The weekend went by in a flurry of homework, some parties, jobs, and dates. When Monday came, the hallway by the gym was crowded with anxious queens scanning the list of results from tryouts. Etcetera elbowed her way to the front of the crowd and gazed at the list. The first name she saw was Victoria’s, and a little further down, Vashti’s. She was glad the black and red queen had made it, but she didn’t want to stop reading to congratulate her. Please, she prayed. Please, just let us make it. But it didn’t seem to be happening. Name after name. Name after name that wasn’t hers. Tears started to fill her eyes as she got further and further down the list. She was almost crying when she suddenly spotted something that brightened her day in milliseconds.
“So, she quit cheerleading?” Alonzo asked, shoving his sunglasses up on top of his head.
Munkustrap nodded slowly, toying with the corner of his math book. “Yeah. She said she just didn’t want to, but I know it has to do with Cassandra.”
“Did she call you at all?”
“Demeter? Yeah. Like twice every day.”
“No, I meant Cassandra.”
“Oh. No, she hasn’t. Why?”
“She called me,” Alonzo said, shrugging one shoulder carelessly.
Munkustrap bit his lip. “What’d she want?”
Alonzo grinned just a bit. “Wanted me to go out with her to the movies. I told her no.”
“Good for you. May I ask why?”
Alonzo shrugged and looked away from his best friend. “I dunno… She’s just not my kind of girl, you know?”
“Oh really? And what’s your kind of girl? Black and gold and maroon with big, blue eyes with a name that starts with a ‘J’ and end with an ‘emima’?” Munkustrap teased.
Alonzo gave Munkustrap a playful jab. “You’re weird.”
“Yeah, but I also think I’m right.”
“Maybe.” Alonzo’s tone was nonchalant, but his black eyes betrayed the true thoughts in his mind. They grew rather soft and far away. Munkustrap smiled slightly.
“Hey, why don’t you just get it over with and ask her out?”
Alonzo turned bright red, something that didn’t happen that often. “Um… well… I don’t… I wouldn’t know what to say…”
“Just do what Tugger would do. ‘Hey, kitten, wanna go out?’,” Munkustrap teased.
Alonzo shook his head. “No way. I wouldn’t say that to her.”
“I was teasing,” Munkustrap consoled, giving Alonzo a friendly punch in the shoulder. “Come on, just ask her.”
Alonzo sighed. “I want to…”
“So, then, do it!”
Alonzo thought a moment, then nodded. “There’s another drama meeting tomorrow after school. I’ll… I’ll ask her then.”
At lunch that day, Tugger sought out the little clump of freshmen that had migrated to Cassandra’s table. Once cheerleaders had been chosen, the whole room had changed in where cats sat. Now Bombalurina and Demeter had moved closer to Munkustrap’s table, and Macavity’s, since he sat with him. Cassandra seemed to have taken the new freshmen cheerleaders under her wing and had them at her table, talking up a storm about cheerleader stuff while the freshmen looked on in awe. Tugger crept up behind Etcetera’s chair and gave her a sudden kiss on the cheek. Etcetera yelped in surprise while the rest of the queens giggled.
“Hello, ladies. It’s great you all made it into cheerleading.” Tugger’s smile was aimed directly at Etcetera. “I’m sure you’ll all be there to cheer me on at the big football games this season.”
“You bet,” Victoria said, smiling a perfect smile. “I’m gonna be at every game so I can become head cheerleader!”
“Not til senior year,” Cassandra teased, then turned to Tugger and batted her eyelashes playfully. “Ya wanna join us here, Tuggy?”
Tugger grinned and licked Cassandra’s nose playfully, an act that both shocked and amused the younger queens. Why would he give her such an intimate display in front of everyone? Nose licking was a very passionate act, not to be done in front of others, especially strangers, but nonetheless, that didn’t seem to bother either of them. In fact, Cassandra grinned and licked his nose back. Etcetera felt a twinge of anger in her heart, followed by an even deeper sense of longing. Why didn’t Tugger do that to her? Why did he have to pick perfect Cassandra? But then, why would Tugger give only her a kiss when he came up to the table? She was so confused.
Tugger straightened up, brushing his paw lightly against Etcetera’s thigh in an “unintentional” gesture. “Can’t join ya today, sweetcakes, but maybe later on. Alrighty?” He grinned at all the queens, turned, and, with a seductive wave of his plumy tail, sauntered away.
“Hmmph,” Electra snorted, sinking her teeth into her burrito angrily. “He shouldn’t be so disgusting in school.”
Cassandra’s eyes were dreamy a moment, then she snapped back into reality. “Oh, he does it all the time. He’s just being silly, really.”
Tuesday after school, Alonzo was the last person to the drama meeting. He wanted to postpone talking to Jemima as long as possible, yet he so wanted to ask her out that he was afraid he’d burst. He sat nervously on the edge of his chair, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye every few moments. She seemed to get more and more beautiful every time he saw her. Her large eyes were accented today with a small dab of mascara that made them look even larger. She had beautiful eyes…
“Alonzo? Are you going to join us?” Gus’s creaky voice interrupted his trace-like state. Alonzo turned red and nodded, embarrassed, smiling sheepishly at Jemima who smiled back at him in a shy way before looking away, her own cheeks spicy pink with a blush.
The meeting proceeded, and Alonzo felt as though he would burst over with energy. He tried to use it in his warm-ups, but all he really could do was watch Jemima as she stretched and moved, her slender body following the fluid motions as if she were a fairy of light swirling in a circle of water. Oh, how he longed to hold her in his arms and purr to her, to rest his chin on her head and whisper in her ear, to hold her slender waist in his arms… “ALONZO! Get your head out of the clouds or wherever it may be and pay attention to the group.” Alonzo sighed and turned his eyes back to Gus.
After the meeting was over, Alonzo knew he had to talk to her. She was kneeling by her chair, collecting her schoolbag from underneath it. He took a deep breath. Now or never… “Jemima?”
Jemima’s head snapped up to gaze at him with the most adoring look he had ever received. His mouth went dry as she stared expectantly at him. Tell her… just tell her… “Jemima, I…” He swallowed. “I…”
She shifted slightly so she leaned in a little closer to him, and he caught a whiff of a soft peach fragrance from her lotion. It made him dizzy, or perhaps even giddy, to be more specific. He swallowed again. “I… I’d like to drive you to school tomorrow,” he said, just a little too loudly, a little too nervously. “Can I?”
Disappointment showed clear as day on Jemima’s wide face, but she nodded and smiled a beautiful smile. “Okay. I… I’d like that.”
It took him about six seconds to get up enough courage to ask for her address, then another twenty-four seconds of anxiety as she wrote it down and handed it to him. He glanced at it, then stuffed it in his pocket of his jeans. “Thanks. Um, I… I’ll see you… see you tomorrow?”
Jemima beamed. “Yeah. Yeah, tomorrow.” She scooped up her bag over her shoulder and, with an admiring smile, headed slowly out the door.
As soon as she had gone, Alonzo smacked himself in the forehead. Stupid, stupid, stupid! he chided himself. You had her right in front of you! Why’d you chicken out??? But it was too late now. She was gone, and all he could do was wait til tomorrow morning to pick her up.
And wait he did. Alonzo waited in anticipation all evening and all the next morning as he got ready. He hummed to himself as he dabbed a bit of his favorite cologne behind his ears. He normally only did that on special occasions, but this was special enough, he decided.
Only about four blocks away, Jemima was up in her room, brushing her soft fur til it shone. She smiled to herself. Alonzo picking her up. It was like a dream come true. All her friends would see her come up in his red sports car. See her with the all-star athlete in all of Jellicle High. See her with the most undoubtedly hottest tomcat in the whole city of London. See her with the sweetest, kindest, most caring gentleman she had ever seen. She picked up a bottle of perfume and gave herself a few light sprits of the airy, delicate scent. She wondered if Alonzo would like it, or even notice. Then she heard a car horn beep and saw Alonzo’s car down out front. With a big grin on her face, she grabbed her bag and charged down the stairs, out the front door, and into the gorgeous car with the even more gorgeous tom.
Victor spun his locker combination and pulled open his locker, unloading a pile of textbooks into it. It had taken him over three hours to do his homework, which meant no visit to see his friend, Plato. He sighed and took a moment to rearrange his books by class, then started to shut his locker. A picture caught his eye, and he opened the door again. The two of them stood side-by-side, arms around each other’s waist, in front of a beautiful mountain cliff with pine trees surrounding them. It was his favorite picture. From when they went camping last year. They looked so happy together. But now with school, they hardly had any time to get together anymore.
“Hey, Vic,” came a shy voice nearby. Victor closed the door to see Plato looking at him with a shy smile.
“Hey, Plat.” Victor smiled shyly back at him. “Sorry I didn’t get over last night.”
“It’s okay,” Plato said softly. “I… I was bogged down with homework.” He smiled at the younger tom. It was strange, for Victor was actually a junior but several months younger than Plato, who was a sophomore. Victor had skipped third grade.
“Wanna do your homework at my house tonight?” Victor offered. “My parents won’t mind.”
“Okay,” Plato agreed. He smiled and moved closer to his friend. After a moment, they embraced softly, holding each other tightly. Victor purred softly in Plato’s ear, and, after a few moments, they separated. Plato squeezed Victor’s paw. “See you tonight?”
“I promise,” Victor said, squeezing back. “Tonight.”
Jemima slid into the font seat of Alonzo’s bright red Mewstang. She smiled shyly at the handsome tom. Her mother had not been too pleased to hear she was getting a ride from a strange tom she had only met at school a few days ago, but she had relented, telling Jemima to be careful and to call her as soon as she got to school to let her know she was all right. And she had told her that if he tried to do anything to her, to do everything she could to get away from him. Jemima smiled to herself. As if Alonzo would try to hurt her. Or, at least, she didn’t think he would.
“Hi,” she said shyly, smoothing down her jeans.
“Hello,” Alonzo said, smiling at her. “You… you look gorgeous.”
Jemima blushed and smiled. “Thank you.”
Alonzo began to drive, smiling softly. “Um… thanks for letting me pick you up, Jemima.”
“Of course,” Jemima said, smiling shyly. She glanced down at her feet, then back up. “I… I was hoping you wouldn’t change your mind.”
“Not in a million years,” Alonzo said, smiling at her. Jemima blushed. After that, the ride grew silent all the way to school. Once there, Alonzo parked, and the two of them headed in to school. Alonzo followed Jemima as she headed for her locker.
“Hey, Alonzo!” Munkustrap called, heading over and giving the black and white tom his traditional slap on the back. “Are you two a couple yet?”
Jemima turned bright red, but Alonzo turned even brighter. He cleared his throat, wishing Munkustrap wouldn’t have said that so loud, especially in front of Jemima. “Uh…” He glanced at Jemima who gazed back at him. He shook his head slowly. “No.”
“Oh.” Munkustrap sounded disappointed. “Too bad.” He turned and walked away.
Jemima rubbed at her bright cheeks. Alonzo turned to her with an apologetic smile. “Um, sorry about that…”
“It’s okay,” Jemima said, trying to smile. She took a deep breath. “Th… thanks for the ride… I should go call my mom, then get to class.”
Alonzo nodded slowly. “Yeah. Class. Um…” He smiled shyly at her. “See you later?”
“Yeah,” Jemima said softly. She grabbed her books from her locker and smiled at him again before disappearing down the hall. Alonzo watched her go, then growled to himself. Why couldn’t he just ask her?
That night, Jemima hummed to herself as she did her homework. Her tail flicked as she thought about Alonzo, the drama meeting, and all her friends making the cheerleading squad. The phone rang in the kitchen. After a moment, her mother called, “Jemima, dear, it’s for you.”
Thinking it was Victoria, Jemima left her homework and took the phone from her mom. “Hello?”
Alonzo’s mind froze as her voice floated over the phone to him. He swallowed and cleared his throat nervously. “Um, Jemima?”
“Alonzo? Hi!” Jemima gasped, surprised to hear his voice on the other end. She bit her lip shyly and asked, “How are you?”
“I… I’m fine,” Alonzo said slowly. “Um… Remember what Munkustrap said to us in the hallway today?”
“Y… yeah?” If they were a couple. And they had said no. She couldn’t forget.
“Um…” Alonzo sounded like he was gonna choke on his tongue if he swallowed again. “I was… was wondering…” His voice grew soft and very shy. “I was wondering if you’d like to change the answer.”
Jemima smiled and blushed bright pink. “Oh, Alonzo, I…” She wondered what her mom would say, but all she could do was smile and whisper, “Yes. Yes, I would.”
She could almost feel the beam in Alonzo’s smile as she listened to the other end of the line. “Oh, Jemima… Thank you…”
Jemima blushed and giggled. “Of course.”
Alonzo smiled. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow again, if you want.”
“I… I’d love it,” Jemima said as her brain automatically said, I love you.
Alonzo grinned. “See you tomorrow then?”
“Yeah.”
Alonzo wished he could kiss her, but he couldn’t. He smiled and touched his fingers to the mouthpiece of the phone. “I… I love you.”
Jemima hesitated. Those were such strong words… She wasn’t sure if she was ready for them yet… Love was such a fickle word… She closed her eyes, letting the words sink in a bit. So warm and soft. “I… um… I love you too,” she said softly, the unfamiliar words feeling strange on her lips, but she meant them with all her heart.
Alonzo smiled, not wanting to hang up, but he knew he had to let her go. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Yeah, tomorrow.” Jemima knew her mother was watching her, probably wondering why she was on the phone for so long with a tom. “I should go. Good night.”
“Good night,” Alonzo said, curling his fingers against the phone. He waited til he heard the dial tone in his ear before hanging up the phone and letting out his breath as if he had been holding it all evening.
As soon as the phone was down, Jemima let out an excited scream and leaped up from her chair. “He asked me out! He asked me out! And I said yes! Omigosh, I said yes!” she yelled, dancing around the kitchen. Her mother smiled knowingly.
“Oh, that’s wonderful, Jemi, darling. You must invite him over some time so we can meet him.”
Boyfriend meeting parents. It was scary. Jemima tried to smile. “Okay. I will. May I call Victoria?”
“Of course, dear. Go ahead.”
Jemima smiled and picked up the phone to call her best friend. What great news she had to tell her!
The next few days of school were normal, but Friday the students could not hold still. The first dance of the school year was that night: Homecoming! And a Homecoming king and queen would be elected. Everyone was anxious for school to be over. But 7:00 was still a long ways away. Miss Griddlebone hummed to herself as she studied her notes for the day over her half-moon reading glasses. She had graduated from Jellicle High just last year and had come back to student teach for a while to earn some extra money to pay off college for next year, as well as to coach cheerleading while the old coach was on maternity leave. For right now she was playing teacher’s aide, but she was hanging out in Mr. Shanks room over lunch for no reason other than that he was not in the room at the moment. She had a cup of tea in front of her, but it was more like sugar with tea flavoring. She sipped it and flipped her notes again.
“Busy?” came a voice by the door. Miss Griddlebone looked up to see the Rum Tum Tugger in the doorway, leaning against it with one arm, his tail flicking as he watched her with a smile.
“Never for you,” she said, setting down her notes and smiling at her former lover. Back when she was a senior and he was a lowly junior. Ah, those were the days. For a few weeks the school thought they were going out, but eventually they broke up for other new cats and the relationship dissolved. But, as she looked him up and down, she wondered if a few little flamey components might still be left in that long-gone spark.
Tugger grinned and sidled up towards her desk where she was perched on the edge, long legs dangling over the edge, crossed seductively at the thighs, her black boots up to just below her kneecaps. Her white skirt came down modestly to the middle of her thighs, and her white top actually covered almost everything it was supposed to. So unlike what she used to wear when she was a student, Tugger noted. Probably because she would not be allowed to come into the school dressed her old way, especially as a teacher’s aid. He slid his paw up along her silky thigh, over the skirt. “New look?” he teased.
Griddlebone grinned and adjusted uncomfortably. “I hate it, but it’s what the big guys want, so I’ll do it.” She grinned a bit and slid her paw down to his, moving it so he pushed the skirt up higher on her thighs. Tugger grinned. Griddlebone smirked lightly and recrossed her legs the other way so the skirt moved again.
Tugger leaned closer to Griddlebone. “So, see ya tonight?”
Griddlebone’s made-up eyes glinted slightly. “Of course. A chance to get out of these stupid clothes.”
Tugger’s eyes lit up, and both of them laughed softly. “Tugger, you know I mean I can wear my old clothes to the dance,” Griddlebone said, touching her nose to his.
Tugger pouted. “Yeah, I know… But still, I still don’t get how you can dance with all that tight stuff on.”
“Well, obviously I can,” Griddlebone teased, licking his nose lightly. Tugger grinned and leaned closer, touching his mouth to hers. Griddlebone grinned and kissed him back, first soft, then intensifying it, the way she used to, so long ago. She felt his paw sliding up her skirt, and she waited-
“A-hem!” came a sharp cough from the door. Tugger spun around to see Mr. Shanks in the doorway, gazing at the two of them over his nose. Griddlebone instantly turned red, but Tugger grinned brightly in the perfect-student smile.
“Hey, Mr. S. What’s up?”
“Tugger, you do know that student-teacher relationships are illegal?” Skimble said, his tail flicking warningly.
“Oh, of course, Mr. S. But see, Grid’s not a teacher, so-.”
“Tugger, she may not be a teacher, but she is employed by the school, and therefore is considered a school official. You two can’t do things like that, especially on school grounds.” Skimble’s glassy eyes were stern. He didn’t approve of the frivolities many of the students committed, especially in public places like the school.
“Okay, Mr. Shanks. I got it.” Tugger smiled again. He glanced back at Griddlebone and mouthed tonight, before turning and swishing out of the room.
Skimble turned to Griddle as soon as Tugger had gone. “Griddlebone, I realize you still have… friends here, but you’ve got to remember you are here to work, not to socialize. Don’t let them get in your way of working or Old Deuteronomy will dismiss you.”
“Yes sir,” Griddlebone said, ducking her head a bit. But in her mind she was imagining what she would do to impress Tugger later that night.
That night, the auditorium was full of teenagers for homecoming. Loud music blared from speakers hooked up at the edge of the stage, and a DJ bopped away behind strings of neon lights that ringed the whole room, giving the dim room an unearthly glow. In the center of the stage were two thrones for the homecoming king and queen. Cassandra had done her job well on the decorating committee, despite the restrictions Old D had put on them. Nothing too “raunchy” or too “suggestive”. But everyone seemed to be having a good time. She glanced around, locating Bombalurina and Macavity in the crowd, dancing in the center of the floor, of course showing off their moves to everyone around them. She grinned and looked around again. Alonzo and Jemima… Victoria, Electra, and Etcetera… Pouncival and Mistoffelees hanging around in the corner like two refugees… Hmm. Coricopat and Tantomile. They were not often at school dances, but when they were, they did almost nothing but stand and observe like two scientists surveying their test subjects. No Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, but they never came to anything, plus no one really paid attention or even cared. Where were the two she was looking for?…
There they came, in the doors, arms around each other’s waist. Demeter was dressed in tight, light blue jeans with a blue tank top under a black, see-through sweater. Munkustrap had on khaki pants and a dark blue jersey that showed off his muscled arms. Cassandra grinned. She had a new plan for those two. She just needed the time to pull it off tonight. She vanished into the crowd to wait.
Victor and Plato showed up, coming from doing their homework at Victor’s house. Both were dressed in blue jeans with identical tee shirts. Right behind them came Rum Tum Tugger, sporting his favorite pair of extremely tight black jeans and a black and gold jersey that was too small, so it was tight against him, showing off every curve of every muscle. By his side was an all-too-familiar queen. Both cheerleading coach and teacher’s aide, dressed in black leather pants that looked too tight to even fit into and a pink tube top that came down so low it barely covered anything, and it came up to so high it was a wonder it even stayed on. She wore the same black, knee-high boots she had been wearing earlier in the day. They immediately headed for the center of the dance floor and started dancing, mimicking the moves Bom and Mac were doing. Griddlebone’s butt pressed to Tugger’s body, and the two looked like they might get it on right there in the middle of the dance floor.
Munkustrap and Demeter were perched on the railing that separated the auditorium from the vending machines in the back. Demeter smiled and curled against her boyfriend’s chest. “Wanna dance?”
“In a bit,” Munkustrap said, kissing her head, listening to the beat of loud, heavy music. “Once it calms down a bit.”
Demeter nodded. She wasn’t very comfortable with some of the dancing, especially as she watched Macavity dance with her best friend. She remembered when he had made her dance like that. That was a very different time from now. It made her blush to think that back then she had actually enjoyed his touch as they danced. She grimaced when Bom’s butt pressed to Macavity’s groin and he grinned, sliding his paws up to hold her soft breasts in his paws as they danced. She looked away and buried her face in Munkustrap’s shoulder to avoid the disgusting scene. Munkustrap purred softly and stroked her face with a finger. Then he looked up. “Hey, there’s Alonzo and Jemima. Let’s go say hi!” Before Demeter even had a chance to respond, Munkustrap had grabbed her paw and dragged her across the room to the couple.
Alonzo looked up and smiled brightly as Munkustrap approached. “Hey, Munk. How you two?”
“Doin’ great, Lonz. You and Jemima doing fine?”
Alonzo nodded and smiled shyly down at Jemima who only came up to about his lower shoulder. Jemima smiled up at him and hugged him gently, smiling up at Demeter with the sweetest, most innocent smile any kitten could have. “Hi, Demeter. Sorry about cheerleading and everything.”
“Oh, you heard too,” Demeter said with a grimace. “Don’t worry about it. It’s for the better.” She smiled at Jemima. What a sweetie. Alonzo is lucky. She hugged Munkustrap gently. Just like me. She smiled at Jemima again. “Maybe we all can double-date some time.”
“We’d like that,” Alonzo agreed, smiling at Demeter.
Demeter smiled back, then gave Munkustrap’s hand a tug as a slow song started. “Come on, Munk. Let’s go dance.” The two moved onto the dance floor. Demeter slid her arms around Munkustrap’s neck, feeling the soft leather of his collar under her arms. His arms slid around her slender waist, and she purred, resting her face on his firm chest. Their feet began to move slowly, and Demeter looked up into Munkustrap’s silver-blue eyes. “Munkustrap, I don’t know how to waltz…”
“Neither do I,” he admitted, his voice soft. “Just forget it and move your feet with the music.” Demeter smiled and nodded, kissing his soft, striped chin, feeling his soft whiskers brush her face. She laid her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes, letting him guide her in a gentle dance. She opened her eyes again and found Cassandra watching them with an angry glare as she danced with some gray and tan tom that Demeter did not know. She glared back, then settled back to forget about Cassandra and just enjoy Munkustrap’s light touch on her waist as they danced.
The song eventually ended, and Munkustrap smiled down at Demeter as loud music once again blared through the speakers. Demeter smiled shyly back and hugged Munkustrap tightly. Munkustrap held her a moment, then Demeter pulled away. “Be right back, sweetie. Gonna go to the bathroom.” Munkustrap nodded and moved over to talk with Alonzo again. Demeter disappeared out into the hall towards the bathroom, unaware that a brown queen was following.
Demeter slipped into the bathroom. A few queens were there doing makeup in front of the mirror. Demeter slid into a stall to do her business, then washed her hands. She paused to check her makeup in the mirror, then turned to go, just as a familiar, brown queen slid into the bathroom. Demeter stopped short. Cassandra didn’t see her for a moment, seemingly heading for the sink, but suddenly their eyes met, and it was as if someone had turned on a string of electricity between them. Even the queens by the mirror suddenly grew quieter and found a reason to pack their makeup bags and slip out, and as suddenly as Cassandra had entered, the bathroom was deserted, save Demeter and Cassandra. Demeter wished more than anything that Cassandra was not between her and the door so she could just slip away.
Cassandra approached Demeter with what appeared to be a halfway friendly smile, but Demeter was not fooled. She knew Cassandra wasn’t going to be buddy-buddy with her. “Hey, Demeter. Where’s Munkustrap?”
“Out dancing. Prolly with Alonzo.”
“Oh, don’t they make such a cute couple?” Cassandra mocked. Demeter grimaced and kept silent, biting her tongue to keep back any nasty comments. Cassandra grinned and swished her slender tail a bit. “So, how is he?” she asked, as if talking to one of her best friends.
“Um, fine,” Demeter said softly, feeling the counter below the mirror pressing into her back.
“Just… fine? I would think he would be pretty good, wouldn’t he?”
Demeter gazed at Cassandra with confused, dark green eyes. Hadn’t she just said…?
Cassandra read the confusion like a book. She grinned. “I meant, how’s his bed?”
The words finally dawned on her. Demeter’s eyes clouded in anger. “Cassandra, you know perfectly well that Munkustrap and I are virgins! We haven’t slept together at all, and we won’t til we’re married! And you know it!”
Cassandra smirked and licked her lips a bit. “That’s not what he says.”
Demeter’s eyes suddenly filled with confused tears. “Munkustrap? What did he say?”
Cassandra cocked her head to the side, as if trying to remember. “Well, I just heard him talking to Tugger, but he said something about you and him a couple nights ago. He was saying some stuff about what you were doing, pretty naughty-sounding too.”
Demeter’s eyes filled with more hot tears. “But… but why? Why would he say something like that?”
“I don’t know,” Cassandra admitted. “But I wouldn’t take that kind of sh*t from him, if I were you. Especially if I were still a virgin, like you.”
Hot, salty tears splashed down Demeter’s cheeks to the floor, dripping off her whiskers and chin. “He… he can’t say things like that about me.”
“I’d go give him a piece of your mind,” Cassandra suggested.
Demeter nodded. “Yes. Yes, I will.” She turned and stormed out of the bathroom, brushing angrily past Cassandra and out into the auditorium. It only took her a few moments to spot Munkustrap talking with Alonzo across the room. In a few angry steps she had cleared the distance between them. “You jerk!” she interjected, ignoring the fact he had been talking and she was interrupting.
Munkustrap turned to her with confused eyes. “Demeter?”
Demeter glared. “Don’t you ‘Demeter’ me! How could you, Munkustrap? How could you?”
“How could I what?”
“You know what you said about me! You know it’s not true! How dare you!” She gave him a sharp smack on the arm.
“Ow,” Munkustrap moaned, rubbing his forearm. “Demeter, please, what’s wrong?” Alonzo had noticeably disappeared into the crowd to leave them alone. A wise decision, Munkustrap thought as he watched Demeter’s flaming eyes.
Demeter gazed up into Munkustrap’s silver-navy eyes, and all she could see was the confusion as he stared at her. She could see her reflection in his dark pupils. “Why did you say those things to Tugger? You know we’re not like that. Why are you making up stories about us?”
Munkustrap glanced up just as Cassandra re-entered the room, a confident smirk on her face. He could guess what had gone on in the bathroom. “Demeter, did Cassandra tell you I did something?”
Demeter nodded slowly, wiping her eyes that were full of tears again. “She… she said that you were telling Tugger stories about us sleeping together.”
“Oh, Demeter.” Munkustrap wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his strong chest. “You know I would never say anything like that. You know I wouldn’t dishonor you like that, especially after what happened with Macavity. Don’t be mad.”
Demeter buried her face in his chest and cried softly. “Oh, Munkustrap, how could I let her get me so confused? Why did I let her trick me? I could have… we could have broken up over something that never happened.”
“Shh,” Munkustrap comforted, kissing her head. “It’s okay. I promise.”
Demeter nodded slowly, then looked up. “Looks like it’s time to name the King and Queen of Homecoming.”
Indeed it was. The votes had been counted earlier, and now it was time to announce it. Old Deuteronomy stood up on the stage. The music halted, and everyone waited expectantly. Old Deuteronomy held up paws for silence, then held up an envelope with the results. “The 1999-2000 Senior Homecoming King and Queen have been elected. The winners-.” He opened the envelope and read the card. “Are Bombalurina as Homecoming Queen and Rum Tum Tugger as Homecoming King.”
Everyone cheered. Bom squealed with delight, abandoning her date and racing up on stage, despite the jealous look on Macavity’s face. Rum Tum Tugger took the more dignified route, smiling and waving as if he were on a float. He paused his walking to smile at Etcetera and tap her playfully on her nose with a fingerpad before joining Bom onstage. They sat down on the two “thrones” that had been set up for them, and crowns were placed on their heads. Everyone cheered. Old Deuteronomy said a few words, then they were to dance together. Slow music came on, and Tugger led Bom to the dance floor. They began to dance, and it was obvious Griddlebone and Macavity were not too happy about it, but soon the dance ended, and Griddlebone dragged Tugger back over to her. Macavity pulled Bom back into his arms, giving her a deep kiss.
After that, the dancing went on, some slow, some less slow, some more obscene than cats like Jemima and Demeter and Mistoffelees preferred, but everyone agreeably had fun, and by the time it was over, everyone was ready to go home. And Homecoming was over.
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