Paradoxical Pets by Maxey James

Author:Maxey, James [Maxey, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

I gave the bik e a quick inspection once we dragged it up from the ravine. My emergency beacon was smashed and my phone was nowhere to be found. As for the rest of the bike, the rear tire wobbled from a broken spoke, but the frame hadn’t bent at all. I flew back down the mountain, catching crazy air as I zoomed over the ravine and jumped boulder after boulder. Back on the valley floor, I pedaled like I was being chased by wolves. The sun had long since vanished over the cliffs. Mom had to be tearing her hair out.

I kept watching the skies for search drones. If my phone was back there in the rocks, a rescue party might lock in on it. Drones might spot the cave. I’d betray Deimos and Donut without even meaning too.

I made it to the bay without seeing any drones take off. Mom had to be worried, but apparently she wasn’t to the demand-a-search-party stage.

I ran back to my apartment, stopping at the door. I took a second to peel off the duct tape in my armpit, hoping Mom wouldn’t notice the rip. I brushed back my sweaty hair, took one last calming breath, then opened the door.

I was maybe ten steps into the apartment when Mom ran at me, babbling, switching between yelling and cooing with each breath. Her words were a confusing jumble of “where were you?” and “thank God!” and “why didn’t you answer your phone?”

She didn’t pause to let me answer, which was fine. I didn’t know what to tell her. I mean, if there was one lesson I should take away from my near death experience, it was not to keep secrets from my mother. On the other hand, there was Deimos, Donut, and the kittens, so maybe the bigger lesson was that some secrets are okay if they’re for a good cause?

I emerged from my moral calculations to find that Mom was still talking at me. “I’ve called you a hundred times! Why didn’t you answer?”

This time, she paused. Uh oh. She expected an answer.

“I, uh, lost my phone,” I said, truthfully.

“Lost it?” she said. “Where?”

“If I knew where, it wouldn’t be—”

“Don’t get smart with me, young lady.”

At that exact second, the keypad on the door went beep, boop, beep. The door slid open.

Deimos sauntered into the room, holding my phone in his mouth. He walked into the kitchen, dropped the phone on the tiles, then took a drink from his water bowl.

“I found my phone,” I said, managing a half grin.

Mom crossed her arms. She still looked angry, but seemed to be weighing how much of her wrath should be allocated to the cat.

She threw up her hands. “Why would the cat take your phone?”

I shrugged. “Why do cats do anything?”

Deimos stopped drinking, walked into the living room, and flopped onto the rug, instantly asleep.

“Go to your room,” Mom said, obviously still needing time to process her emotions.

“Okay,” I said. But, before I went, I stepped forward, and gave her a big hug.

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