There are nice ways and not so nice ways to wake up.  Like, if you're visiting friends and you wake up and a small peach cat is shrieking in your ear, that's not so nice. "THE OTHER PEOPLE!  THE OTHER PEOPLE!"	"What Scrounge is trying to say," my friend Luna explained, "is hurry up or the other people will get all of the good stuff at the thrift store." I sleepily sat up.  "You go to the thrift store in the middle of the night?" I asked. "No, silly," Luna laughed.  "It's almost six-thirty am." "I'll pass," I said, falling back asleep.

When I got up at a more civilized time, Chance made me some breakfast.

As I was eating, a yellow cat came and plopped down.  It took a big bite out of my toast. "Oh hey.  I'm Fast Eddie." "Oh, do they call you Fast Eddie because you wear running shoes?" "No, silly, it's because---wait, wait.  Yes.  Your reason.  That's exactly why.  So, I notice you have lots of neat things." "Oh, yes, my friends from all over gave--" "Whatever.  Do you know how to play a game called Poker?" "No, I've never played," I said. The cat gulped down the rest of my toast and rubbed his paws together.  "I'll teach you!"  He pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket.  "One of the babies wrote on this, but we can still use it to play with."

We played with Fast Eddie's pennies.  He said if I won, I could even keep the money!  I was doing really good at first. After a while, Fast Eddie was out of pennies.	"I really want to keep playing.  Maybe I could bet my sneaker." I felt bad for him, so I agreed.  Soon his luck had turned. After a while, I started betting a few of my things.

The next thing I knew, Fast Eddie was saying, "Read 'em and weep!"  I had lost everything!

I felt very sad, and more than a little silly.  I sat on the chair and soon the big Furskins bear came by.  "What's wrong?" he asked. I told him everything.  He nodded seriously and said, "I'll give you some advice.  Never play cards with somebody named Fast Eddie."	"So, will you make him give it all back?"  I asked. "That wouldn't be fair," Dennis said.  "There's only one thing for it.  We'll have to win it back." "I don't know.  He's awfully good, " I said.

Dennis went and found Fast Eddie.  "You gotta give Katie Lou a chance to win her stuff back," he said. "He had plenty of chances," Fast Eddie said.  "And I don't want to play anymore." "Not even if I bet my Batman tee shirt?" Dennis asked. "All right!  I'll get the cards!" Fast Eddie yelled. "Oh, no, youngun'.  We'll use a new deck."	I sat on Dennis' lap and we played.  The cat wasn't as good without the scribbled on cards. Soon, Dennis and I had won everything back!  I even won a couple of Fast Eddie's pennies from him.

When Luna and Scrounge got home with a bag of thrift store goodies and a candy just for me, they asked how my day had gone. "Oh, pretty good.  I learned something, though.  You shouldn't play cards with someone who just 'happens' to carry a deck in his trousers." Luna nodded wisely.  "I'll give you another piece of advice.  NEVER bet against a Furskin."