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"T
I his place gives me the creeps," whispered Maude as she and Max let themselves into the waiting room of Dr. Carmody's veterinary clinic.
"Just think of it as a doctor's office," Max soothed. "Only here the patients are animals."
"Animals don't like me," Maude complained. "Look at that ferret over there. See the loathing in his eyes?"
"There's no loathing. It's not a ferret; it's a Beanie Baby. Now, pay attention. We've got a job to do, remember?"
Noreen started when she saw them. "Max!" She
looked at her watch, which told her that the boss's son was here during school hours. "We're not in trouble, are we?" She reached for the intercom.
"No—please," Max begged. "I don't want Dad to know I'm here. Listen—I need another black cat."
"This isn't a lending library, dear," the secretary pointed out. "We can't just come waltzing in here every time—"
"It's just for a couple of hours!" Max pleaded. "It's an emergency! We'll have him back before closing time!"
"Sorry, Max. We have no cats at all."
The intercom buzzed, and Max heard his father's voice. "Noreen, would you come in here, please. It's time to give Percy his shots."
"Coming, doctor." Noreen stood up. "We'd better get back to school," she warned, wagging a finger at Max. And she disappeared into the examining room.
Max checked his watch: 1:40. Katie Kates would be at school in twenty minutes.
"Will you look at this!" Maude exclaimed, nosing around behind Noreen's desk. "People lie right to your face! What kind of a world is this?" She bent over and picked up a pet carrier. "She said no cats. What's this—a pterodactyl?"
Max stared. There in the cage, fast asleep, was a black cat. “He's perfect!" he breathed.
"Let's go!" whispered Maude.
"No, wait." Max picked up a pen and scribbled a quick note on Noreen's Post-it pad: "Borrowed cat. Back soon—M."
The two hustled the carrier out the door and down the street.
It was 1:55 by the time they made it back to school. Sydni was at the door to greet them.
"You found him!" she cried in relief.
"Of course," said Maude. "Kind of. Well—not really."
"It's a backup cat," puffed Max, out of breath. "Katie Kates has never met the real Darth anyway."
"The TV people are already here," Sydni said nervously. "They took their equipment up to the library."
The three carried the new Darth upstairs. In the library, the NEWS-4 crew was setting up cameras and lights around Mrs. Gabriel's "Book Nook," which featured dozens of extralarge stuffed animals. Katie Kates herself sat in the librarian's rocking chair, going over her interview notes.
All the students from homeroom 604 gathered
around Max when they saw he had the carrier.
“Where were you guys?" demanded Paige.
Max shook his head. "Darth got out of the building somehow. We just managed to coax him back. He's pretty shaken up, so he may not seem like himself for a while."
Everyone watched as Max opened the carrier. The cat stirred, but made no move to leave the cage.
Maude stepped forward. "Come on, Darth," she cooed. "Rise and shine." She reached in and ruffled the black fur. There was an angry meow that was more like a snarl, and a paw that seemed slightly larger than the old Darth's appeared and took a swipe at her arm.
"Yeow!"
The soundman shot them a cockeyed look. "I thought you said he was friendly."
"He's just nervous," put in Sydni. "It must be the hot lights."
Katie Kates stood up. "I'm going to interview several of the kids, and we'll shoot some footage of Darth. Then we'll edit it together into six minutes for the news. Okay, let's start with the vet's son."
Max stepped forward. "Right here."
The reporter looked puzzled. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"I don't think so," Max said quickly.
The producer showed Max where to stand, opposite Katie Kates, and right next to an enormous stuffed zebra that was almost as tall as he was.
Katie spoke into the microphone. "I'm here with Max Carmody, a veterinarian's son who is the first of a long line of heroes in this heartwarming story. Max, how did you become aware of this poor, unloved, abandoned animal?"
"Well, I heard about Darth when I was working on my comedy routine. I'm a comedian, as you may know. ..."
At that moment, a silver-gray Volvo station wagon screeched to a halt in front of the school. Out leaped Dr. Jack Carmody. As he ran for the entrance, he was pulling on a pair of full-length armored gloves, specially designed for handling dangerous animals.
"My local appearances are at the Giggle Factory," Max went on.
"Let's get back to Darth," Katie Kates said through clenched teeth.
But Max was having trouble concentrating on the interview. He had one eye on the cage, where
his homeroom classmates were trying to coax Darth out the small opening with a Cat Yummy.
"Darth is the cat equivalent of a nice guy," Max said distractedly. "He wouldn't hurt a flea—of course, he doesn't have fleas!"
There was a sudden noise that fell somewhere between a meow and a shriek. A black blur exploded out of the carrier, shot across the room, and pounced on the plush zebra beside Max.
"And he's so gentle and—uh—lovable and—we really love him. . . ."
As Max babbled, the animal beside him began to dismantle the big toy in a cloud of stuffing.
He heard Amanda Locke's voice: "That doesn't look like Darth!"
In fact, thought Max, heart sinking, it didn't even look very much like a cat!
"Cut! Cut /" exclaimed Katie Kates, backing away. "What's wrong with the cat?"
"Isn't he adorable?" blustered Sydni. "He knows martial arts!"
"Sorry I'm late, everyone!" Big peered in from the hall.
"What have you done with our cat?" raged Sydni. "You didn't have the right to kidnap him just
because you think this is media exploitation!"
Big was astonished. "I changed my mind about that! I took him to the groomer so he'd look good on TV. See?"
The real Darth appeared at his feet. The black cat now sported a poodle cut.
Miss Munsinger spoke up. "Well, if that's Darth with Andrew—" She pointed to the dark shape at the center of the blizzard of zebra fluff, "then who's that!"
The attack on the zebra ceased abruptly, giving everyone a clear look at the imposter. He was a blue- black oversized kitten with yellow-green eyes, and a mouth at least twice the size of a regular cat.
"Everybody freeze!" came a command from behind Big. Dr. Carmody stalked into the room, holding his heavily gloved hands out in front of him in the manner of a sleepwalker.
"Hi, Dr. Carmody," said Maude nervously. "We found your cat."
"That's no cat!" the vet exclaimed. "It's a baby panther from the Tri-County Zoo!"
The words were barely out of his mouth when the animal sprang. Students, teachers, and film crew watched in horror as it sailed through the air, coming down right on top of Darth.