Claire's Temporary Pet

Claire stared down at James with a real look of concern for her friend. She still had no idea how this could have possibly happened. She crouched down next to the lizard so she was sure he could hear her.

"James! What is going on? Are you okay?"

But James had no fallen silent.

"James?!"

"Whoa! Have you got yourself a pet? Don't you think you should have checked with me first?"

Claire stood up to see her boyfriend Toby, who she had been planning to meet, had emerged behind her.

"Um, no I'm just looking after him for a friend"

"And it's called James?"

"He is, yes!"

Claire corrected her boyfriend by emphasising the 'he'. She hated to think of poor James hearing himself being referred to as an 'it'.

"Strange name for a reptile. And do you have any experience looking after lizards? Do you even know what type of lizard James is?"

"I can look it up! Look, it's an emergency okay?"

"Calm down Claire, I have a friend who keeps these. I can get it some nice bugs to eat and a tank for it to stay in.."

Claire wrinkled her nose as she thought how humiliating this must all be for James

"It's he not it! And I don't want James cooped up in a glass box. And there must be something nicer than bugs for him to eat!"

"That's a lizards diet, Claire. He really can't handle much else. And we are not going to have a lizard roaming freely about our house. It wouldn't even be safe for him. We have two cats.

Claire frowned again.

"Anyway, I'm parked around the corner. You had better pick him up."

"Pick him up?"

"You'll need to carry James to the car"

Claire crouched down again. It was going to feel strange having James' body stretched out across her hands. But she really had **** here.