Dad was pacing up and down the kitchen when I got home He was talking into the phone and looking worried.

‘I’m going out of my mind! What if she’s run away? I’ve been working so hard recent— Oh, thank goodness, she’s just come in. Look, I’ll call you back.’

He threw the phone down on to the table and ran over to me I was horrified to see it looked as though he’d been crying. I felt a wave of sickness surge into my throat.

Oh no I’d told him I was going to Jazz’s and he’d found out I hadn’t gone there after all.

I closed my eyes and prepared to be screamed at, but instead I felt Dad’s arms around me and I was scooped up in a massive bear hug.

‘Where have you been?’ he mumbled into my shoulder.

‘I, er, we went out for a walk,’ I said.

Dad set me back down.

‘In the rain? Bertie, look at me,’ he said, lifting up my chin and staring directly into my eyes. ‘Tell me the truth.’

This was pants. I hated lying to Dad. But then I thought, maybe I didn’t have to lie any more? After all,it wasn’t as if I’d been getting up to anything bad. I’d only been feeding a cat and two hamsters. OK, so one of them nearly became a hamster sandwich, but he didn’t have to know that. Still, I didn’t relish the thought of explaining just why I had decided to look after other people’s pets. Because I’m lonely and you won’t let me have a pet of my own, Dad . . . I didn’t think that would exactly cheer him up. I decided to keep it simple.

‘I’m sorry,’ I muttered. ‘Jazz and I had a fight, and I went off in a huff.’

‘What’s the matter with you two these days? That’s the second fight you’ve had in as many days,’ Dad said sadly. ‘Anyway, why didn’t you come home and tell me all about it? You’re too young to be wandering the streets alone.’

I smiled and shook my head. ‘Wandering the streets!’ Made me sound like some kind of smelly tramp or something.

That was when Dad snapped. ‘Don’t you smile at me, young lady! I’ve been beside my self! I’ve rung round everyone I could think of and I was about to call the police – you’ve been gone hours! You could at least have called me.’

And then I flipped too. I don’t know whether it was the tangled feeling of guilt in my head, or the fact that Dad had just shouted at me, but all of a sudden I heard myself shout back, ‘Called you? And you would have picked up the phone, would you? Cos the way I see it, you don’t make any contact with the outside world unless it’s to do with your horrible job! And you know what? I’m GLAD you’ve been worried about me. I’m glad you’ve actually noticed I exist for once! Why do you think I didn’t come home right away? Do you think I’d want to discuss my personal problems with someone who has a closer relationship with his LAPTOP than he does with his own daughter?’ I was shaking with fury.

Dad’s jaw had dropped so far open I could see his fillings and the dangly thing at the back of his throat. I turned and ran up to my room and slammed the door shut as hard as I could. My head was tight and my eyes stung. I was so angry I thought I might choke.

I should have felt bad for yelling at Dad like that, especially when deep, deep down I knew he was right to have a go at me. And I’d lied to him. But I couldn’t hear any of those little voices in my head telling me to calm down and apologize. There was a louder voice drowning them out, telling me I had every right to be livid with everybody and everything. Including myself.

Why hadn’t I told Dad about the Pet-Sitting Service when I’d first had the idea? He might have given me marks out of ten for initiative. Better than that, he might have realized the reasons behind it and started acting like a real dad for once. But it was too late now . He was furious with me. If I went downstairs and told him the truth, he’d probably only go on about how irresponsible it was to go ahead and start up the business without his permission, and then he would rant and rave about how unsafe it was to be going into other people’s houses on my own. So I did the only thing a girl can do in such circumstances – I climbed the ladder up to my bed, buried my head in my pillow and finally let the tears loose, sobbing until my face ached.

I heard Dad come and knock gently on my door at one point, but I couldn’t bear the thought of having to talk to him, so I pulled my pillow over my head and snuggled down into my duvet. It was getting dark outside now. I just wanted the day to end and for sleep to creep over me so that I didn’t have to think about cats or hamsters or best friends. Or dads.

Eventually my tear-sore eyes started to feel heavy, and the thoughts racing around my head slowed to a numb, cotton-woolly feeling. I was almost asleep when a soft thud on the foot of my bed jerked me fully awake again. I jolted from the duvet and saw the silhouette of something pacing near my feet. I went cold and felt a scream rising in my throat when I heard:

‘Purrrrr – don’t get stressy, it’s only me.’

‘Kaboodle!’ I gulped at the dryness in my mouth. ‘You frightened the life out of me.’

‘The window was open.’ The kitten walked up the bed and nuzzled his soft little head against my arm.

I pushed him away roughly. ‘I’m cross with you,’ I snapped.

Kaboodle mewed indignantly. ‘Why? I gave you a perfectly good explanation about that tailless rodent, didn’t I?’

‘This isn’t about the hamster,’ I said. ‘Well, it is – but it’s mostly about Dad getting cross with me, and he wouldn’t have done if I’d been with Jazz, and I wasn’t with Jazz because – OOH!’ I shook my head. My brain was a nest of wasps.

Kaboodle sidled up to me again and purred loudly. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll fix it,’ he announced. ‘Isn’t that what friends are for?’

‘All right,’ I said reluctantly, and slid back down under the duvet. Then I remembered that I hadn’t bothered getting out of my jeans before leaping into bed and bawling my eyes out earlier. ‘Are you staying tonight?’ I asked Kaboodle, as I got changed into my Snoopy PJs.

‘I’ll stay for a bit. Got things to do, places to go, people to see,’ he replied cryptically. ‘I’ll wait till you go to sleep, though.’

‘That’d be nice.’ I stretched and yawned and then hopped back into bed. Kaboodle nestled into the crook of my knees and curled into a tiny ball.

‘Night, then,’ he whispered.

‘Yeah. Ni-night,’ I answered.

I woke up, my heart pounding. It was Monday and I would have to face Jazz at school. I really hoped she had gone out and done something nice with her family last night so that she would have forgotten about our row. I also had to face Dad, of course. I wished I had let him come in last night so that we could have made up.

I climbed down from my bed feeling a bit shaky and poked around in the half-light to find my purple furry slippers that are kind of like little boots and are super-snuggly. Kaboodle hadn’t been able to close the window after him during the night, of course, so the room was like an igloo now. October was just around the corner, and the mornings were getting a lot nippier. I wasn’t about to pad around in bare feet, that was for sure.

At last I found the slippers, under a magazine I’d forgotten about. I picked it up and leafed idly through the photos while I slid my feet into the slippers.

‘AAARGH!’

There was something small and squidgy in the end!

I shrieked and kicked the offending slipper across the room, and out flew something small, grey and furry with a very long tail.

‘A MOUSE!’ I screamed. ‘A MOUSE! THERE’S A MOUSE IN MY SLIPPER!’

Dad threw my door open and ran over to me. ‘What? It’s all right, Bertie. Stop screaming!’ he said, putting his hands firmly on my shoulders. ‘That’s it, deep breaths. My word, I thought someone had got into your room. Why’s your window open?’

I breathed heavily in and out, and held on to Dad’s arms to stop myself from falling over. I had never fainted before in my life, but then I’d never found a mouse in my slipper before either.

‘There – was – a – mouse – in – my – slipper,’ I panted, pointing to the corner of the room where the small grey rodent lay, its eyes wide open, its paws held up to its face. It actually looked more frightened than me, but I wasn’t yet in a fit state to start feeling sorry for it.

‘Good grief!’ said Dad, bending down. And then he did something so gross – he picked it up by its tail!

I screamed again.

‘It’s all right,’ said Dad, holding out his free hand in what he must have thought was a calming gesture. ‘This little guy isn’t going anywhere any more.’ He didn’t sound convinced, though, and he was grimacing as if he wasn’t entirely sure that the mouse wasn’t about to wriggle back to life in his hand.

‘I’ll just get rid of it, and then I’ll have a look round your room and check there aren’t any others,’ he said, walking out of the door.

I sat down heavily on the edge of my bed and put my head in my hands. Could things get any worse? I wondered. First Mr Smythe’s hamster, now this. What would that cat think of next?

‘Kaboodle?’ I whispered, going over to the window. ‘Are you out there?’

Nothing.

‘Kaboodle – was that mouse from you?’ I said a bit louder. ‘Because if it was I’ll—’

‘Who are you talking to, Bertie?’

I jumped and swivelled round like a cat on hot coals. Dad had come back into the room, and was brushing his hands together as if he was trying to get rid of something dirty. He half smiled, half frowned at me.

‘Hey, I know the mouse was a shock,’ he said soothingly. ‘But it’s gone now. Maybe a cat got in through your window—’

‘No!’ I cut in.

‘OK,’ said Dad slowly. He turned his head slightly and looked at me with a concerned expression. ‘You look a bit grey around the gills, Bertie. Listen, I’m working from home today. Why don’t you stay off school and have a rest?’

Wow, that sounded tempting. But I had to face Jazz sooner or later.

‘No, no, it’s OK. I was just shocked. It’s all right,’ I said hastily. ‘But – er – could you just check to see there are no more mice, like you said?’

Dad smiled and nodded. I waited until he was on his hands and knees, looking under the bed, and then I turned back to the window. I peered out into the garden, but it was still quite dark and misty. I tried looking in the treetops too, but I couldn’t see anything. Certainly not a little black and white kitten.

I glanced over my shoulder at Dad. ‘So. Any more?’ I asked.

‘No,’ said Dad cautiously. ‘Maybe it was just the one. Do you want to sleep in my room tonight, though – just in case?’

Sleep in Dad’s room? What a nightmare! For a start, I knew he snored, and anyway, what would Kaboodle do if he came in and found I wasn’t in my bed?

I laughed shakily. ‘No thanks, Dad. .’spect you’re right. Anyway, if I find another one, I’ll probably scream again, and then you can come and sort it out!’

‘Cheeky!’ said Dad, punching me gently on the shoulder. ‘Well, if you’re going to school, you’d better get a move on – it’s seven thirty already. I suppose I’m going to have to give you a lift.’

Only seven thirty. I had a feeling it was going to be a very long day.