Leo stared at the mountain of textbooks. The clock on the wall ticked. Tock, tock.
He pushed through the heavy library doors. His shoes crunched on the gravel. Squeak, squeak.
A calico cat rubbed against his ankle. Purrr, purrr. Leo stopped and looked down.
The cat walked ahead, then looked back. It meowed once. Leo followed.
The cat led him to a bench under the old oak tree. It curled up and fell asleep.
Leo took a slow breath. He thought his bookbag felt lighter.
Leo opened his notebook. He wrote one line. Then another.
The cat's tail twitched. Leo smiled.