Cuddles grunted again, wheezing loudly, excitedly.
He pushed the cage wires aside.
Then he started to squeeze his big, fur-covered body through the opening.
What do I do? Evan frantically asked himself.
What do I do now?
Cuddles is escaping!
“So what did you do?” Andy asked.
They were sitting together in the tall grass of the tiny park, watching the brown creek trickle past. The late afternoon sun felt warm on their backs. Crickets chirped in the trees behind them.
Three boys rolled past on bikes on the other side of the creek, heading home from school. One of them waved to Evan. He didn’t wave back.
Andy wore a bright red sleeveless T-shirt over white denim jeans. She had slipped off her yellow sneakers and was digging her bare feet into the soft ground.
“So what did you do?” she repeated.
Evan picked up a hard clump of dirt and tossed it into the creek. Then he leaned back, his hands planted firmly behind him on the ground.
“I got a dog leash,” he told Andy. “In the supply closet.”
Andy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Murphy keeps a dog leash? What for?”
Evan shrugged. “He has all kinds of junk back there.”
“So you put the leash on Cuddles?”
“Yeah,” Evan told her. “He was just the right size. As big as a dog. Maybe a little bigger.”
“As big as Trigger?” Andy demanded.
Evan nodded. “Then I tied the other end to the leg of Murphy’s desk—and I ran out of there as fast as I could.”
Andy laughed. But she cut it short when she caught Evan’s angry glare. “What happened when you went to science class?” she asked, turning back to the creek.
“I didn’t,” Evan muttered.
“Huh?”
“I didn’t go,” Evan said softly. “I was afraid to go. I didn’t want Murphy to start blaming me in front of everyone.”
“So you cut class?” Andy asked, startled.
Evan nodded.
“So what did you do?” Andy asked. She pulled up a handful of the tall grass and let it sift through her fingers.
“I sneaked out and came here,” Evan replied, frowning.
“Everyone was talking about Cuddles all day,” Andy reported. Her dark eyes flashed. She couldn’t keep an amused grin off her face. “Everyone had to go in and see him. The stupid hamster practically caused a riot!”
“It isn’t funny,” Evan murmured.
“It’s kind of funny!” Andy insisted. “Mr. Murphy was bragging that Cuddles could beat up any other hamster in the country. He said he was going to try to get Cuddles on TV!”
“Huh?” Evan jumped to his feet. “You mean Mr. Murphy wasn’t upset?”
“I heard that he was at first,” Andy replied thoughtfully. “But then I guess he got used to Cuddles being so big. And he was acting kind of proud. You know. Like he had the biggest pumpkin at the fair or something. A blue-ribbon winner!” Andy snickered.
Evan kicked at the grass. “I know he’s going to blame me. I know it!”
“Everyone was feeding Cuddles carrots all day,” Andy said, not seeming to hear Evan’s unhappy wails. “The hamster ate the carrots whole. One big chomp. Then it made this really gross swallowing sound. It was a riot.”
“I can’t believe this!” Evan groaned. He lowered his eyes angrily to Andy. “Why did you do it? Why?”
Andy gazed up at him innocently. “I wanted to give you a laugh,” she replied.
“Huh? A laugh?” he shrieked.
“You were looking pretty down. I thought it might cheer you up.”
Evan let out an angry cry.
