around by whispering her name and patting her cheeks softly. Okay, so maybe Rebecca did shout her name ... and then slap her.
"Wh-wh-wh-what happened?" Petal stammered, coming back to life.
"This is your doing?" Rebecca rounded on Annie.
Annie nodded, meekly for once.
"I'm shocked, I tell you," Rebecca said, "simply shocked. I'd expect such behavior from Georgia and, well, from me, of course, but you? You're supposed to be the eldest, you're supposed to be in charge, you must have known such a trick would be too much for Petal, who is always so—"
"All right, "Annie said through gritted teeth. She'd felt guilty for a moment, but she certainly wasn't going to go on feeling that way forever. "Zinnia," Annie instructed, "why don't you take Petal to the bathroom and, oh, I don't know, put a cold washcloth on her face?"
So that's what Zinnia and Petal did.
There was still no sign of Jackie.
***
Rebecca's mood was not improved when Georgia put on a monster mask and then leaped out from around a corner and shouted, "Boo!" right in Rebecca's face. Rebecca nearly went through the roof, in more ways than one.
"April Fools'!" Georgia laughed, removing the mask.
"This whole house has gone insane," Rebecca muttered. "Am I the only one left here who has any sense?"
And Rebecca's mood really didn't improve any when Petal and Zinnia returned, all excited.
"What's wrong?" Annie asked immediately, for Petal and Zinnia were so excited, they couldn't even speak. Well, at least Petal wasn't fainting anymore.
"Come quick!" Zinnia at last gasped out the words.
"Yes!" Petal blurted. "Come quick! The cats are going crazy!"
Not that this was anything new. It seemed as though our cats were always going crazy. Someone breaks into the house while we're out at a party? Cats go crazy. Someone steals Mommy's Top Secret folder from her private study? Cats go crazy. Too much fruitcake smell in the air? Cats go really crazy. Honestly, those cats were hysterical so often, they might as well have been Petal.
As it turned out, when seven of us entered the cat room (which is like our drawing room, only for cats), the cats weren't going crazy at all. In fact, they looked downright peaceful.
"Are you sure they're going crazy?" Marcia asked, one eyebrow raised. "It looks to me like they're practically sleeping."
It was true. Anthrax, Dandruff, Greatorex, Minx, Precious, Rambunctious, and Zither—they were all curled up together like one giant ball of gray and white yarn.
"Well, yes," Petal said hurriedly, "they do look peaceful now— "
"Actually," Zinnia said, cutting her off, "they never looked not peaceful, but—"
"But Zinnia heard them all talking," Petal said, "and they were saying they heard that the Wicket returned last night."
The Wicket was our evil neighbor, stealer of Top Secret folders everywhere, who back in February we'd tricked into going to Beijing by making her think that Mommy had taken her secret to eternal life and fled there. We'd long been worrying about her return; the Wicket's, that is.
"Is this true?" Annie demanded of Zinnia.
"Of course it's not true," Georgia said.
"Exactly," Rebecca agreed. "Everyone except Zinnia knows that the cats don't really talk to Zinnia, nor do the cats understand her."
"Oh, but that's exactly what the cats said," Petal said. "You see, this time, I heard them too."
"You did?"
All eyes were on Petal.
"Oh yes," Petal said, practically hopping from foot to foot. It was hard to tell if she was excited, nervous, or had simply failed to use the bathroom when she'd gone in there with Zinnia. "And what's more, Zinnia and I also heard the cats talking amongst themselves, and they're plotting to ... they're plotting to ... they're plotting to..."
"Plotting to what? "Rebecca snapped.
"They're plotting to take over the house!" Petal burst out at last.
" What? "Annie said. "This is serious."
"But they are only cats," Marcia observed.
"There's no such thing as 'only cats,'" said Durinda, who
"Wh-wh-wh-what happened?" Petal stammered, coming back to life.
"This is your doing?" Rebecca rounded on Annie.
Annie nodded, meekly for once.
"I'm shocked, I tell you," Rebecca said, "simply shocked. I'd expect such behavior from Georgia and, well, from me, of course, but you? You're supposed to be the eldest, you're supposed to be in charge, you must have known such a trick would be too much for Petal, who is always so—"
"All right, "Annie said through gritted teeth. She'd felt guilty for a moment, but she certainly wasn't going to go on feeling that way forever. "Zinnia," Annie instructed, "why don't you take Petal to the bathroom and, oh, I don't know, put a cold washcloth on her face?"
So that's what Zinnia and Petal did.
There was still no sign of Jackie.
***
Rebecca's mood was not improved when Georgia put on a monster mask and then leaped out from around a corner and shouted, "Boo!" right in Rebecca's face. Rebecca nearly went through the roof, in more ways than one.
"April Fools'!" Georgia laughed, removing the mask.
"This whole house has gone insane," Rebecca muttered. "Am I the only one left here who has any sense?"
And Rebecca's mood really didn't improve any when Petal and Zinnia returned, all excited.
"What's wrong?" Annie asked immediately, for Petal and Zinnia were so excited, they couldn't even speak. Well, at least Petal wasn't fainting anymore.
"Come quick!" Zinnia at last gasped out the words.
"Yes!" Petal blurted. "Come quick! The cats are going crazy!"
Not that this was anything new. It seemed as though our cats were always going crazy. Someone breaks into the house while we're out at a party? Cats go crazy. Someone steals Mommy's Top Secret folder from her private study? Cats go crazy. Too much fruitcake smell in the air? Cats go really crazy. Honestly, those cats were hysterical so often, they might as well have been Petal.
As it turned out, when seven of us entered the cat room (which is like our drawing room, only for cats), the cats weren't going crazy at all. In fact, they looked downright peaceful.
"Are you sure they're going crazy?" Marcia asked, one eyebrow raised. "It looks to me like they're practically sleeping."
It was true. Anthrax, Dandruff, Greatorex, Minx, Precious, Rambunctious, and Zither—they were all curled up together like one giant ball of gray and white yarn.
"Well, yes," Petal said hurriedly, "they do look peaceful now— "
"Actually," Zinnia said, cutting her off, "they never looked not peaceful, but—"
"But Zinnia heard them all talking," Petal said, "and they were saying they heard that the Wicket returned last night."
The Wicket was our evil neighbor, stealer of Top Secret folders everywhere, who back in February we'd tricked into going to Beijing by making her think that Mommy had taken her secret to eternal life and fled there. We'd long been worrying about her return; the Wicket's, that is.
"Is this true?" Annie demanded of Zinnia.
"Of course it's not true," Georgia said.
"Exactly," Rebecca agreed. "Everyone except Zinnia knows that the cats don't really talk to Zinnia, nor do the cats understand her."
"Oh, but that's exactly what the cats said," Petal said. "You see, this time, I heard them too."
"You did?"
All eyes were on Petal.
"Oh yes," Petal said, practically hopping from foot to foot. It was hard to tell if she was excited, nervous, or had simply failed to use the bathroom when she'd gone in there with Zinnia. "And what's more, Zinnia and I also heard the cats talking amongst themselves, and they're plotting to ... they're plotting to ... they're plotting to..."
"Plotting to what? "Rebecca snapped.
"They're plotting to take over the house!" Petal burst out at last.
" What? "Annie said. "This is serious."
"But they are only cats," Marcia observed.
"There's no such thing as 'only cats,'" said Durinda, who
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