The Neighbourhood Cat Burglar

Chapter 1

You'd barely been living in the neighbourhood for a month, but eight neighbours (plus one living house) weren't that hard to meet in such a short period. You hadn't gotten particularly close with any one person, but you'd gained them as acquaintances, plus acquired a job, so maybe you'd have more friends sooner than you expected!

The shop opened not atrociously early, so by the time you'd woken up, gotten dressed, and headed over for your first day of work, it was already mid-morning, and Howdy was standing at the door to greet you as usual, except this time, he was holding out a matching apron to his own and smiling tightly at you.

"Ready for this?" he asked, a small bit of worry in his voice, but his smile loosened as you nodded. Still, he warned, "Don't say I didn't prepare you for how crazy everyone becomes once they step past that threshold."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," you assured him, taking the apron and letting him tie it behind your back. "Besides, it really can't be that bad, right?"

Wrong.

You stood at the cash register of the bodega as turmoil happened between the guests and the shop owner.

Howdy was running around, picking things up after they'd been knocked off the shelves by Eddie's bag, his clumsiness making the job of Howdy so much easier as he turned around to try and help and not only butted heads with Howdy--literally--but also knocked more things down with his hat in the process. You could tell Howdy was one more accident away from wanting to ban the orange-coloured mailman but couldn't.

Not only that, but Barnaby was talking at Howdy, telling jokes as usual, and you'd been around the two of them enough to know that was just their style of friendship, but with Eddie there, it just seemed to be distracting him.

Frank, on the other side of the aisle from Eddie and Howdy, was peeking through the shelves as if they wanted to intervene but couldn't figure out how.

Poppy was further over, in the back of the store, shopping for baking goods, while Sally was looking at fabrics for her costumes a couple of aisles over. You could see both of them perfectly using the mirrors facing the register.

Julie was walking around with a pep in her step, humming a tune that you didn't recognise, picking out some accessories that were too small to see from where you were but looked colourful.

The only one missing from this whole equation was your friendliest neighbour, Wally, whom you couldn't see in the mirrors or walking around nearby, either.

Strange, you thought, since he was in here every day, usually looking over the apple display to find the prettiest one to take home. What he did with them, you had no idea, as every time you asked, he avoided the question and just kept telling you how nice they were to marvel at. And you couldn't exactly deny him his joy.

You rested your arms on the counter and waited as things slowly sorted themselves out.

Poppy and Sally walked up to the register with their things. Poppy paid you with compliments and promises of her finished baked goods for both you and Howdy while Sally recited a bit of dialogue from one of her scripts that she knew you'd really enjoyed reading part of. You thanked them with a big smile, and they left.

Eddie and Frank were next, with Frank putting what looked like a wagonload of books on the counter, and Eddie set down a few pieces of fruit to "aid in Frank's butterfly catching". Frank's usual frown didn't disappear, but it softened. They paid with a couple of older jokes you'd never heard before, and then they also left.

Julie came up soon after and set out a few hairbands, asking you to pick between them. You chose a pretty teal one that you said matched her leggings, and she got excited, spewing out a joke as payment and rushing out.

That just left Barnaby. The big blue dog was dawdling around the store now after having been told off by Howdy so that he could clean up. He had nothing in his hands, so at this point, he must have just been hanging out because he had nothing else to do. This got you wondering about Wally, again, knowing how close the two were.

You called out for him before you could even form the question in your head. "Hey, Barnaby!"

His head turned to you, and he walked closer, tipping his hat in a friendly manner. "New neighbour," he greeted. "Howdy was telling me about your new job. How's your first day been?"

A lighthearted scoff escaped your mouth before you could stop it, and you smiled at him. "Have you seen how busy it's been today? Kind of a nightmare, but I've loved being able to see you all together if that means anything!"

Barnaby barked out a laugh. "Oh boy, are you in for a surprise! You're lucky Walls wasn't here. This will be a dream in comparison!"

So, Wally didn't just up and disappear; that's good to know, you supposed. "Where is Wally, anyway?" you asked the question burning your mind.

"Same place as he always is when he's not here!" You looked at him in questioning; you didn't know Wally nearly enough to know the answer to this riddle. Barnaby rolled his eyes. "He's painting at home. Kid's going places--probably just the living room, though." Another barking laugh, and Barnaby wiped his eyes of non-existent tears. You tilted your head in thought but were broken out of it quickly enough when Barnaby suddenly set a box of candy sticks on the counter. "Just these, please."

Your face lit up in shock. "But you didn't have--" The smile on Barnaby's face grew even bigger, and you just sighed. "All right, how are you paying?" It didn't need to be asked.

The rest of the day was quiet. Howdy had gotten everything spic and span again and sat down on the stool behind the cash register in relief but made sure you knew how thankful he was for your help before sending you home for the day. He looked entirely ready to pass out right there, and you volunteered to take the key to lock up, but he stood and lead you out the door to do it himself.

Sure, it was early, considering, but everyone had already been in to get what they needed, so neither he nor you thought there would be any problems. You went home to relax until it was time for bed.