Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17 "Why is there a cat stuck in my floor?" Michael, back from school, looked around his room. Mr. Nemesis was the only animal in sight. "Merle? Pearl?" Michael whispered, concerned. Not hearing a response, he ran

over and unplugged Mr. Nemesis from the vent. "What did you do with them?!" Michael demanded, holding the disgruntled cat at eye level. "Grrrrr," Mr. Nemesis growled. "Bad kitty," Michael scolded. "We're in here!" Merle called out from the vent. Hearing Merle's voice, Mr. Nemesis tried to squirm free. Michael ran to the door and tossed him into the hallway, slamming his door shut before the cat could pounce back in. THUD! "Mrrrrr!" could be heard on the other side of the door. With the coast clear, Merle and Pearl popped their heads out of the vent. "We have got to do something about these living arrangements," Merle complained. "So? How did you do?" Pearl asked Michael eagerly. Michael frowned. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper with a sigh. "What?!" Pearl gasped. "I was sure that you—" She stopped as Michael handed her the test results. She stared at a big, fat 98 next to a big smiley face.

Michael cracked up. "Got you!" he said. "Ohhhhh!" Pearl scowled. "Don't scare me like that!" "It was a hard test, but studying paid off! Ms. McKay took 15 points off for the retake, which means I got an 83 —an official B! Now that $10 is mine, and I can pay Justin back with $5 to spare!" "That's a lot of math right there," Merle noted. "A good grade on your test is the best reward, but $10 is a nice incentive," Pearl said. "When you work hard, you prosper!"

"You know what this means, right?" Michael asked Merle. "Skee-Ball and skating to celebrate!" "Woo-hoo!" Merle hollered. Michael and the squirrels circled up and did a happy dance in the middle of the room. Suddenly, the door opened. Michael spun around to look, worried that Mr. Nemesis had figured out how to open it. No. Worse. Much worse. It was Michael's mom, staring in disbelief at her son happy dancing with two rodents. Justin and Sadie stood directly behind her, mouths hanging open.

"AHHHHH!!!" Mrs. Gomez screamed. Before she could collect herself, Justin asked, "You guys ready to go skating?" Michael knew he needed to act fast before his mom started asking questions. "Mom, can I go?" Mrs. Gomez, in shock, simply nodded her head as Michael stuffed the squirrels into his backpack and headed out.