CHAPTER 3: Friends, Foes and Angels

It was the weekend and Sherlock took his brothers to the park. They had picked up Freckles and Sweet Pea, who was Tiger's brother, on the way.

Freckles sat her white body with brown spots on the swing while Boots pushed her. Her curled whiskers twitched as did her brown ears with every push.

“Wee” she said as the brown rings around her eyes made her brown eyes sparkle in the sunlight. Her right lip, with brown on it, curved upwards as she smiled. Sherlock thought that his brother and his Mini Rex bunny friend were having a lot of fun.

Sweet Pea was a brown Poodle puppy with curly hair. He and Rags were playing basketball nearby. They looked like they were also having fun while playing a game of one on one.

Sherlock sat on a bench enjoying the clear blue sky and the smell of the lilac bushes that were near by. His friends Charlie Silver and Kato Coollie were supposed to be joining him for a little fishing in the stream. Birds sung and flew about on what Sherlock felt was one of the most beautiful days he'd been to the park.

As he sat waiting for his friends, he saw something that almost seemed to glow. He blinked his eyes and twitched his nose. A cat, with the sun shining down on her fur, giving her an angelic look. She is beautiful, he thought. Her fluffy white-tan fur and dark brown face and legs made her beautiful blue eyes stand out even more. She wore a midnight blue ribbon between her ears. Sherlock wasn't sure if he was seeing correctly but it looked as though the ribbon had a crescent moon with stars on it.

He stood up to get a better view and hands pushed him from behind almost causing him to fall into the water. Behind him was a brown and white Bulldog named Bruto Bulldog and a Gray Siamese cat named Chauncy Whiskerton. Sherlock was sure it was Bruto's beefy paws that pushed him.

“Hey! What's the big idea?” Sherlock asked.

“You were looking at my girl,” Chauncy sneered. Bruto just chuckled in his deep voice.

“Your girl?” Sherlock asked. He found it hard to believe that such an angelic looking cat would be dating someone like Chauncy. The girl continued walking until she was out of sight.

“Has your dad taught you to meow yet?” Chauncy asked with a laugh.

Bruto who was not very bright and a bit of a follower, laughed too. Sherlock glared at them. He hated it when they teased him about not being able to meow. He didn't know why he couldn't meow; he just wasn't able too. He tried many times to meow, but it would only come out as “eee oooh.” He had been to see doctors, but no one could tell him why he couldn't meow.

Bruto and Chauncy had gone to school with him. They had teased him all through elementary school and into high school. Chauncy's taunting and Bruto's laughter always made him angry. Sherlock guessed that Chauncy hung around Bruto because of his size. Bruto did what ever Chauncy asked him to, and he enjoyed being mean. They were both always bullying Sherlock.

As Sherlock's anger rose, a golden brown cross bred dog came over. He had dark brown around his eyes and down his muzzle with two white front paws. A Gray rabbit with flecked silver and black fur hopped along too. Sherlock smiled as he saw his friends Kato and Charlie.

“What's going on?” Charlie asked, knowing that Chauncy and Bruto were probably making fun of Sherlock again.

Chauncy sneered, “we were just having a conversation with your buddy here on how he can't meow.”

“Isn't that getting old?” Charlie asked.

Kato nodded. Kato was a dog of few words and you could not read what was on his mind. Chauncy would make fun of him and say that he wasn't very bright. The truth was Kato just had a relaxed and unhurried attitude.

Chauncy glared at Charlie. It was no fun trying to get Sherlock mad when Charlie and Kato were around. Charlie made sure of that.

“Time to get going Bruto,” he said. “Remember what I said Sherlock. Stay away from my girl.”

Sherlock hissed at them as they walked away.

Why do you let them get to you?” Charlie asked. “They teased you about the same thing since we first started school. You can't meow, so what!”

Sherlock didn't know why it bothered him but Chauncy always had a way at getting under his skin. He was different from other cats and this bothered him.

“So, who is the girl Chauncy mentioned?” Kato asked.

“A pretty little thing” Sherlock said. “I've never seen her before. Chauncy claims that she is his girlfriend.”

“Well, you should be careful just in case.” Kato said. “You know how jealous Chauncy can be.”

When Sherlock was eight and brought his favourite toy mouse to school for sharing, Chauncy got jealous. He broke the whiskers off it and drew a moustache on the face. Sherlock cried all the way home.

When Sherlock was twelve Chauncy was jealous because Sherlock won the spelling contest. Chauncy left all of Sherlock's marker caps off so that they no longer worked. These were just a few things that Chauncy had done. These didn't include the things he had Bruto do.

“Shall we fish?” Kato asked.

Sherlock gave Kato a fishing rod and they sat down a safe distance from the stream but close enough to fish. Charlie being a vegan, which meant he didn't eat meat or fish, dug up worms for them. This was something Charlie was very good at.

Sherlock took home three fish that night, but he remained troubled over what Chauncy said. Why could he not meow like a normal cat, he asked to himself.