Alone in the Night

Dad took a bit longer to fall for Star. He didn’t really spend much time with her, and he got very ratty when he discovered she’d slept on his favourite jumper and left it covered in brown hairs. But on Sunday morning, Jasmine came downstairs and found Dad reading the newspaper, and Star sitting on the kitchen table (which she wasn’t allowed to do). She was batting at the back of the paper. Every time she did it, Dad would twitch the paper straight, and Star would wait a few seconds and whack it again with her paw.

Jasmine watched her do it three more times before Dad snorted with laughter and folded up the paper. Star jumped delicately on to his lap and gazed up at him with big green eyes. Jasmine’s dad looked down at her, as though he wasn’t sure quite what he was supposed to do now. He put out a cautious hand and stroked her, very lightly down her back. Then he looked up at Jasmine, as if he thought she might tell him he’d done it wrong.

Jasmine sighed and shook her head, smiling. Star had managed it again. She’d even won Dad over!

Dad stroked Star again, more confidently this time. “This cat,” he told Jasmine, as she fetched herself a bowl of cornflakes, “has got a real sense of humour.” He reached over and grabbed a packet of cat treats that had been left on the counter. Star sat up on his lap, her tail twitching eagerly, and he fed her three, one after the other. She crunched them up quickly, with her eyes closed in delight.

“Not too many, Dad.” Jasmine pointed at him with her cereal spoon. “She’ll get fat. In fact…” Jasmine looked worriedly at Star’s silky tummy. Was it her imagination, or was it rather larger than before? “She’s getting really podgy, Dad, now that I look at her! I bet Mum’s been feeding her loads of treats while I’m at school.”

Jasmine didn’t mention the number of times she’d saved a little bit of chicken or sausage from tea to feed to Star as an extra-special treat, but she couldn’t help feeling rather guilty. She’d just wanted to make Star happy – and it was so sweet the way she nibbled the scraps off her fingers.

Jasmine’s mum came downstairs and frowned when Jasmine asked her about the treats. “Well, I have given her the odd one. But not that many, Jasmine. I wouldn’t have thought it would be enough to fatten her up.” She eyed Star thoughtfully, as she sat on Dad’s lap and washed her ears. “Hmmm. She is looking a bit fatter, you’re right. Oh dear. I don’t know much about cats, but I’m sure it isn’t healthy for her to be fat. She could get ill.”

“I’ll try and get her to do a bit more running around,” Jasmine said, wondering what the Murrays would say if they came home and found they had a fat cat.

Star seemed to be able to tell that Jasmine was worried. She stopped washing and gazed lovingly at her from Dad’s lap. Then she sat up on her hind legs with her front paws in the air, as though she was begging to be picked up. It was so funny Jasmine choked on her mouthful of cornflakes.

Dad grinned. “You see? She’s definitely got a sense of humour!”

Chapter Four

Jasmine started Star’s exercise routine the next day, when she got home from school. They had decorated the Christmas tree at the weekend, and Star had been fascinated by it. The moment Jasmine and her mum went into the kitchen for a drink, Star had climbed up it, then got stuck near the top, wailing frantically as she wobbled on her branch. Jasmine had had to rescue her, and ever since then Star had looked at the tree with great suspicion.

But Star had loved playing with the tinsel, rolling over and over and chewing it. Jasmine wasn’t sure how people got cute photos of cats wearing tinsel on their collars. Star would have eaten it before anyone had a chance to get a camera out. So tinsel seemed a good idea for getting Star to jump around. It was the end of term in a couple of days. She could do lots more exercising with Star when it was the Christmas holidays. She was really looking forward to being at home and being able to play with Star all the time.

Jasmine carefully unwound a bit of silver tinsel from round the back of the tree, where no one would really notice it had gone. She crouched down in front of Star, holding the feathery silver tinsel. It shimmered and twinkled, almost as if it were alive, and Star’s tail flicked back and forth as she watched it. She dabbed out a paw, and Jasmine twitched the tinsel away, so that Star missed it. The cat sprang forward, paws batting here and there, dancing and springing as Jasmine giggled and waved the tinsel for her. At one point Jasmine was sure that Star leaped at least a metre off the ground in a truly amazing jump.

Eventually Jasmine gave up as she was worn out, though Star was still full of energy. She lay on her back, tugging at the tinsel with her paws and shredding it everywhere.