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we’re out the front door.”
    â€œYou’re probably right,” Lauren agreed, “but I don’t want to carry them home on the bus.”
    â€œNeither do I.”
    Lauren and I left all the groceries except the cat food in front of apartment 3. As we walked down the stairs, Midnight followed.
    â€œMidnight would be better off outside,” I said. “He can drink from the puddles.” I opened the door and let Midnight go out.
    I headed around the side of the building. “I’ll leave the open bag of cat food behind the Dumpster,” I said. “He was hanging around the Dumpster when Sophie found him, so he’ll probably go there to scrounge for food.”
    â€œHe’s following us,” Lauren said.
    Midnight rubbed against my legs as I tore a larger hole in the side of the cat food bag and put it in back of the Dumpster. I was afraid if I set it in front where it was easily seen, someone would pick it up and throw it away.
    As soon as I put the bag down, Midnight started crunching on the food.
    â€œThat bag should last him until Sophie’s family comes back,” I said.
    As Lauren and I walked to the bus stop, she said, “We need to find out what’s going on with Sophie. I’m pretty sure she’ll never see one ounce of the food we just left, even if she comes home today.”
    I agreed. “My grandpa says people who are kind to animals can be trusted,” I said, “but be wary of those who aren’t.”
    â€œI think your grandpa’s right,” Sophie said. “No Help wouldn’t even feed a hungry cat when he knew the cat’s family was away.”
    â€œI wish I’d asked Sophie what her last name is,” I said. “If we knew that, we could call the hospital and find out her mom’s room number, and go there.”
    â€œMaybe we can find her address online, and see who lives there,” Lauren suggested. “Then we’d have the last name.”
    â€œGood idea.”
    â€œI’ll do that tonight,” she said, “and let you know if I learn anything.”
    We boarded the bus and found seats together. I felt lucky to have a friend like Lauren, who felt the same way I did about important things such as helping Sophie and feeding a hungry cat.
    By the time we had transferred to the second bus, I was already worrying about Midnight. “Midnight was used to being indoors,” I said. “I’m surprised that Sophie left him out in the hall. I would have thought she’d leave him shut inside with lots of food and water and his pan of dirt.”
    â€œMaybe he escaped when she wasn’t watching,” Lauren said. “My cat did that once, and we didn’t even know he was gone until one of our neighbors called to tell us that Gus was on top of their car sleeping in the sun.”
    I envisioned Sophie calling 911 because her mother was so sick. An ambulance came, and Midnight got scared with all the commotion. While the emergency medical workers rolled a gurney out the door, he bolted. I wondered if No Help had let Sophie use his phone to call the medics. Probably not.
    All I wanted to do when I got home was veg out in my room, but Mom had volunteered to bake cookies to serve after the school’s band concert, and she wanted me to help. Usually, I’d be happy to roll out cookie dough, cut it into fancy shapes, and snitch as much raw dough as I could when Mom wasn’t looking. That night, I was too worried about Sophie and her mom and Midnight to get into the spirit of baking cookies.
    Also, now that I skipped the treats at recess and after school, I found I didn’t miss them. As my craving for sugary snacks diminished, healthier food tasted better. I didn’t intend to diet, but I wasn’t going to gobble goodies any more, either.
    Mom noticed that I didn’t eat any of the warm cookies.
    â€œDo you feel okay, Emmy?”
    â€œI’m