Simon's Time

By Rachael Lammie

With the help of Simon the space cat, Sullivan Saunders must return to normal life post COVID, including Grade 6.

Summer is dwindling. Sullivan is nearly 11 and dreads the thought of returning to school. He'd rather spend his time with

• Language: English
• Publisher: Proof It Publishing
• Release date: Nov 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9781738764716

Book preview

Simon's Time

Rachael Lammie

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Proof It Publishing

SIMON'S TIME

Copyright © 2022 by Rachael Lammie. All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form (through electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems) without written permission from the publisher or author.

ISBN 978-1-7387647-0-9 ISBN 978-1-7387647-1-6

Proof It Publishing books may be purchased from the publisher. Please contact Proof It Publishing 5307 Victoria Drive, #1063, Vancouver, BC V5P 3V6, [e-mail], 1-780-224-8120

Cover art copyright © 2022 Heather Smith; Edited by Gary Osbak

Legal Deposit Library and Archives Canada; National Library of Canada. Lammie, Rachael - Simon's Time Proof It Publishing: Vancouver

Simon's Time is a work of fiction. The story and characters are fictitious. Certain long-standing institutions, agencies, and events may be mentioned, but the characters involved are products of the author’s imagination.

Any resemblance to actual persons (or cats), living or otherwise, is purely coincidental.

Contents

. Chapter

1. If Space Cats Could Fly

2. Where’s Simon

3. Space Creepers

4. Pork Chop

5. Ready for Launch

6. Surviving the Apocalypse

7. The Seeds

8. Fort Pizza

9. Sunflowers

10. Raspberries Don’t Pick Themselves

11. The Flight

12. The Return

13. It’s Time

Epilogue

For my husband.

Chapter 1

If Space Cats Could Fly

A ttack! Sully commanded his crew. He looked around to ensure all hands were on deck. His crew had a population of one – Simon – with a bucket on his head. Simon did not move.

I can’t hold them back for much longer! Release the cannons! Sully jumped down from the captain’s perch onto the ship’s deck. The deck was his living room sofa. He glanced over at Simon who wasn’t paying attention.

Never mind! I’ll do it. Reposition the stern so we can navigate back to shore, Sullivan ordered. He waved his sword in the crew’s general direction to inspire compliance.

Simon nodded but did not budge. He had curled into a ball on one of Mrs. Saunders’ pink cotton pillows, ignoring his captain’s wishes.

Simon! yelled Sully. He sat down beside him. We weren’t done playing yet, he sighed. He picked up his sword, aka wrapping paper tube that had seen better days, and batted the coffee table to straighten it.

I know, Simon purred. But it’s bath time. Then nap time. And then probably dinner time. None of these things appealed to Sully. He was ready for adventure. However, his crew and his mom had different plans.

Sweetheart, Dad will be home soon. Can you please start tidying the living room? Dinner will be ready in half an hour, came a voice from the kitchen.

Sullivan Saunders didn’t typically tear apart his mother’s living room furniture. Well, not lately, anyway. But he wanted to practise aiming his new nerf blaster and needed the cushions as shock absorbers. He felt a bit silly engaging in pretend play. But he was bored. And the fact that Simon showed up anytime there was a toy ball in the vicinity was just an annoying bonus.

Sully liked having Simon around. Albeit annoying, it was nice to talk to someone, or some cat in Simon’s case, who had no invested interest in whether his plans work out. Sully loved his mom but talking to her was like having your own personal cheering squad. There wasn’t much he could say that his mom wasn’t either proud of or happy about hearing. Well, unless it had to do with staying up too late watching BeckBroJack videos. She wasn’t too happy about that sometimes. And Sully felt talking to his dad was like having a personal trainer on call in case he needed a pep talk. Well, on the days he was home, that is. Brian Saunders had been working at the office again, but only at half capacity. It was nice having him at home. As far as dads go, it didn’t get much better than Brian – a personal trainer with a sweet tooth and a wicked throwing arm. Sullivan Saunders had his cheering section, personal trainer, and space cat. What more could a boy ask for?

Let’s get back to business, Sully instructed. Simon looked accosted but didn’t engage. Usually, Simon would play along and join Sullivan on clever adventures to counter the stir-crazy feelings of covid lockdown. However, Simon seemed adamant that sitting was the next indicated thing to do, much to Sully’s frustration. Sully put down his captain’s sword and began inspecting the rest of his equipment. Simon watched as Sullivan fought hard to be content with nothing to do.

Do you know how many inhabitants there are on my planet? Simon finally inquired.

Like, you mean other cats? Other species? Sully was only half listening. He was inspecting the chamber of his nerf blaster to see if he could change the alignment.

There are only cats. And there are, in fact, only 843 of us. Simon waited as though he expected a reaction.

Yeah. And?

Do you know how many cats it takes to maintain the successful operations of my planet?

I don’t.

It takes precisely 843 of us to maintain the intricate balance of not having our planet blown to smithereens.

Sounds important, nodded Sully. He collected cushions and repositioned them on the couch. Sometimes he wished he had a younger sibling to boss around. Only sometimes. Ever since Simon had shown up one night, he had been a great listener. When was that, Sully wondered, trying to remember when his first covid shot was. But lately, the strange space cat had been cutting their time short. And when he did stick around, he usually rambled about his planet, often with a frantic note.

"Well. It is unbelievably important, Simon insisted. Do you know what happens when a member of the planet is absent for any time?"

I’ll tell you, Simon decided to answer his own question without waiting for a response. "When one of us is absent, the trees feel it. They know, and they grow. They emit toxic gas that has all but destroyed our beautiful home. The gas seems highly flammable when we try to get close to the surface to investigate. And so, all this time I am spending with you doing childish things, my home world hangs in a delicate balance that is about to capsize!"

Sounds kind of unsustainable, Sully shrugged. Simon’s eyes widened like cat’s eyes do when they see something to pounce on. "I mean, if even just one member of the planet is absent, the entire planet is in jeopardy? How is that an economical way of running things? Everyone should be more self-sufficient."

Simon was silent, but his tail twitched.

I’m pretty sure you need to rethink your way of doing things out there, Sully rambled as he collected his nerf pellets that scattered the living room floor. If covid’s taught us anything, it’s that you have to figure things out for yourself and not rely on everyone to help. Sully stopped collecting pellets to wallow in self-pity for a moment.

Suddenly, a strange buzzing filled the room. Simon stopped dead in his tracks and Sullivan almost tripped right over him. What is that sound!? Sully did not know. Simon closed his eyes, and the buzzing sound stopped. Watching Simon, Sullivan counted the minutes. Simon resembled a statue, completely frozen in place. Sully wondered if he should declare time of death, then shook the morbid thought from his mind. Simon finally opened his eyes. He looked dazed, like he’d seen Siren Head or the end of time. It took a minute for his eyes to become reacquainted with his surroundings.

I don’t think you understand the severity of the situation, Simon’s tone had shifted from his usual sarcasm to something worrying. Things are getting worse. I need to return.

What am I supposed to do about a planet on the other side of the galaxy? It’s not my fault you crash-landed on our planet, Sully protested. He was genuinely worried about Simon and wanted to help but didn’t know how. I’ll keep working on power for your ship. I think I finally have the platform ready, Sully suggested.

Well, regardless, Simon reasoned, we’d better figure out something soon. A lot is at stake.

Chapter 2

Where’s Simon

The smell