Free Kitten Wars by Anna Wilson

was, I just wanted some time alone with Jaffa all snuggly on my
bed.
    But the little kitten had other ideas. She wouldn’t settle at all and was off out of the room exploring before I could stop her. I did wonder if I should have followed her to make sure she
was safe, but I knew all the doors and windows would be shut at this time. Anyway, as I passed my bedroom window I was distracted by a removal van pulling up opposite outside Pinkella’s
house.
    It was quite late for them to be moving in, I thought. I watched and waited to see what kind of stuff they would unload from the van, but no one came out. No sign of the family either.
    I padded downstairs to tell Dad. He was half asleep in front of the TV, the newspaper open on his lap with Jaffa curled up on top of it and the remote in one hand.
    ‘Dad?’ I said softly.
    ‘Wha—?’ His head jerked up and he dropped the remote and jolted Jaffa awake. She shot into the air as if someone had plugged her tail into an electric socket and leaped on to
the window sill. Dad shook his head and rubbed his eyes. ‘Bertie, I thought you were in bed.’
    ‘Yeah well, the removal van made a load of noise opposite.’
    Dad glanced at the window. ‘Oh, so they’re here.’

    I noticed Jaffa was watching the van intently, as if she expected someone she knew to come out of it. I wondered if she was thinking about Kaboodle as I had done earlier. ‘Bit weird to
arrive so late, isn’t it?’ I said, bringing myself out of dreamland and into the present.
    Dad shrugged. ‘We don’t know where they’ve come from, do we? Sometimes these guys come the night before they’re going to do the removal – means they can start first
thing in the morning. They can sleep in these vans, you know. Some of them are kitted out with beds and stoves and stuff.’
    Jaffa was sitting back on her haunches and patting her paws against the window. It looked as though she was trying to wave at the van.
    I wonder if she thinks that’s Kaboodle come back, I thought. I certainly wished it was.
    I didn’t really know why the thought of this new family was doing my head in so much. It was a bit unfair of me, I knew that: I hadn’t even caught a glimpse of them yet. But I had
this nagging feeling that things were going to change as soon as they arrived. And something told me it wouldn’t be for the better.
    I scooped Jaffa up and gave Dad a kiss.
    ‘Come on, Jaffs,’ I mumbled into her cute triangle of an ear. ‘Big day tomorrow, I guess. Let’s get some sleep.’
    I had no idea just how big a day it would turn out to be.
    I was still snoozing when Dad hammered on my door the next morning. I peered bleary-eyed at my alarm clock. Only eight o’clock! In the holidays! What was so important he
had to wake me up at
that
time for?
    I stumbled out of bed and staggered to the door. Dad was standing on the other side of it, looking very sorry for himself. My first thought was he was cringing because I was looking a right
muppet. I always did in the mornings. It was mostly the fault of my hair which had a life of its own that did not involve asking me for permission before restyling itself into a look that would
probably best be described as Bomb-site of the Year.
    But then as I rubbed my eyes and heard him say, ‘Now I don’t want you to worry, Bertie . . .’ I realized that he was looking sheepish rather than cringing. Suddenly I was wide
awake, my skin tingling in alarm.
    ‘It’s Jaffa, isn’t it?’ I cried.
    ‘The thing is, I was putting the bins out and—’
    DRIIING!
    ‘The doorbell!’ I yelled, rather unnecessarily. ‘Go and get it, Dad – maybe someone’s got her!’
    ‘Don’t panic, Bertie,’ Dad said, sounding pretty unconvincing, I have to say. ‘You get dressed and I’ll answer the door.’
    I muttered an ungracious ‘Thanks’ and ran back into my room to scrabble around for some clothes. Stepping out of my PJs, I left them where they fell and hastily pulled on some