Free Curiosity Killed the Cat by Sierra Harimann

Ryan, I’m with you. It’s super good!”
    “Yes!” Ryan yelled. He jumped up and did his goofy victory dance again.
    Taylor rolled her eyes at her brother, but smiled at the same time.
    “I call it the PBBPC&J,” Ryan said.
    Hannah laughed. “That’s a mouthful. Maybe you should try something simpler, like the Walsh Special.”
    Ryan stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Hmmm,” he mused. “An interesting suggestion. I’ll definitely consider it.”
    After lunch, Taylor had a piano lesson, so Ryan offered to walk Hannah home.
    “Thanks for coming with me,” she said. “I feel silly for not knowing the way, but I got so turned around in the woods, and I haven’t lived around here long.”
    “No problem,” Ryan said. “I don’t mind. Anyway, it’s fun hanging out with you.”
    Hannah felt a little flutter in her stomach. Maybe adding the chips to her sandwich hadn’t been such a good idea.
    “You know,” Ryan continued, “we could hang out even more if you joined my band. I really like to play bass, but I can’t unless there’s someone else to play lead guitar. And you’re really good.”
    Now Hannah felt something else in her stomach — a knot of nerves.
    “I’m not really good at performing in front of people,” she admitted.
    “Yeah, it can be a little scary, but it gets easier,” Ryan said with a shrug. “Plus, Taylor’s in the band —she plays the keyboard and sings. She would really love to have another girl to hang out with during rehearsals. Our cousin Jake is the drummer, and sometimes the two of us kinda take over with our jokes and boy stuff.”
    Hannah didn’t know what to say. She was flattered that Ryan had invited her to join the band, but she was still paralyzed by stage fright. She had never really cared much one way or the other whether she ever performed in front of people again, but suddenly she wished she could.
    “Just think about it,” Ryan said, sounding just like Mr. G. “You don’t have to decide right now.”
    “Okay, thanks,” Hannah said with a tiny sigh of relief. “I’ll let you know.”
    They rounded the corner and Hannah saw her dad’s house up ahead.
    “Well, that’s it.” Hannah pointed to the house. “So I guess I can make it the rest of the way from here.”
    She shifted nervously from her left foot to her right. Now that they had stopped walking, Hannah felt incredibly awkward.
    “Right,” Ryan said. Hannah thought he looked ner vous, too, but maybe it was just her imagination.
    Finally, he raised his hand and gave Hannah a small wave. “See you on Monday?”
    Hannah nodded. Then she headed toward the house. For some reason, she couldn’t seem to stop smiling.

Chapter Twelve
    As soon as Hannah had checked in with her dad and reassured him the scrapes and cuts on her hands and knee were no big deal, she went out to the cemetery to retrieve her guitar and the rest of the things she had left there. Luckily Madison and her friends weren’t in the yard — their lounge chairs had been abandoned, though there were still nail polish bottles and cotton balls littered all around.
    When Hannah got to the arbor, she found everything exactly where she had left it. Well, every thing except the fleece blanket. Thinking the wind had lifted the blanket and tossed it somewhere nearby, Hannah circled the tree twice trying to find it, but it was gone.
    She considered staying out in the cemetery a bitlonger, but the sky had clouded over and it looked like it was about to rain. So Hannah headed back inside and up to her room. She sat down at her desk and opened her video chat and e-mail. The first message in her in-box was from her mom.
    To: [email protected]
    From: [email protected]
    Saturday 11:23 A.M.
    Hi, Hannah!
    How’s every thing? My classes are going really well. How about yours? I spoke to your dad yesterday and he said Icky is still on the lam … I don’t know what’s gotten into that cat! I really hope he reappears soon.
    What are