Mrs. Norris' Night
"Oh, crap, it's the cat!"
That's my favorite line. They all say it, or something like it. Then they run. They always run. But that's ok, I'm faster. I run straight to Master. He always knows what to do to those little ones. Sometimes they get away, but that's ok, really. We get most of them. And when we do, master is always happy. And when he's happy, I'm happy.
On this particular night, though, no one is out. Everyone is being good, which makes master suspicious. "Where are they?" he says, "They're here, I know it…" I try to tell him that there is no one in that closet, or in that corridor, or behind that bookcase, but on days that are slow, he doesn't listen to me. He expects everyone to be doing bad things.
So tonight is like that. Master is getting anxious, so I decided to go for a little stroll around the fifth floor. Nothing around here, no bad little ones to scare. I checked all of the rooms. Peeves was doodling on a chalkboard, but I won't bother Master with that, I'm just going to clean it up myself later. I help master more than he knows.
No, no one was there. So I decided to have a little fun. I went up onto one of the gargoyles and wait for a ghostie to pass by. It's funny; they scare easier than those living creatures. Well, most of them. Barron doesn't get scared, he scares. Scares me, mostly.
I waited for an hour or so, and not a single ghostie passed by! But my patience paid off, because two of the little ones came out from behind the gargoyle, stepping right on my tail! It hurt, but I didn't mind. These two were the fire-headed twins! The ones master has been trying to catch for ages! And here they are, running into me!
They were scared, but not as much as they would be when master got to them. So I ran, as fast as I could, and so did they. It was a race I know I could win. If I know Master, which I do, he's looking around the library.
I bounded down the stairs as fast as I could. And I was right; Master was hiding behind a shelf. When he saw me, he knew I meant business. I led him to the nearest passageway, the one that leads to the seventh floor. Those boys sleep there. I don't know why all of the children are separated. They're almost all troublemakers, except for the ones who favor yellow. They all just sit and read their books, and stay more to themselves.
Master could tell by my anxiousness that we were after one of those fire-headed boys. And he started to run. Master isn't as young as he used to be, but he looks like he could easily be as fast as one of the kids if he tries. And boy, is master trying! We sprinted up to the highest floor, and hid behind one of the big metal men. We had them! Finally! I purred my contentment, and Master stroked my back. They came running up the corridor and slowed down as they neared the picture of the big woman. They thought they won, but they hadn't, we did. I couldn't stand it anymore. I stepped out calmly and hissed at them. They froze.
"How did she get there!" one of the boys said. Then master stepped out.
"I think you should be more worried about him, Fred," The other whispered. We got them! Master will be so happy with me.
"Come with me," Master told them. Their faces grew dim. They had been beaten.
I was sitting in Master's lap, and it was morning. He was scratching me behind the ear. I love that most.
"You did so well, my dearest," he told me. "I know," I purred to him. He must've understood, because he rubbed my head. I could tell that master was getting tired, so I got up and prowled to the bed. I leapt up to the pillow and curled into it. Master smiled the way he only does with me. I'm his favorite, after all. He lay down and gave my ear one last little ruffle. I curled around his shoulder, and Master drifted of to sleep, me myself following shortly afterwards.