"We are running a hotel..." I muttered to myself, smiling. Eleanor. Her dogs. And now, a cat. "Or a zoo, with all these animals."
The poor thing was meowing like crazy, looking around for something.
"What's wrong? Oh, where did you come from..." I reached into my pocket for my mobile, but felt nothing but a few peppermint candies and a few spare guitar picks. "Oh, bloody... I left it at Cal's, didn't I?"
I hurried to put on my coat and open the door, but then I looked back and saw the cat watching me with wide eyes.
"Oh, never mind. It's getting dark. And I can just get it tomorrow. I'll survive 'til then."
Meooow!
Suddenly, the cat rocketed past my legs and out the door into the night. I watched until it disappeared.
"Oh... oh my... I do hope it'll be okay out there." I took off my coat and locked the door.
---
I was halfway through the BBC News when I heard a pop behind me. I spun around on the couch to find Sarah Beth standing there. She was putting her wand away.
"And where have you been?" I smiled.
"Shopping."
"With what money?"
"Oh, er, Wizard money. You know... Galleons... Sickles... Knuts. And all that jazz."
"Well, didn't you buy anything?"
"Oh? Er, oh no. No, I did not. My goodness. It was the same old Wizarding World as always: the robe shops all have robes, the wand shops all have wands, the apothecaries all have apothecary... stuff." She smiled her cute, toothy smile.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked. "You sound sort of funny."
"Me? Funny?" she retorted, laughing.
"Yes, you. Funny." I insisted. "Oh, and you won't believe what happened just maybe a bit ago! There was this cat, and it was brown with this really long fur. Anyway, it ran out just... all of a sudden. Quite strange."
"Hm. Indeed."
"Indeed? Okay, then. Whatever."
She sat down on the couch, watched a bit of BBC News, got bored, turned the channel, dozed off two or three times, turned the channel again, but then got hungry and made some macaroni and cheese on pancakes.
"What? I had it once before, and it was amazing!" she explained.
"You won't eat a banana split, but you'll eat macaroni and cheese on pancakes?"
"Ashley, Ashley, Ashley... I am a unique individual beyond all comparison-"
"And explanation." I added.
"-And explanation. So you've no right to judge me."
"Whatever." I rolled my eyes.
---
The next morning, I left to go to Cal's, where he and Jeff were trying to compose a song.
"Ash, what rhymes with silver?"
"I told you, Jeff, that nothing rhymes with silver!" Cal rubbed his forehead. "And we're already past that part."
"But I was thinking of putting it in the bridge..." Jeff replied.
"That's nice. Er, where is my mobile?"
Jeff lit up. "Oh yeah! Here, it's in my pants."
"What?" I exclaimed as he pulled the mobile from inside of his trousers and tossed it to me.
