Alfie Cat In Trouble

Chapter Three

The back door was open, but there was no one downstairs. I ran up to Stanley’s room as fast as my paws would take me, where I found him, sitting on his bed. I greeted him with a purr and gently put my paw on his arm.

‘Alfie, I’m glad you’re here,’ he said. I miaowed. ‘I was supposed to have an adventure with Dad today. But then Mum had to work in the Clay Room, so Dad had to take Viola to her piano lesson. And I had to stay here.’ He folded his arms across his chest and made a face. I tried to tell Stanley that we could have an adventure – after all I am quite good at them – but he didn’t seem to understand.

‘My parents prefer her to me. It’s clear.’ He stamped his foot before sitting down next to me again. ‘They moved here for her and I miss our old home. I had lots of friends and lots of adventures. Dad and I would go and pick fruit together but now he goes to the boring old greengrocer instead and I don’t even get to go with him.’

I knew that Stanley’s parents did love him. After all, no matter how cross my families were with me they still loved me and I loved them. But how could I tell Stanley this?

‘All I want to do is be an adventurer, but how can I when I can’t even practise?’

I had an idea. I saw a pair of binoculars nearby and I went up to them. Gently, I nudged them, as if to say I could help him, but somehow I managed to get myself tangled in the strap. Part of it was round my neck and part round my legs. The more I tried to untangle myself, the more stuck I became.

‘MIAOW, MIAOW,’ I said as loudly as I could. That got Stanley’s attention.

‘Oh wow, good idea, Alfie. We can have adventures together!’

Finally! It took him a while to untangle me, so binoculars were now added to the list of things I needed to avoid.

‘One minute.’ I sat still and watched as Stanley rushed around the room collecting stuff. Then, he put a hat with flaps on me; I tried to swipe them away with my paw but they just flopped back over my ears. Next, he wrapped a scarf around my neck. ‘It might be summer, Alfie, but when we explore the North Pole it’ll be cold.’

I didn’t know what to say so I sat still and let Stanley carry on. He started taking photos; he was so excited. I didn’t actually like being dressed up; I mean what cat does? But Stanley was happy as he snapped away with his camera.

‘You are now Alfie the Adventure Cat and we are going to have so much fun. We can find fossils, build dens, dive for treasure. Oh I know – we can discover a species of animal never found before!’

I had no idea how we were going to do all those things, but I kept quiet. It was worth it to see Stanley happy. He pulled out a notebook and pen and started making notes. He also drew some pictures that were very good. His plans seemed extremely ambitious but I couldn’t help feeling a bit excited. I quite fancied being an adventure cat, even if I didn’t know what it involved.

While Stanley was busy drawing up plans for our first mission, I thought I would go and see what else was going on in the house. As I walked past the next room, I spotted Viola returning from her piano lesson. She looked down in the dumps as she sat on her bed, so I jumped up and nestled into her. She started stroking me gently and I purred.

‘Oh look at you, in your hat and scarf, I bet you’ve been having loads of fun with Stanley?’ She sounded sad.

I miaowed in agreement.

‘You do look a little bit warm though, Alfie. Shall I help you take those off?’

I miaowed even louder to say what a good idea this was and Viola carefully removed my adventure outfit.

‘I wish Stan would play with me more,’ she said. Her voice was so much quieter than Stanley’s. ‘I miss being friends with him and I miss my old home.’ She paused to wipe a tear from her cheek. ‘I know we had to move so I could go to music school but it’s a lot of pressure. I love playing the piano, I really do, and I like it here a bit, but at the same time I’m scared about my new school.’

She had tears in her eyes. I wished she would talk to Stanley – they were both feeling the same. I brushed my tail on her wet cheek and she smiled as it tickled her. ‘I’m glad you’re here,’ she said quietly.

‘LUNCH,’ Mrs Clover’s voice boomed. Viola jumped up, dried her cheeks with her sleeve and ran downstairs with Stanley on her heels. I followed them into the kitchen where four bowls of pasta were laid on the table. I was glad it wasn’t custard soup again, although there was still no sign of any pilchards.

‘Oh Alfie, I have something for you too,’ Mrs Clover said, putting a bowl with some tuna on the floor. I licked my lips and miaowed my thanks. Today was looking up.

The family were quiet as they ate, as if they were all lost in their own thoughts. I started eating but kept one eye on them. Stanley was staring at his food as he shovelled it in; Viola played with hers. Mrs Clover was humming an unknown tune and Mr Clover was eating with one hand while holding an egg with the other. It was a bit odd, as I had come to know the Clovers could be.

‘What’s for pudding?’ Stanley asked when he’d finished.

‘Um, go and help yourself to some fruit,’ Mrs Clover replied. Stanley got up from the table, picked an apple off the counter and took a bite. As he walked back to the table with it, I sat at his feet.

‘AHHHH!’ Mr Clover screamed. Everyone looked up and Stanley dropped his apple in surprise. It landed on my head.

‘YELP!’ I cried.

‘That was my apple!’ Mr Clover shouted.

‘But Mum said to get some fruit, and it was on the side.’ Stanley sounded upset.

‘Yes, dear, I did,’ Mrs Clover agreed.

‘And Dad, it looks like a normal apple,’ Viola added.

I rubbed my head with my paw. Who knew apples could be so heavy?

‘Well, it wasn’t a normal apple. It was a special apple that I was planning on painting later,’ Mr Clover moaned.

I had an idea. I went to sit on a big pile of empty bags from the greengrocer’s.

‘Miaow,’ I said loudly.

‘Oh, look at Alfie! I know, why don’t we all go to the local greengrocer’s and help you choose some even better apples?’ Viola suggested, pointing at me.

‘Better apples?’ Mr Clover repeated.

‘Great idea!’ Stanley sounded excited.

‘Please, let’s go,’ Viola said.

‘All right, it’ll be a bit like old times.’ Mr Clover finally had a smile on his face, as did the rest of the family. I grinned as well.

Everyone went to get ready for their outing and I waited by the door. As I left, I realised that I still had a lot of work to do. I had to bring the family together and help them see how much they needed each other. Because it was clear that they did need each other and they all really needed me.

I left them at the corner and made my way home. Tiger was lying in the sun at the end of our road.

‘Hey Tiger,’ I said.

She opened her eyes. ‘Alfie, you’re back early today.’

‘The family have gone out together. Only to get fruit, but it’s a start.’

‘So, you think that whatever it is you’re doing is working?’ Tiger rolled onto her stomach and looked at me.

‘It’s early days but I’m a confident cat.’

‘As long as you know what you’re doing.’

‘Oh Tiger, how could you say that? I always know what I’m doing.’

Tiger flicked her tail at me as if to say ‘yeah right’. ‘How about we forget the humans for a bit and go and tease some dogs?’

She didn’t need to ask me twice.