FIFTEEN

After Mrs. Verlaine helped Elodie get dressed the two headed down the hall to the kitchen. Pinky could hear the sound of everyone enjoying their breakfast and realized that she was very hungry. She would even settle for that bitter cat food! Ignoring her grumbling stomach and tucking the ribbon into her pouch she started for the window only to discover that there was no way to reach the sill.

“What’ll I do?” she moaned, wringing her hands. She decided to climb to the top of a pale pink backpack leaning against the wall when she fell into the opening and was plunged into darkness. As she scurried to get out she heard someone approach and decided to remain hidden behind a plastic pencil case. She could hear Elodie rummaging around nearby, obviously agitated and turning the dollhouse upside down as she muttered angrily to herself.

“Elodie, hurry up! You’ll miss the bus!” Mrs. Verlaine called from the kitchen.

Elodie became even more frantic, looking under the bed and surprised to see the clump of ribbons in the corner, now shredded. She assumed Miss Kitty must’ve crept into her room while she was sleeping. She hoped that she could convince her mother that the mess she had just created was also the work of that naughty cat.

“Where could it be?” she asked aloud, standing on her bed and surveying the disheveled room. She remembered the spooky alien she had seen last night and wondered if it could have stolen the bracelet somehow. Perhaps the creature beamed it out of the room with its eerie, red eyes, she thought and looked toward the window.



There was the locket!

“Elodie!” Mrs. Verlaine called again impatiently.

“Coming Mom!” she replied, and tossed the bracelet inside the backpack where it struck the hidden opossum. Pinky rubbed her head but soon forgot about her pain as she realized that the thing that hit her was none other than the turnip locket! She reached down to grab it when her world turned topsy-turvy and she found herself tumbling about with the school supplies as the backpack was yanked from the floor.

Mrs. Verlaine met Elodie at the door and tucked a paper bag inside that smelled so delicious that Pinky nearly fainted. The sack was zipped tightly and off Pinky went, bouncing up and down on the back of Elodie as she raced for the bus stop on the corner.