Untitled Love Story

by: Genevieve

The day began like any other day in the Junkyard. The sun rose in a symphony of colors. A deep purple, coral pink, warm orange-red, and finally blazing yellow. As the sun rose, its vibrant rays slowly swept across the junkyard gradually warming everything in its path. Millions of dewdrops covered the surrounding junk, and made for an even more breathtaking site as the sun glinted off the shiny, metal surfaces.

Slowly the inhabitants of the seemingly abandoned junkyard began to awake. Some, such as the kittens, awoke bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, excited for the day to begin. It took longer for the adult cats to become enthused enough to open their sleep-filled eyes. Their kits were growing impatient and pounced on their parents to awake them in a most unpleasant manner.

One such kitten was Jemima. She had awoken with an elaborate stretch and a soft yawn as the first sunbeam struck the windshield of the Old Ford where she resided, along with her mother Demeter.

Jemima had been the youngest kitten in the junkyard for so long, and was overjoyed when she heard that Cassandra and Alonzo were expecting their first litter of kittens. She was glad she would have new friends to play with, and at the same time was relieved that she would no longer be the "baby" of the tribe.

Jemima had once seen herself in a shard of glass lying dangerously in the junkyard. Now Jemima was never one to be vain or act conceited, but she had to admit to herself that she was a beautiful queen. Ever since she could remember people had always described her as beautiful and gorgeous, but she had never seen it until that moment. Her head fur wasn’t as fluffy as some of the cats. In contrast it was short and funkier, like it had been styled in a human salon. Her fur was a mixture of midnight black, deep brown, and dazzling scarlet. Her face was mostly white as was her chest and belly. Around her neck she wore a shiny spiked collar, a present from her human family who had really wanted a dog. But what Jemima liked best about herself were her eyes. They were huge in contrast to her small, pixie-like face. They were a rich brown color and sparkled like a million diamonds, no matter if she was happy or sad. They showed all of her emotions instantly, and with them she could never hide her true feelings.

(Now back to the story)

Jemima grew increasingly bored feigning sleep and decided to get up and go see what her friends were doing at such a lovely hour in the morning. She spotted them almost immediately seeing as they junkyard was nearly deserted and they were only a few feet away from her "home".

Victoria was basking in the sun, her lithe, white body arching and stretching into impossible positions, a look of pure contentment on her dignified face. Etcetera, only a few feet from Victoria, was talking incessantly to no one in particular about her favorite subject, Tugger. A giddy smile was plastered on her bright face. A few inches from Etcetera, Electra was lazily watching a piece of lint weaving through the air. Electra gave up acting bored, and attempted to knock the fiber out of the air with a strong swipe of her paw. A dramatic battle ensued in which Electra triumphantly conquered the lint. Together the four made the perfect group. There was The Princess, The Boy Crazy One, The Tomboy, and Jemima: The Sweetheart.

"Hi, guys", said Jemima as she approached her three best friends, "How are you?"

Victoria quickly went into a sitting position, Electra stopped "torturing" her "captive", and Etcetera briefly stopped her jabbering about Tugger to greet Jemima. The other two followed suit, "Hi!" Victoria and Electra said in unison.

Then they began to do what all teenage girls do when they are alone…..they talked about boys!!!!!!!(Simple pleasures are the best!!!!)

"Oh Tugger is so handsome. He plays hard to get sometimes, but I know deep down that he really truly loves me." Said Etcetera. The other three chose to ignore her comments, and just smiled, then turned back to a more serious discussion. "So has Plato said anything to you since the Ball?" Electra asked Victoria. Victoria technically was no longer a kit, since she had her first mating at the last Jellicle Ball. Plato had been her partner, but shortly after the Ball he had established that he did not want Victoria for a mate, and the Mating Dance was just a way to get his "manly needs"(LOL-manly needs).

This news had upset many tribe members, but since no kittens were conceived there was no way anyone could make Plato responsible for Victoria.

"No. He hasn’t said a thing to me in weeks. I wish it could have been anyone else there that night. Even someone as foolish as Pouncival." Replied Victoria.

"I know you wish it had been Mistoffolees, as a matter of fact." Said Etcetera, suddenly coming out of her Tugger induced haze. At this remark Victoria turned thirty violent shades of red, and ducked her head in embarrassment. She had always been close to Misto, but it was only until recently that she had begun to see him as more than a friend. But she wasn’t entirely sure if she wanted her friends to relinquish this news, let alone announce it for the whole world to hear.

"Well, Jemima", Victoria began, "We know that Etcetera’s got it bad for Tugger, Electra likes Tumblebrutus, and that I like Misto. The question is who’s got your bell ringing?" Jemima was interrupted by a loud "AAAAIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE" from Etcetera. This could mean only one thing. Tugger had just entered the junkyard. Jemima was slightly relieved that she was saved from answering this very personal question. Of course she knew whom she fancied, but wasn’t quite sure if her friends would understand, or even approve. Just thinking of his lovely face made her heart skip a beat. She went off with her friends to see Tugger.

Secretly Jemima wasn’t too fond of Tugger. He fancied himself a god and used his physical attributes to get anything he wanted. Every queen in the junkyard, including Jemima found him extremely good looking. Tugger knew this fact all to well and reveled in it. He walked through the junkyard like he was akin with hordes of female followers trailing closely behind him. He would mate with a queen and then forget about her the next day, setting his sights on his next "victim". Jemima knew of one another tom who treated queens with such disrespect, and that was her father. Macavity.

Macavity had used your mother in such a way. Demeter was only a kitten when her entire family had been killed by Macavity’s hench-cats. Macavity had promptly given Demeter a home in his lair, and used her for his own pleasure. He would make her do jobs for him, such as spying and stealing. Then when they were alone he would mate with her, against her will. Demeter had somehow escaped from his clutches and found shelter and safety within the Jellicle junkyard. She couldn’t leave before she had conceived Macavity’s kittens. The labor had been difficult, and three of the kittens were stillborn. Jemima was the only survivor. Jemima had grown to see her mother’s new mate, Munkustrap, as her father. As far as she was concerned Macavity wasn’t her father, and she could never see him as such.

Jemima’s thoughts were brought back to the present when she heard the loud giggling of her companions. Tugger had been telling the girls a very involved tale about his battle with five snarling pollicles the day before. It was accompanied by many "ooooooohs" and "ahhhhhhs" by his admiring fans.

"Tugger", Etcetera began, "You are so brave! You fought off five pollicles all by yourself. YOU should be the next leader of the tribe!"

Tugger smiled appreciatively at her statement. "Protecting the tribe is Munkustrap’s duty. Mine is keeping the queens happy" Tugger simply stated.

This statement caused a chorus of giggles from every female within hearing distance. Jemima looked up from the group around her to see if anyone new had arrived in the junkyard, who might be better company. That is when she saw him. The tom she was so afraid to reveal her feelings about. They came from such different worlds, but had one thing in common. Macavity. The tom (who you can probably guess by now) was Mungojerrie. He and his younger sister, Rumpleteazer, were ex-agents for the "Napoleon of Crime: himself. He and Rumpleteazer had been introduced to the life of crime, while they were still impressionable kits. They had been abandoned by their parents and were at first glad to find a home with Macavity. As soon as he had them under his power he began to make them do jobs for him. Stealing some pearls here, some diamonds there. They had quickly become a great team and got many robberies off without a hitch. But soon they discovered they were tired of being treated horribly by cats that cared nothing for them. They wanted a normal life where they could find mates and start families. That is when they decided to abandon Macavity. They had arrived in the Jellicle Junkyard incredibly thin, but after a few good meals had fattened up quite a bit. Some members of the tribe weren’t sure if they should be allowed into the tribe seeing as they had worked for Macavity. Old Deuteronomy had finally decided that they were worthy of becoming tribe members and soon they were accepted openly into the tribe. They had been very happy. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were basking in the early morning sun, talking quietly to one another about the coming day.

That is when Rumpleteazer spotted Tugger. Just like every other queen she found him utterly perfect. She gave herself a quick groom and headed over towards him and the small gaggle of queens surrounding him. A look of irritation passed over Mungojerrie’s features, but he quickly got up and followed Rumpleteazer towards the group of cats. (I will not even attempt to do Mungo and Rumple’s accent)

"Hey, Teazer", said Tugger in his slow sexy drawl, while looking her up and down approvingly, "How are you beautiful?"

At this Teazer blushed but quickly recovered her senses and answered cheekily, "I’m much better now that I’ve seen you, Tugger."

Tugger seemed to approve of her answer. He hastily nudged Jemima out of the way to make enough room for Teazer to take her place snuggled up to him. Tugger’s nudging threw Jemima off balance, and she rolled ungracefully until she was at Mungojerrie’s feet. Jemima blushed at her clumsy display and bowed her head in shame. Mungojerrie politely pretended not to notice, and quickly said hello to each cat individually. His voice got increasingly quiet until his greeting to Jemima came out in little more than a whisper. They each in turn returned the greeting, but Jemima’s as well came out as a soft whisper.

This story will be continued very shortly. I just put it up on Fanfiction.net, but for some reason they wont let me post more than one chapter. It is too difficult for my simple mind!!!!! I hope you enjoy this, it's my first attempt!