“BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BE-” My alarm screamed for me to wake up and I tiredly hit the snooze button with my fist. I look to my right to see Bruce just finishing his paperwork. “Morning Bruce” I pop open his office mini-fridge and take out a bottle of apple juice

“Morning Sarah” He smiles at me trying to look awake, but failing in the end, his lack of sleep showed through.

“Bruce are you OK?” I walk over and hug him, truly worried for my only friend.

“Don t worry about it Sarah” He smiled and reached into his desk, pulling out a collar with regret written all over his face. He tears up slightly as I take the collar from him and slip it over my head and I fix my hair.

“Don’t feel bad Bruce.” I hug him and give him a delicate lick on the cheek “I will be fine” I look at the date and a lead weight drops to the pit of my stomach. It is the two year anniversary of me losing my family and it doesn’t exactly feel good. I just walk to the “kennels” that the cats were kept in and shifted my bones to look like a cat and lay down fighting back tears as Bruce hugs me one final time before leaving. I put the collar on and drift to sleep, trying to catch some Z's before the people come.

“Mommy I want that one!” The first little girl came around the corner and spotted me, waking me up with her yelling. [god I hate kids] was all I could think while being locked in a jail call for 10 hours a day. [I have to try to get adopted at least] I think to myself, so I walk up to the cage and just look at the little girl and she reached out to pet me and shouted “kitty!!. Mommy I WANT THIS ONE” she stomped her feet in anger and I retreated to my corner, trying to sleep.

I am woken up by the sound of a metal gate rising and a tray of food sliding under it with a note on the bottom. I notice people are around so I don’t read the note just yet and just finish my food. Once the people are gone I race to open the note that read

Sarah,

Hope your well, I know the days can be tough. STAY STRONG.

Bruce.

I smile because Bruce always draws a kitty paw print after all of his notes, and it makes me feel like there is someone in the world that I can trust.

Several more weeks go by without anything interesting happening. I woke up, went to “Jail”, and slept in the office at nights. One night, however, I wake up around midnight and realize that Bruce isn’t there “Bruce??” I call his name for a while before deciding he must have slept at home tonight. I couldn’t blame him, I mean this place Isn’t exactly a palace. The next was completely normal until around lunch time.

“Where is she let me see her!” The voice sounded familiar, but I wasn’t sure about it

“Hold on she's just around the corner here” The second voice belonged to Bruce for sure... But who was that first voice? I could smell a familiar scent as the boy rounded the corner. He could be no more than 11 years old. Bruce walks over and lets him in my caged off area before pressing the button that covers the cages completely and then lights come on. He starts to approach me but I back away into a corner and growl at him ready to pounce.

“You really don’t remember me?” He looks at me with tears forming in his eyes, and I continue to growl more. He walks towards me again so I tackle him to the ground and pin him down by his shoulders. I am slightly confused when he doesn’t fight back, instead he just places one of his hands over my heart and says “I love you Sarah.”

In those three little words it became clear to me who he was. “Ma... Max?” I don’t want to believe it in case it wasn’t true but I just get a one word reply: Yes. I’m elated at the word and I quickly shift my bones and I hold him and cry. “For 2 years I didn't see you” I look at him teary-eyed “I was so alone, so scared”

“Shh Sarah I know don’t worry though, I’m here for you” he smiles and holds me in his arms like he used to “and I totally would have won that fight”

“only if I let you!” I say back and we both stand and I tell Bruce to let him out so he dose and I shift my bones so people wont freak out and I return to my corner, but Bruce keeps the gate open so I give him a Quizzical look.

“what? I wouldn’t just adopt your brother and not you! Come on lets go home!!” He smiles at me as I break into a full run to catch up with what I am glad to call my new family