7 Hello, Kitty!

Chapter 7 Hello, Kitty! I jumped back. WAY back. "Hazel!" I cried. "That's a black cat!" "Well, duh," she said. "Black cats are bad luck!" "Roscoe," said Mom, "that's silly." "Uncle Ed says if a black cat walks in front of you, it's bad luck forever," I said. "Sweetie, Uncle Ed is my brother and I love him dearly," Mom said. "But he can be a little nutty sometimes. He's the only person I know who owns a pair of lucky underwear." "We call this kitty No-name," said Dan. He scratched the kitten behind her ears. You could hear her purring. It was an awfully nice sound to be coming from such an unlucky animal.

"We found her outside the front door yesterday morning," Dan said. "We're hoping someone will want to give her a good home." Hazel held out the kitty. No-name rubbed her head on my arm. "Somebody stop that thing!" I yelled. I hid behind my mom. That's what moms are for, after all. "Please calm down," Mom said. I peeked around Mom. "Why was she rubbing on me?" I asked. "She wanted to see what you'd taste like," said Max. "She was putting her scent on you," Mom explained.

I sniffed my hand. "I don't smell anything. Except my peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich from lunch." "You can't smell anything, but she can," said Mom. "And so can other cats. She's trying to say, 'Roscoe belongs to me.'" "Mom, can we take her home, please?" Hazel begged. "Pleasepleasepleaseplease?" "I'm not sure if Goofy would like that idea," said Mom. Goofy is our big white silly dog. I do not actually know what his opinion is on cats. "But Mom, she's so fuzzy and cute!" Hazel cried. "I'll think about it," Mom said. Hazel kissed the kitty's face. "Hazel," I warned, "you're going to have bad-luck germs all over you." "It's time for us to go, Roscoe," said Mom. "Did you make your guess about the pumpkin's weight?" The kitten made a little squeaky mewsound. "What was that?" I demanded.

"She's putting a curse on you," Max said. But he said it too quietly for Mom to hear him. I grabbed Mom's arm. "Mom, I really think we should get out of here," I said. I didn't care about the books for the school anymore. Or even the candy for my stomach. Not with that bad-luck kitty around.