2

The Cat waved his gloved hand, and I was speechless. "B-b-but y-you're the…"

"The…?" the Cat said, arching an eyebrow and staring at me.

"The Cat in the Hat! That's impossible!"

The Cat snickered. "Oh, it's possible."

"Well, anything's possible, but only in a dream."

"So you're telling me that I'm just a dream and that I'm not real?" The Cat's face fell.

"No… I mean yes… I mean…" I was at a loss for words. I was making the most joyful character in musical history sad! "What I'm trying to say is that you're a fictional character created by Theodore Geisel."

The Cat furrowed his brows. "He created us? That's what you think?"

"Uh, yeah, because that's the truth!"

Suddenly, the Cat began to laugh. "Is this what all of you here think?"

I was just confused now. "I studied the life of Dr. Seuss and it never mentioned that he was created by a bunch of imaginary characters."

"How do you think he came up with his pen name?" the Cat said, obviously trying to trick me.

"Because it was his mother's maiden name?"

"Wrong. That's a publicity stunt created to hide the real truth."

I coughed and stared at the Cat. "Okay, if you're so smart, explain this: why did Theodore Geisel even need a pen name?

"Ask me an easier one. He was banned from the college newspaper for throwing wild parties in his room! Let me ask you something. Why did he throw wild parties?"

"He was a party animal?"

"He met us! Talia, you aren't the fuzziest clover in the patch, are you?"

I was starting to freak out right about now. "How do you know my name?!"

"I know everything about you. I know you landed a part as me, you were mocked nonstop, and you wished for me to come and give you some Cat training. Is that correct?"

This was turning from awkward to creepy really fast. "Yes."

"So I'm here, and I got here at just the right time, too. We're in the middle of a terrible crisis in Seuss."

"There's a whole other world?"

"More like a whole other dimension. Frankly, Talia, I'm surprised that you are playing me, because you don't know how to think at all!"

I knew where this was going. "Oh, no, no, no. I've read the script enough times to know where this is going. You're going to just whisk me off to some other world and try to get me to learn something! Well, I'm not going!"

Suddenly, footsteps sounded, and my mom ran down the stairs. "What's going on, Talia? It sounded like you were yelling."

"I…um…" I stared at the Cat wordlessly for assistance, but the Cat just shook his head and chuckled.

"I was… on the phone with a friend!" I lied.

My mom looked confused. "But you called that friend Cat."

"Oh, we have nicknames for each other. Her nickname is Cat and my nickname is… um… Jojo!"

My mom never saw the script, so she didn't know that Jojo was just a character from the play. "Well, tone it down a little, okay?" Then she sighed and walked back up the stairs.

As soon as she left, I turned to the Cat. "See what you made me do?!" I hissed to him. "This is why I'm such a serious person!"

The Cat shrugged. "All right. You can come or you can stay. But I have to leave now, so take your pick."

On one hand, I would be able to learn how to become the Cat and I could possibly save a dimension. On the other, I may never be able to get back and everyone would think that I was crazy if I did.

"Tick, tock," the Cat sighed. "Better make a move."

I sighed and hoped that I made the right decision. "I'm coming with you."

"You are?" The Cat looked astonished, but then masked it with excitement. "Then come along, and I'll take you there. All you need to do is hold this." Then the Cat took off his hat and held it out in front of him. "Grab on."

I reached out in front of me and took hold of the hat. Instantly, my eyelids felt heavier, I felt lighter on my feet, and the world was just fading out around me before I blacked out.

Talia: Nothing really happened during that chapter!

MagicalAwesomeness: That's because it's a filler chapter, Talia, and I had to break the chapters up so they didn't go over the max character limit.

Talia: The what?

MagicalAwesomeness: *sigh*

Cat: Tell me about it, kid.

Talia: Hey! What's wrong with me?!

MagicalAwesomeness: Guys, stop fighting!

Cat: You can't tell me what to do!

MagicalAwesomeness: *facepalm* Don't forget to review.