Catboy - Eric Walters [0]
CATBOY
ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS
Copyright © 2011 Eric Walters
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Walters, Eric, 1957-
Catboy [electronic resource] / Eric Walters.
Type of computer file: Electronic monograph in PDF format.
Issued also in print format.
ISBN 978-1-55469-954-4
I. Title.
PS8595.A598C38 2011a JC813’.54 C2011-902092-0
First published in the United States, 2011
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011925029
Summary: The wild cat colony Taylor has been caring for is at risk of being destroyed, and in order to save it, Taylor will need the help of all his friends.
Orca Book Publishers is dedicated to preserving the environment and has printed this book on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council®.
Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
Design by Teresa Bubela
Cover photography by iStockphoto.com
Typeset by Nadja Penaluna
ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS
PO Box 5626, Stn. B PO Box 468
Victoria, BC Canada Custer, WA USA
V8R 6S4 98240-0468
www.orcabook.com
Printed and bound in Canada.
14 13 12 11 • 4 3 2 1
To all the young readers of the Toronto District School Board who contributed to the creation of the book—with a very special thanks to Jaime, who was the first to read and give feedback, and who ultimately became a character in the story.
Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Author’s Note
One
I kicked the rock, and it skittered across the street and pinged off the undercarriage of a car parked on the other side of the road.
Simon laughed. “Nice shot, Taylor.”
“I wasn’t trying to hit it.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s not your car anyway.”
He was right. It wasn’t my car, just like it wasn’t my house or my school or my neighborhood or my friends. Nothing was mine anymore. Nothing was the same.
“Want to hang out when we get home?” he asked.
“Don’t you have homework?”
“I have to finish it before my parents get home, but that won’t be till really late,” he said.
Both of Simon’s parents worked. They owned a convenience store, but they also had a cleaning business. Most of the time they were at the store. After hours, in the evenings and on the weekends, they cleaned shops and banks. They worked a lot.
“Before I do anything, I need to go home and get something to eat,” I said. “I’m starving.”
I did want to grab some food. I also wanted to set the table, peel some potatoes for supper and maybe tidy up and do the breakfast dishes. It made it easier for my mom when she got home. She also worked a lot and was always tired when she got home. It made her smile when I helped out.
Our move to the city had been hard for me, but I think it was harder for her. I liked to try to make her life a little easier. I didn’t mind helping, but I didn’t want Simon to know that was what I was going home to do. I knew there was nothing wrong with helping around the house, but I didn’t know if Simon would think it was stupid or lame. I didn’t have many friends, and the ones I did have hadn’t been my friends for very long, so I didn’t want to risk losing them.
My new school was very different from my old one, but so far I liked the differences—at least, I was learning to like them. There were twenty-seven kids in my class,