The Cat Who Liked Rain

Lukas thought he had two smashing parents. The best thing of all was that there were two of them. A lot of his friends only had one. If you had two parents, you could always ask twice for something you wanted. If one of them said no, you could ask the other one. And then the answer might be yes. For instance, one of them might say no when you wanted to go out and play after dark. If Mum said no, he could always ask Dad instead. Lukas had realised that the best time to ask his mum for something dodgy was when she was busy painting an old chair. She was nearly always in a good humour then, and Lukas knew that she often didn’t even hear what it was he was asking for. The worst time to ask her for something was when his dad wasn’t around. She always said no then. With his dad, it was much harder to know when it was a good time to ask for something, and when it was better to keep quiet. And sometimes his dad would forbid him to do something he’d previously been given permission to do.

Parents can be difficult, Lukas thought. But even more difficult was having a brother older than yourself. Lukas sometimes felt angry when he thought about Whirlwind always being older than he was. No matter how much he grew, no matter how many years passed by, Whirlwind would always be older than Lukas. That was unfair, but there was nothing anybody could do about it.

Lukas sat up in bed. He looked at the clock again.

‘Go faster,’ he said to the hands. ‘Run.’

But they didn’t move any faster.

He would have to do something to make it seven o’clock. Maybe he ought to tiptoe into his parents’ bedroom and move the hands on their alarm clock forward? No, they would notice. And besides, his dad didn’t like getting up any earlier than necessary.

Lukas lay down again and continued thinking about Whirlwind. That was another thing that was unfair: his brother had a nickname, but nobody called Lukas anything other than Lukas. Whoever it was that had given Markus the name Whirlwind was a mystery. He’d simply been called that, always. And Whirlwind really was a whirlwind. He was incapable of standing still, and when he sat down at the table, he never stopped wriggling and squirming. But Lukas thought his brother must have been given that name because he was so brilliant on a skateboard. Nobody anywhere in Rowan Tree Road, where they lived, was as good as Whirlwind on a skateboard. He’d tried a few times to teach Lukas how to ride a skateboard — there were occasions when Whirlwind was the best big brother anybody could possibly ask for. But Lukas found it hard, and Whirlwind soon lost patience with him.

It seemed to Lukas that he would never be as good on a skateboard as Whirlwind. He’d have to find something else he was just as good at. But what might that be? He didn’t know, and found it hard to think it through, because what he was most interested in just now was what his birthday present was going to be. He checked the time again. Another hour to go before his parents would wake up.

What had they bought for him? He’d mentioned new ice skates and a computer game, but he didn’t really think he’d get either of those things. He hoped they hadn’t bought him some new clothes. That would be an awful present. You can’t play with new clothes.

Another awful present would be something his parents considered to be useful. A bedside light, for instance, or a chair. Or worse still, a carpet.

Just think, if they gave him a carpet! He’d find it very hard to look pleased.

Every morning, when he woke up, he’d have to see this useful carpet lying on the floor next to his bed, but it would be absolutely useless for doing anything with. Carpets bought by your parents would never be able to fly. All they could do was lie on the floor — and if you were unlucky you could trip over them and bash your head.

Lukas suddenly got it into his head that he was going to be given a carpet. He was so sure that he became extremely angry. He wouldn’t be able to swap it, either. Which of his friends would want a carpet? And needless to say, Whirlwind would nearly die laughing.

‘It’s not fair,’ he said out loud. ‘I don’t want a new carpet.’ Then he thought about Whirlwind again. There was so much that was unfair. Whirlwind’s birthday was in high summer, when you could sit out in the garden. Why should Lukas have to celebrate his birthday in March, when there was always slush everywhere and it was usually so cold? You couldn’t sit out in the garden when it was raining or snowing!

You ought to be able to decide things yourself, Lukas thought. The date of your birthday, your name, what you were good at.

That was what he would ask for next year. A new birthday!

He checked the clock again. The hands had hardly moved.

Time passed so slowly.

Then he fell asleep, without noticing.

He didn’t hear the alarm clock ring in his parents’ bedroom. He didn’t wake up until the light went on in his own room, and they were standing there, singing ‘Happy Birthday To You!’

And then he received his present.

Two