Catalina: Episode One: Flying High And Far
Chapter One: The Perfect Match
Everyone knows that a good magician needs an assistant. This assistant helps with the tricks, whether it is getting sawed in half or vanishing under a cloth. The assistant, most preferably a female, is almost the backbone of the act itself, becasue so many of the tricks are centered around her. This was the dilemma that Magical Mr. Mistoffelees faced.
Every day, Mistoffelees would leave his top hat in the junkyard and go walking, sometimes all around London depending on his mood. One day, as he was on his walk, he noticed a large poster pasted on a wall. It pictured two humans, one in a flowing black cloak, the other in a sparkling gold costume, standing together. The caption underneath read:
APPEARING AT THE NEW LONDON THEATRE, THE MOST MAGICAL DUO KNOWN TO MAN! THE AMAZING, ASTONISHING HUMBERTO THE MAGICAL! AND HIS BEAUTIFUL ASSISTANT, VANISHTIQUA!
Mistoffelees gaped at the poster. "I've always thought I was missing something from my act, and here it is! Right in front of the tip of my nose! What I need is an assistant! Then I could perform even more amazing feats! Why, I could cut her head off, or turn her into something else and then back again, and, and, and. . . . the possibilities are endless!" he said to himself excitedly. He then turned and ran back toward the junkyard, eager to find a beautiful cat willing to be his assistant.
When he arrived the junkyard was just coming to life. Cats crawled all around him, wishing him a good morning or quipping about the crisp, cool morning air. But Mistoffelees paid them no attention. He only ran right back to his top hat and got to work.
A little later that morning, Mistoffelees set up a sign near his home. It read:
MAGICAL ASSISTANT NEEDED, MUST BE A BEAUTIFUL QUEEN, AUDITIONS TODAY
"Well, it looks like Misto has finally come to his senses," said Bombalurina with a seductive smile. "He always did have interest in me."
"No, he didn't!" answered Cassandra angrily from behind her. "He likes me!"
Within the course of only a few moments, all the queens in the junkyard, including the kittens Jemima, Electra, Etcetera, and Victoria, were lined up outside the top hat.
"He'll probably pick me," swooned Victoria dreamily. "I'm graceful and I'm beautiful. Misto won't be able to resist me!"
"Gag me, girlfriend," said Electra, making a face. "I'm black and orage the very colors of mystery, like in Halloween. I should be his assistant!"
While the kittens fought over who was going to get picked, the adult queens did exactly the same thing. They just didn't know what to expect.
Bombalurina had purposely placed herself first in line for the audition. When Mistoffelees called her in, she sat down and crossed her legs, trying to look as sexy and gorgeous as possible. She smiled, showing her dazzlingly white teeth, and winked at him.
"My dear Bombalurina," said Mistoffelees to her, ignoring her desperate tries to swoon him, "How would you feel about getting sawed in half?"
The smile suddenly vanished from Bombalurina's face, and she went as white as a sheet. "What did you say?" she sputtered, unbelieving.
"I asked if you were interested in getting sawed in half," answered Mistoffelees calmly, showing no reaction whatsoever to the sudden change of color in Bomby's red coat.
Bombalurina gasped loudly, then turned and fled the room. Mistoffelees immediately saw that this was going to be difficult, so he decided to ask a different question.
Cassandra was next in line, and as she sat down, Mistoffelees asked her, "Cassie, would you be interested in having me cut your head off?"
Cassandra did not even wait to see if her ears deceived her, and instead turned and ran screaming from the room. This was not going to be easy at all.
By the end of the audition, the only cats who showed any interest at all in getting sawed in half or having their heads lopped off were the kittens, who just thought that Misto was playing with them. But when he said that he was serious, they quickly turned and ran, all four looking a little green in the face.
"What does a magician have to do to get an assistant?" Misto despaired. He tried asking the queens again, but they either ran away from him or gave him a frightened look.
Misto could hardly believe it. Were these the same cats who, just a little while ago, couldn't wai to see who was going to be his assistant? "Now they're just scaredy-cats," he thought, "and pardon the pun."
Mistoffelees set off, now thoroughly disappointed, on another one of his walks. He walked all around London, trying to figure out why on earth someone didn't want to be a magician's assistant. It was the chance of a lifetime, he thought.
After a little while, Misto found himself sitting once again in front of the poster. Now he wanted to grab it and rip it to shreds, because it was the cause of his frustrations. He did manage to control this desire, and just sat looking at it, hissing silently.
"Stupid old git, prolly doesn't know what he's doing," said a sarcastic voice behind him.
Misto turned around and caught sight of a teenage queen sitting behind him, looking at the poster. She was fire red, with orange and black stripes that looked just like bolts of lightning zigzagging across her chest and sides. What intrigued him most, however, was the mark on her face. She had a single white spot, shaped like a six-pointed star, around her right eye. She smiled sweetly at him.
Just as Misto was about to introduce himself, the cat whirled around and took off. "Wait!" cried Mistoffelees, but then he suddenly had an idea. He pointed his finger at the running figure, whispered some seemingly nonsensical words, and in a puff of blue smoke, the queen was once again at his feet.She gazed up at him, but for some reason didn't look surprised. "I can do that too," she said, flashing a smile at him.
"Really? Show me," said Mistoffelees, wanting a bit of humor to cheer himself up. "Make that old can over there come to you."
The red cat pointed her finger at the can, said some words, and suddenly, in a cloud of smoke, she held the can in her hand.
Mistoffelees stared at her. "Who are you?" he asked, amazed.
"The name's Catalina," the queen answered. "I belonged to her," she said, jerking her head toward the assistant on the poster, "but that bumbling man made her throw me out. Said I tore up his magic cloak." Catalina shrugged, then continued, "I dunno, it was cheap piece of fabric. Nothing magic about it to me, I just needed to scratch something. Oh, by the way, who are you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Mistoffelees introduced himself, then asked curiously, "Where did you learn your magic?"
Catalina replied, "Oh, this and that. Not from that phony magician, thoughm he just makes it seem like magic, but it's all trickery. No real magic at all. Me, I made up a lot of my magic. I would look through his books, and find the real magic in them, and use that. I taught myself how to make things hover, and then fly. I taught myself more, and where am I? On the street, because I tore a hole in a stupid cape. Makes sense, huh, Mistoffelees?" she said, looking at him.
Misto suddenly realized that standign in front of him was first-class assistant. Nervously, he asked her about it, hoping for a positive answer.
"You mean, getting cut in half and all that? I'd love too, Mistoffelees, sir!" Catalina said, her face brightening significantly.
"Please, call me Misto!" he exclaimed happily. "I'll show you to my home!" Misto offered Catalina his arm, and they both walked to the junkyard. As they entered and looked around, Misto said, blushing a tad, "It's not exactly the lap of luxury, I know."
Catalina flung her arms open and exclaimed, "It's perfect! Oh, it's wonderful! I couldn't, oh, I wouldn't ask for anything better!"
Then to Misto's great surprise, she kissed him on the cheek. He blushed redder than an apple, and led her over to the top hat.
Catalina observed that it was too small, and with a quick wave of her hand, the top hat tripled in size. Misto could hardly contain himself.
"Come on, let's go meet everybody!" she said ecstatically. She introduced herself to each of the junkyard inhabitants. She quickly found friends in the four kittens, and also in Demeter and Tantomile. Catalina learned the rules of the junkyard, and was warned against leaving anything lying about, because it was sure to end up in either Mungojerrie or Rumpleteazer's bag.
But the best part was learning about the Jellicle Ball, the annual celebration. Catalina quickly figured out what she wanted to sing to proclaim herself a Jellicle. She sang it to Munkustrap, who praised it highly.
Munkustrap also told her about the Naming of Cats, and asked what her owner had called her. "'Vanity,'" said Catalina, wrinkling her nose. She told Munkustrap that she liked the name "Catalina" more because of its originality and exotic flavor.
After learning about everything, she was ready to become a Jellicle. It was pure luck that the Ball was only days away, so she wouldn't have to wait long. But even in those couple days, rumors began to fly about her, especially between Bombalurina and her friend Demeter. Deep down, Catalina knew she would have to tell someone her deep, dark secret. . . . .
On to pt. II
