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The white kitten stretched out luxuriously in the
glorious sun. Basking in the warmth of the sun was one
of her
favourite things to do, and after a morning of
strict playing seemed a perfect time to do it.
Unseen to the white beauty,
a black, red and white
female kitten crept up behind her. In two swift
movements, she had tapped the white kitten on
the back
and leapt in the opposite direction. The white kitten
looked up in confusion for a moment, then burst into
a
fit of giggles when she saw her friend.
Across the Junkyard, and partly hidden in the
trash, another kitten sat.
She was white, cream and
grey, and went by the name of Etcetera. Head resting
on her paws, she sat and glared at the
pair of kittens
in the centre of the Yard, now laughing together at
something unknown to her. She, Etcetera, used to
be
best friends with Victoria, not Jemima.
Though she sometimes played with the rest of the
kittens, Victoria told
her secrets to Jemima, giggled
with Jemima, joked with Jemima, played with Jemima and
talked non-stop with Jemima.
‘How
come she gets to be so perfect? Why was she
given the gift of a beautiful voice, the gift of
innocence and the gift
of beauty, and I’m... I’m just
me?’ Etcetera thought miserably to herself.
These days Etcetera was
usually just left alone.
Occasionally, Pouncival and Tumblebrutus asked if she
wanted to join in their game, but they
just seemed to
tease her. Sometimes Jennyanydots asked her if she
wanted to learn to cross stitch, but that just got
boring.
So
Etcetera was left alone, left alone to glare at
her former friends.
* * * *
The Jellicles woke to another
glorious sunny day.
Munkustrap occupied the tyre, Jellylorum and
Jennyanydots the couch, Jemima and Victoria the pipe,
Etcetera
and Electra the car. While Jemima and
Victoria were playing, Etcetera and Electra sat
together in silence.
“What’s
the matter Ceti?” Electra asked.
“Oh...” Etcetera said slowly to her rare company.
‘Well, apart
from the fact that my best friend doesn’t
seem to notice me anymore, I’m fine.’ she thought to
herself.
“Nothing.
Why?”
“It’s just, you seem a little... down. I just
wondered,” Electra said, looking at her
friend.
“I’m fine,” Etcetera replied. ‘Liar.’
Victoria looked up at Etcetera and Electra.
‘I
can’t help but think I’ve been leaving Ceti out
recently,’ she thought, biting her lip. ‘I
mean,
she’s my friend!’
“Jem,” she said to her companion. “Is it ok to ask
Ceti and
Electra to play?”
“Of course! That’s fine with me,” Jemima smiled.
Returning the smile, Victoria
trotted off to see
her other friends.
“Hi,” she said, reaching the car. “Do you want to
come and
play hide and seek with us?”
Etcetera was almost shocked! Smiling, she said,
“Yes, we will, won’t
we Electra?”
Electra grinned and nodded.
“Ok then... Erm... you can count!” Victoria cried,
tagging
Etcetera and running off. Electra and Jemima
followed. Closing her eyes, Etcetera began to count.
“Nineteen...
Twenty! Coming, ready or not!” she
shouted. No sooner had she opened her eyes, she heard
a giggle. ‘I’ll
bet my whiskers that those two are
hiding together,’ she thought bitterly.
Etcetera leapt off the car and walked
forwards a
little. This was where all the real rubbish was. Soggy
Chinese takeaway boxes, empty cans, torn carrier bags
and
a large pile of broken bottles. She heard the
giggle again, and it seemed to be coming from above
her.
Steering clear
of all things sharp, Etcetera
scrambled up a small pile. On top of it and in front
of her were two cardboard boxes.
It looked as if they
had once stood together, but had been pushed roughly
apart, leaving a gap between them. Etcetera
spotted
the shadow of a tail on the box furthest away from
her, it was flicking from side to side.
Etcetera heard
the giggle again, louder than ever.
A surge of rage overtook her body. Letting out a yell,
the kitten charged forward
and pounced on the other
cat, pushing her off the pile. Looking over the edge
of the ledge, Etcetera gasped in horror
at the kitten
laying sprawled out on the broken bottles below. It
was Victoria.
She heard a gasp from behind her
and turned her
head slowly, as if in a trance. Jemima’s head was
poking out from one of the boxes. “What
have you
done?” she whispered, clearly terrified. Etcetera
turned again, a tear trickling down her cheek.
*
* * *
“What were you doing?” Jellylorum shrieked.
Once the kittens had run for help, Munkustrap had
pulled
Victoria from the glass heap and laid her on
the couch. Near them, Jennyanydots was tending to
Munkustrap’s minor
cuts. Jemima, Electra and Etcetera
were standing beside the white kitten, and Jellylorum
leaning over her. They were
all very pale.
“Were you trying to kill her?” Jellylorum cried to
Etcetera, sounding slightly hysterical.
The
kitten opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
“No... she was trying to kill me,” Jemima said in a
voice
barely louder than a whisper. Etcetera stared at
her.
“I know,” Jemima continued. “I know how you’ve
been
feeling, I’ve seen the way you look at me when I’m
with Victoria. You’ve been left out, and...
I-I’m
sorry.”
“You’re apologising to me?” Etcetera said, finding
her voice. “After...
after what I almost did?”
Jemima nodded.
“Can someone please explain what happened!”
Jellylorum
asked.
“Please don’t be mad with me!” Etcetera pleaded,
suddenly exploding. “I didn’t
mean to! I never meant
to kill anyone! But Jemima’s right - I was jealous!
Why should she be best friends with
Victoria? I’m
Victoria’s best friend! I don’t know what happened up
there, I just got so angry! And
then - then I pounced!
And I-I nearly k-killed Victoria!”
Then Etcetera turned and ran, the tears pouring
down
her face.
* * * *
“Etcetera?”
Etcetera was curled up on the floor in the pipe.
Upon hearing
the voice, she lifted her head. Her eyes
were red from crying.
“Auntie Jenny,” the kitten said quietly.
Jennyanydots
crawled in and sat beside Etcetera.
Overcome by a sudden wave of tears, Etcetera began to
sob again. Jennyanydots put
her arms round her and
rocked her as if she was just a baby.
After a while Etcetera pulled her head up and
sniffed.
“I didn’t mean to Jenny, it was an
accident... I never wanted to hurt her!”
“I know you didn’t,
dear. Accidents happen
sometimes,” the older cat soothed.
“But they think I tried to kill her on purpose!
I
didn’t! And now Victoria won’t want to be friends with
me at all - and it’s all my fault! Just ‘cause
I got
jealous... jealousy,” she spat bitterly.
A face appeared at the opening of the pipe.
“Victoria’s
awake,” Jemima said. “She wants to talk
to you.”
Etcetera looked at Jenny uncertainly. Jenny smiled
at
her encouragingly, and the kitten wiped her eyes
and followed Jemima to the couch. Victoria was sitting
up, propped
up by cushions. Electra was still there,
but Jellylorum had left her side. Etcetera approached
her with her eyes towards
the ground.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.
“Jemima and Electra have explained to me what
happened,”
Victoria said. Etcetera glanced up at her,
then returned her gaze to the ground. “Jemima says it
was an accident,
because you were feeling left out. I
suppose that’s my fault,” the white kitten sighed.
There was a pause.
“What would you have done if you
had killed me?” Victoria asked.
Etcetera was taken aback by the question.
What was
she supposed to say to that?!
“How do you think she’d feel?” Electra piped up.
“Miserable,
sorry, upset, guilty... Etcetera never
meant to hurt anyone, she was just very angry and
jealous. She felt lonely because
she didn’t have a
best friend... And that’s a really strong feeling... I
know what it’s like,”
she added, with a trace of
sadness in her voice.
There was another long pause. Etcetera gave Electra
a small, grateful
smile.
“Sorry...” Victoria apologised. “I didn’t think...
sorry.”
“So, what happens
now?” Etcetera asked meekly. “Are
we friends?”
“Yes,” Victoria said to her relief. “But
not best
friends.”
Etcetera nodded. “That’s ok... Thank you for, for
saying yes. I really am sorry.
And thank you for
forgiving me Jemima.”
Jellylorum came bustling over to the kittens. She
looked much calmer
than she had the last time Etcetera
had seen her. “Have you sorted it all out?” she asked.
Victoria looked
around at the other kittens. “Yes.
We have, everything’s ok now,” she said, smiling
slightly.
“Oh
good,” Jellylorum said. “Well, Victoria needs
her rest, you three. You can come back to visit her
later.”
The
kittens left the couch and came to the centre
of the Junkyard. After a moments pause, Jemima told
the others she was
going to her house, and said her
byes.
“Thank you for saying what you did back there,”
Etcetera said
to Electra. “You were right.”
“Well, like I said, I know what it’s like,” Electra
replied.
Etcetera noticed the sadness in her voice
again.
“Hey, Electra, do - do you want to be my best
friend?”
she asked.
Electra’s face lit up. “Yeah - of course! I’d love
to!”
Etcetera grinned. “So...
what do you want to do
with the rest of the day?”
“How about Tugger hunting!” Electra cried.
The
pair giggled, and spent the hours that followed
doing just that.
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