Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK! Someone was at Michael's door. Michael looked from the squirrels to his friends in panic. What if it's Mom? She would totally freak out! he thought. He grabbed a folded blanket from the foot of his bed and flung it over the squirrels. "Hey!" complained Merle. "Shhhhh!" Michael hushed. "Who is it?" he called out nervously.

"What are you guys doing?" asked Jane through the door. Michael relaxed slightly and cracked open the door to pop his head out. "Nothing."

Mr. Nemesis, still wearing the ridiculous baby bonnet Jane had dressed him in, took the opportunity to slip into the room. "No!" Michael chased after the cat as it headed to his backpack on the floor. Mr. Nemesis was curious if the scent from the night before was still there. Sniff, sniff. There was just a hint of the scent on the bag. Mr. Nemesis looked around the room suspiciously as Michael scooped him up and brought him back to the doorway. "Please keep your cat out of my room." Michael handed Mr. Nemesis to Jane and closed the door. "The bonnet still looks great!" Sadie called out to Jane as the door clicked shut. "Thank you!" Jane said cheerfully through the door. "Meow," Mr. Nemesis said grumpily. Michael looked at his friends. "You guys, we can't leave the squirrels here during the day. Jane only goes to preschool three days a week, and she'll be home on Monday." "What else are you going to do with them?" Justin asked. "I share a room with my sister," Sadie said. "I can't keep them." "Do we have any say in the matter?" Pearl called out from under the blanket.

"Oh! Sorry!" Michael took the blanket off the squirrels. Merle brushed blanket lint from his fur. "Not a fan of confined, dark spaces after our latest adventure," he said. "Sorry, Merle," Michael said. "But we can't let Jane, or Mr. Nemesis, or anyone know about you." "Why not?" asked Merle. "Um..." Michael thought about it. "I don't know. I'm just sure it would mean trouble." "What are we gonna do, then?" Justin asked. Michael shrugged. "All I know is that I can't leave them here while I'm gone." "So where will they go when you're in class?" asked Sadie. Michael looked over at his backpack, then took a deep breath and said, "I guess I'm taking them to school."