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Her mum came down a few minutes later.“You fed Sky!” she said in surprise. Then she looked at the bag that Lucy had left on the counter. “I suppose I might as well take that to the breeder’s with me later. They’ll be able to use it up, or give it to her new owner. The basket and things, too, probably,” Mum sighed.

Lucy walked quickly out of the kitchen, before she started to cry. Sky’s new owner! The person who was going to really love her… Everything was so complicated, Lucy felt she didn’t even know what she wanted any more.

The doorbell rang. Izzy and Amber had come to pick her up for school like they’d arranged last night. Sky peeped round the front door, and Izzy nudged Amber. “Look, isn’t she gorgeous? Isn’t Lucy lucky?”

[Ęŕđňčíęŕ: img_22]

Amber smiled.“Oh! She’s so tiny. You reallyare lucky, Lucy!”

Lucy didn’t want to explain what had happened in case she started crying again. “Mmmm!” she said, forcing a smile.

As soon as Amber left them at the school gates to go on to her secondary school, Lucy burst out,“They’re taking Sky back!”

“What?” Izzy yelped. “When?”

“Today,” Lucy said miserably. “Mum and Dad told me when I got home from your house last night. They said they’d made a mistake, but the people who bred Sky will have her back. Luckily.” She sniffed.

Izzy gazed at her in horror.“And you’re just going to let them?”

Lucy stared down, noticing that her school skirt had white hairs on it.“I suppose so,” she murmured. She was cryingagain!

“You just can’t!” Izzy said. “That beautiful kitten, the best presentever, and you’re letting them take her away!” Izzy’s eyes were flashing, and people were staring at them as they walked along the corridor to their classroom.

“You don’t understand!” Lucy wailed.

“No, I don’t.” Izzy dumped her bag on their table.

“Last night I was going to tell them I’d changed my mind about Sky and wanted to keep her,” Lucy explained. “I was trying to think how to do it while I was at yours. But when I got home they told me they were going to give Sky back because she needed someone who’d really love her. And they’re right! All I’ve done is make her sad…” she sobbed.

Izzy made a disbelieving noise and put her arm round Lucy.“She didn’t look sad the other day when you were cuddling her in your garden! She looked really happy!”

Lucy looked up at her hopefully.“Do you think so?”

Izzy thought for a moment.“Do you think maybe you’ve been upset about moving house for so long that you’re just looking on the wrong side of everything?” she asked.

Lucy felt hurt. It sounded as though Izzy thought she was just being stupid.

“I’m not trying to be mean,” Izzy added hurriedly. “It’s just I thought you were actually starting to like being here. You don’treally hate it, do you?”

Lucy shook her head slowly.“Noooo,” she murmured. She looked up at Izzy, feeling confused. She’d been telling herself she hated Fairford for so long, it was hard to admit to someone else that it actually wasn’t so bad. “No. Since I made friends with you, it’s been fun,” she said, smiling. She sat down slowly onthe edge of the table, thinking aloud. “And if I could keep Sky, and not have to pretend I didn’t like her, it would be even better.” Lucy looked shyly up at her friend – Izzy reallywas her friend.“All I have to do is explain to Mum and Dad, and everything will be OK.”

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Back at Lucy’s house, her mum was in the hall searching for her keys, ready to go out shopping. She just had time before Lucy and Kieran came back from school. Mum grabbed her coat from the understairs cupboard. “Where have I put them, puss?” she muttered to Sky. “Oh, there they are, in my pocket all the time!” She sighed, looking at Sky’s bright, interested eyes. “I’m going to miss you. But I suppose it’s for the best. I’ll see you in a while, little one.”

Feeling lonely, Sky watched her walk down the road from her perch on the back of the sofa. Then she wandered through the house, looking for something fun to do. She could hear the washing machine rumbling in the kitchen. It would be going round and round! She liked to watch it, so she nudged the door open.

Sky didn’t use her basket much during the day – she usually slept on the sofa – so Lucy’s mum had tidied it away with her food bowl, and the bag of food. It was all piled up on the counter, ready to take back that evening. Forgetting about the washing machine, Sky looked at the place where her basket was supposed to be, feeling confused. What was going on? Her bowl, her basket, all that food? Didn’t they want her any more?

But she liked it here, and she was sure Lucy was beginning to like having her here, too. Determinedly, Sky stalked out of the kitchen. This was her home now, here with Lucy!

Distracted by losing her keys, Lucy’s mum hadn’t closed the understairs cupboard properly. Sky had never seen this door open before, not even a crack, and she nudged it further open with her nose.

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