The Cat That Went to Homecoming Read online

  If I was taking too long to finish the assignment, Hershey would grow impatient and begin walking back in forth in front of my face on my papers and books, rubbing my face with his cheeks and cooing at me for attention.

  “Okay, my little Hershey Kiss!” I would say as I shoved my paper into the book and pushed them aside. I would gather Hershey into my arms for kisses and hugs. He would rub my face some more and snuggle his nose into my ear. Hershey’s love made my heart burst with joy.

  Chapter Three

  The last day of school is a joyous day for everyone. The teachers were glad to get rid of the current group of students and looking forward to a long break from kids. The students were happy that they were about to embark on a three-month break from homework. Some were going to summer camps while others were taking family trips to destinations like Disney World and Myrtle Beach.

  For years, my summer vacation plans had always been the same: I was going to lose weight and go back to school in the fall a new person. Every summer I had failed.

  This summer would be different. This summer I was going to get plenty of exercise and eat sensibly. I was going to be the hot new girl in the fall!

  I often daydreamed about the new me walking onto the bus for the first day of the school year. I would finally be able to wear a pair of super skinny jeans and a snug graphic tee without a muffin top! I would be wearing bubble gum lip gloss and walk straight up to John Peck in the back of the bus. The spot next to him would be empty, but not for long! He would pat the seat motioning for me to sit next to him. I would flip my hair over my shoulder, letting my perfume waft at him.

  I would sit next to him, making sure my thigh touched his. He would blush and shift a little, seeming uncomfortable to have such a lush, beautiful girl sitting next to him. Darcel the Dreadful would be seated in front of him and she would give me the dirtiest of looks. John would tell her to turn around and mind her own business. She would start to cry and everyone would laugh at her. I would laugh the loudest because I loathed Darcel.

  On this last bus ride for the school year, Darcel Simmons’ voice broke through my daydream and killed the fantasy completely.

  “I tried to find you on Facebook Watermelon, but you probably don’t have a computer at home.”

  She was right; Mom and I did not have a computer. I did have a cell phone, but the only people who ever called it were my mom and my grandma. I didn’t even know if my dad knew my number.

  I ignored Darcel, pretending I was deaf again but wondering why she would look for me on Facebook. I guessed she wanted to cyber bully me now!

  “Shut up Darcel!” Cindy Haskel said, “Don’t you ever get tired of being a bitch?”

  Cindy Haskel and I were good friends up until we hit seventh grade. That year I began to distance myself from everyone. Cindy and I were classmates and she lived up the street from me. Her family had a swimming pool and all of the neighborhood kids became close friends with her in the summer. Even though they teased her for being friends with me, she kept on being my friend. On rainy summer days when no one else was interested in hanging out with her, we played with our Bratz dolls and our stuffed animals. We played hopscotch in her garage, we played board games, and watched TV shows together. We admitted to each other that we each thought John Peck was the cutest boy in the class, our deepest secret we’d share with no one else. We giggled like best friends do.

  In seventh grade I decided to let her off the hook and blossom into the popular girl she was meant to be. I felt I was an anchor holding her back. It broke my heart to give her up, but I thought it was best for her.

  Darcel was a grade ahead of us, and for some reason she constantly picked on me. She was a very popular girl, probably the most popular girl of all time! She lived next door to Cindy in the rich end of our subdivision. Her father owned a car dealership and they were wealthy. She was one of those girls with hairdressers and Nikes. She was also one of the many girls who swooned over John Peck. In fact, she and John had dated a few times when he and I were in eighth grade. She was a freshman and she took him to homecoming that year. Boy did he think he was hot stuff, going to homecoming as an eighth grader!

  Darcel and I were not in any classes together, and after seventh grade I never ventured to her part of the subdivision so the only time our paths crossed was on the bus or in the hallways at school. I didn’t know why she hated me so much, but her teasing was relentless. She would trip me. She would pretend I was taking up too much room so she had to slide against a wall to pass me. And she would loudly ask me about my ‘love life’.

  “Who’s taking you to homecoming, Watermelon?”

  “Watermelon, was that you I saw under the bleachers with Roy Wilson? What was I thinking? Of course it wasn’t because the two of you wouldn’t fit under the bleachers!”

  Roy Wilson was an outcast like me for the same reason, he was overweight. You would think we outcasts would ban together, but that isn’t how it works. Since we already received so much negative attention, we avoided adding fuel to the fire.

  Darcel was going to be a senior next fall, the top dog of the school. I had to really work on myself over the summer to keep from being chewed up by that pit bull!

  Oh no! My daydream had distracted me and I was not ready when the bus stopped at my driveway! I scrambled to get my book bag in my arms, and during the struggle I dropped my cell phone. Darcel squealed in laugher.

  “Oh, my God, look at her phone! It’s not even a Smartphone! It looks like my grandma’s Jitterbug!”

  The entire bus laughed at me as I exited. The bus driver told me to have a great summer, but once again, I ignored her.

  Chapter Four

  It was nearly a week into summer vacation and I hadn’t done a thing! Hershey and I spent the days watching game shows, soap operas, and Jerry Springer. I kept telling myself as I ate my ice cream that next week I’d get on the stick and start a diet plan. I needed access to the internet to look up healthy recipes and eating plans. I planned on riding my bike the three miles to the library to use one of their computers, but every day I would sleep until noon and didn’t feel motivated. Truth be told, I was more afraid of being seen riding my bike than anything else. I came up with one excuse after another.

  One evening, a week into summer, Mom called and said she had to work late to cover another person’s shift and asked if I could handle making dinner myself.

  “No problem Mom,” I said as she instructed me on how to make Hamburger Helper. I was only half-listening to her because I’d already decided I was going to eat microwaved popcorn for dinner!

  I pulled the bag out of the microwave and carefully opened the top so I wouldn’t get a steam burn. I took the bag with me into the living room and turned on the TV. I started to shove handfuls into my mouth while I channel surfed. Hershey was chasing a fallen piece of popcorn around the living room, batting at it with his paw and pouncing on it after it moved.

  I put the remote down so I could go get a soda. It was on a local news station. As I walked to the kitchen, I heard the reporter talking about animal-assisted activities. I turned back to the living room and sat on the edge of the couch. What were animal-assisted activities?

  The reporter was in a nursing home, interviewing a woman holding a calico cat in her arms. The woman’s name was Jane. She and her cat were visiting nursing home residents.

  “Animals bring such happiness to people. Simply petting a purring cat can lower the blood pressure and bring about a feeling of contentment,” Jane said to the reporter.

  “Animals do not judge and love unconditionally,” She went on to say. I looked down at Hershey who was rubbing my feet with his cheeks and offering his tummy to me. She was right. I felt like the entire world hated me because of my size, everyone except for Hershey.

  I listened as she told the reporter about the visiting animal group she was involved with, and went into the kitchen for a pen and paper to write the website down.

  “I’ll see you in a little
bit Hershey,” I said as I pushed the piece of paper into the front pocket of my jeans. It may have been summer, but I never wore shorts. I couldn’t bring myself to show my chubby thighs to the world.

  I hopped on my bike and rode down the driveway, looking to make sure there was no one around.

  Seeing that the coast was clear, I made my way to the library. Three miles sounds like a long way, but on bike, it only takes about twenty minutes. Probably less time if I didn’t have an extra twenty five pounds on me, but what the heck, if I could make it to the library in twenty minutes, I would have enough time to internet surf and be home before my mom.

  The library was in the center of town, across the street from a park where the popular kids hung out. As I neared the library, I surveyed the park to see if there was anyone there I should avoid. There was a group of kids standing by a slide smoking cigarettes, but I did not recognize any of them.

  Thank God! I thought and parked my bike.

  When I entered the building, I searched the faces of the people inside to make sure, once again, that I was safe. The library was relatively empty, and I didn’t see anyone I knew, so I made my way to the back of the building where the computer labs were set up.

  I found myself a computer, which wasn’t difficult since there was no one else in the computer lab. I logged in, pulled the slip of paper out of my pocket, and typed in the website.

  Paws That Heal was an animal-assisted activity/therapy service dedicated to enhancing quality of life through animal-human interactions. Volunteers and their pets would visit a variety of settings such as nursing homes, hospices, physical therapy rehab centers, hospitals, and schools.

  According to their website, research had shown that having animals around reduced anxiety levels and people felt less lonely. I could certainly relate to that statement. Just having Hershey in the same room with me made me content. When he paid attention to me, I felt like the most important person in the world!

  I decided to look further into this. Maybe this was something I could do. I knew it wouldn’t be easy for me to put myself into social situations, but with Hershey at my side, I could prevail!

  The first step was a screening to determine if Hershey had the potential for this type of work. The screener would assess him on several attributes: he must be social and friendly, unafraid of new people and other animals, he must be comfortable in crowded or noisy situations, he must allow people to pet him, and he must prove to be predictable.

  I wasn’t quite sure if he could do this, but I was determined to find out. I delved a little further and looked at pictures of current animal and handler teams and noticed that all of the animals walked on harnesses, even the cats. This was going to be tough! Hershey had never worn one, and I wasn’t sure how to even go about training him to walk on one.

  I did a Google search on how to train a cat to walk on a leash and found a page of step-by-step instructions, but I had left the house so fast that I didn’t think to grab some change to pay for printing. It was five cents a page, and I had no money.

  It’s okay, I thought to myself. All is have to do is ask the librarian for a piece of paper and a pen so I could write this all down. I was the only person on a computer, so it would be safe to leave for a moment or so. No one would need this particular computer.

  I looked around me and made sure it was safe to leave for a minute. I walked over to the woman at the checkout desk when I heard a familiar voice greet me.

  “Hi Ellen,” It was Cindy Haskel.

  My heart rate jumped and I felt completely flustered. My eyes must have been the size of dinner plates. God, I wanted to sink into a hole and disappear. She was going to say something hurtful, I just knew it.

  I swallowed my fear and turned to face her.

  “Hi Cindy.” That was all I said, but it was a big step for me. She looked surprised but smiled, seemingly genuine.

  “Are you having a good summer so far?” she asked.

  “Well, I’m not really doing much right now, but I have plans.”

  Great! Now she was going to want to know what my plans were and if I told her, she’d probably broadcast it to all the popular girls and I’d be the butt of every joke yet again.

  But she didn’t ask, she just said, “We should get together sometime.”

  I was speechless. I didn’t know how to respond and was afraid if I did, I would stutter. All I could do was nod my head.

  “Okay, well you know where I live. Stop by sometime, and don’t forget your swim suit! We have a slide now. I don’t think you’ve been over since we installed it.”

  “I’ll do that. Thank you, Cindy,” I replied, thankfully without stuttering. Then I worked up the courage to ask her a question.

  “Hey Cindy, do you have a quarter you can lend me? I need to print something and I didn’t think ahead, stupid me!” I stammered. “I left the house so fast I didn’t think of grabbing any change.”

  “Here’s a dollar,” she interrupted my rant, “and don’t worry about it, really. You can pay me back by promising you’ll come over sometime.”

  She handed me the money, and put her hand on my shoulder. That felt so strange. I blushed and looked at the ground, too timid to look her in the eye.

  Meekly I said, “I will, and thank you so much, Cindy.”

  After we parted, I went back to the computer and printed out the harness training information. I had enough money left to print out the volunteer application, the pet screening schedule and locations, and all the pertinent information I felt I would need to study.

  The ride home was invigorating. I had so much to do and could not wait to get started!

  My mom’s car was in the driveway when I got home, and I could see her pacing through the living room window. Oops, I didn’t make it home in time! Hershey was sitting in the window, tail swishing from side to side. This time he wouldn’t greet me at the door for he knew Mom was madder than a wet hen!

  “Just where the heck have you been?” my mom demanded as I walked through the door. Hershey slunk out of sight and ran to my room.

  “I’ve been calling your cell phone for over an hour, only to find it sitting between the couch cushions!”

  “I rode my bike to the library because I needed to use a computer. I’m sorry Mom. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  My mom sighed and sat on the couch, looking sad and defeated. She had tears in her eyes and gave me a weak smile.

  “I’m sorry, too, Ellen. I hate that you have to go to the library to use a computer. It was my intention to have a computer for you before school starts up again. I’ve been saving up for one. I didn’t think you’d need to use one until fall.”

  I sat next to her and put my hand on her knee.

  “It’s okay, Mom, really. I’m fine with not having a computer. I don’t need Facebook and all that other social media stuff.”

  I explained to her what I saw on the news, and what Paws That Heal was all about. I showed her the printouts I brought home with me.

  She read it over and looked at me in shock. I knew my mom was worried about what she called my “social anxiety.” A few months ago I had overheard her talking to my grandma about taking me in for therapy sessions to help overcome my insecurities, but thankfully that never transpired. I was sure money played a big role in that.

  “Ellen, I am so impressed,” she said. “This would be a wonderful experience for you.”

  Then she stood up, grabbed my hand, and led me to the door. She snatched her purse and her keys from the table and ushered me to the car.

  “We’re going to get you that harness and leash and tomorrow you are going to start training Hershey.” She said.

  Chapter Five

  Training a cat to walk on a leash is difficult! Just getting the darn harness on was a challenge! I did exactly as was recommended; I started out by having him wear the harness in the house without the leash to get used to it. I would take it off and lay it on my bed, he would smell it, bat at it with his paws, and
sometimes lie on top of it. The harness carried his scent so he knew it was his. I only gave him treats when he had the harness on to show him the harness was a good thing. It only took a few days to get Hershey to the point where he would wear the harness without protest. He wore it all day long, while we watched TV and while we cuddled until it became as unnoticeable to him as his every day collar.

  A week later, we graduated to adding the leash. We walked around the yard which Hershey quickly decided was fascinating. He explored every inch of our yard and I never directed him, I let him lead the way. He would crouch down when a bird was near, stalking it. He rolled around in the grass and sunned himself. Hershey concluded that being on the harness meant being outside, and being outside was great fun!

  Walking Hershey outside of the confines of our yard presented the biggest challenge for both of us. We were both fearful of leaving the safety of our own yard. I was afraid of running into someone who would tease me. Hershey was afraid of the change in scenery and he didn’t seem to like the feel of the concrete road on his paws. He walked in the grassy ditches crouched low to the ground, always keeping an eye out for some unseen predator, just as I always kept watch for my predators. We didn’t walk very far at first, only two or three houses down the road and back. Every day I pushed us further, one more house. When I got us to the point where we could walk the equivalent of one block, I decided it was time to make our screening appointment.

  Mom arranged her schedule so that she could drive Hershey and me to our screening. A few nights before the appointment, she came home from work with an animal carrier for Hershey. It looked like a big purse, and it made me feel like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde!