I'm With Cupid by Anna Staniszewski Page B

you,” Marcus whispered. “I promise.” He kept talking to it in a calm voice until finally he was able to wrap the jacket around it. Holding his breath, he picked up the cat and brought it slowly to his chest.
    When it was cradled in his arms, still wriggling but not fighting him, Marcus slowly got to his feet. But before he could turn to go, a voice behind him made him freeze.
    â€œHey, Dumpus!” It was Caspar Brown’s voice.
    Marcus didn’t turn around.
    â€œDumpus, are you deaf? How do you like your new nickname?”
    Marcus still didn’t turn around.
    â€œWhatchya got there?” Caspar asked, coming up next to him. “Cool! Is that cat dead?”
    â€œNo,” Marcus said, trying to back away. “I’m taking it to the vet so they can help it.”
    â€œWhat’s the hurry?” Caspar grabbed a stick off the ground and went to prod at the cat just as it let out another pitiful sound.
    â€œLeave it alone!” Marcus said.
    Caspar stopped and looked at him, clearly surprised to hear Marcus raise his voice. “Why do you care?” he asked. “Is this your cat or something?”
    The creature started struggling in his grasp again, and Marcus knew he had to get out of there. “Just let me go.”
    â€œCome on. I want to have some fun with it.”
    â€œNo,” Marcus cried. “Leave it alone!” Then he turned and tried to run away, but Caspar grabbed his shirt and yanked him back. As Marcus lost his balance, the cat let out a yowl. It fought out of Marcus’s arms, scratching and clawing at his hands until he couldn’t hold on any longer. Then it leaped onto the ground and darted into the bushes.
    Marcus looked down at his scratched hands, realizing with horror that at some point during the struggle, his fingers had started glowing deep purple. Then he watched as the glow faded, as if his fingers had done their job.
    â€œNo,” Marcus whispered in disbelief. “No!” What had he done? Was the cat dead now because of him?
    â€œAw, man. You let it go!” Caspar said, ducking into the bushes to go after it. But Marcus couldn’t let that happen.
    â€œI said, leave it alone!” Marcus yelled, shoving Caspar aside.
    The minute he did it, he knew he’d made a mistake. Not only was it crazy for him to touch anyone after his fingers had just been glowing, but Caspar seemed to double in size right before his eyes.
    Marcus tried to turn, tried to run, but he wasn’t quick enough to get away.

Chapter 18
    Marcus could barely see straight when he flopped onto his bed. It felt like his eyes were the wrong shape, like someone had dented them. He supposed Caspar’s fists had done that…and more.
    Every inch of him hurt so badly that he never wanted to move again. But he knew things were only going to get worse once his parents found out what had happened.
    A little while later, there was a knock on his door. “Marcus?” his mom called. “We picked up some dinner on the way home. Come eat.”
    â€œI’m not hungry,” he called, his voice barely more than a groan.
    â€œWhat was that, honey?” she asked. Then she tried to open the door. “Why is this door locked? You know the rules. Open up.”
    â€œI-I can’t.”
    â€œMarcus, open this door right now. I’m not joking.”
    It was no use. There was no way to hide this from his parents. Maybe if he explained things to his mom first, she’d get his dad to go easy on him.
    He sighed and forced himself to sit up, every inch of his body creaking like it was made of old wood. Then he stumbled to the door and pulled it open.
    His mom took one look at him and screamed. “What happened to you?”
    â€œNothing,” he said. “I got into a fight.”
    â€œA fight? What fight? Who were you fighting with?”
    â€œI wasn’t fighting anyone. The guy was fighting me.”
    â€œBut