Chapter 4: Home at last

    "Cassia! How was school, hun'?"

Mom smiled and hung her keys up on the key rack which was really a wood slate with plastic prongs hot-glued on, made by me in the 2nd grade.

"Good." I answered, which was what I said everyday when she asked me. I dropped my backpack on the kitchen floor and took a seat near the counter and grabbed a slice of bread on the plate. 

"Hungry?" Mom asked and lifted the sink handle to wash her hands.

Why else would I be eating?

"Yeah, Mom."

"You know, down in Coopersville,"

Again with the boring work stories...

"I had the most amazing time!" Mom continued.

She then rested her head on her hand in a "thinking" sort of way and looked up at the ceiling in the "thinking" kind of way and began talking.

What was she looking at?

"After the big meeting, and boring charts, there was this guy sitting at the table in front of me, he asked me out for coffee! We went to a Chingee's and had a great time."

 In case you didn't know, Chingee's is a big coffee-cafe-restaurant place. It's huge, which is why it's divided into three sections. There's a couple all around where I lived, yet we rarely went to eat at one.

"Who's the guy?" I asked curiously and finished up the last of my bread.

"His name's Hank, Hank Neil."

"Sounds like a dapper guy." I said.

"What?"

"Nothing."

I left the conversation and dragged my bag upstairs to finish up my "streak of light" essay which was due in three weeks. Entering the room, it seemed, different. 

The light blue walls were the same, my bed was a bit messier than I remembered, my rainbow carpet was aligned straightly matching the wood tiles. Although my wood desk, the papers were scattered all about, some under the dresser beside it. My pencils were dumped on the floor along with the cup that held them. 

Then I saw the culprit.

"Leeeeelllaaaaaa!" I yelled.

Lela was my cat, her full name was Lela Chocolate-cupcake Minisnout Cuteypie Juiceapple, named by me when I was barely 6. 

Lela was a Birman cat and always curiously snooping around my room whenever the door was open a CRACK or someone had not tightly shut the door.

My cat was in a sitting position on the top of my dresser after climbing my lamp--which knocked over the pencils-- and claiming it's rightful spot as Queen of Cassia's Room.

"Lela, you get down here right now!" 

Meeoooowwww

"Don't you play that sassy tone with me, missy! You get here right now before I-"

What was I doing?

I'm talking to a cat who can't even understand me and spends her free time licking who knows where?

I kicked my backpack to the side of my bed and ran over to the study section of my room. I stood on top of a chair and leaned over to the top of the tall dresser. 

Lela gave a sharp hiss and made a 5 star leap to the floor and landed flat on her feet. She ran out of the room and I heard her sharp claws go tap tap tap on the wood tiled floor. 

I sighed, Lela you nuisance...

~

    I finished up my math and science homework, world history homework was to study, which to most kids, including me, meant "Yay! No homework!"

I broke out my large five inch binder and flipped through the pages until I reached my "streak of light essay and began to get to work.

Half way there, I heard a "SKHAAAAAAACCCCCKKKK!" noise. My eyes darted to the door where the sound came from.

Hairball.

"Leee-laaaaa!!!"