The Good, the Bad and the Bossy (Best Babysitters Ever). Caroline Cala

quickly popped back up and retreated in a manner that she hoped looked very calm but feared looked rather rushed and awkward. Malia returned to the sidewalk where her friends were waiting and hoped she wasn’t blushing too hard.

      They walked in silence for another block, until they were sure it was safe.

      “Oh my god,” Malia stage-whispered. She thought she might hyperventilate.

      “Are you okay?” Dot asked.

      “You guys. There is a Veronica concert in two weeks, and Connor is going,” Malia practically exploded.

      Bree stopped in her tracks. “VERONICA?”

      “Clearly, we have to go,” Malia concluded.

      “Veronica?” Bree repeated. “Is coming. Here?” She clutched her chest, like she had just been told something very profound.

      “Yes, she’s giving a huge concert at the Arts Centre,” Dot said matter-of-factly. “It was announced weeks ago.”

      “THE Veronica. In Playa del Mar.” Bree was still trying to make sense of this.

      “I think she’s incredibly overhyped.” Dot sighed. “I mean, I appreciate how she tries to stand for female empowerment, but her songs are very formulaic.”

      “But you listen to her,” said Malia, shooting Dot a look. She knew for a fact that it was true.

      “I like to stay up-to-date on popular culture,” Dot argued. “I am not, technically, a fan.”

      “I CAN’T BELIEVE VERONICA IS COMING HERE!” Bree exclaimed.

      “Yes, and everyone will be there,” Malia added. “Including us.”

      “We have to go! How much are tickets? How do we buy them? Can we do this now?” Bree spoke, rapid-fire.

      “The concert will probably have a decent concession stand,” Dot conceded.

      “And it will give me so much to talk about with Connor,” Malia said wistfully. “Something to really connect over.”

      “How close do you think we can get? WHAT IF I COULD HUG HER OR EVEN JUST TOUCH HER HAND?” Bree continued to talk at a heightened volume.

      “That’s exactly how I feel about Connor,” Malia said.

      “Malia.” Bree stopped in her tracks, and grabbed Malia by the shoulders. “We are talking about VERONICA. Like, an actual angel that is coming to our town to grace us with her presence. This is so much bigger than Connor.”

      “I’ll never understand what you see in him,” said Dot. “He seems very . . . one-dimensional.”

      “He doesn’t even have any pets,” Bree added.

      Malia just sighed. Ordinarily, her friends were always on the same page, but when it came to matters of the heart, Malia was used to being on her own. Love was so far beyond reason. It was meant to be experienced, not understood.

      First, though, she would have to experience this concert. Malia didn’t care what it took. She would babysit every day – heck, she would babysit every hour – until that concert rolled around. She was going to be there, and it was going to be amazing.

      

      Bree Robinson could barely remember a time when she had felt this happy, although she supposed she felt pretty happy a lot of the time. Still, the most wonderful thing was about to happen – something even more wonderful than Veronica coming to Playa del Mar. Bree had been granted permission to adopt her very own cat.

      Her mom had okayed it, on the condition that it couldn’t interfere with Bree’s ability to help out around the house. But how hard could a cat really be? You just had to feed it and love it and hug it and occasionally change its litter while holding your nose with one hand. A cat wasn’t like a child, which actually required attention and sometimes even bribery. After babysitting, Bree figured, having a cat should be a breeze.

      No longer would she have to feel insulted when Chocolate Pudding, the family cat, ignored her displays of affection. Her own cat would never do such a thing. Her own cat would love her and snuggle with her and be her very best friend. Her own cat might even wear a hoodie. With sparkles! Bree couldn’t wait.

      All day long, she could barely concentrate on school. This was her biggest life dream come true. (Well, technically her biggest life dream was the one where she discovers Veronica is her long-lost sister, and Veronica lets Bree borrow all her shoes and clothes and joins forces to help open a cat ranch, where hundreds of cats could roam and play in total happiness, forever. But this slightly more realistic dream – adopting a cat of her very own – was pretty high up there.)

      But now the moment was finally here. Bree was on her way to meet her future cat.

      Bree, Malia and Dot raced through the mall, with Bree leading the way, and Bree’s mom trailing somewhere behind them.

      “Are you sure it’s a good idea to get a cat right now?” Malia asked. “I’ve booked us for four new gigs this week alone to help raise money for the concert.”

      “It’s fine,” Bree said. “I can totally handle it. The cat will probably nap all the time, anyway.”

      Nothing was going to rain on her cat parade. Not even Veronica.

      They sped right by the other shops without so much as a glance until they reached the entrance to MeowTown, the neighbourhood cat café.

      “YES!” Bree yelled, so loudly it might have been heard in outer space. She inhaled. It smelled like kitty litter and endless possibilities. She breathed in so deeply that some airborne fur went up her nose, and she sneezed. She was in heaven.

      MeowTown functioned just like an animal shelter. It took in homeless cats, provided vet care and shelter, and offered the added bonus of letting the public hang out with the cats until they found forever homes. All of the cats at MeowTown were up for adoption, and the staff was knowledgeable about every cat’s story. Bree had been to MeowTown too many times to count, but she had never before gone with the mission of actually adopting one.

      The girls scanned the café. There was an orange cat, a super-fat gray cat, a skinny black cat, a white cat with fluffy fur, and a trio of striped kittens. There was a cat with tortoiseshell fur, and even a Russian blue cat, which was called blue but was actually kind of grey. Bree stopped to say hello to each one.

      “Do you have any idea what you’re looking for?” asked Dot. “I mean, did you do any research?”

      “Research? On what?” Bree asked, perplexed. “They’re cats. I love them all.”

      “But don’t they have, like, different temperaments or whatever?” Dot asked.

      Was there any truth to this? Bree just shrugged. A cat was a cat. And a cat was wonderful.

      Looking at face after feline face, Bree wondered how she would ever make a decision. How could she choose just one? It was like being asked to wear only purple or eat only gummy frogs for the rest of her life.

      But then, she saw it.

      All the way in the corner, a very creepy creature was huddled in the back of a hollow scratching tower. It didn’t have any fur, and its skin was pink and wrinkly. It had huge yellow eyes and enormous ears that stood tall on top of its head, like a vampire bat.

      Was it even a cat?

      All around her, the other cats were busy romping, playing and being petted by visitors. But the vampire cat-bat was all alone. At once, Bree’s heart broke. She knew how it felt to be ignored, when all around you everyone else was doing cute or impressive things and you seemed invisible. She often felt overlooked