Chapter 16:

Two days later, Stephanie and I went to the pet store after school. Stephanie spotted a kitten that she liked.

"This kitten is so cute," said Stephanie.

"She's five weeks. Its mother died after she was born. She's the only kitten," said the clerk. "We have got her since her mom's death."

"Poor thing," said Stephanie.

"How did the mother died?" I asked.

"She got attacked by a neighbor's dog and it was hurt so badly that the owners had to put it down. And, they couldn't keep the kitten because their daughter's allergic to pet hair now," explained the clerk.

"It's a good thing the kitten is safe," said Stephanie.

"I agree," said the clerk.

Then, she paid with her own money while she got cat food after the clerk told her what food to give to a kitten.

"Kittens like milk at that age," said the clerk.

"Okay," said Stephanie.

After that, we left and went to her house.

"Do you have any ideas on names?" I asked.

"Yes. Kiki," said Stephanie.

"That's a good name," I commented.

"I know," said Stephanie.

When we got to her house, she showed the kitten to Miranda.

"Aww. What a cute little kitten," said Miranda.

"Yes, the clerk said she's five weeks. Her mother died five weeks ago after it got attacked by a neighbor's dog. The owners had to put her mother to sleep and couldn't keep the kitten because their daughter's just got allergic to pet hair," explained Stephanie.

"Poor little thing," said Miranda.

"That's what I said, too," said Stephanie. "Her name's going to be Kiki."

"I like that name," said Miranda.

"Me, too," said Stephanie.

Then, I helped her putting the cat bed in her room. We fed Kiki some milk and she was drinking it as if she hasn't been drinking for days. Stephanie took a picture of it and shared it on Facebook.

"I can't wait for our girls to see the kitten. Mom said she'll watch it while I'm in California visiting Dad," said Stephanie.

"That's good," I said.

"I know," agreed Stephanie.

"When you and your mom move in, we can put the cat bed in my room," I said.

"Good idea," said Stephanie.

That night, Samuel and I went to the movies. We had dinner in the food court before that. We had a fun time.

"So, are you planning to spend the weekend with your mother?" asked Samuel.

"Yes, I told her I was giving myself time last weekend after I recovered from mono," I replied. "It would feel good to spend time with her. She saved the Christmas gifts for me. Dad and I are taking down the stuff tomorrow after I come home from school."

"Did you pass in you report already?" asked Samuel.

"I did it yesterday," I replied. "I'm good at rough draft. I never need to correct because I always review it in case I make any mistakes before I type it and print it out. That's how I get As all the time. I'm the only one who doesn't need to write it again."

"Really?" asked Samuel as I nodded.

"I don't say it to anyone. I didn't want to make them jealous," I said.

"I don't blame you," said Samuel.

"The teacher doesn't mention it to any of my classmates either and she doesn't blame me for not to say it," I said. "She thinks that was the smart move."

"Wow," said Samuel.

"She waits until everyone passes in the report before giving it back to me unless she wants to give it to me early," I said. "I like to do any reports early to have free time."

"I believe it," said Samuel.

"We're going to read it to the class before we would get graded," I said. "I can't wait to read mine."

"When is that?" asked Samuel.

"In a few weeks unless they pass it in before the deadline," I answered.

"That makes sense," said Samuel. "Are you nervous about doing it?"

"No," I replied. "I know I'd do fine. I could picture Mary Jane listening to me from heaven."

"Would that help you?" asked Samuel as I nodded.

"I do miss her. I won't forget my best friend. I got the scrapbook to keep her alive," I said. "I'd pick her as my guardian angel."

"That's good," said Samuel.

Samuel saw the kitten on his Facebook page and we talked about that, too.

"I also like that name, Kiki," said Samuel.

"So do I," I said.

When I got home, I showed the picture of Kiki to Dad.

"She's cute," said Dad when I told him about it.

"I know. Poor thing lost her mother right after she was born when it got attacked by a neighbor's dog. She was so badly hurt that she had to be put down so it won't suffer. The owners couldn't keep the kitten because her daughter had just learned she was allergic to pet hair," I said.

"That's a shame," said Dad. "That kitten must be looking for her mother."

"It doesn't seem to be looking for her mom," I said. "Miranda will feed milk to it. Kittens like milk at that age. She's only five weeks old according to the clerk at the pet store."

"That's true," said Dad.

"I told her when she moves in here, she can put the cat stuff in my room since we're sharing it," I said.

"That's a great idea," said Dad.

"I know. She liked that idea, too," I said.

The next day, I noticed it was snowing when I got up.

"The schools are closed today. The snow is expected to be heavy later," said Dad.

"Okay," I said.

"I'll shovel during the whole winter. I don't expect you to do that during your pregnancy," said Dad.

"Good idea. I was thinking about the same thing," I said.

I'm glad about that part. At least Dad offered to do that while I'm pregnant.

"I might not go to work tonight if the roads are bad," said Dad.

"I don't blame you," I agreed.

"I'll see what happens later on. It's supposed to snow all day," said Dad.

Two hours later, we lost power.

"They said it happened because a car hit a pole," said Dad.

"Wow," I said.

"It should be back later on," said Dad.

"I hope so," I said. "That's why people should stay home in this storm to avoid accidents."

"I agree. The more I thought about it, I'm not taking that risk," said Dad. "I think my boss won't blame me for that."

An hour later, I heard the person was rushed to the hospital and the car was cleared off, but we still had no power. They're probably fixing that. I remembered it happened while we lived in California one year when we had a hurricane. Only hurricane messed up the wires that caused us to lose power. That was back when I was around 10 or 11. It was during the summer, so we wouldn't have to worry about school closings. Grandma would show us how fun it was. We would play cards, had a picnic in the living room, and we would tell stories. I miss that moment. That was a good memory. We barely had hurricanes or lose power. Sometimes the only time we lose power is when any cars hit a pole.

A few hours later, we finally had power. The news said the person suffered non-treated injuries and is expected to be okay. Samuel called me.

"If you heard someone got hurt, it was Angela," said Samuel.

"Wow. It's a good thing she's alive," I said.

"She always wears her seatbelt every time she goes out," said Samuel. "Mom and Dad are glad, too."

"What was she doing at the time?" I asked.

"They asked her to get a few things at a store," replied Samuel.

"Um, I hate to say this, but she should've done that yesterday before the storm. That would be the smart thing to do. She could've been killed," I said.

"You know what? You have a very good point," said Samuel.

"It was a good thing we went out last night for example. Otherwise, we'd postpone until the storm is over," I said. "That would be the smartest thing to be safe."

"I agree. Instead of taking a risk," said Samuel.

"Dad told me he's going to call out from work to avoid all that. I agreed with him," I said.

"That was a good choice," said Samuel.

"I know. He already called the boss and he didn't blame Dad for doing that," I said.

"I don't blame your dad either," said Samuel.

The snowed stopped when I got to bed, but they said schools would be closed tomorrow, too, so they can keep kids safe for one more day. It would give plows time to clear off the streets. At least I can sleep for a bit longer tomorrow. Dad shoveled when it stopped. He didn't want to do it while it was snowing. That was a good idea to do. We had sandwiches for dinner. We stayed up late until 11:00 pm.

The next day, the schools were back in session. Dad offered to bring me and Samuel to school so we didn't have to walk. That was a good idea since it was cold outside. It felt great to be back there. At school, the teacher let us to make up the work we missed during the storm. We didn't have to do today's work, which was nice. Most of the kids are almost done with the writing assignment. They wondered why I haven't done mine. I didn't know what to say, so all I said was I'm almost done with mine, too. The teacher didn't blame me for saying that. It's good to avoid jealously. That's what I worry about.

At lunch, we were glad to be back together. Samuel told Stephanie about what happened to Angela.

"She's lucky to be alive. She was smart enough to wear her seatbelt," said Stephanie.

"She always does that when we go out. She learned that during driving lessons," said Samuel.

"Honestly, she should've done shopping the day before the storm," said Stephanie.

"That's what I said, too," I said.

"I agree. We didn't know it was going to snow the other day, so we weren't prepared for that," admitted Samuel.

"The only good thing was that Samuel and I went to the movies before that happened," I said.

"That's true," said Samuel.

"That was the smart thing to do," said Stephanie.

"I agree," said Samuel. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

"Yeah," said Stephanie. "I'd do the same thing."

"I hope Angela would remember to shop before the storm next time," I said.

"I think she will," said Samuel.

After school, Samuel, Stephanie, and I walked home. I didn't see Lily Anne at school. She was probably sick. That's all I could think of. She gave me her cell phone number so we can text anytime we want. When I got home, I did my homework before I texted her. She told me she was absent because she caught a cold last night. I had a feeling. I told her to feel better and get some rest. She thanked me.