Night of the Werecat Read Online Free PDF Page B

too.
    Something not human.
    I have to stop changing into a werecat, she thought.
    But could she?
    She didn’t know what made her turn into a werecat in the first place. She had never even heard of werecats until the cat show. Until Mrs. Bast told them those stories.
    Wendy gazed at herself in the mirror. An ordinary girl gazed back. There was nothing catlike or scary about her. She looked the way she always did: reddish-blond hair, pale skin, faint freckles.
    She noticed the werecat charm glittering against her nightgown like a black diamond.
    The charm.
    Could it be? She thought back. This all started when she took the werecat charm from Mrs. Bast. The charm that Mrs. Bast had refused to sell her.
    Maybe this was why. Maybe Mrs. Bast knew.
    Knew that the charm would turn her into a werecat.
    Wendy quickly reached up to unlock the clasp. The charm was beautiful, and she would be sorry not towear it anymore. But she had to stop turning into a werecat before she got hurt.
    Her fingers fumbled with the clasp. It seemed to be stuck. Frowning, she turned the chain around so the clasp was in front. Watching her movements in the mirror, Wendy continued to work the clasp.
    It still wouldn’t open.
    Frustrated, Wendy tried to yank the necklace off over her head, but the chain was too short to make it over her chin. She yanked harder, but the chain wouldn’t snap.
    This is ridiculous, she thought. I have to get this clasp open!
    She glanced around, looking for something to use. She spied a pair of scissors on her desk. She grabbed them and then, holding the scissors carefully, tried to snip through the chain.
    It didn’t work.
    Wendy’s eyes met her reflection in the mirror. She saw panic in them.
    It’s stuck, she realized with horror. The charm is never coming off!

9

    â€œD on’t panic,” Wendy scolded her reflection in the mirror. There has to be a way to get the charm off. I’ll ask Tina to help me, she told herself. She promised to be at the gymnastics tryouts today.
    Wendy pulled on a black turtleneck with white kittens on it, then piled her hair up in a white scrunchie.
    On the way to school for the tryouts, Wendy realized that Tina might be angry with her. After all, she had jumped out Tina’s window last night and never gone back. What would she tell Tina? Wendy would have to come up with some reason why she had disappeared.
    Wendy stood outside the gym and crossed her fingers for luck. “I wish I wish I wish I make theteam,” she whispered. Then she strolled through the swinging doors. She sat beside Tina on a bleacher.
    â€œWhat happened to you?” Tina asked as soon as Wendy sat down. “I called your house, but nobody answered.”
    â€œI . . . uh, I was . . .” Wendy’s mind raced, trying to think of a believable answer. She avoided Tina’s eyes and gazed around the gym. Then she came up with the perfect excuse. “I was so nervous about the tryouts today,” she lied. “All of a sudden I wanted to be in my own bed.”
    She smiled at Tina, but inside she felt terrible about lying to her best friend.
    Tina gave Wendy’s hand a quick squeeze. “You’ll do great!” Tina told her. “I’m here to cheer you on.”
    â€œThanks.” One problem down, Wendy thought. How many more to go?
    â€œSay,” Tina interrupted Wendy’s thoughts. “Before you left, did you notice Shalimar do anything strange?”
    Wendy thought back. “No,” she answered. “I didn’t see Shal all night. Why?”
    â€œThe couch was ripped to shreds,” Tina explained. “Boy, is Shalimar in trouble. My mom is so mad she locked him in the basement.”
    â€œOh, no!” Wendy cried. “It wasn’t Shalimar’s fault!”
    Tina looked surprised, and Wendy felt herself blush. “I mean . . . Shal couldn’t have done it,” she continued. Wendy wanted to