Word of the Day: Secret

I have a secret.

Well, it's not really my secret...it's my friend's secret. We'll call that friend "Bernice."

So, Bernice has been wanting to meet Cindy (my adorable rat) all year. Because Bernice is also a mentor, I did not want to let her meet my pet on account of it would be her responsibility to turn me in. Even though she swore she wouldn't and I totally believed her, I still didn't want to put her in that compromising position.

As the year came to an end, though, I decided it wouldn't be that big of a deal to let her meet Cindy. After all, I am totally not going to get fired with two days left of the semester.

When Bernice met Cindy, she responded in the way that any normal person would (If you were normal, Carly and Josh, you would have responded this way too). She said, "Oh my gosh she is sooooooo cuuuuuute!!!! I love her!!! Awwwww!!! Look at the way she scampers around!!!!! AHH! She's tickling my shoulders!!!" You get the idea. She loved her. Approximately three minutes after meeting Cindy, she said, "I want one too. Let's go get one."

With no finals left and everyone else studying, I didn't have anything better to do. So Bernice and I went to Preuss Pets and got her a complete rat setup! A rat, a cage, toys, a food dish, water bottle, the whole nine yards. Her new baby rat is so cute!!! So now even though I am graduating and moving away, there will still be at least one stowaway rat in Yakeley. Oops, I mean...on campus somewhere. I don't want to incriminate Bernice.

Oh, and we'll go ahead and say that Bernice named the rat "Katie." You know, just to keep up with the code names and such. ;-)

I am so proud of my little Cinders Linders. That fateful day in August of 2008 when I went and picked her up at the pet shop, no one knew what was coming. Here is a list of people who have gotten rats now because of meeting Cindy and learning how amazing rats are:

1. Rex

2. Cara

3. My mom

4. Jake

5. Michelle

6. My cousins Max, Michael, Matthew, and Jacob

7. Rex's cousin Joe

8. Cara's friend Morgan

9. Rex's cousin Dorothy

10. "Bernice"

That's a lot of rat love being spread around. All because Cindy is the cutest ball of fur to ever hit the Earth. I love her.

And now Bernice loves her rat too. Just like my love of Cindy, though, it has to be a secret. On-campus love of small animals is forbidden. We're like the Romeo and Juliet of the pet/owner variety, and our ending is much happier.

Stay tuned for an invite to Cindy's 2nd birthday party, which will be in July!