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My story starts when I was 10 and walking home from school with my then best friend. I heard this hiss. We were walking a new way and got a fright. 

I got down and looked under this bush, and I saw a little kitten curled up. She was so thin and weak and could barely walk. I picked her up and tucked her into my jersey. She snuggled into me, but as soon as my friend came near her, she was hissing again.

We walked to my home making up a story so that I could keep her, as we had a dog already, and my stepdad hated cats! I made her a bed in my room, grabbed my piggybank money, and walked an hour to the vet, where I bought pet food and pet milk. When mum got home that night, I showed her the kitten. She said if my stepdad said I could keep her, I could!

I ran to him, begging, and he said "maybe," which means yes. I said it could be my birthday gift, as it was my birthday the next month. It turned out she wasn't a new kitten but over 9 months old, and her short fur soon turned into a ball of fluff.

Now all these years later, Bella rules the house. My stepdad adores her and does anything she wants. She has her choice of bed, likes to bring us birds and mice, and showers us with love and affection.

She is my best friend and constant companion. When I come home, she meets me at the gate and will climb into my lap. She wakes me with purrs and licks, and stops me from doing school work by sitting on my computer. She is the best thing that ever happened to me. I love her so much, and she loves us!

She is the queen of the house, and I don't want to imagine the day she isn't.