Free Catboy by Eric Walters

Rupinder asked.
    â€œYeah, can we?” Mohammad asked.
    I turned to Mr. Singh, as did everybody else.
    â€œIf you are friends of Taylor and Simon, then you are good kids and most welcome,” Mr. Singh said.
    A cheer rose up and a few cats ran away. King glared at us angrily for disturbing his meal. And then I saw Hunter.
    He was sitting off to the side, partially hidden in the shadows. He was watching us. He was watching everything. Our eyes locked. He saw me, and I saw him. His eyes were soft. He wasn’t glaring at me.

Twelve
    I exited through the hole in the fence quickly. I’d lost track of time, but I knew it was getting late, so I didn’t even stop to say goodbye to Mr. Singh at the front gate. Simon was in after-school math classes. I was by myself, and I didn’t want to be in the junkyard alone after dark.
    I also wanted to get home before my mother arrived. Even though she was working longer hours, I often didn’t get home much earlier than she did. If I wasn’t there when she arrived, she would worry. She was starting to become concerned about how much time I was spending with the cats. She hadn’t exactly told me that, but her comments and expressions gave away what she was really feeling.
    The other thing that made me want to hurry was the setting sun. I was still nervous being out alone at night. Not that it was ever completely dark in the city.
    The fastest way home was through the back alleys. There was no way I’d go that way after dark, especially alone, but it wasn’t dark yet. If I moved fast enough, I’d be home before it got officially dark. That made the decision for me. I cut into the alley.
    On one side were the back fences of houses. On the other side were the backs of stores and restaurants. I walked down the center of the alley.
    I could hear voices coming from both sides, radios and tvs playing, and the sound of machinery operating in small shops. The bakery was really noisy. The Italian Bakery had its doors open, and I could see rows and rows of trays holding goodies. There was a strong smell of curry from the Indian restaurant. The aroma of the French fries from a fast-food restaurant was coming out through the exhaust fan. My mouth almost started to water.
    But all of the wonderful smells mixed with the pungent odor of the garbage bins, which weren’t as mouthwatering. Some of the bins were open, but most of them were sealed up. As I walked, I alternated between my mouth watering and my stomach feeling like it might want to heave.
    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark shape moving in the shadows at the side of a building. It was large—some sort of animal. It leaped up onto a garbage can. It was Hunter! His back was to me, and the noise from the store’s big exhaust fan blocked out any chance he’d hear me.
    I stopped and backed into the bushes and weeds on the far side of the alley. I wanted to see what he was up to. Maybe I would even see his hunting skills in action.
    It was cool to be the one doing the observing for a change. I wondered how long it would take for him to notice me.
    I knew cats have better eyesight than people, but they don’t see details as much as they see movement. If I didn’t move, there was a good chance I would be invisible to Hunter. My new superpowers were coming in handy after all!
    Hunter walked along a row of sealed garbage cans. Was he looking for a rodent or a missing lid? He spun around, and his eyes glowed like two little green laser beams straight at me. I thought he heard me, but his head kept turning to the left, and a dog came out of the shadows. No, not a dog—its movements were different, more waddling than walking. It was a raccoon! All I could see was its big backside as it moved toward Hunter.
    Hunter leaped up onto a ledge above the garbage cans. There was no way the big fat raccoon could get up there. Hunter sat on his perch. His tail swished back and forth, and his