*Book One* Slave Boy (Phan)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Word Count: 1805

Chapter Twenty-Two

Dan, by four thirty in the afternoon, has walked all over town. He's searching. What might he be searching for? Phil's Christmas gift. Now, it may seem like he has waited until the last minute, but that's not exactly what happened.

Dan knows exactly what he wants to get Phil, he just has to find the perfect one.

Dan walks into the second shop of the day, hoping he can find what he's looking for. Dan walks up to the check out counter, where a sales associate greets him.

"Hi, how can I help you?" she asks kindly.

"Hi. Um, I'm looking for a kitten..." Dan mumbles, looking around the store.

"Sure! They are right over here."

She leads him to the cats and kittens at the opposite side of the store. As they walk, Dan admires all the different types of animals in the store, from parrots to fish and hamsters to guinea pigs.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?"

Dan slowly shakes his head. "Not really. I just want to find one that seems...perfect."

They stop in front of a glass window. "And here we are," the associate announces, motioning to the kittens. "These kittens were left outside our front door one afternoon without their mother. The person who left them just ran off; we weren't able to catch him. Anyway, we've taken good care of them and they are all healthy."

Dan stares into the window, trying to get a sense of the kittens.

Noticing Dan's trouble, she says, "Okay. Here's what I can do; we can sit you and all these kittens in one of the holding areas. You can play with them for however long you want to decide if any of these are your perfect kitten."

"That would be great! Thanks," Dan replies.

The sales associate leads Dan over to one of the few holding rooms, where he sits down on the bench inside. The lady leaves and walks back over to the kittens, taking two out at a time and bringing them to Dan. Soon, there are eight kittens in the room with Dan.

"Call for me, Kate, if you need anything."

All the kittens climb all over Dan, and he can't help but smile. Some of them even lick Dan. They are all so adorable; even now, he can't decide.

That's until he notices a fluffy, grey kitten doing its own thing. What makes this one even more different is its fur. It is the only grey one, as the rest are either black or black with white spots. It is also noticeably fluffier than the others. Making sure he's careful of the other kittens, Dan scoots over to that lone kitten, who is hiding behind a plant unintentionally.

Dan picks the kitten up and holds it up to his face. The kitten immediately meows in its cute, high-pitched, squeaky yawn.

"Aren't you a shy-but-completely-adorable kitten?" Dan says in a soft voice.

The kitten hits Dan's hair with it's paw, meowing again as it falls into his eyes. "Playful too, huh?"

Dan sets the kitten down, watching as it meows in complaint. Dan fixes his hair as the kittens continue playing on him. However, the one kitten wants Dan all to itself. It slowly begins to push the others away gently before climbing on Dan.

"You're not going to let me leave here without you, are you little kitty?" Dan mumbles, but smiles none the less.

Dan picks up the tiny kitten and carefully maneuvers his way around the other kittens, who continue to play, but with each other. As Dan nears the door to the room, he calls for Kate. She makes her way over to Dan, a smile on her face.