Anyone But Me (4 page)

Once Katie was safely on the first rung of the ladder, she stood tall on her hind legs and tried to pull herself up to the next rung.

Bonk!
The entire pile of chew sticks came crashing down on top of Katie’s head. Luckily, the sticks were made of a soft wood. Katie wasn’t hurt. And it was kind of fun eating her way out of the pile of chew sticks.

“I have to stop this!” Katie said to herself as she chewed. “I’ll never get out of here if I don’t stop thinking like a hamster.”

The trouble was, Katie
was
a hamster. And right then she suddenly couldn’t think about anything but Speedy’s hamster wheel. Katie couldn’t explain why she suddenly needed to run so badly. She just did. She couldn’t help herself.

“Hey, this is fun,” Katie squealed as her tiny paws moved faster and faster inside the wheel.

The wheel squeaked very loudly as Katie ran. The noise didn’t bother Katie’s sensitive hamster ears. In fact, she kind of liked it. Mrs. Derkman, on the other hand, didn’t like the squeaking at all.

“Suzanne, will you please put a carrot in Speedy’s cage?” Mrs. Derkman asked. “Maybe that will get him to stop running on that squeaky wheel.”

“Yes, Mrs. Derkman,” Suzanne said.

Katie watched as her best friend walked over, lifted the lid off the cage, and dropped in a carrot.

Katie leaped from the wheel and grabbed the treat. As she chewed the carrot, Katie looked up gratefully at Suzanne. Her friend had given Katie more than just a snack. She’d given her a great idea, too!

Katie dropped the carrot and raced over to Speedy’s wheel. She started running as fast as her tiny hamster feet could carry her. The wheel moved round and round. The squeaking got louder and louder.

“Excuse me, class,” Mrs. Derkman said finally. “I’m going to have to take Speedy’s wheel out of his cage. The noise is making it too hard to learn.”

Katie heard Mrs. Derkman’s footsteps come near the glass cage. Her tiny hamster heart beat quickly. This was her only chance to get free!

Mrs. Derkman took the lid from the cage. She reached in with her hand and tried to gently ease the hamster off the wheel.

Before Mrs. Derkman could push her off, Katie leaped out and raced up her teacher’s arm. Mrs. Derkman jumped back with surprise as the furry little creature scurried over her bare skin.

Katie looked from Mrs. Derkman’s elbow to the floor below. It seemed very far away. But Katie knew she had no choice. She placed her little hamster paws in front of her eyes and jumped!

Thump!
Katie landed hard on the cold tile floor. Her hind legs hurt a little. So did her ears. Everyone in the class seemed to be moving and shouting at once.

“Speedy’s loose!” Kevin announced.

“Somebody catch him!” Zoe shouted.

“I’ll get him,” Jeremy volunteered. He got down on his hands and knees.

“No, I’ll do it,” Ricky Dobbs said. He got down on his hands and knees, too.

“I think I can get him,” Mandy yelled.

Suddenly everyone seemed to be grabbing for Katie. Her little hamster body shook with fear. She was lost in a big pile of giant human hands. They were all grabbing for her. Katie couldn’t let the kids catch her. They’d put her back in the cage again!

Katie ran toward the front of the room. It seemed more empty there. But as she reached Mrs. Derkman’s desk, she caught a whiff of human. Whoever was standing there was covered in kid smells—spilled orange juice, crumbs, and waxy crayons.

Suddenly, the boy by the desk shrieked. “Get it away from me! Get this thing away from me!”

Katie would know that voice anywhere. It was George. She couldn’t believe it! The big class bully was scared of a tiny little hamster.

Katie couldn’t help herself. She ran over to George and brushed up against his leg. Then she climbed right over his shoe.

“AAAAH!” George screamed as he leaped up onto Mrs. Derkman’s desk. He stood there, high off the ground, shaking. “Get it! Somebody catch that furball!” he screamed.

Katie laughed to herself. The class bully had been bullied—by a tiny little hamster. Deep down, Katie knew she’d been pretty mean. Her parents had always told her that two wrongs don’t make a right, but Katie couldn’t help feeling just a little bit happy at hearing George screaming in fear.

Just then, the classroom door opened. Mr. Kane, the principal, was standing at the door. “What’s going on in here?” he asked.

“Our hamster is loose,” Suzanne explained quickly.

“There he goes!” Miriam added, as Katie ran right between Mr. Kane’s legs and out the door.

“Hang on, Speedy!” Kevin cried out. “We’ll save you!”

“Not so fast, Kevin,” Mr. Kane said. “I can’t have a whole third-grade class running around the school.”

“But we have to find Speedy,” Kevin argued.

“Right now you have to go to gym class,” Mrs. Derkman interrupted. “I’m sure Speedy will turn up.”

“But Mrs. Derkman,” Jeremy pleaded. “He could get stuck in a wall or something.”

Mrs. Derkman sighed. “I’m sure he’ll be fine, Jeremy. Now, class, let’s line up. We’re already late.”

Katie raced down the hall as quickly as her little legs could take her. She was looking for someplace where she could be safe.

As she turned the corner, Katie found herself in a small empty room. What a relief! There was no one here to chase her. She stood on her hind legs and began to clean her front paws with her little pink tongue.

Just then, Katie heard footsteps coming into the room. She froze in place as someone turned on a light.

“Man, Brennan, you are such a chicken!” Katie recognized Ricky’s voice. “I didn’t think you would be afraid of a tiny hamster.”

“I’m not,” George answered him.

“So how come you were screaming like that?” Ricky continued.

“How come your face is like that?” George argued back.

It wasn’t much of an answer, but it sure shut Ricky up. “I’m not afraid of anything,” George continued.

Katie sniffed at the air. The room was beginning to smell like old sneakers and dirty socks.

“Do you think Coach G. will make us play kickball again?” Kevin asked. “I hate that game.”

“Well, we’d better hurry up and get out there. Coach gets mad when we take too long in the locker room,” Jeremy said.

Katie’s eyes grew wide. Oh no! She was in the boys’ locker room ... while the boys were getting dressed for gym! This was so embarrassing!

Katie had to find a good hiding place.

Someplace where the boys couldn’t see her.

Someplace where she couldn’t see anything she wasn’t supposed to see!

Quickly, Katie leaped into the nearest small hole. She landed in some sort of strange, soft cave. She crept inside as far as she could go. Then she sat very, very still.

The inside of the cave was moist and stinky. It smelled like sweaty feet. But at least it was dark and quiet. No one would find her here.

Suddenly, Katie felt someone lift her hiding place right off the floor. Katie peeked out and looked up. A giant, stinky gym sock was coming right at her!