The Magnificent Cat by Nadia Ramadan (early reader chapter books .TXT) 📕

said and then turned back to packing again 

"Are you sure about this" James said as he walked in gently "I meant leaving Bevin..."

"Yes, James, I am sure" Lisa replied sharply "I have to pack as fast as I could, for I am leaving tonight"

"Why so soon…?" James asked "Lisa, I want you to stay"

"Is that so" Lisa said angrily "I am guessing it’s because I know too much…are you going to use the Magnificent Cat on me like you did my father…well then go ahead, I don’t give a damn anymore"

"No, no, Lisa" James said seriously and nicely "of course not, I will never do such a thing to you, why would I?"

"Well then why do you want me to stay?" Lisa asked as she stopped packing

"I just…"James said as he walked closer to her "I am feeling very vulnerable right now, and I just need someone to talk to, someone who can understand my situation"

Lisa stepped back from him and said "I can't…James don’t do this"

James watched as she moved away from him

"I can't do this" Lisa continued "and plus, you have Mr. Picklock to talk to"

"Of course" James said as he sat on a small stool sadly "you are right, I understand"

"Don’t take this the wrong way…but…" Lisa started "no matter how this is going to sound but I …I can't look at you"

James looked at her sadly and then turned away.

"Mr. Picklock told me everything and the fact that you are the Magnificent Cat is sickening me" Lisa continued "I mean I lost everything to that device, I lost both my parents and I also lost the one I love"

"I am so sorry-" James interrupted

"Haven't being said" Lisa interrupted "the Magnificent Cat is not just your property or your inheritance…it's your life we are talking about"

Lisa walked closer to him and held his hand; she then put a small golden key on his palm.

"So I assume this belongs to you" she said when she closes his hand with the key "I  will appreciate if you take care of it…I mean take care of your life only, keep it in a safe place in order for you and the other people of Bevin to be safe”

"I will try-" James said

"No, I am not telling you what to do" Lisa interrupted "this is just my opinion, the rest is up to you, you only have one life, and what happens to it will only depends on the choices you make"

"I will take that into consideration" James said as he heads to the door

"I will surely remember you" Lisa said with a smile "that’s all I can say right now"

James smiled back and said "good to know"

Lisa smiled and turned back to pack her things 

"So where are going?" James asked as he stood at the door

"I am going to the Fantastica stage" Lisa replied "Jessica told me I got accepted after my performance at the concert, so I guess they must be waiting for me"

"Congratulations" James said nicely "do you need any transportation or…"

"No I am fine" Lisa replied "I will just take the Miraculous railroad"

"I thought the train crashed?" James questioned surprisingly “Are you saying there are still trains passing on it”?

"No there isn’t” Lisa said as she laughed "just the rail tracks, I am going to follow it and hopefully it will lead me there"

"I see" James said with a smile "so I guess this is good bye"

"No" Lisa said as she smiled with tears in her eyes "its farewell"

James nodded and slowly walked out of the door. Lisa followed and watched as he walked further and further in the corridor, she watched until he was nowhere to be seen. She never saw him since.

 

 

 

 

Present day

Lisa is dancing on the Fantastica stage, and singing amazingly as everyone clapped and cheered her. She stood still as the song ended and bowed to everyone. She then looked at the audience who were clapping; she could see Wade clapping and smiling back to her on the far end of the table, she returns his smile.

She can somehow hear him saying "you are great" before he faded away. And then she turned to the other side of the table she could see her parents sitting together happily as they clapped, they looked indeed proud of her. She watched them happily until they faded as well and will only be left in her memory. 

 

"Lisa" the host of the stage called out "Lisa, there is a phone call for you"

Lisa looked at the man scarily and was not willing for any phone call.

"I will be right there" she said as she left the stage

Lisa walked to the telephone booth and answered "hello"

"Lisa…! It's me Jessica"

"Oh hello my sweet old friend" Lisa replied in relief "it’s only 2 months but I have already missed you and Mr. Lennox so much"

"We've missed you too, Lisa" Jessica replied "a lot of things have changed here in Bevin since you left"

"Really…?" Lisa said "fill me in"

"Well the building have been demolished" Jessica said

"The building itself!" Lisa said surprisingly "it's demolished!"

"Yes" Jessica replied "it was tough for those guys; I mean the police were inspecting them deeply, they couldn’t find any evidence and they just decided to broken the building down!"

"Oh my God" Lisa said in surprise "so what is there now?"

"Oh, right now it's just a plain old shop built on top of it" Jessica replied "I sometime get groceries"

"Trust me, Jessica" Lisa said "that’s actually good to hear" 

"You've been through a lot, Lisa, I can't imagine how hard you managed to move on and ignore all those bad memories"

"Well it's just the past" Lisa replied "it’s all just history"

"I am glad" Jessica said nicely "and I am so happy for you, you are actually living your dreams!"

"Indeed I am" Lisa said happily "but that doesn’t mean I will forget you!"

"I know you won't" Jessica said smilingly "you will always be my best friend" 

"You will always be mine too, no matter what" Lisa continued "so how's the new waitress? Did you meet her?"

"No, not yet" she is starting tomorrow" Jessica replied "I hope we get along"

"Sure you will" Lisa interrupted "everyone will get along with you"

"Thanks, Lisa"

"I should be going now" Lisa said "thanks for telling me the good news"

"The building being demolished is good news for everyone in Bevin" Jessica added

"Right now I finally know the world is a better place" Lisa added

"It sure is" Jessica said smilingly "I will talk to you later"

"Please do…Bye" Lisa said as she shuts the phone.

 

"Lisa…" the host called her again "do you mind playing one more song for us, the audience are really crazy about you"

"Sure" Lisa said as she laughed "I would love to"

 

Lisa walked back on the stage and everyone clapped as she grabbed the mic. 

Lisa stood in the middle of the stage and started to sing: 

 

 “      You are more than a love, an amazing treasure with an angel smile, take me by surprise but I mean nothing when you’re around…you think that I’m a fool, nothing more but an innocent fool, take me by surprise or wonder why…  ”

 

Although the building is demolished, Bevin's street was still the same strange looking town. There was a showery rain as usual and the clouds were grey. 

 

A man walked into the new shop which was built over the building

"Good afternoon" the man said as he approached the counter

"Good afternoon" the shop assistance replied "can I help you?"

"Yes" the man replied "I am looking for the ginger drink please"

"Alright" the shop assistance replied 

"Are you Nick?" the man asked as he looked closely

"Yes I am" Nick replied as he raised his hat "the Ginger drink is underground, sir and I want you to ask that gentleman to take you there"

"Which gentleman…?" the man asked

"Over there" Nick pointed to an older man standing at the corner of the shop

"Alright" the man said as he walked straight on

"Hello sir" the man said

"Oh hello" Mr. Picklock replied "you must be Mr. Roger"

"Yes I am" Mr. Roger replied "you are the one I spoke to on the phone?"

"Yes, I am Mr. Picklock" 

"Pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Picklock" the man said as he reached his hand to shake Mr. Picklock

"Likewise…" Mr. Picklock replied

"So you are the one who owns the shop" 

"Yes" Mr. Picklock replied "I own this shop, I have always wanted to own a shop"

"That’s great" Roger said as he looked around "very nice arrangement too, my wife and I always shop from here"

"Thank you" Picklock said smilingly 

"Ok, right now I am looking for the ginger drink…I heard its underground"

"Yes it is" Mr. Picklock answered "why don’t we go get it now…follow me"

"Sure" Roger said 

Both Roger and Mr. Picklock entered into the elevator which leads to the underground

"How long have you been running this shop?" Roger asked

"Just a month and a half now" Picklock replied

 The elevator door finally opened and they both entered a secured place.

"Alright" Roger said as he sighs "I am fed up of calling it Ginger drink…let’s talk business now…I will give you $20 million, what do you think?"

"Well, Mr. Roger" Picklock said smilingly "I can't make the final decision, I am just the right hand man"

"What?" Roger shouted "you just told me you own the place"

"I do own the shop" Picklock replied "but I didn't say I own the Magnificent Cat!"

"Well who owns it?" Roger asked seriously as he looked at Mr. Picklock 

Picklock pressed a button on the wall which opened to a large office. In the office a huge desk could be seen, and a guy standing tall with his face facing the window.

Roger walked into the room and said "is $20 million good, sir?"

James turned around and looked at Roger straight in the eye, his huge scar on his left eye visible and his face glowing, eyes shining instead of darkening.

"Deal" James said with a smile. 

 

 

 

End 

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Publication Date: 03-13-2019

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