It was Saturday morning. Rays of sunlight came through the windows in the living room, causing Dina to wake up. She was still lying on the carpet, and noticed that she had cried herself to sleep last night.
Dina yawned, blinked with her eyes and then looked around. It wasn't really the sun that woke her up, but instead Josh's parents who had already woken up. She saw how Josh's mother walked into the living room.
"Hey Dina, did you decide to sleep on the carpet?" she said. She walked over to Dina and petted her on the head. "Silly kitty."
Josh's mother then walked out of the living room and went into the kitchen to make breakfast.
Dina stood up and looked at the clock. It was around eight. Despite what had happened she still managed to get a good night sleep.
I'm thirsty.
Dina walked to the backroom where her bowl with water was. There was some kibble that was leftover from last night, which was all dry now. But she was glad that there was water she could drink. Using her small tongue she got it inside.
Now that she was awake did the events from last night come back into her mind.
Oh, yes, that's right. I'm going to be a cat forever.
She knew she had to make some plan of sorts on how to go from here. What would be the best idea? When she looked down, she saw that she had her collar on. That thought made her realize that she was Josh's pet cat and was accepted by his family and friends. Everything considered she still had a relatively good position; she was adopted by a loving family and at least had something to do in her spare time, something she now had loads of. Doing stuff with the band would be her grand activity from now on. It all could have ended differently, with her being a stray cat having to get her food out of garbage cans and having to be afraid of animal control. Or, worse, she could been trapped for months or years on at Largest Ever Pet Shop. That last idea had certainly been possible if it were not for Josh to want to buy a cat at that time.
Dina knew it was a hard choice to make, but she knew that staying with the Sharp's was the best thing to do for now. They did do nothing wrong to her, and being cold or even angry at them wouldn't make any sense, and she didn't want to overstay their welcome. They could kick her out if they wanted to, especially since they just got her at their pet cat.
For the next hour and a half did Dina do what she did do at the Sharp's; hanging around. She went to Josh's parents and asked for some attention while they were having breakfast, and they scratched her politely behind the ears.
She then went over to the front of the living room which looked out of the window onto the street. Despite it being a Saturday morning, it was quite busy on the street where cars were all moving towards their own destination. During this time did Dina contemplate about her own current position and how to go from here, and she also kept thinking about her father, her friends at school and of course her pet friends at the Littlest Pet Shop. She doubted that her father would have missed her since he still on his big flight trip. She figured that he had started to wonder though why she hasn't been picking up her phone for the last few days, but that he wouldn't think too much of it. And then he would come home in two days and notice she's missing. And then he would go call the police, have her reported as missing, and then no one would ever find a trace of her. They would end the case and state she is a runaway teen or just 'still missing' and a memorial would be made for Blythe Baxter. She didn't want to think about it, and especially about what it would do to her father. Dina felt so powerless at the inevitable situation.
Dina looked at the large clock in the room. It was around half past nine. She noticed she was hungry, so she went back to the eating bowl. She hoped that someone has poured new kibble in for her.
She entered the hallway when she heard Josh come down the stairs. She halted and waited for him to get down.
"Oh, hey Dina," she heard Josh say. She turned around to see him and meowed. Josh then got on his knees to pet her.
"Well, we almost have to go to the park to perform there. There is a lot of work that we need to do setting everything up. Besides; I don't think getting late is a good idea. I doubt Ashley would be able to handle that. She is always the unsure one."
Oh, yes, there was a performance scheduled today.
Dina decided to focus on the here and now, and that was getting ready for that performance. She followed Josh into the room behind the kitchen where he, as she had hoped, started to give her food.
Josh emptied Dina's food bowl and filled it with fresh kibble. Dina was glad the Sharp's actually gave her a diverse diet to eat and some the same stuff over and over again. She knew how some owners of pets actually did that.
Dina ate and went to the litter box while Josh also made himself ready to go. It was around fifteen minutes past ten when Dina was in her cage on the back of Josh's scooter.
"We're going to meet the others at the park," he explained to her. "I don't think we'll be the first there to arrive. But who knows."
It didn't take long for them to get to the park. It was only a ten minute hike to get there walking, and on the scooter it took about three minutes including the red light. At the park she saw a stage that was set up along with the usual hot dog stand and some people talking to each other. She also saw Bob and Ashley standing there with their tools. How Ashley did bring her entire drum set with her, she had no idea. Maybe her father has a really big car or something?
"Hey, guys!" Josh said to them.
"Hey Josh," Ashley said. "Oh, look! You've brought Dina with you!"
"Isn't it too early to bring her to a performance?" Bob asked.
"Oh, I'm sure it's no problem, now is it sweetie?" Ashley said to Dina.
Dina softly meowed. Josh then opened up her cage and she went outside.
"See? You're not afraid, aren't you?" Ashley said while petting her. Dina then pushed her nose into her hand and then licked it.
Ew! She uses yoghurt cream hand lotion!
Dina then saw how Angela and Erik arrived at the scene. They greeted each other – and then Dina of course – and started to set up their instruments. "We're second and fifth to perform," Angela had explained while holding a piece of paper with the roster on it. "We can leave our stuff on stage though; the others only need a violin or a mike, so it is fine if we leave it for the rest of the day on there."
While the band was busy did Dina sit and wait and look at how they set everything up. She could not go anywhere anyway since Josh had put her on a leash and attached it to his motorcycle.
An hour after they arrived was the moment the first person performed. It was a girl with a violin. Dina relaxed and listened to how she played.
Then it was their turn; Dina was unleashed and taken with the others on stage. There was a big 'd'awww' amongst the crowd when she was introduced. The song that then started was one they had practiced a couple of days back so Dina had no problem with it. She didn't sing too loud but instead tried to make a simple tone so that the audience wouldn't see it as annoying meowing.
And they didn't. They loved it. Despite that Dina had never really performed, let alone singing for a crowd, did everyone love how she did it.
The pets from the Littlest Pet Shop were taken outside by Mrs. Twombly. She had talked earlier about that Blythe didn't even call her anymore but didn't go any further into it. Instead she just decided to take the pets with her to the park since they still needed their walks. It was a sunny day, so Minka decided to take her ball with her. Mrs. Twombly allowed her to do so.
When they got into the park they noticed that there was a stage and that there was a band performing there. "Hey, there is a performance in the park!" Mrs. Twombly noted. She giggled because she was a really big fan of the bands that were playing there, even though that they were just small local bands with some amateur talents. However, due to a small doorknob collection crisis she had missed that there was a performance planned today.
"Oh, I just have to see this!" Mrs. Twombly said. She took the pets with her as she went, and they didn't really like that due to them still being leashed. Mrs. Twombly took notice of that though.
"Oh, I'm sorry, sweeties," she said. She then unleashed all of them. "Now be good okay? And don't stray off to far!"
Mrs. Twombly immediately went and witnessed the performance on stage, as did Zoe. Zoe liked the performances here, especially after she got that little role some time ago.
She then noticed who was standing there on the stage.
"This can't be…" she mumbled. "Blythe!" she then shouted.
"Huh?" the other pets said in unison, ceasing the activities they were partaking in.
"What is going on?" Russell asked.
"Blythe is on stage!" Zoe excitedly said.
"Really?" Sunil asked Zoe specifically. "Where is she?"
"There!" Zoe pointed at one of the singers. "Right next to that guy!"
"Hey, isn't that that boy Blythe likes?" he wondered.
Zoe looked a bit better. "You're right! That's Josh!"
"So… she does live with him?" Russell said.
"I guess so. Unless she belongs to someone else in that band," Pepper figured.
They saw on stage how Dina took note of the pets and of Mrs. Twombly, and she grinned as she saw them. She intensified her meowing for a small bit, which the audience found to be adorable, and the song ended.
The band packed up their stuff for a moment because someone else was supposed to be on the stage for the next performance. Dina ran off from the stage and towards her friends.
"BLYTHE!" Minka shouted. The pink spider monkey raced to Dina and hugged her tightly. "I thought we had lost you forever!"
Dina allowed the hug and smiled back. "Hey guys, it's good to see you."
"It's good to see you too, Blythe," Zoe said. "Even though you're… uhm…"
Dina sighed. "I know."
"Hey, Blythe," Penny Ling said, greeting her. She then hugged Dina also. "How's it going?"
"Well, not perfect," she said. "I'm a cat for the rest of my life after all. But beside that, I'm good."
"Really?" Sunil asked.
"Yes; Josh is a good owner, and his band enjoys my company. I feel really accepted by them, and it makes it more bearable. If only…" she sighed, "if only I could tell my dad where I am."
It was silent for one moment. Zoe walked around Dina, but except for that no one did do anything.
Russell finally broke the silence. "So… what will you do now?"
"I'm Josh's pet now. He's a good owner and I've got no reason to leave him or his band. He lets me go outside since today though, so I will try to visit you guys every once in a while. Or we could meet up at the park of course when Mrs. Twombly lets you out."
"Wait a second…" Zoe said, "Did you say you are Josh Sharp's pet?"
Dina nodded.
"I knew it!" she said, "we've got a whisper from a little bird that you were there, and when I got there with Minka and Russell you weren't there!"
"And when was that?" Dina asked.
"Two days ago!"
"Aah… I see…" Dina said, "that is when Josh suddenly took me to the garage where the band was practicing. He wanted me to meet them. Just before that I asked a bird to tell you where I was."
"So we did you come at the one moment you weren't there?" Russell asked.
Dina nodded.
"Oh, sod it!" Russell said. "I'm so sorry, Blythe, I didn't -"
"Don't be sorry," Dina said. "This isn't your fault. That I'm a cat isn't anyone's fault. It is just something we've got to accept."
She hesitated. "It is something that I've got to accept."
"So… you're not totally okay with it?" Vinnie asked.
"Of course I'm not!" Dina said, almost yelling. "I'll never go into fashion, my friends have no idea what happened to me and neither does my father!"
She got a paw around her shoulder from Zoe. "We know, Blythe, but we're here for you."
"Thanks, guys," Dina said, "Only… my name is 'Dina' now. Maybe you should start calling me that."
"Dina!" they heard Josh shout.
"Well, I guess Josh doesn't want to lose me before we have our next performance," Dina said. "Talk to you guys later, okay?"
She then walked off to Josh who took her in his arms and walked towards the stage.
It was silent among the pets.
"Blythe is… gone?" Penny Ling asked to no one in particular.
"No," Zoe said, "Blythe is in that cat body. And she always will be."
"Should we go back to Mrs. Twombly?" Vinnie asked.
The others nodded.
But Mrs. Twombly wasn't really paying attention to the pets. Instead, she was dancing her ass off at the music the bands were playing. Dina saw her doing so and smirked. When the pets realized what was going on they figured they could play in the park some more. Minka had taken a ball with her so they were able to do something in the meantime. Zoe of course was best at this game and Sunil and Vinnie didn't like that, so they were off chasing her. Penny Ling found the game to be a bit too exciting, so she stayed behind at the sidelines and watched.
After a few minutes she saw something moving up in the bushes up ahead. She had no idea what it was but decided to investigate.
"Hello? Is someone there?" she asked.
There was some movement in the bushes. Penny Ling couldn't figure out exactly what it was.
"You don't have to be afraid!"
Out of the bushes she saw two bright blue eyes.
"Come on out," Penny Ling said. She then saw how a small orange ferret walked out of the bushes. The ferret was scared to death by something, but Penny Ling had no idea what it could be.
Minka had noticed what Penny Ling was doing and joined in. "Hey, Penny Ling, you found a new friend?"
"I guess so," Penny Ling said. Both Minka and Penny Ling were taken aback though by the presence of the ferret.
"Ooh… and what is your name, then?" Minka asked.
The orange ferret didn't respond to the question but instead looked at the two like she had seen a ghost.
"This is impossible!" the ferret shouted. Minka and Penny Ling noticed that it was a she. "Animals cannot talk! This… this must be… is this a bad dream? It is! It has to be!"
"Huh?" Minka said while scratching her head.
"Uhm… what are you talking about?" Penny Ling asked.
"This is all just not real! In dreams you're always running from danger, and I've been running all morning! If I just close my eyes and open them again, I'll wake up in my own bed!" the ferret said.
She closed her eyes tight. The two pets were staring at her, with now Zoe who was joining in.
Then the ferret opened her eyes again. "No! There is no way this is true!"
Penny Ling walked over to Zoe and whispered in her ear. "I think we should get Blythe, oh, I mean, Dina into this. She'll know what to do!"
Zoe nodded. "You're right."
She then got Minka and went over to the stage. They were lucky; Dina's next performance would be in more than twenty minutes and the band members weren't really paying attention to her. Despite that, she was once again put on a leash that was attached to Josh's motorcycle.
"Well, Bl…, uhm, Dina, I think you should come see this," Zoe said. "I've never seen a pet like this before!"
"Uh… what are you talking about?" Dina asked.
"Well, there's this weird ferret shouting weird things that make no sense and we were hoping you could help us with that!" Minka said. "Hey! It is just like the blue boy in my synthesis-dream last night! Eek!"
Dina shook her head and just ignored the pink spider monkey's last sentence.
"So…" Dina said. "There is a weird ferret and you want me to check it out?"
Zoe nodded.
"Alright, I think I can do that," Dina said. "I cannot stay too long, though; I have my next performance in a few minutes!"
She unleashed herself and went along with the pets.
The spider monkey, dog and girl-turned-cat walked over to the spot where Penny Ling had found the ferret.
Dina had no idea what was exactly going on but decided to follow the two. Zoe and Minka led her to Pepper and Penny Ling who were standing near an orange ferret. The ferret y seemed to be in some kind of shock and was shaking on its paws. She went standing before the ferret and looked at it.
"Well, hi there," Dina said.
The ferret didn't respond but instead looked at Dina with big eyes, like Dina was some sort of alien monster.
"I'm Dina! What's your name?" she politely asked the ferret.
The ferret didn't respond again. Dina looked into the ferret's bright blue eyes and put on a smile to try to get her at ease.
"Uhm…" Dina said, "My friends told me you might have an issue. Could you tell me what is it, miss ferret?"
"I am NOT a ferret!" the ferret exclaimed. Dina recognized the ferret's voice and out of shock she took a few steps backwards. The ferret stammered for a bit and then looked directly into Dina's eyes.
"My name is Sue Patterson!" the ferret shouted, "I'm a human girl!"
What the huh?
Pepper instantly sneaked up behind her and knocked her out cold with her squishy chicken plush.