Chapter 3
I would rather die than be humiliated.
I would rather starve to death or jump off this building than ever sell my soul for a lousy sausage.
However, the cheesy cod sausage was irresistible.
I caved. This was shameful.
With dozens of people watching online, I kicked off my show. Later, I realized that there were actually hundreds of people watching.
First, I busted out some wild, energetic moves.
Then I attempted a high-level backflip, but totally failed and crashed down on my backside.
Finally, with the stream chat flooded with people laughing, I summoned all my strength and leapt onto the checkout counter.
I snatched the cod sausage with my mouth.
As I was about to bolt, Leonard grabbed me by the scruff of my neck.
It felt like fate itself had me by the neck.
He dragged me right up to the camera, forcing me to face everyone watching. At least, that was what I thought back then.
Leonard shouted to the crowd, "Everyone, did you catch that?
"Caught red-handed.
"So, what's the verdict for a serial offender like this?"
The chat exploded again.
[Lock it up and make it entertain us to pay off the debt!]
[Yeah. Don't let him escape. This adorable thief needs to stream every day!]
[Hey, streamer, give it a name. How about the Sausage Bandit?]
[I'm in. From now on, we're tuning in for the Sausage Bandit's daily grind!]
Leonard looked at the chat and nodded, satisfied.
He looked at me, his eyes gleaming with triumph.
He said, "Did you hear that, Sausage Bandit?
"From today on, you're under arrest.
"From now on, you'll be working here to pay off what you owe for the rest of your days."
With that, he pulled out a cat tag he'd stashed under the counter and clipped it around my neck.
It read: [Repeated Offender].
Underneath, in tiny print, it read: [Snatched a sausage, now working hard to pay it off.]
Glancing down at the tag hanging from my neck, I felt like my whole world as a cat had gone pitch black.
I was once a top student and self-proclaimed future big shot, but now I was nothing but a wage slave cat.
The entire internet was watching me make a fool of myself.
This was way worse than dying.
That night's livestream dragged on forever.
Leonard squeezed every bit of value out of me, forcing me to show off all kinds of talents.
I punched numbers on the calculator with my paw pads, swung my tail like a teaser, and even tried to make a heart with my front paws for him.
I was grinning so much that my cat face was about to lock up.
By the time the stream ended, Leonard's viewer count had shot up from dozens to over a thousand.
He got a bunch of donations, too.
He looked at the rewards on his phone screen, grinning from ear to ear.
All I got as a reward was a single cod sausage.
I even had to steal it.
I sprawled in my new den, which was a cardboard box lined with Leonard's old, cast-off T-shirts, gnawing on my dinner in bitter indignation.
Leonard walked over, crouched down, and gave my chubby face a poke.
"Not satisfied?" he said.
I let out a "meow" and flashed my teeth at him in defiance.
"Still got some spunk, huh?" Leonard said.
He didn't get angry. Instead, his grin got wider.
"Alma, how can you be so silly?" He suddenly called out my name.
I froze mid-bite.
I jerked my head up, staring at him in shock.
I was surprised that he knew who I was.
I couldn't believe it.
It was already strange enough that I'd turned into a cat. It was even less likely that he would figure that out.
Leonard saw my stunned expression and reached out to rub my head.
His hand felt so warm.
His voice softened.
He teased, "Look at you, acting all silly.
"Who else but you would be so persistent, showing up every day to steal my sausages?
"Don't you remember? You're allergic to cheese.
"Every time you grab a cheesy one, you spend the next day with a stomachache."
My brain short-circuited.
I realized it.
I was allergic to cheese.
Even after becoming a cat, that little quirk stuck with me.
A few days back, I nabbed a cheesy sausage and spent the next day holed up in the bushes, paying the price.
I thought I was sneaky.
But he saw right through me.
He knew it was me all along.
So it wasn't that he was bothered by some random stray cat.
He was bothered by me.
He wasn't searching online for what stray cats liked to eat.
He was searching for what I liked to eat.
He wasn't streaming to bust a thief.
I couldn't let myself finish that thought.
I stared at his face that was so close. Seeing the warmth and gentle smile in his eyes, my heart started pounding out of control.
I felt that he was such a bastard.
I did not know what he was up to.