As Bombalurina lead Demeter away Jellylorum ran nose first into the brown mottled legs of Asparagus.
“Grandpa!” Jelly shrieked and purred furiously, rubbing against him.
“Hello Jellylorum! I’m back from East Lynn!” he grinned down at her.
“Welcome back, Gus! How was your Shakespear preformance?” Jenny grinned up at him.
“I walked on pat and got seven cat calls!” he beamed.
A small and rambunktious Munkustrap came running to where the other kittens and Gus were. “Can’t catch me!” he called.
Little Skimbleshanks chased the grey kitten and ended up tackling Jellylorum. “Oh! Sorry Jelly!” he laughed and quickly got off.
“Missed me!” Munkustrap teased and hid behind Gus.
“I’ll get you yet!” Skimble yelled back; the chase was on again.
Gus laughed as the kittens ran off again and disapeared. However, as they ran off they kicked up a pile of dust into the on coming face of little Rum Tum Tugger. Tugger wriggled his nose and let out a sneeze. The fur around his neck stood on end and so the “Thwup” was born. Facinated by the movement his sneeze had created Tugger began perfecting the art of “Thwuping.”
“Cut it out Tugger! You look like your having a heart attack!” Jellylorum teased.
Tugger glared at Jelly and stuck his toung out at her. Jenny and Jelly looked at eachother and burst into giggles.
“Now, now you three! No teasing!” Gus grinned at the kittens.
A grey and black cat stalked gracefully onto the path currently occupied by the four Jellicles.
“Well, hello Grizabella.” Gus nodded.
Grizabella looked Gus over slowly then nodded. “Hello sir.” she said quietly.
Jelly and Jenny giggled and started pretending they were glamour cats, looking down thier noses at everything and talking snotty to eachother. Grizabella snorted contemptiously and stalked off again.
Gus glared down at the kittens and gave a strange throaty hiss. Jenny and Jelly flattened thier ears and looked at the ground while Tugger “Thwupped” at them. He then climbed onto a box to glare down at them like he was an older cat.
“Now why did you do that? Griz didn’t deserve it!” Gus demanded sternly.
“Grizabella’s been actin’ funny towards the rest of us!”Jelly replied quietly. “She talks to us as if we’re below her or somthing.
Gus frowned. I still don’t think sinking to her level is the smartest way to handle the situation!” he told them.
“Yes, sir.” the two kittens said in unison.
“You’d better get going. The ball is starting soon.”
Jenny and Jelly nodded and scampered off. Tugger snorted at thier retreating backs then stalked off in a different direction.
Gus laughed and shook his head before starting off to the clearing where the Jellicle Ball is always held.
She soon came upon Grizabella who shivered with silent tears. Demeter meowed to the glamour cat who spun around quickly to face the kitten. The tears stained her cheeks and she quickly turned away to hider her face.
“What’s wrong Griz?” the kitten asked, walking over to sit next to her.
“Demeter?” Grizabella sniffled. “Have you ever wondered what’s beyond the walls of the junk yard?”
“Wondered?! I know!” the kitten beamed. “The road!”
Griz smiled at the kitten. “Beyond that?”
“The city?”
“And beyond that?”
“I don’t know...”
“Have you ever wanted to know?”
“Not really, I like it here.”
Grizabella looked at the sky, a far away look on her face. “I’ve always wondered what’s beyond that. Maybe someone that respects me, maybe even love...”
Demeter frowned, “We respect you.”
Grizabella laughed softly. “Some do, most don’t. I act like the glamour cat they tell me I am and they ridicule me.”
Demeter rubbed her head against the larger cat who looked down on her and smiled.
“The ball is tonight, Griz. Are you coming?” Demeter asked quietly.
“Of course! Deuteronomy promised me a solo!’ she smiled and washed away the tears with a paw.
Bustoffer Jones walked proudly into the clearing in his signature white spats. His normally thin figure was a touch large then the last time she’d seen him, she thought it made him quite dashing.
He smiled widly at Jenny and waggled his fingers. Jenny blushed, if a cat could, and waved a shy paw back to him.
“How are you today, Bustoffer?” she asked politly.
“I’ve joined several high class clubs. No more pubs for me, lady! I will soon be known as the cat of Saint James’ Street!”
Jenny smiled and nodded as Jellylorum snuck up behind her friend and pushed her off the pipe. She managed to land on her feet in front of Bustoffer who shook a finger at Jelly who nearly fell over laughing. Skimbleshanks watched the scene unfold from behind the giant tire and crept out to nip Jellylorum’s tail, who screamed in surprise and glared at the orange cat.
“Gotcha!” Munkustrap called, tackling the older kitten off the pipe to the ground.
All the kittens laughed at eachother as Bustoffer twiddled with his growing mustach.
“Didn’t know you’d become a kitten-sitter, Bustoffer!” Gus grinned as he walked into the clearing.
“I’m just waiting for the ball!” Bustoffer scoffed at the older cat for suggesting such an idea.
Demeter rolled into the clearing fallowed closely by Bombalurina who smiled at the young kitten. Tugger climbed over the old Ford and sat down on it’s trunk, survaying the crowd. Our from under the car came the black and white kitten Alonzo who scampered playfully over to Demeter and bowled her over. Carbuckety jumped down from the old rocking chair and meowed at those assembled, flitting his kitten ears playfully.
Gus smiled at the Jellicles around him and stood in the center of them all.
“Now pay attention Munkustrap!” Gus winked at the kitten. “You’ll be the one doing this someday!”
The cats and kittens gathered around the old cat as he began to explain the Jellicle Ball to the kittens, who’s first ball was tonight.
“Jellicle cats meet once a year, at the Jellicle Ball, where we all rejoice.”
“How do we know when the Jellicle Ball is?”Demeter interupted.
Gus laughed, “When the Jellicle moon is shining bright, all the Jellicles get a feeling from thier nose to thier tail that tells them that the ball is tonight.” he told her. “Soon the Jellicle Leader will appear and make what is known as the Jellicle choice.”
“What’s the Jellicle choice?” Alonzo called.
“I’m almost there!” Gus smiled. “The Jellicle choice is when Old Deuteronomy, just befor dawn, through a silence you feel you could cut with a knife, announces the cat, who can now be reborn! And come back to a different Jellicle life! For waiting up there...”
“Up where?” called Demeter.
“Up there!” Gus replied pointing at the sky. “Is the Heaviside Layer, full of wonders one Jellicle only will see.”
Before Alonzo blurted out a question Gus put a paw over his mouth. “AND! Jellicles ask, because Jellicles dare! Who will it be?”
The kittens all looked at eachother and whispered Gus’ statement to eachother. It had an interesting effect that Gus rather liked. He smiled proudly at the cats around him and turned to leap gracefully onto the large tire.
“Jenny! Jelly! Carbuckety! Fetch Malawter! He will need help getting here. His bones are older then mine and Deuteronomy’s put together!” he told the kittens, who looked at eachother and ran off.
The kittens soon returned carrying a large pudgy black and orange tabby. His whiskers were long and gray and his one eye was white with caterax. As the kittens helped him into the clearing Gus began the song dedicated to the old cat.
Malawter’s head went up suddenly and he sniffed at the air.
“Is a storm coming?” Munkustrap asked the old cat.
“Nope. Old Deuteronomy!” he replied, a wide smile appearing on his grey face.
All the cats and kittens smiled and looked at Gus as he began to caterwaul Deuteronomy’s song. During the second verse and the rest of the chorus’s Malawter joined in the song to help Gus.
When the last chorus was sung Deuteronomy appeared. When he entered the clearing the kittens all scampered over to him in a chorus of purrs. Deuteronomy embraced each of the small cats that ran to greet him. He took the paw of Gus and Malawter. Then he ewalked over to the old Ford and, despite the upset cat calls, hugged Tugger who looked very ruffled when he was set down again. Deuteronomy laughed and sat down on the old tire.
Before Gus could say it Munkustrap leapt onto his back and yelled at the top of his lungs, “Jellicle Cats can all rejoice!”
“I have prepared a story for you all, my little ones.” Deuteronomy announced and began to tell his favorite tale of the Peke’s and the Pollicles. When he finnished the kittens all giggled to themselves and pretended to be Rumpus Cat by bouncing around and yawning as large as they possibly could.
Then Grizabella the Glamour Cat stalked gracefully into the clearing. She curtsied to Deuteronomy who held out a hand for her to begin her promised solo song.
“Surly you do not mean what you sing, Grizabella!” the old cat stuttered. “Leave the tribe?”
“There is no love for me anymore. Not here anyway! Perhaps out there I can find the love I long for!” she called sadly to him, she had hoped he’s understand her restless heart...
“What? No love?! Grizabella you are a Jellicle! None have ever left the tribe before!” Malawter called.
“With or without your blessing I am going to find love!” she shouted and ran from the clearing. Demeter tried to run after her but Alonzo held her back.
“She’s made her desicion Demter. Let her go.” Alonzo told her quietly.
The Jellicles sat in silence for a long while until Munkustrap climbed up to Deuteronomy and meowed quietly. Deuteronomy shook himself out of his stunned silence and smiled at his grandson who watched his grandfather worridly.
“You are right Munkustrap. The ball must go on. The loss of Grizabella is a terrible thing but we must not let it ruin this sacred evening.” he said and rubbed up against Munkustrap to resure him.
The kittens were all milling about, extremely tiered of sitting still, they pounced on one another and attempted to get Malaweter to play with them, finnally Deuteronomy got up and smiled at the kittens. “Show me how you’ve all grown! Show me your new dances I’ve heard so much about!”
The kittens all smiled knowingly to one another and began to dance. They showed off to thier full extent until they each dropped with exhaustion, grins on thier small faces. They had soon forgot about the whole Grizabella ordeal although it weighed heavily on the minds of the older cats.
When the dancing was finnished Deuteronomy turned to Gus who grinned knowingly, the kittens all gathered around the actor cat as he began to sing his own song about the wonderful things he’d done.
“But what if she regects me?” Alonzo whispered to the cats.
“I’ve seen you two together! She won’t!” Carbuckety told the kitten.
Alonzo swalowed his fear with an audiable gulp and stalked carefully over to the feamales who giggled and turned away shyly. As he approached he spotted Demeter who blinked at him from behind Bombalurina and hid her smile in Bomby’s tail. Alonzo passed the other feamales by, that giggled and tried to draw his attention away from his goal. Bombalurina saw the look he gave the kitten hiding behind her and stepped out of the way. Alonzo gently rubbed his head against Demeter who, scared at first, turned away. Before Alonzo’s heart gave out she turned back and rubbed against his chest in return.
Carefully he lead her to the center of the Jellicle clearing. Both thier paws shook with fear but the love for eachother sang in thier hearts as they preformed the mating dance together, like they had been instructed.
Gus sat beside Malawter and smiled at the young couple as they danced. Then he heard faint weeping and turned to see the tears fall from Malawter’s eyes.
“What’s wrong old friend?” Gus asked the older cat.
With a sniffle Malawter replied. “I always cry at weddings.” then he burst into full blown tears onto Gus’s shoulder.
When the mating dance was done and Alonzo and Demeter sat together, absorbed in eachother’s eyes Deuteronomy held a paw to Gus who held his up to Deuteronomy before turning to those assembeld.
“Now, Old Deuteronomy, just before dawn. Through a silence you feel you could cut with a knife, announces the cat who can now be reborn, and come back, to a different Jellicle life.” Gus told the cats and kittens assembled.
The cats and kittens all held thier paws out to Deuteronomy, each of them secretly wishing to be picked. Deuteronomy smiled and held his hand out to Malawter. The old Tabby’s eye grew wide, he quickly washed away his tears with one paw and took Deuteronomy’s paw in his own.
The cats and kittens drew back as Deuteronomy lead Malawter onto the magical tire which began to rise to meet the desending staircase to the Heaviside Layer. When the two met Malawter hugged his life long friend and ascended the staircase.
“Go my friend! Be happy and reborn!” Deuter called as Malawter disapeared in the mists of the Heaviside Layer.
Another Ball came to a close but one thing still bothered Deuteronomy, one cat to be more precise...
