Kat's new friend

Katrina slept, as she had every night for weeks with the sea shell her sister sent. Malory got into a great college, Kat knew. She knew it was somewhere in Florida, and when she got the package from Malory, she instantly took it to her room. The shell did not leave her sight. It was her link to her big sister. The house seemed so empty. Kat cried herself to sleep at night – every night until she got that shell. When her mom looked in on her now, she found her resting easily.

“Morning, St. Pete!” Kat found her new friend snuggled in her hair on her pillow early that morning. She pulled some cheese crackers from her nightstand drawer and fed her new friend. “Time to get under the bed, St. Pete,” she told the mouse. She called the mouse St. Pete because that was the name on the package, right under Malory’s name. She guessed her sister had put the name there so that they would be fast friends. Kat was so happy to get the package from her big sister that she hadn’t paid much attention to the corner of the box, which was obviously chewed out. She filled the shell with cotton balls from the bathroom, and kept it under her bed. St. Pete seemed to be happy there for most of the day. Of course, if she had to leave, she would put out crackers and maybe peanut butter for him, but he seemed happy, and he slept with her every night, close to the shell.

Katrina answered the phone that night, “Thank you, Sissie! Thank you so much for the new friend!”

“Sure, Squirt. I love you!” Malory wondered, how could a kid be so attached to a sea shell?

Word Count: 296