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“Well, that’s what I said,” Mum sighed. “But it’s six o’clock, Dan. She normally has her dinner about four. It’s really unusual for her not to turn up for that.”

“And now we’ve found her collar,” Amber said shakily, pointing to it on the kitchen table. “So we know she was out at the front of the house. What if she’s been run over?”

“No, your mum’s right. I’m sure someone would have found her and let us know, Amber.” Dad frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe she is lost, though. She’s only little – she could just have got confused about where she was going. How about I have another quick look along the street?”

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When Dad came back a while later, he had to admit that he hadn’t seen any sign of Cleo, either. As Amber picked at her dinner, she kept thinking of the open cat food pouch, which Mum had folded over and put in the fridge. Cleo must be so hungry, wherever she was.

“Try not to worry, Amber,” Mum said, as she turned off Amber’s light at bedtime. “She’ll probably be back in the morning.”

“You’re not sure…”

Mum sighed.“No, I can’t beabsolutely sure. I really do think she will be, though.”

Amber pulled the duvet over her head. She was desperate to sleep so that she could wake up and find Cleo stomping up and down her bed, purring and mewing until Amber got up and fed her her breakfast. But she lay awake for what seemed like hours, imagining the kitten hungry or lonely or, worst of all, hurt.

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Cleo woke the next morning feeling stiff and cold. She had slept on the pile of sacks, but they weren’t very comfortable, not compared to her soft basket. She was also desperately hungry. She had never gone for so long without a meal – or without Amber to stroke her and fuss over her and play with her.

She sat up, shaking out her paws, and licked at the fur on her shoulders and neck. She felt so dusty and dirty in here. But washing only made her realize how much she needed a drink of water.

Cleo froze suddenly, with one paw lifted ready to sweep over her ear– she could hear footsteps. Someone was coming! She ducked behind a large crate and watched eagerly as the van doors swung open. Hands reached into the van and a box of tools clanked down loudly. Cleo edged forward. She crept round the boxes until she was just by the doors and waited for the footsteps to move further away again. Her heart was galloping – this was her chance!

Cleo jumped down on to the road and scurried under the van. She needed to stop and think about what to do next. She had hoped that once she was out of the van she would see her house, her garden wall and maybe even Amber. Although she knew that the van had moved, it had no windows in the back, and she didn’t really understand that it had travelled from one place to another. So she was deeply confused when she realized that she was somewhere different – somewhere that did not smell familiar at all. Cleo peered out from round the back wheel of the van, looking up and down the road. She was lost.

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Amber waved goodbye to Mum reluctantly and slung her rucksack over her shoulder. Lila came running up as she trailed into the playground.

“Are you all right?” Lila said anxiously. “Your eyes are all red. Amber, what’s the matter?”

“It’s Cleo,” Amber sniffed. “She never came home for her tea last night. Mum and Dad said they were sure she’d be back when we got up, but she wasn’t!” She swallowed hard. “I didn’t want to come to school. I wanted to stay at home and keep looking for her. Mum said she’s going to ring all the vets this morning. That’s in case … in case she’s been brought in because she’s had an accident.”

“Oh no,” Lila whispered. “But you were saying only yesterday that you were worried about her being run over.”

“I know!” Amber pressed her hands into her eyes. She didn’t want to start crying again, not at school. “That makes it worse,” she whispered. “I feel like I made it happen by worrying about it.”

Lila put an arm round her shoulders.“Of course you didn’t,” she said firmly. “All it means is that you were sensible to worry. And you don’t know that anything bad’s happened! She might just be shut in somebody’s garage.”

“I guess so,” Amber muttered.

Then Maisie came hurrying up, and Amber stared down at her shoes as Lila whispered what had happened. She didn’t want to hear her friends talking about it – it only made Cleo’s disappearance seem more real.

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“Did you go looking for her?” Maisie asked.

“Down the whole street. And Dad asked some of the neighbours when he got home last night. If Cleo isn’t back by this afternoon, we’re going to put posters up.”

Lila made a face.“I hate those posters. They’re so sad. But I bet they work,” she added hurriedly.

“There’s the bell.” Maisie squeezed Amber’s hand. “Are you going to be OK? Do you want us to say something to Mr Evans for you?”