Homeless by Laurie Halse Anderson

Author:Laurie Halse Anderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin USA, Inc.

Chapter Nine

My parents rush through the door of County General Hospital’s emergency room. They look around frantically, then spot Dr. Mac and me near the receptionist’s desk.

“Oh, Sunita!” Mother runs to me, throws her arms around me for a tight hug, then steps back so she can see me. “Show me.”

Daddy hugs me, too, and kisses my forehead. “Let’s see.”

I slowly lift my arm to show them my red, swollen hand. Mother gasps.

“It’s—it’s not that bad,” I stammer.

Daddy takes the hand gently in his. “It’s deep,” he says, frowning.

“It’s just a little bite,” I say. “Don’t get upset.”

My parents are usually calm during medical emergencies. Daddy is a cardiologist, a heart doctor, and Mother is an orthopedist. She takes care of broken bones. They’re both used to being around injured and sick people.

One time we came across an accident on the highway, and they helped pull two people out of a car, then gave them artificial respiration until the ambulance arrived. That didn’t bother them at all. But now they both look pale and very worried. I guess when the injured patient is your own kid, you feel a little different.

“They said a doctor will see her in a minute,” Dr. Mac says.

“How did this happen, Dr. MacKenzie?” Mother asks.

“It was all my fault,” I interrupt. “Please don’t blame Dr. Mac. She warned me to stay away from the wild cats.”

“A wild cat caused this?” Mother asks, her voice going up. “A cougar?”

“No,” I say. “It was Tiger.”

“You were bitten by a tiger?” Mother says loudly. Other people turn to stare at us.

“Not a tiger. Not a cougar. A feral cat,” Dr. Mac says quickly. “The same as a domestic house cat, but raised without any human contact so it has reverted to a state of wildness. We’ve just started a program to vaccinate and spay a colony of feral cats, and we have a few in the clinic. One of them bit Sunita.”

“It was completely my fault,” I repeat. The last thing I want is for Mother to tell me I can’t go to the clinic anymore. “I didn’t think it would hurt me. It was purring.”

Mother doesn’t look like she’s listening. I think I can forget about ever getting a cat of my own.

“I’ll be happy to talk to the doctor who examines her,” Dr. Mac says. “Along with an antibiotic, she should be treated for rabies exposure.”

“Rabies?” Mother repeats, eyes wide.

Oh, no.

“Dr. Patel. Dr. Patel?” the receptionist calls from the end of the room. “We can see Sunita now.”

“I’ll wait for you out here,” Dr. Mac says to me. There is no spark in her eyes. I know she feels responsible, even though she’s not. “Gary will be here soon. I’ll fill him in on what happened.”

I’m not sure why he’s coming, but I’ll have to ask later. Time to see the doctor.

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