The Angelic Kitten

Currently a work in progress. Ratings will be allowed once completed. Comments with advice are much appreciated.

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"Mrs. Angela! Mrs. Angela! When can we have one?" cried a little voice nearby.

I looked up from the papers I was grading to see Michael standing in front of my desk. Behind him were 18 other small faces looking at me with pleading faces. I signed and put down the stack of papers.

"We will get a class pet when the school board approves of one," I replied to the class, "Until then, I do not have any control over it."

"Can we vote on a pet?" cried Alice, "This way we can tell them what to bring us."

I smiled at my students. Just recently the Crossland School Board approved of elementary classes having a class mascot. Most of the lower grades were opting for class pets as their mascots. The only issue was, I wasn't too keen on having to clean up after a rodent every day.

"Sure," I said as I stood up from my desk, "We can vote on our class pet."

The children cheered as they all started shouting out different kinds of animals.

"Dog"

"Horse"

"Cow"

"Monkey"

"Rabbit"

Selections from normal to bizarre came from every direction. I chuckled to myself as I wrote the various species across the board. Where ever would we fit a dinosaur or a whale I wondered. Third graders surely have a vivid imagination.

"Hippoplatymus," shouted another voice. At this point I couldn't hold in my laughter. I turned to face my students who were all looking up at me with grins stretching from ear to ear.

"Ok my silly gnomes," I said to them with a smile. "We need to make sure that they are small enough for this class room."

Anita raised her hand from the back of the room. "I like puppies," she said in a small voice. "But I sneeze a lot when I am around them."

A sudden realization hit. A lot of people are allergic to animals. I surely can't have an animal that one or more students would be allergic to.

"I have an idea," I told the class as I went over to my computer. "I want each of you to take this form home for your parents to sign."

I went over the the printer and gathered 19 forms. The form clearly stated for the parents to list any animal allergies that their child may have. Once I get the forms back it will be easier to finalize a selection of small critters. As each child left the room to go home, I handed them the sheet of paper.

"Please bring them back tomorrow," I called out to them.

I let out a sign of relief as the last child left the room. 'Time to finish grading those math tests' I said to myself. I sat at my desk to continue grading. I knew that if I did not do them before I left the school, chances are I would get sidetracked once I got home.

I was pleased to see how well my students did on this weeks test. Everyone passed for once so I didn't need to prepare any letters to the parents. As I logged the final score into the computer I heard a faint meow. I looked out the window and saw two green eyes looking my way.

"Looks like the poor thing got itself stuck in the tree," I said while shutting down the computer. I gathered my things and left the classroom.

Walking outside to the side of the building, I went to the tree that was outside my classroom door. To my surprise the tree branch was empty. No kitten perched up there waiting to be rescued. With a sigh, I turned back to the parking lot to drive home.

That evening was uneventful. My dear husband Dan ordered pizza again and was watching some vampire romance movie when I got home.

"You'll rot your brain if you keep watching that stuff," I told him.

He looked up at me with a childish grin. "But mommy, vampires are so cool," he responded in a whiny voice. I smiled at him as I went to put down my stuff in the office.

"A package came for you," Dan called from the living room, "Its on the table."

I hadn't ordered anything recently, so I was curious to know what arrived. I picked up the small package and the return address was from Ohio. No name was listed and I didn't personally know anyone from Ohio. Dan watched over my shoulder while I opened the package. Inside was a small white box with no title. It looks like a box you would get from a jewelry store.

"I think you have a secret admirer," Dan teased.

Curiously, I opened the box. Inside was a golden cat pendant, the bow around the cats neck was decorated in pink sapphires. I drew in a sharp breath, taken by its beauty. As I ran my finger along the pink gems, I thought I saw the eyes sparkle green for a moment. I drew in a sharp breath, taken by its beauty. I turned to face Dan, ready to ask him where it came from. Without a word, he picked up the pendant from the box and clasped its golden chain around my neck. His facial expression was neutral, but his eyes were smiling.

I woke up the next morning vaguely remembering last night. My stomach did remember the cold pizza that was for dinner. Next to me, Dan was still sleeping peacefully. I glanced at the clock, which read 6:45am, and flew out of bed. I had to be at the school in half an hour. I cursed silently under my breath as I ran into the bathroom. Dan must have turned off the alarm in his sleep again. His sleep antics has made me a professional at getting showered, dressed, and out the door in under ten minutes.

Thankfully there was no traffic today. I pulled into the school parking lot at 7:10am. This gave me twenty minutes to get everything ready before the students started pilling in the classroom. Seeing that my favorite parking spot under the orchid tree was free brightened my morning.

Walking to the school doors I noticed a few of my students huddled around a bush near the gym doors. I walked over to check it out thinking that they may have found another injured bird. They must have heard me coming as the smallest, a girl named Molly, stood to greet me.

“Morning Mrs. Angel,” she said in a candy-coated tone.

“Good morning Molly,” I said back. “What have you guys found today?”

“A kitten,” Molly said with a grin.

I knelt down to look in the bushes. It was empty.

“I don't see a kitten here right now,” I commented. “It must have ran off.”

The children hung their head as they went to pick up their bags. In my mind I wondered if it was the same kitten from yesterday. A mysterious little ball of fluff that was there one moment, and gone the next.