Housepets: Curse of the Werenut, Chapter Three
Chapter Three
"I just can't figure it out," Mr. Sandwich exclaimed. "Last night, there was a great big burn on
his back!"
"Well, I don't see anything of the sort," the vet replied. He ran his hand down Peanut's back, and the
pup didn't complain in the slightest. "He's
as healthy as a horse."
"But I'm a dog!" Peanut protested.
"Grape said he got struck by lightning," Mr. Sandwich went
on. "She was in tears over the whole
thing."
The vet turned to look at Grape, who instinctively shrank
into the corner just in case he decided to pull a needle out.
"What do you have to say about all this, Princess?" the
doctor asked.
"My name is Grape!" the cat spat.
The doctor chuckled, "Well, you'll always be Princess
Periwinkle to me!"
Grape glared at the wicked, evil, doctor man with all the
hatred she could muster, "All I know is that everything got really bright all
of a sudden, and the next thing I know he's face down in the dirt!" She had avoided mentioning anything about
Tarot's visit the night before.
"I feel fine!" Peanut piped up. "We went to see Pridelands 3 last night! Have you ever read the Pridelands books, Mr.
Doctorvet?"
"Can't say that I have," the vet answered before turning to their
dad again. "I hate to be the bearer of
bad news, but it looks like your pets have played a trick on you, Mr. Sandwich."
"No way," Mr. Sandwich argued. "I saw the burn with my own two eyes. It was there!"
"Then I don't know what to tell you, because Peanut is..."
"I'm not a horse!" Peanut interjected crossly.
"I won't charge you for the visit," the vet finished. "But next time, I'd suggest taking a closer
look at them when they tell you they've been struck by lightning."
Mr. Sandwich bit his lip and sighed, shaking his head in
resignation, "All right, then. Come on,
Peanut." He placed his dog back on the
floor. Clipping their leashes to their
collars, he led them out of the room. "Thank
you, Doc. I'm sorry for the trouble."
"No trouble at all," the doctor smiled. "I know how pets can get sometimes."
"Don't I get a lollipop?" Peanut asked as they walked out.
"Guys, I am very disappointed in you both," Mr. Sandwich
said as they left the office. "I can't
believe you would do something like this!"
"I don't even remember what any of you are talking about,"
Peanut said, pulling on his leash to sniff a fire hydrant.
"Don't give me that, young pup!" Mr. Sandwich scolded
him. "I don't know how you two managed
to make that burn look so real last night, but it was a very mean thing to
do. Your mother and I were worried sick!"
"Sorry, Dad," Grape muttered, looking down and shuffling her
feet guiltily. Better to just let him
think the whole thing was a trick than have to explain everything.
"I should hope so, Grape!" Mr. Sandwich said, turning to
her. "No more midnight movies for either
of you. Ever!"
"Aaw!" Peanut whined.
"No fair, Dad!"
"You should have thought of that before you played that
trick on us last night," Mr. Sandwich concluded. "Now come on, we're going home."
The walk from the vet office to the Sandwich's house was
only about a mile, and Mr. Sandwich had insisted they walk the distance from
now on, claiming it would be good exercise.
As they walked, Grape reflected on their situation. If all that came of this dilemma was that
they couldn't go to the movies at midnight anymore, then she counted herself
lucky.
"Wait a minute," Mr. Sandwich said suddenly. He'd stopped outside the grocery store. "I need to get some milk. Can I trust you two to get home on your own?"
"Yeah!" Peanut agreed.
"Go straight home," their dad ordered sternly. "No stopping to talk to your friends."
The two of them continued walking as Mr. Sandwich went
inside the store.
"So, what's all this about me being struck by lightning?"
Peanut asked.
Grape bit her lip and looked away, her mind racing as she
tried to figure out how much she should tell him.
"It was nothing," she said, speaking fast. "You fell asleep on the way home. You must have been more tired than you
thought after the movie ended. I thought
it'd be funny if I drew a burn mark on your back." She grinned sheepishly, "I guess Mom and Dad
didn't think it was funny, huh?"
Peanut glared at her crossly, "That was mean of you, Grape!"
he exclaimed. "Mom and Dad said they
were really scared!"
"Sorry!" Grape said.
"I hope you're happy," Peanut grumped, looking at the ground
in front of him. "Now neither of us get
to go to the movies anymore!"
"I'll tell them it wasn't your fault," Grape promised. "They'll probably let you off the hook."
Peanut didn't reply.
Grape fell into a guilty silence, but refused to take her eyes off of
him.
"What are you staring at me like that for?" Peanut demanded
angrily a few minutes later.
"Nothing!" Grape replied, promptly averting her eyes. This wasn't right. Even when she'd gotten him in trouble in the
past, he had been quick to forgive her.
This prolonged, brooding anger just wasn't like him.
They finally made their way into their neighborhood. The pets were milling around their yards like
normal.
"Hey, Grape!" Grape
turned to see her boyfriend, Max, running up to meet her.
"Sorry, Max!" she said.
"I can't talk now. We're being
punished."
"What for?" Max asked, not deterred in the least.
"For her being stupid little pussycat!" Peanut spat.
Max looked at Peanut in confusion before turning indignant, "You'd
better watch your mouth when you're talking about my girlfriend, dog!"
"Max, no," Grape pleaded.
"Not now!"
"What are you going to do about it?" Peanut demanded, moving
to stand directly in front of Max. Even
though Max was older, Peanut was still a few inches taller.
"Maybe I'll teach you a lesson, you stupid pooch!" Max
flexed his claws.
Before the cat could make a move, though, Peanut had his
paws wrapped around his neck! He tackled
Max to the ground, squeezing his throat with all his might. Max gurgled with surprise, and fought to
break the dog's grip, to no avail.
"Peanut!" Grape screamed.
"Peanut, no! Stop!"
"That's enough!" Officer Fido yelled. Before Grape knew what was happening, the
large dog was had joined the fray. With
his strength, training, and larger size, he was able to pull Peanut off of Max.
"You are crazy!" Max screamed in horror, scrambling to his
feet. "You've got rabies!" Without a backwards glance, he turned and ran
all the way home.
"Peanut, what in the world was that?" Fido demanded, holding
the pup off the ground by the scruff of his neck.
"What was what?" Peanut asked, uncomprehendingly.
Grape blinked. All
traces of anger had disappeared from Peanut's face, and he stared at the canine
officer in confusion.
"You just attacked Max!" Fido exclaimed.
"No I didn't!" Peanut protested. He turned to Grape, "Tell him I didn't attack
Max!"
"He's... he's sick, Fido," Grape stammered, still in shock
over what she had just witnessed. "We
just came from the vet, and he says that Peanut needs to go home and rest."
"He did not!" Peanut protested. "He said I was a horse!"
"He doesn't know what he's saying," Grape lied through her
teeth, hoping against hope that Fido would buy it. "My dad's out getting him some medicine. He'll be back later!"
Fido eyed Peanut suspiciously one last time before turning
and walking towards the Sandwich house, "All right, but I'm not letting him go
until he's inside your front door."
"He's a werewolf!" a squeaky voice shouted from Fido's
head. Grape froze in horror.
"Not now, Spo!" Fido growled. "Just keep your mouth shut."
Fido opened the door to the Sandwich house and set Peanut
inside.
"Don't come out until you're better," he warned him. "If you do that again, I'll have to bring you
in for it." With that, he slammed the
door. Turning to Grape, he said, "Be
careful around him. You might want to
sleep outside until he's better."
"Yeah, no kidding," Grape agreed. She waited until Fido had left their yard
before turning and running off in search of Tarot.