Suh-wing Batter!

10:00 PM - Laura goes to sleep, setting a record for 2007.

12:59 AM - Laura awakes to the sound of Meghan making a funny noise.

1:00 AM - Meghan again makes the funny noise.

1:02 AM - Laura decides Meghan can't possibly be making that noise, and decides to turn on a light.

1:02 AM - The kitchen comes into focus, with Roton staring intently at the kitchen sink. Trouble.

1:03 AM - Laura cautiously gets out of bed and creeps into the kitchen.

1:04 AM - Roton and Laura hear the noise again. Roton attempts to jump onto the kitchen counter (where he is NOT allowed) but doesn't quite make it, so Laura gives his bum a boost (desperate times).

1:04 AM - Roton disappears behind the curtain covering the kitchen window. All is quiet, then Laura hears the fluttering of a large bug. Relief!

1:05 AM - Laura checks to make sure it's just a bug, only to find a bat (!) in the window sill. The bat attempts an escape, diving towards Laura's head. Laura screams.

1:06 AM - "Meghan!" Silence... "MEGHAN!" "Huh?" "There's a bat in the dome!" "What?" "There's a bat in the dome!" Long pause... "Is it a nuisance?"

1:07 AM - Laura, not sure what to make of Meghan's reply, decides she and Roton are on their own.

1:07 AM - Laura and Roton follow the bat into Laura's room. Yes, Meghan, it is now a nuisance.

1:09 AM - Laura remembers that she has a tennis racket in her closet. She tries not to disturb the bat, now hanging upside-down from a nearby wooden beam lining her ceiling.

1:10 AM - Laura closes the door from her room to the kitchen and opens the back door, revealing a crisp, dark night. She nudges the bat with the racket, prompting another round of terrifying laps around her head.

1:11 AM - Laura wills the bat to leave her room. She pleads aloud "Mr. Bat, please leave." The bat does not budge.

1:12 AM - Laura again nudges the bat, but this time she's ready. As the bat swoops by she swings her racket, in the hope of launching the bat out the door. Instead, it falls to the ground. With Roton in her right hand and the racket in her left, Laura tries to usher the bat out the door.

1:12AM - With a last burst of energy, the bat leaves the floor and flies into the night, with Roton hot on his heals.

1:13AM - Laura shuts the door, wishing both bat and cat a good night.