Catboy - Eric Walters [16]
“Does anybody ever come here to adopt one of the cats, to make it a pet?” I asked.
“Oh, no, never. That would not be possible.”
“Why not?”
“These cats are not pets. They are too wild,” he said.
“What about if somebody took a kitten?”
“When they are very little, they need to be with their mother to survive. When they are older, they are already too wild. They can never be pets. Never.”
I knew he was right, but still.
Nine
I put up a shot and it bounced off the rim. Simon, who was short but like a bulldog, grabbed the rebound and put it back up for a basket. That was game.
“Good game,” Devon said as he gave Simon a slap on the back.
We tapped hands with both Alexander and Devon. They were good losers, and we were good winners. No point in being jerks about it or trash talking. They were just as likely to win the next game as us. Besides, when you put down the people you play against, you’re just putting yourself down as well.
“Taylor!”
My mom was walking toward us, smiling and waving. I looked at my watch. I’d lost track of the time because I was so preoccupied with the game. I should have gone up and done a little bit more work around the apartment, but still, it was in pretty good shape.
“Hey, Taylor’s mom,” Simon said.
“Hello, Taylor’s friend, Simon,” she said. “And Taylor’s other friends, Devon and Alexander.”
I could tell she liked my new friends and was particularly fond of Simon. But why wouldn’t she like them? They were polite guys and worked hard at school.
I knew she’d been worried about the new friends I would make, and my grandparents had been worried even more. I guess when all you know about Toronto is what appears on the nightly news, you could get the impression a lot of bad things happen here. But none of that stuff happened at my school or in my building.
“I was just heading up to the apartment,” I said.
“Stay if you want, and I’ll get supper on the table.”
“The potatoes are peeled and sitting in water,” I said.
I had discovered I didn’t have to hide the fact that I helped my mom out, because the other guys all helped around their places too.
“You are such a sweetheart. And those will go very well with what I have right here.”
She held up one of the plastic bags she was carrying. Peeking out the top was a KFC box!
“I thought I smelled something special,” I said, but what I thought was, Do we have enough money for that?
“This is a special meal for a special celebration,” she said. “Or at least a potential celebration.”
“What are we celebrating?” I asked.
“Yeah, what are we celebrating?” Simon added. “And by the way, if you need somebody else to do the celebration eating, I could be persuaded to eat some KFC.”
“Count me in too!” Devon exclaimed.
“And me,” Alexander added.
“You are all most welcome to join us for a meal, another time. Tonight I only bought enough for two.”
“So what are we celebrating?” I asked.
“Technically, nothing yet. I have to discuss it with you first,” she said.
“With me?” Now I was equal parts curious and worried. “What is it?”
“Nothing bad, so don’t worry. Let’s talk about it over dinner.”
“In that case, we should go straight upstairs and eat. I’m hungry,” I said.
“Hungry or curious?” she asked.
“Can’t somebody be both?”
“Then let’s go,” she agreed.
I said my goodbyes to the guys and we started off.
“Sure you don’t want me along?” Simon yelled. “I don’t eat much!”
My mother laughed, and it made me smile. I took one of the bags from her.
“How was school today?” she asked.
“Not bad. Actually it was muy bien. At least, that’s what I’d say if I was talking to somebody who was Spanish,” I said.
“Très bien is what I’d say back to somebody who was French,” she said.
“Mr. Spence likes when we try different languages.”
My mother went to put her key in the lobby door of our apartment building, but I pulled it open.
“It’s busted again,” I said.
“So much for security. Would it be too much to ask that we could have