It was all Skimbleshanks' fault, of this Tugger was convinced.
It began with the railway cat's excited enthusing of his visits in Glasgow, where he on occasion spent his time between shifts, till the train would deliver him once again to his Junkyard home in London. He spoke of all his entertaining Scottish acquaintances, some of which members to a clan, similar to the Jellicles' tribe, and how they themselves would throw balls, though they differed greatly from the English Jellicles. Equally as grad as the Jellicle Ball, if not more, in scale, though not nearly as significant (after all, they didn't have the Jellicle Choice to be concerned about!). And because of the extent of decadence that this occasion upheld, it was not exclusive to the clan, but with other cats outside of it being invited as well, in this case, the Jellicles themselves!
It's easy to imagine the excitement that followed. Bombalurina was overjoyed at yet another opportunity to display her talent and beauty, and Munkustrap was determined to show evidence of the Jellicles' esteemed reputation.
However, there was just one problem. Due to the sophistication of this event, their were still limitations of criteria on the guest list. As such, it was strictly adults only.
This posed a problem for the Tribe, as of course the kittens couldn't be left alone unattended, unprotected. All of their parents found it so rare to have a break from watching them as it was, and this occasion was too much to turn down! And it was simply inconceivable that the Jellicles should arrive without Munkustrap to represent them, despite him being the usual supervisor of the younger members.
Which was why, according to Munkustrap, Tugger was the best option of who would stay behind.
Tugger had stared in disbelief when the protector had approached him with this.
"You've got to be kidding me!" he snorted. "You guys are all going to a huge party, and I'm stuck behind…babysitting?"
"It's…It's because we trust you the most!" Munkutsrap thought quick.
"As if! None of you lot take me even a bit seriously!"
Munkustrap frowned. "Well, is that so surprising?"
"So why do I have to stay behind?"
"Because you would otherwise be an obvious choice to go!" Munkustrap finally burst in frustration. "Jellylorum, Jennyanydots, Asparagus - they nearly always have to put everyone else's preferences before their own! Because they're the 'old-timers,' and 'fun is for the young' - well, Tugger, you do nothing but have fun, and it's about time someone else had a turn!
"So regardless of what you want, we're all leaving first thing tomorrow on the Night Mail under Skimbleshanks' supervision, while you will remain behind and tend to the kittens' needs. And when we return in a weeks' time, everything will be as we left it."
Tugger glared at him, teeth grinding.
Munkustrap, taking advantage of his situation, then gave Tugger a sly grin and said in a sing-song voice, "And there's no doin' anything a-bout it…" With those last words, he turned tail and left behind a very frustrated and offended Tugger.
I thought this would be a really fun story to write, though I don't usually write humour, so I hope my attempt is works out! Stay tuned for the next chapter in which Tugger tries (sort of?) 'kitten-sitting' for the first time!