita gaped at her.

  “She’s not,” Zoe answered both of them.

  “Except if you disagree with Surita on DC versus Marvel,” Harrison added.

  As Surita squatted on the shingles, her eyes sparkled as if she had unshed tears in them. “I knew . . . Not this, but I knew something like this . . . There had to be. She’s beautiful.”

  Zoe smiled. She felt proud, as if she’d had anything to do with Pipsqueak’s magnificence. “Yes, she is. The plan is to sneak away to my aunt’s while our parents think we’re with you at camp.”

  “Solid plan,” Surita approved, “or at least the start of one. How far is your aunt’s house?”

  “One hundred fifty miles,” Harrison answered.

  “And you need me to drive. Got it. Few hours up, a few hours back, done in a day. Except camp will notice if we’re gone for an entire day. What’s your plan for that?”

  “You are our plan for that,” Zoe said. “I’m sorry, but you can’t drive us.”

  Harrison nodded vigorously. “It’s essential that you go to camp, exactly like you’re supposed to, so you can cover for us.”