Kat woke up late on Thursday morning. There was no point in getting up if there was no school. Early this morning she had the spider dream again, but it was taking on new twists.
The spider now had the face of Lily and it continued to scream at her about Bob.
“Why won’t you save him,” the Lily-spider shrieked.
When Kat would try to escape through the windows, the Lily-spider would grab her. Kat awoke when the Lily-spider would begin to eat her.
Kat spent her morning finally researching her facts about Bob. She found out that daddy leg legs were also known as vibrating spiders. They live in huge nests and when attacked they vibrate together.
“Gross,” Kat said.
She was reading at the kitchen table, nibbling at a Pop-tart when Uncle Chad walked in with a gym bag over his shoulder. He looked like he had just returned from the swimming pool. He smelled like the pool was full of garbage.
“Training?” Kat asked.
Uncle Chad dumped his things on the kitchen floor and smiled. Princess Puffball slinked over to investigate, but was quickly scared off by the smell.
“You better believe it,” Uncle Chad said.
He ruffled Kat’s hair and began to make himself a protein shake.
“You were in bed late,” he said over the whir of the blender. “Why are you home again? You sick?”
“Suspended,” Kat grimaced.
Uncle Chad stopped the blender and looked at Kat.
“Did you finally sock that Lily girl?”
“No,” Kat said playing with the corners of her insect book. “Apparently having glitter is the same as defacing school property.”
“Is that part of ‘The Rules’ too?” Uncle Chad asked.
“Yup,” Kat said. “No paint, no glitter, no animals, and especially no bugs.”
“And no life,” Uncle Chad laughed. “I wonder what he would do if someone showed up in body
paint.”
Kat smiled and closed her book. There was never a chance of focusing when Uncle Chad was home.
Uncle Chad finished his shake and poured in it a glass. He sat down with Kat, closed his eyes and smiled.
Another Uncle Chad story, Kat thought.
“I remember when I got suspended from school once. It was back in the fifth grade and we were doing this egg drop experiment. We had to design a ‘ship’ for our eggs to keep them safe when landing. Everyone made sure that they put a lot of padding into their projects. We were supposed to be learning about physics, but I just wanted to watch those suckers splatter.
“Well, my friend Sammy and I decided that we wanted to test them early. We managed to make it on the roof of the school by climbing up a tree with our projects under our chins. Sammy’s design was flawless. It was so solid that there was no way his egg would crack. It would have broken someone’s foot because it was so heavy and protected. Me, I brought a whole carton of eggs just to see them smack on the pavement below.”
Kat giggled. Who knew her uncle was such a rule breaker.
“We walked around the roof for a while, trying to find the best place to drop. We played tag and Sammy nearly pushed me off the roof. Found out at that moment exactly how afraid of heights I really am!”
“You’re afraid of heights?” Kat marveled.
“Why do you think we live on the first floor?” Uncle Chad asked.
Kat sat back in shock.
“When we finally found the tallest point of the roof, we were found out by the principal. Guess somebody called him. He was so mad he was shaking like a wet hen.
“’Drop what you have and get down here,’ he yelled at us. Sammy and I couldn’t resist. He let go of his project and I let go of my eggs.
“Sammy’s project hit him first. Right in the foot. The egg didn’t break, but the principal’s foot sure did. As he was leaning over, the eggs cracked all down his back and head. Yolk ran everywhere. Can’t eat eggs without thinking of him!”
Uncle Chad laughed to himself as Kat quietly giggled. Maybe suspension wasn’t as bad when Uncle Chad was around. He was great for making your problems seem a lot better than you thought.
“Well I’m off to see a man about a Mack truck,” Uncle Chad said. “Trying some new moves tomorrow.”
Uncle Chad left the kitchen and Kat got back to researching. Even though Bob was in trouble, she knew her grade would be too if she didn’t get this project done.
At four o’clock Kat was still sitting at the table reading. She had spent the last two hours reading all about the things daddy long legs eat. Including bird poop.
The phone rang and pulled Kat out of her giggles.
“Hello,” Kat answered.
“Hi, is this Kat?”
“Lily?” Kat asked.
“Yeah, hi.”
Kat stared at the receiver blankly for a moment. How on earth did Lily get her phone number? And why was she calling her?
“Kat you there?” Lily asked.
“Oh, yeah. What’s going on?” Kat said coming back to reality.
“You will never believe what happened today. Things are getting crazy!”
Kat listened intently to the whole story. Her heart raced faster and faster as Lily spoke.
“When we came in this morning, the whole room was a disaster. The bug books were everywhere and someone had shut the window. Bob had no food to eat.
“When Michael came in he had a big smile on his face and a bump under his shirt. The crazy kid brought a turtle in to the school. He and Jacob thought it would be a good idea to introduce him to Bob.”
“You’re kidding,” Kat said.
“No,” Lily continued. “But the turtle was so afraid of the room that he refused to come out of his shell. Ms. Catarinas took the turtle and kept it in a box until recess. But it gets worse.”
“Worse?” Kat asked.
“At recess, Michael found a toad and thought it would be great to bring it back inside too. He begged Ms. Catarinas and she told him that her classroom wasn’t a zoo. He tried to smuggle the toad it, but it went to the bathroom all over him.”
Kat laughed out loud. She imagined Michael standing there with a warm pool of toad urine in his hand.
“Things are getting crazy,” Lily finished. “I cannot wait until you get back.”
Kat froze.
“I mean, you’re the only one who really understands,” Lily continued.
Kat stared at the phone again.
“Are you sure this is Lily?” she asked.
“I know,” Lily blushed. “I’m sorry for how I’ve been treating you. It’s just that my parents keep telling me that I need to have good grades or I won’t get into a good college.”
“You’re ten,” Kat said flatly.
“Try telling my parents that,” Lily complained. “My dad started college at fourteen. They don’t understand things like glitter and friends.”
“Friends?” Kat said taken aback.
“You’re the closest thing I have to one,” Lily said sadly. “No one would have taken the fall with the glitter for me.”
Kat smiled.
“Thank you,” Lily said.
It was the first time Kat had heard those words from Lily. And she knew Lily meant it.
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