Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat

On Monday, Raj’s parents drop him off at nature camp. A girl introduces herself as Cedar—her nature name—and asks Raj what his nature name is. Intimidated by a bigger boy, Raj stutters out “Rat,” then wonders, “Did they even have rats in nature?” (49). Raj’s counsellor, Turkey Vulture, calls everyone to a meeting by flapping his arms and hissing in imitation of his namesake. Seeing this, Raj is sure that nature camp will be horrible.

Alone at the house, Klawde starts to plan his escape, but when he is stymied by doors that require opposable thumbs, he takes a nap instead. When he wakes up, he is hungry. Instead of eating the food that the humans have provided, he gets into the fridge and eats some cheese, drinks the milk, and tries an egg. The egg is even worse than the cat food, so Klawde “vomit[s] into one of the ogres’ foot coverings” (52).

At camp, Turkey Vulture gives a welcome speech, expanding on the importance of living alongside nature. Turkey Vulture is horrified to learn that Raj brought his phone and forces him to leave it in a basket in his cabin.