Mallory and the Ghost Cat Chapters 6-10
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Chapter 6
Uncle Joe hasn’t bothered to learn any of the Pike kids’ names. I think that has more to do with the fact that there are a gazillion of them than actual impoliteness. I would probably just nickname them after their personality traits, so Mallory would be called buttmonkey, I can’t think of any nicknames for the triplets and Nicky because I can’t really get a good grasp on their personalities, Vanessa would be Purple Prose, Margo would be Barfy, and Claire would be Bratty. Now that I think about it, I can see Vanessa publishing shitty poems online. Mallory goes over to the Craines’ house and is dismayed when she learns that Aunt Bud is there because they might not need her. It turns out that she was just visiting before going to a doctor’s appointment and Mallory thinks that’s better.
Since I’m used to the girls getting bent out of shape every time someone else babysits, I’m reading this as Mallory being happy the girls’ aunt and favorite sitter isn’t encroaching on her territory, even though I know Mallory probably just doesn’t want to go home. Sophie takes Mallory to meet Aunt Bud and Mallory is nervous because she imagines Aunt Bud having a leather jacket and tattoos. She might also offer Mallory a beer. Just because Aunt Bud has a motorcycle does not mean she’s a totally irresponsible adult who will offer minors alcohol.
Aunt Bud doesn’t have any tattoos or a leather jacket. She also doesn’t offer Mallory beer. I wonder how underage drinking would have been handled in this series. Mallory considers asking Aunt Bud to take her on a ride on her motorcycle. I shudder to think about how hurt Mallory would know her luck. I’d be too shy to ask an adult I only just met if they can take me on a ride on their motorcycle. Then again, I’m kind of afraid to go on a motor cycle. If I did own a motorcycle, I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking a child I just met on a ride on my motorcycle. Mallory’s parents wouldn’t allow her to ride on a motorcycle. I always assumed the Pikes let their kids do whatever they want. They thought that telling their kids they weren’t allowed to swim at the beach if there was no lifeguard on duty harsh, even though it was just common sense. Now I’m imagining the Pikes saying Mallory can go on the motorcycle, but she has to wear a helmet. And they’d think making Mallory wear a helmet would be harsh.
Mrs. Craine comes in and Mallory asks if they have a cat. She says no, and asks why, and Mallory says she just wondered. Mrs. Craine gives her a strange look. Does Mallory already think the cat is a ghost? Why doesn’t she just say that she thought she heard a cat in the house? What’s the worst that could happen? Mrs. Craine thinking that Mallory is delusional and forbidding her from sitting for her kids? Most likely Mrs. Craine would say that Mallory could have imagined the cat meowing or a stray could have gotten in.
Margaret shows Mallory a homemade book and Mallory compliments her. Margaret says she knows the book is good and Mallory says she loves how kids don’t pretend to be modest. No one in the BSC can be called modest. All they ever say is, “I don’t mean to sound conceited, but I’m the best at what I do.” If you’re saying I don’t mean to sound conceited, but then bragging that you’re the best, it can come off as conceited. The girls start to make cookies when the cat meows again. I wonder how long the cat has been there and why it only meows when Mallory is around. I’m just imagining a cat thinking, “I’ll meow only when the redhead girl is around. She’ll think she’s gone crazy!”
They search for the cat but have trouble finding it. Margaret thinks that it might be a ghost cat. Or maybe the cat found a really good hiding spot. Mallory thinks that the idea of a ghost cat is ridiculous. No more ridiculous than Karen’s Ben Brewer bullshit or Mrs. Porter being a witch, but the BSC probably won’t go to the attic or wherever Ben is supposed to haunt and they piss themselves with fear whenever they see Mrs. Porter. Mallory believes Margaret because the BSC are morons who believe the vivid imaginings of a child.
Mallory asks if there’s anywhere they haven’t looked. They haven’t looked in the attic. All ghosts like to hang out in attics and basements. I’ve never been in an attic or a basement. They go into the attic and see a lot of stuff, because no one ever cleans out their attic. Do the previous owners just forget about the stuff they have in the attic? Do they just say, “Screw it, I never liked any of that stuff?” Do they just figure the new owners will figure out what to do with their stuff? I can understand maybe forgetting one thing, but an entire attic full of furniture and clothes? What are the new owners supposed to do? Hold on to the stuff in case the previous owners contact them? Put it in storage? Sell it?
They finally find the cat and figure out that it got in the house because there was an opening in the rafters. Mrs. Craine says the girls can keep the cat if it doesn’t belong to anyone else. So they’ve found the cat and it appears to be real? How will Mallory jump to the conclusion that the cat is a ghost? I’m betting she’ll find a letter in the attic that will make her think the cat is a ghost, or she’ll see normal cat behavior and freak out.
Chapter 7
The Pikes are going to a concert so Claudia will be co-sitting. She introduces herself to Uncle Joe and calls him that, but he tells her his name is Mr. Pike. He then mutters about how young people have no respect for their elders. I’ve never heard an elderly person say that. Claudia bursts out that Uncle Joe is a mean old man when Mallory pulls her into the kitchen. Uncle Joe didn’t seem that mean. Maybe he’s one of those people that don’t like to be addressed informally by children. Some adults may think that a child addressing them by their first names is rude. I do think the BSC can be a bit rude sometimes and doesn’t respect that other people exist besides themselves. I can just see them creating an unholy ruckus and then complaining when someone doesn’t think the shrieking of children is the most precious sound in existence.
The Pikes are eating bland foods since Uncle Joe is here. I wonder if that’s a specific dietary need of his or because he’s old. My grandparents don’t really eat bland foods like Uncle Joe. I do remember that my Uncle didn’t want his mother to eat some chicken because it was too salty. I think she had to watch how much salt she ate. Maybe spicy food would upset his stomach? Claudia and Mallory get dinner out. Uncle Joe doesn’t thank Mallory or wait for everyone else to be served. No one thanks Mallory for anything she does. I also refuse to believe that the Pikes wait politely for everyone to be served. It’s more likely that they push and shove each other while waiting to get their dinner. Uncle Joe also doesn’t seem to remember who Claudia is.
Everyone is eating in silence until Margo yells to cut that out. Mallory reminds her that they’re at the dinner table and they have an agreement to act civil since they have a guest. I guess that means they can’t shriek like banshees, throw food at each other, or chew with their mouths open. Margo says that Nicky keeps pinching Margo and he took her shoe. Nicky whispers something to Jordan and Jordan laughs so hard that rice comes flying out of his mouth and lands near Uncle Joe’s plate. Uncle Joe blows up that he’s had enough of this tomfoolery and storms off. Mallory is shocked because she’s used to this horrible behavior. The behavior can actually get worse than this. I’m pretty sure there have been food fights in the Pike household and no one got in trouble for wasting food or making a mess.
Claudia thinks that Uncle Joe is bit touchy. Or maybe he just thinks that the Pikes have horrible table manners, which is the truth. Not everyone thinks that a child having horrible table manners is precious. These kids aren’t toddlers. They should have learned table manners by now. I’m pretty sure some people would consider it rude to yell at the dinner table. I’m pretty sure some people would think it’s rude to disrupt a meal by pinching someone. I don’t see why a person shouldn’t be upset that someone sprayed food near me and didn’t even apologize. Maybe Mallory is so used to her siblings’ bad table manners that she doesn’t see it as wrong and doesn’t know why anyone else would. I wonder if this is how the Pikes behave at restaurants. Do they just shriek and yell and then get mad when other patrons complain about their behavior?
Mallory makes dinner with flavor. Margo displays more empathy than Mallory when she asks why Uncle Joe is so sad. Mallory is ashamed that her little sister is more empathetic than she is. This is because the BSC does not understand that other people exist and that they might have feelings as well. Other people only exist to serve the BSC. Their feelings don’t matter. Claudia says that it’s hard being old because you can get stiff and achy, you forget things, and change can upset you. Mallory realizes that she hasn’t considered that Uncle Joe might be feeling uncomfortable. Mallory asks Claudia for advice. Claudia is sensible and tells Mallory to give Uncle Joe time to adjust and not to take it personally when he has trouble adjusting. I wonder why the Pikes didn’t tell that to their kids. Maybe Mr. Pike was sad about Uncle Joe not being like how he remembered and he’s still trying to come to terms with the change.
Margo and Claire decide to give Uncle Joe some cake and put on a play to cheer him up. They do have good intentions, so I’ll give them that. However, Uncle Joe doesn’t seem to want to watch the play and is probably about to tell them that when they run off. Claudia tries to trick the others into cleaning up. You’re the babysitter. You’re in charge. Just tell them to clean up. Has anyone tried actually parenting or acting like an authority figure instead of giving in or trying to bargain with the kids? Mallory thanks Claudia for her advice. They peek into the living room and see that Uncle Joe has fallen asleep. Either the play was boring, he was tired, or both. However, Uncle Joe did eat the cake, so maybe that’s progress. Or maybe he doesn’t like bland food either.
Chapter 8
Mallory is really enjoying her time at the Craines’. When she goes over for a sitting job, she’s annoyed because the girls are putting on a play and she gets enough of those at home. Have Claire and Margo taken to performing a play every day to cheer up Uncle Joe. I didn’t know that plays were a daily occurrence in Mallory’s home. It really irks me that these girls whine so much whenever kids do a harmless activity. It’s perfectly fine for them to make up lies about their neighbors and scare other kids with made up stories, but putting on a play is just bratty.
Mrs. Craine goes to leave but Sophie doesn’t want her to go. Mallory distracts her with the Kid Kit. Mallory asks how the ghost cat is doing. He’s doing well, but he has to be kept in the laundry room otherwise he’ll get loose and get lost in the house. Mallory goes to take a peek and ghost cat shoots out of the laundry room. They go to look for him, but ghost cat isn’t being fooled by promises of treats. Cats are smarter than the BSC. Sophie suggests looking in the attic, so they go up there even though the door is shut. Mallory didn’t want to make Sophie feel bad by ignoring her suggestion. I think Mallory just wanted an excuse to poke around in the attic. She loves seeing all the old clothes and antique furniture. Seriously, does no one clean the attics? They find letters in the attic because everyone keeps old letters in the attic. The girls want to go and read the letters. I bet if I found letters in an attic they’d be about mundane stuff, and not about conspiracies, murder, or anything exciting.
One of the letters is really boring. It just talks about the weather and a stray kitten. I guess this is more realistic than some of the other letters the BSC would probably find. The letters talk about the cat some more. The cat dies and the owner thinks that he can hear the cat meowing. Mallory wonders if the owner, Kennedy, went crazy, or the ghost of the cat Tinker came back to be with him. Or maybe the poor man was grieving after the loss of a beloved pet and had a hard time remembering that his pet was dead.
Ghost cat meows. It turns out he was in the laundry room all along. I guess I’m supposed to think this is suspicious, but I’m sure there’s a logical explanation. Maybe the girls left the door open and he went back to the laundry room. Maybe he just hid in the laundry room and the girls didn’t see him. I always thought cats were good at sneaking around. My dog is good at sneaking around as well. Sometimes I’ll see my dog in one place, I’ll turn around and he’ll be behind me without my noticing. I don’t think he’s a ghost. I just think that he walks quietly or that I wasn’t paying attention.
Chapter 9
Kristy is babysitting for the Kormans. She’s brought Karen over to play with Melody. Kristy thinks Melody is talking to her when she says she’s glad you’re here, but she’s really talking to Karen. I wouldn’t be too pleased if Kristy or Karen showed up on my doorstep. Karen wants to pretend that they’re mermaids and play in the fountain. The fountain isn’t turned on. Mallory likes the Kormans because they think they fountain is silly and have it turned off. Just because a person likes nice things does not make them a jerk. Melody gets tired of playing mermaids and wants to play something else. Karen suggests her favorite game, “Let’s All Come In,” but Melody says no because they don’t have enough people. Karen suggests Lovely Ladies and Kristy thinks that they just played that last week. And Karen always plays Let’s All Come In every time she appears, so I don’t know what Kristy is going on about. And are kids only allowed to play a favorite game during certain time periods?
Karen and Melody play Lovely Ladies until Kristy calls them for dinner. Melody doesn’t want to play Lovely Ladies anymore and decides to be a cat. Karen says that cats are kind of boring and tries to get Melody to keep playing what she wants. I bet Karen doesn’t like cats because they’re too smart to put up with her bullshit. Karen can be kind of bossy which a polite way to put it is. If another kid comes up with a good idea, Karen won’t let them have their moment without trying to upstage them because God forbid Karen not be the center of attention. It’s no wonder Kristy likes Karen so much- she’s a mini her. Kristy will get bent out of shape if people don’t do what she wants and if someone has a good idea she can’t resist reminding everyone about the good ideas that she’s had.
Karen goes home after dinner. She’s relieved because she can’t have fun if she’s not the one calling the shots. Kristy also seems annoyed at Melody’s cat game. She tries everything to get Melody to stop her game. Get over it, Kristy. It’s not really a big deal if Melody is pretending to be a cat. She’s not hurting anyone and she doesn’t seem to want you to play with her. I really hate how these girls whine so much when the kids play a harmless game that doesn’t hurt anyone? Would it kill them to let the kids play what they want instead of forcing them to play what the BSC likes? Actually, it probably would. Just let Melody play her cat game in peace and do something else. You don’t always have to come up with ideas to entertain the kids. Sometimes it’s good for kids to entertain themselves. But I get the feeling the BSC enjoys having the kids depend on them to come up with activities because it makes them feel important.
Kristy even suggests TV, even though the BSC disapproves of television because they like to do fun, active stuff with their charges. I wish a kid would yell at the BSC to be quiet because they were trying to watch their favorite show. Kristy finally gets it into her head to leave Melody alone since she isn’t harming anyone. Kristy isn’t even involved in the cat game, so she really doesn’t have a leg to stand on. It can get pretty annoying when a kid keeps dragging you off to play a game, but Melody is content to play with Bill and Skylar, so Kristy can do her own thing. Kristy gets revenge later because a kid playing a harmless game that the babysitter personally doesn’t like calls for revenge. Kristy gives Melody fish sticks, which she hates, and Melody acts like a girl again. I wish someone would publish a book titled, “What Every Dumb Babysitter Needs to Know: A Guide to Kids that Haven’t Been Brainwashed,” and mail it to the BSC. It could talk about how sibling rivalry is normal, and that kids getting obsessed with a game is normal and doesn’t make them brats.
Chapter 10
Uncle Joe keeps making odd collections. He also hasn’t warmed up to the Pikes. The younger ones are hurt that he hasn’t bothered to learn their names. Vanessa and Mallory are tired of keeping the others quiet and well-behaved. Uncle Joe has taken to wandering around. He’s also developed odd habits such as hiding dishes when he’s asked to wash them. This is probably a regular occurrence at Dawn’s house. They should just call Dawn over and she’d be able to find the dishes in no time. Uncle Joe also has trouble with time, such as when he asks why dinner is being served late when it’s only two in the afternoon.
Mr. Pike is the only one that can really get along with Uncle Joe. Uncle Joe is able to remember things from years before, but not where he put his glasses. One night Uncle Joe and Mr. Pike are talking when Uncle Joe says he can’t seem to remember Mr. Pike’s name and acts like he never met him. Mr. Pike looks upset. I never had a loved one suffer memory loss. Mallory is the only one who heard and her father would like her to keep it to herself. Mallory calls Claudia because she considers her the old-person expert. I guess Kristy doesn’t count because Nannie is a fun granny. It’s probably because Claudia has experience with something like this since Mimi had the stroke.
Claudia suggests that Mallory talk to her parents, but she doesn’t want to bother them because they have enough on their plate. You’re eleven, Mallory. It’s okay for you to go to your parents with a problem. I don’t know if it’s your job to worry about worrying your parents with your fears. The situation comes to a head when Uncle Joe gets up in the middle of the night because he thinks it’s time for church. Uncle Joe is settled again and an emergency meeting is called the next day.
It turns out that Uncle Joe has Alzheimer’s. He’ll have to go back to Stoneybrook Manor because the Pikes can’t provide the care he needs. Mr. Pike explains what Alzheimer’s is and the kids seem to understand. I wonder why they didn’t say that Uncle Joe sometimes had trouble remembering things so he might have a hard time remembering their names instead of letting the kids think that Uncle Joe didn’t like them. Maybe they figured that the kids wouldn’t understand but were forced into a corner when Uncle Joe tried to go to church. Margo asks if Uncle Joe is going to get better and Mr. Pike says no. All they can do is make him comfortable.