The Day Cat and I Rode Dolphins
Sorry for not updating in, like, forever! Serious writer's block, forgive me. This one is cute, in my opinion. But my opinion doesn't matter much to me. So read on!
P.S. Sorry for not making this their first day in Elementary School, but that will be the next chapter. I'm trying to break through this writer's block, so bear with me.
**~Songbird341~**
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Robbie or Cat. If I did, they would be a couple by now :)
. . . . .
My eyelids flew open. "Today's the day!"
Indeed, today was the day. The day that Cat and I are going to the Marine Park!
School was going to start in just one week, so Cat and I had been cramming as much fun as we could into the last days before adulthood. Cat loved animals, so she was so excited to get to go to the park. Apparently, she had never gone to the zoo before. Poor Cat! I wonder why...
I hopped out of bed in my footsie pajamas, and ran out of my rocket-themed bedroom, into the kitchen. I found Mommy making pancakes and bacon, and sleepy-looking Raquel sitting at the table, finishing her homework. I smiled when I remembered: I'm gonna be getting homework soon.
"Mommy! We're going to the marine park with Cat today, remember?" I reminded her, remembering that Moms can be very forgetful sometimes. Like when Mommy forgot to set a timer on the taco-meat, and it burned. The oven was smoking, which was cool, because I got to be a firefighter and Stopped, Dropped and Rolled across the floor. But Raquel yelled at me for rolling around when the oven was smoking, which wasn't very fair, because that's what Mommy told me to do. Oh well.
Mrs. Shapiro chuckled. "I remembered, Robbie. I'm not that old." She turned to me and gave me a kiss on my head. "Now, come get some breakfast. Raquel, one pancake or two?"
"Three." She muttered, not even looking up from her Math book. Mom looked at her, making a funny face.
"Did you grow another stomach, my hard-worker? Speaking of which, isn't that due in a week, sweetie?" She walked over to watch Raquel work on her problems.
Raquel covered her paper with her arms. "Yes, but I'm getting it done while I remember everything!" Sisters must be forgetful, too. "Now, don't watch me! You'll make me nervous!" She scowled. Mommy threw her hands up and walked back to the stove.
"Rob, here's your dino-pancake. And your bacon." She handed me my plate. "Now eat everything, young man! You can't go ride the dolphins on an empty stomach!" She ordered, smiling. Whoa! We can ride the dolphins? I can't wait to tell Cat!
I sat down at the table and dug into my small dinosaur-shaped pancake. "Mom? Why does Raquel get to start school before I do?" I wondered.
"Because she's older, Robbie." She answered, sitting at the table herself with her big plate. "Now, eat. Raquel, you're coming with us to the Marine park." Raquel began to protest, but she held her hand up. "I need your help keeping up with these kids."
"We're not kids!" I demanded. "We're about to be adults!"
Someone knocked at the door softly. "That's Cat." Mommy said. I jumped up and followed her to the door.
She pulled the door open, revealing a small redheaded girl. "Hi, Mrs. Shapiro! Hi Robbie!"
"Hi Cat!" I replied.
She gave me a weird look. "You're going to the Marine park in your pajamas? Can I do that too?" She asked Mommy, who shook her head.
"Go get dressed, Robbie!" She ordered.
"But-"
"March!" I did so.
. . . . .
Finally, dressed and ready to go, I stepped out of my bedroom and back to the kitchen. Cat was coloring at the kitchen table. I walked up to look at it, and saw that she colored her tiger purple. "You colored your tiger purple?"
She whipped her head around. "What's THAT supposed to mean?"
"I mean, that just doesn't happen in nature, is all." I fumbled over my words. She instantly smiled and started giggling.
"I know, I'm creative..." She tucked her hair behind her ear. Mommy walked up to the table.
"Let's go, kids."
"Adults!"
. . . . .
After a fun-filled car ride, we finally arrived at the Marine park.
"Alright, adults. First, we're gonna go see the sea turtles, the octopus, and the sharks!" Mommy informed us, paying for our tickets.
"Look! The Mermaid Show!" Cat pointed to a glittery poster, decorated with seashells. On it was a picture of a mermaid, sitting on a rock with dolphins jumping around her. "Can we go to that? Please?"
I really didn't want to, but if Cat did...
"Okay. We'll go to that after lunch." Mom decided. Raquel was following close behind us, texting her friends, like she had all day, when she wasn't doing homework or eating.
We all walked into the giant park, looking at all the concession stands and all the people. "Wow!" Cat exclaimed. Little kids with popcorn and peanuts, cotton candy and Icees. Parents staring sadly at their thin wallets. But what caught my eye, and Cat's, was a dolphin, jumping high into the air and falling into the water with a splash. And then I remembered: We were going to ride those! I turned to Cat to tell her, but Mommy was already making her way to the sea turtle tank.
Once we reached it, Cat was no longer aware of her surroundings. She just pressed her relatively-small nose against the glass and gazed at the turtles, swimming around slowly and, in my opinion, quite boringly. But I stood next to her, watching her fascinated expressions whenever a turtle moved. She sure does love animals...
After what seemed like an hour, but was really only 5 minutes, of watching Cat's brown eyes shift from turtle to turtle, Raquel had had enough and walked away. Mom grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back, ready to let Cat spend all the time she wanted. But Cat was standing in front of her, looking up into her eyes. "Can we go see the Mermaid Show now?" She asked, twisting left to right, her hands clasped together behind her back.
Mommy sighed. "Kitty, the show won't start for another hour. But we're gonna go see the octopus, now!" This brought a smile back to Cat's face. She took one last look at the sea turtles, and followed Mom and Raquel to the octopus tank.
As we walked, I looked at Cat. "You like turtles?" I asked, trying to make conversation.
She looked up and nodded. "But not a lot, though. I really love dolphins!" She sighed adoringly at the mention of dolphins. She did a little spin as she walked, then began skipping.
"You do? Well, guess what my Mommy said?" I prepared for her happy squeals to pierce the air. "She said we could ride the dolphins!"
The squeals did come, and they came louder than I had expected. But it was worth seeing her pretty smile, and getting a big hug from her. See, lately, I've been feeling different about Cat. A good way. Raquel calls it a crush, because I'm not old enough to love anyone, really. "Ooh, Robbie's crushing on Kitty Cat!" She had laughed. I don't really want to crush Cat. That would hurt. But I do think she's pretty, and smells nice, and stuff...
"We get to ride them! Wee!" She spun around again, her dress puffing out to her sides, like an umbrella. She kept spinning, until she got dizzy and started to fall. I grabbed her hand and pulled her back to her feet.
"You gotta be careful, Cat!" I laughed. She regained balance, and we hurried to catch up to Mom and Raquel.
We finally reached the octopus tank. But before Cat saw it, she asked "What's a ocpatus?".
Once she caught sight of the eight-legged, probably squishy, animal, she screamed and ran away. After Mom caught her, she tried to introduce Cat to the animal, but failed, resulting in another scream. "Cat! He won't hurt you! He's a friendly octopus!" She tried to convince the redhead, to no avail. After 15 minutes of "Come see the octopus!" "No! I'm scared!", we finally decided to move on.
As we made our way to the shark tanks, I tried to explain that sharks weren't scary, just in case. But she wasn't listening. All she said was "Can we go to the Mermaid Show now?" replied to with a head shake, from Mom. Raquel continued to text.
"Oh my gosh! They're so cute!" Cat squeaked, running up to the tank and plastering her face against the glass. She giggled and tapped on the glass, cooing "Who's a cutie? You are! You are!"
Mommy and Raquel exchanged glances, then resumed staring at the eccentric Cat.
After 10 minutes of Cat's staring, we decided to go get food. I suggested hot dogs, and no one objected. So it was decided.
Cat ordered the mini-weenies with mustard only, as did I, only with ketchup. After we got our food and ate it, Mom left us with Raquel so she could take a look at Icee prices. Big mistake, on her part.
Cat glanced down at her HiHi Kitten wristwatch, and saw that it was almost time for: "The Mermaid Show! Robbie, let's go watch!" And before I could protest, she grabbed my arm and we were gone before Raquel could look up from her cell phone.
"Cat, where are we going?" I asked as we ran, she pulling me behind her.
"Silly! We're going to the dolphin tanks! We're gonna ride the dolphins!"
Looks like little boys are forgetful, too. Oops, I mean little men.
. . . . .
After many futile attempts, I gave up trying to reason with her. No, we could not wait for Mommy. No, we could not do it tomorrow. No, Mommy would not mind, if she had truly given us permission. Which, she did. I reminded myself. So no worries.
Cat took off her pink and brown-plaid knee socks, after removing her pink Mary Jane's, and wriggled on some water wings from Mom's duffel bag. I removed my Arachniman sandals, put on my water wings, and took off my glasses. I could see okay without them, anyway. Cat pulled me up to the "Faculty Only" gate, (Cat explained that Faculty meant permitted people, which we were.) and we slid into the water.
It's a shame I have to get my clothes all wet, I realized, but the thought was one of the past when I saw a dolphin. It swam close to us, but turned and swam to Cat. Cat held out her hand, poised for petting. It squeaked at her, as it got closer and closer, until it was finally in reach. Cat stroked its head fearlessly, inching closer to it.
"Cat, are you sure you know how to do this?" I asked nervously. She nodded, not even turning to me. She reached out to its dorsal fin and grabbed it, holding tight, and he instantly started pulling her around the pool, creating waves. She squealed in surprise, as the dolphin grew faster and faster, squeaking happily. He probably had had experience pulling people around, and Cat was certainly no great burden to the creature.
Cat laughed and shouted "Robbie! You try it!".
I started to shake my head, and turned around. But I recoiled at the sight of a dolphin, merely inches away from me. The dolphin swam closer to me, nudging my arm. I shivered at the touch of the cold animal. It wants me to ride it? It seemed so.
I extended a trembling hand toward the animal, closing my eyes, reaching impact sooner than expected. It must have gotten closer! I opened my eyes and slowly started petting it. "Nice dolphin. You like me, don't you? I like you too. Good dolphin, nice boy..." I slowly reached for its big shark-like fin, and grasped onto it. The dolphin didn't even flinch. Taking a leap of faith, I copied Cat's previous movements, and was suddenly being pulled around the pool. "Wow! Look Cat, I'm doing it!"
"I knew you could!" She called out over the sound of the rushing water.
We swam around each other in circles, doing little tricks. Cat was able to make the dolphin jump into the air, which was beyond my understanding. But then, a lot of what Cat did was beyond my understanding. She just does things, somehow.
But something changed all of that in an instant. The bars at the end of the pool were opened, and, as they had been trained, the dolphins swam through the opening, carrying us with them. And before we could react, we were met by hundreds of people in stands, watching what we realized was the Mermaid Show.
Sitting in a clam in the middle of the lake was a real mermaid! She had blue hair, with seashells strung in it, and she had a tail, which she flopped around, until she saw me and Cat. She stopped waving at everyone stared at us in awe. Jealous?
Cat rode up to me. "We're in the Mermaid Show, Robbie! Can you believe it?" She squealed, much like the dolphin. She waved a hand in front of my face, but I kept staring out at the stands. "Ro-bbie?"
I gulped and pointed up at the front of the audience. There stood Mommy and Raquel. Looking very shocked. And angry. Uh oh...
. . . . .
"Robbie Shapiro, I can not believe you left us without asking, sneaked into Employees-Only ground, and for Pete's sake, rode the dolphins?" Mommy scolded me. I lowered my wet head, which Mom was trying furiously to towel-dry. Cat did the same, as Raquel dried hers, remarking how pretty the hair color was.
"I did it too, Mrs. Shapiro." She admitted, clasping her hands together.
Mom looked at her. "Well, I'll be having a talk with your mother, young lady!"
"But – But you told me that we were gonna swim with the dolphins!" I reminded her.
"..." Mom looked down at the ground. "I did, didn't I. I didn't really mean-"
"But we had fun!" Cat interjected. "And isn't that what it's all about?"
There was a silence. Cat chewed on her lip. Mom stopped drying my hair. Raquel finally quit talking. And I waited for something to happen. Which, something did.
"You know what, Cat? You're right. I'm sorry you guys misunderstood me. The main thing is, no one got hurt, and we're not in trouble, so neither are you. It's all water under the bridge, I guess." Mom decided.
Cat raised her hand. "What's that mean?"
"It means that it's in the past, so let's forget about it." Raquel explained. "But don't do that again. Got it?" She ordered. We both nodded.
"I didn't even remember telling you about the dolphins." Mom remarked as we walked out of the Marine park. I smiled.
"That's just because sometimes, Mom's are very forgetful."
. . . . .
Sorry if you didn't like it. I thought it was okay :)
Please review! I love all my reviewers so much, but I'm tired and don't feel like listing them all. So thanks EVERYONE!