Chapter Nine

When we get home, I can’t help thinking how cool it’d be to volunteer at Dr. Mac’s. But I shake the thought from my head because after all my arguments with Maggie, I’m sure it’s impossible. I’ll volunteer at the local shelter instead. Of course now Josh and I have to focus on our Chewie plan. We’ve got just a few minutes before dinner, so we have to figure out our best strategy. Sophie won’t leave Josh’s room, so we have to let her in on the plan, too.

“I can keep a secret!” Sophie promises.

“You’d better! Now, Jules, step one,” Josh says. “Your adorable rabbit is now named Cuddles.”

“Sounds good. Cuddles it is,” I reply.

“Step two,” Josh says. “We write a permission note all ready and easy for signing, except we avoid using Cuddles’s old name or her new name. Okay?”

“Okay,” I say.

Josh types the permission note on his computer and prints it out.

 

Dear Mr. Hart,

Our daughter, Julia Darrow, has permission to adopt the science classroom rabbit. We understand that owning a pet is a big responsibility, and will supervise Julia as she takes care of the rabbit.

   Thank you for providing the cage, litter box, and water bottle.

Sincerely,

John and Lynn Darrow

 

“Do you really think we can get Mom and Dad to sign it?” I ask.

“That’s step three,” Josh says. “Just leave it to me, but have the note and a pen nearby during dinner. We’ll wait for a good moment, and then I’ll bring it up. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” I say. “And Sophie, don’t say anything, okay?”

“Okay,” Sophie says. Sophie loves being in on a secret, but she usually blows it. I hope she can keep quiet tonight.

• • • • •

During dinner Mom and Dad talk about the details of opening the hardware store.

“We can’t have any spots on the miniature roses at the cash register,” Mom says.

“I know, no spots,” Dad says.

“After all, the store is called Wrenches and Roses, so the roses have to be perfect.”

“Right,” Dad says. Even Dad is looking tired and stressed. He’s got bags under his eyes. He needs more sleep.

I keep looking at Josh, but he shakes his head, telling me the time is not right to bring up Chewie—I mean Cuddles.

“Good pasta, Mom,” Josh finally says. “May I have more, please?”

“Of course,” Mom says. “Help yourself.”

We’re getting nowhere, and dinner is almost over.

“Want to hear about my new school?” Sophie asks.

I shake my head, but Josh says, “Sure.”

“We have a pet rat named Ratty,” Sophie says.

“Huh,” Mom says. “That’s an interesting animal for a classroom. Some people think rats are pests, not pets. By the way”—she turns to my dad—“did you order rat traps to carry in the store?”

Dad nods, and Sophie frowns. She looks like she is about to cry. Poor Sophie. I want to take her mind off what I’m sure she is picturing—her classroom pet stuck in a trap. Ugh. So I try to think how to bring up the topic of another classroom pet—Chewie.

I lean toward Sophie, and the pen in my pocket pokes me in the leg. “My science teacher wants me to adopt the classroom rabbit,” I blurt out. Josh looks at me like I’m crazy.

What was I thinking? I should have left this to Josh, but I keep going. “He said the rabbit needs a new home, so I should give it a try. We’d be doing Mr. Hart a favor.”

Josh and Sophie stare at me wide-eyed. Mom and Dad stop eating and stare at me, too.

“He said he would give us the cage and water bottle and litter box, too,” I say, “so that won’t cost us a thing. I can buy rabbit food with my allowance, and we already have fresh produce like bits of lettuce and carrot nubs we’d be throwing out anyway.”

Mom and Dad look at each other.

“Did you already tell your teacher yes?” Mom asks.

“I told him I would ask,” I say. That’s mostly true.

“You promised we could get a pet,” Sophie says. “Please! Pretty please with hopping bunnies on top!”

“A rabbit would be a whole lot better than a rat,” Josh says.

Dad laughs and looks at Mom. “I think we’re outnumbered.”

Mom does not seem convinced. She sighs. “How big is this rabbit, and where would we put him?”

“Her,” I say. “She’s really small, a dwarf with lop ears. She’s used to being indoors in her cage. So Sophie and I can keep her in our room. Later, maybe I can build her an agility corral in the basement, once we clean it up. You’re going to love her, Mom. She’s got the softest brown and white fur. Plus, she’s litter-box trained. And when Dad and I build some planter boxes filled with roses for the front of the store, the rabbit droppings will make good compost. We could even sell the compost in the store.” I try not to twist the permission note under the table.

“Caring for a pet is a big responsibility,” Mom says.

“I know. I’ll take care of her, Mom, I promise. You won’t have to do a thing.”

“I’ll help,” Josh says.

“Me too,” says Sophie.

“She’s totally adorable,” I say. “I just know she’ll be a really great family pet!”

“What is this adorable rabbit’s name?” Mom asks.

“Cuddles,” Josh, Sophie, and I say in unison.

Dad winks at me.

Mom looks at Dad. “We did promise a pet,” Mom says. “But I think we should try it on a one-week trial basis. If you take good care of her, do all your other chores, and keep up with your schoolwork, you can keep her.”

I pull the folded permission note and pen from under the table.

“What’s this?” Mom says.

“A permission letter. You have to sign it, and we have to pick up Ch— er, Cuddles—tomorrow after school.”

Mom and Dad both read the letter.

Josh is smiling. Sophie claps and says, “Yippee, we’re getting a bunny.”

“Wait a sec,” Mom says, taking the note and pen. “Before we all start celebrating . . .”

She signs the note then adds:

 

P.S. We’d like to have Cuddles join us for a one-week trial basis. If that is agreeable to you, we will pick up Cuddles, her cage, and supplies on Tuesday afternoon.

Thank you.

 

Mom adds our phone number to the note and hands it back to me.

My heart flip-flops as I read it. What if Mr. Hart doesn’t like our giving Chewie a new name? What if he decides just to send her to a foster home instead? Josh stands up and gives Mom and Dad a hug. So do Sophie and I.

“Nothing’s going to go wrong,” Josh says. “You won’t regret it.”

Sophie hops around the kitchen, singing, “Yay, yay, yay!”

Mom sighs again. “I think I regret it already,” she says, but she says it with a big smile. I feel like singing yay, too, but instead I take the note and say, “Thanks, Mom and Dad. You’re going to love Cuddles.”

But I think, One week. I have to keep everything perfect for just one week.