Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19 Pearl absolutely loved the new supersized hamster home Mrs. Gomez had made for her and Merle. "This is just lovely, Mrs. Gomez!" Pearl marveled as everyone gathered in Michael's room (everyone except Mr. Nemesis, of course).

"I'm so happy you like it, Pearl. Welcome home!" Mrs. Gomez said. "Yes. Welcome home," Merle repeated. "It's good to have you back. You had us worried there for a while." "Believe me, I was worried too!" Pearl said. "Who is that man, and what does he want with Merle and me?" "He wants to bring you back to the Dead Sea to sell you to a collector," Dr. Gomez said. "We don't want to go back to the Dead Sea!" Merle pleaded. "You know we're not even from there?" Pearl added. "It's no place for squirrels." "It's too hot, too dry, and waaaaay too salty!" Merle added. "We like it much better here!" "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the squirrels, Dad," Michael apologized. "I'm sorry, Pearl— if I would have let my dad know about you and Merle sooner, maybe you wouldn't have gotten into so much of a mess." "Maybe not," Pearl said. "But it's always best to tell the whole story. The whole truth." Michael nodded. "Speaking of which..." Pearl looked at Michael.

Michael knew it was time to come clean. "Yeah, I know." He turned to his parents and sister. "Mom, Dad, Jane— I broke the elephant table. I was playing soccer in the house and accidentally knocked it over with the ball. I glued it back together, and it was still drying when Jane put her cupcake on it." "My cupcake didn't break the elephant?" Jane asked, shocked. "How could a cupcake break an elephant?" Dr. Gomez asked. "I assumed Jane was playing with the ball in the house." Mrs. Gomez hugged Jane. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you, sweetie." "Well, it was me playing ball in the house," Michael said. "I should have told you what really happened, but I didn't want to get in trouble." "So you let your sister get in trouble instead?" Mrs. Gomez gave him a look. "Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry, Jane. I'm sorry, Mom." Michael hung his head. "I'm grounded, right?" "He's such a smart boy," Justin joked. "Figured that one out all on his own." Sadie grinned.

Dr. Gomez laughed. "Right. Grounded until further notice. It'll give you a chance to think about what can happen when you don't tell the whole truth." "Yes, sir," Michael said. "And we all need to think about how we're going to keep Pearl and Merle safe," Mrs. Gomez said. "Harboring two-thousand-year-old talking squirrels smuggled out of a foreign country is a big deal, and we've got a lot to figure out. We've all got to watch our steps!" Outside Michael's window, unseen by anyone in the room, a white Toyota rolled slowly down the street.

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