Oh she’s so cute I said looking at the picture Mei-Mei had rounded ears short legs and no tail Her fur was brown and tan with patches of white Are you going to take her to the pet show at the library next Sunday No I can’t said Lucy I’m going to visit my auntie next weekend Do you need a pet sitter I’m starting my own pet sitting business You could be my first customer Wow that’s great said Lucy I’ll definitely hire you to look after Mei-Mei How much are you charging I hadn’t decided that yet So I said Since you’re my first client I’ll give you a discount Your total will come to zero dollars Thanks Pinky You can even take Mei-Mei to the pet show if you want I had planned to bring my cat D J but I didn’t think he’d mind missing the show this time You’ll have to show me how to take care of her I’d never looked after any animal except for D J but how hard could it be Don’t worry I’ll tell you everything you need to know And I’ll bring over her water bottle a bag 6
of bedding some food pellets her feeding dish her hiding tunnel her nail clipper her grooming brush and her carrier Wow this was going to be more work than I’d thought I actually have to go to the pet store on Friday after school to buy more bedding for her cage Lucy added Do you want to go with me Sure I’ll just have to ask my parents for permission The door to my room opened again and Avi marched in Pinky if you go to the pet store I’m going with you This is between Lucy and me I said And by the way it’s rude to listen in on other people’s conversations Avi ignored this I’m getting a pet too he announced And you’ll never guess what kind Are you making this up Avi I said Like the time you told me you were entering the hot dog eating contest at Coney Island This is for real Pinky Mom and Dad said I could get a pet because I got a perfect score on my spelling test Come on try to guess what it is I wasn’t sure I believed he was getting a pet at 7
all I made a wild guess It’s a vampire bat that you found in Prospect Park Lucy joined in I think you’re getting a bearded dragon one that looks like a dinosaur and breathes fire Even better said Avi It’s a Madagascar hissing cockroach They come from an island off of Africa and they make hissing noises through the two tubes they use for breathing I blinked a few times Avi did you say you’re getting a cockroach That’s right Pinky For your information Madagascar hissing cockroaches make great pets My friend Max already gave me his old terrarium and I’m going to use my allowance for the other pet supplies That was all Brooklyn needed another cockroach And this one was going to live in my apartment 8
Chapter Three After Lucy went home I helped get ready for dinner My job was to make the salad Avi was supposed to set the table which didn’t always happen As soon as I asked Mom about going to the pet store with Lucy on Friday afternoon Avi burst into the kitchen and declared I’m going too I gave him my evil eye No way Avi If you want to go Mom or Dad can take you another time You’re not my boss Pinky I already asked Dad and he’s going to take us since he needs to buy more kitty litter for D J 9
